One year

Today marked one year since we received our first patient into the Healing Home. The grace for this work over the last 12 months has truly been amazing. Even though we have received over 100 patients and 60 family members through the home in this time, we very much feel that we are working on one life at a time.

To the so many who stand with us - thank you so very much. May you truly share in the fruit of this home. To our staff and volunteers - we are so proud of you; so blessed to work alongside you. To New Life Fellowship, Phnom Penh - it is a joy to grow together as we walk this road.

Getting the special lunch dished up - Sopheap, Sara (our new 'on call' girl who will get plenty of work in the next two weeks as we head to a conference in Melbourne) and Bonna. Sreymom and Dtouch are still in the kitchen.

Pastor Jesse and Soar joined us for lunch too, and yes ...

... indeed, that is Marty and Robyn with us too. They are here for over three months serving in New Life. Marty is setting up a maintainance schedule for all the church vehicles and doing a spot of mechanical training. Robyn is in the office, learning office workings so that she can write up a manual of office procedure. Also together they are teaching an English class - and loving it. Good kiwi stuff here - diving in and thriving.

Multi-tasking

Here are a couple of pics of Susie in action today - checking the temp and taking the blood pressure of Leng who came to us last night. For 'two or three years' Leng has had some kind of stomach condition but is too poor to have ever seen a doc. She's pretty malnourished too ...

and then Sue got into cutting Daa's hair - much to his delight. Daa is doing great - he's become the life of the party in the Healing Home. He's also a bit of a good-natured stirrer. We had, shall we say, a somewhat challenging lady in who came to look after her elderly dad. She was a vocal woman with some excessive demands - and Daa happily baited her (and she happily bit!)

Pheng's passing

The view from just a wee bit above

We have had our first death at the Healing Home early on Monday morning. Pheng's passing happened two days short of our first anniversary as a healing home. Cancer got her but Jesus took her.

Sue has worked tirelessly these last ten weeks for Pheng. Sadly, this will be part of our work here. We will have some victories and some sadnesses. The joy is in the knowing that Pheng has eternal life - and in the faith that her daughter Kia has embraced during the time that she has cared for her mum at the home.

Pheng knew that she was going and she was beautiful. Her last words to Sue and I late afternoon Sunday was to care for Kia. Already we had been talking to her about living in Phnom Penh, growing in God and perhaps coming on staff when we start the next healing home. Pheng was all for it.

Pheng (centre lady on the bunk) just two weeks ago.

New Life Fellowship were brilliant. They released a vehicle and, together with Pastor Mara, Donnie and a young guy driving, we took Pheng and Kia home to Takeo province. As soon as we arrived, a guy hit the sound-system button and the taped funeral dirge music kicked in. I'm real glad that Pheng missed all that - she was listening to a different sound.

Kia is gutsy and compassionate. She's taken a lot of flack from her uncles for believing in Jesus. Her love has not been shaken. She says that she will be back soon. If we can't get her into the New Life women's dorms we'll make room somehow for her. There is a new generation on the move over here and we're keen to spot the good ones and build into them.

Power lessons

I missed an all-time great photo recently. Motoring down a two-lane main road in the city, I was met with the sight of a seriously long ladder planted in the middle of the outside lane. Three guys were steadying the ladder while a guy was up the top, fiddling with the maze of overhead wires. The ladder was leaning into ... yes, the powerlines.

I'm not sure if it was the same boys, but we had occasion to have some dealings with the local power company. The Healing Home lost power, and the sparky told us that the problem was at the pole and therefore outside of his jurisdiction. We needed the lane-stopping boys.

Of course, being a problem off-premises and up the pole, the responsibility is with the power company to fix. Cambodia has a very straight forward system for this. You can write a letter requesting the breaker circuit be replaced. Said letter will rotate desks for not less than three weeks. Should you prefer your electricity to be working a little sooner, than there is no need to write a letter. You just need a wallet. Seeing that only the lane-stopping boys are allowed up these poles, your wallet has need of being somewhat fatter than for a normal sparky.

Action at a power pole near us, just 48 hours later. The landlord actually picked up the tab - but I'm not sure this will be likely to happen ever again!

Somtac

We've been very encouraged to see the change in Somtac. He arrived as a very sick and under-nourished man about three weeks ago. His sweet wife came with him too.

It usually takes three days for new patients to settle in to the Healing Home. Pretty well everything is hugely different for them compared to their village life - being in a city, the big house; unfamiliar people; white fellas around and the Christian culture.

Somtac took perhaps two weeks to settle in. He was very sick and in addition deaf as a doorstop. We were pretty concerned as he seemed to waste away before our eyes, not eating and not moving from his bed.

Somtac - I always wonder at the memories people of his generation carry. We get to ask some of our patients about their life under the Pol Pot regime - but Somtac was just too deaf to communicate such things with.

Then Susie sorted some throat medicine and he bounced back, almost overnight. The next day he shuffled out to devotions. The day after he was kicking a soccer ball with Sak's boys. Plus, he turned out to be a real character, kidding old Yay to do a spot of Khmer dancing. Together with his faithful little wife, he headed to his home a couple of days later.

Col and Grace

We are having a hugely blessed month with our visitors. Colin and Grace Shaw, long-time precious friends from Toowoomba, have just left after four days with us. Colin brought Prayer Summits to New Zealand - which is how I initially connected with him in the mid-1990's.

Some days we move devotions into Daa's bedroom so that he can participate. Sopheap is leading this day. That is little Long with his mum in yellow outfit on the bunks - the little guy who came to us as a cripple last year and is now walking just great. I'll get a blog up on him sometime soon.

Four great days together - Colin and Grace heading out yesterday morning.

One of the highlights was connecting Pastor Mara with Colin and Grace. God has clearly spoken to Mara about relational unity among church leaders so Col's passion in this area found a ready resonance. Also, when Colin spoke about 'healing of the land' amongst villages in Melanesia, Mara was totally all ears.

Cambodia is a nation of villages. Pastor Mara was raised in a village and village people quickly comprehend the relationship between the sin of a community and the resulting curse on the land. I trust that this short visit from Colin and Grace has sown very significant seeds that will result in long-term Kingdom purpose.

Friendship month

Andrew and Jonathan were hardly out our door (on Saturday), when more good friends landed. On Sunday, Peter van der Westhuyen was back in Cambodia in his on-going commitment to the translation of resources to train children's workers. With him was longtime friend Phil Howan. Phil says that Deanne (his wife) could not come as she has her foot in a plaster cast - so he brought his next-best buddy, Antonie Eggink!

Peter's commitments here kept Phil and Antonie on the run until Tuesday lunch. Then we connected with the three of them, before Peter van headed for the airport. We have had the fun of Phil and Antonie's fellowship since then.

Phil and Antonie at Andong Village this afternoon. In the background is the school (grades 1-6) Abraham has established.

We've been on the go with them thru' this week. Today was a highlight, connecting with a remarkable pastor at Andong Village. Long story about Abraham - the short version has him quitting on nice, safe middle-class ministry and heading to the poor. In his case, he has moved into the midst of a relocated slum of 6,000 people 10km outside of the city.

Abraham is in the flower shirt; his wife is behind and to the left of Sue.

Abraham reminds me of a happy Fijian - a great sense of humour, tremendous faith and utterly fearless. When a government official threatened to have him killed because of his stand for the the land rights of the slum-dwellers, he just laughed and said 'you can't - only Jesus can take my life'. Some hired goons then ran him down on his motorbike, munching his legs. He was totally unfazed.

Our 'friendship month' is far from over. Phil and Antonie leave this Friday, 24 hours before Col and Grace Shaw arrive from Toowoomba. Then it is Marty and Robyn McKone arriving on the 29th - for 3+ months.