Greetings from Cambodia! Many of you reading this blog are experiencing cooler temps and enjoy seeing the changing colors of leaves. Well, that's not our experience. It's still hot and green and so it doesn't really feel like fall to us.
Yesterday, as I listened to a song by Fernando Ortega based on Psalm 104, I was encouraged to join creation in it's song. Whatever climate we're in, creation is singing (and longs to sing more fully) the praises of our God. What is creation's song? Well, Ortega states it like this: "Glory, Halleluia, Glory to the Lamb. All praises and honor, forever, Amen." Our creator God is so powerful and so loving. May we, Christ's followers, fully surrender ourselves to Him that he may receive maximum honor from our lives.
If our family is going to communicate with Cambodian people about our majestic and merciful God, we've got to be able to speak the language of our listeners. We've been reminded in some of our missionary training that God was a language learner. As he came in the person of Jesus, he learned Hebrew and Aramaic. So we're following his footsteps, wanting to meet people where they are.
It's facinating to Bethany and I how excited people here get when we use the Khmer that we do know. "Oh, you speak the Khmer language very well!" When our Khmer neighbors run into Westerners, they're often tourists or English teachers who don't have a similar interest in communicating with Cambodian people in their native language.
In learning Khmer, we say to the Cambodian people that their language and culture are important to us. As they learn to see Christ in us, broken people though we are, we pray that they will also come to recognize that they are incredibly important to Him. We hope and pray that these people will receive God's grace, share it with others, and let their lives join creation in singing to their creator, "Glory, Halleluia, Glory to our God. All praises and honor, forever, and ever Amen."
Thanks for your thoughts, prayers, and love from afar...
-Ryan
P.S. Enjoy the pics below...
Here's the sign for the language school that I attend from 7:30-9:00 am, Monday-Friday. Notice the sign is written in Khmer (top), English (bottom left), and French (bottom right.) Cambodia was a French colony at one time.
Yesterday, as I listened to a song by Fernando Ortega based on Psalm 104, I was encouraged to join creation in it's song. Whatever climate we're in, creation is singing (and longs to sing more fully) the praises of our God. What is creation's song? Well, Ortega states it like this: "Glory, Halleluia, Glory to the Lamb. All praises and honor, forever, Amen." Our creator God is so powerful and so loving. May we, Christ's followers, fully surrender ourselves to Him that he may receive maximum honor from our lives.
If our family is going to communicate with Cambodian people about our majestic and merciful God, we've got to be able to speak the language of our listeners. We've been reminded in some of our missionary training that God was a language learner. As he came in the person of Jesus, he learned Hebrew and Aramaic. So we're following his footsteps, wanting to meet people where they are.
It's facinating to Bethany and I how excited people here get when we use the Khmer that we do know. "Oh, you speak the Khmer language very well!" When our Khmer neighbors run into Westerners, they're often tourists or English teachers who don't have a similar interest in communicating with Cambodian people in their native language.
In learning Khmer, we say to the Cambodian people that their language and culture are important to us. As they learn to see Christ in us, broken people though we are, we pray that they will also come to recognize that they are incredibly important to Him. We hope and pray that these people will receive God's grace, share it with others, and let their lives join creation in singing to their creator, "Glory, Halleluia, Glory to our God. All praises and honor, forever, and ever Amen."
Thanks for your thoughts, prayers, and love from afar...
-Ryan
P.S. Enjoy the pics below...
Here's the sign for the language school that I attend from 7:30-9:00 am, Monday-Friday. Notice the sign is written in Khmer (top), English (bottom left), and French (bottom right.) Cambodia was a French colony at one time.
"Lo Crew (teacher) Para" and I standing in front of the white board, which he uses to teach us all kinds of Khmer consonants, vowels, vocabulary and grammar. I really appreciate his enthusiasm for teaching and his friendly personality.
While I'm studying Khmer, Kai is hard at work learning the trade of "play." He's fond of chewing on anything he get's his hands on, knocking down towers, playing peek-a-boo, and laughing at his big sister's crazy antics. Here's Kai playing with Allison, the daughter of friends from church.
And here's Juliana, learning how to look like her daddy when he had a gotee. (Yes, she did get some of the ice cream in her mouth...)
3 comments:
"Crazy antics of his sister"?! Surely not! Ha ha! Miss you guys and all your fun and fun-loving-ness... Your presence will be sorely missed during the upcoming family holiday celebrations. Loved the pictures. Thanks for taking the time to share your language-learning experiences. Hugs to all!
That "anonymous" was from Auntie Joanne. I can't figure out how to get it to say my name sometimes.
Kaycee says, "I miss Juliana so bad. She looks really funny eating her ice cream. Don't you like princesses? You have to come see my new baby sister. I love her. Love you. " Kaycee.
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