My Quiet Place

There is one advantage to a baby who wakes early… I get up early too. (I am only able to say this now that he is FINALLY sleeping through the night)

In fact, early morning is a beautiful time of day, particularly up on my roof top. It has become a habit whereby I take my Bible, Baby and Brooks up onto the roof (ie my 20 step walking track through “tropical forest”) for morning quiet time and exercise. While the children play in the sand-pit, I am able to connect with God, learn from Him and take to Him all my concerns and thoughts.

This morning routine combined with a full night’s sleep has done wonders for my outlook and attitude. I love it! So does my family.

Then this week disaster struck. Our landlord wants to build another level on top of our house. This means we have to find another place to live by the end of next month.

Devastated seems a little dramatic. Maybe it would be best to say that I am going through the various stages of grief.

Finding a cool, secure, mosquito-proof, 3 bed-room townhouse with external windows (for natural light and breezes), close to school, AND with a walking track on top is not so easy to find here.

In my morning readings, I am encouraged to...

"Do not worry ... your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seeks first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well". (Matt 6:31a, 32b)

Jesus listed only food, drink and clothes - not a home. Yet, I am determined to trust that He can provide according to my needs.

I just hope He knows that I really need that walking track. Really. Really.

Increasing rental prices

On holidays I also managed to receive a hand-me-down copy of "The Australian" (a treasure indeed!) and read of the predicted 30% increase in rental prices throughout Australia over the next three years (see BIS Shrapnel report - Residential Property Prospects 2008 to 2011).

.... umph ... ahh.. (excuse me, just getting on my soap box).

Perhaps Christian landlords (me included) could first consider the economic situation of their tenants before deciding to follow the market rates. (Is it possible that Isaiah 3:14 would consider high rental market rates "plunder of the poor"?)

Or on a related note, perhaps property investors could restrain from buying up any more real estate (which would help dampen prices allowing first home buyers to get into the already ridiculously expensive market). You might think I'm crazy, but then again maybe ask Isaiah (5:8) what he thinks.

I realise that this would then leave Christian investors with the conundrum of how then to be a good steward of the resources God has given them...

If you're really stuck, I have a few ideas.. so does Isaiah (58:6-12).

A slice of heaven

I know many people from “home” pity us cross-cultural workers (I do too sometimes). But our recent holiday is surely a cause for jealousy.

No, we did not visit Disneyland or trek in the Himalayas. It was even better.

Introducing "The Juniper Tree".

Located in lush, sub-tropical Chiang Mai, the Juniper Tree is a retreat centre for Christian workers needing rest and recovery. (For a "donation", you get 3 meals a day, laundry, library, swimming pool, TV/DVD, playgrounds etc)

Apart from eating way too much, I also devoured biographies, fiction, books on mission and children’s education as well as fulfilling the daily quota of children’s stories (for the kids, not me.. really!). Ahhh… Heaven.

But the real treasure is the people you meet there. Most we won’t ever meet again until we really do get to heaven, but somehow we made friends that I hope last a lifetime.

Puhn's smile

With a dazzling smile, little seven year old Puhn looked far different from one month ago.

At that time, he was losing a lot of blood from his grotesquely swollen "nether-regions". He was about to be admitted to hospital to try to address the condition that had almost taken his life a number of times over the last couple of years. His treatment was made possible by a visiting team that were moved by his plight and raised funds from Australia.

Little Puhn had a stoic look of someone accustomed to pain. With few pain killers, his only comfort was praying to Jesus for help whenever it became unbearable. We and visitors from Australia prayed with him on the eve of his treatment - our prayers merely a drop in the bucket compared to the years of prayer from his foster Mum.

Puhn's foster Mum (who also looks after 26 other children in her continually growing family.. but that's another story) was in tears as she shared of how much she feared for his life. A trained nurse, she knew of the dangers of his previous episodes of blood loss. So last month, she left her other "children" with her husband and volunteers from their church in order to accompany Puhn to the doctors' clinic.

In Cambodia, hospital patients are cared for by family members who sleep on mats under or beside their beds (even in Intensive Care Units). They must provide food, change bandages, administer drugs and seek (beg for) blood donors as directed by the doctor.

Over this month, Puhn's foster Mum stayed with him - caring for his needs, praying for healing, comforting him through the nights of pain following his 15 operations. In the end, she and her resources were exhausted.

Although Puhn was originally operated on by a visiting European doctor who volunteered his services, his treatment was later being managed by a local doctor in a public hospital. Not known for their ethical practices, the doctor was recommending even more operations in his private clinic. Puhn's foster Mum with her nursing training suspected that further operations were no longer necessary. The doctor finally agreed to discharged him.

When they came to visit me with a gift of avocados (a rare treat here), Puhn was a different boy. His shy, fearful eyes now shone with joy and gratitude. Even after saying goodbye, he kept looking back at me like he had seen an angel. Ah, such misplaced gratitude... I wish the team could have seen the difference that their concern and action had made in his life.

Thank you, Jesus.

Report cards

Last week was the final week of school bringing with it two birthdays (ours), two birthday parties (others), a swimming carnival, a break-up party, goodbyes and ... report cards.

While we are incredibly proud of how well our two eldest are going, the following statement in one report made us laugh.

"(Princess) is someone who knows what she wants. This works well for both her and us most of the time".

I can't help wonder if I were to receive a report card from the Big Boss whether it would include a similar statement.

Thanks

When we signed up for missions, we were warned to not expect any thanks from those whom we were reaching. A mentor who has worked many years overseas can count on one hand the number of thank yous he has received.

However, our experience has been quite the opposite, particularly for Steve in his physio training clinic. Because they are only training, it is a free service. Yet it has been highly valued by the patients treated there.

Crumpled notes are often shoved in the donation box (which are then used to help with medical costs for poor patients). And weekly, we can expect a bag of fruit from a patient’s own tree (which are shared amongst the physios or brought home to us). Once, we even got a packet of Tim Tams (which was NOT shared!).

But over the last couple of weeks, we have been showered with appreciation.

One wife of a missionary invited us to a scrumptious homemade dinner of lasagna, mango and coconut cake, and chai tea. A high level Policeman has taken Steve and the physios out a number of times to a seafood restaurant (the kind with live fish swimming in tanks outside “waiting” to be chosen).

But my favourite “thank you” came from yet another man of few means who had a back operation paid by the project funds. Only days after the operation and just as he was leaving Phnom Penh to return to his home in the Provinces, this father of 10 children came to Steve’s clinic. Overjoyed with his treatment and success of the operation, the man thanked Steve again and again, calling him one of his own sons. He has invited us all to visit him and his family in the Provinces where I am sure we would be treated with hospitality beyond their means.

The challenge is communicating that they should be thanking the One who sent us and the One who inspires others to be generous in giving. Mostly, it just falls on deaf ears... but we pray that it sits in their hearts, one day to take root and grow.

Do you see what I see?

“It is the biggest blind spot of Western Christians”, he concluded. It had been an intense conversation about the corporate world, wealth creation and an ethical response between two business graduates now committed to living out our faith in an unjust world.

“But what can we do about it?” I moaned. No one wants to hear that being a good steward of God’s money does NOT mean generating wealth (aka investing wisely) to hoard (ie enjoy for our own purposes) but actually investing and spending it as God would (remembering that EVERY person is a precious to Him as we are).

He replied simply, “Talk about it. Live it.”

I’m not sure which of these is more difficult. Talk invites pride, criticism and misunderstanding (particularly on such an emotionally-charged taboo topic as money). Living it means not just going beyond the talk and letting go, but investing time to think it through, making changes and taking risks.

It’s easier to pretend I just don’t see the problem from behind my "Jesus loves me" rose-coloured (opaque) glasses.