Summer Fun!

Wow, it has been a busy summer at Christian Happy Home in Poipet!   The kids have been on break from public school during August and September, and we’ve had a full schedule.  There have been a few challenges and a few changes, but also a lot of fun.  Although the summer started a little rough, it ended well. 

As mentioned in the last update, we took our new little girl Chanta to the hospital in Siem Reap for a diagnosis of the curvature of her upper spine.  They determined she has Pott’s Disease, or tuberculosis of the spine.   We usually think of TB affecting the lungs, but it can actually affect almost any body part.  She has been started on a six-month regimen of TB meds that should halt the progression of the disease, which is the goal at this time.  But as you can see, here with her partner in crime Peter, she happy, active, and free of pain.  We believe that her coming to Happy Home is not by chance and that the Lord has better plans for this beautiful little girl! 

We’ve had some changes in staff this summer, with the departure of one staff and the hiring of two new staff.  We hired a new night guard, Heng.  He’s a young lay leader in the local church our kids attend.  Everyone already knew him and loved him, so it’s wonderful to have him on staff.  In addition to his guard duties, he’s helping teach a discipleship class to our older kids and a Bible study for the staff.   

Som Ouen, the younger brother of our housemom, Mom, came to volunteer at our Home over the summer.  He also grew-up in a Christian children’s home in Phnom Penh from the age of ten.  He has a tremendous heart for the kids because he understands their situation, and has a great desire to help them improve their futures.  He was such a blessing to us as a volunteer we decided to hire him full-time! 

Over the summer, two different parents, for different reasons, came to Happy Home requesting to take their children back home.  This is always a difficult situation.  When Happy Home accepts a child, we complete all the necessary documentation to obtain legal custody/guardianship of the child, and the family member granting custody agrees to not ask for the child back.  Nonetheless, it still happens.  It’s never enjoyable saying no to a parent.  But once the child becomes part of our family, and we love them and envision a new future for them, it’s impossible to imagine sending them back to the situation from which they’d come.

At the beginning of August, a wave of the flu swept through the Home.  Over the course of about five days, more than 20 of the kids were affected to varying degrees.  On two different days we kept 10 kids home from private school.  Although I was suspicious it was the swine flu, we had no way of knowing, as the only testing facilities in Cambodia are six hours away.   We’re thankful that none of the kids were affected too severely and none required hospitalization, but it was an anxious, hectic few days of taking temperatures and giving meds.

After the flu passed, we began our summer classes at the Home for the kids.  We had classes for math, English, guitar, piano, Bible, and arts and crafts.  A few of the kids show musical potential, so we’ll be continuing the music classes.

In mid-August, we took all the kids and staff to Siem Reap for a few days of vacation!  Siem Reap is home to Angkor Wat, the ruins of the ancient Khmer civilization and one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.  We had a great time!

We toured Angkor Wat, visited the Angkor National Museum, watched traditional Khmer dancing at another children’s home, visited a silk farm, and went swimming every day!

The first week of September, Som Ouen and Wittaya ran a two-day Bootcamp for the big kids.  It was so much fun!  The kids were split into two teams and played more than 20 games requiring them to think and work together as a team.  The final afternoon included true bootcamp fun, like climbing over walls, crawling through mud, walking blindfolded through a maze, crossing over the pond on a rope bridge and riding a zip line.  It was a blast and the kids loved it!

The following week, the Philippino Baptist church in Poipet hosted vacation Bible school for the kids.  The kids learned new songs, memorized Bible verses, played games and performed skits.  This is the second year the church has hosted VBS for us, and it is great blessing!

The third week of September was a national holiday in Cambodia and about half the kids were able to go home and visit their families for a few days.

 During that same week, I attended a missions conference in Hong Kong hosted by Calvary Chapel.  I enjoyed catching up with my friend David, now serving in Thailand, and meeting many other missionaries from around SE Asia. It was a wonderful time of refreshing and encouragement.

The kids are now getting ready to return to school full time.  They each were blessed with two new uniforms and a backpack for the new school year.  As an outreach to their public school, yesterday we loaded up our trucks with kids and tools and cut the grass and picked-up trash all around the school.  It’s the first time I’ve seen the grass cut and the school clean in the last year.  It looks like a new school!

As the summer break is drawing to a close, we can look back and see the Lord’s blessing and favor toward us.  We’re thankful for His provision, protection, and abundance of blessings!    

"Because Your lovingkindness if better than life, my lips shall praise You.  Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name."  Ps 63:3-4