Missing a Milestone

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...

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

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

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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.