Monday we celebrated our fourth annual Coronation Day in Cambodia. As always, we had our own coronation ceremony. Isaiah and Anna made cookies (Clara ate the dough!). All the kids made their own crowns. Our ceremony included the procession to the thrones, the crowing, entertainment for the newly crowned King and Queen, popcorn, cookies, and dancing.
Every morning Anna and Isaiah get extra play time together while Becca is working on her reading lesson. Sometimes they’re the best of buds and sometimes they love annoying each other. Love them!
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!
Ok, so I lied last month…now (as of this week) Clara is official weaned. Sweet girl. She had a really rough time with it and was very emotional for a few weeks, but now she’s back to her normal self. I tried to tell her she was spoiled and that none of her siblings got to nurse this long, but it didn’t seem to impact her. And I must be getting older, since I wasn’t in a hurry either.
Clara is always on the move. She’s fast. Fun. And loves mischief. Loves to laugh and play rough. She loves looking at our animal encyclopedias every morning and any other chance she has. She just loves animals. And wow is Clara a talker! She fits in with our family perfectly.
Check out the teeth. Clara’s teeth definitely have their own idea about the order they’re presenting themselves.
One thing I’ve really been enjoying is some extra time playing with Clara. When Isaiah was this age we were traveling doing fund raising. When Anna was this age we had moved to Ban Lung and were trying to figure out life. This is the first time since 2012 that I don’t have to start all over again and figure out life. I’m loving it!
So thankful for these precious years with our kids. We are blessed! Happy 19-month birthday Clara Bear!
Every other week we try to have a family night. It’s usually on Tuesday or Wednesday night, depending on our schedule. Sometimes family nights include special meals. This week we grilled hotdogs and hamburgers (my first attempt at making hamburgers from ground beef), mac & cheese, and brownie sundaes. These meals can be time consuming, since I also must make the hotdog rolls and hamburger buns. Josh grilled the meat on our Cambodian clay pot grill. (I’m very thankful for noodles and Velveeta cheese, which makes that an easy process.) We’re able to order the hotdogs and ground beef from a restaurant company in Phnom Penh. Thankful we have that option to provide us some fun meals.
Isaiah was in charge of dessert. It was a hit! He made brownies and added ice cream, whipped topping, and Hershey’s chocolate syrup.
For family night, Becca and Isaiah gave a “brass band: concert. They were quite excited about it. Afterwards Anna did a show with her Little People. Usually Josh and I do a show, but this week we didn’t. After all the shows, we played a few games and then headed to bed.
Our family nights are very simple: sometimes we do individual plays, sometimes we play hide-n-seek, sometimes card games, or sometimes each kid picks an activity for us to do. Our kids are not hard to please and it’s a wonderful way for us to relax and enjoy some extra time together. Thankful for the family God has blessed us with.
(Photos were taken on our phones…which don’t take very good pictures, but are much easier to snap pictures with.)
Last week (Monday-Thursday) we went to the Nature Lodge in Mondulkiri (about 3.5 hours drive from our home). It was nice to get away from our normal full schedules and have some time away from our regularly scheduled duties.
One highlight was climbing a huge mountain of red dirt. We made the hike once as a family and then Josh, Becca, and Isaiah went back another day so the kids could slide down the dirt mountains.
A highlight was the horses and cows that wander around the Nature Lodge property. The kids enjoyed feeding the horses carrots.
We had some friends from Phnom Penh staying at the Nature Lodge at the same time as us, so our kids enjoyed playing together. Other highlights were swimming in a pool nearby, eating at restaurants, sleeping in a cabin, and getting locked in our cabin when Isaiah broke the key from the inside (Fortunately, Josh was able to jump out the window and get a second key to unlock the door). We’re thankful for the time we had away. (Though by Anna’s face in the top picture, you wouldn’t be able to tell. 🙂
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!
One advantage of living out here is all the insects we get to observe. Some are quite amazing. Some we could do without! A few weeks ago, Anna came in with this large praying mantis on her hand. We have two kinds of praying mantis here – green and black. Becca once said, “if only one kind of animal can get to heaven, it will definitely be the praying mantis, because they are always praying.” Also “you know what they are praying, Dear God, give me victory over my wife so she won’t kill me.” (Female praying mantis kill the males after mating with them.)
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.
Happy 17-month birthday to our Giggles! You are almost one-and-a-half! Yay! Or I should say “hooray!” as Clara often says when she sees something she’s excited about. Clara continues to be a very happy little girl. She loves playing outside and is always trying to imitate her siblings. The other day she was trying to jump rope and play soccer.
Recently we started writing down all of Clara’s words. (I’m sure we’ve forgotten a few.) Daddy, Mommy, Becca, Isaiah, Anna, Clara, SreyLey, Powl, bowl, ball, book, outside, pig, chicken, dog, cat, kitty, raisin, no, yes, banana, egg, salt, baby, Zebee (her stuffed animal), potty, me, um, hooray, “I’m sorry,” “Mommy – where are you?”, snack, bath, teeth, apple, milk, food, night-night, bed, nap…
In the past month all four of Clara’s molars have come in. The last one still needs to break through. Her teeth are definitely not following the normal schedule as far as the order they come in.
These last pictures were taken in June (15-months). We love our girl and are thankful God gifted us with us!
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 5th 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.
July 20th I celebrated my 35th birthday. This was my first birthday in three years that I wasn’t packing for a move or unpacking from a move. That alone is a wonderful birthday present! Our kids outdid themselves this year with making sure I felt loved. Becca and Isaiah got up at 1:40AM to hang some decorations, sweep the outside porch, start the coffee for the morning, and go downstairs and plant some flowers (weeds) that Isaiah had found in the back of our yard on either side of our steps. I knew they were planning something. I was awake and knew that they had opened the porch door, but I had no idea they went downstairs. I can only imagine them out there digging holes to plant flowers at 2AM. All their work was done around 2:40 and I made sure that they all made it back in bed. We have such sweet kids!
For dinner, we grilled chicken on our Khmer clay pot grill and ate it with baked potatoes and salad (sans the lettuce). Isaiah made muffins in the morning. Becca made cherry bars for my birthday dessert (we brought a can of cherry filling from America). The kids all made me jewelry for my birthday. Josh had the day off and helped the kids finished up their birthday gifts and was around all day to help. It was a lovely way to celebrate. We ended the night by playing games.
I was planning to write about all these things I’ve learned and ways I’ve grown, but I don’t have time and our internet is terrible right now. Life is very full…and there’s so much more I could do doing. There are so many needs screaming out to me – there’s always more to do with the responsibilities I already have – more ways to do them better, and more new things that could be done. But one thing I’m learning about more and more is my weakness and the wonderful strength of God. He will lead – I can follow. He will give – I can use. He will prohibit – I can submit. He will day by day take my heart of stone and give me a heart of flesh. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Looking forward to seeing Him work these next 35 years of my life.
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 4th 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.
Al
l 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!
Last week we celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary. Marriage is a beautiful gift from God and I’m thankful for having that gift in Josh from God these past nine years. When I view marriage as a gift rather than a right, it totally changes my perspective on marriage. It changes the ways we interact with each other on a daily basis. If marriage is my right then I’m going to spend a lot of time frustrated about not getting all my rights. But if I view marriage as a gift, my heart is turned to joy for the many ways I’m being blessed each day by my husband.
The week of our anniversary we had a friend visiting with us, so Josh and I were able to get away for several hours to celebrate. It might sound silly, but I just wanted to go swimming with Josh. We were able to find a nice pool not too far from our town and enjoyed a lovely afternoon together. The next day I took the kids back to go swimming too.
One gift I’m very thankful about in our marriage is our commitment to honor each other in our words whether or not our spouse is present. The longer we’re married the more important I feel this is, especially as our children get older. I love knowing that Josh is holding me safe in his heart when he talks about me to others. I don’t have to worry about him sharing my faults and weaknesses with others. I don’t have to worry about not being around to defend myself. I know he honors me with his words. And as we grow older I don’t feel like I have to worry about what he’s telling the kids about me when I’m not around and vice versus. That to me is priceless. We’re so refreshed when we spend time with men and women who honor their spouses with their words (even when I know there’s a lot they are leaving unsaid). I want to be that kind of woman in our marriage too. I want to always honor Josh with my words and tone. I would love when I die someday for our kids to be able to say that I always honored Josh with my words. I want them to know that marriage is a gift from God and to see me life that out. May God work in me and help me.
Thankful for the gift of marriage – thankful for Josh.
Happy Father’s Day to my beloved man. We scheduled our Daddy’s Day celebrating for the 
Monday after Father’s Day, since our Sunday was packed out with activities. While thinking over that busy day I was stuck with the thought that Josh spent Father’s Day doing a lot of father-like activities. Sunday morning, he preached in our Jarai church, Sunday afternoon he did our neighborhood Bible Club teaching the kids to play kickball and teaching them the Bible. Sunday evening, we had a small gathering of believers (our family, one Khmer family, and an Indian man) over for singing, prayer, and some Bible study. The funny thing about our evening meeting is that there was not one language we could all speak together. Josh had to teach in Khmer for our Khmer friends and English for the Indian man. It was a full day doing things that we should all do as part of the body of Christ.
The next Monday we celebrated “Daddy’s Day” with pulled pork sandwiches for lunch, cinnamon rolls for an afternoon snack, and a roast for supper (ok – the Khmer beef was very chewy). After supper we gave cards to Josh and the kids did a play for him. We’re reading through the Bible and we had just read Judges 3, so the kids did a play about Ehud and Eglon. They each took their parts very seriously. Isaiah was a wonderful jolly fat King Eglon, Anna played a mean guard – my favorite part was her mean face and the way she kept asking “is he going to the potty?” Becca was a wonderful Ehud – dagger and all. So ended our “Daddy’s Day” celebration.
I’m so thankful to be parenting our kids with Josh. So glad we’re on the same team as we raise these little ones together. Thankful that Josh loves us and serves us in so many ways. Thankful he’s not only the best Daddy our kids could have, but that he’s also my best friend. Thankful for God’s many good blessings to us in Josh.
The past three weekends we’ve had overnight trips to BanLung (the main town that’s a 45-minute drive from our home). We had not planned to have so many trips in a row, it’s just the way the everyone’s schedule worked out.
The first Sunday in June we gathered in the evening to celebrate the faithful service of the Olson family in Cambodia. After many years here, they are returning home for an indefinite period to help with Kevin’s parents. The missionary families up here met for a pot-luck meal and a time of sharing. Robin Olson is one of the most thoughtful people I know. She is always thinking about how she can help others. A few days after we moved to BanLung, she showed up at our door with a chocolate cake. She has helped me multiple times with various things (loaning me books, bringing things to the kids, visiting me, bringing food when we hosted missionary fellowship, etc). I want to follow her sweet example of constantly thinking of others.
(The pictures below are of our Clara and Elisha, one of our co-worker’s children. Clara is 6 months older than Elisha, but is much lighter than him.)
The second weekend in June, we gathered on Friday to have fellowship with the other EMU families in the area (Crowleys, Kanes, Famers, and Brooke). Both the men and women were able to have separate prayer times. I think it was the first time the five women have prayed together. It was a great blessing to me. Saturday morning about 14 ladies from different missionary organizations met together for breakfast. We enjoyed our time together.
The third weekend in June, the Olson family hosted the weekly missionary fellowship at their house. Usually, the missionaries meet on Saturday night, but the Olsons’ moved their week to Friday night so we could attend. That night we stayed at a hotel because our co-workers were leaving the country the next day and it didn’t work for us to spend the night with them. We went in a few hours early on Friday so the kids could enjoy the hotel pool.
And so ends our weekends of travel. We enjoyed the extra fellowship and encouraging conversations with our missionary co-workers. Thankful that they are only a drive away.