Christmas at Centre of Peace Orphanage

It has been such a joy to connect with the lovely kids at 'Centre of Peace'. We were extra-blessed to be invited to their Christmas party. Where Christmas parties in Aussie and NZ can kick off from any time in December, in Cambodia it is very normal for Christmas to come late. So, the 30th it was.

'Centre of Peace' kiddies in action

Bophal and her team had done a stunning job in organising a three-hour event that included dance, song, Christmas paegent, more dance, more song ... Children get to invite their school friends along and a good proportion of the neighbourhood turn up so in addition to the 65 children at COP there were perhaps another 100 children, 50 adults plus an assortment of people who have some kind of association with the orphanage.

Friends and neighbours join the party

The Three Wise Men were there ...

At the end of the show there was a bag of pressies for each of the visiting children, together with like a foot-long subway, Cambodian style.

Following the departure of the visiting children, some serious pressies were rolled out for the COP kids. Through a love-gift from NZ, all the children received footwear, clothing, a toy and school stuff.

Christmas pressies for everyone

Bophal handing out pressies by the sack full!

Mum and Dad to 18

This has been our second weekend taking the oversight care at 'Sozo Children's Home'. It is a nice restful place ... a new girl ran away during the week, three boys limped back Saturday afternoon with their motorbike in too many pieces (courtesy of a 15-year-old speedster who managed to do a runner) ... and the two male rabbits are determined to mate. Otherwise, all is calm.

Chicken soup is served - Miss Responsible, Sreyna, dishes up for Chivea and Samang

During the week Big Ben (as in seriously tall) and Helen, from Citiepoint Church in Brisbane keep everything ticking along. The real anchors tho' are Mali (I'll get a picture of him up later) and Sreyna - both raised in this home and now both finished with school. The real mum and dad, Grahame and Sandra, still have a month off.

The amazing, multi-talented Sue - lands a basket in the dark! How sad these digital cameras are - I pressed the shutter as she took the shot and the camera snaps an ecstatic Sue after the ball is in the hoop. Oh for real-time digital photography!

Aussie Aussie Aussie

We are delighted to announce the arrival of our first Aussie friend. Julia Hamilton-Smith arrived here two days after Christmas. She arrived all smiles (that's Julia!) and with luggage that included Christmas mince pies and our favourite, heavy-duty frypan!!

Julia is a school chaplain in Brisbane. That's how we first met - only then she and husband Jason had recently moved to a small farming commumity outside of Toowoomba and Julia had been appointed as a chaplain at Clifton. She's a great girl; loves kids, loves God and loves life.

Julia catching up on her diary - and smiling as always!

Her man is in the army, and has just landed in Iraq for a six-month stint. Sue was actually in Toowoomba City Church the day that Jason was being prayed for before heading out and Sue just 'knew' that they were going to connect that day. Here we are, a few weeks later, and the lady has landed.

Julia will be a key helper at 'Stepping Stones' over the next three weeks, as well as teaching English at the 'Centre of Peace' orphanage ... and anything else that we are able to volunteer her for! Meanwhile, Don and Pat continue to inhabit the second floor, so currently we are 3 Aussies, 2 Kiwis in this place.

Rocky Road

Our street is slowly morphing. At the moment it is impassible, with a good mountain of sand outside our front door. The concrete machine has done one pour down the smelly end of the street (the 'river views' of the black sewer-come-canal are also morphing with concrete slabs being placed over the top) and a large team of road workers continue to lay out the rocky foundation down the other end.

Our local roading crew

In a nation where labour is so cheap, young guys carry baskets of the large stones, tip them onto the dirt and then squat and place them by hand - all the way down the road being prepared for concreting. A half-dozen passes by a roller; then sand and smaller stones are poured on top before concrete is poured. We greatly look forward to the promise of less dust over everything in our house soon!

Christmas

If you were not in the know, you could easily miss it in Cambodia. No hype, no marketing, nearly no sign that it is the season and Jesus really is the reason. Christmas is close to invisible in this nation.

Susie getting the table set. She was a busy sewer earlier too, getting the table cloth and table runner made in preperation.

We had a great day tho'. The morning was spent skyping (as in telephoning through the computer) family. Then, set the table for eight - Aussies Pat and Don (who are still living with us) and Frank from Hagar, and Kiwis Sue Hanna (Hagar) Colleen (Asian Outreach) and her long-time friend Callum (who trains dentists in Cambodia) all joined us for a great Christmas lunch. Incidentally, Callum has an ongoing mentoring relationship with the nice Dr Heng, for whom I opened my mouth wide recently.

Around the table - Sue Hanna, a snippet of Colleen, a head-shot of Frank, Susie, Callum, Don and Pat.

Frank brought the turkey and we got an excellent ham from Dan, a German butcher whose shop is a total entertainment show. Long story, but I never have had so much fun in a butcher shop before. Glorious chaos reigned when we ordered, and somehow the chaos lifted a few levels upon pick-up a week later. The ham tho' is superb!

We have received so many emails to wish us well over this time. For all of you who wrote, who were going to write and who had nice Bonnevie thoughts - thank you and God bless!

Stepping Stones

'Stepping Stones' is the name of the pre-school that is owned by New Life Fellowship Church. They have been searching for 'native Engllish speaking' staff for some months now, and just have not been able to replace great volunteers that have since returned to their homeland. Thus, the decision has been taken to close the school on Jan 1.

Sue and I love this place. It is situated on a grassy, tree-filled 1200 square metre block of land; a little oasis in this city. We also love Phanarath, a Khymer teacher whom we have known since our brief visit here back in September 2006 (before we moved here in June this year). So, we have talked to the church about giving this great place one more shot ... one more month as we seek to find a key pre-school manager to oversee this year. At this point, we still believe that this role needs to be filled by a Kiwi or Aussie! We have just one lead ....

A sand-pit, grass, trees - a lovely oasis in Phnom Penh

What this practically means is that we take responsibility for the school over January. Phanarath will come in as a teacher to fill one of two spots (a couple of girls have taken another job offer). Sue too will be more involved through January. We are to interview another Khmyer girl tomorrow for a teacher help role. Our vision for this place is to see the business side of the paying pre-school established in the mornings and then develop a free pre-school for the poor in the afternoons, perhaps with a clinic attached.

Phanarath with one of the little people

However, this is not what our personal focus is and we are being careful not to be pulled sideways into heading all this. Rather, we are happy to give some time in an effort and earnest prayer that this little oasis may yet be a vibrant Kingdom work.

Sozo Childrens Home

We got to know Grahame and Sandra at New Life, where they and their family take up three rows of seats. Grahame and Sandra run a childrens' home - 19 children at the moment, most of them teenagers. These Brisbane-ites have been at this for five years now, so these kids have been growing through some hugely formative years with this salt-of-the-earth, big-hearted mum and dad.

Susie with Sandra - one awesome mama

Grahame and Sandra are home-ward bound for 6 weeks as of tomorrow. Susie and I have been happily roped into staying at the home over the weekends (Friday to Sunday nights) from this weekend until the end of January. We have been doing a bit of bonding over the last two weeks - and accepted their invitation to Christmas lunch today to get a little more time around at the home. And what a spread it was!

Grahame giving thanks - some of the boys - the girls all in hiding ...

Papa Grahame discipling a new generation - how to be a great dad

Children are the best way to start people

With Donald and Sons here, we have been getting around a number of ministries to street children.

There was a visit to the Joy Club, run every Thursday on the roof of the New Life Fellwship office complex. Up to 200 little ones gather here, in a respite from a life of dragging dirty sacks around the streets in their search for cans, bottles, cardboard and other re-cyclables. The team of workers run an excellent program and give other areas of care such as a clean-water shower (you should see the little ones emerge, scrubbed clean and in new clothing), clothing and another program that connects in with their families.

The roof-top Joy Club in action

We also went to another childrens' outreach on Sunday morning. Started by an Indonesian lady who went to the home of a dying man ... that became a bible study for children ... that has since exploded as hungry street children come to learn about the God who has always loved them ... and now there are plans for a school and a nursery ... This is an amazing nation for those who simply want to trust God and step out.

Anyway, we had a very moving time at their Christmas party, wholly run by the Khmyer children and staff. Marie Ens, a most honourable legend in this nation, had brought her orphanage (run as clusters of families) along and they performed an amazing 'Christmas pagent' in dance and drama. Around 200 children were there - mostly scruffy, dirty ... and most precious.

Donald and a little guy at the Christmas Paegent

Australian Kerry, who introduced us to this street-children outreach, and a little guy who needs a hug. Once a child gets to 7-8 years old, hugs are all finished for a life-time according to a Khymer lady we spoke to.

Road Works

We have plenty of action happening outside our doors at this time. The digger has been through and taken out the top 30cm or so of our road, making access into and out of our garage an exciting cross-country feat. Now, the trucks are back, tipping piles of stone in preparation for the Great Concrete Pour. Yay for this wonderful progress!

Beholding the welcome progress - Susie and Donald Scott at our front door

... and here comes the roading metal ...

Southern Men

Donald Scott, together with his two eldest sons, Jono and David, arrived for a 10-day stay on Wednesday. Donald pastors Northcity Church, in Christchurch, NZ. He and his boys are out here to get a taste of Cambodia and to see what the Lord may direct them into as a church in the future.

Susie unpacking the medical supplies - thank you, Annie!!

They arrived with 12kg of medical supplies - boxes of treasure emerging from their bags. These medicines were donated by Dr Annie from a clinic that their church is involved in. Wonderful!

Visiting Tuo Sleng Genocide Museum

Yesterday we were out and about - visiting the genocide museum, calling in to Centre of Peace orphanage to set up the three days of their English teaching there, then off to New Life to check out the 'Joytime Club', a ministry to the street children arounf the Olympic Market area. Today they spend their morning teaching English. They are well organised and prepared for this. I left them about an hour ago, surrounded by excited, enthusiastic little darlings.

Evergreen Getaway

Sue and I spied out a nearby r+r spot a few weeks back. Last Sunday we did the 7am Sunday morning church service and then took the Spider for a 7km run out into the countryside - to 'Club Evergreen'. It is our 30th wedding anniversary (well, was - when Sue was still back in NZ) so we were glad to take a quick break together.

'Club Evergreen' is pretty flash - lovely swimming pool, good size rooms and showers with ... wait for it ... hot water! We swam, lazed, read lots and totally enjoyed 24 hours away from the concrete and dust! It's not quite Kep, but being just 20 minutes away is a big plus.

The Bridge

Sue and I met with an excellent Worldwide Evangelism Crusade (WEC) guy on Monday. Tim, a French guy with WEC pommie parents who live in France, runs 'The Bridge', a ministry to street kids in Cambodia.

Tim says that there could be up to 15,000 street children in Phnom Penh. Some are homeless; others have family but are too poor to attend school. Many of them spend hours pulling old carts around collecting street rubbish to recycle - cans, cardboard, scrap metal ... anything that will convert into a cent or two.

The Bridge has teams that go out to the markets and connect with the street kids. They befriend the kids, learn their story and their conditions, and offer both a drop-in centre (with tuk-tuk transport to and from) and a program to work with the children and their family.

The Bridge program is excellent. It links a child to a WEC worker, and seeks to move children from a life of scavenging on the streets to a life with a hope and a future. Tim says that children that join the program are 'on' the bridge. To move them 'over' the bridge and onto the 'other side', they systematically work through six areas:

• The child no longer has to work to make a living
• The child is attending school (the program will enter into a signed contract with the parents/caregivers, and sponsor a child on the proviso that the child is in school. This is continually checked up on)
• The child has daily sufficient food (defined as two meals per day)
• Physical and/or emotional needs are being met - someone cares
• The child is living in a safe environment
• They have an opportunity to be regularly in church / Sunday School.

When these areas are established, then the child is moved 'off' the Bridge, allowing another child to come on.

Sue and I were picked up on Monday evening to experience how the outreach works. A Khmer team heads out to various places in the city to connect, share the Lord and see how they can serve. We were to be heading out too - but as tim showed us around the drop-in centre, the team shot thru' So, we got to be a part of those who stayed behind to pray - also a part of every Monday.

Tim is a champion. There is a 22-year-old Aussie champ, Amy, in the team too. She came out with WEC for a one-year tour of duty. Cambodia has captured her heart. This is year two for Amy.

The poor

We continue to be moved by the plight of the poor in this nation. Whereas our nations (we see ourselves as one-third Aussies, two-thirds Kiwis!!) have a safety net of social welfare, in this nation (as in so many nations) a person can keep falling and falling.

I took Patrick's moto for a run yesterday to pay some bills - and promptly got a puncture. A helpful local pointed me in the direction of the nearest fix-it man (every third corner has one). Where he had set up shop on the street corner, a stones-throw away from the tourist mecca of Wat Phnom, my moto-puncture-repair man appeared to have his family living too. Mum, grandma in a hammock and four children. One boy was stark naked; maybe 8-9 years old. He seemed mentally impaired a little too - just wandering around the street, starkers.

Susie wandered off and returned with six packs of soya milk. They were gratefully received by hungry little mites. Sad, sad - how lost, how poor so many are.

Wintery blast

My little spot - on the front patio. Susie brought the 'cold weather gear' back from NZ just in time!

Life is getting harsher over here. Plumetting temperatures meant that I needed to find a pull-over this morning when I got out of bed. My first time in six months, wearing a bit of wool!

For the locals, anything below 25 degrees is seriously cold. Nimol, our lovely language teacher, says that she is late out of bed every morning now because it is 'so cold'. Amazing, how such 'cold' to a Cambodian is breaking out in a hot sweat to a Pom. As for us, a touch of cooler weather is just so refreshing. We should have another 6-8 weeks of temperatures around 25 - wonderful!

Cambodian wakas

Where there are people, there are food sellers!

Today marks the first day of the Cambodian 'Water Festival'. The highlight of this festival is river-boat racing, waka style. The city is buzzing and excitement is high.

Phnom Penh is built on the banks of three converging river systems: the mighty Mekong River, the Tonle Sap River and the Bassac River. The Mekong is the 12th largest river in the world; 4800km long. It starts in China, touches Tibet, forms part of the border between Burma and Laos, then flows down Laos and right through the heart of this nation, before flowing on to Vietnam and into the sea.

To the north-west of Cambodia lies a very large lake - the Tonle Sap. The Tonle Sap River runs out of the southern end of this lake, and flows into the Mekong River river right alongside down town. a few hundred metres south, and another river carves away from the Mekong. The Bassac River flows roughly south, pretty well parallel to the Mekong in its meandering run through Cambodia, Vietnam and into the sea.

Waiting time ...

So much river water means that the boys just have to have fun. There are (at my count) 65 blokes aboard each waka. Today was initial heats. Like different swimming strokes, there were a couple of different stroke styles in the heats - waka-paddle style upright on your knees, and another style of standing and rowing forward - pushing on the paddles.

Water festival is invasion time for Phnom Penh. Over a million people come into the city from the provinces. Much of the central city is now blocked to traffic. We walked a couple of kilometres to have a look-see today. Quite noticeable too is the amount of hills-tribe people in town, many with their provincial crafts to sell. It is important to keep reminding ourselves - Cambodia is a rural nation. Phnom Penh is not what this nation is really like - 80%+ of Cambodians live in provincial villages.

On the Tonle Sap River - taken from upstairs in the FCC

Susie's back

Susie today in FCC as in 'Foreign Correspondents Club' - a cafe overlooking the Tonle Sap river in downtown Phnom Penh. The FCC was a focal point for Westerners' during the war, prior to the take-over by Khmer Rouge in 1975.

Hard on the heels of Peter and Kerry, Sue returned this Tuesday. Her four weeks away in NZ and Australia were excellent in every way. We are most grateful to so many who have blessed and cared for her on this journey - and so pleased too at how often she was at the right place at the right time: LinkNZ day in Palmerston North; Christian Leaders Network monthly meeting in New Plymouth; church in Toowoomba, New Plymouth and Palmerston North; coffee shops in ....

She is happy happy to be back - and that hand of hers continues to improve, too.

Good buddies

Out and about in the tuk-tuk. Pete quickly learned to keep his elbow tucked in!

Having Pete Denholm and Kerry Hartley in town for three days was most excellent! They are our first home-based visitors, and most worthy of the title!

It took Kerry very little time to establish that many of the stall owners at our local 'shopping centre' (the Russian Market) were of Chinese descent. He was quickly conversing with the locals like an old-timer - pretty sickening really for me to watch, having been here nearly six months and still only being capable of stuttering along!

We got around a bunch of places and people - Big Frank at Hagar, Bophal at the Centre of Peace orphanage, Grahame and Sandra at another orphanage (blog article to come on this), duck into church, plus a whole lot of places around town. Pete was a real surprise; happy as a duck in mud for this his first trip out to Asia. Even his tummy turns after breakfast at the market did not discourage him.

Praying for God's little champion, Bophal, at the 'Centre of Peace' orphanage

River of Life Church in Waitara will be sending out a team next year - so that has made Pete's time here even more valuable. As for Kerry, he shall certainly return!

The tides they are a'changin'

The tide has been going out a little lately, people-wise. Kara's visit ended; then Susie headed out. Aussie friends Mark and Jo are back to Melbourne for two months; then good neighbours Patrick and Carol headed off to Perth for two months also. At least with Patrick I get to baby-sit his toolbox and his Spider with the ever-flat battery ...

Anyway, two more sleeps, and Kerry Hartley and Peter Denholm blow in. I'm as excited as Pete's puppy on steroids! Two more sleeps and Sue is back. Sleep on - and Donald Scott and his boys arrive from Christchuch via Malaysia. They have 11 days with us, starting Dec 12. Andrew and Ruth Smith have signed in during January and more teams are on the horizon. We want to spread th bug of 'Love Cambodia' far and wide!

We have a new assignment to - be mum and dad to 11 boys and 6 girls, nearly all teenagers, for 6 weekends from Dec 19. Grahame and Sandra, Aussies out of Citiepoint Church in Brisbane, are getting a timely break too and have asked Susie and I to sleep at the orphanage they run over the weekends Fri-Mon am. Just when we thought that we had raised all our kids .... no, not at all! It will be a joy. Looks like I'm getting signed up to take another class at New Life Fellowship too - this one a foundations class for new christians. Great!

Cooking with gas

Good-bye 150kg/month of firewood; hello gas. The work has been done at the 'Centre of Peace' orphanage with two gas cookers and a gas bottle installed, and a servery now in place. Bophal was out when I called but the cook was all smiles and a bunch of the kids know me by now and so I got the guided tour!

Child-friendly height: the new servery

'Scared stiff'

No - not me. Young Heng.

Today I had been asked by Pastor Kakada to speak at a church seminar. I picked up Heng, who has been working for Mark and Jo in their admin office this year, to be translator and headed 8km or so north.

Things very often are not what they seem in Cambodia. The seminar was actually ... as far as I can make out ... the AGM of the church with a couple of teaching slots dropped in. There is more tomorrow, so perhaps the 46-page Khmer AGM report was just part of this morning's program.

Anyway, I did my teaching and Heng had a few 'say that again please ... what was that again??' moments but went pretty well over-all. We sit down and he turns to me and says 'I am scared stiff'. I then discover that this is Heng's first sortee into the world of translation. Poor bloke - I gave him heaps of stick ... told him that I had no idea Cambodians could be scared 'stiff' - thought that only happened to Aussies ...

Heng (left), Pastor Kakada (right) over the lunch table.

A kitchen for 70

Two blocks from our place, Bophal manages a orphanage of 65 children and one tiny wee new baby. With their few staff, that makes some 70 people living out of an old 2-storey house that has a bit of a courtyard. The place just buzzes - shining little faces, two classrooms to teach up to grade 4 downstairs, and always washing hanging out to dry.

The Kelly's introduced us to this orphanage when we visited Cambodia last September - and finally I've got back there to visit.

The kitchen is a little basic. 150kg of firewood go thru the 'stoves' every month. There is no servery and the cook is hotter than a pig on a spit in her daily work.

Patrick and Bophal in the kitchen (above) and the fire stoves (top)

Bophal is a treasure. I asked her to consider what she would like the kitchen to become; talk it over with the cook and I would be back in 2 days. They had plans drawn up - an L-shaped servery; two gas cookers - simple but great. Now she is getting a couple of quotes and we'll get the job done - dedicated to a fine kiwi couple who put some $ from a property sale into blessing children in Cambodia.

I had in mind to get Donald Scott and his two sons, from Christchurch, to put this together when they arrive here next month. However, the concrete-built benches and tile tops are not really a hammer and 4-inch nail job. The boys will be thrown into English classes instead - and I'll get Donald wrapping Christmas pressies for 65 little ones :-)

Frank

One of the huge privileges of living out here is the remarkable new people that we get to make friends with. Frank is high on the 'remarkables' list - an outstanding fella who would be most upset at me if he ever read my commendations of him.

Frank comes from Perth (too!) - supported out of Riverview Church there. He heads up 'Hagar Catering' - the catering arm of Hagar (Hagar is also involved with a soya-milk business, abused wife rescue/support, sexually exploited children rescue/support and other areas). In the four years since he arrived here, this man has become a legend.

Frank is firstly a heck of a nice bloke. He's a gentleman and a godly man. He's such a softy, that when a moto guy pulled a knife on him and 'requested' the contents of his wallet, Frank's first reaction was to quickly lift his arm. Moto man and moto go splat to the ground. Feeling terrible, Frank leans over, picks the guy up, brushes him off, picks the moto up and apologises! Still feeling bad, he goes and confesses his random violence to his pastor!

Four years ago, Hagar had a dishevelled training program for hospitality. They had no expertise, no manager and no way of achieving their desire of job creation for the poor. A guy talked to Frank about the woes of Hagar's hospitality training. Within 15 minutes, in a Perth restaurant, Frank said 'OK, I'll go over'.

Since then, Frank pruned everything back to ground zero, set in training procedures and started tendering for cleaning and catering contracts. Today, Hagar Catering has an annual turnover of $1million - a phenomenal amount in this country. Frank operates from his knees (4am riser 'I'm coming, dad!') and is hugely wise, professional and funny!! He has got contracts for catering and cleaning, from clothing factories to the American embassy; from fancy hotels to schools. Further, a couple of years back he set up a restaurant - two levels and outdoor garden area. Hagar Restaurant does a great lunch buffet; sets high standards wherever you look and has the happiest staff in town.

In all of this, the poor are trained, employed, professionally developed and given a future. One of his problems is the amount of head-hunting of his staff he is experiencing. Businesses want to get his people - they are so good. In every challenge and difficulty (often multiple per day) Frank is an example of a man who knows where his help comes from.

I love this guy. He is the business mentor in the weekly small-group I am in (I'm the 'pastoral mentor'). Few people in life have so inspired and blessed me as young Frank.

For stories, Frank is without peer. Take his stint in Papua New Guinea for example. 'You have to be very careful with your instructions to the folk over there' he says. Like the time he carefully explained - 'see the rubbish on the ground there. Pick the rubbish up. Put it all on the truck. When all the rubbish is on the truck, take it to the dump and burn it'. Instructions were followed to the letter. By the time he got wind that all was not well, he turned up at the dump to find the fire just about burned out - rubbish, truck, the lot ...

Perthites

Don and Pat moved into our second floor here yesterday. They are troopers from Perth - in their early 70's and old hands at living in SE Asia. They have come as interim directors of 'Transform Cambodia' - the work that Patrick and Carol have headed up until now. The Kelly's are back to Perth for a couple of months, then return here to a heap of other involvements.

Don and Pat - my new cooks!

They are brave battlers, these folk. Pat recently did a face-dive down a flight of stairs and Don had a week of back-pain agony before getting on the plane out here. With 20 steps up to their floor, Pat is 'back on the horse' so to speak.

Their space is pretty well set up, with a good size bedroom and then a large open room to themselves. Don got a fridge and the cane table sorted yesterday ... well, he paid, I sorted. The fridge was fun - one metre of fridge tied onto the back of my moto and navigating home from Central Market - a decent 20-minute run from the other side of town. Fridge, Spider and rider all good!

All going well, Pat and Don are with us until January - when they return to Perth for their 50th wedding anniversary. Sue and I ticked over 30 years on Monday. These guys make us feel young!

Bonnevie's

We've just become easier to find. No excuse whatsover now for you not to come and visit us. Land at Phnom Penh International Airport and ask any moto driver to take you to the Bonnevie's ...

Patrick and Carol are off to Perth tomorrow for two months and I have kindly offered to babysit his tool-kit, so I'll get this sign anchored before it turns up on some-one else's doorstep down the road!

Wedding bells

With all the excitement of Melody becoming engaged and her happy emails and texts back and forth, I have been reflecting a little on cultural differences surrounding the wedding day.

1. Timing - it is all with the monks. Go to your local temple, talk to your monk man and he gets back to you with the favoured date - when omens are all good.

2. Venue - a great choice ... of streets. 'Street party' takes on a whole new meaning in Phnom Penh. Local hire companies set up a tented affair, together with chairs, tables, banquet, the whole bit - on the road. The tarseal road. Or, the dirt road - your choice.

In the process of setting up - neighbourhood wedding venue

Riding your moto through streets that are two-thirds blocked with the wedding reception is just part of every-day experience here. Better still, riding around a block because the wedding reception has filled the street is just as likely ...

3. Gifts - could not be easier. Money. The envelope is opened with you present.

4. Who pays - interesting. Everyone would be the short answer. The man pays his in-laws for his future wife. Prices are negotiable. A lovely guy in the church here needs to come up with US$3000. A white boy marrying a local girl is up for a $60,000 house for his inlaws to hand her over. David Collins, look and learn ...

It appears a little fluid - inlaws can pay, or the young couple can pay for the reception etc. Which, hopefully, the guests cover. The trick is to invite the right guests. One of our friends got an invite to a wedding from people whom he had never met.

5. Love - distressingly optional. The right family, social considerations and the like are paramount. Young folk we know a little who are now engaged are out of favour with her parents. He is 'below her' - the former man she knew, the guy who beat her up, was much more suitable. She should not have broken it off with him.

Life in the old girl

It is one thing to have one's wife canter off overseas for a time ... but for a bloke to lose his computer too ...

Happily, it was not what could have been - but just a hard disc ending its useful life. Monday was a fun day with a great young IT techie, as we got to resurrect the trusty Evo machine. New hard disc- no problem. Set-up discs - yes, safely in an Aussie storage shed. Nothing that money cannot fix - off on a tiki-tour of Phnom Penh computer shops until they were sourced and loaded.

Computer shops here have a heap of bright young things working flat out. One place was mostly second-hand machines. A heap of machines came in while we were waiting - and all hard drives pulled from them in the first five minutes ...

... which reminds me of a true Patrick tale of life in Phnom Penh. His relatively new DVD player had kaputted. At the time he was about to return to Aussie, so he decides at the last minute to toss it in the bag and get it fixed in Perth. He takes it to a joint where the sign says '$55 up front - comes off the bill when fixed'. So Patrick hums and ha's and decides 'may as well'.

A couple of days later he gets a phone-call - 'mate, I have some bad news for you. It is not a Sony'. Patrick laughs - he suspected as much. 'What's more' the bloke says, 'it is not a DVD player either'.

'Is so' says Patrick. 'Is not' says the fix-it bloke. 'Well mate, I've watched a bunch of DVD's on it' responds Patrick. "No way' says the bloke. 'No way could this thing play a DVD. Wherever did you buy it?? 'Phnom Penh' says Patrick. Laughter at the other end. 'Look mate, come on in and get your $ back'. Patrick says no problem - he is happy to pay as the guy is doing his job. 'No, come on in and get your money. No way could I take money off you in good conscience for this.'

Back to the other girl in my life - Evo is almost back to where she was. Nearly all my stuff was backed up (thanks, Scotty!) and life continues!

Thumbs up

Sue has just had her hand checked over by a Hamilton specialist - and the news is good.

She arrived back in NZ Wednesday morning, where she was met at the airport by Clive Hanna, dad of Sue Hanna, our Hagar friend in Phnom Penh. Clive and Sally have been taking real good care of my girl these last two days! It is a great connection too as they are very involved in ministries into Asia.

Sue emailed this morning to say that the doc was very encouraging after examining her hand - that there will not need to be an operation; the nerve is re-growing and she should be back to normal in 6-12 months. She has a few exercises to do - otherwise it is just a matter of letting that little nerve re-grow.

So, she is on a bus to her home-town of new Plymouth as of this moment, and planning dates to catch up with Melody and Toowoomba friends within the next couple of weeks .

Earlier days - in the Phnom Penh clinic

Older and wiser??

The study on the Book of Proverbs finished up tonight. We ended up doing 11 weeks instead of 10 - and kicked off the final study with the all-essential gathering around everyone's favourite four-lettered word starting with 'f 'and ending in 'ood'.

It has been a great class - good natured and hungry (in every way!) young people who have been lots of fun to get to know.

First preaching

This last week-end was a big one for New Life Fellowship. Twice a year they run 'Encountering God' camps, where leaders take mainly new believers who have completed initial discipleship studies and who have been water baptised, away for a three day camp. These are powerful times that have a huge impact on those who go.

Sorry - pretty awful pic and New Life Fellowship is not nearly as 'white' as this - this was taken at a 10.30am service; the 7am service is almost wholly Khmer (now, why would that be?)

With all the pastors away, I was asked to cover for the two morning services. It was a real privilege to be asked to speak. Then, there was a great evening meeting where everyone who had been at camp returned for a time of praise and testimony.

The testimonies gave an insight into the depth of pain many of the young people are carrying - especially in relation to a real deficit of love and nurture in their upbringing. It is great how New Life Fellowship recognise and work to open up and see healing in these areas. What is evident though is that so many people in Cambodia carry huge issues of unresolved hurt. Sexual abuse is rife in this society among boys as well as girls, and nurturing love is so lacking.

Goodbye, Teacher Sue

Sue had a great little farewell party at pre-school on Friday, as she finished up her 6 weeks of voluntary teaching there. As always, Sue put her whole heart into teaching and did such an excellent job.

The pre-school is still looking for staff (gentle reminder!). There are some good folk stepping into the gap for three weeks in the mean-time.

Sue gets on the big metal bird tomorrow (Tuesday 23/10) to wing her way to Auckland, get her hand sorted and do a lot of catching up with everyone on both sides of the Tasman. Ree ai Kim wing (as for Kim ...), he has found a Thai-Khmer place around the corner that does a great Pad Thai wrapped in egg for $2 - certainly not worth firing up our kitchen in the coming month!!

Kara left us for Hong Kong last Friday also - and has landed back in NZ today. We loved our time with daughter no 1, and do believe that she too has found her new happy place in Kep.