Welcomed Guests

With squinted eyes, we enjoyed our "to-go" breakfast of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as we traveled in the bright morning sun to the Vienamese Mennonite Church. Our brother and friend, pastor Luy, had specifically invited us to come to this morning's service because it was a special baptism service. Pastor Luy gave me the opportunity to share some words of encouragement with the new believers and the rest of the congregation. I briefly shared, reminding them that though they sometimes may feel alone in the struggles they experience in their Christian lives, they have great support as they look to the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit, and their brothers and sisters in Christ. I felt very honored to have the opportunity to share in the special morning.
After the service and a brief time of snacks and fellowship we took some group pictures and then Pastor Luy and the elders of the church distributed bags of rice and noodles to the families.
Pator Luy had shared with us that many of the families are facing financial difficulty, in part because they used to depend on funds that they received by selling their daughters into prostitution. As they have learned about God's word and joined the church, they have recognized that prostitution, though financially profitable, does not honor God. Therefore, they need assistence getting food on the table as they get re-established financially. Praise God for the ministry of his Spirit through people like Pastor Luy! We serve a God who cares greatly about all our needs...


A picture of us with Pastor Luy (holding Juliana) and the leadership team of the church

A picture of us with the rest of the church. In front of the group are bags of rice, donated by an Australian couple that Pastor Luy has been in contact with.

The Doctor is In!

One of the wisest investments we've made as parents has been a Plastic Doctor's Kit via eBay. Juliana has gotten hours of enjoyment from this kit. I often hear her ask, "Daddy, can you check my doctors?" Perhaps we should introduce her to some medical missionaries here in Cambodia to test her potential calling into the medical field...
While Juliana was practicing her doctor skills last week, we were busy helping Darrell and Susan Caldwell pack up and prepare for their transition back to the states. We also had the opportunity to spend a lot of time together with Skip and Carol Tobin (more below).

(Left) Darrell and Susan Caldwell, exhausted after saying four hours-worth of "good-byes"to many friends at their fairwell open-house party. This family will be greatly missed by many here.

(Right) We hosted Skip and Carol Tobin last week. As EMM regional reps to southeast Asia, the Tobins will continue to provide direction and support for us as we are the only EMM long-term missionaries currently in Cambodia.

Skip and Carol quickly re-established themselves as "aunt"and "uncle"to Juliana. Here our daughter is sandwiched inbetween the two on a tuk-tuk ride.

Sunday morning was a special morning of honoring the Caldwells at Phnom Penh Mennonite Church. Here is a group picture after the service and meal together. (Can you find the fair-skinned baby in the group?)

Needless to say, we were pretty exhausted after the week. (Right) Juliana and I resting in a hammock. (Below) Kai, proving that he will not let the rungs of the crib confine his body...

Thanks for your interest in our lives and ministry. If you're reading this blog, you've most likely played a very significant role in helping us be the people we are today, and for that we say a big "Thank You!"

-Ryan

Farewells and Fan-less Nights

It's funny how sometimes things turn out very differently than we imagine them... When we initially planned our return to Cambodia, we were looking forward to reconnecting with Darrell and Susan Caldwell, working together with them here in Phnom Penh and being EMM teammates. But a few months ago, they made the bittersweet decision to leave Cambodia to be with their family in the USA, and so we're preparing to bid them farewell for now. (They hope to return someday, but are not making specific plans at the present.) So, that means Ryan and I will essentially be the EMM "country reps", with some pretty big shoes to fill!
Actually, we're not planning to wear all the hats that Darrell and Susan wore (at least not at first), but one significant role that I've been spending lots of time trying to learn is that of EMM Financial Bookkeeper. I've been getting a crash course in handling EMM finances, preparing lots of reports, and doing Cambodia-style banking (which reminds me of my days as a teller at Blue Ball National!) It's going to be fine once I understand it all and get into a routine, but for now it's been the cause of a few headaches. : ) The Caldwells fly to the US on June 13th. We're going to miss the them, and hope their time in the USA is one of refreshment and blessing...

While I've been spending lots of hours with Susan learning the ropes, Ryan's been doing a great job entertaining and caring for Juliana and Kai. They continue to adjust well to life here, and Juliana's been speaking more and more Khmer. She loves to repeat phrases that Ty, our househelp, is teaching her, and the loud praise she receives for her efforts are enough encouragement for her to keep trying. We are often asked to repeat what's been said in conversation she hears (whether it's spoken in Khmer or English!) and we laugh about being her personal translators. It's fun to watch her absorb two languages at the same time!

Just this morning, Ryan and Juliana were getting ready to go outside on the upstairs balcony, and Ryan counted "One, two, three." Juliana responded with "No, Daddy, moy, pbee, bie!" No more "saying it plain" for her!

In other milestones, Kai had his first solid foods recently. Appropriately enough, he had his first taste of rice cereal, and seemed to enjoy it. After making some funny expressions initially, he opened his mouth for more, so I think we may have two children who love rice - which is a good thing for living in Cambodia, where we eat rice twice a day!

And here's another facet of life in Cambodia... due to a power shortage in Cambodia, we've been experiencing power-outages on a regular basis. They happened almost daily when we first arrived (during the hot season, more AC's are running, needing more power - at least that was our guess), and since we've gotten into the rainy season, it's not been quite as often, but they still manage to happen when you least expect it. When the power's off, it's most frustrating to be without fans - the difference in our apartment from hot season to rainy season has only been a drop from 90 deg. F to about 87 deg. F. But we're trying to learn how to make lemonade from such lemons, and the other night when the power was out from about 6:30 to 8:30 pm, we took our bedtime snack out onto the balcony! We enjoyed sweet jackfruit and crackers by the light of the flashlights on our cell phones (do phones in the States have flashlights on them, or is that just here where having a ready light in your pocket comes in especially handy?) and the glow of the mosquito coil (an invention similar to the punk-sticks from my youth, burned to keep mossies away), and prayed for the power to come before we'd need to sleep in pools of sweat! (It did.)

- Bethany