Because our family traveled to the States mid-December for my sister’s wedding, we wanted to have our own family Christmas before we left. So we celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas Day December 7-8th, just like it was the real thing.

Christmas Eve we had bean burritos, finished reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, drank home-made hot chocolate, and watched The Muppets’ Christmas Carol.

Christmas morning we had quiche and cinnamon rolls. This was the first year in a while that something didn’t go wrong with the cinnamon rolls. I was thrilled. We spent the morning wrapping presents, singing carols, hearing the Christmas story, and opening gifts.

Christmas afternoon each of our kids decorated a large gingerbread person to eat later that evening.

Late afternoon we invited our neighbor kids in to hear the Christmas story in Khmer. Seven kids came. Afterwards we had them decorate gingerbread cookies. It was a small (rather impromptu) way for us to share Christ’s birth with them.

The highlight of the evening was Becca’s Little People Christmas pageant. For months she’s been listening to Matthew and Luke when she goes to bed and has been rehearing for several weeks. It was a joy to watch her well-planned presentation of the Christmas story.

We were thankful to be able to have this time as a family in the midst of several very busy weeks. It was great to relax and celebrate. And then we got to pack and head to America to celebrate Christmas in the States.

Our beautiful girl turned 7 on November 26th. We had a wonderful month celebrating her birthday. Her birthday countdown calendar included gifts, snacks, a sleep-over, some new Audible recordings., and a few other treats.

We’ve seen Becca grow up this past year. She finished Level 3 of All About Reading. She lost a few more teeth. She makes banana bread on her own and helps with making scrambled eggs. She is a great help to her siblings and is creative in thinking of new games for them to play. We’ve seen her blossom in her Khmer these past few months, and we enjoy watching her play with her Khmer and Jarai friends.

We rejoicing in seeing the Spirit work in Becca’s heart and continue to change her into the image of Christ. Her heart has been very tender toward pleasing God and walking with Him. A few months ago Becca said she wants to read through the whole Bible. We read a chapter a day each morning and are almost through Exodus.

This year Becca wanted to have a birthday party with her new Khmer friends. This was huge for her, since she normally wants a “family-only” party. We spent weeks planning. Becca made a pinata. The neighbor kids talked about coming for weeks.

I made Becca’s traditional panda cake. I was very thankful the Lord provide the time and cooperative children while I put the cake together.

The party was Sunday afternoon (since kids here have school on Saturday), and the kids were all waiting from about 1 o’clock on. However, when 3PM came, most of the kids had disappeared. We had this “AH!” moment until eventually they started straggling in. Becca’s party included playing Pin the Nose on the Panda, a pinata, cake, and water-balloons. Including our kids we had about 23 kids at the party, ages 2-16. All the games were a success and at the end of the day I was exhausted and greatly relieved that we had survived. I think our neighbors are now counting the months until Isaiah’s birthday.

Becca had two special guests at her party. Grandma Jensen was able to come and also help with the party (sadly Grandpa Jensen wasn’t feeling well enough to come). Om Thu (our old house helper) was able to come for the day as well.

We took Becca’s spoon picture several days after her birthday. We thank God for protecting Becca when she was born at 27 weeks.

And Becca got her first haircut!

Last week our Clara turned 9-months. Clara continues to be a sweet little girl. She now crawls but still chooses to alter between regularly crawling and her army crawl. Lately she’s been standing up on her own, so we predict it won’t be too long before she walks.

Clara likes to chew on things (she’s still toothless) and always wants what everyone else is eating. She to spit out anything that isn’t completely pureed, but she enjoys gumming things.

Last week Clara had her first fever, a few days before we flew to the States.  I was quite worried about flying with Clara, since she tends to only sleep in her bed. We made it.

Thankful for our sweet Clara Grace who is full of smiles, giggles, and movement!

Thankful for the many blessings God has given our family.

Life right now is really full and I’m so tried I can hardly write coherent thoughts for a Thanksgiving blog.

I’m so thankful God made us for His own glory and thankful for the ways He shows us His glory each day. Thankful for His effectual call. Thankful He is slow to anger and abounding in love. Thanks be to God.

Many of the men pictured here (studying Matthew at the Jarai Bible school a couple months ago) participated in today’s meeting, too. Like at Bible school, we all sat on the floor, and nobody followed Robert’s Rules of Order. The discussion was sometimes chaotic, but eventually, by God’s grace, a consensus emerged.

Six months ago, leaders from Jarai churches throughout our province gathered together to discuss whether they wanted to translate the Bible into the dialect of Jarai spoken here in Cambodia. At that meeting, arguments were presented for and against, and we asked leaders to return to their churches to discuss the matter further.

Wednesday, while many of you watched U.S. election results roll in, we had another meeting with representatives from the churches throughout our province. Arguments for and against translation were once again presented. After an extended discussion, the gathered pastors decided it was time to vote: either “yes, we should translate” or “no, we shouldn’t.” Each church delegation cast one vote.
The votes were counted, and it was unanimous: the Jarai churches of Cambodia have decided to commit themselves to the long and difficult work of translating the Bible into their own dialect of Jarai.

Just a few years ago, the majority of church leaders either opposed the idea of a new translation, or were indifferent. God has worked to change many minds and hearts.

One highlight of the meeting was to hear a pastor say, “A new translation won’t only help the next generation. It will help me too. When I study the Bible we have now [which uses a dialect of Jarai spoken in Vietnam], there are words I don’t know, and I have to look at the Khmer Bible for help.” It took true humility for this pastor to say that.

We also saw several older leaders – men I would have expected to be the last to embrace change – make statements in support of translation.

Please pray for us now. Deciding was the easiest part. There’s much work before us. Over the next year our family will be focussing on learning Jarai. Also over the next year, our team will begin making plans and laying the foundation for the translation project — in consultation with the Jarai church leadership. Please pray that God would provide faithful, gifted men and women to act as translation committee members and translators. Without a strong, ongoing commitment from the Jarai, the translation work will stall out.

Thank you for your prayers!

(The man wearing the hat is Pastor Choul who we have requested prayer for. He’d been having a good week and came along with the men from church.)

Two Sundays ago we asked our church to help us cut our grass. This requires weed eaters. They said they would come Monday and we had no idea what to expect. Ten men showed up. One of the things Josh prayed that morning was that they would offer to help with making a brick path from our stairs to the cement under our house. Josh had started the project, but was unsure when he’d have time to get back to it. The men asked if there was anything else they could do and had the project done in less than 2 hours.

The kindness these men showed to us was a great encouragement. Sometimes I feel like we give and give and give and are expected to give more. The fact that they gave up their time (not expecting payment) encouraged us that we are a part of the body of Christ together with our Jarai brothers and sisters…not just missionaries giving continually.

Just a little after lunch photo. Our table is on our porch. Everyday we get to enjoy eating outside and watching the highway traffic go by. People enjoy staring up at us too, as we are the only non-Asians in town. I get a little tired of people standing at the road and staring at us, so I started giving them a friendly wave and big smile. One Sunday morning this got me in trouble. The woman I waved at assumed I was flagging her down because I wanted to buy her market veggies. Oops…we ended up with some greens thanks to my waving.

This week Josh participated in the funeral of a Jarai church leader. His name was Romah Hiem and he was in his early 30’s. Romah left behind a wife and three children, ages 6  to 1 years old. (The picture above shows Hiem’s casket, lowered in the ground. According to Jarai custom, the deceased is buried with his possessions–even valuables such as a motorcycle–so he can have his things in the spirit realm. Hiem’s grave had nothing but an open Bible, an open hymnal, and the flowers traditionally thrown in by mourners.)

(In the above picture, the widow leaning over the casket is Romah’s widow. Following Jarai custom she has shaved her head.)

Josh met Romah Hiem at the end of Jarai Bible School last week, when all the participants went to pray for him. He had been sick for months and had seen multiple doctors without any significant help. The family was expecting him to die soon at home. Later that week after the family got enough money to pursue surgery, Josh drove Romah and his wife to the Vietnamese border to go to a hospital in Vietnam. Romah died a few days later from a burst kidney.

Josh preached the graveside message (in Khmer) about Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life.

One of the saddest things about Romah Hiem’s death is that his wife was not allowed to be with him in his hospital room. He died alone. I don’t think she even got to say goodbye. Heartbreaking. After the funeral she asked Josh pray often that she would see her husband again. We weren’t sure if this meant she was afraid of leaving the faith or if she was suffering from not being able to be with her husband when he died. Josh promised to pray, and reminded her of the promise of Jesus that he had just preached: everyone who believes will be raised to new life.

I think one of the things that has affected me most since moving out to Oyadao is watching people physically suffer yet remain strong in the faith. This week we sat with Pastor Chuol as he wept because of his intense pain, yet he continues to say he will believe in God whether he suffers and dies, or is healed. Sobering. You could not be in that room without weeping too. Romah Hiem suffered intense pain before he died, but he did not turn his back on his Lord, an easy thing to do in this animistic culture. They refuse to sacrifice to the spirits. They refuse treatment from witch doctors. They remain strong until the end.

Revelation 12:11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. (ESV)

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus.

Last Friday we were able to move into our new rental home. It appears that all the plumbing problems have been fixed. We’re spending the week unpacking and doing projects.

We praise God for allowing us to move here. It is a perfect fit for us: much larger than we expected, great neighbors to play with, lots of access to people. We’re thankful for all God has done.

Can you tell Clara is tired of waiting for a home…or maybe she’s tried of seeing Angkor Wat.

Late Monday afternoon, the day before we were planning to move into our new rental home, we found out that our home had some plumbing issues. So instead of moving into our new home we moved into more temporary housing while deciding what to do. We’re very thankful for the Crowley’s kindness to lend us their downstairs.

The main problem was water was leaking down the side of the house from the bathroom. It appears that the water was coming from the toilet (which hadn’t even been sealed when they installed it).  Another problem was that they didn’t install any water cutoffs for the plumbing. Josh has spent the past two days at the house to make sure things are being taken care of.

As of Wednesday night it looks like we’ll be able to move in a day or two. We’re trusting the Lord for His timing. Who know what will happen next. Life is an adventure!

Lord willing we’ll be moving our belongings into our new home this Friday. We hope to sleep there Tuesday or Wednesday night. We’re so thankful the time has finally come!

It will be different living away from the missionary community here (it’s about a 35 minute drive). I think it will hit the hardest when Josh has to travel and I’m home at night by myself, fortunately our kids are very resourceful and are working on building door barricades (just kidding).

So thankful to be moving soon. Thanks be to God!

A few days before my parents left Cambodia, we took them to Angkor Wat. (The trip worked out perfectly since my parents flew out of Siem Reap at the end of our visit.) The big events were an elephant ride and exploring the temples. It was really fun watching my mom take in everything. I think she had a blast. My dad was very hesitant about riding an elephant, but once he got on, he had a great time with the kids.

Thankfully, besides a short rain shower, the heavy rains held off until we were finished for the day. We were very thankful for that. Thankful we could share the trip with my parents.

In the middle of June we were delighted to welcome my parents for their first visit to Cambodia. It had been over two years since we’d seen my parents. They went through quite a time to get here, missing their flight from Seoul, Korea and arriving a day late. We really appreciate all the adventures they went through to come all the way to Cambodia to be with us. We appreciate all the time and money they spent to make a trip halfway across the world to see our world.

The kids were really excited to see Grammy and Grampy Grace (as they started calling my dad). We loved hearing them laugh with delight as they played together. Becca learned some new tricks from Grampy Grace and enjoyed hearing stories about Grammy’s first graders. Anna who typically is a bit resistant at first was warm and friendly when they arrived. Isaiah had so many memories of my dad from when he was 1, he was really excited. Clara was her happy self to meet her grandparents for the first time.

The first part of my parents’ time with us was pretty rainy and we spent a lot of time inside. We spent one morning moving a lot of our belongings into storage. We were able to visit the Sleeping Buddha and a waterfall on non-rain days.

Among other local things, my mom enjoyed going to the market and riding the moto and my dad enjoyed eating pork and rice at a local Khmer rice shop we affectionately call The Shack.

It was really great to have my parents here. We’d been looking forward to their visit ever since they mentioned it before we moved to Cambodia. It was nice for us to be able to show them our life…some things just can’t be explained without experiencing them. Between having little kids and the time difference, it’s hard for me to talk on the phone, so it was really nice to be able to talk to my parents in person without having to be on a device.

We really enjoyed my parents’ visit.  I’m very thankful for my parents’ complete support of our being here. They are always so excited for us and grateful we’re here. They encourage the kids in their adventures here. That means a lot. I’m thankful for the way they raised me to go and serve the Lord and the ways they encourage our whole family as we serve the Lord in Cambodia. Thankful that they were able to come and see our lives here. Maybe they’ll come again during our next term….

A big thanks to my mom for all the pictures. I haven’t even seen the pictures she took on her phone yet. Next week I hope to post pictures from our trip to Siem Reap with my parents. Maybe I can get my mom to guest post on her impressions from their visit sometime.

This month (July 13th), Clara celebrated her 4-month birthday. For awhile I’ve been calling her Smiles #2 (since we called Anna Smiles), but I have switched to calling her Giggles. Clara absolutely loves to laugh. Sometimes she just looks up at me smiling with anticipation as she waits for me to make her laugh. She is sunshine during this time of transition.

Clara started rolling from tummy to front in at the end of June. She is now a fast roller and can cover a lot of ground. She’s also working on inching forward. This sweet girl is on the move.

A short update on our family: On July 11th we moved out of the house we’d been watching and went to Phnom Phen for a week. We had a friend coming for a three-day visit and needed to renew our visas and driver’s licences. It was the first time the kids and I had been back since we left last July…don’t miss it at all! The best part was seeing friends and eating at our favorite Khmer restaurant.

This week we moved into temporary housing while we wait for our rental home. We’re in a one bedroom flat…we’re praying they can have our house ready by August 1st. It’s going to seem HUGE after living here.

Tuesday Josh and I celebrated 8 years of marriage. So delighted that God is blessing me with my man. Being in Cambodia has brought us closer together (we’re finding that living overseas can make or break a marriage). If not for my dear man, I’m certain I would have lost it here. So glad to have his faithful friendship and leadership.

Thankful for the four precious children God has blessed us with. So glad I get to be on this parenting journey with Josh.

Our major accomplishments for the year: we’ve moved to Ratanakiri and delivered our 4th child together. Looking forward to our new adventures together in this next year!

For our anniversary Josh and I went to the Ratanak Resort. It was a lovely place to relax and spend extra time with each other.

Monday Clara turned 3-months old. She’s quite the little mover in her pack-n-play: she rolls from tummy to back, moves from one end to the other on her tummy (not sure if this is intentional), often does an 180 degree from the position I left her in.

Clara loves to laugh. She seems to think diaper changing time is really hilarious. The other day Josh had to ask her to stop laughing while listening to Dr. Casillas’ sermon…she was a little too loud.

The dress Clara is wearing was mine. I thought I’d left it in the States and was happy to find it recently when I was going through clothes. So thankful for our sweet smiley Clara Grace.