A new school year begins

Wow, I can hardly believe it.  The kids just started their second full year of school here in Cambodia.  All 4 are still at Logos International School and all 4 still really enjoy it.  In fact Cameron, the most reluctant last year, just told me the other day "Dad, remember last year when I hated to go to school? Well its funny because this year I love school.  I can't wait to start 1st grade". Needless to say, that was music to my ears.
Calli is starting 7th grade, Abby High School and Alex 11th grade. I am so proud of all 4 of them and how they have adapted to our new home. Although it is sad to say good-bye to summer, it is great to be back on a regular schedule again. Now, we are only about 10 months from our first visit back to the States.

A few days before school started we said good bye to our last team of the summer break.  It was a great group of US military and civilian staff working on a military base in Okinawa, Japan. Our family treasures the brief (but hopefully lasting) relationships we can make with so many great people who are seeking to serve the Lord just as we are. Together, as each of us fulfills the plan God has for us, we can achieve great things. That is one thing that has become so evident to us here.  If you have any desire to come, visit and serve, let us know.  We would love to have you.

Village Development

Imagine you are a 30 year old woman. Now imagine that you have 5 children from age 12 years old to 1. Your husband, and his income that you lived on, is suddenly gone due to his death. Your $60/ month in now down to almost nothing unless you can find some recyclables to sell. The unclean river water that is your primary water source is taking its toll on your family's health. School is not an option for your kids since you make almost no money and besides, they have to work to help make money. With your 3 oldest able to gather some bottles and cans to sell, you are all able to at least have 1 meal a day, maybe 2. Still not enough to have any of your kids go to school.  It breaks your heart to think that they are caught in the same cycle that you are in since they will not be able to receive an education. But still you are able to feed, clothe and house them, even though that means 1 meal a day and only one set of clothes.

One day you realize a growth on the neck of one of your children. After a couple of "expensive" visits to the state hospital, it is determined that the treatment needed will cost $200. That is an unfair choice to make...there is no way you could come up with that kind of money but there is no way that you can let your child go untreated. Then you remember some of your neighbors sending their daughters 15 km into Phnom Penh and returning a few days or a week later with a lot of money. All of a sudden that seems like a reasonable option.  But is it trading one child's life for another?

This is a fictional story compiled from different anecdotes of real families and real lives here in Cambodia. Many of these moms and kids are not sure exactly what awaits their child once they get where they are going. Often times it is prostitution or forced labor or factory work in poor conditions.

At Asian Hope we have a real heart for these families. That is why our family is so excited about the new VDP (Village Development Program) that AH is starting. We have isolated a community, Prek Pneu, where decisions like the one above are faced regularly. Our family visited a church up in that community and plan to spend one Sunday each month worshipping with and encouraging the believers there. Through the new VDP, Asian Hope will help bring clean drinking water, sanitary toilets and some minor health care to the 1000 families in the village. We will also start a "catch up" school which, in part, will help children successfully enter the state school in the grade that they should be in. Along with meeting these physical needs, we are already supporting an existing Christian home church in Prek Pneu and will use our partnership with them to bring the Gospel to this wonderful community. It is our desire to bring hope to the residents by meeting each of their needs; mental, physical, spiritual and emotional.

Please visit the link to view some pics of the sweet faces in Prek Pneu.

As a family, we are so humbled and excited to be a part of such an amazing ministry. We are also humbled and grateful for your partnership with us. Thanks for reading.  We will keep you updated.

Year and a Half

Thank you so much for checking back in with us.  It has been a while since our last post.  Our last few months have been extremely busy and it is good to through that crazy time. At 1 1/2 years in Cambodia we are definitely settling in here, which has both good and bad attached to it. One of the good things is that we just saw the kids finish their first full year of school at Logos.  Cameron is moving on to the first grade. He is really excited to be moving upstairs for his classes now. He and Rain, his best friend, will try and play a lot during the summer. Calli is moving on to 7th grade.  She really excelled in her class writing a 60 page book, among other things. She has several friends that she enjoys hanging out with and one really close friend that she hopes to spend time with over the summer.  Abby is moving into High School (Really?? I can't believe it myself). She really enjoys school and has many friends.  With her deep care for others, she really is in her element here.  There are plenty of opportunities for her to us her gifts. Alex had a great year and will be a junior in the fall. He played basketball and volleyball and also played one of the brothers in our Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat production at Logos. He is doing an internship with me over the summer as well as getting a 1/2 credit for Bible by doing the Truth Project video series.

Another good thing about getting settled in here is that it is feeling more like home.  The neighborhood that we have been in for a little more than one year offers so much to us in regards to the "home" feeling. We can walk and see neighbors, the kids can bike without concern, walk to a friends house for dinner, play a pick-up game of ultimate...etc. Carolyn and I are also finding our niche here and learning what it means to survive and thrive successfully in a foreign culture. That doesn't come without its struggles but God has been gracious to us and we are both still enjoying our lives here.

One of the bad aspects of  "getting settled" is the saying of good-byes. Especially in an international culture, this is just a part of life. With many of our school staff only staying here for a 2 or 3 year period, at the end of every school year there are always good-byes to be said.  And also, at an international school, teachers, students and parents become quite close. For so many, they are so far from home so your friends and peers become a very tight-knit community. In our kids' case, they not only see their teachers at school but often at church, social gatherings and sometimes even at our house for dinner.  Again, this is great for relationships but hard for good-byes.

This is also true for short-term teams that come and volunteer with us. As the primary host of volunteers for Asian Hope, our family gets to know a lot of the visitors better than they would otherwise.  This results in children who are mastering the art of getting to know new people quickly but also learning to grieve good-byes well. I am sure those are skills that God is instilling in them for the future.



This is a picture of me sharing the Easter message to a group of kids in Kraviek village. We had a great response from the villagers.




Alex helping kids in Kraviek village.



 All in all, we are still so thankful to be where we are. We are witnessing so many great things that God is doing here and are so thankful to be a part of it. Thank you so much for being along with us on this journey.

The whole family on a boat ride on the Tonle Sap river with the team of 51 from Seattle.

Kraviek Part 2

Last week I had the privilege and opportunity to visit Kraviek village again.  For more background on that extremely remote village, you can read the post entitled "Kraviek" which tells of my first trip there a few months ago.  This most recent trip was used to deepen our relationships there and ask if they would like to have a small team of people come to help teach English, interact with kids...basically help with whatever they need.  Their response was very predictably enthusiastic.  However, even though we expected it, we were still very encouraged. 
Shortly after we got there, one of the men came and asked us for a Bible.  My friend had a picture Bible in Khmer and we gave it to the man.  He received it with great excitement.  Now, part of his response is strictly to have a new book, part of it is also to receive a gift from foreigners but whatever the motivation, the word of God is in the hands of a man in the village and for that I am so grateful.  Now it is up to the Holy Spirit. 

However, that was not what encouraged me the most on this trip.  What served as the greatest encouragement for me was when we were about ready to leave and the village chief asked us if we could bring a movie about Jesus with us the next time we came.  After I thought about it for a while :-), we gave them a huge YES!  It was hard to believe but in this tiny, remote village, the Holy Spirit is moving.  In order to watch it, they agreed to try to bring some sort of vehicle  back to their village so we will have power and we will bring the movie and projector.  I am so excited for this opportunity to literally bring the Gospel to the "uttermost parts of the earth".  Please pray for this time as I am certain that the enemy will not want us there.  I am planning this time for June 6th-8th.  Thank you in advance.

If you would like to see more pictures of Kraviek and its people, please click on this link to view an album from my January trip. 

51 - A record

Just a few days ago we said good-bye to the largest group (so far) that Asian Hope has ever hosted.  I had a very busy week but we had a great time.  With that many people, they can get a lot done...and they did.  I had them work at Goldstone and New Life schools and at Joy Children's Learning Center. None of these are officially Asian Hope facilities but they are all in some ways affiliated with or impacted by Asian Hope.  Our largest school, Logos, supports both of the schools with resources and teacher training.  The coordinator of the learning center spent a few years in Asian Hope's boys home.  Each of the sites were enhanced through painting walls, painting pictures, cleaning, removing trash, playing with kids, teaching students, ESL activities...etc.  I think many people were positively impacted both here and on the team.  Here are some pictures from their time here.


Games at New Life School




Khmer kids love interacting with foreigners...and vice versa.




Cleaning a roof while standing on a narrow cement wall.




The whole gang on a river boat ride on the Tonle Sap/Mekong rivers





Some talented students really made some preschool rooms a lot more inviting.



Tuk Tuks were the main mode of transportation.

They were an attentive crowd at the Killing Fields.

Leading a class at Goldstone School.

On the roof at Joy Children's Learning Center

Games at Goldstone

Thanks guys for all of your help!

Settled

So as we are a couple months into our second year here, life has become very routine...and that's a good thing in a place where EVERY day we see things that cause us to say "I have never seen anything like that before".  One thing that has been most instrumental in helping me feel settled is watching all of our kids not only survive here but really engage and thrive here.  Sure there are challenges and struggles but God has really confirmed to my heart that we are right where he wants us.  We are so blessed to have them in an excellent international school where they can make good friends, be challenged intellectually and be spurred on to growth spiritually as well.  One thing that warms my heart is to watch Alex, Abby, Calli and Cameron interact with eachother on the same school campus.  There are about 330 students from 20+ different countries from Pre-K 3 to 12th grade at LIS (Logos International School).  It seems a little crazy at times but it works great.  A few weeks ago, when Alex had just gotten back from the HS Bible Camp, Cameron came running as fast as he could from one side of the soccer field to the other and jumped into the arms of his big brother.  That warmed a father's heart like few things can.  I didn't even mind that he ran right by my open arms to greet his bro. 
Last week was "Spring Fling" week.  It is similar to "Spirit Week" back in the States but using "spirit" here would carry some connotations that could be taken negatively.  Anyways, it was a fun week where kids can dress up in some unusual costumes and have fun playing games at lunch.  These are some pics of our kids and some of their friends.  As one of the judges for crazy hair day, I decided to get into the action on that day.  I hope you enjoy.

Cameron and his best friend Rain on Crazy hair day.

The whole crew that rode with us to school on "Crazy hair day".  Not sure who the nerdy bus driver is.

Calli (in the middle) with her friends Jenny and Jordan.

Abby (left) with Michaela and Micah

Alex and David dressed up for character day.



Cameron dressed up as a clown.  A mop + a rug + a hair tie = an improvised clown costume.  No costume shops here.



Kraviek Village

I am so excited. Several days ago I was able to take a second trip to visit a remote village in Kampong Speu province.  What a privilege. This time my friends and I visited the village of Kraviek.  It is the last village you come to on a road that dead ends into the Cardamom Mountains.  The road actually turns into a more of a cow/moto path for the last 3 miles.  It has river crossings and many places that have experienced their fair share of erosion.  Nonetheless, we made it there and spent about 20 hours meeting villagers, playing volleyball (a huge sport in most every community here), handing out prenatal vitamins to women who were pregnant or nursing and bringing Christian tracts to almost everyone of the 60 families in the village.  It was an absolute pleasure to spend some time with these wonderful people and I look forward to going back.
One of the most exciting aspects of our trip was that we were able to share the Gospel with one of the patriarchs of the village.  He was a bit confused at first, as he wondered if he needed Christ with his ancestral worship and Buddhist traditions. We assured him that Christ was all he needed and he seemed to understand although not totally accept it yet. As one of the few in the village that can read, we also asked him to help the others in the village to read the tracts.  The tracts are fun and colorful with many pictures so no matter what the content they are eagerly accepted and poured over by everyone in the village, but how awesome to think that so many are having their first exposure to the Word of God.   I am humbled and thrilled to have been a part of it.
As my friend and I plan to make future trips to Kraviek, please pray as we seek the leading of God as to how to best serve these wonderful people.



Main Street entering Kraviek

Home of the village chief.  I slept on the upstairs porch.

Our host while we were there.  This is the man we shared Christ with.

Chores!

This was a sweet older lady in the village. She could only say that she was older than 90.

Some of the moms we gave vitamins to.

This baby was 1 day old when we were there.

Some sweet kids.



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