A thought to ponder......
Instead of asking God how much money we should give for a tithe or offering.....why not ask Him how much money He wants us to keep? It is His after all:)

Some days I am overwhelmed with life in Cambodia! The busyness on the streets. All the people. The struggle to find my place here. Even though I feel at home here in Phnom Penh, the reality of me being from a completely different culture and way of life is very real. Each day seems to bring new insight into the Khmer way of living and loving and being but it also brings with it the reality of how different we all are.
Its been a week of challenges. Trying to find things for the apartment at the markets. Trying to figure out WHICH market is the best to get kitchen stuff, material for curtains...and the list goes on. Charlotte and I spent the longest time at Orussey market on Monday trying to find material for curtains. Once we finally found the material SECTION (we were quite frequently misdirected towards the super tacky and ugly "curtains" that are everywhere here)...it took us probably 15 or 20 minutes to try and find a measuring stick which I knew every seller had but everyone kept saying "ote me in"...."don't have." "NO! I know you have one...you have to! You sell material for a living for goodness sakes!!!" Ok so we finally found a measuring stick. Then the battle was to find material with a 1.6 meter width. Impossible. Seriously wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. Anyways..I'm getting RE-stressed just writing about it. I did eventually find some really nice deep purple material so I suppose the story ends well:)

On a non-stressful, wonderful note....have had some amazing God experiences. A pastor from Australia has been here with a team and done some wonderful teaching on the Holy Spirit. Sunday night we had a 3 hour prayer and baptism service. God was there with us in such a real way...gives me goosebumps just thinking about it! I'm learning so much. I got a book from Pastor Jesse yesterday called Demolishing Strongholds. My own personal strongholds are slowly starting to show themselves to me as I live in a country where the spiritual realm....evil spirits and demonic activity is a very real part. What a wonderful feeling knowing that God is so much more powerful and that we can have freedom through Him.
Being baptized into the Holy Spirit.....deliverance from spirits. NOT something my church growing up ever talked anything about (or many churches at all in North America for that matter). So this is all so new to me and I'm hungry to learn and grow. It's exciting and scary and overwhelming. But like I said....everything about life in Cambodia can be overwhelming.

found an apartment

Charlotte and I have a home!! We moved into a 3 bedroom apartment this weekend. It's beautiful and we are having tons of fun buying furniture and getting settled in! It's not too far from lots of friends houses and within walking distance of Sovannah mall so it'll be a great location. Long drives to work everyday but hoping to get a moto sometime in November.
This weekend and the next few days have been holidays. A couple days celebrating the king's birthday and coronation day and yesterday marked the beginning of the annual water festival. EVERYONE from the rural provinces come into Phnom Pehn (the population of the city goes from the usual 1.5 million to almost 4 milion!!) and celebrate the end of the rainy season with traditional boat races (the super long ones that hold like 50 men) and tons of other festivities. Its utter chaos down by the river but its fun to go and hang out and people watch. The rural Cambodians who never see white people love to watch us right back:)
The weather is cooling off.....beautiful breezes blow in through our balcony during the day. Pretty soon I'll be able to sleep without a fan and with a blanket!!! I can't wait for jeans that don't stick to your legs and long sleeved shirt days! 25 C no humidity days feel like autumn back at home.

The other day I pasted a guy on a moto carrying a huge metal fan with the front cage part off.....the blades were whipping in the air at full speed.......your face would be no more if you ran into that. One of the most dangerous things I've seen on the roads so far...that is besides the huge metal rods they carry that would easily impail someone if they ran into them. Gotta love Phnom Pehn traffic:)

Well....still no apartment but we've come to the decision that if God doesn't bring anything else in our direction by Wednesday...then we will take the "green" apartment. Its one we looked at a couple weeks ago and really liked but thought was too expensive. We were hoping the landlord would go down to $220 but he won't budge so we'll have to take it at $250 or remain homeless!

It will work out nicely because we have a 6 day holiday coming up this week starting Thursday so it'll give us time to move and settle in. I'm so excited to go shopping and buy stuff for the apartment!! I'll put up some pics when we get settled in.

Last night the youth/young adults at church had a mask party. Everyone looked so good all dressed up and fancy. Cambodian girls LOVE to dress up because it gives them an excuse to wear lots of makeup, put way too much hairspray in their hair and wear SUPER fancy colorful dresses. They all looked so beautiful last night:) I headed home early...once the Khmer dancing started....hehehehe.

Going to church at ICA this morning with Marie Ens then out to lunch with her and some of the Place of Rescue board members from Canada. Haven't seen her since I've been back so it'll be great to catch up with her:)

The expat women that work with New Life have started up a small group. I am sharing tomorrow night with them (and baking brownies to bring...Rhi said that if there was gonna be tears there had to be chocolate:)...I'm excited to share a bit of my life with these women. I am so thankful that God has brought them into my life.....life in Cambodia demands that you have good friends around you. Life is too hard to do by yourself. Its all about community here...something that I greatly admire about Cambodian society. Everyone is in life together. No one gets left behind. You eat, sleep, work and play together. Life happens out on the streets...not closed off behind doors. Personal space and privacy are out the window here.....ok so maybe not EVERYTHING about community is great:)

So...here I am...a year has passed since I last wrote. In a nut shell.....had an amazing year at Heritage. My students all passed into grade 2...thanks to my wonderful teaching and their brilliant little minds. My year in Cambodia changed me in more ways that I even know now. The struggles...the battles...the joys...they brought me closer to my Jesus.

I had a wonderful summer at home on the farm....spending my days helping Mom with stuff around the house or out in the garden and in September I learned how to drive the combine and was able to help out Dad and Cam with harvest. Time with my family was precious and refreshed my soul.

I arrived back in Phnom Pehn at the end of September. I can't believe I've already been here for 3 weeks! I've been staying with a family that also work with New Life. They have 3 wonderful children and its been such a blessing to spend time with them. My jet lag was HORRIBLE and I went through more culture shock then I expected but once again...I have adjusted back into Cambodian life. The smells, the sights, the food. It is wonderful. Except the merciless monsoon storms that leave me soaking wet and muddy.

I am currently on the hunt for an apartment. My friend Charlotte and I are trying to find a 2 bedroom, furnished place in a good location for both of our work. I'm gonna be working part time at Heritage again (teaching grade 2 so I'll have some of my students from last year!!!!!) and part time at NLF school teaching English. I have already been teaching at NLF for a week now and absolutely love my students...grade 2 and grade 4. Most of them come from low income families or orphanages...they are sponsored each month to attend school. $30 a month gives them 2 uniforms, school supplies and help pay their Khmer teachers, who are all wonderful Christian men and women. Its a wonderful atmosphere to work in everyday.....i often hear little voices singing English worship songs or their cute lil' "God bless you teacha" as I leave each day.

I am also thinking of buying a moto. I've been taking motodups (men who drive motos) to work and everywhere but its getting so expensive. I think I can find a cute little scooter for $300-$500....can't you just see me rippin up the busy chaotic streets of Phnom Pehn:) Pray that I don't die learning to drive it!! Seriously.

What I love about being back the most is CHURCH!! There is nothing I'd rather do than be with my Khmer brother and sisters in Christ...worshipping God. Yesterday at church two men came forward and accepted Christ...the same two men who had earlier stood up when we welcome newcomers. These men had never stepped foot inside our church before but by the end of just one service...they were knelt down at the foot of the cross...overwhelmed with the idea that there is a God out there that loves them and wants to be a part of their lives. I've never seen such smiles. It made my heart happy. This is why we live. So that others might come to know Christ as we do.

And in a country where life without Him is hopeless....painfully hopeless.....the prospect of hope and peace and joy.....all it takes is just one service.

somtoh.....

somtoh somtoh somtoh (sorry)...i've been awful at writing on here lately! I definetely need to update! The past month has been so crazy and busy! At the end of September we went to the coastal town of Sihanoukville. We stayed at a super cute hotel for $9 a night each and hung out on the beach and went and saw some waterfalls. It was kinda rainy but that didn't dampen our moods. We met up with our new friend Charlotte and hung out with her quite a bit too.
Since being back in Phnom Pehn I've been very busy at work doing report cards and trying to get ahead in my planning. Me and Kim are just getting over being sick...we think Kim caught a weak strain of dengue fever. I had a fever for a couple days but it went away.
Last weekend we got together with a whole bunch of other Canadians and celebrating thanksgiving with a huge feast...even pumpkin pie! It was great! We had a scary ride home on a moto though as someone speeding by on another moto tried to grab Kim's purse and almost pulled us and our driver over into traffic. It was quite the scare and reminded us just how careful we need to be.
There is now officially a family of rats that live at our gate. There is hardly a day that goes by that I don't see one or two. We have also discovered.... to our horror...that the wierd squeaks we hear at night are bats outside our window. Those of you who don't know me that well....I am PETRIFIED of flying animals..ie birds and bats. This is not good news...not at all. Further news with animals...there are two very cute little kittens that live on the roof outside our back window but are very very scared of white faces and "here kitty kitty kitty" and run away. The dogs have stopped barking at night which is AWESOME.
I am continuing to love my life and adventures here. I walk home from school everyday and just take it all in. The crazy traffic, the stares, the people doing wierd things (yesterday me and kim saw some ladies shaving another lady's back..no lie).
Oh yeah and my teacher assistant Sichan and her husband adopted (well not officially but nothing is here) a baby girl from a very poor family that lives up near the Thai border. The family had no money and it was the sixth girl under 12 years old. So Sichan and her husband drove up there and gave the family and community money and food and took the baby home. Her name is Sotheary which is a very common name here. She is beautiful and only 3 weeks old. Sichan is loving being a mother and talks about her all the time. Its the most beautiful thing to see....she gave this family and the community all of her money and even borrowed some from her aunt. Everytime I think about it I am floored by her compassion and giving heart. I wish you could all meet her. She inspires me to be a better person. I am so thankful that God gave her to me this year at school.

renewed inspiration

I've always been inspired by people's stories....especially those of humble beginnings who went on to do great and life changing things with nothing but their simple faith and obedience in God. Missionaries stories have always touched my heart..maybe because something inside me hopes that one day people might talk of my life with that same inspiration.

I wasn't expecting to be challenged at church yesterday...as horrible as that may be.  God had other plans though..like He always does. Marilee Dunker, the daughter of Bob Pierce who founded World Vision spoke. What an amazing story she told of her father going to China as a young man and God impressing upon his heart the great need for both spiritual and physical aid to those living in poverty and hopelessness.  Marilee said that her father's prayer as he started out was simply this:

May my heart break with what breaks yours Lord.

Wow. Not an easy prayer. Can you imagine! This world....so full of suffering, cruelty, injustice, poverty and hopelessness. I don't think my pitiful human heart could withstand the burden...the million pieces of brokeness...the overwhelming heartache that God has for the people of this world.

As daunting and overwhelming a challenge it may be though...that's what I desire. Only then will I be able to love God's people the way they were meant to be loved. Only then will I be living not for myself and what I may gain in this world...but for others. That others may know the joy and hope that floods my soul and gives me reason to live. 

God is passionately in love with every single person in this world. Every single person in Cambodia.  I am surrounded by them everyday. The storekeepers, the moto drivers, the women living on the streets with their babies, the guy that works at the internet cafe, the girls that sell us fruit. He loves them all!! My heart bursts with "God loves you! Preah Ang sro lyung neyek!" That simply phase has more potential for giving life than anything else. 

We make life complicated..full of excuses..centered around ourselves.....what we are going to do or who we are going to marry. Where we are going to live...if only we'd stop and for once realize that maybe just maybe....life isn't about all that at all. Have you ever truly considerd that there just might be more to existence that our perfect, cozy, wealthy  little lives back home?

Yesterday I re-focused. My purpose was made clear. I was inspired.