Month at-a-glance

It seems like just a week ago that I posted to our blog but when I reflected back on our last month I wasn't terribly surprised that it had been as long as it had. I wish I could go into every detail of our last 30 days or so but: 1. I wouldn't remember everything and 2: if I did, your eyes would be rolling up into your head by day 3 or so. In light of this, I am going to give you our month at a glance.

I would say the first big event that happened in our family is that the kids finished up the school year at Logos International School. Alex finished 9^th grade, Abby finished 7^th, Calli finished 5^th and Cameron finished Pre-K 4. We are so grateful to God and proud of the kids with how well they adapted to their new setting. They went from homeschooling in America to attending a private international school in Cambodia and did it well. Besides the major, obvious differences, one big thing to get used to in an international school is that many teachers and students are only there for a limited time. Most of our teachers sign 2 year contracts and then they are done. Also, many students' parents are only here for a short amount of time so the good-byes will maintain a sort of regularity. That is just another unanticipated aspect of living internationally.

The second big thing that happened to us in the past month is we ended our 15 months of homelessness. I do use the term lightly as we always had a comfortable place to lay our heads but we hadn't had our own place for over a year. It was difficult to not have a place to call our own, a place to personalize and have friends over. Our yearning for a place of our own came to an end on June 1^st when we moved into our own place here. We are in a new and growing region called Phnom Penh Themey (meaning New Phnom Penh). It is near the kids' school (15 minute walk) and just down the street from House of Hope (HOH; Asian Hope's boy's home). Our neighborhood also has several other families that we know so it really feels like home. We are also really enjoying living near HOH. Several times per week the boys stop in to play ping pong, hang out, play a game, watch a movie or just eat some banana chips and chat. It is so much fun and very consistent with our family's heart to have an open home and open hearts. Thanks God!

I could write for hours on the humorous journey of purchasing EVERYTHING for our new home but that would take…um…hours. But suffice to say, it was a crazy time. First finding where they sell a certain item, then negotiating a price (with language barrier), arranging delivery of larger items (all done on moto's), trying to communicate our address or directions…etc. Some days it was charming and endearing and other days I would select a descriptive word which would be the antonym of endearing (unendearing?). However, through all of the unpredictable and sometimes unimaginable obstacles we had to endure, I am so grateful to Carolyn for so patiently and thoroughly making this house into our home adding touches that really do make it home. To add to our excitement, right as we were starting to move some of our stuff over to the new house, I pulled, tore, strained or otherwise injured my hamstring playing street hockey. OUCH! I quickly looked up treatment for a hamstring pull and read about the RICE protocol and was relieved because we are in Southeast Asia and we have a lot of rice. But then I realized that RICE was an acronym for rest, ice, compression and elevation. So out of those four, I did roughly none of them and I think it is healing just fine. My hamstring has reminded me several times, by way of a sharp shooting pain, that it is still not back to normal but nonetheless we successfully moved in during that time.

The third big event that happened during the past month was that we hosted our first official mission team for Asian Hope. It was a group of 10 wonderful college students from Louisiana Tech. They were here for about 3 weeks and during their time here we ended up kind of adopting them into our family. It was busy but fun. I love having a job where I can have some of my kids or even all of my family be a part of it. While they were here we spent a lot of time serving many who are less fortunate alongside the students from our House of Hope and House of Faith. We hosted some VBS/fun days at our school, taught children from the dump, scraped and painted, removed trees…etc. It was such a great help to have them. The timing worked out great, too, as we were able to host some get-togethers at our new house. A couple times while they were here we were able to have about 3 dozen people at our house, which presented an awesome time of fun and fellowship. Alex, Abby and I also accompanied the team to Kampong Thom, a province about 3 ½ hours north of Phnom Penh. There we visited a ministry which houses, teaches and trains and nurtures orphans. It was a great opportunity to serve and also for me to connect with another ministry. God sure is moving here in Cambodia.

I know this is a brief description of our last month but I will diligently try to make more regular updates to our blog. Reflecting on our last month, I am left with a greater excitement for what God has in store for the people of Cambodia and more specifically for our family. There is a lot of oppression and pain in Cambodia but the longer we are here, the more we can see God's hand at work. We are humbled and honored to be a small part of that. A huge thank you from our family to each one of you reading this, because in doing so you are joining us in our journey.

Hotwheels

As Carolyn and I were out with Cameron the other day looking at paint colors for our new place, God used a unique way to help us create some relationships. To give you a little context, Cameron's world has been rocked by our move. The weather here is so hot, he is continually touched like a new little puppy and he has to say thank you and hello in a totally new language. So sometimes he just climbs into his shell when we are out. That was the case at the paint store. He was just sitting on a chair, resting his head on the counter, holding onto 2 hotwheel's cars. Some of the workers were trying to interact with him but to no avail. Then one of the gals there grabbed one of his cars and began to drive it on the counter by him. Soon he grabbed his other one and they were playing together. Not long after that, a guy came over and started playing and that eventually got Cameron and him on the floor pushing the cars quickly so they would "crash". Then another worker made a paper airplane for him. Soon, pretty much all of the workers were involved in this impromptu playtime. As Carolyn and I were talking after that, she was commenting on how amazing it was that, despite the language barrier, God used something as simple as a little toy to draw people in. Because of this, we won't consider using any other store for paint and we look forward to seeing where these relationships may go. As you can see from the pictures, the time ended up with Cameron playing with many new friends and really enjoying his time. It was a blessing for him...and us. We so enjoy continuing to get to know people here and look for opportunities to be a witness and make an impact for Christ. As we do this we ask you to pick one person from the pictures and pray for them. Pray that we may deepen our relationship with them and that God would give us an opportunity to share our hope in Christ with them.

Easy Does It

{Pics are of a beautiful temple in downtown Phnom Penh, our family at a Wat in town, a view ouside the front door of the Sanctuary and Cameron and Fanny}.
Life here fluctuates between "This is amazing, we are living out our dream here" to: "NOTHING here is easy...just give me something easy". Somewhere in between those 2 sentiments the 6 of us are settling into life here. One thing that makes us long for "easy" is shopping. Let's take for example shopping list A: bread, milk, nails, new t-shirt, new flip flops and a soccer ball. I used to think "Super Wal Mart", spend 45 min (if I stopped at the Subway inside) and I was done. Now I think "I can get bread and milk at the gas station on the corner, nails at the little shop with all of the hardware stuff (My Home Depot), the best bet for a new t-shirt would be across town at the Russian Market, I think I can find some flip flops at that little vendor on the corner but if not I will get those at the Russian Market too and finally I will stop by one of the sporting goods vendors down in the city". 5 hours later my list is complete, if the vendors weren't out of what I needed. Another thing that sometimes causes us to desire "easy" is calling any business (lets say a dentist) to ask a question or make an appointment. No more "I'll be done in 30 seconds, I just need to make an appointment with the dentist". One bonus, though, is that there are no prompts saying "For English Press 1". I spent about 5 minutes on the phone with the dentist office last week and at the end I was pretty sure that I had actually made an appointment and fairly certain of the time but had no idea which of this Dentist's locations I was supposed to go to. He is part of a group of very good well trained dentists and their group has 3 offices in Phnom Penh. Me: "You have 3 offices in Phnom Penh. Which office should I go to?" Receptionist "Yes, Dentist office". M:"What street is it on?" R: "Excuse me sir. I do not understand." M: "I have an appointment for the dentist. What street is the office on that I should go to?" R: "Yes, your appointment is at 10:00." "Okay, thank you." That is just a snippet of actual events. Regardless, I made my appointment and as a bonus received 2 root canals.
It is true that we sometimes look at the complexity of life here and marvel at it but I can honestly say that none of us would choose differently. As stated by our 2 teenagers (Alex and Abby respectively) "I love that we moved to Cambodia" and "Dad, I really want to graduate from Logos". Carolyn and I are thrilled to hear statements such as these. As I survey the ministry that God has placed us in I cannot be more thrilled either. One of the major things I have on my plate now is the Sanctuary, which is Asian Hope's new hospitality house. We are using it as a place to house visitors to Asian Hope and anyone else who is looking for a nice, comfortable, affordable place to stay here. But even more importantly we use it to train and mentor some of the students who have come through our boys and girls homes and also graduated from high school at Logos. It has been an incredible opportunity for Carolyn and I to work alongside each other and even involve our kids in it. Most recently (this past weekend) Abby stayed overnight Friday and Saturday to help feed and host a group of 27 from Hong Kong. She was up late and awake early with Fanny, the Asian Hope student who is managing the Sanctuary right now, making cinnamon rolls and washing dishes...etc. She loved it and got many compliments on here attentiveness. We couldn't ask for more as we pour into the lives of these young people here and they in turn pour into ours. We really could not have asked for more. We pray that as we become more and more closely tied to these wonderful students and people here that our lives may serve as an encouragement to them, causing them to seek Christ either for the first time or to deepen their relationship with Him. All good things come from our Father above!

A Non-Contradiction

A moto isn't usually the best place to have a meaningful conversation so they don't usually happen there. However, that doesn't keep me from trying every once in a while. So a couple of days ago I picked Calli up from school on the moto and on our way home I decided to try and connect with how she was doing. So I asked her a couple of simple questions which ended up with her giving simple and profound answers. It just so happened that her answers sum up very well how we all feel. The questions I asked were: "What is your most favorite and least favorite parts about living in Cambodia?" She thought for a minute and replied: "My favorite thing about living here is how everything is so different from what I am used to...and my least favorite part about living here is that everything is so different." Those answers seemingly contradict but I totally feel the same way. I absolutely love the differences and cherish them at times. Other times, when all of them seem to be screaming at me at the same time, I can't stand them and just want something to be familiar. The neat thing is, things are beginning to feel familiar here. Whether it be running into people you know in the city, understanding the price of an item when it is given to you in Khmai or just recognizing and waving at friendly neighborhood faces while on a run. The ratio of familiar to un-familiar is still tipped way in the balance of "un" but regardless, we can see God taking care of our wants and needs on a daily basis by making us feel more and more comfortable here. There are still hard times (you get those anywhere) but none of us have ever looked back and wished we would not have moved. What a huge answer to prayer. Blessings!

I added some random shots from our time here so far.

Tasty Treats

So this morning started out with a fresh mango and pineapple smoothie. I don't know if a better breakfast exists. I then did some work at Asian Hope International School and the Sanctuary (Asian Hope's new Hospitality house). Busy times around here. Later on, after trying to find some things for our new place, Carolyn and I ran to the "grocery store" with my 10-year-old, Calli. She has been blessed (or cursed) with somewhat of an adventuresome spirit like myself. So as we were pulling up to the store, she suggested we buy some crickets. When somebody says that here they are not meaning the kind you buy to feed to your pet reptile. They mean the fried kind supposedly for human consumption. So we did our shopping at the store and took off on the moto to find crickets. Hoping it would take long enough so she would get discouraged in the search, we found some within about 47 seconds of leaving the parking lot. She had made me promise that if she ate it I would too (or maybe it was vice versa). Anyways, we purchased a bag full of fried crickets from a roadside (actually on the road) vendor. She had a pan of boiling oil right on the cart with a fresh batch brewing. We somehow communicated what we wanted and she communicated in Khmai that it would cost 2500 riel. That is about 60 cents. Okay, I think I can spend that on what some here consider a delicacy. So we brought them home and some in our family (I would never let on that it is Carolyn and Abby) were completely disgusted by the sight but the rest of us were okay with it. Calli and I eventually proceeded to make good on our agreement. The crickets were first dumped out onto a plate and set on the counter. We waited 5 minutes and if that wasn't enough, when we took the cover the plate, ants had swarmed the pile of crickets. Not to be discouraged, we decided that if we had resolved to eat one type of insect, why not 2? So we pressed on. I was volunteered to go first. So I bravely and confidently (at least on the outside) stuck one fried cricket in my mouth and chewed it up. Much to my surprise it wasn't bad. It almost tasted like a crispy piece of bacon. If you didn't have to deal with the long hind legs poking the inside of your mouth you could almost forget you were eating one of those things you stomp on when you see it alive. Nonetheless, my ingestion of the cricket preceded Alex and Calli eating one as well. Then our brave Cameron tried by putting a leg in his mouth. He did end up spitting it out but it was a try. The 2, perhaps smartest, members of our family, Carolyn and Abby, stood by with cameras and much moral support. All in all a great bonding experience for our family. Sorry Jiminy. Pics are of the 3 "partakers" of the crickets, the crickets themselves and Calli trying to brave the cicket).

Distribution to Victims of Fire

Yesterday our family was able to take part in distributing donated items to families who lost everything in a fire that happened about a month ago. I would have to say the event was overall a success but it left me with a feeling of "there is so much to do". It was definitely a morning of paradox. On Monday Abby went to school, although the kids are off all week for Khmai new year, and sorted clothes, food, toiletries and other small items to be distributed. Along with a couple teachers and 1 other student they made about 70 bags to be given out, each geared toward a specific gender and age group. Then Tuesday morning all of the bags were loaded in a van and we all went over to the site where the displaced families are now living. Once we got there, we all got out and started interacting with the kids and it was a lot of fun. Even though we can't communicate verbally with them, there was still a lot of smiles exchanged. We had one of the teaching assistants from Logos walk around the "village" and let some of the most needy families that we were there to give out some needed items. That worked for a little bit...until it was clear that we had more people lined up to receive bags than we had bags. Toward the end people were grabbing the last few bags instead of waiting. Although those who received bags were happy and thankful, it was sad to not be able to give to everyone. It left all of us with a feeling of joy to serve but a desire to do more. That is the paradox. We could have avoided the sadness if we had done nothing but we would have missed the joy and all of the smiles. To be honest, I wouldn't trade either.

New Life School

It is so cool to be here in Phnom Penh working with Asian Hope to see what kind of difference they are making outside of the obvious. We have 3 schools, a girls and boys home and a hospitality house. They are all great ministries and I enjoy being a part of them. However, since moving here I have realized that our impact is felt beyond the confines of our official programs. One such example would be New Life School. NLS is a small christian school that was started only a couple years ago for the poorest of the poor in Phnom Penh. Each day they receive children from orphanages who could never pay tuition of a private school or the price to pass through a state school. They would be relegated to a life of servitude and probable abuse. Now they are given a chance at a new life through education and Christ. So how does Asian Hope play a part? Well the principal and the 6th grade teacher (both are Khmai women in their mid to late 20's) were once teaching assistants at Logos International School. If you ask either one of them, and I have, they will both tell you that they would not be where they are today without their experience at Logos. Their time with us taught them lesson planning skills, classroom discipline/control, and gave them the confidence and experience needed to affect a change in so many other lives. This is one of the reasons why in most of Logos' classrooms they have an experienced western teacher and a Khmai teaching assistant: it allows us to help produce excellent Khmai teachers who can then leave our school and make an impact in areas that we couldn't. We also support NLS with ongoing teacher training and curriculum.
With this in mind, we wanted to bless the students and staff of New Life school. So last week we bused in all of the kids (in 2 shifts on 2 different days) to enjoy a carnival at Logos. Our 5th and 6th grade classes helped plan and host these students. They were able to run in grass on an obstacle course, swim, play basketball, throw water balloons, get their faces painted, listen to music, watch a puppet show and maybe best of all, eat ice cream. Our hearts were truly blessed to watch these kids light up with all of the choices of activities. I am not sure who had a better time the kids or those of us who could watch them enjoy themselves. I wanted to share some of these pictures with you but really wish I could bottle up the sights and sounds of that day. I look forward to many more of this type of event...they are priceless for these kids. Please know that any of you reading this would be a welcome set of willing hands and feet during any of these events. If you are interested, leave a comment. Blessings!