Safe House and other Special Treats

I woke up with a sense of excitement at the thought of going to New Life Fellowship this morning. I had met Pastor Chuck McCaul the year before, in Poipet, and had enjoyed hearing about his ministry in Cambodia. I loved the vision of his church which was (quoting from the website): " To plant a New Testament church in Phnom Penh which will have a positive influence on every sector of Cambodian society: religion, education, politics, social relationships, business, sports, and communications - and will be a model and resource centre for planting churches in every province of Cambodia with the same philosophy and foundation and to send Cambodians as missionaries to other countries." And I had kept in touch with him via Facebook, hearing updates about the church plant in Poipet. I had also chosen to sponsor the school-fees of the little boy who had had such fun playing computer games on my laptop the year before, and Pastor Chuck was overseeing this sponsorship.

I was looking forward to seeing some of the fruit of  Pastor Chuck's labours, and I was not disappointed. New Life Church hums with life. As we arrived, people were leaving from the first service, and others were arriving for the second service. To my surprise I found Pastor Chuck, just coming out the gate as we were going in. There was time for a quick hug and a photograph, and then we were swept up into the building in a sea of happy faces and soon found ourselves seated near the front. The service was in Khmer, but there was a visiting speaker and she spoke in English with a translator, so we were easily able to follow. She spoke on 'Sowing and Reaping'. (Click on the link for a summary of her excellent talk). The worship was really special; songs we knew well, but sung in Khmer.

After church we went for lunch, and then we helped Andrea pack up the resources that had been used for the XP outreaches. And then Lorraine and I left with Sophy and Andrea to buy bicycles for the XP children who live in the Safe House. As the truck was fully loaded, we had to go to the house first in order to offload everything, so that we would have room for the bicycles. This all took a while, and it was close on 4pm by the time we set off in search of the bicycle shop Sophy had been told was near a market place. Well, we found the market place, no problem. The bicycle shop was another story! It was a case of asking for directions, being directed down increasingly narrow alleyways and pathways, and eventually finding ourselves stuck in front of a pile of greens in the midst of what looked like a vegetable market. But no bicycle shop anywhere! Eventually, still following instructions from various passersby, we found ourselves back on the main road. And there, on the other side, was the bicycle shop. It hadn't been necessary to drive through the market after all! One thing I must say, is that we got to see something of the incredible fortitude, patience and driving skill of Andrea. I suspect that some of my old habit patterns might have come to the fore in those circumstances, with at least a little snarling and swearing. She, on the other hand, kept her cool, even when someone's motorbike handle scraped a nasty scratch along the side of our vehicle as they squeezed past us.

We managed to do a U-turn (no small feat of courage in Cambodia!) and parked outside the bicycle shop on the main road. Oh no! It was closed. By now it was well after 5pm, and it was getting dark. There were some food sellers in the street, and one of them went to call the shop owner. I was surprised to find him willing to open his shop for us. So within a short while, some very grateful ladies were ready to choose bicycles. Lorraine and some of her friends in the USA had raised the money, and there was enough to buy 5 bicycles - one for each of the XP children and one for the carer and one for the carer's son. What fun it was, choosing them all.

It took quite a long time, choosing bicycles, waiting while the pedals and baskets were attached, and finally loading them into the truck. Esther's little bicycle didn't fit in alongside the bigger bicycles and ended up being tied on the back. We were concerned that this arrangement would not last all the way back to the Safe House, and Kristen volunteered to sit in the back with the bicycles, to keep a supervisory eye on them. It was just as well that we did this, because we hit a particularly deep pothole, and Esther's bike broke free of it's ties and fell into the road. Lorraine and I jumped out and ran as fast as we could, to where it was lying. I could see approaching motorcycles and all I could think of was the disappointment our little sweetheart would experience if her bike was damaged. Fortunately we managed to pick up the bike and take it to safety before someone rode over it. Back at the vehicle we found poor Sophy in a state of shock; for some reason she thought it was Kristen who had fallen off the back, rather than a bicycle!

We arrived at the Safe House to find the children besides themselves with excitement. Esther was on her bike before we had a chance to remove the packaging, and with an imperious command of: "Move away! Move away!" she prepared to set off into the dark. She was most disappointed to realise that there is an art to cycling, and that she has not yet mastered it! Johnnie was hiding in the bushes, completely overwhelmed with happiness; you could see his bright smile flashing even thought he was not willing to come out just then. But after a while he did, and he was very proud to point out his bike - the red one. The dog was running around, sensing the excitement, and there was a lot of hugging and laughter. It was a very happy time, enhanced by the croaking of frogs in the background. It was hard to tear ourselves away, but by now it was getting really late, and Kristen was due to take the overnight bus to Poipet at nine. So reluctantly, and with a few last hugs, we left.


 Driving back in the dark, we were amused to find ourselves behind a van with a motorbike protruding from its rear. It seems that we were not the only ones driving bikes around Phnom Penh that night!

Back at the hotel there was just enough time for a quick supper, and then it was time for sad farewells. It had been a good trip and a worthwhile outreach. We parted with a clear sense that this was not an end, merely a pause, and that we would certainly be seeing each other again.