TESTIMONY

Moving Forward...

2012-02-14T15:03:00.000+07:00

Three mornings a week, I have made it my personal "mission" to build the patience of this dear boy...

This is Pannha (pronounced Pahn-nyah). This picture is from one of the Friendship Camps we led for the English students and it was in the middle of a game. I am hoping he is not so tired-looking when he teaches me. Pannha is my Khmer tutor and my friend. He also is the pastor's cousin and he comes to eat dinner at the house pretty much every night. And since I live with the pastor, I have had countless meals with him and a few other people. I think part of the beauty of our friendship is that we laugh and joke around with each other, which makes learning all the more fun...ok, not painful is maybe a better way to put it ;-)

Some days I read in Khmer and then I have to translate into English. Some days we learn vocabulary lists (that is NOT my favorite). Some days we do a grammar lesson from my book. Some days we just talk about random stuff. Some days...we do all the above. And all of the days require perseverance from both of us!! I have been very impressed with him as I struggle through words. He has to repeat himself a lot...partly because I don't know the words and partly because he SO speaks fast and I don't listen quite that fast.

The new method of learning is actually getting me to speak Khmer to more than just him! This is helpful since there are a lot more people to talk to than Pannha ;-) On Sunday afternoons, I teach a small group. Up 'til now, I have done the lessons and Sophea, the pastor, has translated for me. From here on out, though, I am going to be leading the group without him.

In an effort to prepare myself for this...and to accomplish the goal I set out to getting over my fear and being able to speak the language...I decided that I would start teaching part of my lesson in Khmer. We read a Bible passage and I ask some processing questions to get the students to think and answer. My idea was to at least ask the questions in Khmer.

So Pannha and I worked on translating the questions during my tutoring times and come Sunday, I told them at the beginning of the meeting that I was going to ask the questions in Khmer. I had to tell them ahead of time or I would chicken out and not actually do it. I would be frustrated and disappointed in myself that I didn't try. Thus the announcement. Because then they would hold me accountable. It came time for the questions and I did it!! They didn't sound pretty or eloquent, but they were in Khmer and they all understood what I was asking!

Mini success!

I have since prepared the questions for this coming Sunday's lesson...and have upped the ante by writing out the closing prayer too. I have to practice reading the stuff a lot before Sunday. I write it all out in Khmer rather than phonetically -- which I must say is a skill in and of itself. So since my reading takes a little effort, I need to prepare a little more than usual.

I realize this picture isn't the clearest (I used my phone), but I will take other pictures of my writing another time. This just gives you an idea of what I am working with here ;-)Thank you for your continued prayers for my language skills...I need them!!

New Vocabulary...

2012-02-06T23:23:00.000+07:00

This is a nail.
Nails belong in wood.
Nails do NOT belong in my car tire.

This evening while I was teaching my English class, one of my friends poked her cute little head in the door and called me to come outside. This is pretty abnormal and I was a little concerned by the look on her face, so I excused myself from the class for a minute to find out what was wrong. Here is sorta how the conversation went.

Dina: "Your car. Biy gong. You know?"
Heather (with a very confused face): "I'm sorry. What?"
{I should mention that "gong" is the word for bike, thus the confusion to have it in reference to my car}
Dina: "Your car. gong."
{repeat the first couple lines a few times}
Heather: "Something about a bike and my car, but I don't understand. A bike hit my car?"
Dina: "Yes."
Heather: "Is someone hurt? Is my car ok?"
Dina: "No, your car is not ok."

At this point, I am kinda at a loss because I have no idea how a bike could hit and damage my car...it was parked and should have been ok where it was. I told her I needed to finish my class and I would come down soon. The whole next 30 minutes, all I could think about was my car and confused as to how this all played out downstairs. When I ended class, I was met by a number of different people, all trying to speak Khmer to me {another reminder that I HAVE to learn this language!!} and explain to me what happen. I am sure I had one of the most confused faces ever seen because they would stop me about every 5 feet to say something else about it...and then someone else would come up and try to explain more. I kept saying that I just needed to get out of the gate so I could see what had happened. As I walked up to my car, I saw that my front tire was flat.

I kept asking over and over again, "How does a bike do this? Who was riding the bike? Where did they go? How did it deflate my tire? I don't understand." My questions were not really given any answers that made sense to me...they just kept saying something about "biy kgong"...biy means three...so now there wasn't just one bike but three bikes that made my tire go flat!! Needless to say I was pretty well confused. They were looking at me pretty confused too. At some point in the madness, a thought dawned on me that maybe I wasn't understanding the Khmer words. I think they had the same realization at the same time. One of them pointed at the tire and said "gong" and a light went on over my head.

The word for tire is also (inconveniently) "gong" as well!!

There were not three bikes. There wasn't even one bike involved. It was the silly little nail pictured above. I also learned that she wasn't saying "biy" but "biyk" and the k at the end of words is a very soft sound so to my American ear, I didn't hear the "k" at all. "Biyk" means broken. So she was telling me that my car had a broken tire.

Clearly.

I wish I could say that this was the end of the excitement, but it was just the beginning of the next wave. At this point, I discover that my car doesn't have a jack. Problem #1. I also discovered that most people around here don't know how to change a car tire. Problem #2. They all have "gongs" (actual bikes) and motorbikes. Not cars. At one point, I counted 14 people trying to help change my tire. There were even passerby's that were stopping to see the show. The whole process took a very long time. Then the power at the church and the street and the whole surrounding area went out. Problem #17. {I realize I skipped #3 thru #16, but trust me, they were there.} We were then completely dependent on the lights from our cell phones!!

This was one of the more "entertaining and interesting" nights in a "Oh-Cambodia-how-I-love-thee" kind of way.

I do love that I had so many people willing and able to help me.
I love that I learned the words for broken and tire.
I love the laughs that we had when we figured out the miscommunication.
And as I have said before, I love a good story.

Simple Truth...

2012-01-31T11:39:00.001+07:00

Life has been busy...interesting...full. There are lots of stories to tell (and trust me, I love a good story!), but here is the most recent.

Last week, we had a women's conference at our church with approximately 200 ladies from Phnom Penh and a few surrounding provinces. Over the two days, the guest speakers from Australia covered topics such as value, God turning our suffering into a message of His love, and how God asks for obedience to follow His word even if we don't fully understand it all at the time.

At the end of the last session, we opened up the floor for some of the women to come up and give testimonies of things that God had done in their lives and spoken to them during the conference. These are the kinds of stories that I love. I enjoy teaching, but one of my favorite things about working with people is to hear what their hearts are walking through and watching people see God bigger than they did before.

One woman shared that her whole life, she never had anything. Possessions. Family. Food. Place to live. Nothing. She said there were times in her life she didn't even have clothes to wear and had to go naked. She shared that she had to sell herself for food at times. Her life was the picture of brokenness and hopelessness. But then she met God. And she said in the two days of the seminar, she heard God say that she was valuable and He loved her very much. As she told her story, she just kept repeating, through her tears: "I love God. I love God. I love God. He's says I am valuable and He loves me. And I love God."

That was the last thing that was spoken at the conference. The speakers got up to pray with her and we dismissed everyone else. It was not a planned, well-thought through conclusion that ended the conference. But it was the way God planned it. The way God feels about her, this woman who had nothing, is the same redemptive, restorative heart that He has for each one of the women in that room. And each one of us too. It was such a simple statement of truth, and yet not a minimal meaning. I love that there are so many things about God like that. We shouldn't complicate His truth and love. No, it's not something that can easily be understood in one sitting and there will always be something new to learn about Him and the depth of His love and character. But the simple truth is that He loves us.

He loves me.

He loves you.

Where do they get this stuff?!

2012-01-04T09:55:00.001+07:00

I hope the day never comes when the random misspelled or novelty signs, shirts and various other objects become common place to me. I may shake my head sometimes, but trust me, life is so much funnier with them in it. Like this:

Looks to be a normal, every day back pack, right?But no...it is actually armor. This is what I want to be carrying in case of sudden war...Too bad I just bought a bag not too long ago. I am going to have to remember this when purchasing my next back pack, knowing all that they can offer :-)

Ringing in the New Year...

2012-01-03T08:41:00.000+07:00

On my birthday, it was cake frosting smeared on my face.

On day 201, it was watercolor paints that I was unexpectedly painted with.

On New Year's Eve, it was the black soot from the bottom of a pot.

The first few spots were "given" to my friend Eileen and I because we said no to dancing. I say no more as a "gift" to the art of dancing and to those that might happen to catch sight of me...I am the whitest girl ever! My legs and my dancing prove it. I weighed the options and decided that a little soot would be better than trying to dance. We did make an attempt to get the guys back, filling our hands with the soot ourselves only to be "defeated" and have our faces covered! I did manage to get some soot on them, though, so it was not totally a waste...One of my goals for 2012 is to not have my face smeared with random things, but I am pretty sure that is not gonna happen...

I do have other, more "serious" goals for this new year. I have never really been one for resolutions because I always manage to break them shortly after making them. But dreams and desires and hopes...well, I have those. Some of them are big. Some are kinda silly. Some are deep heart cries.

I want to speak Khmer. I am praying for confidence to speak what I knew even if I sound like a fool. I am not so good at looking or sounding foolish
...so here's to letting loose and having no fear.

I want to grow in grace, but also in truth and authority. They seem like opposites, but they have to co-exist in perfect measure because that is how they are in God's character
...so here's to the challenges and circumstances that will teach me.

I want to develop new relationships and strengthen old relationships that glorify God. There is so much wrapped up in that hope
...so here's to honesty, vulnerability and having fun!

I want to make healthy, wise decisions for my mind, body and spirit
...so here's to my will and self-control.

I have big expectations for 2012. At the end of the first day, I fell asleep with joy in my heart and gratitude for the life I am living. It is early on day 3 now, but already it's been good.

...so here's to 363 more!"

blog topic overload...

2012-01-02T10:50:00.000+07:00

So many things to say...and I will attempt to not overwhelm you...

:: Harvesters ::
December 25 wasn't just Christmas Day...it was also the end of the fourth Harvesters class. We had a short graduation ceremony during the church service and gave the students their certificates.
This group has been such a blessing to my heart. I realize I say that every time, but it's always true (which is fine by me)! Over the past three months, they have learned, practiced, prayed, shared, been challenged, grown, and served. This group amazed me with their hearts to know and run after God. We had a bit of a debrief time over lunch yesterday and one of the questions I asked was: "How have you grown in the last three months?", to which the answers included things like:
...I know how to be an example in word and action...
...I learned of God's character and saw a change in my characteristics too...
...I have more experience through practice...
...I know the Word of God more clearly...
...I have better relationships with God and others around me...
...I have learned to surrender and submit to God more...
Great answers, but I can testify to say that they are not just words...they are really the ways that their lives were changed. I have seen the evidence of God transforming their hearts and putting those changes into action. I will miss this group...a lot. But I am also looking forward to seeing them walk out the changes more and more as time goes by. And I am looking forward to the next group of students that will study in the Harvesters. We will start on January 31. Please be praying that we have students sign up and that God continues to use the Harvesters in this church and in this nation.

:: The Holidays ::
Spending Christmas away from my family, our traditions, and our own brand of personal chaos is not exactly the easiest thing. I have been "adopted" into a family here in Cambodia and I absolutely LOVE them, but it's still a little difficult and definitely an adjustment. Case in point...

Christmas Eve family tradition: candlelight service at church...smoked sausage, cheese, crackers, too many cookies...opening one present (ALWAYS pajamas)...finally going to bed.

Christmas Eve this year: out-of-control photo booth extravaganza with a few friends...dumplings, green beans, and fried noodle stir fry at a chinese restaurant. VERY different...but we had fun...and have pictures to prove it ;-)
Christmas evening and the following day I spent in the village with the pastor and his family. I always love it out there. What I did not care for so much was the morning of the 27th, when I woke up and realized very quickly that I was pretty sick. I am completely better now, but it was not so much my favorite way to spend my time off from work. I also "decided" to have a root canal done at the end of the week. Needless to say it was kind of a rough week. But I am all about finding silver lining to things like that and so here it is...the root canal was only $35 and my prayer for "supernatural novacaine" was answered...there was very little pain and discomfort afterwards. Not at all the horror stories I have heard from others on their RC recoveries. Praising God for that!

So many others things to write, but this post is already quite full and so they will have to wait for the next blog post...

Coconut anyone?

2011-12-21T11:37:00.004+07:00

As I have said before...I love lists. Any kind of list, really. To-do lists. Pro/Con lists. "How-I-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways" lists. Funny statement lists. Lists about lists (apparently). You get the idea. I love the order and logic that has to go into them. I have a long running mental list of all the things that will never get old or normal to see here in Cambodia. This is one of them:

If I ever want a coconut, I go for the convenience of a market. Mostly because I do not have the ability to climb a tree like this. If there were branches, I could maybe give it a shot. But my Cambodian friends have this almost innate ability to shimmy up a palm tree with the greatest of ease in order to retrieve coconuts.

Pretty amazing in my book.

Respond With Love...

2011-12-17T21:35:00.000+07:00

The floods in central and northern Cambodia, the worst the country has seen in more than a decade, made an already fragile economy even more strained. In the affected provinces, homes were lost...crops were lost...lives were lost. During a prayer time in the Harvesters Class, God began to prompt our hearts to respond in some way. The students asked "What can we do to help?" The answer from God's heart came very clearly...first, He said "I am going and I want you to come with Me." And second, the phrase "Provision come with obedience." We felt like we were supposed to purchase rice to distribute to an affected village, but weren't sure how that would all look...where the village would be, where the finances to purchase the rice would come from, how we would be able to do this. But we knew this was what we were asked to do. So we said "yes" and moved forward in our plans. We stood on the words God spoke and watched as the provision came! Thanks to some very generous donations, in a very short period of time, we were able to purchase 1000 kilograms (2200 pounds) of rice, as well as some other very necessary cooking basics. We prepared 100 packages of food for the people of a small village in the Kampong Thom Province. And as we distributed the food to the families, we prayed and asked God to bless them and reveal Himself to them in a big way.

Below you will find many pictures from the weekend. In the first one, you will notice the water line around the bottom of the building, showing how high the water came...and stayed for a long time. Further down, you will see the mass amounts of rice, an example of the contents of one "package" of food, dramas, testimonies, as well as a picture of me sharing a message with the community before the distribution (and yes, I am wearing a light hoodie because it was actually cold on Sunday morning...I was so happy!)

We spoke love in words as we shared testimonies and the Sunday morning message. We spoke love as we shared the Good News of God's love and Christ's sacrifice for them. We spoke love through action as we blessed them with this food. And as we served and loved this community, many people took notice of what was happening...and who was doing these things. The village chief commented to us that he was amazed to see this group of young people that came really did care about the village and at the work that Christians do to serve and help.

Please continue to pray for those in the affected areas, especially in this village, as they move forward after this flood. Pray for miraculous provision and crops to flourish in a way that will only be able to be credited to the goodness of God. Pray for those that received the words and actions of love that the Harvesters allowed to be poured through them.

One Year...

2011-12-04T23:20:00.001+07:00

December 4, 2010...one year ago today...

That was the day that Cambodia officially became home. I stepped off the plane and it was instant. This wasn't an outreach. This wasn't short term.

This was LIFE.

And during this past year, I have...
...woken up 365 times in a place that I love.
...been challenged and stretched in ways I didn't know were possible...or always think were "necessary."
...been misunderstood a great deal...and done a lot of misunderstanding myself.
...been hot and sweaty.
...learned to look forward to showers with cold water...and rejoice when I get hot water.
...laughed until tears were streaming and my cheeks hurt more times than I can count.
...been unable to answer grammar questions for my English students more than they like.
...accepted helmet hair as a normal thing.
...attended a lot of meetings that I only understand 50% of what happens.
...developed an addiction to iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk.
...painted church buildings.
...waited patiently (and not so patiently too) for the power to come back on.
...killed flies with rubber bands.
...paused for my sentences to be translated when I speak and teach (so I actually feel like I talk less here).
...shared love.
...missed my family and friends.
...prayed...A LOT.
...eaten more rice than I thought I could.
...learned to eat more (and dare I say...like) vegetables.
...been visited by friends from the States.
...struggled through Khmer language lessons to read, write and speak.
...cried.
...seen motos transporting a limitless variety of items including people, chickens, pigs, refrigerators, and bicycles.
...had my heart broken for the things that break God's heart.
...taken LOTS of pictures.
...fed kids in the villages.
...had my calling confirmed time and time again.
...led others into the presence of God.
...followed with a desire to learn.
...helped with rice planting.
...been stared at, talked about, wondered about on pretty much a daily basis.
...squeegeed the flooded floor of my bedroom after a particularly hard rain storm.
...been to the beach 4 times.
...made new friends that bring such joy to my heart.
..."accidentally" climbed a mountain and rocks while wearing flip flops...and have the scars to prove it.
...given in to the temptation and spoken improper, broken English.
...lived well.
...had NO doubt I am supposed to be here in Cambodia.

I could go on and on and on. Suffice it to say, this year has been full. Refining. Rewarding.

And I am looking forward to what this next year (and hopefully many more after that) will hold for me. Thanks to all of you who have prayed, supported and love me to walk out this adventure. You are a part of my testimony.

Village Adventures...

2011-11-30T22:31:00.000+07:00

Cambodia LOVES holidays and festivals (and rightfully so). I am in full support of celebrating with them as I also get the days off work. The most recent holiday is called the Water Festival and I went to Preah Romeas village to spend a couple days. I absolutely love going to Sophea's village! He is the pastor that I work with and I also live with him and his family. I have spent a lot of time with him and his wife, their kids, his brothers and sisters, cousins, mom, aunts and uncles and they are definitely my Khmer family. This time, I also invited another foreigner friend, Eileen, to go with me and see what kind of adventure we could have. Here are some of the things that were on our agenda for the two days:

Fishing (by net and by pole)...
This was purely a spectator activity for me. For the nighttime fishing, I did go down to the water for a few minutes, but there were only two poles, the bait smelled less than appealing (they were using a very potent fermented fish), and we found that experimenting with my camera in the dark and using the flash light was more entertaining to us.

Volleyball...
Once again this was a spectator sport as they are extremely intense about their volleyball, but it's fun to watch.

Various rubber band games...
I must say they are quite creative around here to come up with these games. They make a "super rubber band" by twisting around 5 or 6 together and then you shoot it at a pile of individual rubber bands to see how many you can knock out of the stack. And trust me when I say you don't want to be shot with the super rubber band...it hurts.

I also learned how to kill flies with a rubber band. Yes, you read that correctly. I felt like Mr. Miagi with his chopsticks (still a impressive feat I must say)...when the flies land on something, you skillfully hold the rubber band in a certain way and snap them quickly. It became a quick obsession of ours (Eileen and I) since we had always grown up with the convenience of a fly swatter (which, I gotta say, I still prefer).

Cow rescue...
When we were at the volleyball court, a number of my friends began running back towards the house to see something about a cow stuck in the mud. That was all I caught. So we went to see what all the commotion was about (and I was a little confused as to how a cow gets stuck in the mud quite honestly). We quickly found out that it was NOT mud, but a large hole that had been dug for a septic system of some sort. The cow had managed to walk across the hole and have it's hind legs fall in. This was quite the event for the day. Everyone came with their ideas of how to free the cow...the winning method was a few old tires roped together, strapped underneath the poor animal, and then putting a long stick through the top to give them a way to pull him out. But do you know what happens with you actually get the cow out? The "water" that the cow is stuck in goes flying everywhere and everyone knew what kind of "water" this was. I felt very bad for the guy off to the side that got doused in this "water." Again, I stood safely on the other side of the wall as a curious spectator.
Nature Discovery...
This is the biggest snail I have ever seen. I am not sure what was so funny at that moment, but whatever it was gave me quite a laugh. These are also the biggest ants.
They are huge! And I can tell you from experience, they hurt when they bite you! And just as a side note, they catch and stir fry these bad boys. I very politely declined when I was offered them in the past.

Comparing leg white-ness...
This is a contest that I will always win. It is amusing though...

Photo shoot with massive construction items...
This thing made me laugh...partly because the brand is "thinh phat" which is an oxymoron if you pronounce the 'ph' like an 'f' as we do in America. I have no recollection of skipping, but that certainly looks like what I am doing in this picture. It is what it is.

Harvest Spectators...
{Are you noticing a theme with the things that I "did" ...lots of spectating going on...} We went for a walk through the village and came across some people bringing a portion of their harvest. We stopped and talked with them a while and took a few pictures before continuing on our way...
And these pictures hardly do justice to trying to convey the beauty and peace that is this land...this goes down in my books as a GREAT holiday.

Say and Do...

2011-11-15T13:50:00.006+07:00

There are very few days that I can say I haven't learned something..and most of the time it comes in unexpected ways. I feel constantly amazed by the lessons that come my way if I keep myself in a attitude to listen. On the last outreach with the Harvesters, we went to the Takeo province to serve and love and I learned a lot from my students and the people in the village.

When we got there on Saturday morning, we split into two groups to walk through the village and talk with people. At one of the houses where my group stopped, there was a man building a chicken house. A couple of the students offered to come back later in the afternoon to help him and we then went on our way. At another house, we met and spoke for a long time with the village chief and a leader from the pagoda. This conversation was very enlightening for me as the temple leader was sharing with us what he knew about Christians. He said that other religions and groups say that the love and care about others, but then they don't do anything. He went on to say that Christians are the only people he has seen who say they love and actually have actions to back up their words.

At this very time, unbeknownst to me, the other group of students was on the opposite side of the village building a small house for a little old grandpa to live in. It was the first house they stopped at and when they saw them busy building, the students asked my co-leader if they could stay and help. So for two hours, they labored to build a little house addition.
When our free time came in the afternoon, the couple students from my group were heading back to help with the chicken house. I assumed that it was only those two going and the others were staying back to rest. I decided to go with and as we were walking, I turned around to just take a note of which ones came along. It took me back as I saw that all eight students were there. All eight of them sacrificed their rest time to love this family and put action to their words. The fact that it was hottest part of the day and that we were going to have a full evening didn't matter. They wanted to serve.

I unfortunately don't have an "after" picture because we did not actually finish putting together the whole thing, but here is a photo of my students with the family.
Neither of the building projects were planned or initiated by us leaders, but came from the overflow of the hearts of the students. That says something great about this group and I am so happy for the privilege of working with them!

On Sunday morning, I was given the opportunity to share with the adults......while the students were outside leading a children's program with games and songs and skits.

After we finished the program, we brought all the kids inside (about 100) and fed them lunch...
This is one of those pictures that touches my heart and couldn't have been posed. I happen to look over as Seyla, one of my students, had knelt down to talk to one of the kids and the gentleness in his heart as he did this impacted me a great deal.
I love that these young people are being the love of Christ in action. We will be going on our next outreach in a couple of weeks and I am looking forward to seeing what more I will have the chance to learn.

Where did I go?

2011-10-24T21:35:00.000+07:00

Here something you should know: Good intentions do NOT write blogs.

I was doing so well at updating my blog, writing and posting pictures on a frequent and regular basis. Then life got really busy and while I would think about the things that I wanted to post, the fact is that they never made it past that. Here is one of those "thoughts" that has be floating around in my head for a while...

::HARVESTERS::
I would like to introduce you to the newest group...
{L-R...Dara, Leakena, Makara, Bahn, Seyha, Makara, Seyla, Pagna (pronounced Pahn-nya), Heather and Socheata}

The new term started on October 4. As we were preparing for this class, there was something stirring in my heart...and the best way I can come up with to describe it is "great expectation." (Sorry Dickens, Miss Havisham, Pip and Estella, this is not a shout out to you.) I have this feeling of excitement and expectation for what is going to happen in this group. One of my favorite things about teaching and leading is getting to watch people see God bigger than they did before. And in these few short weeks, that has already happened. We will be going on our first mission trip in a week and half (November 5 & 6). I will post more details about this later.

About a month ago, before this new class started, we had a Harvesters Gathering. This was a lunch for all the "alumni" and included the two classes from 2011 as well as the inaugural group from 2008/09. As I looked around the room at these 25 beautiful people, my heart felt full. The relationships that I have been able to build with each of them have been such a blessing to me. I feel as if my love for them has been poured out directly from God's heart to mine. I've seen them grow and develop, struggle and pursue God's heart, live and love well. At that moment, I saw in them a loud and clear affirmation to my calling to live here in Cambodia.

We had a time to do some processing and sharing of where each one of them is now after being a part of this class and how they are walking out in the callings on their lives. One question I asked was about how they were challenged through the Harvesters...by God, by the leaders and by themselves. As I listened to a few of them answer, one of them stood out in bold letters. He shared that while he listened and learned the lessons that we as the leaders taught on God's character, on hearing His voice, on living out the design God has made us with, he was also busy watching us...were we practicing what we were speaking? Were we living out the things that we taught or were they just words that we were asking them to do but not for ourselves? He said that he was challenged by us because he saw us teaching out of a place of experience....it was not just theory, but it was our lives. He saw it possible to do these things and live this way because he saw us doing just that. I was so humbled by this statement. It was a reminder to me that others watch me...not just because I am a foreigner, but because I speak truth and they want to see if I live out that same truth. I want my life to point to Jesus. I want my actions, my words, my thoughts all to bring Him glory. I want others to see Him shining through me.

Best Laid Plans...

2011-09-29T15:36:00.002+07:00

They may not celebrate Thanksgiving and Easter and Fourth of July in Cambodia, but there is certainly not a lack of holidays here. The most recent one was called P'chum Bun and I happily took a few days off for a little rest and relaxation. My friend, Eileen, and I planned on going to one of the northern provinces, but at the last minute, we had to change our location because of mass flooding throughout different areas of Cambodia. It is still a little unclear to me if we really would have been affected by the water, but it all got so complicated and messy (it's a long story) that we decided to go to the good ol' standard backup vacation spot...the coast.

I love escaping the busy-ness of the city, enjoying lazy days, sitting and reading, eating food right on the beach (...and it's cheap!), having great conversations with an amazing friend...what more could I ask for? Well, for starters, I would have preferred less rain. {Sidenote...it is the rainy season here in Cambodia. This means that on the average day, it rains for a couple hours in the middle of the afternoon. Let me assure you though, it is certainly not restricted to this schedule and it unfortunately rained a good portion of the few days we were there. And if you throw a typhoon off the coast of the Philippines in the mix, there is bound to be a bit more rain than normal.}

I am not necessarily a beach enthusiast, which is surprising since I am from Florida, but then again not so much since I manage to get sunburnt in record time. Even in the shade...it's a talent. This beach is very different from those that I always went to growing up, though. Lining the beach are papasan chairs, lounge chairs, umbrellas and restaurants, women walking around selling food, others offering massages, manicures and pedicures.
If you follow my blog, you know that I am doing a photography project, taking a picture each day that says something about what I did, what I saw, what I experienced that day. I have realized that many of those pictures are food. Sometimes out of the curiosity in my mind when it comes to food differences between the States and Cambodia. Sometimes out of pure delight because I love that particular food so much. My picture for Wednesday was a combination of both those reasons...

If there is a name for these wonderful little treats, I don't know what it is. I do know, however, that they are GOOD! They are little balls made from rice flour with a palm sugar filling, topped with shaved coconut and a brown sugar/sesame seed mixture. Every where we went, we were on the look out for them. We were so excited when we found the first lady, we paid her initial asking price and didn't even bat an eye really. The second day, as I went to purchase some, the seller was quoting a price to another customer...in Khmer. So when I asked how much they were and was given a price that was almost twice as expensive more than the guy two seconds before, I quickly (and gladly) used my Khmer skills to tell her that I wanted them for the same price the other guy got. I said it all with a smile, of course...and she smiled too as she realized that I spoke the language enough to get the local price instead of the foreigner price (which are never the same!)...but trust me, even not knowing, I would have paid the higher price for them. Yes, they are that good!

My language "skills" (I use that term loosely) did not kick in a couple hours later, though. It comes and goes apparently. I am going to be heading back to this same beach in a week and a half for a youth camp with English students from our church. It will be very similar to the one we took back in January (to read about it, click here). We tend to rent a section of beach to play games and eat dinner at, but we didn't have the phone number for the people that have their shop there. Eileen and I went to that same place and saw signs posted on the trees, all with the same two phone numbers, so figured these were for the owners.I came back to work yesterday feeling like I was going to be very helpful with this phone number that I got so we could plan and organize ahead of time (as I very much enjoy doing). I passed my phone to a co-leader and he had a strange look on his face and then showed it to someone else. There was a very confused silence in the room for a second...which was broken by laughter. This was not the phone number for the owners, but for a locksmith. You know, in case you lock your keys in your car at the beach. I don't understand why it was posted on all the trees, as if you would need to see it 10 times in one location. But there it was. After they told me what it said, then of course I could read and understand it, but only after everyone had a good laugh. But no one is going to be laughing if we lock our keys in the van next week!!

NOT from a can...

2011-09-20T23:18:00.000+07:00

I would consider myself a fairly "on the ball" type of person and I very much value common sense...but sometimes, the reality of things catch me off guard. There are things -- maybe conveniences is a better word -- that I am so accustomed to and when I faced with them in another light, it feels foolishly foreign. Case in point...

Food products that I usually buy in a can in the States don't originally come in a can.

Yes, I am aware this statement may sound a bit ridiculous and may also elicit the "duh" response in a few readers. I had this first "crazy realization" last Christmas as I made pumpkin pie and couldn't just run to the grocery store and buy a can of pumpkin. You can read about that here.

This time my revelation came in the form of a coconut...or rather the milk from coconut to be exact. I know that there is water inside the coconut. I know the "meat" inside the coconut is dried and shredded. But I have never thought about the milk that I have always so conveniently bought in the form of a can. On Saturday, though, I learned the non-can process:

Step one: Shave coconut meat and put in a bowl
Step two: Put a little water in the bowl, squeeze the coconut shavings and place said shavings in another bowl.
Step three: Strain out left over shavings.
Step four: Repeat process until you have successfully gotten all the milk out of the shavings.
Step five (optional): Smile and try not to get frustrated as Heather documents this process with her camera rather than actually helping. Heather appreciates the smiles ;-)

This is Phansy (pronounced Pan-see). She was in the Harvester class at the beginning of 2011 and is an amazing cook. All of this coconut milk process was to make a delicious curry that we ate on Sunday. Making the curry took much longer and was so much more involved than I ever imagined. I was so blessed by Ma Phansy and all her help to make our meal possible!

Waldo and a Rice Field...

2011-09-13T09:47:00.005+07:00

I must say my Khmer language skills could be much better...or better yet they should be much better...but I am not completely lost. So when I was walking through the bookstore last week, I totally understood the conversation the workers were having. It went something like this:

A: "Did you see her? Come here. Look!"
B: "Wow! She has really white legs" (...I was wearing a skirt...)
A: "Yes, REALLY white legs!"
B: "So white."

I wish I was exaggerating, but alas, I am not. Nor were they exaggerating on the glowing whiteness of my legs...unfortunately. But they all want white skin here, which for the life of me I don't understand. I would rather have their beautiful, brown skin. When I am in pictures with people, there is never a challenge to find me. It is like the opposite of "Where's Waldo?" I pretty much stand out. With that said, you understand why I kinda laughed when I saw this picture from the most recent Harvesters outreach... {Oh, the white legs! Do you see me?}
All joking aside, though, I did smile when I saw this picture. We were walking around the village and stopping at different houses to talk to people. When we got here, we were told that the lady who lived there was out back...so we went to find her...working in the rice field.
One of the highlights of this group I was working with was their willingness to do whatever was needed with no hesitation to serve and love. Without being prompted in anyway, they all got down and started helping her pick the rice shoots to transplant them. I don't fully understand the entire rice growing process, but I do know they plant it, then transplant it into water and then harvest it again later once the rice has actually grown. The students knew the only way they were going to get to share truth and love with this woman was to help her in the field. And they did it willingly. It opened a door for them to talk with her and show the love of Christ in such a real, practical way.
I had to get a quick crash course in what to do, but I was happy to participate. Granted, I didn't last as long as they did since my (white) legs are not used to the famous Khmer squatting position that they all find so natural and simple. But I did what I could.
Below is one of the woman's daughters that was also out in the field. Something about this picture kinda grabs my heart.
The irony of the situation did not pass by me. Here are the Harvesters helping with the harvest. I love it. I love that this is my "job"...I love that this is my life!

[I am also grateful for the wonderful, photographic eye that my friend, Seyha, has. He is the one that took all these pictures.]

Partying it up...Khmer style...

2011-09-08T18:42:00.003+07:00

I am big on birthday celebrations, especially when they are a surprise, even if they do involve getting icing in my nose and eyes and ears. I wish I was joking.

It is tradition to have an icing fight at birthday parties. This isn't even the worst that I have experienced when it comes to icing wars, though. Some of my friends and students surprised me with a cake this afternoon to celebrate me and I loved it! I must say, my heart is full and I am blessed...

{I only had my phone to take a couple pictures so they are not exactly the highest quality but you get the idea.}

Overlooking the Unusual

2011-09-06T11:04:00.005+07:00

This is sort of a continuation of "Only in Cambodia"...trust me, I could start a whole blog just dedicated to that.

Do you have those things that you see or hear every day and they don't really strike you as odd because it has become a part of your "normal"? There seem to be a lot of those things for me around here...in various categories and various degrees of "did-i-really-just-see-that?!"

Like this:

This is the property across the street from the church. It only recently struck me a little odd. What exactly is the purpose of the door? I am all about "decorating," but functionality is also an important factor to consider and that seems to be lacking here...

And then there's things like this:

I eat less meat here than I normally do in the States. I am not a vegetarian by any means, but seeing this makes the whole thing a little more real. In America, we have trucks that semi-hide the chickens...here, you use what you have...a trusty moto.

Or this:

...a wheel-less back half of an American school bus. They don't have school buses here, which makes this that much more "hmmm..." to me.

Grammar...no thanks!

2011-09-05T21:45:00.002+07:00

My English students LOVE idioms. I think they would be OK if I started teaching just those and not much else. I am not sure that would be very good curriculum, but it would get me out of having to teach grammar. The book I teach is a communication/conversation course and so obviously you have to include a bit of the dreaded grammar in there, too. Today it is on relative clauses. One of my recent lessons included gerunds and if I am gonna be honest, I don't remember every hearing that word and I am still not exactly sure how to explain what that is. I am sure I studied it years ago, but I had to sit and study in preparation yesterday. I even had to get a lesson from one of the Khmer teachers so that I could understand. Have I mentioned that I am not a fan of grammar? It does not equal my dislike for math, but it is up there. I am very grateful that this part of the lesson was a review of things they have learned already so I wasn't teaching it to them for the very first time. I just read the sentences from the book, had them repeat after me to work on pronunciation, and then happily went on.

Grammar is just something that I innately know how to use, but I can't explain the rules. I am asked a lot of questions because it would serve to reason that since I am a native English speaker, I should understand all these rules and terms and exceptions. Sorry, friends, I do not. I can tell you if something is grammatically correct or not, but not always the "why" behind it. My students are very gracious when I smile a bit embarrassingly and tell them "I don't know, but I can find out for you." I do appreciate how eager they are to learn and improve in their language skills. They practice and are faithful to learn.

I could learn a few things from them...practicing language and being faithful to learn. I have been here in Cambodia for nine months and I should be speaking a lot more Khmer than I do. I hear it all the time and am not completely lost in the world around me. I understand some...but it should definitely be more. I get some of the words and can piece together the main idea of what is being said. People say things or ask me questions in Khmer and I respond in English. I joke that I am being self-less, allowing them to practice their English skills. And while that may be the result, that is certainly not the motivation. I am a bit of a perfectionist and do not really enjoy looking foolish. There is no graceful way to learn a language. You sound foolish. You stumble over words. You mispronounce. You WILL be laughed at. You make mistakes in grammar. You "say" things you had no intention of saying. I once asked someone to make sure the guard opened the gate for me at 6:45 the next morning and they somehow got that I was asking for someone to make me breakfast at 6:45 the next morning. Those words sound NOTHING alike and I never mentioned anything about food, but that is what they got. Luckily the cook was informed of the mix up before actually making me breakfast (...or maybe that is unfortunate). There have been more embarrassing mispronunciations than that, but suffice it to say, there are some words I try to avoid saying just so that I won't accidently say the wrong one.

10 out of 245

2011-09-02T14:29:00.015+07:00

Fact: It is currently day 245 of the 365 days of 2011.

Oh, the things you learn about me from the items I choose to take pictures of...some of them are insightful and deep, reflecting on truths that I am learning...and some of them are just fun and reflect nothing by the randomness that floats around in my head (and trust me, there is A LOT of that)!!

That being said, I am posting 10 more photographs from my picture-a-day project...

203/162...spot-on gift

I love fun jewelry and so I was super excited when one of my English students, Sotheavy, gave me this necklace for no apparent reason beyond wanting to bless me. I was even more touched when I found out that he made it himself.

205/160...addiction

I admit it...I have become addicted to iced milk coffee, or in Khmer..."cafe dteuck dah goh dteuck gahw(k). (I know you are all trying to say it right now!) I never drank coffee in America and yet, here I am wishing and wanting to have one of these tasty little treats every day...in large quantities. The actual flavor of the coffee is good, but then they throw in the sweetened condensed milk, and buddy, you have a winner! They only cost about 50 cents so when I have a craving in the office, I smile nicely at one of the boys I work with and offer to get them one as well if they will jump on their moto and buy me a coffee. There is little wonder as to why I love them...the coffees, I mean, though the guys are pretty great too.

213/152...noodle phenomenon

My friend, Eileen, introduced me to the famous Chinese noodle restaurant. GREAT food...cheap prices...authentic and fresh. The guy stands outside and makes the noodles non-stop throughout day. We got huge bowls of noodle soup (campbell's doesn't even deserve compare), a plate of 12 dumplings and a huge plate of garlic green beans and it was $3 each. I am looking forward to going back soon!

214/151...dragonfruit

Walking down the street in Phnom Penh offers a lot for the senses...sights, sounds, smells (and not always good ones)...I very rarely taste things as I walk, though. This fruit was an exception. My friend and I saw this huge stand of organic dragonfruit, one of the things that America is greatly missing out on! In an effort to make a sale, the vendor cut one open and let us try some. I have eaten the white ones a lot, but never the red kind. These were SO good, but the red definitely stains your fingers.

215/150...it's about time

I finally paid some long overdue attention to my hair, getting it trimmed and colored. It is now all back to brown with no more three-toned nonsense going on.

221/149...firsthand account

I asked one of my students to write a testimony of what God did in his life during his time in the Harvesters class. I will be including a translated version of it in my next newsletter.

227/138...shining through

Being that it is the rainy season, I see a lot of the inside of my umbrella. As I was taking this picture (in the safety of my dry room) and saw the light on the other side, I had one of those "get ready, a lesson is coming, God wants to teach me something" moments. The umbrella guards me from the rain, but eventually the rain stops and I can stand in the sun again. I can't stay under the umbrella forever or I will miss out on the good stuff. God covers me from the rain...during the times when I am weak and my heart is hurt, He hides me in the shadow of His wings. But eventually, I have to step out from the shadows. Stepping out is risky. Life is challenging and sometimes it hurts. But not forever. And the warmth of sun...the warmth of God's love...makes is all worth it.

229/136...rambaldi?!

This is the design on the wall around the church. Often as I look at it, something inside of me involuntarily jumps with an odd mixture of emotions that I can't quite make out and yet, I must say, makes me feel a little embarrassed by. This design is eerily similar to the Rambaldi symbol from Alias. If you are not an Alias fan, well, then you are going to find me even more peculiar than you might have already thought up to this point. If you are, however, also an Alias fan, you probably have the same mix of 1. fear (thinking that Rambaldi...and thus Sloane and all his minions...have some sort of connection to this place), 2. worry (that one day the world is really going to end with a giant red ball of water), 3. excitement (that there is a chance that Vaughn will come save my life...wouldn't that be great!), and 4. foolish (because none of it is real). Commence laughing at me...now.

237/128...i don't like hell

I am not attempting to state the obvious or to say a "bad" word, but just wanting to point out a little funny irony that I find in the Khmer language. The word for spicy hot in Khmer is "hell"...so when people ask me about the food that I like and don't like, I have to tell them "Ahwt joel jet hell" which means I don't like spicy...I don't like hell.

239/126...gleekin' it up

I love Glee. I mean, REALLY love it! So when I found out that the one and only real movie theater in all of Cambodia was going to be playing the 3D Glee concert movie, I was elated. This is Eileen and I, in all our Gleek glory. I had to display a great deal of restraint to not bust out singing through pretty much the entire movie.

Wearing My "Hats" Well...

2011-09-01T23:47:00.001+07:00

Every single time I have ever done a personality or giftings test, the results are always the same: administrative, critical thinker, etc. This probably comes as very little surprise to those that know me. It's like stating the very obvious...like saying the grass is green. Not much to debate. Sure there are different shades of green and I am not much for debating that. The fact is...the grass is green. And the fact is...I am wired to be administrative and a critical thinker.

In many ways, though, I let this become my identity rather than just a part of how I was made. I would naturally fall into doing administration wherever I was. I could organize projects and tasks in my sleep. My head was able to look at a task and figure out the best way to get it done. My friend, Chris, once told me that I was good at making plans. And if "Plan A" wasn't working, my "Plan B" was figuring out how to make "Plan A" still work. "Plan C" was then coming up with a different "Plan B." I laughed when he first said this to me, but only because I realized how true this was. It is not a bad thing...and I am the type of person that helps keeps things running with you work with lots of visionary, big picture leaders. I knew my role. I reveled in my role. I knew who I was.

A few years ago, I felt led to start working more with people and less with projects. Yes, there are still things to organize when it comes to working with people, but the difference is the hearts of the people are involved. My focus was not necessarily being changed and my administrative gifts were not being thrown out the window...that would have made Chris panic on more than one outreach ;-) No, it wasn't erasing every way that I was made...it was broadening that focus. I joked that projects were easier because they didn't talk back, they didn't hurt my feelings, they did what I created them to do and if not, there was usually a clear cut, easy-to-see way of fixing the problem. People...not so much. I was in for more of an adventure than I thought I signed up for and, truth be told, it was probably better that I didn't know at the time because I may not have agreed.

I began working with schools, outreaches and a lot more people-focused ministry. This doesn't mean that I was a super introvert that avoided people at all costs before, but I was the behind-the-scenes person to the core...and yet had a great passion for people. God is working on me...a lot. He has shown me so much of Himself through this type of ministry. He put this "hat" on my head with a lot of grace and directed my way. It was through staffing the schools and outreaches that I even came to Cambodia in the first place and God was able to fully awaken the love for this nation in my heart. I actually find it a little humorous (in my own sort of way) that my main ministry focus here is discipleship and leading teams...all "people" stuff. And I love it. Not as a pat to my back, but I would say that I possess fairly good interpersonal skills...and learning to utilize these in an inter-cultural setting is always interesting. Stretching. Challenging. Exciting. Fulfilling. I am humbled that God pours Himself through me and into the Harvester students, my English students, the small group, and hopefully anyone else that I meet. The most recent Harvesters group just completed their three month course and we had a small graduation ceremony this past Sunday.

Lately, I have been doing more and more administrative tasks, helping the pastor with organizing incoming outreach teams, writing church newsletters, doing communication with foreign contacts and, in general, wearing the "pastor's personal assistant" hat. In the last few days, after meetings and making calendars to organize things, there is something inside of me that is breathing a sigh of relief for being utilized again...and also groaning a little like a muscle that hasn't been used extensively in a while. But I love it!

Please pray for me as I work on maintaining the proper balance for the different ways that God is using me...the ways that God is continually developing me. And if anyone ever wants to come to Cambodia for an outreach, rest assured that I will be planning your time with the utmost care and skill...but making sure there will be fun in there too!! ;-)

Only in Cambodia...

2011-08-29T10:48:00.004+07:00

I would venture to say that the phrase "Only in Cambodia" comes out of my mouth at least once a day, if not more. There are lots of things that make me smile...poorly translated signs, old traditions meeting the modern world, traffic (which makes me want to scream more than it makes me want to smile). Part of the "charm" lies in the fact that they are things so different from what I would find anywhere outside of Cambodia. I have found, though, that humor doesn't always translate so well and it is difficult in those moments to explain to my Khmer friends why I must stop to take pictures...so I am going to begin sharing those pictures with you, hoping that someone else will share in my idea of humor. Here are two signs that I have seen recently:

I have not actually been inside this convenient store so I can't compare the quality of slushies (if they even have them here), but I must say 6-11 doesn't have the same ring to it...

Exact translation is not always the most effective way to communicate...but at least you don't wonder what the purpose of the organization is...

Chocolate Mousse? Don't Mind If I Do...

2011-08-27T22:32:00.001+07:00

I was invited to a proper "high tea" yesterday and this is something that I could get used to...but at the same time, I am also glad it is a beautifully rare treat. There is a ministry here in Phnom Penh that runs a lovely little tea room serving very good finger foods and arguably some of the best desserts.

This is me and Jenny. I live with her and her family. She has been living in Cambodia for 15 years now and is married to the pastor of the church where I work. I am very blessed to have her in my life! She has a unique perspective in understanding some of the idiosyncrasies of the Khmer culture, understanding and communicating in the Khmer language, and yet still innately looking at the world through an American perspective as I do.

At each of the plates, there were these rolled up pieces of paper with a quote on them. The owner prayed about what things to give us and then "randomly" placed them on the tables and we "randomly" sat down. This was the one that I got:

"God is with us in the midst of our daily, routine lives. In the middle of cleaning the house or driving somewhere in the car...Often it is in the middle of the most mundane task that He lets us know He is there with us. We realize, then, that there can be no 'ordinary' moments for people who live their lives with Jesus." (Michael Card)

I LOVE it...there are no ordinary moments. I read this and knew there was nothing "random" about it. This was a word directly to my heart...a reminder that I am in need of quite often...that God is in the midst of my life and is always there with me. There are moments when I feel like my "foreigner-ness" stands out more and in those times, I know that God is gently reminding me that He is the one who in fact made me NOT Khmer, but American. He made me white, not brown. He made English my native tongue, not Khmer. He put me in a family that raised me with a knowledge of and love for God, not the Buddhist traditions. All of these differences, and SOOO many more, set me apart in the world that I am living in. Sometimes those differences seem to fade away. And other times, well, they seem to be pointed out with big, blinking neon signs. But it is also in those differences that lie the amazing nature of God's heart and love for Cambodia and how He has imparted that to me. He imparted faith and hope so that I could share with those in Cambodia. He gave me a perspective that believes, not just for survival, but for abundant life. He made me to shine, not just because my skin is so white in a sea of beautiful brown hues, but to shine His light, His love, His presence inside of me. It is because I am different that I am here. He wanted me to BE the difference...and MAKE a difference...in Cambodia. And to that, I also say "Don't mind if I do...or am..."

I love that this is my life. It was a great way to spend a Friday evening, with good friends, lots of laughs, sweet reminders from God and, of course, the food.

The Generations That Have Gone Before...

2011-08-25T10:56:00.003+07:00

It is estimated that about 75% of the population in Cambodia is under the age of 30. Something a little difficult to wrap my mind around sometimes. This is a very "young" nation. A good portion of the reason for this is the travesties that took place in the late 1970s with the Khmer Rouge and then the aftereffects that went well into the 80s and 90s. So it is not uncommon to see mass amounts of youth hanging around.

Because of this, the older generation seems to stand out to me. I have always loved listening to stories of those that are older than me and walked through life during a completely different time. Some experiences are so similar and span across all generations and others, well, life just looked different. Last weekend, when we were in the province, I met one of the most precious little old ladies ever.

We were walking around the village, talking to people at their homes and we visited this older couple and found that they have believed in God for years and years. I unfortunately don't know her name because they all just referred to her as "Yay," which means grandma, as a sign of respect and never actually learned what her name was. She shared a little of their story, which I unfortunately missed a good portion of due to the language barrier, but what I didn't miss was her heart. She was...and still is...so full of faith despite all the difficulties that she has endured in her life. She was a Christian before the Khmer Rouge and has never walked away from her passion for God. I sat down to talk to her for a few minutes through a translator and shared with her a word of encouragement that was laid on my heart...that God is so blessed by her and the response of her heart despite circumstances that might make others fall. I felt like she has a heart similar to Job in the Bible, declaring that no matter what happens, even to the point of death, she will praise God and speak of His goodness.

She said that when the Vietnamese were coming through the country after the Khmer Rouge had been defeated, everyone was worried about what was going to happen now. Her response to those around her that were panicking: "Do you see the Vietnamese? No? So don't worry and trust God." I can not imagine what it must have really been like for those living during those years of tragedy and uncertainty and despair. But my heart was so blessed to see and hear and know that there were those like her who held on to hope and never let the light of God fade in their hearts despite the darkness around them.

Bright Colors, Bright Hearts

2011-08-23T20:55:00.001+07:00

There is nothing like a fresh coat of paint to brighten up a building...and even brighten up the neighborhood.

When we arrived in the province, we were told that because painting the church would take too long, we would only be doing the outside property wall instead. OK. So we started sanding and painting. And when one is sanding a concrete wall, one needs to wear a mask! Thankfully they are not too hard to find seeing as how these masks are for sale everywhere as a normal accessory. Here I am with one of my amazing students, Dina...

The sun was brutally hot on Saturday and there was no shade. Don't worry, I loaded up on the sunscreen and did not get burnt at all, which in and of itself is a miracle, I might add, since I have the unique ability to get burnt in the shade. Not sure how it is possible, but it does happen...and I have witnesses who were just as confused as I was. But I digress..It would have been very easy for everyone to move slowly, work with no drive and complain with what I would see as just cause. But none of those things happened. Everyone worked hard and we were able to finish the wall in less than an hour. They then realized that we would be able to sand and paint the building as well. And we did. In record time. I think we shocked them...and maybe ourselves a little bit too! They love bright colors! The walls went from concrete gray to this peach-ish orange color in no time! Here is the side of the church building...

I love that we are able to meet a relatively simple need/desire as we serve with all our hearts. And people notice. Not that we are doing any of it to be noticed, but it says in the Bible that our offerings will produce worship and thanksgiving in the hearts of others so there is a double blessing! Here we are offering our lives, our time, and our hearts to bless this church. And it wasn't just people from the church that noticed, but others from the village would stop and comment as they passed by the church property.

After we finished painting, we quickly cleaned up and headed out to visit people at their houses. Some that we visited were already believers and we were able to encourage them and pray with them. Others were not and they allowed us to share with them about Jesus, about how He has changed our lives and how much He loves them. If I may, I am going to brag on my students a little here. They are amazing!! The group may be quiet and a little reserved as a whole, but when given the chance to share with someone they have never met before, they don't hesitate. They all support each other as one talks, they all engage in conversation and they share truth. They are not discouraged when, at the end of our time with them, the people do not decide right then and there to make a decision for Christ, but they are encouraged that those we are talking to were willing to listen and seem receptive. They always ask how they can pray for them and are sure to bless them in prayer before we leave if the person is open to it. These students really are great!! I wish you could meet them and see exactly why I love them so much!

Sunday morning rolled around and the kids showed up at the church for games, songs, and a lesson.

One thing that I have learned beyond any doubt is that they love of messy games! This one in particular makes me laugh. There are balloons filled with powder and strung up high on a rope. The kids then put a headband on their heads with a straight pin on the top and have to jump up and try to pop it, sending powder everywhere. The team that popped the most in the shortest time won.

This term for the Harvesters Class is going to finish on August 28, only a few short days away. This is a group that I have thoroughly loved working with and can't wait to see how they continue to grow and be the ones that transform this nation.

...and we're off again!

2011-08-19T16:05:00.002+07:00

Fact about Heather: I always have been...and probably always will be...a late night person. I try to go to bed early, but it just doesn't work so well for me. This, in turn, also means that getting up in the morning is one of my LEAST favorite things to do. Really, really don't like it. My alarm is my nemesis and I play the "snooze game," at which I am a gold medal champion.

There is always a groan in my heart when I have to get up earlier than normal. Like tomorrow morning. I have to be at the church around 5:45 (yes, that's AM, folks) so that my team can go to the province at 6:00. Chances are we won't actually leave at 6:00 since "on-time" around here is usually left to some loose interpretation. But I have to be on-time. I am the the one who dislikes early hours such as these and yet I am the one that picked the time to leave. What was I thinking?!

Oh, yeah, I was thinking, "We are painting a church and it is going to require a lot of time to get it done." The Harvesters Class is heading out again tomorrow for an outreach to the Takeo province. It is very soon after our last one, but we actually only have one more week of the class before graduation so here we go! We will be painting, going to talk to people in the villages, leading a children's program for about 80 kids, and taking part in the Sunday morning worship service at a local church.

This is where I love to see the students shine. I am all about knowledge. I love learning. I even enjoy teaching. But the application is where the proverbial rubber meets the road. This is when they get to take the truths that God has been pouring into their hearts and watch it overflow in love for the world around them. And they definitely have a lot of that love to share. This is a group of people with what I see as very sensitive hearts and spirits, ready to hear...and ready to obey...the voice of God.

Please pray for the health of the team. There has been a lot of flu/strep/cold sickness going around the office, church and dorms lately. Also, please pray for boldness and faith as the students are given opportunities to share the reason for the hope that they have. Pray for the people that we will meet in the village that they will see the love of Jesus shining out of us and respond to Him in a real way. I will post a report and pictures early next week and let you all know how things went.

And yes, it will all be worth the early morning :-)

Outreach Continued...

2011-08-05T11:53:00.004+07:00

The rain held back and we went forth on day two of our trip to the province.

Again we broke into small groups, walking around different villages and talking to people at their houses. As we sat and shared with them the reason for our hope, everyone seems very receptive. We even met a little old grandpa who had been a Christian for years...one of the very few in the area. Here is one of my students, Srey Rath, speaking with a lovely woman in the village:

At the last house that my group visited, the Christian grandpa came strolling up just after we had all sat down. He told these people that he has known for years that he believed in Jesus. The response from the house owner floored me. He looked at the grandpa and said "You've known about Jesus for so long. Why have you never told us?"

Wow.

Not what I expected to hear. This statement was not intended to be accusatory at all, nor do I think that anyone took it that way, but it was one of the most honest questions I have ever heard. He was really amazed that he had never heard from his friend. What happened next touched my heart a great deal. The grandpa began to share his faith and tell the story of God, right from the very beginning of the world. My students and I just sat and listened and never spoke a word of what we believed...it was the grandpa's turn. And my heart was rejoicing!

Here was a man who had the boldness to share his faith partly because he had seen us doing the same thing. He followed our example. And if you read my post from Friday, you will see that I think that was a pattern lesson that God was wanting to teach me...and my team. That we can become leaders even without knowing it. We can influence without setting out with that exact intention. And my prayer is that he will continue to walk in confidence to speak to others in the village, answering their questions and pointing them to the truth of Jesus.

And no trip would be complete without a children's program! By the afternoon, the clouds broke and the rain put a bit of a damper on part of our plans, but it was still amazing.

And who doesn't have fun with random balloon games. Here they have to try and break all three balloons first and for the little ones, this proves rather difficult...and with no shortage of funny faces!

This is the classic "Pharaoh Pharaoh" song with actions. They loved it...though I am not sure who more...the students or the kids!

Thank you for all your prayers for the trip and for the Harvesters as they serve God in Cambodia!

Follow The Leader

2011-07-29T21:54:00.004+07:00

Ever have those moments that make you stand back, look at the situation around you and have your heart smile? I had a few of those today.

It was day 1 of the Harvesters mission trip and first on our to-do list was cleaning up the community in a village not far from Phnom Penh. We went up and down the roads, picking up trash and cutting down the tall grass on the roadside. Almost immediately, my heart was reminded that this was something that I had an idea to do a few years ago when I was in Cambodia the first time, but it never happened. And to be honest, there was something inside of me that felt it would be like trying to fill a cup with a hole in bottom. Littering is so normal here. I am seen as strange sometimes when I hold my trash until I can get to a trash can. So this was an idea that I just kinda stuck a pin in and moved on. But when we were out there today, I saw that it is possible to work on patching the hole in that cup and all the while continue to fill it.

My favorite thing was that my little team of four quickly grew by 8 or 9 more people. They were kids from the village that began following us and once they saw what we were doing, they helped! They saw our example and started to follow. I was so touched by this and again felt my heart smile, thinking that maybe these kids will pick up trash again in the future...or maybe not litter in the first place. I don't know the realistic likelihood of that, but I have hope.

These are two of the precious kids walking with us. I am a sucker for the brown skin and cute little smiles!

As we walked down the road, we realized none of us Harvesters knew where we were going and thought we would have turn around and walk all the way back up the way we came. But the children very adamantly assured us that we would loop us back around to where we started. All we could see in front of us was a field so I was a little nervous we were going to have balance on the thin walk ways in a rice paddy. Finally, though, we took a turn onto a path that did indeed take us back to the beginning.
Insert yet another heart smile.

It was on this road that we met Sueng, a very lovely and friendly woman that immediately wanted to talk to us, to know what we were doing and asked if I would take a picture of her baby. I happily obliged. Before we left, the students were able to share with her how much God loves her and she allowed us to pray for her. We are going back to the same village tomorrow and I am hoping that we can find her again in the field. I would love to our conversation and answer any questions she may have.

I will post more pictures and stories from day 2 of the missions trip soon.

The 365 Project Continues...

2011-07-26T08:22:00.000+07:00

Here are a few more pictures from my daily picture project...

115/250...which one is not like the others?

If you said the yellow one, you are wrong. That is a mango, just like two of the three other green items. The middle one is my sunglasses case. More than once I have had people ask why I carry around a mango. I have even mistaken it for one before myself. I love mangoes and I am very sad that mango season has come and gone. Just gives me something to look forward to next year.

119/246...do you like tigers?

A long time ago, I was given the title of "honorary Shauan" by some of my closest friends, Wayne and Karyn. And as most amazing people do, they have some equally amazing kids...Avery (7), Reichen (3) and Phoenix (1). When Karyn came to Cambodia in May, Avery sent this mask, a drawing of a tiger and a little note in my care package from home. I nearly cried looking at this and then laughed out loud when I saw this question. And of course my first thought was “When the tigers are from you, Avery, they become my favorite animal!” Man, I miss that boy!!! This is currently hanging on my wall.

126/239...delivery confirmation

This was a hug that my friend, Megan asked Katie to give to me when she brought an outreach team to Cambodia. We decided to take a picture to send to Megan to give her delivery confirmation but we couldn’t NOT laugh because we kept hugging and while I love hugs, the two of us are the least "huggy" people out of that group of friends. But in that moment, I wouldn’t trade that funny awkwardness for anything.

133/232...Angkor Wat

There is something so amazing about these temples in Siem Reap…realizing the sheer amount of work that went into them so many years ago is enough to make you awestruck.

158/207...moment of insanity

I don’t know that I could even come up with a reason why I thought Katie and I would be capable of holding my friend Seyha…or why in the world he agreed to it!! Thankfully she let go of his legs before I started to drop him. He and I still both ended up on the floor. And I would have to say it was definitely an odd way for her to end her time in Cambodia. We took her to the airport just after this picture and while my heart was so happy that she had been here, but I am sad that she had to leave. I am not built very well for goodbyes.

170/195...Reflect

I went with some friends of mine and waited while they got their sewing machine fixed. And what better way to pass the time than to bust out the camera and take pictures. This pose was my friend's idea and I love it!

186/179...trivia i could've lived without

It takes approximately an hour to squeegee and dry the floor of my bedroom. I found this out after the water seeped in under the balcony door and completely covered my room, then began to run under the hallway bedroom door and created a waterfall down the staircase to the first floor where everyone was sitting. I wasn’t home at the moment but thankfully everyone else ran up and cleared out the stuff from under my bed.

189/176...night surprise

I just happened to glance out my window and saw this tonight. Such a nice surprise!

201/164...making this look work

I got home at the exact wrong moment that the others were painting and they all thought it would be a fun idea to capture me, restrain me and paint my face. Let me assure you, watercolor paints do NOT taste good.

From Their Hearts to Ours...

2011-07-21T17:29:00.003+07:00

There are few things that make my heart smile more than getting an encouraging word from someone in the form of a card or letter or email...knowing that someone out there is praying and standing behind me and that gave of themselves and their time to tell me as much...I really do love it.

This week, I was blessed many times over when I received a package from America with this inside:

A beautiful stack of homemade cards! Each summer for the past few years, I have been the "Missionary for the Week" at Lake Aurora Christian Camp in Florida. I love going to work with the kids and seeing these young people learn about God and about loving the world the way that God loves the world. Their theme for this year was "Shine For Jesus" and trust me when I say that these kids are doing just that. I was obviously unable to join them in person this year, but with the beauty of technology, I was able to do a couple skype video calls and still be a part of this program all the way from Cambodia. I also had my friend and co-leader join me for one session to say hello and teach them a few Khmer words. I still remember the missionary from Haiti coming to my camp years and years ago, knowing that even then, without really knowing, God was planting something in my heart for missions and the world. I love knowing that God could be using me in that same way in the lives of these children. I have had a few of them tell me that they really want to do missions and even some say they want to come to Cambodia.

The kids decorated the cards not just for me, but for the students in the discipleship/missions class that I lead.

Today, I passed out the cards and there were such smiles of surprise and joy on my students' faces as they received the cards and they asked if we could pray for the kids and maybe even write them back! We have prayed and will continue praying for the specific children that decorated our cards, and we'll have to see about the pen pal idea. Thank you Tod and Cora and all the other staff, volunteers, and campers at Lake Aurora for your prayers, your love and letting your light shine all they way to Cambodia and encouraging us as we let God shine through us here!

Hearts Of Servants

2011-07-18T09:53:00.003+07:00

I love seeing how willing some are to love through serving and helping others where there is a need. I have been blessed by the Harvester students that I work with when the step up to the plate with joy to do just this.

There was a children's outreach at church yesterday and as a part of the program, the leaders were making a traditional porridge for the kids. The Harvesters did one of the behind-the-scenes jobs for a program like this...washing the dishes.

It may be "small," but the blessings are huge.

Bring On The New...

2011-07-18T09:18:00.003+07:00

Random fact about Phnom Penh, Cambodia: There is a small waterpark on the outskirts of town, not far from where I live. There is a lazy river in said waterpark. For anyone trying to float down this lazy river on the bright yellow inner tubes for the past few Sunday afternoons, they have found it a bit of a tight squeeze.

The reason...this has been the location of 38 baptisms!!

For the past three weeks, we have been going to the waterpark to do baptisms for the new believers. Yesterday I had the privilege of taking part in six of those.

My heart was bursting with joy as I baptized them into new life with the Lord and felt His excitement for each of them.

Five of those six are my students and in my weekly small group.

July has been appropriately entitled the "Month of Celebration" here at my church. What are we celebrating? New life...new hope!

Ode To A Great Day

2011-06-13T08:43:00.007+07:00

I have never been a big fan of saying goodbye. My heart is just not built very well for it, but it seems to be a regular part of my life, so I am working on how well I do when the time comes. I am all about sending someone off with style, so this most recent goodbye was right up my alley. My friend, Maija, is leaving Cambodia today (thankfully though it is only for a few months).

In honor of her departure, we spent this past Saturday together with some amazing friends and chalked the afternoon and evening full of super fun stuff...and a couple of them completely new to me! Walking at the Riverside and stopping for smoothies at one of the restaurants...love the view! [sidenote for any Amazing Race fans...this is the restaurant that the racers had to come get a clue from when the show was here in Phnom Penh a couple seasons ago]

There are these amazing photo booths that do the instant pictures. Granted, I have done these in America, but they are always the same thing...4 little square pictures that all pretty much look the same. Not the story here...

You get to pick your backgrounds, have images of pop stars that can be in the pictures with you, mock magazine covers, etc. And as you take the picture, you can retake it as many times as you like in order to get just the right pose. We laughed SOOO hard and had so much fun doing this! Here is the screen of all 9 pictures we got. It's small, but you get the idea!

Here are two of my favorites:

Afterwards, we went to a Thai restaurant...best one in Phnom Penh in my humble opinion...and then headed to Dream Land. "What's Dream Land?" you ask. Don't worry, I asked the same thing. It's like a mini-theme park/permanent fair here in town. I got a kick out of the staff shirts, though, because they said "Dream Land," but was written in the famous Disney font and had a picture of Mickey Mouse. Disney it was not, but we had a lot of fun walking around and people watching for a while. We decided not to ride any of the rides since we had just come from dinner and were all a little nervous about getting sick on full stomachs.

We did, however, take our chances with the 4D dinosaur movie. Again, laughter was plentiful. There were seat belts on the chairs and rightfully so...they kinda tossed you around and made you feel like you were moving through the dinosaurs.

So. Much. Fun. This definitely goes down as a great day!

Beauty From Ashes

2011-06-10T11:45:00.003+07:00

As the new Harvesters class began this week, I am working on getting back into the swing of preparing and teaching. I realized yesterday how much I have missed it. We have 12 new students, all ready to learn and develop and be discipled.

The lesson yesterday was on the cross and repentance. The heart behind it is not guilt, but to allow each one of us to have a revelation on how much God loves us and how He is jealous for us. He wants to guard and protect our relationships with Him. At the end of the class time, we gave an opportunity for them to respond to what the Holy Spirit had been speaking to their hearts, to repent and lay down anything that might be hindering their relationship with God. They wrote those things down and then burned them.

It says in Isaiah 61 that God will give them a crown of beauty for ashes. I believe that each one of these students is going to see beauty that comes from the ashes...freedom and restoration to their hearts.

The Spinning Carousel

2011-06-06T11:36:00.007+07:00

If the saying is true...that a picture really is worth a thousand words...then this one speaks volumes to me...

This "carousel" (which does not actually spin) is by far one of my favorite places in the world. I have spent countless hours here, playing games, talking, laughing, planning, praying...sharing life. So many wonderful memories. I have recently had some pretty amazing times here, for which I am grateful. And of course, it gets me to thinking...

No one who knows me even a little would be surprised by this self-declaration..I think about things A LOT! I would say that this can be a very good thing...it can also get me a little frazzled. I just hit the six-month mark of living here in Cambodia and in the last few weeks, I have unfortunately been leaning towards the frazzled side, busy and thinking a lot. Please don't get me wrong, I am doing ok. I love it here. I love that this is my life. I love how God has poured out His heart for this nation into my heart and given me opportunity to impact the world with His love. My being "frazzled" has actually been the source of a very good reminder and lesson from God. I had written to a dear friend of mine, asking her to pray for me and welcoming any words of encouragement for that time. When she wrote back, she simply but profoundly told me this:

REST.

As soon as I read that, it was like there was a spotlight on that word. Why do I forget to do that? Why do I feel the need to be busy and plan and figure things out and constantly keep my heart and mind moving? Why don't I just sit and rest? Why is being still so hard and thus becomes the last resort once I feel overwhelmed and near collapse? It should be my "default." It should be the place where my heart remains...at rest with Him.

I immediately thought of the story in the Bible about the disciples in the boat when the storm came and Jesus slept. The accounts says that the storm came upon them with no warning. These guys were experienced fishermen and wouldn't have gotten out on the water to begin with if it'd looked like a major storm was close. It was Jesus who suggested they get in the boat...they were following Him in obedience. And when the storm came, they were fretting over how they were going to live and questioning how Jesus could sleep through it all when they were in danger, even going so far as to wonder if He didn't care about them. But He slept away, knowing they weren't really in danger. He was resting because He needed rest...and He knew the Father was in control. Granted, my life isn't being threatened, but I feel like there are times I have been exercising about as much faith as the disciples here, which wasn't much at all, and for which they were rebuked.

Me being a person who plans, when situations come up, I am able to stay calm, but in that, I go into troubleshooting mode...figuring out what decisions need to be made in order to get things back on course, how to make the plan work or try to make a new plan very quickly. I always feel the need to have some sort of plan to point to and say "This is where I am going. This is who I am."

I feel like I have two choices...Option 1: Tapping Jesus on the shoulder and saying, "Umm, Jesus, if You haven't noticed, there's a storm going on here. If you wouldn't mind, could You justify my fear and doubt by waking up and joining me in my panic, or prove Yourself by stopping the wind altogether." This is not the best option.

Option 2: Curl up on the bottom of the boat and cuddle up next to Jesus. Know that He is leading me and trust in Him. This is the option my heart longs for.

There are so many things I am learning right now. This story is far from new. The principle of rest isn't new. But God has been speaking revelation to me about it. As I said earlier, I love my life and I love that God called me to live for Him in Cambodia. I am not homesick. There are things I miss about America, but I am not homesick...because really, Cambodia is home, too. Some things are easier in America than here only because I can look at things through the same cultural perspectives. I really do see this as a growing and maturing opportunity and I am always up for an adventure. And this isn't something that is specific to me and my life as a missionary in another country. It is truth of God that spans over time and location. So in everything...

I choose rest. I choose the peace of Jesus. I choose Him.

Outreach to Takeo Province

2011-06-02T14:24:00.008+07:00

Attempt #1 at posting a video...failed.
Attempt #2...failed as well.
Attempt #3...stop trying to post the silly video, seeing as how this is just not working.

I am willing to admit defeat and am now going to just post a few of the photos from the mission trip. This does prove to be a bit more difficult since I took somewhere in the ball park of 800 pictures that weekend. These are a few of my favorites:

We painted the church building where we were staying. I loved this project because not only is it service, but we found out that the pastor had been praying for years for the means to paint the building. God used us as an answer to those prayers...

We had a small team from World Race Missions join us for the trip and we had a lot of fun building relationships with them for the month they spent at our church.

This one makes me laugh purely because of Leng's face, the guy to the far left.

It is inevitable that there will be small paint fights when you put rollers and brushes into their hands (ok, I wasn't exactly innocent either, but this picture does portray that I am being "attacked")

One of the finished walls.

After we finished painting, we went out to a neighboring village and let a children's program with games, songs, dramas and a Bible lesson.

We recruited a few of the kids to play in the drama/Bible story with us and are making them into lions for the Daniel story.

This is a drama that the students wrote to portray sin and Jesus' sacrifice.

The team...

Trying To Get On The Ball...

2011-05-23T08:57:00.006+07:00

My poor, neglected blog.

I think of things to post, take pictures with the intention of putting them on here...and then, well, it doesn't seem to happen the way I plan. I was doing so well for a while and then I didn't. I am going to attempt to rectify that...Here are a couple highlights from the last month and a half:

The Harvesters Class...
We went on our second missions trip to a nearby province. It was a very busy 2 days, with painting, children's outreaches, testimonies, dramas, games, Bible lessons and more. I am posting the video slideshow we made for the church to give you an overview in pictures of what we did:

The class finished on May 8 with our graduation during the church service. We had a celebration dinner that evening...

I have thoroughly enjoyed working with each one of them and feel privileged to have led and been able to pour into their lives.

The Harvesters is on a break right now, working on preparations for the next term, which will start on June 7. We already have four students signed up and are praying for five to six more in the next couple weeks.

My New Office

2011-04-12T08:27:00.003+07:00

I like organizing things. So when I was asked to semi-head up the the office cleaning day, I will admit I was kinda looking forward to it. It was definitely a big job, but we were able to do it quickly and things look great.

I was also excited when I went to get a desk and chair since I have been pretty much the office nomad, sitting wherever there is space for the last 4 months. I was not in the office when the desks were delivered and when I got back, this is where the boys had set me up...

I laughed so so so hard when I got back and saw this. The bathroom is HUGE and I guess it has been a long running joke that they could put someone's office in there. Don't worry, though, I am now nicely situated outside the bathroom. Now all I need is a plant for my desk!

More from my 365 Project

2011-04-05T09:53:00.004+07:00

Here are some more pictures from my 365 Project...the picture-a-day thing that I am doing this year.

45/320...Matrimony

I piled in the van with many people from the church to join my friend, Phally, at his house for his sister’s wedding reception. Things are done so differently for weddings here, especially the clothes.

48/317...Fragrance of Worship

Taken during a worship time with the Harvesters. My prayer is that we would all keep our hearts focused on God and where He is leading us.

52/311...Dinner by Candlelight

I came home from work to met with darkness in the house. This is not an abnormal occurrence here in Cambodia, but this was the first time since I got back. I was not terribly excited that my milk might spoil in the fridge, but there was something familiar about this. As we sat down to eat, though, the power came back on!

57/308...a little too real

I like shrimp. But I have to admit that I prefer when it comes pre-peeled and de-headed.

63/302...Two favorites

Mango and my friend and co-leader, Seyha.

70/295...Cyclo

I love the idea of a cyclo, but I am pretty sure that if I ever got in one, especially this one, I would give the poor 80 year old man a heart attack as he tried to pedal. So this is about as close as I think I will ever come to having a cyclo experience.

78/287...Heaven by the cup full

I was introduced to a wonderful little place called “brown” by my friends, Eileen and Maija…and oh. my. gosh. I am in love. First off I felt like I was back in the states in this lovely coffee house. Second, I nearly jumped right there in the lobby because they had chai frappachinos. I ordered with great anticipation and to be honest, I was prepared to be a little disappointed with the quality but still pleased that it was a chai frappachino nonetheless. I had to concentrate to up myself upright when I took the first sip. HEAVENLY!! I drank it very slow so that I could make it last as long as possible. I even considered licking the cup when I finished, but have no fear, my social graces won out! I just need to work out a way to get back there very soon!

79/286...Mo-haa Kru-ah Sah

This was the giant family event for the New Life Fellowship churches throughout Cambodia. On Sunday they had all the churches present up on the stage and I have to say, it was hard to fight back tears to see the excitement that all of these people have for Jesus. Unfortunately all I had was my phone with me thus the quality (or lack thereof), but it is still project worthy.

83/282...Rambutan

This is one of my favorite fruits. I love the unique look on the outside with the spiky things all over it and then the "meat" in the middle. There is a huge seed so there is not too much "actual fruit," but what is there is so good! And it makes it all the more exciting because you can’t get this in the states so it is my asia treat!

87/278...Remembrance

This is the memorial holding all the skulls found in the Killing Fields at Chhoeng Ek. There are nearly 10,000 skulls there and that is estimated to be less than half of what is actually buried in the immediate area. My heart aches for this country to know what they walked through only 30 years ago. I am so grateful for the way God is pouring His grace, healing and hope into this land!

Four Months

2011-04-04T14:57:00.004+07:00

Today is the four month mark of how long I have been here in Cambodia. It is hard to believe sometimes that it has been that long, or short depending on how I look at it!

Life is definitely getting busier in some aspects for me. I am beginning to do a few things in the administrative area here, which is probably not surprising to anyone that knows me. The only surprise is that it has taken this long!

Next week is Khmer New Year, which is the biggest holiday in Cambodia by far. If I had to compare it to something, it would be on about the same level as Christmas for us in America. Everyone travels to see family. Schools shut down. Stores shut down. From what I understand, Phnom Penh becomes a pretty deserted place. The actual holiday is only from the 14th to the 16th, but there is already a noticeable drop in student attendance for my English class. So much so that I don't think I am really going to be teaching any new material this next week because I would just have to teach it again later so that they are all on the same page. I am grateful, then, that the other teachers are wanting to play the traditional Khmer games this week with their classes and you can bet that I will be bringing my class along to join!

I am not by any means a professional English teacher and there are some days (especially grammar days) when I feel almost ill-qualified to teach. But the fact that it is my native language, that makes me "qualified." The school here is not just to equip the students with "marketable" skills such as English and computer, but it is also to share Jesus with them. On average, I have about 30 students in my class. Some are already believers and attend the church. Some are not. But they are loved all the same. And my struggles with grammar are worth it when I am able to watch one of my students accept Jesus!!

Punlock has been in my class for the last 2 months and like all of my students, I have been praying for him. Two weeks ago, there was a huge event for our church...a meeting of all the New Life Fellowship churches around the country. I saw a couple of my students there, all of which were already members of the church. But at the invitation at the end of the Sunday service, I saw Punlock out of the corner of my eye walking down to the front to accept Jesus!! In the last two week, I have been able to give him a Bible and he is now going to be a part of my cell group. I couldn't be more excited for Punlock and this new adventure he is on with God.

Kampong Thom Mission Trip

2011-03-08T13:54:00.007+07:00

"Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength...Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:30,31)

When I think about the Harvesters Mission Trip that we took in early March, this is the verse that stands out in my mind. On our drive back to Phnom Penh from the province, I looked back in the van to see every one on the team sleeping. It had been a full weekend and they were tired. I kinda considered this to be a sign of a good outreach as well as a great team. They had given their all. They had loved God with all their hearts, souls, minds and definitely with all their strength. They served hard and loved those that we were sent to well. There was no issue of complaining, but an amazing willingness to do whatever was asked of them. They were flexible to the greatest measure as our schedule seemed to continually change.

We arrived in Kampong Thom in the morning and immediately started the service project...in other words, manual labor ;-) There is an orphanage that was recently built, but all around the building, there were holes and unlevel ground. We broke up some of the extra dirt from the back of the building and hauled it to fill in the holes.

We led a youth program for more than 50 young people from surrounding villages on Saturday afternoon with games, dramas, songs, testimonies and a short lesson. I love hearing the places that God has taken these students from and where He has brought them through their testimonies. Right after we finished, we walked around the village, speaking with people, praying for them and sharing God's truth with them.

Sunday brought the morning worship service and the afternoon children's program. We went to a nearby village and once again performed dramas, sang songs, did dances, played games and taught a lesson about Daniel and the lion's den.
Following the program, we provided lunch for more than 115 children. This may be the only food that some of them ate that day, or even for as many as a few days. At one point, I looked over at one of my students, Sareth, and the compassion he was showing greatly touched my heart. There was a very small girl who was there by herself and had no one to help her. She has having a difficult time getting any soup into her bowl. He knelt down beside her and scooped some out for her, making sure to get more than just broth. He then cut up the food so she would be able to eat it. He even spooned a couple bites into her mouth for her. I could almost see Jesus "on him" as he helped this little girl.

I was so blessed by the team! As I watched the students do the various ministries, I couldn't help smiling and feeling like my heart was going to burst with joy. They are living out the truth that God has put in them. They are walking in their callings to be the light to others.

A Grateful Heart

2011-03-04T23:18:00.002+07:00

I must say first that I have written quite a few blog updates in the last couple weeks. The only problem is that have all been written in my head and never ended up on the actual blog. The Internet is not working at my house and so it made updating left to my phone Internet and I was kinda dreading that. So I waited. But here I am to tonight doing just that...typing on my phone. But I couldnt wait any longer.

Today was one of those days that I felt overwhelming gratitude to God for the ways that He has blessed me in the past and still continues to do each day in some way or another. I bought a Khmer Bible for one of my English students that had mentioned something in passing to me a few days ago. She said she wanted to read the Bible and study it but didn't have one yet because she couldn't afford one. Let me give you a little perspective into that sentence. Bibles here are not really that expensive compared to other places. A small Bible costs $3. That's it. So tonight after class I gave Pisey a Bible. I wanted to bless her with something that her heart desired...a way to get to know God. She was near tears.

I dont tell you this to share the fact that I was blessed in my own heart by this, but to share the reflection point that God opened my eyes to...to be grateful and not take for granted the ways that He has poured Himself and His blessings out over my life. I have never NOT had a Bible. I have always had more than one sitting on my shelf. I was raised in a family that loved God and was very involved with church. I learned Bible stories with the infamous flannel graph Jesus and various other characters. I have sung "Jesus loves me" more times than I think is possible to count. All of these things were a huge part of my life. They have all played a part in who who I have become today. The problem is that I have taken for granted that truth has always been shown to me. And today my heart realized that it should not just be a statement of fact for what my growing up was like, but a point of extreme gratefulness to God!

I am grateful that He has blessed me with a family who has directed towards Him. I am grateful that I have always had the freedom to worship Him. I am grateful that He continually shows me His grace and mercy. I am grateful for my Bible. I am grateful that He has called me to Cambodia to love the people the way that He loves them. I am grateful that He loves me.

I am grateful that I have the opportunity to take the Harvesters class on their first missions trip this weekend. We are going to Kampong Tom, a province about 2 1/2 hours away. It is going to be a full weekend! We start out tomorrow morning at 5:45 to leave for the province. We will be running a childrens program right after we arrive. There will be songs, skits, games, and a lesson about God's love and protection that we can see through the story of Daniel and the lions den. We are going to be preparing and serving lunch for all the kids, which we are estimating to be somewhere around 100 kids.

Once we finish with the lunch, we will head over to an orphange to help with some of the finishing contruction things as well as cleaning up the building. The biggest project we will be doing is filling in the land with fill dirt to make it all level around the building. The evening will be a youth program and then on Sunday morning, a church service. We will also be going out to one of the villages to talk and pray with people afterwards. Like I said before...we are going to be busy!

I will definitely post pictures from the weekend when I get back to Phnom Penh. Please keep me, Seyha (my co-leader) and the students in your prayers. I am believing for BIG things!

A Taste of Home...

2011-02-16T11:45:00.003+07:00

This is buttermilk coffeecake...

and it is arguably one of the best things in the world!! I made this for a breakfast fellowship time that I have once a week with some other ladies. I was rather impressed with how it turned out. It made me miss home, though, because this is the traditional breakfast for Christmas morning in my family.

Meet The Harvesters

2011-02-10T22:25:00.006+07:00

Back Row (L-R): Savery, Leng, Seyha, Sareth, Borath
Front Row (L-R): Mary, Naro, Narath, Ming Phansee, Mao, and Heather

The past few days I have felt very aware of the responsibility that has been given to me as a leader and as a teacher. I speak and people listen (at least that is the hope)....which makes it very important that I speak in love and truth and confidence. I feel the weight of the mantle that has been placed on my shoulders, but I also feel God encouraging me that He has been preparing me for "such a time as this."

These students have been so open to what God wants to teach them using me and I have been so grateful. And so excited to see their hunger to learn and the way that they respond to Him. The teaching today was on intercession and I felt very blessed to be a part of this group that is really grabbing hold of God's heart for others.

We are planning for our first missions trip to one of the provinces in the next couple weeks. I am waiting on more details from the Pastor that we will be partnering with and as soon as I know, I will post an update.

Down In My Heart

2011-02-10T21:23:00.004+07:00

Today was one of those days for me that I definitely have joy overflowing.

I got to have dinner with some of my favorite people!

This is Naro, TiTi, Seyha and Mala. This is the first time that I have seen these 4 together since I got here 2 1/2 months ago, which is strange for me because they were the ones that I used to hang out with the most. These guys have been friends of mine since my first trip here to Cambodia in January 2008. I have sat here staring at my computer screen for a long time, trying to find a sufficient way to describe them to you and I am finding it strangely difficult. Not out of a lack of love for them, or even of things to say about them. Maybe the problem is there is too much to say. With each of them, I have story after story of our friendship and the way that it has developed in the last 3 years. I have spent many a meal with these boys, talking nonsense, talking deep stuff....and laughing a lot. For me, these guys definitely a source of those deep belly laughs that everyone should experience!

Tonight we went out to pizza...always a favorite! Don't get me wrong, I like rice (not as much as them though) and I really do like the Khmer food, but you don't have to ask me twice if I want pizza! And yes, that is ketchup sitting on the table because they put it on their pizza. This, however, is not something I understand and will not try to explain. I feel no problem with these guys to shake my head and tell them how strange I think it is to do this, but they like it and I guess that is all that matters. I have even seen someone put mayo on their pizza. No joke!

My heart is definitely full!

A Drink Bag?

2011-02-05T22:13:00.002+07:00

There are some things that are uniquely Cambodian...and I love it!

This is a "to-go drink bag".

A Cambodian twist on an American classic...

2011-02-04T09:57:00.003+07:00

...yes, that would be mayo going on a hot dog bun...

...and lettuce as well...

I will admit I was a little nervous about this combination, but I added a lot of ketchup as you can see and it wasn't too bad ;-)

This was a "reunion" lunch this past week with the team of students from the Friendship camp. Our goal is to continue to build friendships with these young people. They are so much fun!!

Last Sunday was also the beginning of a small group that I am leading with the Pastor. Most of the people coming are students from my team in the picture above.

Worth A Thousand Words

2011-01-29T10:38:00.005+07:00

I am a journaler....although I am pretty sure that is not an actual word, seeing as how the dreaded red-dotted line comes up underneath it. I love to journal...I always have. I love to look back and see where I was before and what was happening in my life...and hopefully see some progress.

This year, I am not only writing in a journal, but I am documenting each day with a picture. It's called the 365 Project. Some are random...ok, most are random...but they all have some sort of correlation to what happened that day. I don't think I am going to post each one, especially since there are 28 of them up to this point, but I am going be putting a few of my favorites up here. A few have them have already shown up in previous posts...

1/364...new year, new bed, new hopes
I bought a new bed today. A big bed. And as I look at, something inside of me says "You're a grown up now." I have always slept in a twin-sized bed, all of which have been given to me by someone else. Kinda sad, as a 30-year-old, that I have never actually purchased a bed for myself. Not only is the size of the bed significant for me, there was a feeling of settling down in my new home. A sense of something great to come. Who knew a bed could say so much.

3/362...reflection

from the back of a tuk tuk on the way home from the market in Phnom Penh. If you look carefully, you can see me in the arm rest reflection. So much chaos going on and you’re never quite sure which way to look…or whether it is better just to close your eyes and not look at all.

11/354...got it covered

This is what I looked like as I trekked it to the church this afternoon. The glasses not only protect my little eyes from the sun, but they double as dust deflectors. And today was the first day that I added a mask to the get up. There is A LOT of dust and exhaust fumes and not-so-pleasant smells blowing around as I walk down the street. I feel bad, though, because when people smile and wave or say hello, they can not see me smiling back.

20/345...inhabit my praises
Psalm 22:3 says that the Lord inhabits the praises of His people and that was my prayer today. I really wish I could play guitar so that I could have personal times of worship with music...but I can't, so I made a playlist.

22/243...the surprise inside

Many people could tell testify that I am what you might call a "picky eater"...ok, a very picky eater. I have definitely gotten better over the years as I have been traveling. I still shock my family with what I will actually eat now. And I am in the school of thought that says you can eat just about anything with a smile (or at least not making a face) because you care enough to honor the person who is giving it to you. So when this was handed to me in the village, I smiled and opened it. I was grateful that I have actually eaten one of these before but the first time I had to force myself to try it. It is sticky rice with banana in the middle, wrapped and cooked in a banana leaf. I am not a fan of bananas (that is putting it mildly). This, however, doesn’t taste like banana and so I can eat it.

23/242...gone are the days

I miss being called hovde on a regular basis. I am now called headueh(r), a little known variation of Heather. I know the “th” sound is difficult for them and apparently so is the “er” at the end. The kids I live with call me hovde about half the time and I love it.

27/238...old rugged

The lesson today for the Harvesters was on sin, the cross and repentance. We had a time at the end where they could respond to the Holy Spirit and repent of anything that is keeping them from a right relationship with God…anything that would hinder God’s work in their lives as His beloved and as His witness to the world. I am excited for where God is going to take this class and what He is going to do in each one.

Blogger is back!

2011-01-29T10:37:00.001+07:00

I know in the past I have not been terribly faithful to update my blog. But I have been doing pretty good over the last 2 months since I have been here in Cambodia. And then there was silence...and a lot that I could have been writing about since this last week was a full and busy one. The reason I didn't write (it's not an excuse, it is an actual reason) was that blogger had been blocked/shut down in Cambodia for a while. I tried to log on and post updates, only to met by the silly "server error" page. Thankfully, blogger has been opened again...but now I am a bit behind.

The BIG thing that happened is that the Harvesters Class started this past Tuesday. We have 10 students and are meeting every Tuesday and Thursday for 3 hours. I couldn't be more excited about this group of students! They have been very open to what God is doing even in the little time we have had together already. I will make sure we get a group picture to post in the next week or so.

All the weeks leading up to this have been necessary and also a great blessing to me. I have been able to plan well (and that always makes for a "Happy Heather") and prepare the lessons that I am teaching. I have a really good friend of mine working with me. His name is Seyha and he is one of those people that I feel blessed to know.

He was in the inaugural Harvesters class in 2008/09 and has a heart for missions and showing the love of God to others. He is not only translating for me, but is helping with the teaching and discipling of the students. It is a great partnership!!

One of the things that I love about what I do is getting to share with people the things that God has taught me and walking with them as they begin to see God bigger and more awesome than they did before...experiencing His truth and allowing their hearts to be full of His love. Out of the overflow of their hearts, their mouths will speak.

Friendship Camp 2011

2011-01-17T09:41:00.007+07:00

Have you ever had those times where your heart is full of joy and you know you are in exactly where you belong? That was what this weekend felt like for me. More than once i found myself just smiling even when I was just walking from one place to another and saying to myself "I love my job!!" although it never really feels like a "job" to me.

I went to the beach for three days for the "Friendship Camp" with over 100 students from the English classes and I had such a great time. Each day was full of games, teaching and discussion groups. I was leading a group with my friend, Seyha, but he had to do most of the talking seeing as how I can only have very very basic conversation with them. Each group was named after a Bible character and we were "Team Isaac"...

Each afternoon we went to the beach to play games there, like obstacle courses having to jump over strings and shimmy under bamboo sticks before running into the water 50 yards or so into the water and back again...

This one they are not allowed to have their feet touch the ground past a certain line, but they have to get a piece of candy out of a bowl on a chair quite a ways away. The funny part of it is that the bowl is full of flour and they have to dig through with their mouths to get it out.

Sometimes I have concentrate to keep myself from falling (trust me, I have lots of stories of my not-so-graceful, quick trips to the ground), so I definitely could not have played this one. Not only are they racing from one point to another, they are doing it BLINDFOLDED!! I would barely make it walking let alone trying to run. But they went full-force, sometimes into each other.

In one of the races, right after they said "go", a guy that ran into the crowd on the side and took out at least three other people. And while us bystanders were laughing about that, another one of the racers came over to the other side where myself and a few others were standing and smacked straight into one of the spectators. He never saw it coming and no chance to brace himself. Don't worry, everyone was ok.

This was one of the move subdued games where, depending on the number called out, they had to do a certain action. For one of them, they had to bow and curtsy to each other...

There was a session set aside for a question and answer panel with the team from Australia.

And while the activities of the weekend were great, it doesn't hurt when this is the view either...

This is a shot of the whole group. I am off to the side in the semi-shade so you can't see me very well.

For many of the students, this was the first time that they had ever heard about God. And while having a lot of fun was certainly high on the priority list, the main objective of the weekend was to present truth to the students and provoke them to think and ask questions, creating a hunger to know more about God. Because these are students at the church, we will see all of them on a regular basis and are able to continue cultivating friendships with them and share more with them as time goes on.

Early Morning coming...

2011-01-13T22:54:00.002+07:00

Tomorrow I am setting out at 6 AM for Kampong Som, a province about 4 hours southwest of Phnom Penh, to participate with the "Friendship Camp." This is a joint effort between the church that I am working with and a team from Australia. We are loading up the bus with many of the English students for 3 days of games, teaching and lots of fun!

I will have pictures and loads more details of what we did when I get back on Sunday. Please keep us all in your prayers that we will have opportunities to share the love of God with these students, to provoke them to think and ask questions about what they are hearing and seeing.

Happy Birthday Saam Bo!

2011-01-09T19:24:00.004+07:00

This is Saam Bo.

She turned 51 years old today.

I learned this random piece of information as I was waiting with some new friends at the park where other visitors climbed on Saam Bo's back for a short ride.

I was with a team from Australia that I met at church today. After making friends over great lunch conversation, they invited me to join them for the rest of the day. On the list of activities was going to the market and to ride an elephant.

I am looking forward to see them again on Wednesday and maybe even working in a massage with one of the girls at the end of the week.

Nah Dtawh Tawh Dtowh Towh

2011-01-08T14:21:00.003+07:00

These are just 5 of the 70+ letters of the Khmer alphabet.

I just started my tutoring this week, as well as teaching an English class too. I still remember a lot of the basics from when I was here last year, but there is so much that just does not stick in my brain. I really really really want to learn the language so that I can communicate with the world around me. There is only so much I can say in what I like to call "international charades." There are of my friends that like to speak to me only in Khmer, even though they know English very well. I catch a few words here and there and figure out what is being said through context, but I have A LOT to learn!

I admit a feel a little overwhelmed at times when I am desperately trying to pick out words I know and still feel very lost. It will get better and I will get it, but it feels hard right now. Please keep praying!!

Pepsi or Coke?

2011-01-03T18:30:00.005+07:00

The answer in my book is always Pepsi! It also seems to be the most favored brand of gasoline in Cambodia...

Gas gauges, especially on the motos (small motorcycles), usually stay on "E" and they put a liter of gas in here and there as they need it. And while there are proper gas stations, it often comes from the side of the road shops like this.

Say hello to my little friend...

2011-01-02T15:00:00.001+07:00

My friend was ever so kind to bring a lizard to me in the hopes of scaring me...thankfully those are not the things that make me scream and run. I just took it from him and held it for awhile. I admit I followed suit and attempted to scare a few people with it. There are a number of people that get very jumpy and swerve and dodge you when you happen to when you walk up to...ok, semi-chase...them with this. Believe it or not, they get even bigger than this. I was being nice to it...stopped holding his head too tight and even made it the star of a photo shoot...

Then it turned around and bit me on the hand, right on the tender part between my thumb and index finger. I might have let out a little scream then...and rapidly tossed it to the ground.

Oh, Happy Day!

2010-12-31T14:10:00.003+07:00

I get excited about the little things...

I was walking around the block yesterday and met another American family. While this is a good thing in and of itself, as I started talking to them, we found out that we have a mutual friend...someone that we know from completely different places and situations. That may not sound terribly exciting to others, but to me, being on the other side of the world, I LOVE it! And on top of that, I now have new friends that live around the corner from me.

The other thing is even "smaller" but made me almost shout with joy in the grocery store. There, sitting in the vegetable section, with what seemed like a light shining from heaven, was a few small bunches of asparagus. I love love love asparagus and this is the first time that I have ever seen it here in Cambodia. I had even thought about bringing seeds with me from the States and somehow trying to grow my own. I am certainly not a green thumb type of person so I gave up on that idea pretty quickly. I had resigned to not having asparagus for a long time. Imagine my surprise and delight, then, when I saw those lovely green stalks! I am going to make them tomorrow for lunch and enjoy every last bite!!

Worldwide Truth...

2010-12-27T15:42:00.005+07:00

There are some things that, no matter where you are in the world, seem to be done the same way. I have learned that grilling on a barbeque falls into this category. It seems to be the "boys job" in America as much as it is in Cambodia.

We have had two BBQs in the last couple weeks and each time, much like at home, the guys congregate around the grill. There is just something about cooking meat outside that brings the boys together. This BBQ, we had for the extended family Christmas gathering on Sunday. I am living with the pastor, his wife and their 5 children. There are many brothers and sisters, cousins and grandmas, friends who are pretty much family (I fit into that category), and the house was full...the good kind of full. They have said that I am brave for taking on such a large family, but anyone that knows my family at home knows that this is perfectly normal for me...lots of people, lots of kids, general chaos all around.

In this picture with me is the youngest child of the pastor, Sophea, and his wife, Jenny. His name is Eli and he is 8 months old. The other two girls, Srey Mao and Srey Ma, are sisters who I was living with the last time I was here.

This is the whole group together...

All in all, I had a good Christmas. I definitely missed my family and our own little personal version of chaos, but was able to talk to them on the phone. I love that technology lets me stay in touch with them even though I am so far away. I pray that you all had a blessed day, too.

From Scratch...

2010-12-27T15:23:00.004+07:00

I love all things pumpkin...bread, pie, pancakes, muffins, seeds, carving...you get the idea. I get excited for fall and winter time when you can find just about everything pumpkin flavored. So when I was put in charge of making the pumpkin pie for Christmas day, I was more than happy to do it. Then I suddenly realized that you can't just run to the grocery store in Cambodia and buy pumpkin in a can. You buy the pumpkin at the market, cook it, and mash it before you can mix it in. Logically I knew this, but I am so used to the canned stuff. So I made pumpkin pie...really from scratch.

It was peeled, boiled and then I busted out the mortar and pestle to mash it. It is made of SOLID stone and weighs about 30 pounds (ok, so I didn't actually weigh it, but that's my guess at least). My friend thought I was strange for taking pictures of the progress, but this was definitely a first for me.

And it turned out pretty tasty. I think I might be doing this more often now that I know what to do...bread will be my next pumpkin goodness.

Solution for Helmet Hair?

2010-12-15T16:09:00.002+07:00

...all for the sake of protecting my noggin when riding a moto...

I bought a helmet today and found out that Khmer skulls and American skulls are shaped differently. I guess the backs of their heads tend to be flatter and so I had to try on a number of different ones before finding one that sat correctly on my head, which by the way, is not flat. The helmet vender was happy to make a sale, but a little surprised when I had to keep asking to try another one.

It's Beginning To Feel A Lot Like Christmas...

2010-12-13T08:35:00.000+07:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I am NOT a morning person. I am a night owl through and though. Always have been. And I have always managed to function on very little sleep since the day doesn't typically start around 10 AM as I would like it to. So when I have jet lag, I am desperately trying to stay awake in the evenings past 6 PM and my eyes unwillingly pop open at 4 AM. It takes about a week for me to really get over the time change, but this go around, I am doing my best to keep on an "early-to-bed-early-to-rise" schedule. Cross my fingers that this works because I am a BIG fan of the snooze button!

The Christmas "season" is definitely relative to where you live. In the states, there is such anticipation for Christmas as soon as Thanksgiving is over. Here, there is not the same build-up and you can almost forget what time of year it is...not to mention that it is nearly 90 degrees!! So I am grateful to be living in a family with another American who loves the Christmas season too. A few days ago, we listened to Christmas music non-stop, decorated the tree and I even made cookies.

I was especially impressed with these...

not completely sure what the name of the cookie is, but they are definitely good!! I even made the frosting from scratch. yum!

This weekend was the church's Christmas outreach programs...and talk about reaching the multitudes. I would say on average, a Sunday service has about 150 to 200 people. Today, there was 600!!! And the children's program on Friday afternoon had about 800!!! These numbers are unprecedented! With the kids, they were pretty much packed into the sanctuary like little sardines...not even standing room available anymore.

The outreach today was an all day affair. The service started at 8:30 am and for the next few hours, there were skits, dances, singing, and preaching. Because the church rented a hall typically used for weddings, we sat at tables and as the service ended, they brought out the food!

This says "Su-suh-die Noel" which means "merry Christmas"

This is the worship team...I love the color coordination they have going here.

This is a look from the back of the hall. It was nearly impossible to get a really good picture to show how many people.

"Round two" of the outreach was back at the church with a few more songs, a little more preaching and lots of games. And no party would be complete around here without dancing. Cambodians LOVE to have dance parties!! I, however, am not much of a dancer. So it is always amusing...maybe comical is a better word...when these evenings come around.

Please keep praying that I learn the language quickly...and that I am bold enough to speak and make mistakes. I understand a little here and there and realize that I remember things as I hear someone speak. I keep a notebook with me and jot down words that I learn. I can pick up a lot in context, but I still feel relatively lost. I know it will come.

Home Away From Home

2010-12-07T07:18:00.009+07:00

Nothing will ever replace America in my mind and heart. I love where I am from. There are a lot of people that I love there. A lot of comforts and idiosyncrasies that I only notice because I miss them.

But I also love that from the moment I step foot off the plane in Cambodia, it feels like home too. Sure, I don't understand everything going on around me and I have to relearn the language and some cultural tendencies, but there is a sigh of relief in my heart. I am "home."

I got into Phnom Penh, the capital and city where I am living, safe and sound around 11 pm on Friday night. Going to the airport is a big deal here so I was not surprised to see a welcoming committee outside waiting for me. I am not sure I can adequately describe all that is going through my mind right now...a mixture of newness and things familiar to me, being quickly reminded of many of the things that I love about this place.

I am really enjoying my new home. I live with the Pastor and his family and am very blessed to have a room with a separate bathroom and air conditioning. I am not sure that one of those things outweighs the other! Here are some pictures:

I live in the one on the right with the blue tarp...

Still needs a little decorating help...

and a bed frame...

SO SO SO grateful for such a nice bathroom!!!

a flower and 74 cents

2010-10-24T22:25:00.003+07:00

I am currently on week 3 of my "marathon trip", visiting family and friends and sharing about my heart for Cambodia. I was in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and am now in Connecticut. North Carolina and Florida are next on my list of places to go.

Today at church, after I had spoken in the service, I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was a young boy, about 11 years old, and he whispered to me "Good luck with your work in Cambodia." Then he gave me this handful of change.

74 cents.

I was so touched by this gift and immediately thought of the story in the Bible of the woman who gave her last two coins as an offering and how her gift was so precious because she gave from her heart all that she had. So did this boy.

He also brought me the little flower after the fellowship time. Again, this seemingly small thing is actually a big deal to me.

My whole life, every time I see those name meaning plaques, I have always looked for my name. In the back of my mind, I know that it is the same thing every time: flower. Truth be told, I kinda found that boring and wished that there was something more spectacular about my name. I was shocked when, by pure habit, looked through a display of those cards last year and found that it listed a different meaning for Heather. It jumped off the page at me: "Cover of Beauty"

Heather is a flower that is pretty hearty, covering otherwise hard, peaty, barren lands and bringing beauty to it. And a flower brings glory to the Creator through it's beauty...it's existence. And that is my heart...to bring glory to my Creator as I live out my purpose and calling to Cambodia. I believe that the flower, which is purple like heather, was a little reminder of that for me today.

This young man didn't know that his two "small" gifts would be speaking volumes to me, but they did. And I am so grateful.

Happy Thursday To Me!!

2010-10-14T22:15:00.000+07:00

I did not peg Cleveland, Ohio to be a hub for international cuisine, but I have been here for less than a week and have had Thai food and Khmer (Cambodian) food!!! Thai is a little easier to come by, but one of my favorites so I am always excited for it. Khmer, on the other hand, seems to be a rare treat. As soon as I heard there was a restaurant here in town, I got the address and high-tailed it there.

My dear cousin, Melissa, went on the adventure with me. She has never had Khmer food so I was excited and nervous for her since she was taking a big leap with me to make sure we ordered something tasty.

We settled on the "Bahn Hoy"...

...which is lettuce wraps that you stuff yourself with meat, onions, bean sprouts, basil and vermicelli noodles. SOOO good!

And for dessert, we had this yummy pumpkin/coconut/palm sugar treat!

I applaud Melissa for being brave and trying new things. I don't know that she will be going back any time soon, but she said it was okay. I, however, LOVED it! This was a very good Thursday.

Surprise, surprise!

2010-10-11T00:08:00.000+07:00

I love surprises! Big ones, small ones....it doesn't matter to me. And unexpectedly getting to see a Cambodian friend in America counts as a great surprise in my book.

I saw on facebook Friday night that Pastor Sophea from my church in Cambodia had just arrived in Cleveland. I could hardly believe it because I was flying into Cleveland the next day!!!! It worked that we were able to meet for dinner with my aunt and uncle that I am staying with! I loved that someone from my family could meet him since I will be moving there soon to work with him and his church.

As soon as I saw him, I got so excited. Not just because it's been a more than a year and a half since I last saw him when I left Cambodia, but because it felt like confirmation and assurance that my heart was really ready for this! It made it more of a reality to me...a very good reality.

The church that I shared at this morning is actually the church that I was a member of 25 years ago. I was young, but I still have fond memories from here. There are even some people that I remember and it was so good to see them and catch up a bit. They are old Sunday School teachers and people that had an influence over my very young years.

From here, I will be heading to Pennsylvania to see some old family friends and then on to Connecticut to visit with family and share at churches in both places. This is kind of a "marathon" trip, with lots of family and friends and lots of states and traveling...but it is all worth it.

And I am looking forward to having more surprises along the way!!!

T minus 2 months and counting...

2010-09-30T17:46:00.000+07:00

Thursday, December 2, 2010...7:30 am.
Sit for many, many hours.
Look out the window and see this:

Phnom Penh, Cambodia!!

I am very excited to say that I purchased my plane ticket for Cambodia less than an hour ago! There is something about buying the ticket that makes this more of a reality for me. I don't have to answer people with a semi-question anymore when they ask when I'm leaving.

Guess I should to break out my lesson books from last year and try to brush up on my language skills. I remember some, but have forgotten most of what I learned. I am hoping that it will come back quickly once I get there, and I also plan to take a rather intense course at the university. It makes life so much easier when you understand the world around you!

I am also working on raising the finances I need for this move. It is getting to be crunch time now (seeing as how I am leaving in 2 months). I am looking forward to seeing how all of this is going to happen! If you want information on how to give a one-time gift or become a part of my monthly support team, let me know!

Cambodia, here I come!

Making Plans

2010-09-23T23:02:00.001+07:00

I am a planner.

For those that know me at all, that was kind of a "well, duh!" statement for me to make. I am actually one of those people that enjoys planning and organizing...it's my thing.

And I love "to-do" lists. I love making them...and I LOVE checking things off of the list. Sometimes I cheat a little if the list is full of hard, time-extensive projects...I write a few easy things that I don't actually need reminded of to get done...or I have been known to write down things I have already completed that day just so I have something to cross off. Don't judge me...it keeps me motivated.

This last month, and the next couple months to come, is one long, continuous "to-do" list of things I need to accomplish before leaving for Cambodia. Some are no brainers, like purchase plane ticket, but that is not as easy as you might think. I have tried to be my own travel agent in the last couple days, searching all the sites, figuring out the cost vs. "itinerary-that-won't-kill-me" ratio. I have decided there are professionals who do this for a reason. So tomorrow I am trying a whole new round of agents since the ones I had contacted already have not been too helpful (thus the plan to do it on my own formed and is now being kicked to the curb).

Others things on my list are labor intensive, such as designing and writing newsletters, support packets, prayer cards, business cards, donation receipts, information cards, address labels, bulletin inserts, fundraiser fliers and labels, etc. This seems to take me longer than it should, and makes me want to pull my hair out sometimes, but I love being able to look over the completed projects with a smile and sigh of relief.

I have to remember, though, that my life is not and should not be driven by a list. I have to be flexible. If there is a default in my brain, it most likely is set to "task-oriented." That's not a bad thing, as long as I don't forget that there are other things I need that no one makes lists for...like relationship with other people. Relationship with God. Being a living, active version of Jesus' compassion to the world. Those are the important things. The list can get finished another day.

Yes, it's true...

2010-09-20T04:15:00.003+07:00

...I am blogging again! I can almost hear the gasps!

It's been quite a long time and while I have thought about it a lot over the last year and a half, knowing that I really should but never being too motivated to, I am jumping back on the wagon and updating this...and hopefully it will be on a regular basis.

And with this being the first post in such a long time, I might as well start with the big news (for those that don't know)...

I am moving to Cambodia!

The plan is to leave the first part of December. On a one-way ticket. That seems a little scary, but the "good" kind of scary. I am really excited about this. I have been waiting to make this move for a while. I was there January and February of 2008, and then went back again September 2008 to March 2009. I thought that I was only going to be in the states for six months or so before returning. It has now been a year and a half! I am grateful for that extra time, even though I wasn't expecting it. And am very ready to get back to Cambodia.

I am going to be partnering with a local church to pioneer a missions ministry. When my friend, Brittany, and I were there for the six months, we started a discipleship/missions group. My heart is to start this up again and develop it a bit more.

I will be posting more details about the move and the ministry I will be doing there. So check back again soon...I promise it won't be so long between posts again!

Transportation in Cambodia

2009-04-23T01:42:00.003+07:00

For the first couple months of my time in Cambodia, I mainly got around by car or tuk tuk (pictured below)...

It looks like a small motorcycle with a cart on the back because that is EXACTLY what it is. Brittany and I felt like we became professional hagglers when it came to price. The drivers would always start at some ridiculous amount and we would laugh at them and tell them they were crazy...in a very polite, culturally accepted way. We would then work our way to a reasonable amount and hop in.

The second half of the trip, we got brave and began riding the motorcycles around town (and even sometimes on slightly longer trips). There were a few particular people that I would trust with my life on the moto...

And the helmets did nothing to help out the hair situation...

Remember those pictures I promised...

2009-04-23T01:05:00.006+07:00

I realize I have been back in the states for something like 6 weeks and have yet to follow through with my promise to post pictures from Cambodia...

Well, here you go, my friend...

It was almost guaranteed that we would be getting paint on lots of other things besides the walls...this is Phally (pronounced Paulee) and I during our first painting service project that we took the class on...and Titi's eye in the background

Vuth and Neth (pronounced Whut and Night) with me at the airport the day I left Cambodia...the smiles are deceptive...

The Harvester's class on the top of a mountain. They thought it would be "fun" to climb up more than 800 steps. The view was beautiful, but my legs were a little shaky by the end of it all.

A woman with her baby in the province

Sisters

We fed over 150 kids in the province after leading games and songs and Bible stories

My team leading songs

Painting a church wall on the second missions service trip

Speaking at the Wednesday night church service, with my dear friend Titi translating for me

Preparing food for lunch with Pisay (pronounced Pee-sigh). I loved to help and wish that I had mastered a couple of the recipes to make here in the states. I love Cambodian food!

Coming to an end...

2009-02-27T15:55:00.002+07:00

Four days left in Cambodia...I can hardly believe it. I have so many pictures that I want to post...and I will once I get back to the states. I am once again having problems with uploading them. So I will be on a mission to post a lot when internet is a little more reliable.

This last week has been busier than I thought it was going to be. We didn't really have anything planned, but every day, someone calls and asks if we want to go to their house for dinner. I love spending time with my friends here. Not only that, but I love the food. My mom would be so proud...and a lot of people would be surprised...to know that I eat all my vegetables here ;-) I am actually going to miss the food a lot when I get home...

Please be praying for me and my friend Brittany as we are finishing out our time here. When I first arrived, I thought six months was a long time, but in reality, it has flown by faster than I could have imagined. I know there have been so many blessings along the way and I am standing in faith that the last few days will be the same.

"Just..."

2009-02-06T21:27:00.001+07:00

It's just painting...
It's just playing games...
It's just telling stories...
It's just visiting a church...
It's just giving them some food...

It's not "just" anything...it is so much more!

Yeah, all of these things are good to do and even standing alone, they are of some merit. But we don't come in to do "just" anything. We come to do these things to open doors and allow God to open hearts.

Last weekend, our class went on a missions trip to Kampong Thom, a province about 3 hours to the north of Phnom Penh. We "did" all those things in that list above, but like I also said -- it is so much more. We came to serve. We came to share the love of Jesus. We came to bring encouragement. We came bring to hope to children that have very little to look forward to.

We came to change mindsets.

From the very beginning of my time here in Cambodia, my goal has been to raise up these people to share God's love...to empower them to step out in boldness of how they are made. And through our teachings and putting them into practice, I think that is happening. But it was on this trip that something more struck me....here is a group of missionaries, serving and loving their own people.

When the people of Cambodia think of missionaries or teams coming to serve, they most likely will picture a group of foreigners. This group is the opposite. Each one of these students has a heart to serve and see their own nation come to know the truth of God. And as we step out and serve the churches in the provinces, something sparks inside of them...this is something they can do too. It doesn't have to depend on foreigners. They are missionaries. They can speak into the lives of others and see the results.

They are seeing the example set by this group that God has named the Harvesters. These ten young people have God's joy bursting from inside of them...and they are learning how to pour that out into the lives of others. It's hard to believe that I only have one more month to work with this team. But the good news is that they are planning outreaches to go on...after I leave. God used me to help establish this work, but in the end, it is God's work and He doesn't stop because I am leaving Cambodia.

No...He's just begun.

(I will be posting pictures of the trip in a day or two, so please check back soon!)

Upcoming Outreach

2009-01-24T10:58:00.003+07:00

This picture of Cambodia shows the different provinces that make up the country. I live in Phnom Penh, the capital...and really the only "city." Anything outside of Phnom Penh is called "the province" and is pretty much what we in America would call the country. I have been to Sihanoukville (south), Takeo and Kandal (the one that surrounds the city). And next weekend, January 31-February 1, I will be going three hours north to Kampong Thom for a missions outreach with my class. I will keep you updated as I get the details of what we will be doing.

I love all the things that God has taught me and then asked me to teach the students in the class. This last week, though, Brittany and I taught on something so very near and dear to my heart. Each of us has been created with a design...a unique way that God has reflected His character in us. After a teaching session, we sat down with each of the students on an individual basis and prayed, sharing with them how God made them. It was an powerful afternoon as God opened their eyes and hearts to what He says about them. Please pray that those things wouldn't just be words, but truth in their hearts.

One year

2009-01-11T22:42:00.000+07:00

A year ago today, almost to the minute, I was stepping into Cambodia for the first time.

There are so many memories that I could type here about that first trip. Some good, some not so pleasant...but I am amazed at God's faithfulness through it all. Thinking back, I guarantee you that in the beginning, I wasn't considering coming back on an extended outreach. But here I am.

I could tell so many stories of things not going as planned, sickness and any other struggles as I led that 7-week outreach...and while they would "justify" why it was hard and how I was being stretched in a drastic way...I have learned that that is not what God wants me to look at. Of course He wants me to learn lessons from the situations He walks me through, but more than that He wants me to see, know and completely trust that He is the one walking me through the situations. And they all serve a purpose if I seek after Him.

I can pinpoint a few key things that happened during that outreach that changed my life...because I feel like my eyes and my heart were opened to a love for Cambodia that went beyond a "good" missions trip. It is something deeper. And as strange as it may sound to some reading this, I believe that love is deeper because I had to "fight" for it. It was something that was planted in my heart like a seed. It struggled to crack the surface, but as it did, it began to grow...both the tree above ground and the roots underneath.

And it is still growing.

Late Night Thoughts

2009-01-06T22:14:00.001+07:00

Today was our first day back to teaching in the Harvester's Class after the Christmas/New Year's holiday break...and I think it started off well. The pastor spoke on outreach and a general word of encouragement that when the class is "over," it doesn't mean that their calling to be harvesters in Cambodia has ended.

This is something that I have actually been thinking about a lot lately. Before all this began, I said that my vision for this 6 months was to impart things that I have learned. My goal, if you can call it that, was to see the students step out in boldness to share with others around them. While I believe this has been happening, the word "impart" has been in the forefront of my mind.

I don't want to just tell them things I know...to teach them lessons on different topics. I want there to be broadening of their view of God and of themselves through God's eyes. I want there to be a change in the lives of each on of them. My hope is that this isn't just something they will look back on as an "accomplishment," but that there is something planted in the heart.

I can hardly believe that I am here for only two more months. Time has gone by so much faster than I anticipated. And while I say "only" two months, I should be saying "still" two months because there is so much that God is asking of me. He has asked me to love these people...this church...this nation...in a way that can only come from Him. And I do. And I want to see God's truth to shine here...through the students He gave to me teach and lead.

Tuesday Morning Excitement

2008-12-31T11:28:00.000+07:00

Khmer lesson for the day...Fire = plerng cheh (just sound it out...this is not an exact science)

It doesn't usually phase me when Srey Mao, one of the Cambodian girls I live with, calls for Brittany and I because it is usually to joke around with us. So when she called for Brittany, I calmly sat eating my breakfast, thinking very little of it. But when Brittany said my name multiple times with a bit of urgency, I thought I should go see what they were looking at.

As I left the back door, I walked into a cloud of smoke. An apartment downstairs from ours was on fire.

The church I work with rents two of the eight apartments in a building...one downstairs for the boys and one upstairs for the girls. The one on fire was directly next to the boys dorm...although at first I was told that it was the boys dorm that was on fire. There was a rather large crowd forming outside and many of them trying to throw buckets of water on the flames. One of the guys from our class happened to be there and he was tossing water in using only his cupped hands. Only a few of the girls in our dorm were home at the time, but those few were frantically running through the house, grabbing all of their belongings they could handle and taking them outside...mostly clothes and school books. Srey Mao was actually trying to throw her mattress over the side of the balcony so as to not have the hassle of running it down the stairs.

There is always the question asked: What would you take if your house was on fire. The most common response at home seems to be to grab your photo albums and major memory things you can't replace. Well, I don't have that kind of stuff here in Cambodia. So the answer for me yesterday was: computer, iPod, phones, any chargers for the few electronics I have, my journals, Bible, wallet, three shirts and two pairs of pants. I was just packing those few things in my back pack and was going to leave...and I was rather calmly doing so, I might add. Sure, I knew that the apartment downstairs was on fire, and I know the seriousness of it, but at no point was I worried or afraid. The girls were still running in and out for their stuff so I figured I was ok. But I was feeling kinda foolish packing this bag to begin with.

Finally Brittany came up and contemplated packing a bag herself, but only because we both started to feel the frenzy of our roommates. It didn't take long for them to put out the flames and we both ended up going downstairs to join the crowd, trying to figure out what was going on now, leaving all our belongings upstairs. If I had felt there was a more of a threat to our house, I would have been throwing my stuff in bags and tossing it over the side of the balcony with Srey Mao's mattress (which we stopped her from doing since the fire was already out at that point, but she was on a roll).

The fire didn't spread and was relatively contained to just the one room where it started. We're not really sure yet what actually stared the fire. Those that live in the house will have to replace a few things, mostly clothes, but no one was hurt. Thank God. Please continue to pray for protection.

The Harvester's Class

2008-12-23T20:11:00.000+07:00

Front L-R: Phoern (Pu-en), Thida (Tee-da), Vin (Win), Mala, Dee
Back L-R: Me, Phally (Paulee) Richard, Seyha, Sothea (So-tee-ah), Titi, Brittany

It's kinda crazy that it's taken us this long to get a picture of our whole class. Thanks for all your prayers...for each of them and for Brittany and I as well.

We will be going on our second missions trip to another province in about 3 weeks. I will post more details about it next week.

Missing a Milestone

2008-12-16T17:33:00.000+07:00

I love this girl! And it hurts my heart that I am so far away from her on her birthday. For those that don't know, this is my youngest sister, Maurine. And today she turns 10.

I love that God has asked me to be in Cambodia and that He has blessed me with such joy at my life here. But it has not come without sacrifice. Being with this amazing kid...that is one of the biggest sacrifices I had to make. Sure, I miss the rest of my family and friends, but talking to them and catching up over emails is not that difficult (as long as we all actually write). Not quite so easy with kids. One of the perks of moving from Los Angeles back to the east coast was that I would get to see her more than twice a year. That worked great for the two years I lived in North Carolina. But here I am now, on the other side of the world, missing her like crazy.

God has a way of teaching me through the lives and actions of kids and that is certainly true of Maurine. I have seen His compassion and love through her eyes. And while I could fill this blog every day with stories about her, it would still not be enough to put into words how much I love her.

Happy Birthday, Emmy (my nickname for her)....! I love you so much! Save a piece of cake for me and we will celebrate in March when I get home.

A little paint and a lot of love...

2008-12-11T17:51:00.000+07:00

There are only a few things that I can think of that would be a better experience than standing in a group of people that I love, serving God and listening to them share their faith. That is what last weekend was for me...

We took our missions class on their first trip last weekend. The church we worked with is about an hour and a half away from where we live. Once you leave the city, you are in the "country", literally. Rice fields, palm trees and cows everywhere. We were able to serve the church by painting their main meeting room a wonderful shade of blue (which inevitably ended up on each of us and we looked a little smurfish by the end of the afternoon, if that is even a word).

Saturday evening we ran a youth outreach party, doing skits, games and a testimony...

Sunday morning service meant another skit and a couple testimonies...

I have no kids, but I can imagine what it feels like to see someone that you are pouring your life into start to walk out in the lessons you have taught. That is what my heart experiences every time one of these 10 get up to share their life and their faith with others.

Beach Pictures

2008-12-08T17:40:00.000+07:00

I got some of the pictures from the beach to work...it doesn't get much more beautiful than this...

...sitting in the chairs right next to the water...this is pretty much where I stayed for two straight days!

...women walk by and sell these squids, along with many other things...

A Little "I Love You" from God

2008-12-05T18:08:00.000+07:00

I am convinced that every once in a while, God does something to bless me...just because. There's no reason. I didn't ask for it. I didn't have to really seek it out. He just shows me how much He loves me. That is what happened earlier this week.

I went to the beach with a few people from the church. They were having a conference and invited me to go along so that I could experience a new place here in Cambodia. And it was a GREAT experience. We sat on the beach for two days and relaxed. The beach is not a novel thing for me since I grew up in Florida, but this is so different than home. It's the kind of thing you see in pictures...little restaurants all along the shore with tables, chaise lounges, chairs and umbrellas right up to the edge of where the waves roll to. Rest assured, I sat under the umbrella the entire time and managed to escape getting sunburnt...that is the novel part of going to the beach for me.

Something else not like the beaches at home....the pampering. There are people that walk up and down the beach selling food, random things like bracelets, and doing massages. Yes, I got a massage on the beach (both days!), as well as a manicure and pedicure. I am all about embracing my surroundings and that was something that was not to difficult to get used to.

While we were laying there getting massages, my friend Brittany turned and asked me, "What did we do to deserve this?" The first thing that came to mind was so simple, yet when I said it out loud, it rang so true...I said, "All we did was leave home." Granted, it was not a "simple" thing to do...leaving my life, my friends, my family in America to come to Cambodia for these 6 months. But I was obedient and I feel like my little trip to the beach was God's way of blessing me and showing me that He loves me. And I would do it again!

Pictures and blogspot are not being friends again today so I will post some from this trip next week when I get to a different computer. Thanks for your patience!

Thanksgiving in Cambodia

2008-11-28T18:38:00.000+07:00

For all those concerned, I did not starve on Thanksgiving here. It wasn't exactly the same as home, but it was great nonetheless.

On Thanksgiving day, we went over to the pastor's house for breakfast. His wife, Jenny, is a fellow American, so we had some time with her and helped prep a little for their dinner. She invited a few Cambodians over to eat with her that evening.

Brittany and I had our own little celebration by the light of a cell phone up on our roof. We had six Cambodian friends join us to eat chicken, rice and soup...with watermelon and baby oranges for dessert. Not the traditional meal you think of when Thanksgiving is mentioned, but we are getting used to things not really being what we are necessarily used to.

On Black Friday, I did get up at the crack of dawn, but not because I wanted to catch all the good sales. Our Cambodian roommates just get up that early! And they are happy to get up at that time...almost every day. So at 5:30 when they were having a very loud sing-along and making breakfast, I wanted to be sleeping since there was no store to rush to. (I didn't actually make it out of bed until 8.) We had a amazing Thanksgiving lunch over at another American pastor's house with many other ex-pats (which just means people who are living here that are not Cambodian). Most were American, but there were a couple Canadians and Austrailians in there too. That was a bit more like home...with stuffing (at the first bite, I almost burst into tears of joy!), cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, rolls, and pumpkin pie. Notice I did not say anything about turkey. Chicken works as a good substitute for turkey here, but I have to admit, I missed the turkey a little. Our neighbors across the street have a turkey running around their property. We hear it "gobbling" almost every day and as Thanksgiving approached, we wanted to ask them if they would consider letting us "have" the bird. We didn't ask, though. We ate chicken instead, and it was good. We stayed all afternoon playing games and enjoying the fellowship.

And as of today, I am used to the Christmas season "offically" starting...getting out the tree and decorating...all that fun stuff. It's a little different here, but I am looking forward to it.

Our Class in Action...

2008-11-24T20:02:00.000+07:00

Last week was a big week for our missions class...

On Wednesday night, we were in charge of the mid-week church service. Two of the students shared their testimonies and one gave a short message about the love of God.

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And on Thursday, we had our first "outing" as a class.

We split them into groups of two and gave each team $2. They had to pray and ask how to use the money, whether it was giving it to a beggar, buying a meal for someone, or meeting some other need that they were aware of...and they had to talk to the people that they were led to about their faith and share a little of their testimony.

This was the first time for most to speak in public or to approach someone they don't know to talk about God. I am happy to say that all went great. I am so proud of the way they all meet challenges even if they are nervous or it throws them out of their comfort zone. I love each one of them so much!

Front: Phoeurn ("Pu-in"), Thida ("Tee-dah"), Vin ("Win"), Brittany and Richard
Middle: Seyha
Back: Sothea ("So-tia"), Dee, Titi and Me

Flood Update

2008-11-19T14:01:00.000+07:00

Yes, folks, it is still flooded here in Phnom Penh Thmey...especially on our road. It's only 1/4 of a mile from my house to the church and that is the worst part! The water at some points has reached past my knees. Traffic is mostly on foot now since the small motorcycles get water in the engines and the cars don't try forging the river unless they are 4x4 vehicles. About halfway between the church and my house is a mattress factory. Up until last week, the trucks were still going back and forth like normal. But with the water as high as it is now, they have come up with some creative ways to keep business going without risking their trucks being weighed down too much by the mattress.

They rigged a raft out of barrels and they float the mattress down to the end of the street and then load the trucks up.

And yesterday, I saw this alternate mode of transportation.

You have to look closely, but what you are seeing is an bathtub boat. I am not sure if they are transporting goods from one end of the street to the other or if it is just to keep dry, but I wish I had a spare bathtub to use myself.

In the province

2008-11-17T14:12:00.001+07:00

Last week was the Water Festival here in Cambodia. It is a week-long holiday that brings tons of people to the city of Phnom Penh. So what does that mean for us? We leave the city for the quiet of the province.

We went with the Pastor's family to his home about 30 minutes outside the city and it was such a great experience. The village was such a peaceful place...dirt roads with little traffic...quaint houses...rice fields on every side with the most amazing color green...beautiful smiles from all the people...

We are slightly a novelty when it comes to the color of our skin so as we walk through the village, people shout "Hello" to us. We do attract a little attention to ourselves...as well as make ourselves and everyone around us laugh...when we use rice fields as our backdrop for a impromptu photo shoot...

This is Brittany and I jumping...

This is Naro (left...Cambodian...we were staying with his family) and Eddie (right...another missionary from Nigeria)...they jump MUCH higher than we do...

We are back in Phnom Penh now and have classes again this week. The students will be speaking in a church service on Wednesday, giving a short message and testimonies. Please be praying as this will be the first time for many of them to do something like this.

Wedding

2008-11-01T13:26:00.000+07:00

No, I wasn't kidding...I really do wear the rubber boots, even if I am dressed up...

This was last weekend for our friends' wedding - Vuth and Neth (pronounced night). I was so excited to be here to share in this day with them. Neth has been living in the dorm with us for the last two months and it has been great to get to know here a little more. She doesn't speak English (other than some very basic words) and I speak about as much Khmer (which tells you how much English she speaks!) so it makes communication interesting. But we always find a way to say things, through smiles, other facial expressions and lots of actions and pointing.

Weddings in Cambodia are different than in America. They have their ceremony first thing in the morning (around 8) and it tends to last about 2 hours. Everyone goes home and comes back at 4 pm for the reception. There's food, music, and dancing. They LOVE to dance. And for anyone that knows me well...you will be shocked to hear that I don't just sit in the chair and watch. There is no level of skill for dancing in me whatsoever, but I get up and do it anyway. I can almost imagine the shocked faces and laughs that some of you are trying to hold back right now. ;-) Thankfully, though, there are no pictures of that, so you are left to you imagination (I am not sure which is worse).

I am again fighting with blogspot to post pictures. Obviously sometimes it works and sometimes it makes the picture larger than the actual page. I don't understand. Oh well.

The Beginning

2008-11-01T13:04:00.000+07:00

Last Tuesday was the start of our missions class, which is called Harvesters.

I've been here in Cambodia for 8 weeks, preparing and waiting for this to happen. And when it did, something inside of was leaping for joy. We have 12 students, all ready to learn and be changed and share God's love with others.

We meet on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, and the first couple classes were introduction, laying foundation on what the class is going to be and what it means to be a disciple. One of the threads that ties it all together is the character of God. Each class time, we are discussing one specific characteristic, using verses that they read and meditated on prior to meeting. The first class time, we did an example on God as our friend. A few people stood to share what the verses meant to them. One guy stood and nearly preached a sermon. He had main points and everything! I was so excited to hear him share because I hang out and goof off with these guys all the time. And I love it. But what I love more is to hear their hearts, to hear what God is speaking to them, to hear their passion coming out. And this was just the first class.

Please be praying for the students as they continue to learn. And for me as I continue to learn while I am teaching. I am coming to a realization of the enormity of what I am doing...how much God has entrusted me with to be a teacher for these students and live my life alongside them as we learn about Him together.

Birthdays...Cambodia style

2008-10-17T15:38:00.000+07:00

I have never been happier being so messy!

I would not really classify myself as the type of person that enjoys getting messy, but this is how they celebrate birthdays here in Cambodia (or at least how my friends do it). It was Kim's birthday (the one on the right with the blue and white jacket...and somehow the least messy!). The cake was cut and passed out, but everyone one only got a couple bites before we bagan slathering frosting on each other's faces...and in my case, chunked in my hair too. It's a strange joy to be so messy with such great friends.

The four girls...Thida (bottom middle), Bopha (bottom right), Kim and Srey Pich (top right)...are in their last year of high school. Mala (top right in white) works with the church as the accountant, English teacher, and soon to be the translator for our missions class. The guys on the left, Seyha (bottom with his face completely covered) and Titi (top left) are both preparing to start university next week, by the blessing of scholarships they recently received. They will also be students in our missions class.

We have just a few days before the class starts and we are very excited on how it is all coming together. Please be praying for Brittany and I as we finish all the last minute preparations. And please pray for the students as well.

By the way, I am not sure why the picture came up so large, nor can I figure out how to make it smaller. One would think you would just click the "small" option on the picture upload page...if it were only that easy. Bear with me (and good ol' blogspot)...

By the light of a cell phone...

2008-10-10T17:13:00.000+07:00

One thing is certain...Cambodia is HOT!

I thought that I was sufficiently prepared being from Florida, experiencing the heat and humidity there. Well, I was wrong! There are some days that I feel like it is a little difficult to breath because the heat and humidity is so thick! The major difference between here and America is that there, I would go from my air conditioned house to my air conditioned car to my air conditioned work. I didn't do much outside when it was dreadfully hot there. But here you have no option...

Because of this fact (which I do not by any means want to sound like I am complaining), we have been "forced" to eat on the roof every night for dinner. The sun goes down and there is a little respite from the scorching heat, but it is still hot. We hope for a little wind while we dine up there...by the light of our cell phones since there is no electricity. The best part about it though is the friends that invite over to eat with us. There are a couple regulars and we love to share this meal with them. We end up sitting on the roof for hours talking about some pretty great things. I have been so touched the last few days by the conversations I've had, amazed that God has blessed me with such an amazing group of friends here. And while I am away from my family in America, these people have become my Cambodian family.

A Brief Reflection...

2008-09-25T11:32:00.000+07:00

One of the great things about having countries so close together is that it makes it easy to travel...

I am going to Thailand for a week to visit Bangkok and Ratchaburi (about 2 hours from Bangkok), which is where I went for an outreach during the summer of 2007. I am so excited to see the couple that hosted that trip for me and hopefully some of the students that I became friends with. There is something amazing about getting to go back to a place where I

have been on a missions trip before...seeing the changes in people and knowing that for a short time, God used me in their lives.

This is a lesson that I have learned on a personal basis...seeing others that I have affected. But the most recent "twist" to this lesson is the importance of me telling another person the way that they impacted my life.

One of the main ministries that I worked with while here in Cambodia in January and February was in Sen Sok, a village about 5 miles out of town. We partnered with Vuth (pronounced Whut) as he was starting a church plant. We helped with renovations on the building, seeing the start of new English classes, prayer walking through the village and stopping at houses to talk to people. It was on one of those house visitation days that God really touched my heart and asked if I would be willing to come back to Cambodia. People asked questions about God and who He really is...not the typical response when trying to share the Gospel. As I saw the hunger in their spirits to understand truth (whether or not they were fully aware that that was what was happening), I knew that there was something God was asking of me...was I willing to come back and not only answer those questions, but was I willing to come back and impart what I know of missions to the Khmer Christians so they can be fully equipped to answer...even better than I can.

Well, I came back and am in the process of figuring out what that "impartation of knowledge" looks like. But I was taking to Vuth a few days ago about his ministry in the village and was sad to hear that for the time being, there is no longer a church out there. The reasons have nothing to do with dedication to God or spreading the Word. As we talked, something in my heart knew that I needed to encourage him in his decision to step down for now. He knows he made the right decision, but I felt the urge to quiet the lies being whispered to his heart that he had failed. I shared my story with so many people back in America of how working with hi was a huge part of my decision to come back to Cambodia. I believe that God used Vuth and the Sen Sok village to show me what He wanted for my life. And my heart is at such peace being here because I know this is right. But I had never actually told him.

It was such an honor to encourage him in his ministry and knowing that even if he didn't see immediate results in the village as he had hoped, my life and heart were impacted beyond what I could have ever imagined He is part of my testimony.

Who has left a lasting impression on your heart, knowing that God has used them to bring you to where you are today? Have you ever told them? You should try it...because it is God that receives the glory through your words.

It worked!

2008-09-19T17:44:00.001+07:00

I got it to work! I am so happy! It took a couple extra steps, but I am now able to upload pictures.

I will put more on here in the next few days, but this is one that I took within the first day or so of being back and thought it was great.

Someone carved my name into a tree at the church after I left in February...

I can't tell you how much the people here mean to me...how happy my heart is to be here with them and following what I have been called to do...and it warms my heart to know that they love me and missed me too...and that I have a special place here, immortalized in a tree...

The Sights of Cambodia...

2008-09-19T17:44:00.000+07:00

As I am sitting in the office, writing this blog, the scene happening just outside the window is one that I find slightly humorous and I thought I would describe it for you...

There is a decent-sized field out behind the church and, like most roads and open areas here in Cambodia, there are often cows roaming free. Well, today, as the cows meander through, there are 3 small dogs (no more than 15 pounds each) barking to protect their "territory".

Not something you see ever day...

There are many things that I see here that are so different from America. I have taken pictures of some of these things...and yet each time I try to upload them to the site to share them with you, nothing happens. Denied. So sad. I am guessing my page is just not functioning properly because I do not think it is a blogspot-wide problem since others are able to successfully put pictures on. I do not plan on just describing things for you (I am just not that good with words to be honest) and I will work something out. But for now...just imagine the cows and the dogs, and I will keep working on this. Thanks for your patience...

Getting Started...

2008-09-14T17:20:00.000+07:00

Brittany and I met with the Pastor and his wife a couple days ago and were able to share more with them about the vision we have for our six months here. The meeting couldn't have gone better.

We are wanting to start a missions program at the church. I had spoken to the pastor briefly about this before I left earlier this year, but didn't realize the extent that this is a huge part of his personal and corporate vision for the church. It was really exciting to see the meshing of ideas and goals...and to know that we all seem to be on the same page. So here are a few things that we are working on....

October will be the beginning of a 10-week missions course that will meet a few times a week, both for lecture/teaching times, training on how to share their faith with others, as well as local community outreaches. One of the locations for outreach will be Aspeca, the orphanage that we worked with in January and February. I will continue to keep you updated as we prepare the curriculum for this course.

We will also be helping to teach English lessons, both for high school/college age students and preschool students. I know this seems like quite a stretch in ages, but they really believe that knowing English is a key to the future of their country so there is a focus on this generation getting into the "workplace" as well as training the younger ones to have a head start on it all.

Please be praying for us as we plan the missions course and recruit students. There is already a great interest in it!

Also please pray that I will start picking up some of the language. I have learned a few words here and there...and remember a few from my first trip. Most of the people want to practice their English with me, but I really want to have a relatively decent vocabulary and be able to have simple conversations in Khmer. It's not a latin-based language and they have completely different symbols for letters, so that does not help in making it easy. Just means I have to try harder...

Rubber boots, anyone?

2008-09-11T16:14:00.000+07:00

It's days like this that I wish I'd bought those big boots at Target. They seemed so impractical...but they were cute. It doesn't rain much in Charlotte, but I thought about buying them to bring to Cambodia. Needless to say, I talked myself out of it and figured that I would just wear flip-flops that can get wet.

BIG MISTAKE!

I should have followed my gut instinct and bought them, no matter what kind of space they took up in my suitcase...because I can hardly step out of my house without losing my feet in the water and mud. I actually lost a flip-flop the other day and thankfully another girl came along and was able to get it out for me.

The kind of "vehicle" we tend to ride around in is essentially a cart attached to a motorcycle....not a closed cart, mind you. So when you are sitting in the back and there is near monsoon weather going on around you...well, you are going to get soaked.

Thank goodness I don't melt. And even though I am not the biggest fan of getting muddy, it does wash off pretty easy. Not even the change in climate like this makes me, even for a second, wish I hadn't come to Cambodia. Just that I had bought those silly rubber boots...

(still having trouble with pictures...for all those blogspot friends out there, do you have any suggestions?)

Stepping on Cambodian Soil...

2008-09-08T17:39:00.001+07:00

I couldn't have imagined what it would feel like to step foot on Cambodian soil again after 6 months of being at home in the states. I admit...I was a little nervous because I didn't know what to expect. I knew it wasn't going to be the same as it was when I was here in January and February, but beyond that...I was hoping and praying for the best. And it was...

As soon as I walked out into the luggage area, I saw the pastor waiting there for us. Our visas, which originally were not going to be ready for us, had been finished and approved the night before at 5 pm when their offices were closing. It was a complete answer to prayer so that we didn't have to get a different type of visa and then have to change it. Now we have an NGO visa (which came at NO charge...free...YEAH!) and we just have to extend it once.

After getting our luggage and walking outside, I saw many of my friends standing there to greet me. It was a great reunion that I wish I had enough eloquent words to describe it to you. We drove back to the dorms where Brittany and I are living with 5 Cambodian girls...we are hoping to learn a bit of Khmer (the name of the language here) and to help them in their English skills. We will also be doing devotions a couple times a week and I am looking forward to the relationships that we will build with them.

My heart is at such peace being here. In the last few days, everything has felt "right"....that there is no question that I have followed as God led and I am exactly where I am supposed to be! It's an amazing feeling.

I am having some problems uploading pictures to my blog, but I am working on it. I promise I will continue to try and get some up here for you. Thanks for your patience and your prayers.

It's time...

2008-09-04T20:07:00.001+07:00

In about 5 minutes, I am getting in the van...to go to the airport...to go to Cambodia!

Someone asked me a few minutes ago if I was ready. My reply: "I'm packed." I always seem to require the all-night packing session before I leave the country....I tried to be proactive and start early. The problem, however, was that I finished late. I could have used more time, really.

But there is no more time. I have been waiting for 6 months for this moment...to go back to the place where so much happened in my heart and God did some amazing things in me. Now that it is here, my excitement is a little overshadowed by the pain of saying goodbye to my friends and family. Communication over there isn't terribly difficult, but it isn't the same.

Please pray for safe travels and for a peaceful transition as I settle into my new life there. I will write more once I arrive.

For now...goodbye.

If only Mary Poppins was real...

2008-08-28T21:50:00.000+07:00

...and she could come help me pack the same way she helped clean the kids' bedroom.

I am currently procrastinating in the whole packing process. Before you judge, I did come to the office to do legitimate work that has to be done before I go. However, this short visit has turned into a much longer one because I know going back to my house will prove overwhelming for me.

I don't know of anyone that really enjoys packing, but it is probably one of my least favorite things to do. I usually wait until the last minute and stay up the whole night before I leave in order to really even start. Not wise, I know...but I am good at it getting it all done. I am trying to avoid that undue stress I put on myself that last day though. I want to spend the last week before I leave for Cambodia with friends. I want to enjoy those times, rather than have my to-do list hanging over my head.

What?! Heather's finally writing again!?

2008-08-25T07:43:00.000+07:00

Yes, it's true...take a deep breath to get over the shock of it all and read on. ;-)

I have thought about this blog many times in the last year and a half...the last time that I actually successfully wrote anything on here. But there is a lot going on and I want to keep you all up to date on my life and what is happening...

It would take far too long to go back and start from the beginning of 2007 to catch you up, so I will give you the highlights and the upcoming stuff...

February 2007...travel to China
March-June 2007...staff for the Discipleship Training School (DTS) in Monroe, NC
June-August 2007...travel to Thailand and Scotland
September-December 2007...staff for another DTS
January-February 2008...travel to Cambodia
March-September 2008...short term missions trips in the states...and preparing for all that is to come

What is the preparation for? For my return to Cambodia! I am going to moving there for 6 months, leaving on September 4 and coming back to the States the first week of March 2009. I, and my one teammate, Brittany, are going to work at the same church we were with earlier this year.

There are so many details that I could include here, but in an attempt to not overwhelm anyone reading this, I will do it in small doses. Please keep checking in because I will be updating this with stories and pictures of Cambodia and other fun stuff, and I hope with quite a bit of regularity while I am gone.

Coming to an end...

2007-01-22T01:42:00.000+07:00

It's hard to believe that our time is almost over here in India. We have one more day left and then we start our travels to China. Here are some things I will miss:

~~seeing cows freely roaming the streets (an odd sight to get used to)

~~riding in the auto rickshaw (an open taxi with three wheels) around town, wondering if this will be the time that we will hit one of the pot holes hard enough to actually get thrown from the side

~~the heat (ok, I am just kidding on that one, but it is going to be freezing in China)

~~the food...believe it or not, I am enjoying most of the dishes we have had

~~the other team from Montana that we have been working with

~~the traffic...it is bit scary at first, certain that you we be involved in an accident, but you learn to walk safely across the street and not gasp too loudly as the cars dodge each other

~~the wonderfully friendly people of Manipal

Even though some of these things sound a bit sketchy and not all together "safe", it is part of the culture and the environment here and it all works together to make India what it is. And I know China will hold so many things for me and I am excited to see what is going to happen there. Two countries in two months...I am a very blessed girl.

19 days since I've had a warm shower...

2007-01-19T18:37:00.000+07:00

I have been in India for 19 days and it has been that many days since I took a hot shower...but it has been worth it. To tell you the truth, it's almost too hot most of the time and the cool water is welcomed.

I had heard so many stories about this country before coming, but I really didn't know what to expect...and this experience has been so much more. Unfortunately I can't post pictures from this computer so it has to wait for another month.

I am learning a lot...and still getting confused at times...by the Indian culture. One of the biggest ones is that I still have to guess when people are saying yes or no by the way they shake their heads. In the states, we nod our head up and down which means yes and turn is side to side to say no. Well, here, they don't nod...the bob their head from side to side and it looks an awful lot like no...but it's yes. So we ask questions and they bob their heads, and it takes a minute to try to discern whether the answer is yes or no.

Almost every day, we walk from our house down to the college campus and the surrounding area to meet with people, talk to them about their culture and tell them about our culture and beliefs. We have made a number of friends that we meet for coffee and build up that relationship. It's been interesting to learn from them, but also to have the chance to share our beliefs. Challenging, but great all the same.

We have joined another team for the time being. Within that team, they have a number of very talented musicians and were able to perform a free concert for the town. We had about 650 people show up, which was a pretty good turn out. Combining teams is not always easy, but this has been a wonderful experience and the two groups work very well together.

We only have a few days left here in India (where the weather is always HOT...somewhere between 95-100 everyday and humid), and then I will be wishing for a heat wave in China. The team is sad about leaving here, but also very excited about something new and getting to do a few different things.

Thanks for all your prayers.

I'm in India!

2007-01-03T18:57:00.000+07:00

I realize that good intentions do not get this blog updated...and i apologize...again! I am back from Miami...it was a good trip, for those that were not stuck in a bed sick all week (that would be me!)

I have now left on another trip, this was a bit further than Florida...I am writing from Manipal India. I only have a few minutes at the internet cafe before having to head back to the house with the team, but I wanted to let everyone know that I arrive safe and sound. It is definitely a different world. It took us 4 days of traveling to arrive, but it was worth every minute, and it has only been one day. Still 3 weeks to go.

I will write as often as I can, but I can not make any guarantees...not that anyone actually expects me to update all THAT often, but i will make the effort.

Thanks for your prayers. I love you guys!

Vamanos a Miami

2006-12-04T11:08:00.000+07:00

Early early tomorrow morning, I have to get up and get in the van to drive down to Miami. We are going for a week to work with a campus ministry.

Unfortunately I am getting sick so the 13 or so hour drive down will not exactly be the most exciting thing for me, but I am looking forward to being in Florida for a week.

After we get back, there will only be 2 weeks left until we leave for India...crazy!We leave on December 30.