"The Sewing Ladies!!

"

This lady above is inspiring. I used her as an example of the parable of the talents that Jesus told, (Mathew 25:14-30) which I shared at the slum village the other day. i.e using what God gave her to make the most of her life. Talents aren't only money, they are also our gifts and abilities, our hands, feet and brains.

She lives in the slums of Kampong Cham. She has her little hut set up with a sewing machine and sews carry bags made out of recycled rice bags, on consignment. Similar to the green bags at Coles. They are actually very trendy, as some of the recycled rice bags are very decorative. I'm sure her profit isn't exactly high, but she is doing something to make her lifestyle better. I don't know anything about her family, except that I have seen her with a very small boy. She is always clean and loves to come and sit with us barungs (westeners) when we go there.

She has a beautiful smile. She has given her heart to the Lord, and does attend our church also. I hope she will be an inspiration to others in her village. Someone they can admire, and be encouraged to make a difference for themselves also. I don't know how she got her sewing machine in the first place, could have been sponsored, but she happily makes the most of it.

The other is of me, making a blind for our verandah, using the old push pedal singer sewing machine. Mum would have been proud of me. It took a while to get the nack of it, but once i did it was OK. Apart from he cotton continually breaking ( could be old cotton) and the bobbin not always doing what it is supposed to do, it was quite good. It is certainly a work out for my thighs. God does have a sense of humour doesn't he?? I did want some exercise.

The first of two blinds is complete now (sun). They are very long, and I have to find a very long bamboo stick to complete them. I had to send them to someone to get the eyelets put in them. I had reinorced the top and sides with left over vinyl from the 'table cloth', so it was strong and didn't rip. Hopefully we will get i back today and I can see how it all went.

Photo's to date......

This is at the slum village in the first week.....

Jolie (centre front) and I shared with this group and then prayed with approx 6 of the ladies who recieved Jesus that day. They wanted to come to church, so we told them about the tuk tuk (long trailer style) Heartland sends each Sunday for the other christian in the village .

I haven't been able to follow up on them yet , as I was sick with throat/chest infection and unable to go back while I was unwell.

On our way home from another visit to the slum village, (Which has been renamed Freedom Village by Heartland - to give hope, not hopelessness) our tuk tuk broke a clutch cable.

So... when you are in Cambodia and your tuk tuk breaks a clutch cable what do you do???.... Push it around town to 4 different 'mechanic shops' till you find one that has clutch cable of course....der!!!

Pastor Chenna was with us and took the photo. We were late back for English class, but hey..the adventure and the exercise were worth it!!
This little boy is 8 years old. His name is Psaal. (spelling mine) He fell asleep in my arms in about 5 minutes. A warm and comfy spot I suppose - even in the arms of a stranger.

I presume he'd had an early morning start wandering the streets collecting recyclables to sell. This is a very common way for the children to suppliment the family income, so they get fed.

He was sweet.....

I love this photo......

Twice per week we walk 20 mins to Windy Village where we do a feeding/teaching/church programme. On Sunday mornings it starts at 7am. This gives us the opportunity to see the villagers in full swing of their daily farming duties.

These ladies are farming some sort of water lilly, that is edible and sold as food, I believe.
I would decorate my house with it!!!

These last two are for Josh & Stephan Sorenson....

Josh - big boys do sleep on noisy, crowded, uncomfortable buses- here's the proof!

Stephan - you're a better man that me...!!!

End of Today's entry. I pray a blessing for every person that reads this entry.

Regards, Lane (Occy to some special people in Coffs harbour !!).

Moving right along........

Here it is Saturday morning, our day off!

My health is on the improve, so I am making the most of it and having the best part of the day in town catching up on emails, food shopping, etc . I even have a lunch date with a married couple (in their 70's) that I met at our beautiful Christmas lunch on Thursday, at Destiny Rescue House.
I'm looking forward to spending some time with them, and gleaning some wisdom, as I believe they have been travelling as missionaries for quite a few years. They go back to settle in Australia on the 3rd January, to stay. I'm sure they can give me some pointers on how to make the most of every situation God will no doubt allow me to go through. But also how to enjoy the journey with expectant anticipation!

...Meanwhile back at Heartland Int.......One of my allocated jobs is to create some gardens. The new Heartland Church Building is lovely, but , as with any new concrete construction, it needs some beautifying to soften it and make it homely and inviting.

Today I will cycle around the town and seek out a couple of nurseries and price some native plants. As equipment is in short supply, we also need some basic gardening tools to carry out the job, which I will also price. There is not much available from the church budget, as there are more pressing needs to be met.

As I watched the progress of the building on the Heartland International website before I left Australia, my intension was to bless Heartland with this by paying for it myself. However, the poor exchange rate has almost doubled my personal cost of living here significantly and my personal finances are already strained. (I have recently had to pay almost $300 American dollars, which is about $500 Australian dollars, to get my visa extended for 12 month. I wasn't expecting it to be that much!!)

Wisdom tells me to ask for help at this stage. Early..... I know... but time is of the essence! I will be leaving the Church in 3 weeks to do my next leg (11 weeks) in Phnom Penh, with the SHE Rescue house. ... I would love to be able to do this for them before I go, and make it a really nice job. (I will be returning late April to continue working with them here). Sooooo......

If any of you gardeners, or lovers of beautiful gardens, or lovers of coffe in a garden setting, would like to assist me in this task I would greatly appreciate it. I will be the hands, the feet and the time giver,... if you could please help be the giver of finances...... together we can achieve this and make a beautiful statement on behalf of our Coffs Harbour Connections........ What do you think?// ...

I really appreciate you even considering this, as I know what this time of year is like on finances in our culture......and lots of small amounts would add up to one bigger amount..... so anything and everything is gratefully accepted. Please do not feel pressured, I will still love YOU, and so will God!!! Ha Ha - My bank details are on my profile, if you need them. Just mark it " garden".

(P.S please be aware that deposits take at least 2 days to reach my account, and it costs me $12- $17 bank fee to get it out.)

Thanks Heaps!!!! Love to you all. Lane.

My First Blog - Enjoy!!!!!!!!!

Hi Everyone.
I'm so glad you have tuned in to follow my travels. Well here I am in Cambodia, on the first leg of this journey God is taking me on for 2008/09. It's been two and a half weeks since I left Australia, and that was a journey in itself. I'm starting to feel at home now. This is going to be my home for quite some time, until God moves me on.

I live at the Heartland Church building in a rural area outside the town of Kampong Cham. I currently share a room with three other Australians. We have managed to make it quite homely, and I have even set up a private corner in the courtyard to escape for a coffee and quiet time. Sometimes a couple of us will have breaky out there. It's quite a lovely really. Very peaceful in the mornings.

Life here starts very early. Our weekly program is full of ministry visits to Windy Village (a very poor rural village), Freedom Village (known as the slum village but Heartland have renamed it to give it a name of HOPE - not hopelessness), the Aids Ward in town, English classes, and more as the need arises.

I have also been given the job of Maintenance Manager. I see things that need fixing, or even inventing and get the coggs turning to fix/replace or invent it. I am also going to do some sewing of curtains/blinds etc. The building is new (built debt free by Heartland) and with every new building there are always lots of bits & pieces to get, and finishing touches to complete. The budget is always tight and in Cambodia everything moves sloooowww. So this will be a new challenge for me. Those that know me well might understand that. But we have managed to get a much needed, new kitchen table that we can all sit at together. It had to be purpose built. This morning I put the finishing touches to it with vinyl as a very practical and functional table cloth. It does look great though.

As usual, time is limited so I will keep this entry short (Yes this is short for me!). And email everyone this address so that you can visit at any time and see what's been happening here. Thanks to Byron for my photo. I will learn how to upload photos from my camera on Saturday.

I wish you all a fabulous Christmas, with Jesus at the Centre of your celebrations as He is The Reason for the Season"". Bless you all heaps, Love Lane.