... Robyn, has been a real blessing to the team and kids at TLC and at the same time, we trust that Robyn had a wonderful experience. Besides all the great classroom activities ...







... Robyn was there for the International Children's Day concert.



The team ...



... and kids have enjoyed getting to know Robyn ...



... and were delighted to present her with a TLC T Shirt as a thank you for her contribution ...



... at the farewell luncheon.



What can we say to this wonderful woman you gave so much to each and everyone she met! Thank you, Robyn!

Robyn says ...

Having spent a month at TLC teaching English I feel I will be leaving good friends behind when I leave.
I have been shown so much love by the children and staff. It has been an absolute pleasure and a rewarding experience for me. To hear the children come such a long way with their English pronunciation and comprehension is a treat to my ears.
The laughs I have had with the children and teachers will make me smile when I think of them for the rest of my life.
The eagerness of both the children and staff to learn is wonderful. I only wish I could have stayed longer.
If you are thinking of volunteering at TLC I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. I know you will be loved, have fun and make a difference to the children and the adults just by being there.
It has been my pleasure.

... interrupted the Teen Mania team schedule when one of the girls tested positive to the Influenza A (H1N1) virus. The missionary was the first recorded case in Cambodia and consequently forced the authorities to swing into action.

While experiencing flu symptoms and hearing that one of the girls in the team had tested positive to the virus, I felt it my responsibility to go to a clinic to be tested, especially due to the fact that I have close contact with so many people each and every day.

At the clinic, I discovered that a screening booth had been set up in the clinic yard and after completing the questionnaire relating to H1N1, I was soon given a mask and confined to an isolated room and reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Ministry of Health (MOH). When WHO and MOH received the report from the clinic, they phoned me and advised that I would be transported to a hospital via ambulance. Consequently, I found myself in two places I have always thought would be good to avoid in Cambodia ... an ambulance and local hospital. I must admit that I was glad I was at least conscious ;) To cut a long adventure short, I joined seven Teen Mania missionaries in quarantine at Calmette Hospital. Or as the sign reads ... 'Hopital Calmette'.

The ambulance and hospital teams, none of whom I would ever be able to recognise in the street due to the amount of protective gear they were wearing, did an excellent job of looking after us and entertained us at the same time! I now have a host of 'funny' and 'not so funny' stories to tell relating to the health system, the 'Urgencie' department and isolation wards.

On the fourth day of the missionaries swine flu adventure and upon instructions from WHO and MOH, we were taken home, via an ambulance, complete with siren, and isolated to our 'homes'. Speaking of homes, at one stage during my hospital confinement, I received a call from the nursing staff advising that we were all about to be returned to our home countries. I must admit that while it did cross my mind how wonderful it would be to return to Australia to see my family and friends, I thanked the nurse and told her that the decision posed a problem for me, considering Cambodia is currently my home and has been for the past 5 years ;)

Of the people quarantined in hospital, test results confirmed that four were positive and four negative. I was among those who tested negative for H1N1, so it just took me a few days or so to get over the strain of flu I had.

The incident made front page news complete with an article on the everyday homepage. The paper reported that Cambodia has only stockpiled 157,500 Tamiflu pills and no doubt this is a concern when the population is 14 million+.

Thank you to everyone for your prayers!

... arrived in Phnom Penh for the start of their Global Expeditions 'Legendary Adventure' to Cambodia and Vietnam ...





... with some of the team due to complete a trip to Thailand at the end of this adventure.



After lining up ...



... and loading the vehicles ...



... Viv, our mighty Canadian prayer warrior, joined us ...



... as we headed to the University of the Nations building where everyone was welcomed to their base and assigned rooms before heading out to phone home to advise of their safe arrival and enjoying a lovely Khmer meal together.



It is such a privilege to partner with Global Expeditions this year and we were delighted to see all the missionaries and especially blessed to see Viv and Eddie, again!

The following morning we delivered our presentation to the team of 40+ members ...



... who were all very refreshed after a good nights sleep.



Phearin joined us and welcomed the team ...



... and met the team leaders, including Brandon ...



... before we got down to discussing the centre schedules with the Project Directors, Viv and Eddie.



The team joined us at New Life Fellowship for worship on Sunday and later visited a slum near Chbar Ampouv, where they played games and entertained the children and visited families in their homes.

Monday saw the team split into their groups and head out to the centres. Centre of Peace Children's Home was on the schedule ...









... as was the Orphanage Program, where the kids had dressed up for the occasion of greeting their special guests.



Meanwhile, at TLC ...





... the children welcomed each team member ...



... as they introduced themselves ...





... before partaking in the morning exercise program which was led by team leaders, Brandon and Lindsey.





Then it was time for the team to split into groups and work with the children in the Kindy Class ...





... and the two English classes ...



... where the competition was on ...



... and the supporters ...



... were passionate.



The team later gathered all of the children together for an activity ...



... while Leap and Leak took a break from interpreting ...



... before joining the team on a prayer walk over the new site.



A few of the guys got together to rehearse ...



... before joining together with the TLC team for a time of worship after lunch.





It's great to have the Teen Mania missionaries in town to serve alongside our team.

The CRDP land purchase process has had the Cadastral on site to confirm the measurements ...



... while the team working on the back wall have now completed the rendering.



The CRDP committee met to discuss the planning for the first stage of the second site.



The order of priorities has been finalised by the committee and the first building to be constructed will be the outdoor toilet and laundry block for TLC, followed by an outdoor kitchen and undercover playground for the children. The land will be filled and the boundary fence will form a section of the construction.



There's always a couple of kids around checking out on what is going on and we never cease to be amused by the boundary peg at this end of the block ... a shrub!

You can check out the proposed plan for additional buildings on this site on the 'Opportunities Page' of this website. You are welcome to join us by donating to the project.

... International Children's Day Concert with it's exceptional display of talent, was both inspiring and entertaining. The program delivered a great mix of items and the highlights were definitely the Dance & Solo Singing Competitions. Of course, it wouldn't be a Khmer Celebration without a traditional 'Flower Dance'.



The talent displayed by each group in the Dance Competition made it a challenge for the judges to make their selection ...











... as did the talent of the children competing in the Solo Singing Competition. Here's just a few of the solo singers.







In addition to their competition item, the Majesty group performed a brilliant dance rendition of 'Majesty'. A moving performance, indeed!



Performances by the 'Kindy Kid's Choir' ...



... and 'Kindy Kids Hip Hop' team ...



... kept the audience entertained ...



... and dramatized skits of real life issues challenging many Cambodian families, such as domestic violence, alcohol abuse and child exploitation ...





... delivered powerful messages to everyone in the audience.

The winner of the TLC Dance Competition Perpetual Trophy is ... Majesty ..



... and the winner of the TLC Singing Competition Perpetual Trophy is ... Bunlin!



Pastor Sara took the opportunity to speak to the audience ...



... and Sochea and the team, who organised an excellent event, gathered for a photo ...



... and thanked our special guests from Child Evangelism Fellowship ...



... for contributing to the program. Our team attend training sessions provided by this organisation.

What a pleasure it was to be a part of such a special occasion!

... commencing this month of June 2009, will be the new format to replace the existing 'News Blog'. So look out for the new 'Snippets' tab that will soon appear and reveal project highlights.

Week 4 May 2009

* Mark's Birthday Celebration ...



... over a lovely meal at Tell Restaurant with great company, was a nice way to spend an evening and get to know some visitors ...



... including Agnes who is moving to Vietnam and Callum from Perth, who has been staying with Bart & Wilma ...



... and Frank who will be leaving Cambodia soon. But not for long!

Veasna ordered the knuckle roast ...



... and for a moment it looked like he wasn't going to share it with Sela!

How many flat tyres have you had in the last two days, Kim? Four ...



... with one to follow before I managed to post this blog. Surely that's a record.

It must have been the week for flat tyres with Patrick also getting two!

* Leap ...



... has joined our team to assist us and has been performing a number of tasks, including program planning and attending meetings with various groups on our behalf.



Leap is delightful and I am thoroughly enjoying working with her. She's a great Personal Executive!

* Robyn ...



... is like a breath of fresh air and it's our pleasure to have her serving with us.

* At TLC ...



... the team and volunteers have been preparing the activity hall for the International Children's Day Concert, which is sure to be a great display of talent, so watch out for the upcoming blog. The children have been rehearsing their concert items ...





... and Moriah is so cute!



In the meantime, the usual program continues to run amidst the anticipation and excitement of the upcoming event....







... with Robyn working with Vireak and teaching the children English ...



... and great craft activities.



* Dian and Eve ...



... visited TLC with their team. Team members included Janette, Winnie, Doris, William and Herbert.



* Sochea Met With Us ...



... to discuss the selection of trophies for the TLC International Children's Day competitions.

* The Sew Empowered Team ...



... took a break when Phanarath visited. Phanarath taught Nimul and Veasna's children when she worked at TC.



Now that the u-chus order has been sent to Glennys, the women have been busy planning the manufacture of the Calypso Costumes order for Fiona - who has a lot of markets scheduled.



Once again the sewing room is filled with tulle ...



... and satin ...



... as the girls return from their shopping expeditions after searching all over town to source fabrics and trims.



Some of the ladies have been making a new range of beautiful 'Silk Pants' and I am pleased to have the first pair straight from the cutting room floor, which are very comfortable and smart all at the same time!



As well as continuing with the manufacture of T Shirts ...



... and doing the silk screening ...



... and producing items from the very cute 'Size 0' Conqueror, Warrior, Princess, Precious and cute Angel ...







... through to extra large for adults (complete with more appropriate wording, of course) the ladies have been enjoying devotions together ...



... and a special 'Thank You' luncheon.



KT Restaurant is such a great place to dine - great staff, great food and great prices with an endless supply of green tea. What more could you want!



The girls enjoyed having visitors to the project and were delighted to receive some orders from the team from Singapore ...



... who called in to pick me up to join them for lunch after their visit to TLC with Patrick. Dian and Eve always take the time out to treat us to lunch when they're in Phnom Penh, which we thoroughly enjoy.

Janette has also taken samples back to Singapore to 'test the market', so that's great!

* Bart ...



... scheduled a meeting to discuss the operations of the T Shirt project with us which was very informative.

* Bart, Wilma and Callum ...



... also called in to purchase T Shirts before Callum returned to Perth. Callum was looking a little worse for wear after he had to reschedule his return flight to Perth after getting sick.



* At the Community Relocation & Development Project ...



... workers have been rendering the rear wall so that it's ready for the wet season ...



... while the solicitor has been clarifying certain sections of an agreement.



* The Village's Latest Addition, Joseph ...



... and his older two brothers will keep mum, Nimul, on her toes!

* Narith's Visa Application ...



... generated a request for a meeting. It wouldn't be a meeting in Cambodia without the cell phone's incoming call taking priority over the current meeting.

* An Evening To Celebrate 5 Years in Cambodia ...



... with Inpa and Linda, was a time of reflection. Linda was instrumental in assisting us with planning prior to moving to Phnom Penh and kindly met me at the airport and welcomed me into her home. Linda had a number of apartments ready for me to make a selection from and organised a host of people to assist me in getting around town to make purchases to set up my home away from home!

Inpa, Vana and family were like my personal 'Welcome to Cambodia' party, although they left me here alone while they all went on a well deserved 3 month break, soon after my arrival! I worked with Inpa and his team and also had the pleasure to get to know Vana and the kids. Wonderful people!

* Hosea Ministries ...



... offer a wonderful service to those suffering from addictions and it was heart warming to listen to Gail as she told me testimonies of the various people they serve. Excellent!

* Robyn ...



... introduced us to Marlene, Di & Kev who are visiting Cambodia. We always enjoy hearing about people's travels and sharing our vision for the Cambodian people.

We had a lovely afternoon with Robyn checking out the Phnom Penh sights and also enjoyed a pleasant hour on the river in the peace and quiet.

And that is some of our week that was!

Join us again next week.