The Books of the Bible

I cannot really remember learning the books of the Bible, but it must have been in Awana. I just take for granted the fact that I know them and can locate book-chapter-verse quite easily. Now I am going through this again in Khmer language - I know now what it feels like when you don't know the books of the Bible but are trying to learn them and you come across these really strange names that you cannot read or pronounce very easily. I can identify with the Awana kids who are trying to learn the names of the books of the Old Testament it is difficult. Today was the first day that I went through the 66 names. It will take a while for me to memorize all of them but I am working on it and am excited for the day when I can easily find book-chapter-verse in my Khmer Bible.

Byes

Tomorrow remember me in your prayers for I will say goodbye to my mom as she returns to Minnesota. It has been a wonderful time having her here in Cambodia with me, she was able to experience a lot of things with me. It will be sad to have her go - but I have enjoyed the 3 weeks we have had together. I have gotten used to traveling by tuk tuk every where that on Thursday when I go back to riding motodope I will have to consiously remember my helmet. I will have to adjust to living alone again (hopefully only for a short time longer) as I desire to move in with a missionary friend the end of February. Just keep me in your prayers as I go through this time. Thank you.

Christmas in Cambodia

Christmas in Cambodia is very different than in Minnesota. First of all the weather is very warm, then there are not a lot of decorations around town, also most of Cambodia treat the day like any other day. My mom and I decided to spend some time as tourists this Christmas. On Christmas day we went to Wat Phnom and to the Royal Palace - if you know anything about touring Cambodia it is the fact that there are many religious ties to the places to visit. There are Buddhist temples at both Wat Phnom and the Royal Palace and after Christmas we went to Siem Reap and saw the temples there including Angkor Wat. Well I believe that this is the Christmas that I have spent the most time in prayer. My prayer - that God would continue to deepen my love for the Cambodian people, that in all I do Christ would be seen in me, that the eyes and hearts of the Cambodian people would be open to the deception they have believed, for spiritual protection...May God continue to open my eyes to see what it is he desires of me and that I would also begin to see more my place here in Cambodia.

Merry Mom

It has been a merry time since my mom has arrived in Cambodia. She arrived Thursday night-LATE but it was good it helped her to adjust to the time difference to sleep right away. We have been going around the city in the mornings, but in the afternoons mostly have been relaxing in the house because it is hot. Yesterday morning was the church Christmas service which included congregational songs, a short message, special singing, a traditional Khmer dance and even a little play. It was a longer service but there were many different elements to keep our attention. it helped that a missionary preached because I understood and could tell my mom most of what was being said. It is great to be able to celebrate this important holiday with someone so important to me my mom-what a blessing and gift from God. HAVE MERRY CHRISTMAS and make known the reason for the season to those around you with how you live.

Psa

One of the things that I do a lot is go to the psa. What is a psa you ask it is the market. The market in Cambodia is an out-door place where you can buy just about anything you need depending on the market you visit. There are two markets near my house that I can walk too. This is where I can practice some of my speaking in Khmer and buy vegetables, meat, cleaning products...if you go to the photos page you can see some people selling stuff.

Cold

I have had a cold since Saturday. It has been making me feel more tierd than usually so pray that I will get good rest. Having the cold has also seemed to make studying harder. Please pray for my health.

Cold

A Baby

The family I lived with when I first arrived in Cambodia has a new addition to their family. Pheary had a baby girl yesterday. Now they have 4 girls. Mom and daughter are healthy even though the doctors had said that the due date was not until January. Praise God. I cannot wait to see this little one I am sure she is beautiful. Pray for the other girls as they adjust to life with a baby, also pray for the family they were not prepared to bring home a baby until January. This means that Pheary will be home from the office for a while sooner than expected.

Language Evaluation

Today I had my first quarter language evaluation. It was encouraging in the sense that I really can tell a story, have a short conversation, do some reading and some writing- it was also revealing in areas that I need to now move forward in this quarter. One of them being speaking Khmer with others, there are some words that I have a hard time pronouncing so I need to be consiously aware when I go to say those words. Obviously there are many things that I still need to learn in each of these areas in the future. I am glad that I am given a long time to learn the language. Thank you for your continued prayers for me in this area of my life.

Decorating For Christmas

On Thursday I went to the Central Market and bought some Christmas decorations including this fake tree. It is nice to have the house decorated for Christmas because it is the only thing that helps to make it feel like Christmas. As you can see from my blog the weather is still hot in the 70s-although suprisingly the mornings have felt a little cool with me thinking I should have worn long sleeves. It is nothing like having Christmas in Minnesota.