Time to fly

One more sleep and we are on the big budgie to head down-under. First comes a week in Toowoomba to catch up with Melody and Dave there, plus friends - then over to NZ for family Christmas (includng Mel and Dave) and the third (and final!) Bonnevie wedding in 22 months.

This week has been a combination of getting everything sorted and handed over to the girls at the Healing Home - and quite a bit of Christmas farewell socialising. Our girls are great and very well able to take care of things in our absence. They also get a two week break - during which time the home will close.

The HH has been very quiet this last week - apart from the 75 people who spent a day in the grounds on Friday as part of an Asian Outreach function. It is always great to work alongside other organisations that care and work in Jesus name in this nation.

Home invasion - twice a year Asian Outreach bring these famlies whom they work with into Phnom Penh for input and fun. At least one of the family member's has HIV and AO do so well in their care and commtment to these families.

We did have one lady, Heng, who came so weighed down with overwhelmng issues and difficulties. One thing we picked up on too was that she was very hard of hearing. 24 years ago, when she had just given birth to her first (of six) children, her husband bashed her, causing her head to smack into something. The Lord really did touch this lady, emotionally and physically. She left so happy - and with truly greatly improved hearing too!

Life in the flash lane - kiwi Pat (whose week is spent working with slum-dwellers around the city rubbish dump) and Colleen (Asian Outreach) at La Royale Hotel last night. Eight of our homegroup went to this 'in another world' hotel of ridiculous opulence for a few hours before heading back to our place for desserts and coffee.

Market movers

Tuktuk to the airport - and not much room for the girls as they accomplished a serious multi-spot of shopping at the local Toul Tompoung Market! That's Ali havng the lie-in, with Julia and Rachel getting a seat.

Julia, Ali and Rachel have won many young hearts in their three weeks here. The lovely kids at Centre of Peace have both given and received so much love and fun with these three ladies. Cambodia has won Rachel and Al's hearts big-time - and they promise to return.

As for Julia, this has been her third visit. Folk out here know her by name now! Well done girls - thanks so much for everything!

Christmas party

Girls love to have fun - the balloon-stomping game

The Healing Home may still be a young minstry, but we are setting some essential traditions - like the staff Christmas party. This year we headed to the Tonle Bassac Restaurant - a very large Cambodia smorgasbord restaurant with an astounding array of excellent cuisine.

This is a very big event for our five staff girls and they had duly prepared their tummies for it. Sue and I had many happy giggles as we observed how much food could disappear into such little bodies! They are such a great fun bunch of youngsters.

Dessert was at our place, together with games organised by Bonna. Khmer just love party games - it is very much part of party life here. Susie had cooked up chocolate brownies (a special request from Srey Mom) plus other goodies. No surprises - very little available room at their insides.

Around the table at our home

Pressies for the girls under the electric Christmas tree

Easy to love neighbour

Colleen getting the coffee organised for us this morning. She is very proud of her coffee table ...

We have a new neighbour - good friend Colleen Banks. Colleen comes from Tauranga and has been here for six years working in Asian Outreach in their health care and rural development ministries. Her home church in NZ is pastored by Mike and Janne Cullen - very close friends of ours for 30 years.

Colleen's old place of residence had become a bt of a challenge. Daily, loud speakers were set to maximum plus at 5am. The school next door had started Englsh classes and there was a need for folk within a kilometre radius to be fully informed.

Oh joy, she may have a similar situation following her. The block of land over the road from us has a building going up very quickly - an open air restaurant, we hear. That could mean kareoke bar, which populate Phnom Penh with the frequency of used car lots in NZ / Aussie. Please pray for us!

Foreign rubbish

I am a foreigner - a barang. This is an unchangeable reality. One of the spinoffs of this came from an unexpected quarter - the rubbish, as in garbage.

Tacked to the bottom of the monthly electricity account is the rubbish collection fee - $1. We bless the rubbish collection. It has not been happening in Phnom Penh for long and rubbish fires caused a smoky haze all over this city until about five years ago.

A couple of months ago I observed a price adjustment to the bottom line. Rubbish collection - $20. 'Hait ai?' (why) I ask. 'You are a foreigner' says the nice lady at Waste Headquarters - an exceedingly flash corporate structure. I cannot deny - I am a foreigner. But $20??

A work in progress - reason number 343 why you get less done in a day than planned!

I offer $5. Paperwork is duly filled out and sent wherever to be considered. A month passes. The new bill arrives - $20. I'm getting in serious rubbish debt now as the first bill had been kindly backdated. There is $60 now owing for our last 12 or so plastic shopping bags of rubbish. It is time to return to the Waterfall Palace.

'You are a foreigner' she says. I forgot to tell you that the sweet office lady is also very sharp. But we have meaningful progress. An official price sheet is brought to the table. No, I am neither a kareoke bar nor an embassy. Nope, not a business nor a school. I am a foreigner. There - not in a villa ($20) but a flat ($10). My monthly price is $10. My neighbour pays $1.

Sue and I have been talking about maybe getting a vehicle next year for us and the Healing Home. I'm now a little more nervous. If they introduce 'foreigner price' at the petrol pump we will be up for $500 per tank of petrol!

Yet another reason to come on over

I am a little tough on my reading glasses and they have been dropping like mosquitoes - literally. Within one week I had two lenses fall out and shatter from two separate cheap and nasty pairs. Murphy's Law kicks in at such times - both were the right hand side lenses. It was time to follow in Marty's footsteps and see the local optician!

A five minute eye exam later and a drive around the block while the +2 lenses were fitted - and we have vision again. Two pairs with toughened glass for US$53 - which should make my good friend Nigel Weir very glad that he recently sold his optometry practice in Kiwiland!

'Tis the season ...

This shy girl had a cart outside the Healing Home this morning. Hundreds of vendors cover every nook of the city at this time, selling these little nasties.

Adding to the happy chaos of the roads here are the sellers of a local delicacy that look like cockles as in shellfish. My friend Sue Hanna calls them 'diarrhea pills'. They are cooked in the morning and pushed around the city all day in the ever-hot sun.

The locals have a love affair with these wee delicacies. They are not immune to the repercussions tho'. Malis, a delightful girl who works for Hagar, phoned in badly sick a while ago, laid up n hospital. 'What happened, poor lady??' Sympathy went to zero very quickly. Sue H reckons it needs to be written into every job contract - eat these and no sick pay for you!

The diarrhea pills come in two flavours - 'all day gut cleanser' and 'chillied 3-day bowel remover'. The choice is all yours ...

Aussie Aussie Aussie

Puss the stumpy-whiskered one with Julia, Rachel and Ali today

Julia Hamilton-Smith is back for time number 3 with us. This time she has towed two Brsibane friends here - Rachel and Alison. Rachel is an English teacher and Ali is an accountant. Over here, they are teachers, gardeners, orphanage inspirers and a bunch of other things too.

They are slotting in really well with a pretty full schedule that includes daily teaching and input at Centre of Peace orphanage, a bunch of English classes at New Life Church and a garden resurrection at the Healing Home. Julia came well prepared for that last item - in her luggage was a kilo of composting worms!!

The Cat's Whiskers

Remember Chumron, the young guy who took a whack from a cow in a bad mood?

We reckon he is feeling much better now. On Saturday he asked one of our girl's for a pair of scissors.

What a moto moves

It is still on my list of things to get to - to simply take a few morning hours and snap photos of what gets moved around here by motor-scooter. Everything from pigs to the market to lumber; seriously large pieces of glass to more people than you can fit in a toyota hiace - the lowly moto does incredible stuff out here. Watch this space ...

Aluminium screen deliveries coming someone's way - two delivery boys and the moto driver on the road

Ouch!

Chomron, a super-shy nine-year-old guy, and his mum arrived last Friday. He was just in the wrong spot at the wrong time when a cow got cranky and whipped its horns around, collecting his chest. They had been to a provincial clinic where the messy wound got stitched, but the family are very poor and had no financial means to receive further care.

Sue got another six stitches out of Chomron's wound today - just two more to go, buried in the messy wound. That is Sreymom behind him - a lovely lady with a quick mind and a hungry heart.

Chomron is doing well - not nearly so shy now and really brave as Susie goes digging for stitches. His mum has had to head back home to work so he's been flying solo for a few days. He loves the Bible dvds we have in the home, as well as a giggle over Mr Bean (Cambodians just love Mr Bean skits and movies!!)

Tiny Naan

Tiny Naan is Sopheap's arms

We are praying and fighting to keep this wee lady alive at this time. Donnie was very worried that Naan would die on her way in from the province. After three months of miserable life, Naan weighed just 1.2kg.

She did get into a hospital for about four days before returning to us. There is no suck in her little mouth but slowly she is getting bottled formula into her wee tummy. It has been a frustration trying to get mum to understand that we must measure her intake through the bottle - that hanging her on the breast all the time is achieving absolutely nothing. It's at the stage where to be firm is more important than nice - Sue and our girls are taking charge more, lest Naan fade out before our eyes.

The last weigh-in had her at 1.6kg - still well under a keepable snapper in the fishing boat, let alone a living child. Please pray with us.

Southern men

Today the team from North City, Christchurch, have set their sights on home. They fly via Singapore, whereas Marty and Robyn found good tickets via Hong Kong. It is good to know that these lesser cities offer transit facilities to the hub of our world ...

Ninian giving the kitchen roof at the Healing Home a little healing. Leaks and Kim have a way of finding one another ...

Emma, who leaves behind the playground legacy. She's a librarian, but should change her day-job as she is born to promote the Kathmandu label!

Well done, team. Two houses, many meetings and connections and just a great serving, caring attitude. You have done us all proud!

Little transformations

Meet little Kov, one of the sweetest little kids in this nation. He is 12 years old, but looks to be just 7. He was such a sick little guy when he first came to us, en route to hospital. In hospital he unloaded 30 worms. This worm plague has affected his heart, but at least he lives. His older brother has died from worm infestation and TB.

Kov giggling and playing with a little girl whose name I never caught. Her mum came to us with a three month old 1.2kg baby on the point of death. Donnie's wife Sophea prevailed with the hospital authorities to get her admitted - but they would admit mum and baby only, not her daughter. Today's update is that baby is 1.6kg and progressing wonderfully well.

The change in little Kou is just amazing. From a lethargic, pathetic-looking little guy, he has become full of life and fun. On Wednesday evening while I was at the Healing Home he was running around and squealing with laughter, just like any other happy kid.

Kov and his sister as they were leaving on Thursday.

Also homeward bound this week was Chantol's auntie, Mok. Life will be very different for Mok now. She and her husband were delivering fish at 4am in the province when a truck struck their moto. Her husband was killed instantly. No-one had the heart to tell her for 10 days after the accident, in which Mok received a broken collar bone and a broken ankle.

After five weeks, Mok is heading home. She swung by the hospital, where the doc said that the x-ray showed the bone was looking good, but he wanted her to keep the cast on for another week.

We will miss Mok. She has the sweetest gentle nature and really soaked up everything she heard about the goodness of God. But this lady is so keen to go home where six sons await her..

Home again

Marty and Robyn waved goodbye with big sad eyes yesterday. After 3+ months of solid input here they took the big bird back to NZ via Hong Kong.

It was most excellent having them alongside us for so long. They happily dived into teaching English classes in addition to many other areas: Robyn setting up an admin manual for New Life Church; Marty doing some stuff on vehicle maintainance plus helping out a variety of people here. The maintainance area was 'interesting' - he was working against the flow a bit ('so, why do you want to fix it if it has not broken??')!

Here are the young couple - when they were with us last year! While Christian and Becs were with us Marty and Robyn stayed upstairs at the Healing Home; the rest of the time they had level 2 at our place.

They leave with a very good reputation, many friends and a commitment to return in the will of God sometime in the future.

Takeo project

The North City team all headed out to Takeo today - the girls to run meetings for children and a ladies group and the guys to hit into day 2 of building house 2.

Fortunately for the guys, the girls had a bit of time up their sleeves ...

Janice Scott laying a few bricks ...

... while Brian, Russmay and Paul share a few tips ...

... carefully watched by the meat side of somebody's future bacon and eggs

David has found his true calling in life - no need for a concrete mixer with this man on the job ...

... tho' he found the going a little warm

Happy noises

Yesterday brought a new level of laughter and happy squeals to the Healing Home. Emma, one of the Christchurch team members, had initiated raising funds in NZ for some playground equipment.

Together with team members Janice, Margaret and David, we headed out to a place that makes this equipment and selected a six-seater merry-go-round and a see-saw. After some discussion we decided that the swings were going to remove just too many teeth - and the slides are good to fry eggs on but perhaps (not) too hot for the little ones.

Happy and excited - some of our neighbourhood little ones checking out the new merry-go-round ...

... and the see-saw. It is obvious that these kids have never been on a see-saw before - they initially had no concept of how to use their legs.

Inevitably, the big kids had some fun too - Bonna, Sreymom and Dtouch having a giggle together

Who is for a vaccination??

Susie was wanting to follow up on staff vaccinations, especially for tuberculosis, so she sent Sopheap off to a clinic to get the information.

It appears that confusion reigned in the translation process. For 'vaccination' back came interesting information - vasectomy $210. 'Tuberculosis' fared no better - $105 for a tubuligation!

Three tuktuks

The North City, Christchurch, team has landed! Phnom Penh is feeling the impact of Kiwis as eight new arrivals come to bless this lovely nation for two weeks.

Yesterday was a good slotting-in day for the four guys and four ladies, before they head out to Kompong Cham later today for a house-building and village-blessing four days. Then they come back to Phnom Penh for a few days before heading to Takeo Province to build another house. When I say 'house' think 6 metres x 5 metres, raised on poles with concrete pad underneath.

After a full day of doing stuff, we headed to the riverside in the evening for a boat cruise and dinner. That's where the three tuk-tuks come in - 14 Kiwis in all including Marty and Robyn and Christian and Becs.

There were six in our tuktuk so Susie gets to sit with her boys.

Angel post?

To my knowledge, Cambodia does not have a mail delivery system. Mail can be sent to a PO Box or to the post office but not to street addresses. Locally, the Cambodians use long-distance taxis to hand-deliver mail - very often a portion of their monthly salary being sent home to the village to support parents and family members.

I was surprised last week to see a motor-bike pull up outside the Healing Home gate and a man hand something to one of the kids playing in our yard. The little guy came running up with an envelope - addressed to us and coming all the way from Canada.

Amazing! Now to send the reply - most likely to be hand-carried out by Christian and Becs when they leave on Monday - and posted from NZ.

Fish and chips

We are just back from four days at Sihanoukville - a fairly grubby town on the south coast that has Cambodia's only deep water port - and some sandy beaches. If you have ever been on Thailand's beaches then you certainly won't be impressed with Sihanoukville. Happily I've not been to the Thai ones so I'm grateful for what we have.

On the beach - where you will always attract delightful kids hawking stuff. Here is Christian and Becs strolling with some of the locals.

Apart from talking, reading and generally lazing, we also took an excellent boat daytrip on a well-built three-deck boat. We got to snorkel on a dead coral reef, swim on island beaches and thoroughly enjoy a day on the water. The boat towed a couple of fish lures and one king mackeral obliged. Maybe I should have been polite and not grabbed the rod so fast ...

6kg of fierce fighting fish - well, the little guy was caught on a marlin rod so he pretty well got winched in

... but then again I have my son to feed ...

Barbequed mackeral - better than a lamb shank, even!

Christian and Becs

Christian and Becs at the dinner table last night

It is very delightful to have Christian and Becs with us for two weeks. We have had such fun thus far - and introduced them to essential Phnom Penh places as the dentist and the suit-makers.

This morning we heading to the coast for 4 days to r+r with them - walk the sands, read books and catch up on the many things happening in their lives.

Christian getting measured up for a work suit - all going well, he'll get a second one made for his Beehive days. A good suit here is a quarter the price of NZ - maybe less.

Juggling

It's been another full and challenging week at the Healing Home. With only nine beds available (and that is counting the three wheel-out spare ones) we are very aware that every bed must count.

So this week we've been juggling to maximise what we can achieve here. That has meant sending two brothers home yesterday until they need to return to the clinic - and possibly an operation - on Monday next week. Another young guy who has been helping look after his mum gladly headed home at our suggestion (our girls are up to emptying the bedpan!) Again another family member headed out today.

Incoming - we have had four in two days: Long's (the little crippled guy who now walks and runs) mum who fell out of a tree, a young guy with stomach problems, a mum with her very sick little son and an auntie. That totals seven patients plus a mum and two other children (including little Long) tonight - all good.

As we say out here 'nothing is as it first appears'. We were waiting for 'a very sick lady from Prey Veng province' - only to have a 21 year old guy turn up! In Khmer language there is only one word for 'he' or 'she' so this is not the first time we have gender confusion!

Another inferior phone picture sorry - Long's mum on the left; our very new lady on the right with her baby and her sick son.

We're expecting the boys back Sunday or Monday. They will have to couch-surf for a day or three. It will be a fresh challenge to establish a second home next year - but we must pursue. The Cambodian people are far too beautiful to ignore!

Shifted sideways

Off to the very nice pad above the Healing Home - the tuktuk is loaded and ready to roll.

As much as we love and appreciate Marty and Robyn, the time of their move has arrived. Number one son and his wife arrive on Sunday and Sue believes in spring-cleaning, even in the height of monsoon season!

We're pretty excited about Christian and Becs arriving in five more sleeps. He'll be pretty exhausted when he arrives we reckon - work has been pretty full on for him lately with things like releasing kiwis (the feathered ones) in Franz Joseph, South Island. At the moment he's on the Chatham Islands seeking to make a dent in the blue cod population and whatever else the Beehive has got him doing there. So, he'll need a bit of beach time, we believe.

Marty and Robyn meanwhile are nestled upstairs in the very nice unit above the Healing Home. Feisty cat is most delighted to see someone open the upstairs area. Maybe the three of them are now snuggled into the huge king-size bed, decked out in a set of superb sheets brought out from NZ (thanks so much, John Lykles!!)

Happy Marty

On Sunday we were really privileged to head back to Pastor Abraham's work 8km out of Phnom Penh. We've had a bit to do with him recently, helping him navigate the wonders of a NZ visitor's visa permit. He asked us to come and speak with his congregation made up entirely of residents evicted from their city slums three years prior and now allocated land outside the city. 'Preach and pray for the sick' was the brief.

This sounded too good for Marty and Robyn to miss, so we were a foursome in the tuktuk. It was an excellent time - such a new church planted amongst the poor. There was a testimony from a new Christian guy who shared how much his life had changed - he used to go around stabbing people ... A former monk has composed nine songs in Khmer vibe and he sang an amazing new composition - about the hope that we now carry even though life is very difficult.

A young lady sharing how the Lord touched her when she was prayed for - all the pain from her jaw had gone now. Sorry about the pic quality

God loves to move among a people who have no second options! We prayed for about 30 people and three spoke a little later about receiving immediate healing. Pastor Abraham phoned in today to say that 'many more' say that they are much better now. Wonderful!

Major milestone

My little motor scooter has just clicked over 10,000km. In the crazy traffic of Phnom Penh that would equate to not less than 600 hours of riding the little beast. Over those k's and hours I have been beyond fortunate with just two encounters of the close kind - both without injury.

To celebrate, I took my Spider machine out for a birthday. Marty has discovered a very good English mechanic who chooses to use decent replacement parts instead of the nasty cheap stuff. I got new bearings front and back, new front brakes (yay! - badly needed) and back brakes sorted. My little bike got such a shock that it promptly got a flattie!

Getting ready for its big moment ...

The roads continue to be ridiculously dangerous here. I doubt that ever a week would pass except we hear of someone we know, or someone who knows someone, who is in an accident. Last night it was our Bonna coming home after evening church and collecting a rock that landed her on the ashphalt. The week before last it was Sopheap's school friend killed when hit from behind by a car. Thus, Sue and I are hugely thankful for 10,000 protected kilometres in and around this city.

Where there's smoke ..

We had some excitement down the street last weekend. Sue had arranged to bandage a friend's leg (first time dirt-bike riding ...) and when he phoned to say that a fire had blocked off access to our street, I headed outside for a squizz.

Four fire-trucks ended up at the blaze. The fire-crews have to negotiate a price to fight the fire so hopefully the garage-owner did better than some stories that we have heard, where buildings burn as haggling takes place.

Neighbours dampened down their homes - in the end the fire was contained to the garage, tho' the big house next door got a good blackening from the heap of tyres that went up in smoke

Of course, I was not the only person to stop and watch ...

Team Toowoomba

For three days this week we have a great team of young energy with us. They all come from Toowoomba Christian College - the school our Melody attended for her final two years schooling. They are on a nations exposure trip that takes them to Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore and Philippines over 12 days. Oh that more schools would have this vision and commitment to open such opportunities for their students!!

Here they are on the Mekong yesterday evening - from left: Erika (year 12 student), Anna (head girl at TCC) Marcus (head boy) Chrissy and Difff (teachers).

We've put together a variety of people, places, ministries and experiences for the team. They got their elephant ride this morning! Tomorrow they'll visit Centre of Peace orphanage and the Healing Home plus a few more bits and pieces before they get the big bird out of here!

Late evening on the mighty Mekong