Anti-Trafficking and Marketplace Redemption

Featuring: Clayton Butler

Anti-Trafficking and Marketplace Redemption

by Ryan Fuerst

Amidst the Darkness

In our day, there are more slaves than any other time in history. In Cambodia, there is an estimated 40,000 young girls being trafficked with the majority of them being in Svay Pak-the red-light district of Phnom Penn. As a result, 80-90% of the economy of Svay Pak is fueled by sex-tourism. Despite the façade Svay Pak wears as a God-forsaken land, the Lord is indeed moving among the hearts of many to bring a spiritual shift to this city. One man who wants to see such change is Clayton Butler, a Roseville, California native, who sees this marketplace as one ripened for redemption. Butler is currently working as the anti-trafficking coordinator for the non-profit organization, Agape International Missions (AIM) whose vision is to see Jesus defeat the evil of child sex slavery in Cambodia. As the Anti-Trafficking Coordinator, Butler is developing long term strategies to bring an end to trafficking through the raising up of the Church, pastors and key marketplace leaders in Svay Pak.

Necessity of Constant Communion

Operating in this environment is no cakewalk, in regards to the spiritual tension and mental pressure it can inflict upon oneself. From heartbreak of driving by brothels and seeing the children attempting to wave you in, to having to discuss and deliberate over the topic of child brutality on a day-to-day basis …the list goes on.  All these factors weigh brutally over one’s spirit. Consequently, the various rigors of daily life in Svay Pak have necessitated Butler to put forth a considerable amount of time in prayer to realign his heart with that of the Father. He even admitted, “If I get out of a place of dependency upon the Lord, I begin to border on mental breakdown.” For Butler, to carry out his operations efficaciously with a level head and a steady spirit, he has to yield himself to a lifestyle of constant communion with the Lord. This is necessary to not only survive, but thrive amidst such spiritual darkness.

With sex-tourism being the main thrust of Svay Pak’s economy, local businesses have become increasingly dependent on the exploitation of children. Bars and hotels profit tremendously from the tourism, and cab drivers receive a percentage of profit as they feed the brothels with customers from all corners of the globe. At the same time, local government officials don’t bat an eye as the brothels give the police force a commission to maintain the status quo. Shockingly, even parents sell their own children to brothels and human traffickers, which goes to demonstrate the overwhelming sense of moral apathy presiding over the region.

The Marketplace Meets the Mission Field

Despite such darkness, this poses a valuable opportunity for the Church to rise up and fill a moral-vacuum. Butler is working to equip and empower the Church in Cambodia to be the long-term preventative agent to end child slavery as well as develop an outreach center in Svay Pak, called Rahab’s House. Once a brothel, Rahab’s House is now being used to teach children about Jesus as well as provide medical care for adults. For this project, Svay Pak saw marketplace believers come together with the local Church to help transform a corner of their society.

With AIM, Butler is working with over 500 pastors throughout Cambodia to establish Kingdom values in the society through the provision of leadership training and the distribution of food for the poor. They also just published a booklet called “What the Bible Teaches about Children” to instruct parents of their God-given responsibilities as parents. On a recent occasion, Butler was speaking at a local Cambodian church and taught the people, “God does not just call the equipped, educated, and rich to change the world; He looks for willing people that will trust and allow Him to use them in spite of their inadequacies.” After, the meeting a young man came up to Butler and said “I have always told God that I am too young, uneducated and sinful to be used …but today I told Him ‘I am willing.'” This young man went on to work in Svay Pak teaching the children at Rahab’s House about Jesus. Not only has this man found vision, but he was also given a purpose. God changed his paradigm for children and has called him to play an integral role in the ending of human trafficking.

Another facet of Butler’s involvement with AIM is to see these young girls restored through the unconditional love of Jesus. By coordinating with other organizations and ministries in Svay Pak, AIM takes in girls rescued out of slavery with the goal of restoration. With the help of twenty full-time Christian staff members, the girls are brought to a high security aftercare center called Agape Restoration Center (ARC) which rehabilitates exploited young girls. These girls come in having faced some of the most nefarious and wicked conditions imaginable-many having been sold by their parents to be locked up and defiled without restraint. Yet they are soon restored socially, emotionally, physically, intellectually and spiritually through the demonstration of the unconditional love of Christ and the provision of some of the best medical care, education and vocational training.

A Ray of Hope

One of the girls, having been rescued from Svay Pak and sent to live at ARC, was later offered a position in a large international ministry to head up their anti-trafficking program in Cambodia. Through the hard work of the ARC staff and prayers from many supporters, this girl began to work through her past and embrace the destiny of Jesus for her life. She had excelled in her school work, pressed forward in counseling and passionately embraced Jesus as her Lord and Healer. This young girl received the education needed for this job and out of all the applicants that applied for the job, she was chosen because of her response to one statement: “Tell me about Jesus”. As she answered this question, the interviewer knew that she had truly encountered Jesus as Lord.

Let His Kingdom Come

Amidst such blatant darkness, God has opened up a door of opportunity for the Cambodian Church to intervene as influential righteous leaders in the government, Church and marketplace. Impeccably, His leadership is already at work setting key individuals, like Clayton Butler, into the perfect position in order to advance His Kingdom. This is a strategic time for Christian entrepreneurs to invade and redeem the Cambodian marketplace away from wickedness and into righteousness.

 A JOCO Journal Article