Newsletters

With our regular newsletters, we aim to keep you posted on all the interesting and important news and updates of our programs and various activities. Enjoy reading! 

February 20, 2007

            	
Dear friends and partners, It seems like so very long ago, in 1994 that I answered a call from my God to start Tabitha Cambodia. That call was not an easy one, it meant giving up all that I had in so very many ways. It meant going against worldly wisdom - going against voices that urged me to be more rationale in my approach to life. Instead I believed that my God would keep His promises – which were that I would never be in need, that the family I gave up would be enhanced with one of my own and that I would have a place to call home.
                
Over the years, I have never done without – in 1999, I became a mom and now, in 2007 – hopefully in two weeks, I will move into a house that will be my home. The people that gave that gift of a home spoke of grace, of giving me a place where I could grow old without fear. It was not an easy gift to accept for it is a gift of great value – a gift from a Gracious God who never fails in His promises. That my God works through so many others is the miracle of my life. Its Chinese New Years this week – people who should be finishing my new home are off visiting their families. It’s very frustrating as my rented home must be vacated by the end of the month and my toilets are not yet functioning, the house is not yet painted and the woodwork has only begun. I am assured that all will be well. Out of my frustration I went to visit some of the families that we work with. I met Seng, a 12 year old boy with his family. Seng was laughing – his eyes were wide with wonderment – his family’s home is made of grass, it’s very small, it has no electricity and no toilet – yet he was laughing. You see, his family got their savings this week and for the first time in his young life, his mother bought fish sauce. All his life, his meals consisted of rice and salt, when there was enough money. He had begged his mother so many times to just buy a bit so that he could taste it – this week, they had a whole bottle. I asked him if it tasted as good as he thought. His eyes twinkled as he said, ‘oh, I can’t open it yet – I want to wait and dream what it tastes like – I have wanted this for so long – I just want to hold it in my hands and look at it for a few days.” Ah Seng, you make my frustration seem like nothing – you make my life so good. We had a team build 20 houses this past week in one of our newest projects. On their return, several of the team members were frustrated by the nails they had bent. They told me they were ashamed of what they had accomplished. I shook my head and laughed – we, the perfect people, wanting to give the perfect house, to people who see miracles in the homes they have received. The families who have received these houses have learned that we are not perfect; they have learned that we are the same as they, for we too, make mistakes. We are human. And I see my house with its crooked walls and its imperfect tiling – and I think, this is my home, because it fits me – with all it imperfections. How grateful I am for this gift. In two to three weeks, I hope to move. We are cleaning out our collected belongings – clothes that Miriam has outgrown and toys that are no longer age appropriate – we give some to the Sisters for the orphans they are raising – the little girls prance around in their new dresses – the boys build their own imaginary homes from the plastic bricks. Sister Samantha smiles with pleasure and gives Miriam a hug – Miriam’s life had its beginning in this home - Miriam begs me to take home a little brother, a boy who looks so much like her. For him, his home has been destroyed by an illness that took his mom – his father visits each week but he too, is very ill. We cannot take him, for although his home is no longer there – the love of his father sustains him. And I think of my frustration and I am ashamed. My God has asked me to live in faith – to live in trust – He has promised that He would provide. My God has given me each of you – and I am content. Thank you for being a part of my life, for being a part of all of our staff, of being a part of all our families. You are our miracle. Janne