What has been happening since our last Newsletter?
The children are continuing to learn the English Alphabet and also Khmer Alphabet. They enjoy play time even though we are in the middle of hot season. As there have been continued power cuts in Phnom Penh, getting them to sleep in the heat can be difficult but the staff do a good job in trying to keep them cool. The land is so parched and most of the ponds and lakes are dry, so water shortages are a problem too. We can go home to fans and air-con (if our power is not out) but we think about the children and families in the village who do not have these facilities, it must be so difficult. We also think about back home, the cold temperatures and snow and if honest we would prefer to be too hot rather than too cold lol.
Back home there have been a few fundraising events both for the work of Eggshell Cambodia and for teams who are coming out to Cambodia later in the year which included a Women’s Pamper Night at Willowfield Parish Church and a Musical Eggstravaganza in St. Johns, Orangefield. Both events were well attended, and we thank all those took part and who attended and who supported these events!
February saw a large team arriving in Cambodia for two weeks from Ballyhenry Presbyterian. They were such a blessing to us, loving our children, painting the church grounds and painting a beautiful mural on a dull and uninteresting container. The place looks so much brighter and the mural is a sign of hope and love in the village. We also received two large boxes of crafts, re-usable nappies and so much more to bless our children and the village.
The team held a kid’s club in the village and over 155 children, sang, played games and listened to stories of Jesus. The puppets made an appearance which the children laugh, and a great day was had by both the team and the children. We were all very sorry to see them go but pray that they will come back soon and bring others!
We continue to see God move in this village. An extremely poor lady who had given up on life, drinks heavily to dull her pain, lives in the worst conditions I have ever witnessed with three children, we blessed her with basic food (some rice and fish) and lately we noticed she has started to collect plastic to sell. Our day-care is supporting her by giving her all the plastic we use and we can see that a ray of God’s hope entering her lonely and desperate life.
We have our youngest son Craig, daughter in law Sarah and our grand-son (who is 7 months old) out with us at the moment; we are enjoying showing Cambodia to them. They gave out food in their first few hours in the country to a family who are finding life extremely difficult now due the parents ill-health and have seen children sleeping naked on the streets of the city which they found hard to comprehend. They are enjoying the food here and our grandson has had a wee dip in the swimming pool. We will miss them very much when they leave; it is wonderful to spend time getting to know our little grandson and our hearts melt at his beautiful smile.
The children are learning to sing “Jesus Loves me” and it is lovely to sit and listen to Somnang playing guitar and the children praising God. We are truly blessed to do the work we do for God and the hardship is all worth it. Easter is approaching and the children are learning about Jesus and how he died for them.
The staff have asked Liz to take Classes after they finish work for them to improve their English and study the Bible. This will start early in April, pray for lives to be changed as they learn more about the God who loves them.
The staff continue to encourage us, with words like “Liz you eat so little but you are still so big”!
One staff member said “An old lady wants to learn English” Liz; “what age is she? Answer “35”. We are 58!!!!
We pray and thank God every day for all of you who help and support us, you are God’s enablers and we could not continue to do this work without your support and love.
If you do not contribute to our work and would like to help us on a regular basis, please prayerfully consider becoming a monthly donor. Contributing in this way will really help us budget and plan for the future of our existing day-care but also in planning for expansion to other slums in need of our day-care.
To receive our regular Newsletter email please sign-up on this website, or email us on info@eggshellcambodia.com
I will leave you with a quote from our newest Christian staff member “Liz I know why God made the World round – he wanted us all to be connected and a square world would not have done this, too many corners”….. Thought provoking!!
Until next time. Happy Easter, He is Risen and is Alive.
Preah Jesu L’awe nung stralang ewan (Jesus is good and loves us)
God bless
