It’s the beginning of a new year, and we have much to be thankful in 2023 and much to look forward to. Within the first 8 months of this new year we will pack up our house (putting away all our belongings in containers to keep them safe from rats, water, mold, etc); pack bags for our family; fly to the US; visit with extended family, friends, and many churches; drive through over 15 States, pack up lots of boxes to fly back to Cambodia; and then fly home to Cambodia. It’s overwhelming to think about, and as much as we’ll enjoy seeing people, we’ll both be glad when we’re back home here in August. What other job requires people to uproot their family for 6+ months? This is a sacrifice we make and also a gift we get as we work as international missionaries. People often mention how nice it is for us to get such a long “vacation” and they don’t really understand. It’s not a vacation and it comes with joys and struggles. We are excited and we’re not. But in 8.5 months it will all be over, and we’ll be enjoying all the good memories we’ve made as a family and with others. There’s no place like home...and home for us is Cambodia. So thankful God has planted our hearts here.

This week we’re continuing Christmas celebrations with nightly singing. I guess we’re now celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas! Josh and I are trying to take more pictures of ourselves together. Each morning we get up and drink coffee and pray together. We now have two rocking chairs, received from long-time missionaries in Cambodia who no longer need them – one from the Crowleys, and one from the Carsons. We hope we will be as faithful as those two families have been to serve the Lord in Cambodia.