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!
