Kampong Cham Food Market

Bible storytelling workshop

I spent the last few days with a group of semi strangers having an intense time. We were being trained in a particular way of crafting a Bible story, and learning how to use it in various ways.

blurry vision, airport visit, enjoying our place

 Last week was a good week for Soeun. Relatively speaking he was healthy, he had an intensive class, so it was really exhausting but he made it through the week. I sent an email to our prayer partners to let them know. We were really thankful for this as last time he had a class it took almost 2 months before he was well enough to do anything.

But this week he has struggled to see clearly, blurry vision is one of the problems caused by his inner ear migraine. Not being able to focus his eyes well enough to read is really hindering his study, as you can imagine. He is more healthy than last year, but its still an ongoing issue. We're both really sick of living with sickness!

One thing that has made this week bearable is that we enjoy where we are living this year. We have our own space to relax in. The recent public holiday was a really nice day, I spent the whole day inside watching the rain and reading.

Yesterday I went to the airport to say goodbye to a team going to Indonesia!

Are Western Consumers Willing to Pay More for Apparel?

 

Aussie seasons- Autumn!

amanuensis, i don't know how to say or spell it

Soeun is trying to do the reading for his next subject, he has to keep looking words up in the dictionary. Sometimes the words aren't even there...like allonymity.

He's feeling relatively healthy this week which is nice, although feeling very behind on study (he was sick for almost 2 months) and it doesn't help that we have sick family overseas at the moment.

The weekend was so dark and gloomy, I'd forgotten what that kind of weather is like, i felt like staying in bed and drinking something warm, todays weather has been crazy too as the SMH can tell and show you.

So glad to have somewhere to be inside! Also glad to have warm food and drink.

And enjoying the fact that I can join a local library and borrow books and dvds for free, including books that have only just come out, like this jeffery archer book.

Our 4 year old friends

Photo thanks: jhdavis

 "Did Kimsoeun have a mud bath?"
 I was puzzled when our 4 year old friend asked me this recently, but her next question explained why she was asking. When I told her he didn't have a mud bath she said "Then why is his skin brown?"

It reminded me of our 4 year old friend in Cambodia who asked her mum "Why does Aunty Katherine have a pointy nose?" To satisfy her son's curiosity the mum said "Because she eats bread instead of rice."

Brown skinned Soeun and pointy nosed Katherine

better??

One day, a few years ago Soeun had a cold. The next day I asked him how he was and he said he was better. Later I realised he was still coughing and I felt confused, why did he tell me he was better when he still had a cold?

I asked him and he replied with the Khmer word for better, the one that means "more good/gooder" and then it made sense. I had thought he meant "chea howie" which means healed.

I've been thinking about that over the last week as Soeun has been feeling heaps better than he has been since late March. When he's sick it's almost as if the real him has disappeared, and when he's well it feels a bit like he has come back to life again, his personality is back. Makes a big difference to my day if I get to see my "real" husband.

So I've been enjoying his good health lately, it very exciting. But I can't get too excited and start planning all the things that are on hold because of his inner ear migraine..... his health is only gooder than before, he is not totally healed.

faster and slower at the same time

Home/family life has become much slower since we got to Australia over a year ago.

 The chronic illness has forced us both to slow down in day to day things, and slightly longer term things too.

 But at the same time, its feels like things are going faster. With stable electricity supply and all the machines everyone has here in Aust, things are expected to happen much faster.

Strange feeling! Only just realising that now, looking back on last year.

What do I do at work

FOCUS girls meal at Vietnamese restaurant 

 Recently about 10 FOCUS girls had a meal out together. It was fun to spend some time with them, and great for them to get to know each other a bit. Some of them met for the first time as some people only go to small groups, and others only to our big FOCUS meetings, others may only come a a holiday program or social event every so often.

That night we had some Aussies, a Bengali, some Indonesians, some Chinese.

Duck lunch after FOCUS girls graduation 

update on live below the line

Well, Becky has finished the week of only eating what she could buy for 2$ per day (see post from last week). At first her goal was to raise 400$ for education in PNG, but she has now raised the goal to a LOT more than that as you can see here on her page.