Billy Scanlan has been traveling in Southeast Asia, recording what he sees in photos and words. For more of Billy’s work, visit his blog A Context for Hope.

With a little love and care, even the darkest corners of the world can become spectacles of hope.

Svey Pak, Cambodia, was one of those dark corners, where sex trafficking was rampant and the government did nothing to help. Foreign men would buy children on the streets and rape them. The police were in on the deal, and when a brothel was shut down by an NGO, it would be up-and-running within the week. Pimps would bribe their way out of jail. Foreign pedophiles used Cambodian corruption to stay an arm’s length from away from trouble.

What lies hidden is revealed in the light of God. Jesus is redeeming Svay Pak, which has becoming a beacon of hope to a dark world.

In 2005, International Justice Mission (IJM) raided the largest child brothel in Svay Pak, and this time, business stopped for good. A ministry called AIM 4 Asia moved into building that formerly housed the brothel, calling the place Rahab’s House. The AIM staff began to love and serve the people of Svey Pak, even those who did not welcome them, and their passion has changed the entire district.

Pastor Chantha, his wife Bohnthan and ministry partners Ratanak, and Clayton began offering free weekly health clinics, English classes, and children’s programs, as well as providing free gym access. The locals became curious. Men and women who months earlier were selling their children to pimps and dealing drugs now come to Rahab’s House to know the God of love.

The word transformation became much more meaningful during my stay in Cambodia. The work of AIM and Rahab’s House is surely not just about stopping bad behavior, or rescuing children from a brothel. This is only the beginning. When people in Svey Pak meet Jesus, they are turning 180 degrees not just 90. One girl I met was rescued from this ex-brothel, and now ministers from the same building, reaching out to other children who are abused and at-risk.

God is taking the broken, healing them, then using them to heal others. The abused now comfort the abused.

Transformation is not just for Svey Pak, but for the world. Regardless of where we are, our calling is the same, to love those around us. As we love we will see transformation in our own communities.