Love Must Be Real
Engedi Refuge was born out of the conviction that if we are going help the victims of sex trafficking, we need to REALLY help them. When someone is forced or tricked into prostitution against their will, and in that situation they are denied personal freedom, agency and dignity; they are wounded both physically and mentally in the worst possible ways. Leading psychologists describe this experience as having more intense and lasting negative effects on a person than being tortured in a prison camp. That is no small thing. That should get our attention.
A victim doesn’t need our sympathy and pity. They need our action.
When Lea and I were still in the planning season of this ministry, about 10 years ago, we interviewed a young trafficking victim here in the Northwest. We listened to her story. We listened to what she felt she needed to escape her situation and get safe, and told her of our plans; to provide housing, counseling, education, mentoring and practical support for trafficking victims. Then we asked her for advice. She simply said: “HURRY! I’ve needed what you are talking about for 2 whole years, and there’s nowhere to find that kind of help.”
We’ve been hurrying ever since to create as much space as we can for victimized women, and to provide them with the comprehensive services and holistic therapy they need to feel restored. Engedi has been incredibly successful in helping women get safe and find healing and hope for their lives, more-so than any agency we know of. We provide safe housing (for up to 12 at a time), food, clothing, transportation, trauma therapy, education, mentoring, addiction recovery, spiritual encouragement, and assistance in finding medical services, advanced education, employment, personal housing and community support; everything a survivor needs to get on their feet and feel secure. Our ladies are overwhelmed by the care and love they receive.
Our faith inspires our service and the Apostle John says it so well: “If anyone has enough money to live well and sees someone in need and refuses to help – how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions.”
Please consider joining us today in making love real for formerly prostituted or trafficked women.