Two weeks ago Becca and I joined some Khmer ladies from our church to learn how to make three different kind of Khmer cakes. The ladies were getting together to teach Liesl, a lady who was finishing her two-year mission in Ban Lung, to make the cakes before she headed to the States to get married in October. (Liesl stayed with us for about two weeks right after we moved here).

The most time consuming part of the process was preparing the banana leaves for the cakes to be wrapped in. The leaves had to be cut from the tree, dried, have their stems cut off, ripped into smaller pieces, and finally cut with scissors.

The pumpkin cakes were the easiest to make: you mix smashed boiled pumpkin, sugar, coconut, and rice flour. After that you spoon the mix into the banana leaves, fold them, and steam them.

The bean cake and coconut cake required a flour and water dough. After the dough was prepared, the fillings (bean mixed with a few spices or coconut mixed with sugar) were wrapped inside the dough. These balls were placed inside the banana leaves and folded different ways to show which cakes were which. Then all the packets were steamed.

I was able to participate in almost all the different steps. We had fun being with the ladies. But before your mouth continues to water thinking of all these yummy cakes, I warn you: cake is not really the right word to use. Steamed rice flour isn’t exactly like baked wheat flour. And they are really only good the day you make them.

Last Friday I noticed something strange about Becca’s tooth. Upon investigation we found it was very loose…she hadn’t even noticed. Becca wanted me to pull it out, and it was a quick and painless process. She’s growing up.

You know how it goes: once your youngest turns one, people start wondering when number X is coming. Well, we decided it was time to add our number four: meet TruffCrunch.

Our kids are delighted that we bought one of the half-beagle puppies from the home we’re living in. We told them a few days after we moved here, after we had spent a few days watching the puppies to see which one we/the kids liked best.

So now I’ve added puppy-training to my weeks. TruffCrunch seems to be pretty agreeable, and I think it’s going well so far, even better now that 3 of the other puppies have gone to their new homes.

Thursday, July 30th, we finished packing up our belongings, and the moving company came to load the truck for our move from Phnom Penh to Ban Lung, Ratanakiri. It was a busy day, and our children were very thrilled to watch hours of What’s in the Bible With Buck Denver.

The men STUFFED all our belongings into (onto) one truck. It was piled high and then they added boards to the end of the truck to make it longer. When I saw the final product I thought that if the move was going to make me cry, that would have been the appropriate time for it. I could just imagine the truck tipping and all our stuff spread all over the road.

Thursday night we stayed in the CMA guesthouse (with our moving truck parked outside). It was appropriate, since we spent out first night in Cambodia at the same guesthouse. The movers left about 4AM the next day, and we followed around 7. It was a good drive and we passed the truck in the early afternoon and arrived at the house a few hours before they did.

This year we are house sitting for some Khmer-American missionaries who are in the States on home leave. It was so nice to move into a furnished home, not having to worry about finding sheets or dishes our first night. The family’s house helper prepared us a welcome sign and supper. The kids were thrilled to be greeted by 5 puppies and one kitten (who resembles Gollem: see photo below). The property came with 7 dogs (though 3 of the puppies are gone now), 5 cats (we only really see two of them), 2 turkeys, chickens, fish, a turtle, some black pigeons….it’s a child’s paradise (did I mention there is a tree house?).

By our 5th day here, the older two children had both fallen into the fish pond. Becca thought it was the best thing ever. Isaiah was scared to death until we made him get back in to help him realize he could stand. (Just in case you’re worried, there is a gate around the pond to keep Anna out, but it’s hard not to fall in when you’re leaning way over the water.)

We’re had a very smooth transition to Ratanakiri, partly because we get to house sit and didn’t have to set up everything from scratch. We’re so thankful that the Lord prepared this transition for us. Surprisingly, Anna had a very rough first 2 days. Then it took two weeks for her to get back to her happy normal self. (She also had a boat-load of teeth coming in.)

We are very thankful for the house helper, Om Tuu. She’s become a good friend already and we’re able to talk in Khmer a lot each day.

What have we been doing since then? It took us a few days to unpack and find places for all our stuff. We had some house projects to do, and we’re working on finding the new (next) normal. Josh has been working on finishing up a Khmer language project for the school he attended in Phnom Penh. It includes recordings comparing similar sounds. This morning Josh started with his new language tutor. He’ll study five mornings a week. I’ve been attending a ladies Bible study on Tuesday afternoons and plan to start with a language tutor soon. The kids have also started school, which is simply a 20-40 minute reading lesson each day. Our schedule is already becoming full…Tuesday afternoon Khmer ladies Bible study, Wednesday morning missionary men’s breakfast, Wednesday evening Khmer men’s Bible study, Thursday night one of the Khmer pastors is meeting with Josh to encourage Josh, Saturday night missionary fellowship, and Sunday church.

Moving up here away from the capitol city is like a breath of fresh air. (Our kids actually have GRASS to play on.) Sure, we don’t have a lot of the conveniences of the city, but I’ll take Ratanakiri any day over Phnom Penh. We’re thankful to the Lord for the many ways He paved our way to move up here. We’re looking forward to the next several months of language study.

Sometime before Christmas, we started going to Sun Heng II Restaurant every Sunday after church. Originally the restaurant was close to our home, but in February it moved to be in a better location (better for their business, not better for us!). It was still on our way home from church, so we continued to be loyal customers. We loved the Khmer food and in the new location they started making really delicious smoothies. (My favorite was mango, passion fruit, strawberry and Josh always had strawberry and banana. They also had blueberries.)

Our children loved the owner’s family and the staff. The owner always gave the kids treats after our meal. Becca said it was better than Chick-fil-A, since they treated our family so well. Becca really wanted to give the family Bibles, so we gave them all the Two Ways to Live tract in Khmer. Becca continues to pray each night that they will come to love Jesus.

For almost our first whole year in Cambodia I didn’t have any close friends. Let me explain. When you live in a foreign country, you’re almost instantaneously friends with any other Christian expats. You bond because you are both foreigners. You feel comfortable getting together with people you’ve only met once and sharing life experiences, because you’re all in the same boat. But no one really needed my friendship.

A month and a half before we left Phnom Penh, Ayra and her family moved into a villa across from us to house-sit for their mission’s regional director while Ayra’s husband waited for an appointment for a visa. Ayra has been in Cambodia for 11 years. She came as a single missionary and is now married to a Khmer man. They have two girls (2 years old and 4 months).

Ayra and I became quick friends in part because we both needed a friend. I think that’s what made the difference for me. I wasn’t trying to figure out how I fit into another person’s world–I just fit. I was blessed by Ayra’s vast knowledge of Khmer culture and wish I had had more time to pick her brain. For now, I’m thankful for the weeks I had to get to know Ayra and for how we encouraged each other.

Quick update on our move: we had a good move to Ratanakiri. The first 2 days, Anna had a hard time adjusting. Becca and Isaiah are having a blast…and who wouldn’t: the home we’re house-sitting came with 5 half-beagle puppies and a wonderful helper whom the kids love.

Our last Saturday in Phnom  Penh we spent the morning visiting Yayyi’s home. She made us a delicious meal of curry and fried rice and insisted we eat until full. (Pictured on the right is her stove.)

We have been truly blessed by Yayyi and her kindness to our family. I think she’ll be the thing most missed when we move.

A quick blog post, since I’m in the middle of packing our home to move next week. Craziness. I laughed as I remembered that during my birthday last year I was unpacking — and this year I’m packing.

For lunch we went to Sugar n’ Spice Café run by Daughters of Cambodia. The location also has a spa, so Becca and I had a pedicure. We had a nice morning. Good to celebrate with my precious gifts – my family.

One of the things we’ve enjoyed this past year is getting to know new fruits. For weeks Yayyi had been bringing us the fruit pictured on either side of this paragraph. It wasn’t until I saw it on a restaurant poster that I knew the English name: passion fruit. We love passion fruit. At first I was surprised the kids like it, since it can be really sour. Yayyi brings the kids some several times a week.  We eat it straight, in smoothies, in oatmeal–or drink it like tea. Delicious.

Dragon fruit is a big surprise. When looking on the outside I expected it to have a brightly colored inside. (There is a kind that’s purple inside, but what we buy is like what you see here.) The taste is a bit disappointing to me. It tastes like…..nothing. But the kids enjoy eating it.

Anna has now, for the most part, left crawling behind and is enjoying walking…or should we say running. She loves to go fast. She loves to walk outside. And she loves to play ring-around-the-rosy.

This month Anna has started bringing us books to read to her. When we finish one she goes off and gets another one. It’s really cute to see her come with a book in hand and want to sit on our laps. Anna also enjoys looking at books by herself. She can recite her favorite, Higher, Higher, by Leslie Patricelli. One night when we were in bed with the lights out, Anna recited the whole book to herself…guess she wasn’t sleepy. That night she also growled for quite some time.

It’s been neat to watch Anna interact with her siblings. She wants to be included in their fun and loves attacking Isaiah during our nightly reading.

Anna’s yellow skin coloring is slowly fading. Her skin, like our other children’s, turned yellow/orange from eating sweet potatoes and pumpkin. You can still see it in her nose and and in her hair. A common question asked about Anna when we’re out is, “why is she yellow?”

 We’re continuing to enjoy Anna. Can’t imagine life without this sweet little girl in our family. 15 months sure do fly by.

July 3rd, 2014 we boarded a plane and headed to our new lives in Cambodia. This week we’re celebrating our first year in Cambodia. We wanted to take a moment to highlight some answered prayer requests and to share our main discouragement with you. Sometimes it’s hard to find a balance between sharing blessings and sharing the hard things of real life. But we want you to know that, along with all the cute pictures and answered prayer requests, we’re just a normal family with joys and discouragements in what God has called us to do. Praise His name for His continual grace and encouragement.

We thank the Lord for the many delights He’s blessed us with during the past year: a smooth transition to Cambodia for all our family, a good home for us to live in, a wonderful helper for our home, good language learning opportunities, and excellent health (up to now we have been free of any “tropical” illnesses and have only had normal colds or tummy aches). We thank you for upholding these things in prayer for us.

Language learning can be discouraging, full of ups and downs. In the past year we’ve made good progress, but it’s never as much as we’d like and we always feel like we could be doing more. We’ve had to adjust our learning expectations and realize that it’s a slow process with good days and bad. Some days we’re really encouraged by good conversations with people and the understanding we have, and the next day we walk away from a conversation wondering if we’ve been studying the right language. On a whole we’re encouraged with our progress, but there are days when it’s discouraging. We appreciate your prayers as we continue with our language learning.

Last week Josh finished all eight levels at his school, Gateway to Khmer. The program was a perfect fit for him and we’re thankful that the Lord opened the school just when we arrived. For the next three weeks Josh will go to the school for extra one-on-one tutoring, and he’ll also be working with his teachers on some projects to help the school. After that we plan to pack up and head to Ratanakiri the last week of July. Amy has already started with the packing and is making steady progress toward our move. We’re looking forward to making this next step.

One day Josh found a frog on his university campus. He picked it up, checked it out, heard it ribbit, and watched it jump — but it wasn’t of much interest to him so he set it back down. Then one day he caught the same frog again, but this time he decided to kiss it…

Seven years later he still enjoys kissing me!

Our biggest change this year was moving to Cambodia. We changed continents, changed languages, changed . . . a lot. But we didn’t have to change spouses. So thankful that we get to be on this journey together.

Looking back over the last seven years of marriage I’m grateful for some simple decisions we made at the beginning. We chose to intentionally go to bed at the same time at night. (Of course there have been times one of us has had to stay up late to meet a deadline, but we typically always hit the sack at the same time.) We chose to read together. We’ve really enjoyed reading books together before bed. We now laugh over lots of literary allusions. We chose to live without a TV. We think our sleeping, reading, game playing, and time spent together have benefited from this. Thankful for those simple decisions and what they’ve added to our marriage.

Besides our anniversary this coming Sunday, last Sunday we celebrated Father’s Day. I remember during  conversation with Josh before we were dating, my heart dropped when he said he thought having two kids was a lot of work and that he didn’t know how people had more. This would have been a deal breaker for me. I was so glad when Josh went on to say that though he understood kids were a lot of work, he was open to having more than two children. I’m so thankful for the wonderful Daddy Josh is to our kids. We are blessed.

A big thank you to Miss Lauren for watching our kiddos so we could go on some dates. Our kids think she’s the best babysitter ever!

From egg-laying to finished silk products like scarves, we saw the entire process. On our second full day in Siem Reap we went to the Angkor Silk Farm. Our guide took us through the campus and showed us each step of the process.

Becca was a little disturbed to find out they have to kill the silk worm to make silk. Both Becca and Isaiah enjoyed playing with some of the natural dye elements. At one point their hands were completely red from playing in curry seeds.

Cambodian handwoven silk is very expensive, so we just enjoyed looking at the finished products and bits of history in the last exhibit. Anyone interested in buying a silk larva dress?

This week we celebrated Isaiah’s 3rd birthday. We started our celebrations 21 days before with Isaiah’s birthday countdown calendar. He had a lot of fun opening each door and getting a surprise for the day. He even made me a countdown calendar … funny, most of the days on mine are “Mommy and Daddy go out on a date and Becca and Isaiah watch a movie with Miss Lauren.”

Several family members sent gifts for Isaiah, which we spread out opening the week of Isaiah’s birthday. He had a blast playing with his gifts.

Isaiah requested spaghetti for dinner and a chocolate truck cake. This was my first time to make the cake and frosting from scratch. (Don’t think I’ll ever want to use a box cake again.) Frosting a cake in hot season is not an easy task. I had to put it in the fridge three times during the frosting process so the cake wouldn’t run away.

Our neighbor and favorite babysitting, Miss Lauren, came over for cake. Isaiah was so excited that Miss Lauren came to his birthday. After Miss Lauren arrived the grins could not have gotten bigger!

Becca wrote and Illustrated a book for Isaiah’s birthday. He was also excited to get a coupon book from us in his very own plastic tub. His big gift started with a scavenger hunt with the last clue being our cars keys under his pillow…

Isaiah’s had a good third year. He has a contagious laugh and an endearing smile. His biggest big boy change was being completely potty trained at two and a half. He weighs 30.8 lbs. and is 3ft. tall. He loves running around, playing with the neighborhood puppies, reading books, doing “school”, playing with his sisters, and cutting paper. He always wants to help: cooking, cleaning, hanging the laundry; you name it and he wants to help with it. He’s also becoming good at being quiet in our nightly hide-from-Daddy-before-bed time.

Isaiah loves talking and telling stories. He comes up with the most interesting stories, usually part truth and part made up. If we ask him what his favorite part of the day was, he usually tells about something that happened weeks ago. It’s really cute watching him play with Little People animals. He does really cute voices.

This year we’ve seen Isaiah grow in faith. He’s gone from saying he doesn’t believe in Jesus to saying he believes that Jesus died for his sin and that he wants to turn away from his sin. It’s been neat to see the Spirit gently changing Isaiah’s heart and turning him toward Christ. We continue to pray that God will grow Isaiah in trust and faith in Christ and that he will grow in his understanding of the Gospel.

Being mommy to a little boy is a wonderful thing. Sure there’s the crying, whining, etc. There’s moments of frustration and not knowing how to deal with a situation. There’s the worry about whether the world and all its desires will destroy my little man. There’s the grief at the futures battles his heart will have to fight. But being Isaiah’s mommy is a time to grow in faith and not fear. Faith that God will work in Isaiah’s heart and do His good will for him. Faith that it is God who changes hearts, not mommy. Thank you God for Isaiah: please work your perfect will for his life.

After our elephant ride, we went into Bayon Temple (one of the many temples in the Angkor area). We assumed this was where our children would melt down…looking at ancient ruins can be a bit boring for little ones. However, as soon as we realized the temple complex was a free for all, the fun began.

Exploring the temple was like being in a large playground or going on a secret adventure to find a lost treasure. Becca and Isaiah loved running through the halls of the buildings. It was an adventure story come to life.

People still use parts of the temple for worship.

We all enjoyed exploring the temples: Bayon and Angkor Wat. Our adventure was more children than adult oriented, so we didn’t have a lot of time to take in history, but we all made memories.

When we returned home, our kids wanted to build their own Angkor Wat complex. We even included the elephants.

One of the many benefits from having children is the many books we get to read to them. During deputation I started reading some chapter books during our drives and stays. Since moving to Cambodia I’ve continued reading longer books to the kids before bedtime. Josh reads to the kids while I meet with my tutor in the afternoon. Here’s some of the longer books we’ve read: (I’m including some Wikipedia links for books that might be unfamiliar.)

During Deputation:

Charlotte’s Web ( E. B. White) – we’ve read this several times and also have it on audio read by E. B. White.
The Trumpet of the Swan (E. B. White) – this was our first time reading this and it has some wonderful dialogues that I would later reread to Josh. Love what the Cob says to his wife and kids.
Stuart Little (E. B. White) – we enjoyed the first half, after that it got a little weird.
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s Magic, Hello Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s Farm (Betty MacDonald) – her cures for children’s behavior problems will make you laugh!
The Complete Tales and Poems of Winnie the Pooh ( A. A. Milne)
Uncle Wiggly Stories (Howard R. Garis) You can get most of these free on the Kindle. They are great short stories to read before bed.

Our kids love playing with the neighborhood puppies.

Bedtime Reading in Cambodia: I love watching our kids act out these stories after we read them. It’s so fun to see the stories come alive for them.

The Wind in the Willows (Kenneth Grahame) – this was a lightly abridged versions published by igKids. It omitted three chapters and shortened two others. Difficult words were simplified and longer sentences were split. Both kids really enjoyed the story.
The Dragons of Blueland (Ruth Stiles Gannett)
Chitty, Chitty, Bang Bang (Ian Fleming)
Rabbit Hill (Robert Lawson)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Roald Dahl)
Caddie Woodlawn (Carol Ryrie Brink)
Sarah Plain and Tall (Patricia MacLachlan)
Black Beauty (Anna Sewell) – We read a short version first and then I asked Becca if she wanted to hear the unabridged book. We loved it.
A Little Princess: Being the Whole Story of Sara Crewe Now Being Told for the First Time (Frances Hodgson Burnett) – We enjoyed this since Becca reminds of us Sara.
Heidi (Johanna Spyr) – This is my first time reading Heidi. I was amazed at how much theology it contained. Two more chapters left…

Afternoon Reading by Josh:  Becca really enjoyed listening to Focus on the Families Radio Theater dramas. When I realized she wasn’t catching everything in the Chronicle of Narnia, I thought it would be good father/daughter bonding for Josh to read to them all to Becca. I’m not sure who enjoyed it more. And now their reading time has become an afternoon tradition.

The Magician’s Nephew (C.S. Lewis)
The Lion, Witch, and the Waredrobe (C.S. Lewis)
The Horse and His Boy (C.S. Lewis)
Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia (C.S. Lewis)
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (C.S. Lewis)
The Silver Chair (C.S. Lewis)
The Last Battle (C.S. Lewis)
The Story of Doctor Dolittle (Hugh Lofting)
The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (Hugh Lofting)

Happy 13th Months to Anna Grace. This week we found her doing this…yikes!

Josh and Amy Read Alouds: Josh continues to read to me before we go to bed. A nursing baby always increases our reading time, since we can’t just go straight to bed. Here’s a few of the books we’ve read in the past year:

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness: The Wingfeather Saga, Book Two (Andrew Peterson)
North! Or Be Eaten: The Wingfeather Saga, Book Two (Andrew Peterson)
The Monster in the Hollows: The Wingfeather Saga, Book Three (Andrew Peterson)
The Warden and the Wolf King: The Wingfeather Saga, Book Four (Andrew Peterson)
Boys of the Blur (N. D. Wilson)
The Bark of the Bog Owl: Wilderking Trilogy (Jonthana Rogers)
The Secret of the Swamp King: Wilderking Trilogy (Jonthana Rogers)
The Way of the Wilderking: Wilderking Trilogy (Jonthana Rogers)
The Charlatan’s Boy (Jonathan Rogers) – in progress

Last month during Khmer New Year we observed a Trot Dance being performed at our neighbors’ home. This traditional dance is typically performed before the start of Khmer New Year. It’s believed to ward off bad luck from the previous year and prevent evil spirits from entering into the home for the new year.

Over our past 10 months here, we’ve seen our neighbors perform many religious rituals. The Buddhist belief Do good, get good. Do bad, get bad, is their prime motivation. We’ve watched them give gifts of food to over 50 monks on two different occasions, burn incense, offer food to the spirits, anoint their house with water, have monks bless their home, wash themselves with water—they do and do and do.

Several weeks ago, something happened. The wife of the neighbor family is experiencing some sort of depression and now rarely leaves the house. We’ve seen a change come over the family. When we watched the Trot Dance, we saw her for the first time in many weeks. I was shocked at how much she’s changed. Her face and eyes were expressionless. It was a face of totally hopelessness, so different from the happy lady we used to see performing rituals to do good.

When I saw our neighbor watching the Trot Dance being performed for her home, I wanted to run over and shake her and say, “Don’t you understand? This isn’t going to change anything. This isn’t going to help. Jesus has already paid the price for your bad and He can rescue you.” But as I looked at her hopeless face, I felt hopeless. Is there any hope for this women, for her family? They are entrenched in the religion of their country, their government, their family—it is everything to them. What can I say to change their hearts? Nothing. I’ve tried. To my Chinese friend, my Indian friend, my Albanian friend, to a Khmer neighbor. They all say the same things. They can’t change from the religion of their family and they believe every religion is right. It’s hopeless.

Yet I am regularly reminded of the catechism we teach our children: Who can change a sinner’s heart? The Holy Spirit alone. We can do nothing on our own. I cannot convince our neighbors or friends of their need for Jesus, that faith in Jesus is the only way. But the Holy Spirit can and will to those He calls to Himself. We must live with the hope that He can use our words, our lives, and our prayers to call people to Himself.

We live here in Cambodia by your prayers and support for our family. Please pray with us that the Holy Spirit will change the hearts of the people here and call them to Himself.

The other day Becca caught a lizard. We have one brave little girl. It didn’t turn into a prince.

We’ve enjoyed seeing different things both inside and out. We have a nice spider living in our kitchen window. The kids enjoy watch her catch flies. I often think about cleaning all the spider webs out of our house, and then I’m reminded that they eat flies and mosquitoes, so I leave them up.

During Khmer Year New we went to a playground at a rather expensive international school. The school allows expats to come and use the playground for free. Becca mastered the monkey bars! Isaiah enjoyed playing in the sand. And Anna, who I thought would enjoy the swings, hated them. It was really refreshing to be at such a clean well-kept playground. We didn’t have to worry about trash or bad smells, etc. It reminded us of a summer morning in Texas.