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Cedarville Magazine
by Laurie Bolthouse
C h a p e l N o t e s
Six years ago, while we were in
Cambodia, my three daughters and I
decided to spend a few days away from the
city and decompress from what we were
learning about human trafficking in Phnom
Penh. A young woman who joined us was
an intern at a nonprofit organization. She
told us she would not be coming back with
us to the city. She was staying to prep some
girls rescued from area brothels to tell their
stories to a judge in a pretrial.
“Is there anything we can do to help?”
It just came out of my mouth. “Could we
pray for you? Could we have dinner?” She
called her boss, and in a matter of minutes,
we were committed to hosting more than
20 people for dinner that evening at our
resort ... where we had come to “get away
from it all.”
I thought we’d be talking to a few social
workers or the head of the organization.
I didn’t know we’d be having dinner with
translators and the seven girls who had
recently been rescued. We were told
the girls, between 18 and 20 years old,
had been kidnapped across the Vietnam
border and sold into Cambodian brothels.
As dinnertime approached, my young
daughters and I grew apprehensive. Would
The following is an excerpt from Laurie Bolthouse’s chapel presentation on February 13, 2013.
She and her husband, Bill, produced the 2012 film
Trade of Innocents
. Listen to their full
remarks at
.
Watch or listen online at
to hear these engaging presentations:
they look different? Would some of them
have HIV? What would this experience
be like?
What transpired at dinner was beautiful.
It happened to bemy daughterMolly’s ninth
birthday, and she chose the menu. We had
a lovely family-style dinner, complete with
ice cream sundaes. The girls could order
anything they wanted, and here was the
kicker: this feast held no expectations. They
did not have to fear being manipulated,
exploited, or betrayed.
There wasn’t much English spoken
around the table. Instead, we played,
giggled, did Shrek impersonations, and
balanced spoons on our noses. We had a
great time together. One of the Vietnamese
girls was seated next to me. At one point
during the dinner, I heard her laugh in such
a way that told me this was no teenager, this
was a little girl.
My heart nearly seized up. I couldn’t
begin to understand the horrors she had
been through. My spirit cried out, “God,
what do I do with all of this?”The emotions
I had been suppressing began to surface.
The moment we got back to our room
that night we all began to cry. We cried
from a really deep place and with every
emotion you can imagine. We felt helpless,
overwhelmed, and angry. My daughter
said, “Mama, you say that we believe in
God.
Where is He
?” I whispered, “God, this
would be a great time to show up.”
We went back to the city without any
great closure. But soon afterward, we
received an email from the head of the
organization. “You won’t believe this,” he
wrote. “We went back to the hotel and
debriefed with the girls and told themwhat
to expect as they stand before the judge.
They all began to cry. It usually takes a
long time for girls like these to let down
their guards. We really enjoyed ourselves at
dinner tonight. This may be the first time
they have actually felt loved. We believe
God used it to open their hearts and begin
their healing process.”
I didn’t think that I would have an
answer that quickly, especially to an “angry”
prayer. I believe God continues to answer
our prayer and all those from survivors
crying out to be rescued.
Join the global fight against human trafficking.
Learn how you can host a showing of the film
Trade of Innocents
at your school or church
at
.
A Redemptive Feast
2/12
Matthew Moore
‘92
Associate Professor of Theatre
Cedarville, Ohio
3/13
Dan Akin
President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Wake Forest, North Carolina
3/21
Joel Penton
Former Ohio State University Football Player, Youth Speaker
Hilliard, Ohio
4/9
Sammy Rodriguez
President of the National Hispanic Christian
Leadership Conference
Sacramento, California
4/16
Rob Turner
Teaching Team Lead, Apex Community Church
Kettering, Ohio
4/22
Honoring President Bill Brown
Cedarville, Ohio
