Flip Flops!! Seems to be another tradition in Cambodia that your flip flops belong to everyone. While in day care all outdoor footwear is taken off and left at the door, well it seems that if you can’t find your own flip flops or trainers to go and do something outside, then you just take the nearest flip flops available. Liz can never find hers as at least one staff member has borrowed them even if they are 3 sizes to small for them. The answer, two pairs of flip flops? – NO! just means there are now two pairs to choose from. Solutions on a postcard please lol.
We start this month by again praising God for his love, compassion, and provision for the poor. We should not worry about provision as Jesus said that he would provide for all our needs – but we are human – right? Cambodia is known as the “Kingdom of Wonder” – during this Epidemic, the people of Cambodia are suffering with the rest of the World, it doesn’t feel much like the Kingdom of Wonder just now. But…
After our last food giveaway in the village, Mark and I were discussing if we could carry out another one as we are seeing more and more people in need, losing their homes because they cannot pay the rent and do not have enough resources to meet their basic needs.
Well Jesus provided big time, just after our discussion we received a generous donation which enabled us to not only do the giveaway but do the biggest one to date. 61 families where blessed with basic food essentials and prayer.
Why do we doubt???? Even as I type this, I am listening to a song by Zac Williams and Dolly Parton called “There was Jesus”, he is there in our searching, in the healing and the hurting, although we don’t see it, he is in the mountains and the valleys – No matter what the circumstance, there is Jesus. Amen I say, Amen.
There have been a few mountains and valleys for us lately. We thought we were going to be able to open day care again after seeing an article in a newspaper approximately two weeks ago, only, we have seen nothing official, so for a moment we thought we had climbed our mountain only to go straight down again into another valley. We so much want to open our doors to our children.
We continue to work without the children, skilling the staff by holding training days, team building and devotions. Spending this time together is precious as it is building confidence, providing fellowship, and giving them a greater understanding of the Bible and the love of Jesus.
One mountain climbed was that Liz’s father is now back in his own home and feeling much happier. While on Facetime she asked him why he didn’t want to stay in the Care Home in beautiful Carnlough he answered, “The 12 women living there were too loud and talked too much!”.
Our most recent Valley is that we were supposed to be back in Northern Ireland in July for New Wine Ireland and then to spend time with our family. Our flights were cancelled. We could fly home via a very long convoluted route, spend two weeks in quarantine, but on entry back into Cambodia we would have to go into quarantine again for a further two weeks. We are so disappointed but are trying to be patient and have decided to wait until restrictions are lifted which makes more sense.
We are very blessed to have good friends here both Foreign and Khmer to meet up and have fellowship with. We are also so grateful for all our family and friends who contact us regularly with messages of encouragement and Facetime us for a wee chat. You are the best. We link into Sunday services back home and are so grateful that COVID 19 has opened up that opportunity to us, it makes the 6,000 miles distance seem a lot smaller.
Thank you for being there for us, for supporting our children, our staff and for loving the people from the “Kingdom of Wonder”. We as Christians have the assurance that when this life is over, we are going to be with Jesus in his Kingdom, please pray that the people of Cambodia find that assurance too.
We want to leave you with some words from Matthew 6 v 25-26 –
That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life – whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds, they don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them and aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?
Blessings and stay safe and well until next time.