Christmas morning we decided not to start out with quiche and cinnamon rolls, since usually the kids are hungry/grumpy by the time everything is ready. So this year we had Honey Cheerios, pumpkin bread, and scrambled eggs for breakfast and had the cinnamon rolls and quiche for lunch. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to me, my yeast was going bad, so the cinnamon rolls did not turn out as well as I had hoped.

After breakfast Isaiah and Anna performed separate Christmas plays. It’s Becca’s tradition to do a Christmas pageant every Christmas evening with Little People. She spends weeks preparing. The younger kids did not want to be left out, so we watched their programs in the morning.

Afterwards the kids passed out gifts. We put a big emphasis on the kids giving things to others for Christmas. They get really excited about buying and/or making gifts for everyone in the family. It’s so much fun to watch their delight in giving. As Becca says what makes Christmas really special is that we don’t just get gifts, but we get to give gifts too. Becca spent a lot of time making special gifts for each family members. One thing she did was to make paper frame backgrounds for each family member and had a picture of her and that family member printed to put on each one.

After lunch we had a rest time and then played games for the rest of the afternoon. Then we had a supper of Indian Buffalo roast.  After supper we finished up the gifts. We gave the kids their gifts. The theme was art supplies and they were so excited. I love seeing them so excited about simple things…they each also got their own magnifying glass. Becca finished passing out her gifts to Josh and me. She spent hours writing and illustrating original stories for each of us.

Our last event was watching Becca performed her Christmas Pageant. She basically quotes the Christmas story from Luke and Matthew. It gets better and better every year. What a blessing to watch.

So that was our Christmas. Thankfully there were no funerals nearby like in past years and we enjoyed a semi quiet day. Thankful for the time we had together. Thankful for the traditions we can keep even though we live in Cambodia. Thankful for the birth of Christ!

We started our Christmas season by decorating our Christmas tree the first Saturday night of December. The kids were happy to get their Christmas pjs.

We also had our traditional Christmas countdown calendar going with special activities and gifts spread throughout the month.

This year we enjoyed listening to Piper’s Advent readings each night as we lit our Advent candles. Afterwards we sang Christmas carols. Every night each person got to pick a carol to sing (Clara and I picked together) – so we typically sang a total of 5 songs each night. Some favorites were Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella, The Holly and The Ivy, and Good King Wenceslas.

Because of all the Jarai church celebrations and our having a special Christmas Bible club for our neighbor children, we decided to postpone our Christmas celebrations until the day after Christmas. There was no way we could do all that Sunday Christmas Eve and be prepared for Christmas. This was especially true after the car accident. I was so worn out the day before we celebrated Christmas and that was only a few hours into the morning.

On December 25^th we did all our normal Christmas Eve stuff. On of Becca’s goals this past year was to make a meal for the family. She decided she wanted to make tacos and since that’s usually what we have on Christmas Eve, she made the meal then. We also prepared 11 bags of fresh fruit to deliver to our neighbors as Christmas gifts. We started around 4 and didn’t finished up only after 6:30. The first few families just accepted the fruit and the last 4 invited us in to visit.

Becca’s dinner and dessert (brownies) were delicious. Afterwards we had homemade hot cocoa and watched The Muppets Christmas Carol.

Every birthday, I like to look back and refect on how our children have grown. I think of all the past years, this is the year we observed the most growth in Becca’s maturity.

Educationally, Becca went from reading out of duty to reading for delight. She completed the All About reading curriculum. She’s thriving with Khan Academy math and will be starting 3rd grade math next month. She continues to memorize large passages from the Bible from listening to it at night. She has an amazing memory and we’re always delighted with the connections she can make with her Bible knowledge.

Spiritually, Becca has come along way. Right around her last birthday she entered a period where she was very insecure about her sin and was quite concerned about the right way to ask forgiveneness. It ended up being very exhausting for me. Then she hit seven-and-a-half and everything cleared up. I was very thankful for the moms who encouraged me that this was just a period of growth. The difference in Becca is like night and day if you compare the first half of the year to the last.

• We’ve also seen Becca grow in the way she helps her siblings. She’s really grown in the ways she’s willing to help Clara and interact with her.

One other growth I was refelcting on recently has to do with Becca’s bike. When we moved to Cambodia 3.5 years ago, we bought Becca a bike. She was very protective of it – willing to share, but very distressed if she saw her bike being treated badly.  So now we live in O`Yadao and are surrounded with neighbor kids who typically don’t take care of things. Becca’s new bike (she got for her birthday) is always being abused and it doesn’t phase her. The other day Josh asked her if it bothers her to see her bike abused. She said she doesn’t like it, but that it was ok. What a blessing to see this growth in her.

So thankful for the work God has done in Becca this past year. Thankful for the gift she is to our family. Looking forward to seeing what God will do this next year.

The second full week in November we took a trip to Siem Reap. We had a few reasons for going, but one of the highlights of the trip was horse riding. Last year we gave Becca a one-hour horse ride for her birthday. Since then, she’s been saving her money to go again. We were really proud of Becca’s careful saving of her money for a year to go horse riding again.

We had a lovely morning at the horse farm. Becca had a half-an-hour lesson in the ring before she went out on her ride. The lesson was mainly for helping her get used to riding the horse and riding a gallop.

This year Isaiah decided to ride with me. It took some convincing, but he finally agreed to go. He was so thrilled to be up on the horse. For the first 10 minutes he waved at everyone who passed us.

Josh, Anna, and Clara rode in a horse cart. Clara insisted on wearing a helmet most of the trip.

Becca had a delightful time and was thrilled with her horse and the ride.

Some other fun things we did were swimming in the hotel pool (Clara was amazing with how much she loved jumping in the water), eating a Burger King, and shopping.

We have so much to be thankful for that I am overwhelmed with the thought of listing the many things we can thank God for. So for this week, I’ll just focus on one: our family. Look at them – I am so blessed by the life of each individual in our home.

My husband – who is a kind, patient, humble, loving leader-lover He’s my best friend – the person I’d like to spend all my free time with. He makes me laugh. He keeps me going. He’s proud of me and encourages me. He loves me – and that’s the most amazing thing of all.

Becca – our first born daughter who has taught me so much about being a mommy. I love her creativity and her imagination.

Isaiah – his laughter and desire to help. His hope to someday conquer his sisters with an army of brothers.  His big grin.

Anna – her forlove  life and her sense of humor. Her desire to have sleep–overs every night. Her craziness.

Clara – her adventurous spirit, her desire to do everything everyone else is doing. Her jokes. Her singing.

Those a just a small spattering of things I’m thankful for in the precious family the Lord has given me. Such joy flows in our home because of each one of them. Now – I will add that we are by no means perfect and we have our issues and frustrations (we’re a normal family!) – but that’s not the point of this post. I’m thankful for so much when it comes to the wonderful people who fill our home. Thanks be to God for the gift of each of them.

Josh was away in Ban Lung at the Pastor’s Bible School from Sunday afternoon (Oct 29) until Friday evening (Nov 3rd). It was the longest he’s been away from us since moving to Cambodia. I tried to make it a special time for the kids, so it wasn’t just life-as-normal minus Daddy.

Each child had his/her own special night to stay up with me for a sleepover. They each picked their own snack and activities for the evening. Anna’s night was Sunday. We popped popcorn (without the lid on for a little while to see the popcorn fly out) and read lots of books.

Isaiah’s party was Tuesday night. He wanted to make coffee (decaf) and eat cookies. He made the cookies Monday morning as part of our Cambodian Coronation day celebration. So we drank coffee with ice cream and whipped cream and ate cookies. Then we read books and chatted. Isaiah actually made our morning coffee for us all week long. He was glad to take Josh’s place drinking coffee and praying with me each morning.

Becca’s night was Thursday. We made baked apples and played Monopoly. It was Becca’s first time to play and the game lasted over two hours until I was completely bankrupt! On Wednesday we had a special party for Becca celebrating her completion of the All About Reading curriculum. We had special pedicures, played games, and had ice cream sundaes. The party lasted all day long.

As for Monday night – I was worn out and went to bed as soon as I was done talking to Josh on the phone. Wednesday night I did a few projects.

Two different days while Josh was gone two middle school age girls came over to learn how to make banana bread. I found a recipe using the stove-top, instead of an oven. It came out quite well, and I was excited that I could show the girls how to bake something they could actually reproduce in their own kitchens.

Friday night Josh came home and we were all happy to see him. The kids made him special banners. I was delighted to get my best friend back and have an adult around who could speak English. I probably talked Josh’s ear off for the next several days.

The Church of Saom Kaning

We are thankful that the Lord has led us to worship and fellowship at the church in Saom Kaning. The village of Saom Kaning is one of the largest Jarai villages in the area and has one of the larger churches, as well. However, because of Pastor Chuol’s sickness these past two years, the church leadership has been in something of a crisis. In the last few months the church leaders seem to have made marked progress in their exercise of positive leadership. We thank God for these men. Last week, seven men from our church attended the Ratanakiri Pastors’ Bible School for a week of classes on systematic theology, called Theology for Worship. Josh taught four lessons and stayed with the students during the evenings. It was a great opportunity for him to get to know the Jarai men better.

Please pray that the Lord would encourage the church leaders at Saom Kaning and give them wisdom to lead the church without an official pastor. Please pray that they would grow in their understanding of God’s Word — how to apply it in their families and in our church.

If you look closely enough you can find Clara (right)and Becca (left) in the back of the group church picture.

The pictures above are from Bible school. One is of a session, the other is of Josh’s sleeping spot for the week.

Every other Friday afternoon I get together with the ladies who teach the ladies Bible class at our church. Right now we’re going through the book of John. Each week, I go over two lessons with the ladies and then they teach the lessons the following Sundays. We communicate in Khmer, but the ladies teach the class in Jarai.

This month we got ahead (partly because I taught the Sunday class one week and partly because we were able to go over three lessons in one meeting). I thought we could use the extra time to get together at our house for a time of fellowship. When I invited the ladies to come, you would have thought I had invited them to a hanging…they gave me all sorts of excuses for not coming. Finally, I convinced them to come. I told them it would be short.

I was a bit nervous that things wouldn’t go smoothly. About an hour before I picked the ladies up, I came up with a craft and activity to do. Josh and I just finished working on a song (Romans 5:8 in Jarai), so I taught that to the ladies and we made a simple craft with the verse on it. I think they all enjoyed doing it. Afterwards I served pumpkin bread (think a cross between bread and pie), brownies, and cucumbers (the pumpkin bread was the hit). It was fun to be able to bond a little more with these precious ladies. So thankful for them!

 Recently, the new activity has been building fires. Our neighbor kids are always building fires and “cooking” leaves, etc. One overcast day I remembered I had some mini marshmallows in a Tupperware. The kids loved them!

This week Clara turns 18 months! She’s one-and-a-half! One thing Clara loves is to play the piano…and she loves pressing all the buttons. Books Clara loves are The Hungry Caterpillar, several different animal photograph books, and If You Give  Pig a Pancake. Clara absolutely loves pigs and wants everyone to stop and look when one is walking through our yard. She says lots of words and is talking all the time. Clara now consistently wants to ride in the normal swing and isn’t content in the baby swing. And she’s just about done nursing. She’s a big girl now. Love her!

Homosexuality. We each have our own personal reaction to the word. We can tell you what it is, how we feel about it, and how we’re dealing with it and its ever growing—indeed, bombarding—presence in our society. We can’t ignore it . . . not even in the northeastern corner of Cambodia.

As I’ve thought about the issue of homosexuality and our dealings with people caught in that sin, I have been burdened by a truth in Scripture that I believe we need to keep in mind as we call homosexuals to turn from their desires and follow Christ.

In Matthew 16:24 Jesus tells His disciples that if anyone wants to follow after Him, he has to deny himself and take up his cross. That was easy for me. I was a young child when I made the decision to follow Jesus. Following after Jesus meant that I was accepted in my community – my parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, and teachers were all thrilled for me. But for the homosexual it can truly be a cross – dying to everything they know and are. It’s a cross to say, “I’ll forsake myself and the whole life I’ve created for myself for the sake of knowing Christ.”

You see, Jesus never promised that when we come to Him, He’ll remove all our sinful inclinations. He doesn’t promise that when a person with homosexual desires turns to Christ He’ll remove those desires and change them into heterosexual desires. Picking up the cross for a homosexual may mean fighting those desires every day and never being sexual fulfilled; it may mean never having even the hope for sexual fulfilment on this earth. This is a hard cross to bear.

In 2 Corinthians 11 Paul writes about a thorn in the flesh that he’s pleaded with the Lord to remove. The Lord says no. He tells Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, and my power is made perfect in weakness.” We don’t know what that thorn in the flesh was, but what if it was a specific temptation to sin that Paul had to fight every day? Something that constantly reminded him of his need for Christ. Christ wouldn’t take it away, but He promised the grace to live with it every day for the rest of his life.

This is a message we need to keep ever present in our hearts as we reach out to those in the homosexual community. Coming to Christ means picking up a cross that many of us cannot grasp the weight of. Coming to Christ doesn’t guarantee He will change your sexual desires, but He will give you the grace you need to fight each day.

I’ll never forget the look in a friend’s eyes as I shared these truths with them. It was the look of a lost child, who wanted something but understood what it would cost. Could one really forget everything that was behind and set aside every weight to know Christ and the power of His resurrection? This is hard. But our God is greater. He is enough. We must pray. This is war and Satan would love for us to cry out to people that coming to Jesus is easy and that everything will be okay. But that’s not what Jesus said. He said the world would hate us. He said it was a cross. But He promises us all the grace we need, and His Spirit, and a peace that passes all understanding. Thanks be to God.

May I encourage you my friends, in the midst of your world where you may feel bombarded with the homosexual agenda – to stop and consider the cost of what following Jesus means for these dear people. It’s not something for us to laugh at or to ignore. It’s something for us to pray about. To weep over. And to teach our children to weep over. May God gives us each the wisdom and ability to love, to weep, and to call all those who are weary and heavy laden to the rest that Jesus promises.

Last month we visited a new waterfall about an 1.5 hour’s drive from our home. We’re in the middle of rainy season, so the water was rough and very dirty. We’re looking forward to going back when the rains have stopped. It looks like a great place to play.

The kids enjoyed running about and climbing into a tribal wedding house that was on display.

Meet Scamper – the newest member of the Jensen household. We always assumed we’d get a cat once we moved to Cambodia, but until this year we really didn’t see a need for one. Unfortunately, we have rats/mice and traps just don’t seem to do the trick. Thankfully, our friends the Farmers had some kitten that were trying to find homes for and they gave us Scamper – a very friendly and already litter-trained cat.

We brought Scamper home on the 5^th of July and he’s been great. He must be the world’s friendliest cat. He sleeps in our beds (if he can’t get under the mosquito net he just settles down on top of it), follows us around, and goes outside with us when we play. He’s great with the kids and allows them to carry him all over. He even lets Clara walk around holding him (once I saw her pulling him by the ear).

It’s been fun to watch our kids love having such a friendly cat. For me it’s living out something that I always wanted as a child. I was supposed to get a kitten. When I was 6 my parents agreed. We spent weeks studying cats and cat care. We had a cat bed made and I put together a cat-care notebook as a school project. Everything was all set for us to pick up a kitten from the animal shelter one Saturday morning. I was so excited. Then early that morning my dad received the call that my grandfather had ended his life. Rightly so, the kitten was completely forgotten and I never got one. It’s all a memory. As I watched our children so excited about our new kitten and Anna dance around with delight, I got all choked up thinking this would have been me. And though I don’t usually put much stock in emotional healing, I wondered as Scamper curled up on my lap that night if this wasn’t some small part of some emotional healing that the little girl of 6 inside of me had been waiting for. Yes, I finally have my cat and now I can share him with our sweet children and watch their delight too. A sweet unexpected blessing from our Father.

I’ve had laundry hanging out to dry since Saturday and Wednesday the items were still damp. We’re in the middle of several days of rain, rain, rain. Wednesday I multitasked and used the oven to roast a chicken and dry outsome clothes (Isaiah was out of shorts.)

Today the sun finally broke through. Clothes all dried. We played outside. We’re so happy! I cannot tell you how happy the to picture makes me. Let the sun shine on!

I was going through our photos and realized I’m behind with posting (still haven’t posted Mother’s Day photos), so today I’m just posting some random pictures of our crazy little monkeys. Recently Becca is enjoying carrying Clara more. I love hearing Clara call Becca.

Though Isaiah doesn’t carry Clara, they still find ways to play together. A few weeks ago we did some days of painting. Isaiah had a blasting “inventing” new colors. Clara likes eating the paint…

Anna and Clara play pretty well together. I’m amazed at how patient Anna is with Clara. Clara likes hugging Anna and saying “sisters!”

These precious little monkeys fill our house with craziness! They are one of God’s great gifts to us and are a continual reminder that we need God’s grace and wisdom to shepherd our children’s hearts. So thankful!

This 4^th of July we went to a neighboring province to get together with three other EMU families (the Kanes, Brooke, and the Farmers) to celebrate the birth of our country. Altogether were 19 children ranging from 8 months to 13 years old. We had a great day of fellowship and ended the evening with sparklers. Thankful for friends!

We had a traditional 4th of July meal: grilled hotdogs and hamburgers, potato salad, broccoli salad, baked beans, watermelon, with iced tea and soda. And of course Lydia and BR outdid themselves with the desserts. The Farmer girls decorated the house.

All the kids got along well together and you could walk through the Farmer’s house and find several different games going on in different rooms. Abi painted Becca’s and the other girls’ toenails. Henry and Clara ate bananas together. Thankful for friends!