Saying Good-bye while waiting for the next Hello.

One of the hardest things for Dr. John and I this week has been to see the surprised look on the faces of the students and staff who ask eagerly "How long are you staying?" and needing to answer "We leave Tuesday evening."

I must remind myself that time is relative; that one visit lasts for a thousand impressions in the minds of those we meet.  Here are the House Parents Sophal and Narun at Prek Eng 2, and a crazy attitude shot of the children who were home during our visit.

While we were visiting, one of the high schoolers started talking about our daughter Kim, who spent several weeks with them SEVEN years ago.  She said "I remember the day that Kim walked into our home."  There is so much earned value and love by being present with them for weeks, or even days at a time over the years.

Was our trip for one week worth it this year?  Words cannot express the looks of gratitude and happiness and joy in having even this short time to visit one another, encourage one another, and fill up on the next "praying for one another".  It is to be humbled to have a House Father look me in the eye and say "We pray for you every night".

 Somary and Sopang are the longest serving House Parents, at PE 1

 They have raised these children for over ten years, and are sending them off to begin to study for their future.  Sopang also loves to play music and has taught them well on musical instruments.


Remember what I said about the dormitory students liking to return home for the weekend?  Well, it is a school holiday, and all of these students were home from universities.  The young woman on the right is the woman I recognized singing at Narin's GCF church on Sunday.






One of the homes, PE 3 have already moved into their new home. You can see on this boy's face his "Pride of Place" knowing that this is his bed, in his room.

The House Parents are Savong and Pisey.  During our visit we saw the fruit trees already planted, and the area where they were going to develop a play ground. Walking to school?  Not a problem.  The Asia Hope school for grades one to six is only a few hundred feet away.

These kids live as a family.  That includes having a family dog (two of them actually).  It also includes praying for one another and encouraging one another.  They all showed great concern for their cook Khoum, with the knit hat, who is battling breast cancer and will undergo surgery.  Please pray for her healing to be total.

Have we ever told you that Khmer like to laugh?  They love to pose for these crazy attitude pictures.

While we were visiting at the new PE 3 house, we were able to see the construction progress on the PE 4 house.  They were tiling the roof.  RavI and Thary are the house parents and hope to be moved in by Christmas time.

AND FINALLY, THE LAST SHALL BE FIRST, AND THE FIRST SHALL BE LAST.  ALL OF THESE REMARKABLE MEN AND WOMEN HOUSE PARENTS, AND WONDERFUL PARENTING OF THE CHILDREN, ARE UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF OUR NATIONAL DIRECT SAVORN, SHOWN HERE WITH HIS WIFE SONY.  REMEMBER THE SONG "FATHER ABRAHAM HAD MANY SONS, MANY SONS HAD FATHER ABRAHAM.  IT CAME TO MIND AS I TRIED TO THINK OF A WAY TO COMMUNICATE THE QUALITY LEADERSHIP THAT SAVORN DEMONSTRATES IN CHOOSING STAFF, LEADING STAFF, AND PAYING ATTENTION TO THE MYRIAD DETAILS THAT IT TAKES TO RAISE UP ALMOST 400 CHILDREN WELL IN CAMBODIA.  THANK YOU, SAVORN AND SONY

Growing Older with Friends

In what is becoming a regular event for us when we visit Phnom Penh, Dr. John and I hosted a pizza party from students we knew in a Student Dormitory ten years ago.  Think of it as a Alumni reunion on a small scale.

When we first came to Cambodia in the early 2000s, it was very difficult for provincial students to access the universities (two year or four year) that were in PP.  These students and dozens of others found a safe environment, one meal a day, and opportunity to grow through bible study.

Sarom and Sok Rung were married just after our last visit, and brought their entertaining daughter with them

Today, those in this picture are out of school for years- working in a bank (getting a degree in finance), working as a health educator, continuing to gain experience as a physician, teaching mathematics, and working in business.

When we asked for needs for their future, there were visions of finding more of their families open to the gospel, starting a home church in the province, working with the poor and needy families devastated by the sexual exploitation in the country,

Then, at church this morning at Gospel Christian Fellowship, two more surprises of students growing up and moving outward happened.  Narin's church, as stated in a previous blog, has begun a men's student dorm, which includes some older Asia's Hope students.

So...this morning a new Student Youth group came forward to sing, and I leaned over to Pastor Narin:  is the second girl on the right from Asia's Hope??  And it was;  this past week a new Women's Student Dorm had begun, and I had not heard that any of the Prek Eng women were there. Such joy as she came down from the stage and over so that we could hug each other and give thanks.  Indeed, growing up.

The final surprise of the morning was meeting Seda Leth's mom who worships at GCF.  Seda is also one of the students from years ago, but she has married and moved to America.  Her mom was so thrilled to see us and know that even though we live far from Seda, that we are a "thread" of continuity for her daughter.

The Long and Short of It

A friend posted a board on Facebook this morning:  Parenting-the days are long but the years are short.  (Thanks, Ken). As you can tell from reading the blog posts this week, I have been so impressed by the long of it and the short of it of the care of the Asia's Hope House Parents.

It has also encouraged me, as in "Encourage one another" how the community of God works together to support each other and help "grow up" the kids of Asia's Hope.  As parents you know how much you want your children surrounded by other adults who will love and encourage them.

In Battambang, we have had faithful friends in Jill and Kevin Kane, who serve with Grace Brethren's Encompass ministry, yet have found time for years to teach English to the kids at Asia's Hope, and fellowship with them on Sunday.

At the same time in Phnom Penh, Narin Chey and his wife Quenie have been long time friends of Asia's Hope, while also pastoring at Gospel Christian Fellowship, and providing early childhood education to some at ABC-123 International School which Quenie founded.

One of the visions of the GCF (Gospel Christian Fellowship) was to begin a student dormitory for university students.  At the same time, some of the oldest children in the Prek Eng homes were preparing to graduate high school, and begin university studies.  They have found student living space in Phnom Penh in the dormitory run by the GCF where they continue to be surrounded by the love and concern of others.

Sopang, their Asia's Hope house parent at Prek Eng 1, reported  with a laugh
that they tend to come back home on Sundays, because they miss the cooking of their house mom!  Doesn't that just sound like a boy!!

It is the networking of the love of God that has been the encouragement today.  Thank you all.

Do you hear the laughter?

Do you hear the laughter?  We had lunch with the Prek Eng house parents and with Savorn, National Director of Asia's Hope and his wife Sony.  We all enjoyed the "attitude" shots which show the spunk and energy that they put into life.  Remember, every day they are helping raise twenty or twenty five kids.

For the last several years, these house parents have been packing and moving dozens of children almost yearly to stay ahead of the exploding Prek Eng rental market, and ahead of the landlords who wanted more each year.  The decision was made to purchase land and build homes for a permanent Asia's Hope campus.  There are four homes under construction or lived in, with the front space of this photo the section for the fifth home when money becomes available.

These are some of the children at Prek Eng two who will be moving into their home in two weeks, along with their parents Narun Roen and Sophal Em.  What a delight to be led around by the young woman in pink who shared with such joy what each rooms was designated for, and which bed area was going to be HERS!!!  Narun said that they have been praying as an extended family for years and that the children are thrilled to see God's answer to their  prayers.

It is a joy to share the joy of all of the Prek Eng Asia's Hope staff with you.

What will YOU be when you grow up?

Some of you will be teachers.

Some of you will be lawyers.

Some of you will be dentists.

Some of you will work for Asia's Hope.

These were the answers that I heard today when I asked our Asia's Hope kids what they are studying at the University.  They are in the first wave of the future of the hundreds of Asia's Hope kids that are growing up right behind them.

Let me tell you about Chhong Chhem:  Today when I asked her what she was studying and what she wanted to do, her response brought tears to my eyes.  "I want to help take care of children.  I know what it is to have a broken heart because of having no family.  I understand what they are feeling and want to help them".

All of these answers live out our recognition that these kids ARE Asia's hope.  They will change their country's future by helping one another change in the love of God.

Dr. John and I cannot say enough about the steadfastness, sacrifices, and love offered by the Asia's Hope staff at each home.

The men and women not only raise their "own" families, they are willing to extend their hearts to raise a family of 25 children through years of schooling, homework, sickness, life decisions.  They are the mentors who teach the children how to grow up well.

The children have extra tutors to help learn English, coaches to help play sports, a teacher to help them learn a craft or computer.  It is not much different than many homes that we know, except that there are a few hundred other brothers and sisters living with them, going to school, getting to take extra field trips, play games together, and worship together on Sundays.

So it has been a grand parenting day for us here in Battambang.  We are so grateful that inadvertently we arrived during a school holiday, so there have been many hours of hanging out with the kids.  We return tonight to eat supper with some of them, visit the computer lab, and smile and laugh.

Tomorrow we have the pleasure of returning to Phnom Penh and getting to do this all over again with the children and staff at the five Prek Eng homes!!

By the way, my ego once again received a boost by some of the children thinking that the Queen of Cambodia had returned to visit them (honesty requires me to say that as they compare me to her picture which is on the wall, we both have full faces, wavy hair, and are of a certain maturing age....but it is still fun to be considered royalty every once in a while).

The following pictures show the proud "papas" from the BB homes, one proud Mama surrounded by some of the girls, and two boys from the winning "football" team. (Again, the pictures are on Facebook, but so far not on the blog.  Sorry).

Loving for a LONG time!

Have you ever gone to see old friends, and been amazed at how much their kids have grown.  This has been Dr. John and my feelings today as we visited at the Battambang campus for Asia's Home.  There are ten homes there- the first started in 2002, and number 10 is being built as I write this.

Asia's Hope mission is to raise children with the love of God in loving homes.  An explanation of their family-home approach is   "to create stable environments with real full-time moms and dads,... and provide privacy and independence within the context of a larger Asia's Hope community."

Parenting is a decades long process.  Each of these 10 homes have a Mom and a Dad who love the kids, raise them, help them mature and grow into responsible young adults.

Does this approach work?  Share the joy of these word pictures  (until I can master uploading photos onto this blog.  The photos will be posted on my Facebook page.)

First is a picture of the parents and children at the very first home (called Battambang 1) from 2002.
These kids were young, and scared, and learning not to be hungry, but not sure about their long time position in this new "family" because other families had already disappeared on them.

Today, when Dr. John and I arrived at the Asia's Hope homes in Battambang, we found some of the same children home from high school and university and took the photo op to SHOW the love that has continued through all of these years.  They are studying to be teachers and lawyers, and be in marketing and whatever else their interests direct.

They continue to live in their BB1 home, ride off to school, and come back to study and be loved and love others.

These kids brought out a picture that included Dr. John taken with them in earlier years.  The extended Asia's Hope community has impacted their lives also through the years, seeing not just the Moms and Dads that love them, but others that come and share of their love and concern.

Years ago I (Bobbi) was told by a Cambodia student:  I know that you love us, because you have come back.

The same is true of the older students that we saw today.  Time after time they smiled and leaned in and asked "Do you remember me?".

They have value, because people care, and have cared for a long time.

Thank you for those who help the Asia's Hope community by praying and caring and providing.


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Getting Ready to Return!

In 10 days, I will return to Thailand for some work of staff encouragement and building up.  I will not be accompanied by Bobbi on this trip.  I tried, but it simply was not the right time for many reasons.  So, I ask you to bear her up in prayer while I am gone.  I will leave Charlotte the 29th of June and return the 12th of July.

Thanks for joining me! More later ...