Week 4 September 2008

* R&R

We headed south on the weekend with Rod and Sally and enjoyed a wonderful few days relaxing in a bungalow overlooking the Gulf of Thailand. All we had to do was listen to the waves roll in and look out over the palm trees and ocean. Magnificent!

It's a bumpy roller coaster ride down the hill to the bungalows ...



... and you need to walk part of the way up otherwise the bike on the Tuk Tuk lifts off the ground!



The girls were there each day with the fresh fruit ...



... and we enjoyed a chat with the working kids ...



... and some guys from the Indian Navy.



It's a lovely spot ...



... for times of devotions ...



... and reflection.



* When Will It End?!

We hope and pray that the adults who use kids to earn an income by begging on their behalf, will get the message that they are robbing these kids of a childhood!



This young boy was leaning against the wall of the local supermarket with the baby in his arms and nodding off to sleep. This is a common sight and some of the kids actually go to sleep on the road.

Billboards have recently gone up in Phnom Penh on the very subject of working children and we look forward to the authorities cracking down on it.

* EFC's Children's Commission ...

... team invited us to present to the current course participants.



Presenting on behalf of EFC's CC is always a great opportunity to catch up with the team and people from other organisations that we have either worked with or trained.





We enjoyed presenting the session on encouragement, refreshing and rest ...



... things that we all require to serve in our ministries...



... and the team had a great time, too!



Win - Win relationships - That's what we like.

* At TLC ...

... during the month of October, the first anniversary of Tarsha's death, we reflect on Tarsha's words ... 'Life's too short to not live for something bigger.' TLC is certainly something big in the lives of the children, team and community.

On the government school holiday, the team attended a Personal Development training session.

The day commenced with Praise and Worship led by Phearin and Sochea ...



... followed by the presentation on Win-Win relationships, which they all enjoyed. The session included individual activities ...



... as well as partner ...



... and group activities.





Patrick presented a slide show from the TLC Seminar and Retreat which everyone thoroughly enjoyed while having a good laugh.



Sochea interpreted for me and Pastor Sara interpreted for Patrick.



Some of the kids came to visit once the door was open.



Lin cooked the meal and To assisted her.



Lin and To shared about the difference joining the TLC team had made in their girls lives.

TLC is not only building bright futures for the children but for everyone involved.

Srey Lin is one of our trainees ...



... and Makara is our Kindy teacher.



With the 3 day Pchum Ben holiday scheduled over the next few days just prior to the first day of the new school year, Sochea orgaised the distribution of the children's uniforms, stationery and books etc ...



... and what a pleasure we had presenting to the children. This little girl has come a long way since Pastor Sara and Sam met her family when they were living under an umbrella and invited them to move into the old village and subsequently into the new village.



The twins were happy to receive their goodies ...



... as were other members from different families.





With a few children from one family attending the centre, TLC sure is having a major impact on the household.



Sokhang was delighted when Patrick presented him with his ...



... and he later checked out the contents.



Please continue to pray for Sokhang as we await appointments and consultations.

The kids were happy as they waited ...



... and some 'Kindy Kids' also waited in the group. I think they would have loved to be a recipient.



The kids were very grateful and all made a special point of coming to thank us after the presentation.



These children were selected to give a testimony at the Parent's Meeting ...



... and all did a wonderful job as they spoke of the impact attending TLC has had on their lives.

Senthou made a lovely speech ...



... as did Channa ...



.. and Tol Nita.



Last but not least, Sarak finished his speech with one of his favourite songs!



While the parents were attending the meeting upstairs, the kids moved downstairs for their meal.



These girls are excited about going to school next week.





While the work in the classrooms continues ...



... the adult English classes have been moved upstairs ...





This little one was looking after the note that he had to take home to his parents.



The outdoor sink is a great addition to the hygiene activities.



The children had a meeting on schooling ...



... and it was great to have the opportunity to encourage them all.

The kids love to learn new songs ...





... and always enjoy their meals.



We look forward to the results of the height and weight checks when the team from the Church of the King serve with us next week.

On Rod and Sally's last day at TLC, the team organised a special luncheon complete with cake, dessert and gifts.





Rod and Sally have done a great job at TLC and everyone will miss them! They've been a real blessing and we look forward to their return.



May they be abundantly blessed as they return home to Busselton after their 7 month sojourn.

Srey Nai was in hospital during the week in a serious condition with Dengue Fever.



Look at her now. We give thanks for her ongoing healing.

* Sochea Counts Down ...

... to the arrival of her baby ...



... so we took the opportunity to present her with a bag of baby goodies.

* At Pchum Ben ...

... lots of people head back to their home town and the traffic around the city can get congested as they all head out, especially across the bridges.





A new bridge is under construction across the Bassac alongside the Monivong Bridge, so that will greatly improve things for those that head out on National Road 1.

* The Sew Empowered ...

... group continue to gather together to bring in their completed items and cut fabric to take home for the coming week.



We just received a box of patterns and fabrics etc. from Fiona at Calypso Costumes and the girls are currently working on samples to present to another overseas market.

While shopping at our local market with the group after sewing last week, Mom had the pocket of her pants cut and all of her money stolen.



The thief took off with quite a bit of money as Mom had just been paid for the items she had made, as well as her sponsorship money.

* Graham and Seda invited us to join them for dinner.



It's always great to catch up over a meal. Graham selected Freebird Bar & Grill which served up a nice meal. Freebird is full of interesting American memorabilia.

* Becc Organised Helen's Farewell...

... at Amok Restaurant.



We wish Helen the very best as she returns to Australia. Helen also informed us that she will be back, so we look forward to seeing her upon her return.

* At the Village ...

... the ladies in Sam's sewing group were working on an order ...



... while the kids amused themselves playing or watching a game of marbles ...





... and these kids helped out with the cutting of a log by sitting on it.



And that is some of our week that was!

Week 3 September 2008

* Sunday

We accompanied Rod and Sallie to Nai's local church for a beautiful Mass ...



... followed by morning tea at 'Coffee Korner' Cafe ...



... before moving onto Hagar to surprise Bart and Wilma with Rod and Sally.



Bart and Rod ...



... and Sallie and Wilma ...



... had plenty of Busselton / Cambodian news to share.

Wayne is in town, so it was great to get together with some of the Riverview Church crew.



Frank is always entertaining!

* Community Relocation & Development Project

We have had plenty of rain lately and the houses on either end of the terrace block require work on the foundations. It's obvious that the engineers responsible for the construction of these homes may not have been as qualified as we thought ;) One of these homes also had a burst water pipe which contributed to the problem. Once this work is done, cracks in a couple of the front walls of the homes will also need to be repaired.



Pastor Sara was busy designing the foundation support in order to get the job underway. Pastor Sara is clever because his proposed solution to the problem was the same as Scott's (our family engineer).

* Creative Teacher Training ...

... with the PFC Michael House team continued. The sessions this week related to the team putting their newly acquired skills from the previous weeks training sessions into practice.







We all enjoyed a very impressive performance of 'Cinderella' ...



... and were delighted to see Cinderella get her Prince after having put up with awful treatment at the hands of the wicked step mother and ugly sisters!



The girls presented a variety of lesson plans ...







... which they now have ready and waiting for the children's arrival at the centre.







Patrick joined us just in time to recap the topics covered in the Vision, Personal Development, Learning and Teaching sessions of the 5 day training.



The PFC Michael House team have now completed their initial creative training sessions. We look forward to seeing them in action when the kids attend the house.

* Internet

Well, we're often without power and water but this week we found ourselves without the internet. We were advised by sms by our IP that we had exceeded our 1000MB for the month, so we went and paid the additional fee for the extra MB's to get us through the month. That in itself is most unusual. 3 days later we received another sms advising that we had exceeded the monthly limit, so I advised the IP that we had already paid for an additional 1000MB. When we checked our daily usage on the system, we discovered that the IP were correct and that half way through the month we had already exceeded two months of normal use. Somehow, our system had become unsecured!

After a call to Sophorn, he came and ensured that all is as it should be.



I guess whoever it was that was using our wireless to download received a surprise the next time they logged on to find that they were no longer able to access it.

* At TLC ...

... the village English classes continue with Sally, Meng and Ura.













Everyone has been assisting with the painting of the shelves ...





... which Rod and his trade assistants continue to put up throughout the centre.



Lay is happy with the new kitchen addition.



Meanwhile, other shelves are being prepared and will no doubt soon be up.



Ascending and descending the stairs is much easier thanks to the new rails.



One rail sits higher than the other to accommodate all ages of children.



Vireak presented a lesson on good manners in the home and centre ...



... and Phearin prepared resources for his next class ...



... in the afternoon ...



... and this little one had a turn at the whiteboard to lead her class.



Nimul is delighted to be a full time staff member after volunteering at TLC since we opened.



Rod has installed a new sink for the 'Teeth Cleaning Program'.



Pastor Sara was delighted when these girls told him that they are going to Church in Phnom Penh on Sunday.



The boys took the opportunity to sit and relax with Patrick during the break ...



... while a more energetic group decided to play outside ...



... and others chose to work on their creative skills.



I am sure the Kindy Kids would attend TLC all day if they could.



Pastor Sara and Sochea are excited about the arrival of their little one due next month.



What can we say about Rod and Sally?! These guys have been busy since the day they arrived. They have kindly bought everything they have needed to get jobs done at TLC and our home.



We were amused to see our Tuk Tuk driver, To, assisting with everything from painting and installations at TLC. Sally had decided that he didn't need to sleep on the couch while he waited, so she seconded him to a list of jobs!

I was delighted to see that they do take a break every now and then!



* Morning Star

We presented the Myers Briggs Personality Types to the team from Morning Star. While we don't like putting 'people in boxes', it is for the good of the whole that each individual understands how the other team members think and feel.

Patrick and Sochea prepared to deliver the Profile Questionnaire ...



... while the team may have been wondering what was ahead of them.

Then it was down to business with each question interpreted to ensure comprehension of the questions being asked.



While the team selected their responses ...



... you could have heard a pin drop in the room!



I suggested 'Dictionary.Com be brought into play to ensure that the team understood the meaning of some words, so out came the laptop.



As the team moved through the questionnaire, they appeared to be more relaxed.



With the questionnaire complete, it was time to score the responses ...





... of the individual team members ...





... and record each team members profile ...



... and check out the meaning of each of the profiles.



At the completion of the session it was time for Praise and Worship ...





... before saying farewell.



Carolina leaves Cambodia soon and we hope to see her back in the future.

* Sew Empowered

Fiona received her boxes and emailed us to tell us that 'The Arabian
princesses are just fantastic! Zeta & I were squealing with delight!

I can hear them now!

The girls have done an excellent job of making the costumes.



Glennys from u-chus also emailed to tell us that her online shop is up and running, so that's great. You can check it out at www.u-chus.com

I have completed a new sewing presentation and text Kay just to share how far the project has come since it's small beginnings on the balcony of our previous home, almost two years ago, when Kay and Aldy conducted the first lesson.

Looking at the Stitches-of-Hope logo, together with the market logos of Heague & Moran, u-chus and Calypso Costumes, the project has certainly come a long way and impacted the ladies lives in a very positive sense. Excellent!

* Community Relocation & Development Project

Pastor Sara has been leading a maintenance project at the village right on the border of the village homes and TLC.





While the men gathered to discuss boundary markers, aka survey pegs ...



... Meng set about putting in a more stable marker to replace the existing marker (a plant).



And that is some of our week that was!

TWTW Week 2 September 2008

* Home Fellowship

Our week kicked off with a time of fellowship at Mark and Jo's home after the Sunday service. Mark led the proceedings.



Some new faces in the crowd included Hugh, from Mark and Jo's home Church, CCCW Melbourne, Australia, who is visiting Phnom Penh and Lucas, who is currently in Phnom Penh volunteering with Australian Volunteers Abroad. Lucas attends Citipointe Brisbane.



Everyone appeared to have a great afternoon.





* The Swallows Have Flown Into Pochentong



Rod and Sally are from Busselton, Western Australia and have been travelling for the last six months or so. They decided to make a final stopover in Phnom Penh before returning home. We are delighted to have them serve with us and report that they hit the ground running with a visit to the village.







* Creative Teacher Training

We have the pleasure of presenting our training program to the team from Michael House, a project of Prison Fellowship Cambodia. The project caters for the children of prisoners.

Sambath interpreted for us ...





... and that is great because he is so familiar with our material.





The team members have enjoyed the presentations, activities and skits associated with the program ...







... as well as some R&R during break time.







* The Dentist - Cambodia World Family

We went to the Dentist to make an appointment for the children to have a check up during the Church of the King's team visit. We wanted to have the team assist us by playing the role of 'Dentist Buddy' for the children.



However, they later confirmed that they are closed during that period, so we will need to reschedule for another time.

Cambodia World Family offer free dental service to particular groups. We appreciate their great service!

* Power & Water Supplies

While we do all we can to make our guests comfortable, we have no control over the Phnom Penh power and water supply.

Since Rod and Sally have been with us, we have been without power off and on. The longest stint was about 27 hours.



In addition to the lack of power, we have been without water, as well. Just when they came home from working in the village looking forward to having a nice cool shower, they discovered there wasn't any water.

* Open Arms

We attended the opening dedication of Srey Na and Jeat's new beauty training centre.



Sandra told of the vision for the centre and the trials associated with fitting out the building ...



... and Pastor Jesse, with Pastor Mara interpreting, dedicated the centre.





Soar and Leah have decided this is a great place for the next Pastor's Wives Retreat.



It was a beautiful evening.

* Seminar

Pastor Peter McHugh from CCCW flew into town to present a number of seminars throughout the week and we managed to attend a couple.

Mark got the introductions and proceedings under way, with Sophy's assistance.







Peter talked about leaders 'doing life with their team' and it is obvious that he does exactly that, as Mark and Jo's leader. It's apparent that there is a special bond between them all, and that Mark and Jo serve 'with' Peter and not just 'for' Peter. Now that's a great shepherd.



I especially enjoyed Peter's presentation on Keeping Yourself in the Love of God.

We look forward to the next time Peter presents his inspirational messages in Phnom Penh.

* Sew Empowered

The ladies have been busy putting the final touches to some of the costumes for Calypso ...







... and u-chus.
I was amused to see Seam using the ironing board ...



... but not for long, as she prefers to operate on the floor.



Samnang was here with Mom and moved between the cartoons ...



... and visiting Patrick ...



... and drawing on the whiteboard.



The girls are enjoying their time together on the project and like to linger at our home and enjoy lunch together, so we need to make sure that we put the supplies out for them before we leave home.



Nimul was keen to work on the dolls clothes.



We are keen to get a market, so if you or anyone you know would like to check out the dolls clothes range, please don't hesitate to contact us.

With orders complete, it was time to select appropriate boxes ...



... and pack and post!



While we were that far 'down town' we decided to take Rod and Sally to the famous Le Royal Elephant Bar.



* New Family of Hope

We received an invitation to visit NFH. Katja and Nai are doing an excellent job of running the project.



First of all we enjoyed a meal together ...





... followed by some live entertainment! The children had started off shy, as they do, but that didn't last long.





At one stage, I thought I was being entertained by the Van Trapp family singers from the Sound of Music.







Of course, we had the obligatory photo shoot before we left.





* Sokha from Centre of Peace ...

... finally found time to visit the Optometrist.



After trying on a variety of frames ...



... Sokha made his selection.



The gift of new glasses is certainly a blessing for Sokha.

* Destiny Rescue

We visited Destiny Rescue's Kids + and received a warm welcome from all the cute little kids who attend the Day Care Centre.



They were all very busy participating in the various activities taking place.





Pat gave us a commentary on the projects ...



... and after having discussed the need to have a ladder at TLC, Rod and Sally may have found just what they were looking for.



After our Destiny Rescue visit, we moved to a quieter location to further discuss training options for Pat's team.



* Look Up There - Is it a Bird - or a Plane?



No, it's a monkey!



I guess that's one way to avoid crossing the road.

* At Tarsha's Legacy Centre ...

... there's always something happening.

Interviews took place in search of a new team member.



TLC's 'Kindy Kids' were sporting their new interim measure shirts.



Sochea gave the Kindy Kids a demonstration on how to have a bath ...



... and this little one obviously had a great time!



Some of the TLC girls have been attending dancing classes in the village training room.



Vireak is enjoying his role at TLC.



* TLC Guests

Relatives of Tarsha's - Michelle, Gary, Anne and Tony - visited TLC and had a guided tour of the centre ...



... and lunch ...



... followed by a village tour ...



... a home visit ...



... and a photo shoot for Louise.



But wait, there's more!

As the 'Kindy Kids' noticed that a photo shoot was happening outside TLC, they got their centre shirts from their mothers and came running down the road. Some were still doing up the buttons on their shirts ...



... with others requiring assistance ...



... before joining in the group photo ... Take 2 ...



... and heading back home.



Sadly, this little one was too late. He had experienced a challenging day after falling off of his bicycle and suffering an injury where his tooth went through his lip, as well as a bump on his head. Oh!!



When we discovered over lunch that Anne is a Dental Therapist, we set up an area for her to demonstrate with the afternoon group.



Anne demonstrated on the first volunteer ...



... before letting him go solo.



Then it was time for more volunteers to come up to the front ...



... and take part in the demonstration. Pick me, pick me!





After the demonstration, the children continued with their 'This is the Day' session ...





... which entertained the guests that had just arrived at TLC for a quick visit before leaving Phnom Penh on an afternoon flight.





Sally has been seconded to the classroom as Phearin's TA ...





... and the trainee and volunteer English class ...





... in between her other duties ...



... which included enlisting a couple of TA's on the weekend to assist with the makeover ...



... while Rod has been measuring up ...



... installing locks ...



... plastering and painting ...





... and fixing the kitchen sink!



They even teamed up for a duet!



* Saturday Morning Youth Group ...

... is held in Tarsha's Legacy Centre. Pastor Sara is currently mentoring Meng and Ura in order to delegate the sessions to them in the future.





There were plenty of activities that kept the group entertained.









It's great to see (and hear) activities at TLC six days per week.

Once the Church service commences on Sundays, the centre will be used 7 days per week and that's excellent!

And that is some of the things we experienced this week.

TWTW Week 1 September 2008

* At TLC ...

... Sochea went from managing centre operations ...



... to nursing Vireak's injury.



The children are getting excited as they wait to commence the new school year next month ...



... and because I took one photo in this classroom, lots of the kids wanted to have their photo taken.







Birthday celebrations for the month of September were enjoyed by everyone ...



... but we were missing one very special guest, Sam, who was conspicuous by her absence!



'Happy birthday to you' and 'How old are you now' filled the room, followed by the blowing out of the candles ...



... and the very 'Khmer' spray falling over everyone.



Then it was time for the 'Birthday Kids' to share their cake with everyone in their group by feeding them a spoonful each, before sitting down to enjoy a slice.







It appeared as though it all could have been a little overwhelming for this little one ...



... who ended up with his face covered in the cream from the cake.



Then it was time for everyone to enjoy lunch ...



... before lining up to sing a song prior to leaving the centre.



Speaking of lunch, some had to vacate the building when the chilli hit the pan.



Even Lai was over powered by the chilli and had to come out for some fresh air ...



... while others opted to wear a mask!



Vireak is 24 years old and has never had a birthday celebration, so it was a very special day for him. Vireak's fiancee also joined in the festivities.







* Sew Empowered ...

... is moving along nicely and the ladies have now made fairy wings, small and large, pink and blue. Fairy princess skirts, pink and blue. Mermaid outfits, aqua and teal. Princess skirts and capes in pink. Arabian princess outfits. And the boys haven't been forgotten, Pirate outfits!



Sopha ran out of fabric ...



... and was unfortunate to have a minor accident on her motor bike on the way over.

The girls have a great time together as they move between the machines ...





... and the floor.







Nimul is especially entertaining and a delight to have around and enjoyed sharing a joke with Patrick when he paid the ladies.



Life is so much easier for the women when they have a skill that they can put to good use and earn an income.

I am in the process of preparing a presentation that has been requested, so I have been reviewing old photo files and it's wonderful to see how far these girls have come since Kay conducted the first skills training, almost two years ago. It's amazing the difference it can make in a person's life when someone shares of their gifts and talents.

The Calypso Costumes order is nearly complete, but it takes time to tie up some loose ends or should I say, stitch them up.



Chanty is always happy to work some extra hours to achieve a goal, so she joined us for an additional session.



It's always fun packing an order ...



... and more fun when we get to post it!



* Our Creative Teacher Training Program ...

... is proving to be popular with various children's ministries and we now have a number of teams that we present to.

Dorothy and Holly are in the process of training staff for a new Prison Fellowship Cambodia children's project and asked us if they could meet with us to check out our program.



They liked what they saw and booked their team in for training and we look forward to partnering with them.

While Dorothy and Holly were here, we got to talking about the sewing project and showed them the children's costumes.



* Destiny Rescue's ...

... Pat, runs a Day Care and Education Centre at Stung Mean Chey for children of families who collect scrap from the dump and surrounding areas and wanted to meet after hearing that we did creative teacher training, so we did just that.



We enjoyed a laugh over the way the government school teachers decide if a child, who doesn't have any proof of their date of birth, is old enough to attend. If the child can put their right hand over their head and touch their left ear, and visa versa, then they are old enough to attend school. If you don't pass the test, you are advised to come back next year!



We look forward to partnering with Pat and her team.

* EFC Children's Commission Advisory Council Meeting ...

... was held this week with the main topics of discussion relating to proposals and budgets, followed by a luncheon at a nearby cafe.



I always like to take the opportunity to catch up with some of the team members while I am at the office ...



... as it's always good to see them.



* Prison Fellowship Cambodia ...

... are currently interviewing and Patrick joined the selection panel...



... and later organised to meet with Linda to discuss the outcomes.



* What, no power?!

It's been awhile since we reported on the power issue and those who have visited know what it's like. Patrick decided he was going to cook and as time went on he needed to get the torch out in order to put some light on the subject!



* Emails

It was a case of 'Where have all the emails gone?!' We had some entertaining calls to our Internet Provider. They insisted that our connection was fine. However, after receiving only one email in a 24 hour period, when we generally received 25-30 on any given day, we knew that something was amiss.



Finally, we were back in business as the IP test emails and others started downloading.

However, all the emails that were sent to us during that 24 hour period, are still out in cyber space!

* New Family of Hope's Education Project team ...



... Katja and Nai requested a meeting to provide an update on the project.

Nai also told us about her recent trip to Australia for World Youth Day. Interesting.

* Pastor Sara ...

... has been experiencing ongoing health issues, so we encouraged him to seek another opinion.



Doesn't Srey Mom look cut in her nurses cap

We are now waiting on test results and we thank you for your continued prayers for Pastor Sara.

While Pastor Sara had received some of his results by the end of the week, he is still waiting on others. I was listening to Patrick and Sara discuss the health issues ...



... but later decided it was better to leave the two men to their discussion.



* Patrick is always good for a laugh ...

... and we had plenty of that when we finally decided to try out a restaurant we have often passed.



The food was good and the waitress was extremely attentive!

* Centre of Peace

We have a sponsor who has agreed to pay for one of the boys at COP to visit the optometrist in order to get new glasses, so we visited Bophal to confirm when Sokha will be available to attend an appointment. At that time, Sokha was busy in class.

.

When we first tried to arrange the appointment, Sokha was in the province visiting family. Since then, he has been caring for his sister who has been in hospital. As you may or may not know, in most of the Cambodian hospitals, the family have to provide the basic care for the patient.

It's always great to see the kids!



Lout is excited about meeting Tyler and Zack early next year when they visit Cambodia.



While we were at COP Pastor Kim also visited. Kim was a little warm, to say the least.



And that is some of our news from this week!