Four years today

Today marks four years since the Healing Home received its first patient.  To mark the milestone I have launched out into new territory - and put a posting on Facebook.  It was a mission! Old dogs are still up to learning ...

We are approaching 500 patients over these four years - plus the over 300 family members who have accompanied them.  Still, our focus is on the one. 

Here are a bunch of pics of the people who have so impacted our lives - and whose lives have been so impacted by the goodness of God.  Some have received significant healing miracles - others are now with Jesus.  Too many times, good things have happened but I never got to take a pic.

How to meet a journo

You never know what is around the corner out here.  On Tuesday, it was a car that was hesitating, then moving.  The driver was a very nice bloke who was a journalist.  He had studied in the USA and worked in Hungary. I had the honour of paying to improve his little Corolla.  Panel and paint happened the same day.  Nobody was hurt - just a few scrapes and bruises on the Spider moto driver.  It is not in my interests to reveal who that was.

The most fun was in the un-bending of my trusty steed.  I needed it before the un-bending process could commence, so I was mounted on a crab for a bit.  Then, the trick was to find the busiest fix-it place near me, and make some more new friends.

These 'fix-it-on-the-footpath' guys are good.  A mama ran the show, pad in hand as she kept a running total of all the motos that have met similar experiences.  Stripped down, forks straightened, plastic welding on the guards, front wheel made round again, tweak a few things.  Two hours; twenty bucks. 

Naki-ites

It was great to have a couple of lively girls blow in from New Plymouth recently.  Edith and Raewyn's trip out to us was inspired from a conversation that happened (I understand) while they were at my mum's place during a homegroup meeting.  Edith had a 'significant' birthday approaching, and she declared 'I would really like to go overseas to mark this birthday'.  Raewyn replies 'and I will come with you'.

Sorry girls - shocker of a photo of you - but you get to see a couple of our current patients.  Leakanah (in the black top) is a top little lady - receiving chemo and radiation, she has been with us for about three months. We are so impressed with her heart and attitude that we have just offered her a staff position for Sundays!  Sarin (in floral attire) came to us about three weeks ago.  For the three months prior, she had been curled up, comatose-like and close to starvation.  Something traumatic had hit her, that we are still working through on.  Now, she is eating up large, talking, beginning to walk again - and she has just said 'yes, please' to Jesus.

For 10 weeks prior to Edith and Raewyn coming, we had Tash from Christchurch staying with us.  Tash was great - diving into her roles as school teacher (at New Life School) and teaching hip-hop to all and sundry with great enthusiasm and making more friends then anyone before her.  Somehow, I never did get a pic taken of her - sorry Tash!!



Cambodian Cheese

I'm aware that it has been a while since the last posting - but 11 weeks?!!  That was a shocker - some weeks here can be pretty same-same but a lot surely happens in 11 weeks.

So, we can start by introducing you to cheese, Cambodian style.  I had heard of this animal prior, but got a decent introduction a few weeks back, while accompanying Sothea (a church evangelist) and Pastor Sotha (who oversights New Life provincial churches) for five days in Kompong Cham and Kratie Provinces.

Behold the 'cheese'

The beauty of this 'cheese' is that you need no dairy industry.  It is all fish.  There is very little smell.  That is because the smell has been turned inwards.  One finger-nail sized portion will take out a perfectly good plate-sized meal.  It is an amazing concoction!

The time in the province was great.  There was a very real sense of spiritual growth in the Kompong Cham village church that meets under the house of the local nurse.  In Kratie, a team from Canada had been through recently and built an excellent kids playground.  Now, a little school for 60 children is being established.

 Here are a couple of tricks of the local village - 'thermos' (above) and 'electric jug' (below)

We brought a couple of patients back to the Healing Home from this trip too.  The sweet young mum (below) had gone three years with a skin disease that covered her right cheek, nose and lips.  Hey younger brother also came back - he had actually been with us a month earlier, but missed his mum so much, he did a runner on day 2.  This time we brought his mum with him - but there was actually no need for him to come.  His, ahh, male problem, had been prayed for the first time - and things were all now good as gold.  Our staff are getting very brave in prayer!!

Lost mamma

Touch with our un-christened, stumpy-tailed little guys.  The half-length tail is normal here; Rim's kitten had a full tail; the other two have a full tail but divided between the two of them ...

The Healing Home is the proud owner of a litter of kittens.  Our child mamma had a liaison with a nasty piece of neighbourhood work, but the outcome is pretty cute.  There were four; one was washed off the roof where mum hid the litter for the first month; one has gone to Rim's home and the other two went home with Vanny.

Then, Vanny's guys came back.  Her neighbourhood dogs were going to chomp into them.  Two weeks ago mum disappeared - we fear some neighbourhood humans have chomped into her.  We have a new patient tho' who has offered to give these kittens a village life; he will take them home when he leaves here.  That will make the Healing Home pet-less for the first time in over three years.  I can live with that!

Nice bloke

Sue has felt it has been a bit of a drain of late with many of our patients - a number of poor and needy people who have been needy needy without much visible return on time and energy investment.

Therefore, it was extra-nice to have Heng come to us. He's just the sweetest and most grateful guy - and good things have quickly happened in his life.

Heng came to the Healing Home with a few problems: he had lost 10kg of weight in December (and he seriously does not have 2kg available to lose, let alone 10kg); he had no appetite, could not sleep and a swelling in his throat. 

First thing to kick in was his sleep.  Literally from night 1, he slept like the proverbial baby.  Then the appetite kicked in, as in KICKED in.  Sreymom told me 'he eats a lot now, like he eats a real lot'!  I watched him one morning from the balcony; he had gathered three of four mangoes that dropped from our well-laden tree.  He wolfed them down like there were no more mangoes to fall from the heavens!

 

 

Heng at the outside table where our patients eat most of the time.  One of our mango trees is directly overhead; behind him to the right you can see some good jackfruit coming on strong.

A few tests and he was diagnosed with hyper-thyroidism.  That is getting treated now and quickly his throat is getting better.  So, today we lost this nicest of guys - happily heading back to his home in the province.

Home alone

Susie and Sopheap have headed to Singapore this week - to soak in a great conference led by Randy Clark and Bill Johnson.  They left Tuesday evening and return on Tuesday, so it is half-way already for two girls determined to have fun! 

We are very excited about Sopheap having this opportunity to stretch and grow.  She is the one who steps up and takes responsibility for the Healing Home whenever we are away, so we told her a year ago that we would get her a passport as an extra 'thank you'.  The break comes for a good time for Sue too - she has been finding the constant drain of giving out to person after person a little wearying lately.  God knows!

Brand new passport in hot little hand - Sopheap has been trying not to appear too excited about her first-ever time outside of Cambodia! She is such a great girl - full of mercy and love and faithful to the uttermost. 

The days are flying past very fast and I have enough to do to stay out of trouble.  I'm guessing no news = no problems regards the girls.  There is a big extra God-bonus in this too: Christian and Becs head out on their big OE in two days.  First stop - Singapore!  Sue and Sopheap will get to connect with them Tuesday morning.  It must be 'the luck of the Lord' (thanks for that line, Chris!!)