Friday afternoon we dropped by to visit our young friends at Newsong. The last visit here we forgot to buy some of the wonderful pearl necklaces and key chains they made. The girls get a $1.00 for each item they make and they save it as part of their monthly allowance. It teaches them the value of earning and saving as Cambodia has received so much donor money that inherent in the culture here is to receive handouts. Our partners at Newsong want to teach the girls about being financially responsible from a young age. Today some of the girls went with the caregivers to the local market to do some shopping. Each girl gets $5.00 a month as an allowance and while that may not seem like much money to us, it is a lot for them considering that the average teacher's salary is $25.00 a month and the annual per capita income here is $300 a year. The girls who are back from shopping proudly display their purchases. Like typical females, they have bought clothing and shoes. It's great to see them just being like any other young girl rejoicing in what they have gotten and sharing of their shopping deals!
One of my friends Shannon spends some time teaching some of the girls how to make friendship bracelets using yarns that she has brought. The girls are extremely quick in catching on and make no time in creating their own variation of friendship bracelet. Sopheak my young friend who I mentioned in a previous blog asks if she could make a friendship bracelet for me. I am glad the she has done this as I wear it, it will act as a daily reminder to continue to pray not only for her but for many of these young girls that she represent. We dialogue more on what her interests are and what her favorite food, music and tv shows are. I realize I am getting old :-)----she mentions a music band that I am not familiar with but my travel companion knows. I guess I will have to brush up on what young people are watching these days so that I can have a more intelligent conversation with them!!! :-)
I hope to be able to dialogue with Sopheak more when I am back in Canada through email. When I think of her, God reminds me again that in this ministry, it is one child at a time and so while saying goodbye to the 30+ girls, I am not sad but rather just continually thankful that the Lord has brought them to this place of healing and hope. The River of Life is the One who will refresh their souls. Our part is simply to stand with them whether it be through prayer or through supporting them tangibly or speaking up for them. I pray that people back home will not grow weary of their plight for I believe when we as a society become tired of the sufferings of this world, our hearts have become cold and we no longer live as Jesus would have us. Instead, we have become lukewarm and indifferent to seeing His kingdom come not only in our own hearts but in the hearts of many who are in need of His hope and love.
No comments:
Post a Comment