Happy New Year!

I've never really felt the need to mark the Chinese New Year before, but the signs are all around us - from garish Chinese decorations stuck on the doors of our hotel, to the little Buddhist shrine in reception which currently has offerings of a roast pig, a couple of chickens, fruit, vegetables, money and, of course, lots of incense sticks. Add to that the regular outbreaks of firecrackers - which sound as though someone has tossed a lit match into a whole box of fireworks and finish up with an explosion which sounds like the side of the house is coming down - we are enjoying the celebrations!

Today is really a half day for us, workwise. We did a two-hour children's outreach this morning (for the 2005 team reading this, it was in the village where the children seemed really unhealthy, where we met the lady with AIDS whose husband had just died). When we arrived, around sixty children were waiting patiently on two mats. So, after the introductions and the quick lesson on Scotland, we told acted the stories of the lost sheep, lost coin and lost son. During the story of the lost son Kosal, who was interpreting for us today, got a call on his mobile and had to leave - apparently there has been an outbreak of cholera in the village where we were two days ago (and ate lunch!), so he had to go and help deal with that. We're not worried for ourselves - we actually have the right medication with us for anything like that and, as long as you have access to clean water and oral rehydration solution it's hot hard to manage. The problem in this village is that they have no water of their own. CHO has already been trying to drill down to give them a pump (it costs $1500 to drill 50 meters), but still no water. It costs $2500 to drill 100m. So, until they can have their own clean water in the village, they buy it from the next village, which is probably how they got infected with cholera. I haven't given our church gift to Chomno yet - it may be that our money will go to provide clean water for a village and to prevent future outbreaks of disease. Meanwhile, please pray for the village, which is called Bos Tom (pronounced 'bottom'). The meaning of the name doesn't get much better - the village changed to that name recently, which means 'large abscess'...

Back to the kids outreach - we spent half an hour bowing up balloons and making odd looking dachshunds with them, before launching into Noah's ark, and then finishing the day with making simple paper crosses. Oh, and we played a game of tunnel tig which we changed to toilet tig, because they didn't want to go through each other's legs (or possibly crawl around in the dust). So, after the customary sweetie dispensary, we headed back - hopefully they children enjoyed it, but more importantly, hopefully something of the message of God's passionate love for them filtered through our ham-fisted Western attempts at communication...!

We're supposed to be having a debrief this afternoon with Chomno, but he is probably busy with the situation at Bos Tom, so we'll just wait for our next instructions. I need to prepare for tomorrow so I will hopefully get some time for that... There is to be a celebration this evening in honour of Vuthy and his wife and baby son, so that's our evening planned. After church tomorrow, we are to be Chomno's guests at his home (above the office). And then t will be into our battle bus for the long bumpy ride back to Siem Reap. The time is has passing quickly, and we've barely begun to process all that we have seen and done, but I think we are really beginning to get some measure of the real issues n this town. It's not a nice place in terms of hygiene or order, and the signs of poverty, disease, malnutrition, homelessness and desperate, desperate need are right in front of our faces. But God is here, in the warm hearts, the smiling faces, the passionate devotion of the CHO workers and in the ways in which increasing numbers of people are putting their faith in Jesus Christ.

I don't know what this Chinese New Year will bring to this community and the villages around - sure, there will be more disease, more poverty, constant need - but I know that through the work that Chomno and the CHO team are doing there will also be hope, education, clean water, training, employment opportunities, better food, and the Gospel. And I hope that we, as their brothers and sisters, will continue to get behind them and support them in whatever ways we can.

Talk to you again soon, I hope. I'm off to film some firecrackers!