Clean water for kids of Phum Chreh

Dear Frens, Thank you for everybody's help in getting this water filter into Cambodia. From point of conception, to designing,buying, packing, sponsorship of freight to setting up and prayers.

Here is a letter from Sr Ophriini on 14th October:

Dear Mill, Lyn and Friends,
Greetings from all of us: Sisters, Teachers and all the children at Don Bosco Chreh School.

We are very happy to inform you the joy you have given to these kids through your generosity and sacrifices. This school year 2006 – 2007 we have 414 children of which 169 are girls.

These kids are very eager to learn and become good children. We were able to provide all of them, uniforms, school bag, all school materials free of charge and also the daily lunch which they look forward to satisfy their hunger.

Observing their smiling and limpid eyes, our hearts swell up with gratitude to God for your contribution of love, so as to give these unfortunate kids a better future and also to realize their small yet heartfelt Dreams.

We can’t do it alone, but together we achieve much. We feel the deep joy that God’s providential LOVE and care continues through good persons like you.

The parents of the kids too bless God for this unique gift that they children could learn moral values and grow in wisdom and grace. Your special love of us makes us grow.

We wish to thank you in a special way for the water filter. We hope you could come and witness for yourself how it helps us and the children to be able to cook and drink clean purified water.

May God almighty compensate your love in the way He knows best.

The student scholars, Sok Phirom, Muong Srei Touch, So Rachana, Paing Suen, Long Pheakdey, Peng Sinath, Em Rotana, Maly Thavy, Proh Sophir and Sroh Socheat have began well their new scholastic year. They send their love and greetings too.

Love from all the Sisters.
United in prayers,
Sr. Ophriini Elizabeth FMA


Letter on 16 july 06
Dearest Mill,
Greetings from all of us.

Hope all are fine and working for the Kingdom of God.
Well, we are very happy and are grateful for all what the good Lord has done for us and especially for the poor children at Chreh.

The water filter plant is working very well. We are still trying set up a permanent place for it and we will be working with it in the following days. We are afraid that the theives will rob the water pump or other things as Chreh is famous for robbery.

With the money that is being alloted by you, we decided to buy government water. We then pass through the filter and the children are very, very happy to drink the water. They said it is very tasty and they took it home to make their parents and others taste the water too.

We also use this filtered water to cook our food for all the children. What a wonderful blessing !!!

A big thanks from all of them too.
Give our regards to all your friends and do continue to pray for these children, that they may know the Truth, accept the Truth and live the Truth. Love from all of us, Sr. Ophriini

Everyday prayer books Don Bosco sisters and young in formation need in Myanmar

Thanks to Dominic Yeo for the sponsorship of 15 copies of Everyday Prayer from the Divine Office.

Everyday prayer is published in co-operation with Collins E.J. Dwyer Talbot by Theological Foundations in India.

Charity is not waiting to do great things one day but in responding and doing the small things that God places before us everyday!

Praise God! \o/

Thank-you! Teresa Indyk and Angela Stepan....

Thank-you so much to Teresa & Angela for sponsoring the education of three 1st year students at Don Bosco Vocational School

The grateful receipients of their kindness are Teuk Kim Khun, Sem Chandany and Tang Ratana - their lives are that much better because you cared enough to make a difference in their lives...



Praise God for John and Lisa's constant love and support for the poor...
.

Thank you to our anonymous angel for providing these basic amenities for the children

Toilets for the children at Kampong Speu

Thank you very much!

The toilets of the school in Kompong Speu are done.We added the outside wall and raised it higher to protect it fromflood.

We had not foreseen this before when we gave the price quotation. We added $250 and the total cost is $2,750 for 5 toilets.

We would like to put a simple plaque for the children and the peopleto feel the bond between them and the Singaporeans. Do you have anysuggestion on what phrase to write?

May God bless you for your generosity. - Sr. Ched





"The building of a better world requires Christians to speak with a united voice in working to inculcate respect for the rights and needs of everyone, especially the poor, the lowly and the defenseless." - Pope Benedict XVI (Deus Caritas Est - God is Love, #30)

The 'Freight' have arrived at last!

Freight Arrives! 2 containers of clothing, toys and water filters!

BIG THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FROM ALL OF US!The filter for Phum Chreh arrived intact.

All the Sisters of Teuk Thla were there to welcome it :) From Phum Chreh, the truck delivered the cargo to our place in Tuol Kork. It was around 8:30 pm and we finished unloading until nearly 10:00. Look how happy everyone is and tired too:) I'll be sending you the complete pictures including the opening ofthe boxes. Tomorrow, we have to divide first the boxes for the threecenters. I'm glad there's a label for each box. It would facilitate the unpacking and distribution because we know which center has more children and their age level.You know our boarders all clapped their hands and shouted when the truck entered the school and especially when it was opened. A grandwelcome! I had some problem though with the camera. I'm not an expert yet in using the flash.with love and prayers from all of uswhile they were unloading I couldn't help but say a little prayer forall those who have contributed their time, money and effort in sendingus all these beautiful things. What a big work you did! God is really wonderful!

Dear Friends,
Thank you again for making this shipment possible.

The total cost to ship these 2 containers cost about $7,000. Everything inside it is priceless because it is a gift of our love for our less privileged brothers and sisters.

This is a testimony that with God everything is possible. It only takes from each one of us the heart to give and share and in this case the trust to pack the first carton! :)

All Glory to God! \o/\o/\o/

Yours In Christ,
Mill & Lyn

We thank you for your wonderful and powerful network in providing for us and the children many beautiful things. May you be blessed by the Lord always. The children's little hearts are beating with joy to express their unanimous "Thanks" to you and all your co-workers. We have clean water now. Thanks again. Love from all the sisters.

Sr. Ophriini

Paul Raj & Friends Sponsors - Rice for YIN CHOM RAN & 1 Yr Education for Ngoun Dara

Dear Paul and Friends,
You have never failed us in many ways and until now. Thank you so much for the US$436 you sent. It has been allocated for the tuition fees of Ngoun Dara our handicap and the rice and other needs of the family of Yin Chom Ran. When classes re-start after the Khmer New Year I'll try to send you some photos. Ngoun Dara is also scheduled to go to Thailand for a needed medical check-up.
We will surely remember you during this Holy Week.

gratefully yours,Sr. Ched

YIN CHOM RAN is 4 years old. Last October 2005, we brought her to school along with the others.

The father earns by driving a romok, a motorcycle with extended piece of wood at the back to take in more passengers. He earns very little and this mode of transport is dangerous.

Chom Ran's mother stays and keeps the house. They just rent the house. They don't have any property.

They're very, very poor. This family needs help too for the rice.
Thank you so much!
Sr. Ched

Thank You, Patsy!

Dear Pat,

Thank you so much for the USD$1638 you sent and of which I received hand carried by Angeline, Mill's friend. Now that I know the allocation of funds go for the education of Chin Vatey, Long Chanya and Chan Monyroth, the money will be forwarded to Sr. Teresita Garcia, the animator of the community where Sr. Ophriini belongs. Sr. Ophriini will surely send an acknowledgment letter .

May the Lord bless you for this gesture of solidarity with the poor.

with our prayers,Sr. Ched

Mrs Pat King has sponsored rice for a year for the family of Sok Thay

Thank You Mrs Pat King from UK
These poor village families each need £4.67 (USD$7)/month to help with food costs. That is a total of £56 (USD$84)/year/family - John & Lisa Bishop

This is the family of Sok Thay who needs sponsorship of $7/month for rice. The family lives in the cemetery. It's the first time for me to see small houses within the cemetery. From the photo you can see the tomb in front of their house. Anyone who would like to sponsor for their rice would be greatly appreciated.
God bless,
Sr. Ched

Rice For The Poor

John Thomas has sponsored rice for the Family of Chum Srey Pauv

Chum Srey Pauv (pronounce as Pao in English). She's the one in light blue shirt. She's one of the members of the Church choir.

On the photo with Sr. TM you see her sister with the three children. They're orphans. They stay together in the same house. The sister rents the house. The space you see in the photo is the actual little space they have. The sister and her husband collect old things thrown away and seel them. This is their source of income. Srey Pau has been sponsored for her studies by a Vietnamese lady. The rest of the expenses from the little earnings of her sister. A donation of $7/month is a big help for them.

This is the first one in the list and John Thomas was the first one who asked to sponsor this Vietnamese family.

Thank you very much!

God bless!
love and prayers,
Sr. Ched

NGAN Vutha is Sponsored by Aunt Barb (UK)

Thank you Aunt Barb for your sponsorship of Ngan Vutha.

We pray that your kind support for her education will inspire her to work hard to build upon the foundation that you have so wonderfully provided.

"Neither genius, fame, nor love show the greatness of the soul.Only kindness can do that. " -- Jean Baptiste Henri Lacordaire

Cambodia Freight - Toys From Red Cross

A meaningful day, spent last Saturday packing toys for the freight we are preparing to send to Cambodia.

Praise God for the enthusiam of the volunteers, their unceasing efforts, a sunny day, the loan of 2 lorries, last minute lorry drivers, for the fellowship of friends, the safe journey to Tuas and cartons boxes arranged by Mrs England.

Special Thanks to Pui Yee from Red Cross, Ronnie Goh and to Mr Poh for keeping his warehouse open till 8.30pm on Sat night to receive our goods. All Glory to God! \o/ \o/ \0/

Reaching Out From The UK!

Praise God! For the efforts of John & Lisa Bishop..

They are indeed angels of God's Mercy!

Kindness Beyond Measure

What will be the crown of those who, humble within and humiliated without, have imitated the humility of our Savior in all its fullness.- Saint Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1879)

Reaching out to Cambodia from the UK

When I first met John & Lisa Bishop in Fiji in 2004, having beer in a little fishing boat, I did not know then we would be working together on a magnificent project to extend a little more of God's love to Cambodia.

God is Magnificent in his ways, it only takes a little sharing to get the spark going. John and Lisa was then on a world tour, they visited us in S'pore then eventually went to Cambodia. They visited Don Bosco School, met the nuns, sponsored a child and now back in UK, they have like us embarked sharing with others the need of the poor in Cambodia to their friends, family and community.

I will be sharing with you on my blog some of the wonderful work they have been doing. I hope this work will not only stop in the UK but continue to reach all who care to make a little difference in the life of those who need a little of our love.. as we share a little of God's mercy that we have received with others who still hope for a new tomorrow.

Here is John & Lisa:

Hi there

As many of you know we spent time in Cambodia in April this year and had the priviledge to meeting a small group of nuns looking after 4 schools with 1,207 students. We have been working on fundraising activities here in the UK and we wanted to share with you what we have been up to.

The attached documents we sent was the speech we made in church and the 57 cent story which we handed out on the day. This was given to me by one of my highschool teachers in Kansas City.

We raised a total of $980 on that Sunday plus we had a handful of people who we are meeting next week in the evenings who want to sponsor a child!

When we were there in April we sponsored a young lady called Chenda who has been through hell and back at the mere age of 20. Her father died when she was young so they had to move home. That home burned down with all they had, so her mother, sister and she moved into a room in someones home. The son of the owner physically abused her for a long time. The sisters took her in and gave her room, board, schooling, etc. She has now finished her final year at Don Bosco and we are currenlty sponsoring her through University - she wants to be a psychologist to help people who are going through what she has been through. She emails us weekly and calls us Mom and Dad.

The great thing about this group is they are not part of a great big charity organisation. We send the funds we receive straight into the Sisters bank account and then they let us know what they use it for, or obviously if a specific child is sponsored they provide photo and background of that child!

We will be emailing you 2 photo albums which you can look through with the photos from our trip to Cambodia and also the picture boards we used for our speech at Church.

Also you can have a look at the website that our friends in Singapore keep up to date with all the activity we are all doing in Cambodia - www.gimp.blogspot.com have a look at the Last Posts on the right hand side and you will see entries such as:Sponsors from the UK - info on our Father Damien and his sponsorship, John and Lisa visit Cambodia - info on our trip there last April

They are doing so much from Singapore - amazing efforts!

The greatest quote we have seen in along time came from this website:THE WORLD SAYS, THE MORE YOU TAKE, THE MORE YOU HAVE, CHRIST SAYS, THE MORE YOU GIVE, THE MORE YOU ARE. (Frederick Buechner)

Lots and Lots of love
Lisa and John

The Cambodian Teachers Are On Their Way!

Dear Frens,

Praise God! The Cambodian teachers' visas have been approved! They will arrive in Singapore on the 26th of Dec 2005.

The 2 teachers (21 yrs old) will be bonded to Don Bosco to teach for 5 years. To help teach the poor children in Cambodia, we aim to teach them how to fish. Thus, they will be here to study English in S'pore at SSTC park mall and Cyn and Gus will be giving them tuition.

I would like to ask anyone who is interested to assist in this project to call me. We need:

1) someone to teach them how to take the bus and the MRT ( end Dec 05)

2) people who would like to take them out weekends to places that will enrich their educational experience in S'pore eg science centre, museum, library etc

3) people who have access to character building, confidence building , arts and craft courses or Montessori skills.

4) people who can teach PowerPoint and Microsoft office access data base

5) All other ideas welcomed!

The teachers will be here 3 to 6 months depending on how they perform in school. Please join us in making a difference in the lives of many children in Cambodia who will gain from this project of immersing their teachers in an English speaking environment of Singapore.


God Bless,
Mill
http://www.gimg.blogspot.com/

God Is Good!

God is Indeed Good!

In one short month, Angeline has managed to go to Cambodia 2 times!

There are so many wonderful friends with wonderful hearts! We are all so blessed and we know it! Sharing with the poor is a way we can give our Thanks to God, for what we have received in our lives.

Angeline in this trip, hand carried 91kgs, believe it or not!

We managed to send through Angeline, to Sr. Ched of Don Bosco, a Roland keyboard from Grace, more vitamins from Lai Siong and Jocelyn, another 10,000 panadols from Mr Poh Peng Hoe, 3 tape recorders/MP3 players from Samantha Yap.

Magic happens when we allow God to lead and pool our efforts together.

As St Catherine says:
"I know nothing. I was nothing. For this reason God picked me out."

- St. Catherine Laboure (1806-1876)

Through our availability to God,
We truely hope that the children will be blessed with music, better education and good health :)

Apart from thanking Angeline and H. Richert for their effort, time and generosity of Spirit for carrying the 6 heavy cartons to Phnom Penh, Don Bosco..We would also like to thank :
Wong Lai Siong for thousands of $ of vitamins and medicine
Mr Poh Peng Hoe for 10,ooo panadols
Annie Tan and Jeremy Fu for Dvd players!

"I shall reflect on myself and ask: "What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What ought I do for Christ?"
- St. Stanislaus Kostka ( 1550-1568)

Sponsorship of 2 Cambodian Teachers to Singapore

Dear friends,
To help poor and the under-privileged, we have taken a bold step to accept the request of the Don Bosco's nuns to send their teachers here for 6 months of education. We have put this project in belief of God's Providence

Praise the Lord, through His kind intervention, we have managed to secure a 6-month scholarship for the 2 teachers (age 22 yrs) to study at SSTC, airfare for their flight here and back and home-stay for one of the teachers.

The target is to upgrade their English language skills, office skills and immerse them in Singapore's English speaking environment.

When they return to Cambodia, they will be bonded to teach at the Don Bosco's school for 5 years. They will be teaching Don Bosco's two-year secretarial course students, aged 19-23.

The students taking this secretarial course are very poor and if they do not get a chance to study a skill, there is a high chance that they will be taken advantaged of and exploited by the world's oldest trade for women.

As at now, we are waiting for the student visas to be approved by the Singapore immigration. We are expecting them to arrive here in Oct/Nov 05, if all goes well.

The outstanding issues we have for this project are :

1) We need kind individuals to help with their food and transport allowance and pocket money for the duration of their stay.

2) We need to find someone who can provide home-stay for one of the two teachers.

3) A person who is able to provide Personality Development, Leadership Skills training, Powerpoint and Access.

4) Friends who can provide time and effort over weekends to take them for activities which would allow them to grow and benefit from their stay and interaction with us, in Singapore.

Point one, is of course a matter of great urgency. Those who feel called to help with any amount of sponsorship for their living allowances do get in touch with Lynette or myself.

You can reach us at :
millicent.tan@gmail.com or lynetteyap@gmail.com

Yours In Christ,

Mill

Sponsors from the UK

Father Damien Sponsors Heng Somaly's Education
It's wonderful to see how one good deed of kindness in our own hearts, can lead so many to generously make-a-difference in lives of the less privilege in Cambodia.



Across the sea, from Singapore to UK, with the efforts of John & Lisa, Heng Somaly, can now study one more year in school. This will allow her to find a better job when she graduates.

Love and kindness for each other brings people and countries closer. It's a bond that raises humanity, a saving grace for us all.

Many Thanks to our anonymous sponsor.
As Martin Luther so aptly says:

"What is it to serve God and to do His will? Nothing else than to show mercy to our neighbor.
For it is our neighbor who needs our service; God in heaven needs it not." -- Martin Luther

Yeang Ryna is Sponsored!

Yeang Ryna has been sponsored for a year of secretarial course at Don Bosco.

Her father's two feet have been amputated since the war (Pon Pot). But he repairs bicycles in front of his house in order to earn a living. Her mother sells native cakes in front of her house, too. But the family earning is very small.

We hope that this sponsorship extended to her will make a difference to her life and that of her family.

Her kind Sponsors are Paul Raj & Friends, Anne Low and Theresa Sim.

"I tell you, that if you will not do good to the poor, God will not do good to you; in the hour of your death it shall be measured out to you with the same measure with which you have measured out to such as these. "
- Saint Camillus de Lellis (1550-1614)

Anonymous Angel

Thank You for your Heart of Gold!

We would like to thank anonymous friend of AFG for her support in our cause to support the education of the Cambodian children.

Sponsorship allocation:

USD$4000 - please use to furnish the kindergarten at Tuol Kork - furniture, books, playground, study equipment and maintenance. Yours to spend for your kinder Sis My Hahn :).

USD$1,400 - please reserve for upgrading of teachers ie airtickets ,courses, pocket money.If not used let us know we want to re-allocate.

USD$1,100 - for Phum Chreh Rachana's 2nd,3rd and 4th yr education. ( First year education already sent earlier this year to you,amount $541.19)

USD$1,000 for outreach to new villages ( tents, toys, school books etc)

USD$1,000 for Battambang.

USD$1,000 for Sroh Socheat and Proh Sophir

USD$500 for Sisters Multi Vitamins.


Praise God!

Christmas 2005 Collection - Let Jesus be Alive in us!

Dear Friends,

Hello again!

We are now targeting to collect a 20 foot container of goods for Cambodia.. If you feel you are able to help by collecting and packing in your own small groups, be it work friends, church friends or neighbourhood friend, please contact me.



Your assistance is this project will be invaluable.


Guidelines for Group Leaders
1) All goods collected must be brand new. The customs there charge duty and taxes for second hand or used items.

2) Packing of goods must be under the group leader's control. ie leader must ensure that goods are tightly and well packed before it is sent to the freight forwarder for storage till we have accumulated enough. I will give the address to interested parties who can do the collection.Please pack efficiently because the freight is expensive and is taken care off by sponsored money ( only partially raised).

3) A 20 ft container takes about 200 cartons of size 2 ft by 1 ft cartons.

4) Please see attached shipping mark that has to be pasted on 2 sides of all cartons. Please only fill in the description and leave the rest blank.

5) Description should only state - 'mens' , 'ladies', 'childrens', 'toys', 'shoes', 'winterwear'.
Fill cartons with only 1 generic item. Do not mix mens and ladies wear or mens and kids wear together into 1 carton.
The nuns do not have the manpower to sort when it arrives in Cambodia.

6) There will be a cut off date for collection which will be comunicated to the group leaders.
Target delivery hopefully before Christmas ( sometime in Sept/October 05)- so we can together send a message of Hope and Love from us in the name of our Lord.

Item needed
educational toys, cassette recorders, stuff toys etc
kids wear
shoes - mainly slippers
ladies wear - NO shorts or tank tops
mens wear
winter wear
underwear
If you have any queries please email me.

Like Mother Theresa says :
"We cannot all do great things but we can do small things with great love."

God Bless,
Mill

Movie Clip - Thank you DHL and All Sponsors

Dear Friends,
This piece of land you see is part of the Don Bosco Teuk Thla School, donated by the US Aid. The land has been left empty for many years because there is not enough funds to build a proper school.

Currently, they have only a few classrooms and some makeshift ones. If a proper building can be built on this land, more children can be taken off the streets and given a proper education. Most of us take education for granted but for all these children it is the only chance out of poverty and abuse.

We hope that we can find like-minded people who will want to contribute to building this school of hope...

Paing Suen -->
Sadly few months ago Paing Kosal left school to work in a construction site. His brother Paing Suen has taken over his education sponsorship...17/12/06
"Paing Kosal, is studying in grade 6. He is very intelligent and is usually in between the 3 and 6 rank in his class of 49 students.He is an orphan,eldest of four siblings.He is determined to study hard and bring up his other younger siblings" - Sis Ophriini
Praise God!! An anonymous angel has sponsored him for the next 4 years of his education!

John & Lisa's visit to Cambodia; Phom Penh

My friends from UK, John & Lisa just visited Cambodia after a stint in S'pore.

They have sponsored the education of 'Chenda' the Cambodian girl.

I am sharing with you an account of their experience in Cambodia because I cannot describe the atmosphere in Cambodia, the life of the kids and the work of Don Bosco Schools any better than they have already done so in their email.

I hope all who view this website will feel called to help these under privileged children and yound adults so that they may have a better life through education.

Yours In Christ,
Mill

John & Lisa - Their Account of Cambodia:

lisajohnbackpacking@yahoo.co.uk>To: Lisa & John <lisajohnbackpacking@yahoo.co.uk>Date: Fri, 20 May 2005 14:27:16 +0100 (BST) Subject: Hello from Phnom Penh Cambodia


Traffic here is even more crazy than Siem Reap. It comes from every direction on both sides of the road. Cars, motodups (motorcycles), tuk tuks and bicycles. You even see up to 7 people on 1 motorcycle: 4 adults and 3 children hanging off the sides! No helmets and no license needed…scary and absolutely have to see it to believe it.

Whilst here we also visited the darker side of Phnom Penh. One of the many prisons, the Former Khmer Rouge Security Prison (S21) was there the Pol Pot regime tortured over 20,000 victims over a 4 year period in an attempt to eradicate intellectuals and return Cambodia to an agricultural society.\n He killed the educators and the educated even to the extreme of anyone wearing glasses was considered to be an intellectual.

We also went to the Killing Fields (again one of many) where 17,000 men, women and children met a brutal death and then were buried in mass graves. As you enter, there is a tall white monument housing thousands of unearthed skulls and are arranged by the victims ages (photo 371). It is truly a harrowing experience.

In the distance beyond the mass graves we noticed a pond with a group of young naked children playing in the water whilst a few older children scrubbed down their cows. (photo 382) They were all laughing and having fun. Evidence that life in Cambodia has moved on although the poverty is as strong as ever.


Pond water is used for cooking, drinking, washing, cleaning – absolutely everything. This is the same water the animals use. There are many landmine victims and poverty beyond comprehension. Yet they always have a big smile to offer you.


We arrived in Phnom Penh during their Khmer New Year which similar to Thailand is an excuse for a nationwide water fight. But here not only do they drench you with buckets of water but then they douse you with talcum powder, leaving you looking like a human pancake. We experienced this first hand!


The highlight of our trip to Cambodia was the time spent with the Sisters and volunteers at Don Bosco School. They house a group of 132 girls, teaching them secretarial skills, social skills and hygiene. (photo 628) They also look after 17 special girls with tragic backgrounds and often a very bad home life. There is also a kindergarten here with a further 120 children. (photo 653)


We also visited a village school managed by the nuns with 400 children. The Sisters provide a hot lunch which is probably the only meal these children get each day and yet they all wanted to share their food with us when we arrived.


We brought them each a notebook for their studies and enough sweets for each of them to have a few. You would have though we had given them a million dollars. Their faces where glowing with happiness and the biggest smiles you have ever seen. (photo 563) They put their hands together as if in prayer and bow to you. This is how they greet you and also how they say thank you. After that we visited yet another school with 300 children (who were all taking their naps). So sweet to witness.


All of these schools survive on charity alone. One large bag of rice costs $13 and will feed one of the schools for 1 week. It is just amazing what they survive on. At the schools they children are not only taught their normal classes, but also taught basic English, social skills and hygiene (which most are not taught at home).


But the interesting thing is that these Catholic nuns are teaching in a 95% Buddhist community. They explained they do not teach religion but do teach the importance of prayer.We passed onto the nuns a great tradition taught to us called "Group Therapy" where each evening at dinner you take turns talking about the positive things that happened in your day. The nuns loved it and couldn't wait to share it with the other sisters from other groups and of course their students. (Troy and Jolee, you will never know how much your family tradition has had such an amazing affect around the world!)


Our last day in Cambodia we had the privilege of meeting a young lady we have chosen to sponsor called Chenda. She is one of the 17 "special" girls at Don Bosco. She has had so many tragic experiences in her 21 years it is incredible. Now she wants to be a psychologist and help others. She is learning English and tried so hard to express her gratitude to us for helping her. She sat holding our hands and gave us lots of hugs. When we departed she said with tears in her eyes "Happy New Year Mom and Dad."


We all had tears as we left Cambodia. Those few weeks had such impact on our minds and our hearts and have helped us appreciate just how lucky we are for such basics like clean water, electricity and homes with real floors, walls and furniture.

Next email will be from Vietnam.


Lots of love ,
Lisa and John