Happy hearts

That would be us - happy happy as we see grace at work among the folk who come to our home. Meet our present patients - and let me tell you a little of what is happening with them:

Here is Heng - the man who fell from a building site and has been paralysed from the waist down. From weeks of weeping in despair, Heng is now so animated, talkative and hope-filled. He has had two years of schooling in his life - but found that he could read the Bible. He reads it - out aloud - pretty well every day and sometimes for hours. He is just now able to get out and about in a wheelchair too (below).

Bin, Yun, hubbie and Kon who are all with us at the mo. Bin has liver disease and Yun is now minus a piece of foot from a bad diabetic sore. Kon and her husband can smile too, despite a terrible ordeal that they are in the midst of that I can't speak about on this blog.

Meet Yart - the lady who came to us to recover from an op. She was such an anxious little lady when she first arrived two week ago. Some real good stuff has happened in her heart as well as in her body - here she is just as she was about to head home yesterday.

Silent night

The parties are over and everyone has gone home. For the first time since about July, the Bonnevie hospitality pad has altogether emptied, leaving Sue and I home alone and thoroughly disorientated.

Christmas lunch - Frank (he's the bloke mostly hidden behind his wife Allie) runs Caterhelp; a restaurant and catering company. We contracted them for the lunch - which included Frank- hand-carved turkey and lamb. That's the Roberts at the table too, and good friends Mark and Jo Dennert who are doing brilliant work here in business training and counselling. In the background - the great bit of art given to us last Christmas by Sopheap, and painted by her father. We cleared out our furniture to get four tables into our downstairs room - no worries!

It has been a fun and active month that has included two home invasions - a mid-week staff Christmas party over lunchtime and a Christmas Day celebration that succeeded in getting 30 people into our place. Present on Christmas Day were the Scott family from Christchurch (Donald, Janice and sons x 4 and fiance x 1) and the Roberts family from New Plymouth (Craig, Loretta, Sophie and Katie) - plus assorted Kiwis, Aussies, three Khmer and one American .

Staff Christmas lunch (sorry Donnie; terrible pic of you but I wanted to get baby Naan!) - top - and pressies time. Rather than girlie smellies, we changed things around for gifts this year and gave money for them to buy what they wanted. There were two motorcyle helmets, clothing, shoes, a streaky hair-do, handbag, teddybear and other assorted goodies in their choices!

Donald, Janice and family stayed at a flat a couple of kilometres from us during their two-week family time here in Phnom Penh. They headed out to Vietnam early on Boxing Day. Craig, Loretta and girls left us that afternoon for Aussie. Susie promises not to go anywhere ....

Mum in the sun

Actually, my dear mother has been trying hard to keep out of the sun since landing in Cambodia 13 days ago. It's a sweet 31 degrees most days here now - just a bit warm for a girl who has spent the last months in a Taranaki winter.

We are having such a good time together, even tho' things have been pretty intense from the time she arrived. There has been a bit of custard to negotiate with a serious visit at the Healing Home from some local authorities, but we'll not go there on the blog! In 42 hours (yes, that would be me counting down ...) we plan to head to the coast for 3 days of r+r with her.

Mum heads off with us most mornings to be with our patients. They love her and Heng has asked for her by name to pray for her one morning when she did not show. My mum is a real good sport too - at 77 years old, she's had her first and second spin on the back of a motorbike. Just two weeks left and so much to still introduce her too - why does time move on so relentlessly??

Mum with our 'precious' - little Naan whom we first met as a 3-month old weighing 1.2kg. Now adopted by Donnie and Sophea, Naan has started to walk right on normal development time! She is bright and happy - a true miracle kid.

Wedding shoes

It is well known that impossibility defined is to understand a woman.

One of the great mysteries to mankind has to be - what is it with women and shoes?? For example, this Saturday Sue and I attended William's marriage to Prum. The first part of the wedding ceremony is called the 'fruit walk'. This happens early in the morning, whereas the afterdo celebration happens in the evening.

William led the fruitwalk procession to the church, riding on an elephant. I was so taken with the elephant that I later realised that I did not have one single pic of either William or his bride. But I do have a pic of the little lady's shoes!

Cambodia's sadness

Footbridge to Koh Pich, an island in Phnom Penh that has recently been developed as a function centre and entertainment area. The final night of the annual Water Festival had drawn a huge crowd for a night of free entertainment. There is a larger vehicle bridge maybe 200 metres from this footbridge.

Whilst New Zealand has been greatly sadenned by the mining tragedy at Pike River, Cambodia has been rocked by a bizarre disaster that has killed close to 500 people. An evening of celebration and fun inexplicably turned to carnage when a crowd crossing a footbridge turned into a senseless panic. In the demonic stampede, people were stacked up to seven high. Hundreds are still in hospitals with crush injuries, including the brother of one of our staff. The three cousins he was with all died.

Out of the senseless horror of this night has emerged so many stories of God warning His kids away. I have heard tale after tale among people we know - including 'our' Sreymom who was warned by a friend on that night 'do not go on that bridge - walk down to the other bridge'.

Just yesterday Bhopal, who directs the 'Centre of Peace' children's home, told me an amazing story. Three groups of the older children were heading to Koh Pich. One group changed their mind when they got there, and went to the Riverside. The second group decided to go home early and walked over the bridge just 10 minutes before the disaster. The third group was just three girls, all aged 16 years. They stepped onto the bridge, felt uneasy, and stepped off. After a bit they again stepped on the bridge. Again, they felt uneasy for no apparent reason. A third time they stepped forward - and that was when the disaster unfolded just ahead of them. Bhopal positively glowed in gratitude to God as she shared about how He had protected her girls!

This is Cambodia. There will be no commission of enquiry. To their credit, the government have made US$1250 payments to the families of every deceased person as well as promising to cover all hospital bills. To his credit, the prime minister openly wept on television. Over 360 people died on the night, plus a further 90+ died of injuries in hospitals up to five days ago. That number is still rising. Weeping parents spoke of how this was like Pol Pot era revisited - searching for their family members amongst hundreds of laid-out dead bodies.

Even a human stampede amongst the millions at Mecca some years ago did not produce the intensity of death that little Cambodia produced on a little footbridge. It is a stunning tragedy for this nation.

Occupational Safety and Health

Making a glass delivery - not an uncommon sight at all ....

Feeling the love

Trust, or should I say mistrust, is a huge issue here in Cambodia. Behind the friendly faces and smiles lie generations of abuse, betrayal and harsh control. It really takes consistency and long patience to win child-like trust from the hearts of the people of this precious nation.

I mentioned to Sue earlier this week that I felt we were entering a new level of trust with our staff. Some of our girls have been working with us for over two years now. Sopheap had initiated a conversation with me where she really opened up about her heart concern for what was going down in a friend's life. The way she had so opened up really encouraged me that trust is growing deeper.

Then yesterday we were wonderfully ambushed by love. We had communicated with our team that Friday was a very special day - 33 years since our big 'I do' day. We were taking the afternoon off to do stuff together and go out for dinner. All our staff thought that this was great! In the late afternoon we received a phone-call. Please would be come to the Healing Home - they had something to give us.

Flowers for Sue and I - and a pressie too. It was the card, with a note from six of our staff inside, that really amazed us the most tho'.

Five of the staff were waiting for us like excited kids. Two red roses emerged from the fridge and a wrapped pressie produced. They could not find an anniversary card, so a card with two big hearts and 'Happy Birthday' was pretty close!

Inside the card were handwritten notes that were so delightful and loving. Our hearts were made very, very glad indeed. Little Rim, our newest girl, was just delightful. She wrote some lovely stuff and signed off 'from me. Rim'! I just loved it!!

Communication and kindness

I'm of the opinion that we just cannot over-communicate out here. The number of times that something has fallen over because the 'communication loop' did not actually fully loop ... ahh, it has been many, many times. Now I often text and phone too much, just to really make sure.

In the Healing Home we really encourage the girls to think ahead and communicate what we need - before we need it. Do we need soap? Please tell us before we have been running a soapless ship for the last week. Rubbish bags? Tell us while we still have a couple - not when the rats are feasting on uncovered food.

Sreymom has been doing great on this. She often gives me a list for shampoo, floor cleaner, toilet duck and all the other stuff that keeps the home supplied. Her note yesterday tho' had us all in a giggle.

A Sreymom classic communication posted on the fridge on good kiwi notepaper kindly left by Robyn.

Here is another living legacy from Robyn's time with us. Robyn came to the Healing Home on Thursday afternoons to do crafts with our patients. Sreyda has hooked into necklace and bracelet-making like you would not believe - and she is selling some too! Soon she will leave us, and for her to have the capacity to earn an income while in a wheelchair is a very big challenge. We are so thrilled at how she has enthusiasm and creativity for this and all the potential craft-making may have on her future.

Home almost alone

Good-bye good friends - Robyn may have the hydration essentials but Marty has a Cambodian treasure in his arms there - a superb piece of hammock!

Three months can fly when you are having fun.

Marty and Robyn headed back to the subtropical sunshine of Taranaki yesterday morning after being with us since late July. With this being their third time in Cambodia, they have established a real network of close friends here now - and lots of these friends are Khmer. It's been a neat time and they have been of huge value to different ministries and people here in their willingness to serve and to bless.

We are almost alone - Supei the Taiwanese lady from New York now gets the superior suite on the second floor. She will be gone before my good mum flies in on November 18 for four weeks with us.

Our staff

I am sometimes asked if I miss being the a church pastor. Of course our lives are very, very different here compared to life in New Plymouth - and it is a very fair question.

The short answer would have to be 'no'. I am so glad that Sue and I let go of a life and a people where, mostly, we had tremendous years and sack-fulls of happy memories. The letting go process was difficult but as I look around at the people and the opportunities that fill our life now, I am so glad that we now live here.

One of my greatest satisfactions here is the wonderful opportunity we have to focus down to just a few choice young people and to purposefully build into their lives. One of the very first words that I felt God speak to me when we came to Cambodia was about how the future of this nation belongs to a new generation who carry a different spirit. We get to build into some of this new generation. How amazing that is!!

Here are five of the nine staff that currently work for us at the Healing Home - bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning. I run a staff Bible-based training hour each Friday. Today we focussed into the subject 'beware the leaven of the Sadducees and the Pharisees' - all part of raising young people who are real, not religious!

OK - introductions: Sopheap our mercy-hearted little responsible carer and Sypho who has just joined us - one very fine lady. Front row is Dtouch our weekday cook who is so hungry and growing so well; Sreymom who is structured, quick to learn and a heap of fun, and Bunthorn who teaches the neighbourhood kids.

Missing are Bonna (she works Mon, Tues and Fri afternoons and all day Saturday), Neth our weekend cook and Sarah who is on deck Sundays. We also have young Rin who volunteers two days a week and sleeps at the Healing Home. With two staff sleeping over every night, there is a roster of all the girls that rolls along amazingly smoothly.

Tioman

Sue and I are still purring after a great break away. It turned out that we made a smart move by taking our first four days at Tioman Island, two hours boat ride off the south-east coast of Peninsula Malaysia. We were pretty tired, so a spot of island time was just delicious.

Room with a view - we stepped out of this simple bungalow, a few steps onto the beach then waded knee-deep into the water; flippers and facemasks on and the tropical fish were literally there. We found Nemo but happily not Bruce.

Restaurant with a view - life is very much laid-back island style at Tioman. One evening we went into a simple beachside restaurant and waited and waited ..... Despite open doors and billboard outside, there was neither cook nor staff to be found. We gave it 15 minutes and wandered down the path! Another time Sue had almost finished eating the iceblock from the outside icecream freezer before the shopkeeper showed to collect the loi.

Not wanting to be breakfast - around the wharf a serious school of these little guys were being preyed upon by a few garfish. Where Sue and I snorkelled there was an abundance of tropical fish - a bit like swimming in an aquarium. There was a huge variety too, but nothing bigger than 1kg, except for the little blue-spotted stingray.

Growing trees

New Life Fellowship has begun what they call 'Growing Trees'; an internship-come-Bible school. It is an opportunity for young people to really grow in God over an 11 month course. This is a first for the church here - and sadly, it appears to be a first for in-house training within Phnom Penh churches.

12 people have signed up for what is the inspiration from Jason Prosser (a great Canadian guy who, with his wife Angie and now three kids, have been here six years) and Chris Foster. Chris and Rhiannon are Melbourne Aussies and for Aussies, are real good sorts.

Here are four of the students, plus a couple of stray legs from some others. Veasna (centre) used to volunteer at the Healing Home when we first started two years ago.

The way the program has been set up, students are in a classroom setting Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays and working within a church ministry on Wednesdays and Thursdays. I'll get to introducing Rin to you soon - she's in the class and she has been snaffled by us for those two days. Also in our class is Neth, our weekend cook. She's growing so fast!

I've had six hours with these folk over the last two weeks, doing stuff on character. She's very much a different ball-game in this culture, approaching this subject. It would take a few pages to explain - but there is something about generational transfer in a culture, where values are adhered to and understood in an over-riding sense.

That simply is not the case here. Say the word 'truthful' and you are not on the same page at all. What I understand and what is understood is like playing with the remote control with the tv. It takes patient explaining and many daily life examples to begin to approach the same channel. They are great young people and keen as to learn - but no longer am I fooled by bright smiles and nodding heads. I continually ask questions and draw out responses.

Chris and Jason are pioneering something very valuable. There is a lot of input from the Khmer church leaders too, so this is not a foreigner-dominated thing at all. It is always good to be purposeful in equipping the young generation!

Skills

Skills is the name of the most hard-case little fox terrier you will ever meet, who has established his home base with Dave and Melody in Toowoomba. His name came to mind the other day as I sat in the middle of the best bit of traffic gridlock that I have had the pleasure of encountering for a very long time.

I was scootering back from a dropoff of a patient and his daughter at the CSI Clinic. Street 271 is a main ring-road, commonly known as 'Dike Road' as it has been elevated a little, lifting it out of flooding chaos in the wet season. Dike Road is wide single lane each way, wide enough for three lanes of traffic to jostle in each direction in a busy period.

The view behind me (top) and coming the other way as things start to slowly move ...

The fun started with a concrete truck sitting in the middle of the road for a while, as it slowly positioned to reverse onto a building site property. This is where local skills kick in. The obvious way to get past a blockage is to go around. When that starts to block up, one just keeps going wider and wider ....

Of course, this works both ways. As the truck slowly manouvered into position, the scene was hilarious plus. We now have traffic six lanes deep on both sides of the road facing each other. No kidding, no arm-pulling. Susie has seen these same skills on a bridge spanning a local river - rush-hour, blockage and wall-to-wall traffic in a head-on standoff. It really is fun.

Within 15 minutes we had some action - a lonely policeman and his trusty whistle. Happily, he was blowing it on my side of the road. By sheer lung-power he opened up a 400mm gap. Hallelujah! I eventually slipped through happy in the knowledge of two things: some days all people are created equal (there were 200 Lexus 4wd's in that mess!) and that it would take at least an hour before the next concrete truck could get in position to create the very same skills-enhancing situation over again.

On Patrol

Marty has been so helpful in so many areas since he and Robyn joined us for another 3-month stint here. One of the things he has done has been to give Donnie the thumbs-up on a machine that has been designed with Cambodia in mind - a 1993 Nissan Patrol 4wd.

Here is Kunn, a lovely young security guard who is posted 12 hours a day outside the church, monitoring everyone who comes and goes. He gives a duplicate ticket for every bicycle; every moto that parks. Lose your ticket and you have a most serious problem. I got him to pose with the little Patrol that gets to be parked outside the church by day - and inside the church by night (honestly!)

Donnie got some funding from a couple of guys he knows in Canada to buy a vehicle. This has long been a desire - to get a machine that will pull sick people out of provincial villages any time of year. Donnie has been flat out for the last three years or so, so Marty and I did the homework and turned up this beast. It has a great history and is ready for more!

I've had a couple of drives, including the delivery trip through rush-hour traffic. Talk about a quantum leap from the baby Daewoo - with this animal even the Lexus boys show you respect!! What a huge blessing, now to have the means of better serving the precious poor people of this nation.

We've turned up another way of strengthening Donnie too - by working to get him free of the never-ending admin tangle. Sypho will start work for the Healing Home on October 11. Half her 32 hours per week we are giving to Donnie, as his PA. In her job description we have called Sypho up to a 'left brain' role (get stuff organised and functioning) and 'right brain' function (figure out ways to do the admin areas differently and better!)

Flipping out

I think Susie and I are a little tired. It has been a full and rewarding eight months + back in Cambodia, following a NZ Christmas and all the fun associated with Kara and Josh's wedding. Stuff that we usually cruise over has been wearing us a bit lately, especially the level of inconsideration of others. There's been a few promises made to our patients by individuals and organisations that results in them being continually let down with no communication as to what happened. I think that, before I move into nose-bending mode, we may need a wee break.

Yesterday we went shopping for holiday essentials - snorkelling gear! I'm so looking forward to this time coming up that I plan to go to bed in these new pyjamas tonight!

Happily, many months ago my good friends in Air Asia knew that this would be the case . For the price of a bus ticket around the North Island, we are winging our way to Perth next week. On the way we have 4 days in Malaysia on an island that promises us giant lizards on land and sea turtles in the water. To say that we are looking forward to floating over coral reefs in fish heaven would certainly be an understatement.

Marty and Robyn have beaten us to the beach. They are taking 10 days off in Vietnam right now. Last I heard, it took them half an hour to cross the road in Saigon - the traffic was so volumous. The Healing Home will actually close for 6 days during our absence, as it is annual ghost festival time again. All our staff have a well-earned decent break too!

Dogs do better

Ti found Heng in the corridor of a local hospital, abandoned and left to die. Heng had fallen at a building site and was now paralysed. Without family and without money, he was wheeled to one side and left alone.

Ti is part of a new generation; the hope of Cambodia's future. An orphan and hugely bright and motivated, he is studying to be a doctor. He lives with Graeme and Sue Taylor and Sue Hanna, in their commitment to raising up Cambodia's youth to be a people of love and care. Ti was doing some training at this hospital when he happened upon Heng. Like the good Samaritan, he dug into his own pockets to buy food for Heng and to have the hospital cleaner to care for him.

Sue getting dressings of Heng's feet where pressure sores were forming. She had a gathering crowd of Khmer folk watching her every move - until she cleaned him up in the poo department. Funny how people bail then. That's Ti at the head of the bed.

Heng was absolutely emotionally distraught. He just wept and wept constantly. His only friend, also working on the same building site, had visited once but was so pressured to come up with $ - and he was so broke - that he dared not return.

We've got Heng at the Healing Home now. Miss Mercy Sopheap has poured her heart of care into him and his tears are now much less. Today Sue explained to him what has happened with broken disks in his back and how, in any nation, he will be unable to walk without a miracle from God.

Then we told him about Da - how Da came to us with a broken back and just wanted to die - and how Jesus gave him a new life and a new hope so that he became the encourager and friend to every new patient at our home. Da, by the way, is now at a rehab unit where he is being trained to fix mobile phones. We keep in contact with him still.

Church family

We've felt a bit punch-drunk these last couple of weeks. Sreyda, our sweet wheelchair-bound lady who has been with us since January, was due to return to Kratie Province this week. However, a sudden infection flared up in her left leg on Sue's birthday (Aug 25). Long story made short - the infection was so aggressive, she has had to have her leg amputated above the knee. She's back with us now, courageous and sweet.

Therefore, it was pretty special to sit in church yesterday and look around at those who were literally surrounding us. Immediately behind us was Long, the little crippled guy who now walks just great, and his family. His dad had been in a moto accident and got pretty bad concussion. One Long's legs had a sore too, so we said 'bring the family'.

One of my favourite kids in all the world - little Long. We were heading out to a hospital appointment this morning and I asked Long (in Khmer!) to please open the gate. He scooted out so fast with this big happy smile on his face!

To our right in church, one row behind and one aisle over, was Sreyneth. She came to us with a back injury and broken heels after her spirit friend whom she called 'my king' encouraged her to fly off a balcony. For weeks, we could not get any response from this lady: she was deadpan as. The light slowly entered as she saw that maybe the king fella was not such a good friend - what friend wants to kill you? She later gave her life to Jesus and now, three weeks after leaving the Healing Home, is sitting in church.

Alongside Sue, fast asleep in a pram, was Naan. Donnie wheeled her there and left her with 'auntie' for the service. If our kids don't get something happening soon, we may just take Naan on as an honorary grandchild! She is adorably beautiful and developing into such a wee character. The 1.2kg malnourished 'hopeless case' is a blossoming miracle.

Sreyda leaving the Healing Home for the hospital. There, she was pumped with very high doses of antibiotics for three days. We were so gutted when neither believing prayer nor medicines turned the infection around.

Finally, sitting on our left was Phong and her fat baby, Ritsar. Phong is the abandoned mum who came to us from a slum community, heavily pregnant and with very high blood pressure. She too appeared so shut down to the Lord. We were so happily surprised when she asked if she could keep coming to church when the time came for her to leave the Healing Home. Our staff pick her up every week. Her countenance is so different now; a wide smile and a happy heart. She has work in the Elim Church daycare and life has become altogether new for her.

We needed a couple of blood donours for Sreyda and I had been a bit sick, so we asked English friends Nick and Elaine to come. They are amazing 'ordinary' people, full of faith and the Holy Spirit. After praying his heart out for Sreyda, Nick looks around the ward and offers to pray for anyone. He literally prayed his way through the big room!

Sreymom leading a study in the afternoon, with a little help from puss. The lady on the right was a Buddhist nun. She had so many questions about grace and forgiveness. Dara (far left) is still with us. He appears to have had some kind of mild stroke. Married for just five months, we are greatly exercised to see his situation touched.

Some comparisons - Myanmar tales part 2

I did not expect Myanmar to be so different to Cambodia. By day two I started to take stock - what was so different, and why? Here are some random generalisations of my observations:

Christian believers - deeper. Two things that spring to mind here - Cambodia's church is very young. Almost all the Christians we are among in Cambodia are first-generation believers. Many of the folk we mixed with in Myanmar are third-generation Christians. Further, there are very few Western-based non-government organisations and funding sources in Myanmar. Under very difficult circumstances, believers radically hold on to God. There is not the same temptation to mixed motivations. Cambodia has a high zeal level - in Yangon I saw a higher joy level.

Pagoda kids - the majority people group of Myanmar are the Barma people. They are seriously Buddhist whereas in Cambodia the emerging generation are much more secular Buddhist and token animist. The big moves of God have taken place among the tribal minority peoples, including the Karen, Chin and Kachin. Today, government stats are that Myanmar is 9.7% Christian - Cambodia's stats are 2%.

City layout - spacious! The Brits make room when they design cities. The roads are so much wider; there are parks and open spaces; many houses have a decent block of land. Yangon is much larger than Phnom Penh (approx 5 million vs 1.2 million).

Traffic - no motorbikes! They are outlawed in the city - some fancy reason but the truth will track back to control issues. The masses move by public bus system in Yangon. Phnom Penh does not have a bus system - buses are only for inter-city. Another major difference - order. Yangon drivers stop at red lights, keep in their lane and even use indicators - all very bewildering! Myanmar is drive on the right - but most vehicles on the road have right-hand drive steering wheels ... Everything we travelled in ran on natural gas tanks - even a dog of an old bus ticked along on a dozen old tanks strapped under our seats!

Also - no Toyota Lexus's. A Mitsi Pajero was about the top of the order in a nation where vehicles are so ridiculously expensive that they are never permitted to die. Vehicle imports are strictly controlled (what is not??) and an imported vehicle that is landed for US$3,500 (say a 1995 Toyota Corona) is sold for 45,000,000 kyat (US$45,000.) For a nation where the ordinary person has zero access to a banking system and where the highest 'trusted' denomination note is 1,000 kyat, that is a lot of loot to stuff in a mattress if you want to save for a vehicle!

Postman or military policeman? This was literally the only motorcycle I recall seeing in nine days in Yangon.

The food is most definitely spicier. I wept my way through a 'hot and sour' soup. I never did get to taste the sour - whoever supplied the chillies for this dish should lodge an application with the Guiness Book of Records!

Food - best meal by far was from a street-seller; curry soup samosa vege concoction that was so healthy and tasty that Susie broke her 'I never eat street food' rule. Myanmar is more akin to India food-wise; Cambodia milder like Vietnam.

Upmarket taxi (honestly!) - in our first visit to Myanmar 30 years ago it seemed that every second antique vehicle was a moonlighting taxi. This has been all straightened out now - I did some counting and my figures are the same but now taxis are all licensed. The majority of them have non-working bits (door handles that will not open; windows stuck open or closed) and best of all - monsoon-cooling systems (as in leak like a sieve).

Housing - Phnom Penh has experienced a building boom over the last decade. Thousands and thousands of 'p'teah l'vengs' - blocks of narrow, two or three storey brick homes such as we live in - have gone up for the emerging middle class. By contrast, it appears that Yangon's building boom was in the 1930's with the last maintainance work carried out some time in the '60's. Not the same evidence of slum communities in Yangon. Outer areas - very similar to Cambodia and right thru' Asia with simple wood and bamboo structures.

Typical Yangon housing - eight story apartment blocks with steep, dark stairwells. Note the security screens on the outside which surprised me as Myanmar has a very 'safe' feel and lawlessness often results in headlessness for the perpetrators!

The poor - less visible in Yangon. There does not appear to be a recycling industry, so gone are the thousands of folk we have in Phnom Penh who pull carts or sacks and scavenge in rubbish bags. Very few and very discrete beggars - I got the impression it must be illegal in Myanmar to beg. I think a greater industriousness in Yangon - I did not observe the groups of men gambling over cards like you can see on almost every street corner here.

Why are we waiting??

August is moto-registering month. You get a little window to accomplish this. The alternative is to spend the next 11 months getting pulled over by every cop in town and paying a $1.25 fine per time. The $1.50 rego fee is a much better alternative.

The trick, tho' is to get your hands on the little sticker. You have to look for a table set up on a footpath with a good crowd of people around it. Once located, it is into battle.

Year 1 was something of a nightmare. Once I located the said table, I was part of a mob that had great skill in elbow manouvres. After 30 minutes I figured that Christmas would arrive before cracking this nut. I returned the next day. This time 30 minutes and some good elbowing got me to the front. 'Sorry, we are registering cars this morning - come back this afternoon for your moto'. I did. Unhappily, they did not. Their lunch break lasted all afternoon. I forget now, but it wasa multi-week affair of four or five attempts and some unexpected paperwork before the mission was accomplished.

Year 2 and I tried a new tactic - send out the staff. Sopheap looked slightly worried and took Bonna for backup. They were successful - but it took four hours for two staff. Hmm.

This is year 3. I spied the table. I stopped and approached. There was a worrying lack of multi-elbowed people. The nice lady smiled. I asked for a rego for both the Healing Home moto and my machine. She said '12,000 riel please'. I'm living the dream. 32.4 seconds - unbelieveable! Today, I love this country!!

Ok, so the rego says '4,500 riel' (a bit over a US$1). The extra bit is a happy service charge. Once apprehended, local advice is to cut the rego up and apply in pieces. It makes it less attractive to steal off the bike.

Myanmar tales - part 1

We are fresh back from nine remarkable days in the remarkable nation of Myanmar. Sue and I originally visited this nation for a week in 1980 - in the days when one-week visas were issued and the nation appeared to be in a 1940's time-warp. Thirty years has changed the country a great deal, and Myanmar has since surged into the 1970's.

Pastor Nong (left) and his dad at the 3-day seminar. Nong has a wonderful spirit and a huge heart of love and mercy. Dad is like joybells on steroids!

Myanmar currency is called Kyat (pronounced 'chat'). Like Cambodian money, it is totally worthless outside the nation of issue. Here is a pretty typical 200 kyat (20c) note.

The thing that has not changed is the beauty and graciousness of a people living in extreme challenge. There is way too much to cover in a two-minute blog-read posting so I plan to dribble on for a few weeks about the time in Myanmar - but just to say, when you walk in Myanmar, you walk among giants of faith.

Phil Howan and his daughter Olivia, together with Anthony and Jenny Eggink, were our trusty Kiwi connection people for this time. Phil and Anthony are deeply commited to Myanmar, working with pastors to establish micro-businesses and bringing great encouragement and wisdom. Jenny, who had never been to Asia, 'had' to come this trip to understand what had so totally undone and revolutionised the life of her man. Now she understands.

We'll get to introduce you to some of the people and their stories in due course. Over the nine days we got to visit with children's homes, speak in churches, lead a three-day pastors and leaders training seminar (that got closed down by the powers-that-be, but without repercussions to the locals), meet the leader of a micro-church planting leader (6,381 micro-churches averaging 4-5 people in 10 years, not counting the 400 micro-churches that got swept away in the Nargis flooding of 2008) visit Bible schools and both see and do far more than what I ever could have expected.

Phil praying for Pastor Sompee, a delightful leader who also runs a children's home. In 2006 he was beaten and left for dead by a gang of 15 muslim men. He has since led three of these men to Jesus!

Going AWOL

If the blog goes quiet for 10 days, that is because we are off-line. In a couple of hours Sue and I head to the airport, enroute to Myanmar.

Once, long ago when we were very young, Sue and I visited Myanmar (then called Burma). We spent time in four other nations of SE Asia at that time, too. Myanmar was the nation that gripped my heart the most. I still remember having a strong impression on our flight out of that country, that we would return in the future. That future is 30 years later!

We will be meeting Phil Howan and his daughter Olivia, together with Antonie and Jennifer Eggink (all Kiwis) upon arrival. Phil and Antonie have been there fairly recently and will be our connectors to church leaders and various ministries. Our time there kicks off with a three-day pastors conference.

Cambodia is so close to Myanmar - two flights of one hour each (Phnom Penh - Bangkok; Bangkok - Yangon). In the next ten days I am eager to test the waters for long-term relationships in the future. Establishing Healing Homes within that nation is one of my dreams.

Check-up

Bunthon with Kov last week.

Together with Bunthon, Susie and I drove the 40 minutes out to see Kov last Thursday. It is over a month since he left us, and we were keen to see how he was doing.

Life is going well for the little guy, tho' very different. He is in school six days a week, eight hours a day. So much study and structure must come as a shock for him as he had zero schooling prior to Healing Home and no more than two hours per day during his time with us.

He lives with a house mother and nine other young guys in a sweet little house. The house mum loves him - she says that no other young guy is as helpful and obliging. That's the Kov we know - eager to help; eager to please.

This coming week we are hopeful of seeing his sister come to us at the Healing Home. We really want to help Kov's family and I felt so moved by the sadness in the eyes of his 15-year-old sister the time I visited the family. Heng's brother is in the village now with an offer to the family to bring the girl to us. Once she comes, we have an offer from another organisation to take her into care and training.

Saving Soy's foot

Sue attending to Soy. The bright light is a flash-light that Sue often has on her head (like a coalminer!) when she cares for his wound.

Soy has been with us for around seven weeks now. He's the guy who has a diabetic sore on his foot. The sore was an absolute shocker when he arrived - black toes, black skin and about half a foot ulcerated away to the tendon. We were his last chance before amputation. The progress from day 1 with us, and the acceleration of this progress in the last 10 days, is just wonderful to behold.

Every patient is a training-ground for our carers, Sreymom and Sopheap. They have learned so much in caring for Soy, as Sue walks them thru' wound care and prayer. Remarkably, we discovered that Soy was a doctor in the Pol Pot regime. With all doctors and other educated people killed by the Khmer Rouge, they basically rounded up some likely lads, had the Chinese give them a few days training in acupuncture and turned them loose to be the doctors to a nation. I can only imagine the impact of this time of grace in Soy's life, where he receives that which is so totally far removed from that which he used to give.

Bunthon's back

Happy kids - the teacher has returned! That's Bunthon in the background and our classroom-by-day, motorbike-shed-by-night behind him. Sreyda is in her wheelchair to the left. Susie has wisely got her doing her own washing and helping in the kitchen each day now - in preparation for her to return to Kratie in the beginning of September.

The Healing Home has been pretty full-on this last month, but it has actually been quieter. Bunthorn, as the big brother, is responsible for funding his Year 11 sister through school and on the mornings he was teaching at the Healing Home, there simply was not enough income for him to make ends meet. So, armed with $50, he bought a supply of plastic-ware from a wholesaler and set up a small business at a market.

His is a very typical situation - both in the pressure to provide for a younger family member, and the attempt to start a small business. We hugged him, blessed him and released him. The poor bloke made zilch in his new undertaking and when I checked in with him about two weeks ago and reaffirmed our standing offer that he could return to the Healing Home anytime, he jumped at it. In the last week he has also picked up three other part-time paid jobs as well.

Apologies, but ....

Yes, I know that I've been away from the blog for too long. I've simply been having too much fun, with Melody and her fine man Dave in town for the last 12 days. We've got three kids, and since coming to Cambodia we have had three marriages. Now, we have also had all three of our children come out to visit. We are purring with parental gladness!

We took four days/three nights away to Sihanoukville, on the southern coast, during their time with us. I got the first semi-proper body-surf I've had in Cambodia on day 1, with a 'cold front' putting a bit of a swell onto the beach. Poor Melody got a little overwhelmed by the kids hawking pretty useless stuff on the beach. She bought something from one youngster, and another kid burst into tears because 'you never bought from me'. Poor old soft-hearted Melody!

Downtown Phnom Penh, on our way to Melody and Dave's very favourite place in all Cambodia - Swensen's the deluxe icecream shop. They have, I believe, three shops in the city. Here, we are completing the circuit with a visit to outlet 3!

Inside Central Market, an amazing art-deco-style building that is home to 5,000 stalls (and that is hardly exaggerating). Melody shopped 'til Dave dropped - she has her father's appreciation of fine bags and went home with genuine designer-ware packed inside genuine designer-ware! Dave meanwhile went home with 40 t-shirts he sourced and had printed here for a young guys group he co-leads at TCC - getting all set for the big canoe trip coming up soon.

Dave and Melody flew in via Kuala Lumpur. They are sitting there now as I write, waiting for their overnight flight back to the Gold Coast. Oh for a real beach and a real bodysurf!! For Kiwis, there is the promise of a new el-cheapo way to visit us soon - Jetstar start flights in March 2011 to Singapore with a connection to Phnom Penh for cheaper than a flatscreen telly.

Prospering slum

It has been about eight months since I last went out to Udong Village where Pastor Abraham has based his remarkable ministry. Kerry was very keen to connect with this fine leader so we made the trip last week. The change I witnessed in such a relatively short time was absolutely astounding.

This is a slum community who formerly lived in the city. As is the all-too-often case in Phnom Penh, the land they were squatting on was earmarked for development. The 800-1000 families were literally herded onto trucks one morning and driven to a location on the outskirts of the city, about 5km from the airport. They were dumped there - without water, sanitation or shelter.

Eight months ago, things were still pretty rough in the slum community that grew out of the soil. Garbage was piled high. Water pooled along the mud footpaths and inside the shanties. There was very little employment activity - mostly people sitting in their homes. Alcohol abuse was rife and many families were existing on one meal a day.

Pastor Abraham is a man of prayer and action. He is leading the village to help themselves. The transformation I witnessed made my heart sing. Every house now has a (non-leaking) tin roof. Garbage trucks are paid to come weekly. Abraham has initiated a drainage system, in which he leads the locals to build the concrete pipes ($20 each and strong versus $35 for inferior bought ones) and together with the locals, big drains have been hand-dug. Everywhere, there is industriousness. This is the first slum that I have ever walked through where the spirit of poverty has been displaced!

I do not have pics as other groups have gone thru' snapping away like a visit to the zoo. What I do have is a song in my heart, seeing what one God-raised local leader is capable of initiating in a few years. The school is about to double (from 200 to 400 children, all from the slum community) and much more is bubbling in the heart of this outstanding man.

The boys are back in town

This week has seen two blessed invasions - Andrew Smith with Paul, followed five days later by Kerry Hartley together with his missionary mate Alex Ship.

Kerry teaching at our staff training Friday morning. Tears are good!!

Andrew has been very involved training counsellors in the Hagar organisation all week. This is his fourht time in Cambodia and he is now received so well that Hagar staff are asking for him by name. Every time he comes, Andrew brings a young man. Paul the sparky has been a hugh blessing to Graham Taylor, bringing wiring skills into Graham's soya milk factory. Tomorrow the two guys head up-country for a three-day explore around Kratie before returning to us for a few more days

Sunday service at New Life Fellowship this morning - Andrew, Paul, Alex and Kerry.

Kerry was the very first kiwi friend to visit us in Cambodia. This is his fourth time of coming out here to encourage us. He actually launched our staff training Friday mornings back in 2008 - and we had him share with our staff again on Friday. He did a brilliant study on 'Honesty' that had Sreymom in tears as she translated, and Sopheap crying as she took it in! His good friend Alex is a Kiwi who has been 15 years in the Philippines as a missionary. He has come over to connect with Filipino's working in Phnom Penh.

Swensens icecream shop - Kerry and Andrew are return customers to this nicest of little places. They are honest folk too - I've just been back to pick up my bag with Bible and camera inside, after realising that my blog pics had not made it out of the shop this afternoon ...

Early Christmas

Sue and Sreymom unpacking the wonderful treasure-trove of supplies. The sardines to the left are not part of this - that's 3 weeks supply for my con-artist cat.

Maggie arrived on Sunday, together with 9 Aussie compatriots. They are a medical team, about to head out to the provinces for two weeks. In the months (literally) prior to arriving, Maggie sent us many emails, asking us for a wish-list and clarifying what was do-able.

Today, Maggie came visiting with enough goodies to make Sue smile broadly. There were four pressure-cushions for wheelchair patients. They are the real McKoy, at a minimum of $900 a pop. There are wound-care dressings galore. A steriliser unit. Sue had lost a pair of surgical scissors. Maggie brought 100! There are three specialist pressure mattresses to be shipped here, donated from somewhere. All amazing stuff and all a huge, huge blessing to us and the many people who will benefit in the future.

Straight to the dogbox

Puss is a good asset in the Healing Home. However, she's also a con-artist. I buy 10-packs of sardines for her food, to be mixed with rice. One can is to last two days. I have just discovered that she's conned Dtouch our cook into three feeds a day, sucking up one can.

Life in the dog-box. A delightful English guy named Nick has taken a genuine interest in our patients and comes twice a week to give them physio massages. He's left the bed in the front room rather than take it every time. Between visits, the bed is fully occupied ..

Five bob watch

'Copyright' is a word we make endless jokes about out here. You would have to search extremely hard to find a legit dvd, Rolex or Windows program - and most things in-between.

So, when Susie went looking for a new watch with numerals large enough to not require glasses to tell the time, this little copied right Gucci caught her eye. She came home very pleased with herself - another shop wanted $18 for the same little timepiece.

For $5, she did pretty well. Two out of the three hands worked very efficiently. It was just a matter of making the right guess of what the hour was ...

Sue's $5 watch - plus an extra $ for a real leather strap. The friendly seller pulled out the guts, swapped them with another watch and now we have a copied right working timepiece!