Places all over the world have reputations—some good, some bad—some well known, others not so well known.  Google “city of love” and you’ll find Paris.  Google “windy city” and you’ll find Chicago.  Google “child sex trafficking” and you’ll find Svay Pak, Cambodia.  It’s an international reputation Svay Pak deserves.  This village of abject poverty 11 km outside of Phnom Penh is a place where hundreds of young girls are trafficked each year, many by their own family.  But reputations can be changed. 

About 18 months ago a church was planted in Svay Pak at Rahab’s House, a former brothel turned community center.  The mission of the church was to bring the unconditional love of Jesus to the village through ministries designed to meet educational and healthcare needs as well as spiritual needs.  In doing so, it was hoped relationships would be built that would bring heart transformation and an end to child sex trafficking.  Slowly relationships were built and today over 300 villagers are attending the church’s weekly services, including 177 adults.  The average adult church member earns $1.25 per day. 

Svay Pak, Cambodia-Shacks around the sewer pond

Last Sunday during church services the pastor shared about the disaster in Haiti, including showing photographs of the devastation.  As the church heard his words and saw the photographs, a very counter-cultural thing happened—they openly wept.  Then they committed to pray for the people of Haiti, and as they left church one person after another dropped money in a basket to be sent to help the people of Haiti. 

Svay Church in Rahab's House

The offering for Haiti totaled $52.44.  We might be tempted to say, “Isn’t that sweet.” But it’s far more than that, it’s miraculous.  It’s miraculous that people who struggle to get by on a $1.25 a day would so willingly sacrifice to help others a world away from them.  And from a worldly perspective an offering of $52.44 might be considered insignificant, not so from God’s.

As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting

their gifts into the temple treasury.  He also

saw a poor widow put in two very small

copper coins.  “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this

poor widow has put in more than all the

others.  All these people gave their gifts out of

their wealth; but she out of her poverty

put in all she had to live on.

Luke 21:1-4 NIV

 So, should the reputation of Svay Pak be changed?  Not yet. There’s a long ways to go, but the embers of change are glowing.

All I Want for Christmas…

 The other day one of the girls at ARC asked me what I wanted for “Merry Christmas.”  I told her I’d have to think about it and let her know later.  Then I received an e-mail from Jane Conwell.  Jane  is a nurse from Australia who volunteers in our Rahab’s House medical clinic and is training our Cambodian staff to take over the clinic in the future.  In her e-mail Jane spoke of a couple of patients she had recently seen.  Following is an excerpt.

“Many times at clinic I have to tell my patients that there is nothing I can do to help them.  Last week, I had a 26 year old man who came in from an outer province.  His mother had heard that there was a free clinic in Svay Pak and she had brought him to see me. Three years ago he started to have pain in his feet.  He is no longer able to walk; the muscles in his arms and legs wasting away; likely some muscular dystrophy.  I was the first medical attention he had received.  They graciously accepted it when I told them I couldn’t make it better, and listened carefully to suggestions for stretches and exercises.  His mother then pulled him onto her back and carried him back to the waiting motorbike taxi, tied his body to hers for support and off they drove – back to their village.  

Today at clinic a woman was carried in by her family.  Yesterday she had a stroke.  Her family didn’t understand what had happened, but they knew that the clinic was open the next day and so they were first in line.  Her left arm and leg have lost all control, her eye and mouth with a slight droop.  We talked about exercises for the muscles and what causes a stroke.  I checked her blood pressure (predictably high) and started her on medication and aspirin.  Ultimately, however, I had to tell a family that I couldn’t help them – there was nothing I could do to fix this problem.  After thanking me graciously, they carried her back home.” 

Their acceptance of life’s tragedies, and contentment in the face of unmet expectations, challenges me. There is no feeling of entitlement – no anger at the unfair nature of their experiences.  All they expressed was gratitude for Jane’s efforts.  They were so grateful in spite of the disheartening news. So now I know what I want for Christmas…I want my attitude towards life to be more like theirs. 

There’s one more thing…All of us at AIM want to thank all of you.  God has done much this year to bring restoration to dozens of traumatized girls and to prevent the trafficking of hundreds of others.  And He’s done it through the support you’ve provided.  We’re forever grateful.  Below are photos of the ARC and Rahab’s House staffs wishing all of you a Happy Merry Christmas!

I pray the love and peace of Christ will be yours this Christmas,

Don

Agape Restoration Center Staff

Rahab's House Staff

Like you, Ratanak Foundation is a supporter of AIM that God has used to bless the people of Cambodia and to transforms lives in the midst of the darkness. The unique thing about Ratanak is that they were the first supporters to come on board for our aftercare centers.

This summer a team from Ratanak spent two weeks putting on a VBS/Kids Club at Rahab’s House in Svay Pak. The work was hot and difficult, but God used their talents, gifts and servant’s hearts to accomplish amazing things. Following are excerpts from their report of their experience. Read and enjoy. But before you do, we at AIM want to thank you for your ongoing support. May God bless you as much as you’ve blessed us.

The AIM Team

From the Team Leader

Beauty in Brokenness

What started out as a VBS for 55 kids grew to 165 kids by the end of our two weeks– so many faces, so many smiles, so many longing to be acknowledged, so many to feed, so many desiring to be held or touched, so many names to remember. Where does one begin without feeling overwhelmed? When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:36) To be like Jesus in this environment meant to sow His seeds of love and compassion and to see the one child in the midst of the multitude as we interacted with them through the bible lessons, the songs, the games, the crafts and the lunches we provided. Other times it was walking hand in hand with our little tour guides leading the way, singing in Khmer ‘Thank you, thank you Jesus’ as we meandered our way through the alley ways to the surrounding wooden shacks in the neighbourhood that represent home for so many. The kids would stop and proudly introduce us to their families or advise us who to give the food packets to. In the visible reality, it is hard to see what kind of impact these small gestures have on a community that is suspicious of outsiders and yet the words of Mother Teresa has serve to encourage me: Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired. It is the intensity of love we put into our gestures that makes them something beautiful for God. Intense love does not measure, it just gives.

Christ’s intense love continues to be poured out as our partners at AIM are in the midst of preparing to open a school for the kids at Rahab’s House within the next month. In the meantime, a weekly church service that begun over the past month has seen a steady flow of participation from the local residents and just last week 150 adults attended the service. Through all these ministry efforts in Svay Pak, we have heard that some families are no longer willing to send their daughters when a pimp comes to get them. This is a small ray of light that is shinning in the midst of the darkness. This is the invisible reality in which God is building His kingdom in the most unusual place and the gates of hell will not prevail. Only He can take a former brothel and transform it into a place of worship where His name is exalted! Only He can take a place that was once a place of death and destruction and transform it into a place of life and hope. Only He can chip away and breakdown the ancient walls and gates that have imprisoned this community, so that the King of Glory can enter in, in all His fullness.

From one of the Team Members

A God of Love

In preparing to run a ‘Kid’s Camp’ in Svay Pak with my 5 other team members, I had expected to see abject poverty, unspeakable suffering and thus be thoroughly broken and saddened during my stay in Cambodia. Moreover, I had expected that I would return to Canada with a flaming indignation due to the unjust economic disparity between the two nations of Cambodia and Canada. However, despite knowing of the sex-trafficking of young children in Svay Pak, and despite witnessing the appalling conditions in which these families lived, God showed me that He is wholeheartedly at the forefront of bringing His love, His hope and His healing to hurting people in this community through the ministry of Agape International Missions. By demolishing a brothel in Svay Pak and transforming it into a place of refuge called “Rahab’s House, AIM’s outreach efforts remind me of the radical love that Christ is calling us to demonstrate to those who live in darkness. It is a call to go to the modern day Sodom and Gomorrah’s like Svay Pak so that the light of Christ can truly penetrate the darkness that oppresses a people in need of hope. Rahab’s House is a symbol that God’s love knows no bounds and His love covers over a multitude of sins. After all, it is only God who can take a place meant for evil and human destruction and transform it into a place of new life, where His name is worshipped and glorified and where those who are lost will encounter the One who longs to call them His own. It is only God who knew of the inexperience and inadequacies of our team in leading a VBS in a foreign language, and He demonstrated His love for us by providing two amazing young pastors-in-training from AIM: Ratanak and Joseph, to partner with us in serving the kids in Svay Pak. Their heart for the children in this community and their passion and zeal for Jesus inspired us, as we observed their devotion to prayer and the Word of God. We were blessed by their genuine love for Christ as evident by their boldness in inviting families to come to the weekly church service and we witnessed God’s favor upon them through some of the local restaurant vendors who generously gave them free lunches because they were teaching their children at Rahab’s House.

A God of Hope

During our time in Svay Pak, the Lord gave me a profound affinity for 7 boys who attended the VBS. I had first met these boys on our initial visit to Svay Pak and they were labeled as “unruly” because of the rough ways in which they interacted with other kids. But as God’s love for them slowly blossomed
inside of me, the Lord began to prompt me to reach out to them and not shun them. As I interacted with them, I noticed over time that their rough play—slapping me aggressively on my arms and back, soon dissipated and eventually stopped. Amazingly, they went from being trouble makers to becoming the ones who would help our team clean up after lunch. They became our tour guides as we would meander through the alley ways of Svay Pak and advised us who to give the food packets to in the community. They became our little translators whenever we needed to buy any items from the local vendors. In all these ways and more, it was evident that God’s hand was at work transforming their behavior and attitude as they sought to express their love to us in the simplest of ways.

But the story doesn’t end there, as God continued to open my eyes to the potential He saw in some of these young boys. Near the end of our first week at Rahab’s House, some of our team went for a prayer walk around Svay Pak and a group of children who attended the day camp joined us. As I put my arms around two boys, Howe and Jahn, (who were part of the group of 7 that God had given me a special connection with) another boy named Lahp, whom I didn’t have a relationship with slipped in and took the place of Jahn. I grumbled in my spirit about my disappointment but I instantly heard God say to me: “No, Genie, I have placed these two boys here and this is exactly as I had planned it. I want you to pray specifically for Howe and Lahp.” At that moment, I felt compelled to pray that God would raise up Howe and Lahp to become the leaders within Svay Pak who would be instrumental in bringing about transformation and redemption in that place. I prayed for protection over them and also felt prompted to pray that when temptation came, Howe and Lahp would be able to withstand the pressures and choose to follow after Christ Jesus. Moreover, I had an image of them being respected by the people in Svay Pak and that through them, those who would normally endeavor to bring harm, would instead submit to their authority and leadership and not defy their stand for righteous living.

A day later, the Lord unexpectedly gave me two signs confirming His choice of Howe and Lahp. First, during the morning when the VBS was taking place, one of my teammates pointed out that Howe was sitting at the very front and listening so attentively to the Bible lesson. I thanked God for showing me that He was planting His seeds of truth within Howe. Then at the end of the day, Lahp grabbed my hand and gestured for me to bring my camera. I assumed that he was going to show me his house. Well, did he ever show me a house! He showed me the house of God as he led me to a Catholic church nearby where behind a barred door stood a life-sized statue of Jesus. He first insisted that I take a picture of Jesus, followed by a photo of a cross on the steeple. I then motioned Lahp to pose so I could take a photo of him, however when Laph reviewed this last photo, he gestured for me to retake it as Jesus wasn’t in it!!! At that point I realize that God had already given him a special knowledge and love for Him!

Through these encounters, the Lord was not only confirming to me that He was intimately involved in the lives of these children but He also was revealing to me that He is a God of hope. Jesus was showing me that in the most hopeless places, places where poverty reigns and oppression seems so pervasive, He had not forgotten those whom He created and whom He valued. His Spirit was hovering around these young souls. He had given me a glimpse of His goodness in these boys along with the beauty and the hidden potential that was possible in them. He had shown me that His love is the best apologetic for melting hearts that have endured much hardship and alienation. In these pockets of light in Svay Pak, He reminded me that there is no place too dark in which His light cannot shine. After all, He can and is building His kingdom in the most unexpected places and the gates of hell will not prevail because He is a God of love, intimacy and hope!

Now a community center, this former brothel for child sex trafficking in Svey Pak, Phnom Penh, set chained and locked for 5 years after being raided by International Justice Mission (IJM) Read the rest of this entry »