It's a hard life

My heart breaks for a dear friend of ours.

For the purposes of this story we will name her Lee. Lee has a 4 year old daughter and lives with her elderly mother, 16yr old brother, and her young nephew. She is 30 years old. 

Lee has been in a relationship with a man for 6 years who is the father of her daughter. She now discovers that this man has another wife in the provinces who has borne him 7 children. She has decided to divorce/separate him after she learns she is "second wife". 

This has hard ramifications for Lee and her daughter - lets call her Mai. Mai is a beautiful young girl who plays happily and enjoys spending time with our son James. They play so well together. We have come to love this little girl and her mother very much over our time here. 

Because Lee will separate from her daughters father, she will no longer get the rent paid and food, clothing, schooling provided for Mai. This breaks her heart as her daughter loves going to school. Lee has decided that she will need to go to Thailand to work in a fruit processing factory/fields in order to provide for Mai, her mother, brother and nephew. She will have to go alone and leave Mai with her mother. Lee is scared to leave them due to her mother being older and not copying. She worries everyday. She cries often.

Mai's grandmother "Ma-yay" asks us to help. Please take her grand daughter Mai to Australia with us! Please help Lee find a job in Australia. Please take a photo of Lee so you can find her a husband and then she can go to Australia. It's heart breaking having to tell them no, we can't help like this. We are at a loss of what to do, how to help. I have spent hours online researching different ways to help them immigrate to Australia. Lee is desperate and says she will do any work and work hard. She just wants to put Mai through school and feed and care for her family. It is impossible to help them move to Australia. If she was from a neighbouring country Thailand she could get a working visa but not from Cambodia. 

How do you begin to contemplate what this life is like for Lee and Mai? Are they to be separated? Nick and I have been crying over their situation and had many sleepless nights. I tell Lee that I worry for her and she tells me I don't have to. It's impossible for me to not worry for them!

It's meeting desperate people like Lee and Mai and their family that makes you realise just why people risk their lives coming to Australia on people smuggling boats. People get angry and upset that they try to get in OUR country. I have a new understanding now. 

Changes are afoot

Hello from Cambodia!

It has been a very interesting month here since arriving in Cambodia. We have lots to tell you all about what we have been doing and lots to tell you about the changes in place for us at the moment with regards to our plans.

For those of you who haven’t been following along with our journey via our blog (www.dightfamily.blogspot.com) I will give you a brief overview of the last month.

We have experienced many highs and lows here in Cambodia. It is not an easy place to live coming from a Western background. James has been enjoying riding in the tuk tuk’s and is learning to love rice meals. Nick and I have been tried and tested on our ability to cope but have come to enjoy being here. It has been great getting to know the staff at Sunshine Cambodia and the kids. James enjoys running around with them as long as they don’t all mob him as they tend to get a bit excited and overwhelming for him!

We do have some developments to share with you that affect not only us but our financial supporters as well.
First, an overview of what has led us to our current position:

After careful consideration at looking into the planned paid preschool, it has been decided that it will not be going ahead at this point in time. It will just not be effective in bringing in funding for Sunshine which was its purpose.

Nick’s position is such that all his work is done via email (as he works on documents and it is easier to email internally to pass document from computer to computer).

Back home, we have had some expected personal finance fall through with Nick’s final field trip for work before we left not going ahead. This did not happen until a week before we left which was too late to pull out of going. This would have allowed us to have the finances needed to leave money for our responsibilities in Australia. We did not want to raise funds to cover our debt repayment and commitments and so were relying on our own savings. After looking into different ways to resolve these problems over this last month we have come to the realization that we will need to return to paid employment in order to rectify this.

Here in Phnom Penh things were not quite as we expected them to be before we left. This is simply due to a lack of communication and misunderstanding. We had thought that Alison would be working with the preschoolers and also helping to get the new paid preschool up and running. We had expected to be able to have James in the preschool room with Alison during the day. What we didn’t realize is that the preschoolers in Cambodia are aged 5-6 years and are actually in more of a school style class rather than what Australian’s consider preschool / daycare. This has led to James needing to sit in the office with us during the day. He is not coping with that. We had looked into swapping days with only one of us going in however that looked unlikely to provide a suitable resolution.

All of these things above have led us to make some tough decisions. We had a meeting earlier this week with the Director of Sunshine Cambodia and one of the previous Directors. We were able to talk about these difficulties we were having but also with the change in Alison’s role (or lack of due to the paid preschool not going ahead). It was acknowledged that Nick would be able to do his work from anywhere in the world. A new position was offered to Alison to take over the role of Australian Representative for Sunshine Cambodia which was previously filled by a lady based in NSW who is looking to retire from the position. It is a position that they have been looking for a younger person to fill for the last few months or so.

Because of these new developments, we have decided to come home to Perth. We want you all to know that this was not our first choice and also was not a decision we made lightly. We have spent many sleepless, anxious nights discussing and praying over our options and trying to decide what to do. Our biggest fear was failure and “quitting” on Sunshine and letting you, our supporters, down. We have been assured that this is not how Sunshine feels as we will still be working for Sunshine Cambodia, just in different positions (well actually Nick’s position will be the same, just a different location). This will look to solve all the above issues we are facing. It will give Alison a position with Sunshine Cambodia. It will allow Nick to continue his position. It will solve our difficulties with James and what to do with him each day. It will allow Nick to return to paid employment in order for us to meet our responsibilities in Australia.

We are sad to leave and this has been hard for us, however we see this as a greater way of helping Sunshine. We are very sorry that we cannot stay for longer. We feel that our time here in Phnom Penh has not been wasted as it has allowed us to get a greater understanding of Sunshine Cambodia in order to work effectively in our positions. We are thankful that we can still serve God in this way.

It's a Sunshine Day!

I think I'll go for a walk outside now,
The summer sun's calling my name,
I hear you now

I just can't wait inside all day
Gotta get out, give me some of those rays

Everybody's smiling - Sunshine Day!
Everybody's laughing - Sunshine Day!
Everybody seems so happy today.....

IT'S A SUNSHINE DAY!

July 20th is SUNSHINE DAY!

Wear yellow on July 20th to show your support for Sunshine Cambodia and what we are doing here in Phnom Penh.

The Sunshine Cambodia is a Christian Care for Cambodia project in southern Phnom Penh, serving poor families and promoting appropriate care for children in the context of families in the community.

Our vision is to see Cambodian families grow in a holistic way - physical, emotional, social, spiritual and educational.

Please spread the word in your church, workplace, with family and friends - help us make July 20th a day for Sunshine!

You can donate by the following links:

Australian donors: https://www.globaldevelopment.org.au/donations.php?for=J529_Sunshine_Centre_for_Children%2C_Cambodia

Non-Australian donors:
https://www.globaldevelopment.org.au/usa/donations.php?for=J529_Sunshine_Centre_for_Children%2C_Cambodia

Donations are tax deductible for donors from Australia and USA.

SPREAD THE WORD! WEAR YELLOW ON JULY 20TH!

Join our facebook event!


Join us on July 20th and help us raise funds for Sunshine Cambodia!

Out and about in Phnom Penh

Just a short post today. It is very hot right now sitting in our lounge. James has just gone off to bed after a tiring day. We are still struggling with finding decent nappies for him which is causing him to wet through and soak his sheets once or twice a night. Sigh. Lots of washing...

 Local street market where we brought some vegetables today - I stood in something wet and as I was wearing jandals (thongs for the Aussies) my toes got wet. I didn't want to look down at what I had stepped in but just cringed and made a beeline for the shower to wash my feet once we got home! The smells and sights here were not for the faint stomached - I am still not sure how I managed to survive without being sick!

Phnom Penh Police - sponsored by Asahi Beer.... Police box that the traffic police sit in while they look out for drivers not wearing helmets. Notably it seems only the drivers need to wear helmets. Passengers and children also riding on the back of the moto don't need to. We have so far seen up to 5 people riding on a motorbike. Not a tuk tuk - a motorbike! It still catches me by surprise to have a moto pull up beside our tuk tuk with a family of 4 onboard with a baby sleeping squished between other members of the family.

For those of you who have been asking, we now have access to a PO Box! You can find the address as well as our cell phone details under our contact page at the top of our website here.

Smells....

The smells in Cambodia vary greatly.

Riding in a tuk tuk is an experience not just for your eyes and ears but also for your nose. We have been here for just over a week and already I know the areas around our suburb that I should hold my breath. 

Going over the creek where there are so many little shacks with people living in them.

Going past the back of the restaurants.

(Sadly) the smell of some of the street children who have no understanding of the need for hygiene.

Our smells after sweating it out in the heat all day... Ugh!

There are also some absolutely beautiful smells here! Right now I am sitting in a comfy chair smelling the neighbours dinner and wondering how I would go about asking for cooking advice. I have been conversing with the lady who lives next door - conversing rather than talking as she has only a little English and I have very little Khmer. So far I have figured out that she is 31 years old and her daughters are 4yrs5mths and 10mths. She knows that James is 2yrs10mths. She knows we come from Australia (although I don't think she had heard of New Zealand) and that we are living here for 6 months. She wants to learn English - I want to learn Khmer. 

It was our first day at the Sunshine Cambodia centre today. We got a better idea of what we will be doing here and now both feel excited for what lies ahead. I particularly have a lot of work ahead of me with the planning for the preschool / daycare centre which will cater for 3-5 year old Cambodian children.

Heading home we walked up the road to find a tuk tuk with some of the children walking with us as they headed to afternoon school. I was tapped on the arm and turned to find a sweet little girl about 6 years old presenting me with a small bunch of flowers she had picked - "teacher! teacher!"

Oh that just melted my heart!

Well thats about all I have time for today. Now to go and figure out how to cook something that smells half as good as what the neighbours are cooking....

Playgroups and karaoke

Friday morning James and I headed down the road to a house for playgroup. We found this playgroup online and were invited to attend. It is full of expats mainly from the UK and USA. We were happy to discover a lady with her 4yr old son who are not only from Australia, not only from Perth, but from Rockingham! Turns out we know a couple of people in common as well. James loved playing with all the kids and I loved meeting the lovely women who were so welcoming and helpful. I got some good advice about where to shop for different things, what to cook and also some suggestions of churches.

James decided to sleep like this part way through the night...

Saturday we took up some of this advice and headed to the Russian markets to buy some fruit. It was hot, stuffy, full of smells of cooking food but also full of beautiful handicrafts. I surprised myself by actually walking through the meat market (yes with dead barely skinned chickens with their feet still attached hanging up everywhere and all sorts!). I just had to remember not to breathe! I then was able to pick up a couple of cooler items of clothing as my t-shirts seem to be as thick as a winter jacket over here!

 the skirt pants - love them!

Today (Sunday) we headed to the church of our new friends from Rockingham - the Anglican church of Cambodia. It was a nice cool (lots of air-con) service and we were also pleasantly surprised to see two of the ladies working at Sunshine in attendance! We went to a lovely cafe called Fresco's for lunch which had a good play area for our James and their 4yr old boy. James is now the little boy's shadow :) We followed it up by a wander around Soriya mall where we found a box of over 400 Disney movies for $15! We didn't buy it but may head back sometime soon.

James and I outside the Anglican church playing on the swings

And so, we are sitting here relaxing, listening to our neighbours sing some very loud and rather off-key karaoke. They were singing it all yesterday too :) It's rather funny to listen to. James seems to like it though....

Day 4...

We seem to finally be getting a bit calmer about being here in Cambodia.

The first few days have been pretty rough for us in all honesty. Talk about culture shock! We have been thoroughly overwhelmed by our surroundings and on more than one occasion have fought the desire to book the next plane home. James however seems to be doing much better than the two of us!

We headed to the Sunshine Cambodia centre on Tuesday and were met by some beautiful children. They were all surprised to see James and he was just so happy to see kids! When we took him upstairs to the offices to do some paperwork he just kept asking for the kids. After the kids ate their lunch James enjoyed playing in the courtyard with them running around and chasing and being chased. He giggled as he was surrounded by kids and only got a little nervous if one of them tried to pick him up. There were lots of surprised giggles from the kids as they pointed out James' nappy (He is toilet trained but just unsure at the moment about the toilets here) - the kids thought he was 5 years old! Why would a 5yr old wear nappies? No, we told them - he is 2! James is as tall and sometimes taller than the 5yr olds at the centre!

 Our bedroom

The view from our balcony to the front courtyard where the employees of Prison Fellowship Cambodia park their moto's while they are working in the offices downstairs during the day.

We don't have our job descriptions for what we will be doing at the centre yet and are not due to start until Tuesday. So we are relaxing and slowly getting used to the heat, smells, food and language. James so far knows one phrase in Khmer and brings laughs and excitement to all who hear it - he puts his little hands together just under his chin in a prayer action and says "aw kun" (thank you) which is how everyone here seems to say it. So cute! Will try and get a video of him doing it as it just makes me laugh each time!

Last night we headed down to the river-front and dined at our favourite restaurant - the Kiwi Bakery. We sat on the upper level right on the balcony and enjoyed the cool breeze and the sights of the beautiful clean promenade and all the families walking along it as the sun set. Afterwards we took a walk along ourselves and stifled laughs as we saw a large group of Cambodian women doing what seemed to be a country line dance right there on the promenade. The trip home in the tuk tuk with a sleepy James showed us more families enjoying the early evening along the parks near the independent monument, playing hacky sack, soccer and yet more line dancers. Family seems such an important part of life here and it is just beautiful seeing all the families out together.

Nick enjoyed the much anticipated cold coconut... Mmmmm

The promenade 

Tomorrow we hope to go to an expat playgroup and meet some fellow westerners and get some tips about how to adjust to life here in Cambodia. Where to shop, what to eat, where to take James, what to do/not do.... It should make for an interesting day :)

Eating crackers and watching the world go by from the back of a tuk tuk.

We are so thankful to all our supporters, particularly those who are praying for us at the moment. We need your prayers. Please pray that we find our place here in Cambodia. Pray for strength and courage as we face the unknown. Amen.

Day 1...

I am such a mix of emotions right now.

Today started with a 3.30am wake up call to be at the airport by 4.30. James was such a trooper and got up and was excited to be awake when it was still dark. Arriving at the airport in Perth I discovered a secret that was kept from me - my best friend Esme and her husband and two little boys in their pj's were waiting to see us off! What amazing friends we have that they would get their whole family up to drive 1/2hr to the airport at that time of morning!

The flight to Malaysia was pretty good - James did so well sitting for 5.5hrs! The activity packs I made up worked a treat and were received with awe and excitement. Having the portable DVD player was also fantastic!

At the Kuala Lumpur airport we had a couple hours wait. Just before we were about to get on the plane James walked into the back of a chair which had a pointy bit just at eye level. Poor boy got a shock and a little sore just under his eye but thankfully it hasn't bruised or puffed up.

Sleep finally took over for all three of us in the 2 hr flight between Malaysia and Phnom Penh. Our first taste of the friendliness of the Khmer people was the lady sitting next to James and Nick who promptly adjusted James to lie over her with his head on her knee after he fell asleep. Everyone here seems taken by our little man :) They love his cheeks!

We were met at the airport by the Director of Sunshine Cambodia, Channy, with a big smile on his face. After piling all our luggage into the waiting taxi we were off! James learnt his first new word of the day - tuk-tuk. He is fascinated! He pointed out everything of note talking rapidly so that even we couldn't keep with him. "tuk-tuk, tuk-tuk, ohhh! More tuk-tuk!"

After meeting Adam (director of Prison Fellowship Cambodia - the organisation that uses the building we are staying in) we settled in and it all started to hit home.

We are in a country that we don't know the language of. We are confronted by different smells, sights and sounds. We are sweating like crazy (30 degrees and humid is awesome!) We don't know anyone here. I am still feeling sore from my tooth extraction and a bit fragile with my diet post gall-bladder operation.

We headed to the mall just down the road (there are 3 in Phnom Penh and we just happen to live just near one!) and stocked up on milk, bread, spaghetti and nappies. Trying to figure out what to buy in a supermarket where most things seem full of sugar and/or don't have English on them is difficult. James loved riding in the tuk-tuk however!

And so, we are back at our home base. Sitting in our bedroom with the air-con on. Wondering what we have gotten ourselves into. We miss home. We miss our friends and family. We are scared.

Today is day 1. The last time we were here it took a few days to get into the swing of things and to settle down. We are going to take it easy this week, easing ourselves into life here in Cambodia. We want to be here. We believe in what we are doing here. Now is the time when we get to the end of ourselves and rely on God's strength, comfort and guidance.

Please pray for comfort and peace. Pray that we will meet some great people who we can connect with. Pray that Nick and I find rest in God. Pray for our supporters and the support they have pledged to give us - both in prayer and financially.  Pray that we all have a good nights sleep. Amen.

T minus 9hrs...

I am about to close my eyes and try to get 5 hours sleep.

We leave Australia to move to Cambodia in 9 hrs!

We had an awesome send-off at church this morning and more than a few tears have been shed today. We have really been blessed by prayer, both the prayer we were given on stage at church this morning and the intimate prayer time spent with my parents and sister and brother-in-law this evening. How it has blessed my soul! I am so thankful that my family have come to know Christ and that we can now pray together and support each other in this amazing way.

To all our supporters, thank you! We are 100% funded now which is amazing! If anyone still would like to support us financially, we would use the amount raised over and above our target to provide for needs we see over there. You will be amazed at what $20 can do!

And so ends our last blog post from Australia. Stay tuned over the next few days for our first post from Phnom Penh, Cambodia!

9 days to go!

I can't believe in 9 days we will be on a plane heading to Cambodia.

Two months ago we made the decision to follow God's leading and head to Cambodia for 6 months. Within the last two months we have been repeatedly blown away and amazed at how faithful, generous and amazing God is! We have seen so many miracles and answers to prayer already and we haven't even left Australia yet! I once heard a missionary say that the fundraising is half the lesson of a mission trip as the actual mission trip itself. We have found this to be true as we have had to rely on God and others to provide for this work we are about to embark on.

Since I last wrote a post we have gone for $2600 left to raise to just $280! We are so close to getting 100% of our funding and we are just so thankful to all those who have given of their prayers and finances. We can't wait to see what God does in our supporters lives as we truly believe God blesses those who give.

And so with only 9 days to go - I want to encourage our supporters - both those committed to praying for us and those who are committed to providing us with the funds for the trip.

In one of Paul's letter to the Corinthians he write about giving to those who are doing God's work.


"Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality"
2 Corinthians 8:13-14.



Paul was writing to the Corinthians to encourage them to be faithful in what they had promised to give towards Paul's work as what we would now call a "missionary". He encouraged them to first give to God's house (the church - our tithes) and then give to others. He says:


"This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you."
2 Corinthians 9:12-14



When you give to missionaries - you are partnering with them in what they are doing. When they help those who are poor and desperate, you are helping too. When they are telling others about God and what Jesus did when He died and rose again, you are sharing with them too. When they are providing clothes, food, health care, education; you are providing it as well.


In Matthew 25 we hear Jesus talk about what will happen when we meet God on judgement day. Of those who knew God and followed him he says they feed him, clothed him, visited him in prison and when he was ill.


"Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."
Matthew 25:37-40.


You may never know how you helped them. You will probably never meet them. When you reach heaven you will have a host of people who will be there to testify of how you made a difference in their lives, simply by supporting missionaries and aid workers in their work.

Thank you for joining us in making a difference.

$2600 to go!

We are so humbled. We are in awe of God's provision and the willingness and generosity of people we know!

We received a further $2100 this last week - $300 in a one-off donation and the rest, $1800, in commitments for monthly donations for the 6 months we are away!

We have also had someone offer to pay for our flights! We are booking them this week! Our departure date is tentatively set at the 10th of June at this stage - less than 4 weeks from now. Nick's last work trip gets back on the 8th of June so it needs to be at least this date.

Things are getting very real for us now! We are starting to pack up our house and get it ready for the girls who are going to be looking after it for us. Ali has been getting her passport up to date and we are having our vaccinations later this week. Thankfully we are all up to date so we only need Typhoid for Nick and I and Typhoid and Hep A for James.

We realised on Sunday that we only have got 3 more Sundays here at our church! That is so sad for us! We hope to be able to see everyone to say goodbye in the next 3 weeks before June (we will be mainly spending time with family in the last week we are here as my sister and her family arrive from NZ on the 1st of June). If you want to catch up please facebook or give us a text and we will make sure we catch up :)

So. We have $2650 left to raise. $2400 of this is able to be monthly support with the other $250 needed by the weekend we go (to get visa's when we arrive and for last minute things to take with us for Sunshine Cambodia). There are several ways this can work:

4 people supporting us $100/month - total $600 each.
8 people supporting us $50/month - total $300 each.
16 people supporting us $25/month - total $150 each.

If you are able to support us in any of these categories - please email us at dightfamily@gmail.com or contact us via facebook. We would love to have you on board!

If you would like to make a one-off donation that would also be great!

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. We are really feeling you behind us and are getting so expectant for what God is going to use us for in Cambodia!

Masque, surgery, accommodation

Wow. Again - how great is our God!

First thing first - our Masque for a Cause night was a hit! We had around 35 people attend and had a great time transforming our house into a party venue! The ladies were all dressed up to the nines and the guys didn't look too bad either! We sold all items in the silent auction and everyone enjoyed the amazing food and music. We managed to raise about $750 for our trip and the same for our friends Toby and Esme Clarke who co-hosted the event with us.

Ali (blue dress) with her sister Lou

Ali had surgery on Monday to remove her gallbladder which was full of gallstones. It went really well and she is recovering at home now although is in a bit of pain. James has been making us laugh by following Mummy as she slowly walks around the house holding her stomach and pretending he has a sore tummy too. Such a cutie.

Ali after surgery in hospital

We received amazing news today! We have been allowed to stay at the Riverview Guest House for the entire 6 months we are in Cambodia! This is a total answer of our prayers and is saving us around $4200 as we were budgeting $800/month for accommodation/utilities and we are only being asked to contribute $100/month for utilities at the guest house! Our whole accommodation for 6 months for only $600! Thank you God!

We are just so incredibly blessed by this and with our fundraising efforts we are now at around $3000 out of $8000 raised. We have around 7 individuals/couples who have indicated they would like to support us so we are getting in touch with them this week and hopefully will be much closer to our goal of $8000 by the end of the week! Praise God, Praise God, PRAISE GOD!!!!!!!!!!

7 weeks to go...

Wow. 7 weeks to go.

7 weeks until we move to a third world country.

7 weeks to pack up and organise our house and lives.

7 weeks to raise $12,000.

7 weeks to make sure our travel plans, passports, insurance and vaccinations are sorted.

7 weeks to finish off sewing projects I have on the go.

7 weeks to prepare James.

7 weeks to spend with our family and friends.

7 weeks to see God move in the most amazing way.

7 weeks to go. Wow.

Starting the support raising journey...

What a busy couple of weeks it has been for us!

We have been putting into motion the plans we have to head over to Cambodia and are now at the support raising stage. To be honest, this is the stage that has me most nervous. From childhood we are taught not to ask for money but to get out there and earn it ourselves. While we are saving ourselves for any costs/bills/debt we have here in Australia - we are trusting God to provide what is needed for our time overseas. It is hard for me to wrap my head around the missionary way of raising support in order to live. Trusting God for this is a big thing and is the second big step of faith we are about to take - the first step being making the decision to go.

We have worked out the figures and have come to the realisation that we need $12,000 in order to live and meet our costs in Cambodia for 6 months. Looking at the big picture, $12k is really not that much to need to live when we compare our cost of living here in Australia! I think it's just looking at that large figure as a whole that gets me nervous!

Our first step in this support raising journey is to hold the "Masque for a Cause" with our good friends Toby and Esme Clarke. We are so excited for this event that is shaping up to be a great night! We have room for 250 people to attend and are aiming for 200.

We have now put together our support raising letter which will be sent out this week. We are trusting that God will provide for us and also allow others to be a part of making a difference by supporting us with prayer and financially. If you would like to receive this letter please send me an email - dightfamily@gmail.com - and we will send one out to you.

Our prayer needs at this stage are:

- For God to bless the staff, children and families of the Sunshine Centre
- For financial support to be raised and start coming in so we can start looking at flights, insurance and immunisations
- For Nick to get plenty of work at his new casual position at an environmental firm which will allow us to save for our costs here in Australia and also contribute to our costs in Cambodia
- For a full turn out at the Masque for a Cause and a full 10 items/vouchers to put up for auction on the night

On a more personal note, things have been going well with our family these last two weeks. My Dad and sister, Gabby were baptised on the weekend which is an amazing answer to prayer! Their testimonies on stage during the church service left barely a dry eye in the house as they were open and honest in sharing their faith and the change God has made in their lives. I now have seen my mum, dad and 3 sisters and a brother baptised! Praise God!

Dad's baptism
Sister Gabby's baptism

James is doing amazing with his toilet training. It has only been just over a week and he often goes the whole day with no accidents. This is an answer to prayer as we were really hoping to have him toilet trained before we go.

We hope you are all well and would really love to hear what is happening in your lives too!

xx Alison

Masque for a Cause

If you would like tickets please comment and I will arrange some for you :)

If you or your business would be interested in donating item/s or voucher/s please contact me at dightfamily@gmail.com

Plans and preparations

Hi everyone!

Gosh it has been a big day of planning, preparing and also creating this blog!

Please take some time to have a look at the links along the left side - About us, Sunshine Centre, Cambodia, Support - they all have information loaded into them now.

We will be updating this blog once a week - more often if something of note occurs.

Fundraising plans are in full swing! We are planning daily for our "Masque for a Cause" evening, partnering with our good friends Toby and Esme Clarke who are also going overseas to support children in third world countries. They are headed to Rwanda with their boys Raph and Zebbie in July/August this year. Have a look at their website here. We have nearly finalised a venue and are working on the invitations/flyers. We are also looking for businesses/individuals to donate items/vouchers/services for the silent auction we will be holding that night. Please contact us if you can help in this area! It is going to be an amazing night with live music, a short presentation of who we are and what we are doing, the silent auction, great cocktail food and great company! So put the date of Friday May 11th in your diary!

Thanks everyone for taking the time to read our blog and we look forward to sharing our journey with you :)

Nick, Alison and James.

About us!

Hi!

Welcome to our family blog. This is a place to keep updated with what is happening for us on our journey following God's lead and helping those less fortunate than ourselves.

Nick and Alison Dight

We have been married for 6 years after starting out as high school sweethearts nearly 10 years ago. In 2007 we made the move to Perth, Western Australia from New Zealand to be closer to Alison's family and for more opportunities for work. We fell in love with Perth and have lived here ever since. Alison went on to complete a Certificate in Counselling and is currently studying towards her Bachelor of Counselling at the University of Notre Dame. Nick has been working as an Environmental Consultant after completing his Bachelor of Science at Canterbury University, Christchurch, New Zealand.

We started attending Riverview Church when we arrived in Perth and have loved being part of the community there. In 2008 we made the decision to go to Cambodia with the Riverview Children's Foundation for an Impact Trip highlighting the Foundation's work and projects over there. We took along Alison's younger brother Joe as well. We were so impacted by what we saw and experienced that we knew this was not going to be the last Cambodia saw of us! We fell in love with the Cambodian people and the beautiful yet poor country. We were able to visit many different organisations and learn about what was being done with children rescued from sex trafficking and children and families who are some of the poorest in the world. One way to sum up our response to this trip is written in the words of Brooke Fraser's song Albertine:

"Now that I have seen, I am responsible.

Faith without deeds is dead.

Now that I have held you in my own arms

I cannot let go til you are..."

We cannot ignore these children now that we have hugged them, played with them, painted their faces and heard their stories of desperation yet hope.

Alison leading a children's program - Us outside a children's centre - Nick playing with the kids          

                                                                                                          

Shortly after returning from Cambodia, Nick and I found ourselves pregnant with our son. James was born in August 2009 and is our first child. He is now 2.5 years old and full of life and love. James loves to play with cars, trucks, trains, planes, bikes.... anything with wheels! We often comment that we can't believe how blessed we are to have such a lovely compassionate young boy in our lives.

                                James                     The Dight Family

After having James we put our plans to return to Cambodia on hold while we enjoyed time as a little family. In January 2012 we really started to feel anticipation that 2012 was going to hold something new and special for us as a family. We felt that our lives were going to go in a new direction. We didn't know what this looked like and decided to wait on God's timing to reveal His plans for us. Our dream of returning to Cambodia to serve and help the children has resurfaced. After praying about it and talking things over, we decided that now is the right time for us to go.

And so, the Dight family is off to Cambodia!

We are still putting plans together but we have been offered positions with an organisation in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, at the Sunshine Centre where we plan to spend 6 months. Our departure date has been set for June with an exact flight date to be confirmed. We plan to be away until December/January.

So please, we ask you to join us on this journey of answering the call to help those less fortunate. To find out more about how you can help us, check out our Support page.

Thanks for reading our blog!