Family

Susie has been navigating difficult days with great grace. Her mum has just come out of hospital after big surgery and a totally unexpected cancer diagnosis. In the midst of establishing the Healing Home, there have been many phone-calls to New Zealand as we have grappled with what we should do - fly to NZ immediately or monitor the situation from afar.

I was watching Sue care for Sroun last week. This is why he is with us - a shrapnel wound going back 30 years that is not a pretty sight. As I watched Sue care for him, I had such a strong sense of God's pleasure at her sacrifice - showing such tenderness and compassion while at the same time carrying the burden of her mum's condition.

Sroun's wound - that is Aussie Kaye's hand. Kaye is a district nurse visiting Cambodia and she spent nearly a morning gently cutting away dead skin from Sroun's backside.

We are privileged and glad to be in Cambodia. The most difficult part is missing family, especially our amazing mum's and our awesome kids. Skype phone calls are easy and great and certainly help bridge the gap, but there is a big tug on our hearts when one of our mum's is so ill.

Our decision is to come to NZ after our daughter Melody's marriage to Dave on September 20. Their marriage is in Queensland and we are so excited about our 'baby' becoming a bride and connecting with family and friends for the occasion - both from Toowoomba and NZ. We fly to Aussie in two weeks time and get some time back in Toowoomba before folk begin gathering on the Sunshine Coast.

After the wedding we will return to New Plymouth for three weeks family time. We know that the Healing Home is very young and that 5 weeks absence is a big ask. So, we are asking big and seeing amazing answers of people stepping up to help. Much more needs to be nailed down but of this we are confident - the Healing Home is in the heart of God and He will provide every necessary person.

Orchids over us - Rin in the background with Bunna and Sopheap

Sopheap with Rin. Check out that amazing piece of construction over the lane from us in the background!