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.