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!