The Realities of Trafficking: An Incredible Story of Capture and Escape

For those of you who have followed Sak Saum on Facebook the last two weeks, you are probably aware that something significant and serious was happening. We wanted to wait for some resolution before we shared it with you. 

Two weeks ago on a Friday afternoon, Theavy, Sak Saum’s national director, left Sak Saum to go to a local market. She planned to buy some supplies and then go to the hospital to visit a girl from Saang who was having surgery. She never returned.

At first, we thought there could be many explanations. Maybe she got sick and went to a local hospital for help. Maybe her phone battery was dead. Maybe she had to go help someone and forgot to mention it. But at midnight when she had not come to claim her car and no one had seen or heard from her, we began to be concerned. Theavy is a responsible woman who cares deeply for her son. It was extremely out of character for her to just disappear.

The police were contacted but we were told they could do nothing until Monday. So our staff took photos of Theavy and started asking market sellers and searching hospitals. Our fear? She had been drugged and robbed...or worse.

Saturday evening we received a glimmer of hope. She called her father. She was in a room she didn’t recognize. She was being held captive. She did not know by whom or for what reason. Can someone please help? The call was devastating, but at least we knew she was still alive.

Sunday passed with no breakthrough. Monday creeped by. Eric and Ginny spent a good part of the day meeting with police and legal organizations. It had now been more than three days. We were finding it difficult to hold on to hope that we would find Theavy alive...or ever find her at all. It was difficult to stem the waves of grief and loss which wanted to rise to the surface. The Sak Saum girls continued to hold out hope that she would be found, praying and encouraging each other through their tears.

Then an absolute miracle happened. Ginny was leaving Sak Saum when her phone rang. It was Theavy. She had escaped! Eric and Ginny went to meet her and she was reunited with her family and her son. So what happened between Friday afternoon and Monday night?

On Friday when she went to the market, she stopped to get some sugar cane juice. Immediately she started to feel strange and weak. Two men and a woman came forward to “help.” The next thing she knew, she woke up in a strange room, tied up. She was held for several days and drugged repeatedly. Finally, they loaded her on a truck and started driving to Vietnam. Their intention was to traffic her there. At around the same time she was riding toward the border, Ginny was meeting with the Sak Saum girls, encouraging them not to give up but to keep going. Theavy says that through the fog of drugs, fatigue and growing despair, she heard a voice speak to her, “Keep going, Theavy, keep going.” So when the truck stopped for a break, she asked to use the bathroom and ran for her life. A local police station helped her call home.

Sounds like something from a movie doesn’t it? In some ways it feels very surreal. But you only need to look at Theavy’s cut hair or the burns on her hands (her punishment for the phone call she made to her father) to know that this is very real and very evil. Trafficking is not some media-crazed idea. It is not a movie. It is real. It is traumatic. It is evil. And it needs to be stopped.  

We will continue to work with the police and government to catch those behind this. Please pray for favor and breakthrough in this regard. Pray also for Theavy and her family. She has been through a very traumatic experience. Pray for complete healing and restoration in her life. Pray for her family as they process as well. Continue to pray for Sak Saum as well as we work on the front lines of a battle over human lives.

And to all of you who prayed with us, thank you so very much. We have been dancing and singing songs of praise all week for God’s incredible intervention. When we pray, He does hear us. Praise, praise, praise! 

Spring is in Full Bloom!

Hooray for spring!! Flowers, sunshine, warm air, longer days...the list goes on and on. Spring has arrived at Sak Saum as well. We are so excited to introduce some new designs for 2012 as well as bright, fresh looks for our classic favorites. We believe this is our best work yet -- so thankful to see Cambodians growing in skill and design. We are also debuting our spring/summer collection using an urban setting. All of these shots were captured around Phnom Penh. We love this creative look!

Many of you have asked: "I love the bags in your catalog. How do I order them?" Great question! Our catalog is intended to give you an idea of the styles we have available. We have a limited selection for sale through our online store. To see a wider selection of our product, you can host a home party or introduce our products at a local event or conference. For more information about these options, please email us. We would love to hear from you!

To view our catalog, click here. Please be patient as it may take a minute to download. Enjoy!

A Daughter is Married...

Sak Saum is, in many ways, a family. The girls call each other sisters. Ginny is "Mom." Eric, Ginny's husband, is "Dad." For so many of our girls, the healing needed is in the area of family. Neglect, abuse, manipulation and using someone for your own gain are so often found in parent/child relationships here in Cambodia. Young women long for mothers who will love and guide them, not push and coerce them. Many of them never knew their fathers so the idea of a kind, faithful male figure is difficult to comprehend but such an important part of their restoration and future.

You can imagine, then, how important weddings are within the Sak Saum family. Several weeks ago one of our girls was married to a member of In His Steps Cambodia's staff. In His Steps is Sak Saum's umbrella ministry. Her husband works as a teacher, youth pastor and worship leader out in Saang. As we participated in their special day, we saw glimpses of spiritual truths which go deeper than two people.

It was 7am on a hazy, warm morning. Khmai wedding music filled the air along with a sense of anticipation. Guests lined up along the dirt road holding trays of fruit, meat, and other foods. Leading the way was the groom, Sopheak, and his family. As they waited to walk toward the wedding tent, Phea and her bridesmaids scurried to finish their last-minute preparations. Jewels, silk, make-up, hair, shoes -- everything must be beautiful and ready for the coming of the groom. It is a compelling picture, isn’t it? It is compelling, of course, because of the anticipation of a couple in love, ready to commit their lives to each other before God, friends and family.  But there is an even deeper stirring because this is the picture of Christ returning for his bride, the Church. Most Cambodians know nothing about this truth but their wedding customs point to it in such a powerful way. What a privilege to watch Sopheak walk to meet his bride, knowing that their special day reveals an even greater wedding feast yet to come. 

Throughout the day, one word kept coming to people’s minds over and over -- blessed. When we walk with God and desire His ways, there is a blessing that flows. Sopheak and Phea have longed to honor God with their wedding and their marriage -- it shows. For the first time in three years, Phea stood alongside her father to be presented to her husband. Both the bride and groom took time to honor their parents and wash their feet, asking for forgiveness for any past wrong-doings and praying for life and restoration to flow in the future.  They presented each other with rings as a symbol of their love, unity and commitment to one another. And they shared one shy, blushing kiss...a reflection of purity and hope for the future.

It was such a joy to see them so blessed and to watch other young people witness a Cambodian couple do things God’s way. This is Kingdom living that has the power to influence future couples and marriages. Sopheak and Phea are leading the way. We pray others will follow in their footsteps as they follow God.

We hope you will enjoy some pictures of their special day below.

Fruit walk to meet the bride and her family...Presentation of the fruit as a blessing.Mother of the groom...The bride and groom welcoming their guests.

Foot washing represents honoring parents and starting the marriage with a clean slate. Eric and Ginny participate as spiritual parents.

Celebrating husband and wife with a kiss.

Showered with blessing...A fun fruit game at the reception...Husband and wife...

The Rockford Team: A Lesson in Love

It is such a privilege to share about the Rockford team who recently visited us. In His Steps and Sak Saum host teams and visitors on a pretty regular basis but it is rare for a team of all women to join us for 10 days. So fun!

The women on this team came with hearts of love, encouragement, vision and purpose…eager to learn more about the Cambodian people and share with them the hope and abundant life of Jesus.

We loved seeing the girls open their hearts to this team. When you have been abused, neglected, used, and abandoned, it can be very hard to trust letting people into your heart. Our desire is that our girls would learn that love always wins. As the Bible says, “Love is as strong as death.” We want our girls to learn the victorious power of love over hurt and pain. We also want them to understand that love is God’s way. It is vulnerable and sometimes painful but is the way He has called us to walk. So we watched our girls love this team without reservation and the tears flowed when we had to say good-bye for now.

Enjoy some pics of a few of the activities we shared with the team. Thanks Rockford for sharing yourselves with us—we miss you!

Sharing about women's health with members of the Freedom Facility...Loving on children at In His Steps' Foundation Center...Eating lunch in the province...Theavy translating as the girls share and build relationship...Praying for the yeas (grandmas) at the weekly women's group...Until next time!

A Tour of Sak Saum

Take a tour of Sak Saum with international and national directors, Ginny and Theavy.Recently we had the opportunity to put together a short video for one of our advocates, Origin Coffee. We have talked about them in the past -- they sell our product in their coffee shop and give us their coffee bags which we then ship here to Cambodia to use in several of our designs. They recently celebrated their one year anniversary and we were pleased to share about Sak Saum's ministry with all the individuals who have been a part of their business venture over the last year.

We hope all of you will enjoy this tour of Sak Saum. As you will see, we are growing and busy! Enjoy...

To view the video, click here.

Next week look forward to an update on our latest team to come visit -- Rockford First. A powerful time for our girls that we can't wait to share with you!