West-Newman Update - 1st May 2008

Dear Praying Friends,

Apologies to those who were concerned that they haven’t heard from us for some time! I (Lisa) got myself too busy and am just trying to create more balance in my life (once again) and catch up on my “to do” list.

Your prayers are significant to our effectiveness here. You will notice a number of answered prayers from our email request in February… Praise God!

Thank you and bless you for journeying with us!!!

Lisa and Steve

Connecting with Cambodia
The West-Newman Newsletter – April 2008

Humming along… Life is finally getting normal (ie busy!) – settled after over 8 months back. Phew!

A new intake of Physios
Two months ago, the Physio Up-grade Training Program began with a new intake of students, perhaps for the last time. This group includes three lecturers from the physio school which presents some interesting challenges.

Many of these physios have poor English, meaning Steve spends the majority of his time teaching in Khmer. Steve enjoys this opportunity, but it does cause him to get a bit tired by the end of the day.

Busy at home
With Joel (6) in Grade 2 and Emma (4) starting full-time at pre-school in February, Lisa began assisting an income generating, card-making project, “Slum Light” (pictured), with their designs. This experience has highlighted to her the value of getting out of the house for her own sanity!
Now, she is prayerfully considering various opportunities to assist projects with their business development on a very part-time basis while still caring for Noah at home.

Opportunity for mercy
Bong Broh carried dirt for a living and now had a very bad back. Steve treated him for some time with little progress, so he sent him for a scan. Unsure of the cost, Steve gave Bong Broh some money from the project funds instructing him to return the excess with a receipt. This man returned, scan in hand, claiming they didn’t give him a receipt but there was only a small amount left over. A little suspicious, Steve opened the scan and a receipt fell out – it was
significantly cheaper than the man reported. Steve quietly held his temper and thought. The scan showed Bong Broh needed an operation which he could never afford. Without it, he would never work again and be unable to support his wife and kids. So, Steve admonished him for lying, but still agreed to fund his back operation.
Two weeks post-op, Bong Broh reports he is 100% better. He is still very poor but at least now has
means to make a living and he has witnessed grace first hand.

Prayer and Praise
A huge thanks to those of you who pray. We believe it has made all the difference, particularly over the last months.
• We are thankful that our health has been significantly better, making life much more sustainable here.
• Good news that although Aunty Oun’s husband died in December, she is coping well on her own, even running her own business.
• Only one of the Singapore Five, Sarith, is actually attending church regularly. Pray for him and Tokyo and Heap that they would grow in their faith and regularly attend church.
• The Singapore Six (the latest group of physios to travel to Singapore for study) began their studies on 21 April. Pray that they would not only learn new physio skills but they would be impacted by the local church.
• Pray for wisdom for Steve as he continues to administer the project funds for poor patients as well as managing a challenging group of physios. Please pray for him to communicate well in Khmer with both physios and patients.
• Sleep still remains a major issue for Noah (and Mummy) which impacts the whole family. So please throw any spare prayers their way.
• Pray for an urgent need at Hope School for two primary teachers starting in August 2008.
• Also, Steve needs two physios for 3 months to help teach paediatrics (starting Sept) and cardio-pulmonary physio (starting Dec). Food and board provided.

Thank you. We really appreciate you. And a special thank you to the visitors who we are (have?) [sic] spent
time with over the last couple of months… you have been fantastic!

Steve, Lisa, Joel, Emma and Noah

For a personal perspective on life here visit Lisa’s blog at www.littlelisalasi.blogspot.com [1]

Open the attachment below for the prayer update letter.