Life (for some) in Phnom Penh....

A few shots about town............ I'm not sure how these pictures will correspond with my descriptions, as this blog site seems to do it's own cut & pasting. So I will try to keep it in some sort of corresponding order.
The first picture is a common sight that I wanted to catch on camera. You can see the two kids in between the adults on the motorbike. They have no helmets. It is common to see up to 6 people on one of these motos. And also so see very young kids, unprotected being held by one hand of the driver, with the other one on the steering wheel. I stood on the corner of the park for about 15 mins to capture some good shots. It wasn't easy because by the time I had focused my camera and took the shot, the moto was often out of the picture or I got the back. There are a couple of other photos further down of similar things.
This is the park that we sometimes go to with the girls. It is a very refreshing sight here. The greenest corner that I have seen yet. It is quite lovely, although there are only a few trees scattered around the streetline, so unfortunately there is no shade to sit under in the middle of the park, which would be lovely. It is a popular place for nationals and visitors alike to go for a stroll on the weekends.
On one morning walk, I found this well dressed lady. She was sitting out the front of her house doing something, I'm not sure what, with her rice. She looked like she was cleaning it or something.It is common to see families, or gatherings of people cooking their evening meel on the street in a little pot. Also, some of the khmer are quite houseproud really. You will often see ladies sweeping up the leaves off the dirt in front of their house or cooking corner on the street.
The good old pushbike!!!! A very common form of transport. This older gentleman was travelling along side our tuk tuk when I took this photo.

We sometimes take the girls from the house pushbike riding, but for safetys sake, we can only ride in the street in front of the house.
Can you see the kid on the motorbike on the right of the screen? That is what I was talking about earlier. Many moto accidents involve kids. In KC Hospital one of the boys we visited had a broken leg from a moto accident, in which his father was killed.

And the Lady in the picture carries her cooking utensils around on her sholders. She would probably sit on a street corner and cook to sell to the locals. You see a lot of these ladies. I think this is a pretty tough way to make a living. But as my mum would have said..Ït is honest toil."

It is absolutely amazing what they carry on their motorbikes. Furniture, hay, glass sheets, pots and pans. It really is incredible what they can do. This man is carrying his bananas. I'm not sure if he was on the way to a market or something. See his ingenious set up though.

This was a funeral we came across at the end of our street one morning. Funerals here go for anything from 2-3 days to a week. They set up a marque and people come and go for days. They also fly a white flag sort of thing that looks like a body, and play the loudest, high pitched, oriental music ever. At the most ungodly hour in the morning. I'm sure the angels aren't even awake at that time. While I was in Kampong Cham, there was a funeral almost every second week. With the same "lovely (not) loud music".
All the morners dressed in white and followed the coffin through the street, I presume to the burial ground. It blocked the street for a little while. The guys in black are probably some sort of security guards/ traffic control.

This is a local electrical repair shop. They do their repair work out on the street a lot of the time. Same as moto repairs etc. Their shops etc are in the front of their houses. Their house usually is a room with a bed, and probably some sort of toilet, and cooking facility.
To create an income, these people collect rubbish and go through it to get anything worth recycling. I'm not sure who they sell it too.....? You will often see small boysin the streets, dragging around large plastic bags full of plastic bottles and cans. That is often why the parents don't want to send them to school, because they help bring in income for the family. I'm not sure what dad does. I often see groups of men sitting on the footpath playing games, sometimes gambling.
Another example of what and how they carry goods on their motos. This would most probably be goods to sell at the market.
Thats about it for today. I want to go and get a$3 massage, as my neck is out. I still haven't managed to find a comfortable way to sleep on the pillow I have. I have tried a few alternatives, but not been too sucessfull met.

Love and Blessings to you, Lane
Also thanks to you Noel for being my avid blog follower and taking the time to post comments.

Week 2 in Phnom Penh

My role here is becoming more defined as time goes by. Bec, the overall Project Supervisor is going away for a week and I will take up a couple of extra admin responsibilities. (Nothing too demanding as yet).

English Tutor; I am also now the English tutor for the three older girls. One of them goes to normal school in the mornings also, but they all learn English as an extra. They have just started in an English for Beginners program the New Life Church is Running, and I support them there as well as tutor them at home before a lesson, and on homework. As with most 15 year olds, we sometimes have attitude. SO THAT IS A TEST FOR ME, AS I AM NOT GOOD WITH ATTITUDE.
Today, you wouldn't envy me. I had a headache, period pain, a head cold and I had to teach 3 very reluctant 15 year old girls English. I'm afraid the mother instinct came out in me and I wanted to give them a clip around the ears for attitude. BUT>>>> I restrained myself, and through an interpreter, I explained that this was an opportunity that God had given them, and a lot of other people don't have, and they should apprediate it and do the very best they can with it. A lot of other girls never get this opportunity, and it will help them have a better future etc. Also, that they were wasting my time as well. (I think the interpreter thought I was a little harsh, but then she is about 23 years old and never been a mother of teenagers) They could tell I wasn't impressed, but they came around in the end. We got in about 20 minutes of our allotted one hour! But.....
After that I took them to their formal English class at the church,which they enjoyed and were able to participate in, because I had pre-tutored them, so they knew what the teacher was talking about... the previous lesson, they had no idea, and were quite lost....

I think (or hope at least) that a small lesson was learned today. I am not good with ATTITUDE!!! (But I am learning) think I lived with it for tooooo long, so I have VERY LITTLE tollerance with it anymore.....We all ended up with a better understanding/respect of each other I think. And hopefully the girls learned not to push me too far or I will pull rank!...They still love me! Phew!

All's well that ends well. Praise God.

Cooking Teacher; Not one of my stronger points, but hey anyone can read directions on a packet...can't they? I give a cooking lesson to all the girls (split into 2 age groups) on Saturdays. It's not so much the cooking, but not having the equipment we are used to that makes it more difficult. It could be FRIED CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS again.... That has to be better that deep fried spiders and locusts etc..... doesn't it..? What do you think?

I did suggest to Bec, that I do a fruit salad or something, but she said they chop up food all the time (when they help prepare meals), so that would be boring for them. They aren't into healthy, just a treat for that time. Still I think I may try it at least once, and add youghurt as they like sweets.

Craft Activities; I think out of boredom more than anything, I decided to have some fun with paper and stickers and have taught the girls to make little origami treasure boxes, and decorate them with pretty stickers etc. They are quite a hit. Tonight, on my way to the internet, I bought some more stickers, as there a a couple of girls who have yet to do theirs. I promised them I would do it today for them. So that will be my task when I go home.

My Visa; My visa may be a problem. I am going to see the Passport Office on Monday, to try to sort out what I can and can't do. Having a tourist visa, there may be a problem to keep extending it each month. Apparently they only extend tourist visa's once. And I have already done that. It looks like I may have to slip out of the country and return on a multi entry business visa. I have till the 6th of February to get it sorted, after that I am in the country illegally. So a quick trip to Vietnam (the closest country) may be on the cards. Whatever, I will make the most of it. Turn it in to an adventure!!!!!! (especially if I have to go to all that expense) It would be nice to have a friend to go with though...

I have no pictures with me now, so I will close off this blog. Love and Blessings to all of you who are interested enought o follow my journey with God in Cambodia.... Love and appreciate you heaps, Lane.

Week 1 in Phnom Penh.

AT THE HOUSE:

Well I have been here , in Phnom Penh, for over one week now and I have settled into the house well. I have my own room (left), and HOT water (to shower in and wash my hair)!!!! We live behind bars, locked gates and a security guard. Most houses are behind bars. No grass or front yards here. All cement and bars. There are some pot plants scattered here and there though for a bit of greenery. (The first night i dreamed I was in a pink prison).
All the staff are lovely and welcoming. There are 16 girls living in the house at the moment., aged between 3 - 15 years. They share three bedrooms between them, separated into age groups. Everything seems to work very well. They run a pretty tight ship and all the girls contribute to the upkeep of the house, cooking and washing up, and go to school. My roll in the house is being defined as I go along, I think. We have a daily shedule to follow, and it involves a lot of supervision of the different age groups doing their different things. Last Saturday I gave a cooking lesson!!! Don't get too excited. As I didn't know it was happening until I read the schedule that morning, I could only cook from any ingredients that were in the cupboard. We ended up with fried chocolate chip muffins (the oven didn't work- so they went in the frying pan) and pancakes out of a packet mix. They girls enjoyed them..
The girls are also programmed extra activities also. The other day, I accompanied them to the park for ''sports &' games'. Which ended up a quick game of badmitton (? spelling) then a walk, and buying pippies, and boiled (not roasted) peanuts from a local street vendor, and having a feast. Apparently their trips to the park are more about eating, than exercise. But then the eldest are 15, and that's pretty normal for that age. The younger ones just follow suit.

IN THE CAFE:

This is the equivalent of $ 1.10 c in reil, I used to pay for a drink in a cafe yesterday....... I thought it was interesting enough to pass on just for a sticky beak..!!!

I thought I was pretty clever countung it all up to have the right money when I paid, but as it turned out I was 400 reil, 10 cents, short. I'm not as clever as I though I was eh???
I'm getting better though.



FROM THE TUK TUK:
And below is a scene in one of the main streets that I travel to & fro at times. It shows yet another side of the living standards in this city. It's a little blurred as I took it on the spur of the moment in passing. Next time I will zoom in so you can get more detail.

AT THE CHURCH:

This is a sewing class I attended.........















An Australian lady was going to teach, whoever was interested, to make fabric sholder bags. They can be made to sell at the market. So I went along, to learn so I could teach the girls at our house, and also the girls/ladies in Kampong Cham when I return. They are always looking for income creating ideas. I helped teach, as there turned out to be about 15 in the class. And give tips on economizing on fabric and embellishing with pockets etc. (couldn't help myself) Everyone loved the class and some of the bags were lovely.

This is the New Life Centre.......... where they hold church and everything else. They also own (so I have been told) the building accross the road where they hold the Joy Club each Thursday afternoon. Thats like a kids club. Apparently, a lot of the kids that attend are orphans from the streets. We picked up some kids known to us and took them along also. It wasn't my favourite time. It was all in khmer, VERY loud , very hot, and although they had it under control, too much like organized chaos for me. They hold it on the third floor, in an open area. Workplace safety would have a fit!!!!










The picture of me in the tuk tuk is on our way to church last Sunday. These are NOT our girls. We picked up some other kids and took them along.
As you can see I have a white top on. The instant our tuk tuk stopped in front of these kids they were climbing all over me like little monkeys. As these kids come from some of the poorest of families, they were pretty dirty, and the concept of white, careful, or clean is unheard of. So guess who won't wear white on that run again!!!!!

I did take two of our older girls to the church last week to have an English Lesson, but there was no teacher. So I ended up being the substitute teacher for a large class of varying levels. It was fun, I enjoyed it feeling useful at least. English is something I do know well, and I find teaching easy.

I am going to publish this now and see how it looks. Hope it gives you a good idea of what it is like here. For security reasons, I can't put any photos of our girls on here.

Home life in Kampong Cham, people, and more.......

Top right is our dorm, and above is the courtyard I created as a place to escape for quiet time. The plants were waiting to be put in the front garden, but I couldn't resist creating a little tropical paradise, even if it only lasted a FEW DAYS!!! We made the most of it while we had it. Below are my roomies, on a good day!! Ha Ha L-R Jolie, Amanda, Kassie, Steph & Myself. At left is the team at Heartland saying goodbye to the Seniour Pastor Eliah & Jit, who are now in Thailand. Bottom left is our kitchen, with our custom built table and table cloth etc. With some of the 'Heartland Family"sitting around.

These are just added for interest. All are typical scenes of our surrounding area.

Sorry this blog stup is a bit messy. No rhym or reason to it today!!! Go figure.....

This is a typical morning scene the road Heartland Church is built on, which is called Greater Unity Road! We walk it 3 times per week to go to Windy Village.

My last hospital visit for this leg of the journey anyway!!.

This is at the trauma ward at the Kampong Cham Hospital. If you can call it that........(see my attachment below to explain that comment). I took these photos last Wednesday. It was public holiday for the Khmer people, and three of us girls went into town in the afternoon to do a couple of jobs.. Steph, the girl pictured praying for healing, wanted to drop off a bible to the hospital for this man. He was burned in a house fire, in which he lost most of his children. I will attach a copy of something that I wrote to Stephan Sorenson in an email............ It will you give more insight.....

Stephan is preaching this Sunday at Coffs Harbour, and another Sunday in Casino and Stephan asked me ..."If there was anything you wanted me to say for you, please let me know " ..I answered... just that; the more time i spend in Cambodia, the more evidence I see of the destruction of the oppressive and destructive years Cambodia has been through, and the toll it has taken on these people. And how this nation really needs faithfull ''Çhristian Soldiers' to work along side the nationals that are working to build up this country to where it should, and can be.
God gave me a vision/word during one of our praise and worship times, that he was sending an army to march/work alongside, hand in hand, with the Khmer Christian army, to rebuild this nation of Cambodia. It is a privelege to be part of that.

Today is a public holiday(last Wednesday). It is the day the Khmer celebrate the end of the period of Pol Pot 's destruction and control over them. I can't remember what name they have given it, but it is a significant day in Cambodia today. Even Pastor Chenna was telling us the other evening that, under the Pol Pot regeim (speling ?), his parents were forced to marry each other or die!!. They did not love each other (probably didn't even know neach other really) and are not surprisingly, now divorced. But imagine that. Apparently there were about 500 coulpes forecbly married in about 50 minutes. Don't quote my figures, I will check them out again.
Also, we visited the trauma ward at the hospital today, on our way in to town. The building itself is filthy and delapidated. Poorly equipped, and hygiene ?? The staff do their best with what thay have.

I asked Rouen (tuk tuk driver and young worker at the Church building) if it was origionally built as a hospital, and he said yes. But it is obvious it has been through a war, the building and out houses still bare the scars. As do the older khmer people in their hearts, and on their faces.
There is a man in the Trauma Ward that was burned on his hands face and legs, in a house fire. He lost his house and some of his children. We were priveleged to deliver a bible to him and pray for him again today. He cannot read, but has accepted Jesus, and has a family member that can read to him. I will put some of this on my blogsite, but please share this testimony to anyone who will listed.
I'd better stop there as the list goes on. Please feel free to share any of this in your preaches, and at home cell. And point people to my blogspot. Your help is very much appreciated.
Really must go, love to all, Lane.

Update on garden makeover!!!

The garden makeover is almost complete. As the plants establish themselves a bit, it will look fuller. There is a lovely cactus which has a beautiful orange flower, you can see it if you look closely on the left hand side of the first photo. I have planted about 6 in each garden bed. Once they are established they will spread widthwise, flower profusely, and look fantastic against the mint green wall.

Pastors Chenna & Simmi, Ben & Cherie, are very happy with the garden. I like it also, especially compared to the before shots in my previous blog entry. What do you think Andrew???

I just have to buy a few more plants to complete the garden bed on the other side. Break my back for another couple of hours, (although I did hire one of the young guys to help me carry the dirt and lift the palm trees etc...) then it's all over rover!!! Yippee.

My Movie

Please take a look at my movie. It is the one I created after I returned from Camboda in July. it is worth seeing.........I am going to try to upload it. I will be surprised if it works for me the first time. But here goes.

A Morning in the Garden!!

These are the before shots.......Continued below
The beds are overgrown with grass and this red plant, that looks very scrappy. One of the team (jolie) helped me get all the grass out a tidy it up so that I can desaign the garden. I already have some plants, if you are interested, I will post the finished product in about one week. I will have Jolies help for another two mornings, then on my own. Keep watching this space....!! Ha Ha, have a great day, Lane in Cambodia!