Our final Christmas service took place at Good News Wesleyan which is located on the top of the Wesleyan Bible Institute. We were in charge of the ministries for the children, and in this picture you are seeing one of our former students, Vicheak, translating for Tiffany’s instructions to the children. The word translating here means shouting in Khmer so that the children will listen and stand in a row.
One of the games that we played was passing an ornament down the line using straws. Here you are seeing two boys trying to pass the ornament without dropping it and with out putting out the eye of the other boy.
Some of the kids needed some help in this game, and in this picture you are seeing Pastor Vicheak assisting two girls, giving some direction on just how to make the pass correctly.
After the games, we had a lesson prepared for the children. Here you are seeing some of the children listening intently to Tiffany and Vicheak share about Light and Darkness.
After the lesson, Vicheak did some review with the students, especially with the Bible verse that we taught to them. If you look closely, you can see Vicheak’s stick which was used to keep the children’s attention and to bang on the fence when they were not attentive.
We followed the lesson with at time of art and coloring. There were only several tables available, so some of the children used the ground, the walls, and even the backs of their brothers and sisters. Here you are seeing a young boy getting the most out of the human table that he used for his coloring surface.
Some of the younger children were not able to color, so Tim talked to them about the picture and the animals that they could see. It was very rewarding to be able to talk to them in Khmer and relate to them in quiet conversation. 
The children were great, and we had a wonderful time teaching them and interacting with them.
Here you are seeing several of the girls posing together after the service. We had nearly seventy children all together and it was a great morning.
Here you are seeing one of the girls proudly showing off her picture.
During the Christmas service in the church, they performed their rendition of the Christmas story. Here you are seeing the three wise men, or the three wise guys as they would better be named, visiting the Baby Jesus. They are made up in the typical Khmer comic make-up and hairstyles, and they were quite the sensation at the Christmas party.
After the service and dinner, we had a time of games for the youth and young people of the church. Here you are seeing two of the youth who are garment factory workers and disciples of Pastor Kimsua playing a game where they had to quickly cut out stars as a team.
After the service, we were given a special gift from the church for our help with the children’s ministries. Here you are seeing Pastor Kimsua, who is also a teacher at the WBI, presenting Tim with the gift.
Phnom Penh Christmas II
Boeng Krum Christmas
The day after the service in Kampong Chnang, we had another service in a place called Boeng Krum, which translated means “Big Oyster Lake”. You might remember this place as being the location of the afternoon of fishing that we had in the previous year. Pastors Sithon and his wife Pastor Srey have recently been placed in this church, which is actually Pastor Sithon’s home village. It was a blessed service, and in this picture you are seeing the women of the church singing a special hymn together.
Another highlight of the service was the testimony of Luk Lis (pronounced Loke Leeh). He gave a testimony how he came to know Jesus as his Savior, and how God had blessed his family through the healing of a sick child who all of the doctors said had no hope. It was a powerful testimony to the community leaders and the other visitors who were in attendance. 
The youth of the church performed a drama about the topic of love and values in a Christian family. In this adaptation of the story of the Prodigal Son from Luke 15, the boy on the left took money from his father under false pretenses, and used it in sinful living. The conclusion of the story involved the Father taking the son back and helping him after he had been seriously hurt in an attack. The youth did a great job of acting, and the message rang through loud and clear.
At the conclusion of the service, Pastor Kimsan who again gave the Christmas message, gave an altar call. Here you are seeing a picture of Pastor Kimsan praying for an older gentleman who came forward to accept Jesus as his personal Savior. 
Before Pastor Kimsan preached, he asked his daughter, Teacher Channy, and Tiffany to take the children to another place so that they would not disturb the service and so that they could have some time of playing games together. Tiffany felt very privileged by this request, not only because Pastor Kimsan, who is our National leader, recognized her ability to work with children, but also that he would feel comfortable directing her to take on this task as he is our leader here in Cambodia as well.
After the service, we snapped this picture of a man delivering ironed clothes on his bicycle. The picture captures the simple and quiet life of the people in Boeng Krum.
Kampong Chnang Christmas
Our next Christmas service took place the day after Christmas. We traveled to Kampong Chnang, which is a province to the north-west of Phnom Penh. We traveled for about two hours before meeting up with Pastor Greg, and then we spent about 2 more hours trying to find the church. At last we did find it, and we celebrated Christmas with Pastor Pen (pictured above), his wife Pastor Tawi and their congregation.
In this picture, you are seeing three of the song leaders for the Christmas celebration.
At the close of the service, Tim was asked to pray for the blessing of the food and a special blessing on the church and its congregation. Our good friend Leak assisted with the translation.
After the service, we stayed there with the people for the afternoon. Tiffany had time to talk to some of the children, asking about their families and their schooling. Here you are seeing Tiffany posing with two of the little girls from the church.
We also had dinner and fellowship with the Pastors and the lay leaders of the church. Here you are seeing all of us sitting in the shade of the church and enjoying the meal together.
Christmas at Pastor Kieth's
During our time up in Kampong Cham (we spent three days and two nights and attended three different Christmas services) we stayed at the house of one of our pastors, Pastor Kieth. It was a blessing to stay in the house of one of our pastors, to live with him and his family, and to share in their lives. This is a view from the front porch or terrace of Pastor’s house, and we were greeted with this type of view each morning. In this picture you also see Pastor Voechnear as she leads some neighboring children in singing.
This is a picture that was taken at the Christmas service at Pastor Kieth’s house. Here you are seeing Theavey, one of our Bible school students, Pastors Voechnear, Srey Roath, Teacher Rotha and several other pastors singing a special song for the service.
This is a view of the people who attended the service. Per Khmer culture, people continue to arrive all afternoon, so by the end of the day, this entire room was full with us and the other pastors giving up our seats to the new visitors and sitting and standing at the back of the room.
This is a picture of Pastor Kieth, his wife who is a High School Math teacher, and one of their daughters Theavey, who is a student at the WBI.
Dola Gah Christmas
The following day after the services at T’boung Khmum, we had another Christmas service in Kampong Cham, this time in the village of Dola Gah which is the village of one of our students, SiNol. In this picture, you are seeing us and the church members posing after the service which took place in the house in the background of the picture.
Pastor Kimsan brought the message, sharing about the perfect gift of Christ, the gift that is for all people around the world. After his message, two of the people present accepted Jesus as their Savior, entering into a relationship with the God who created and saved them.
It was a blessing to be able to attend this service, worshipping with them. However, we almost didn’t make it as a large road grader had blocked all traffic for almost an hour. After praying for the road to be cleared, God opened the road and we were able to proceed. When we arrived, we were able to share that story with the people, explaining to these new Christians that our God does indeed answer prayer.
After the service, Pastor Kimsan and other members of the congregation went to several houses of people in the village to pray for those who were sick. In this picture you are seeing Pastor Kimsan praying with a young girl whose legs were severely impaired due to illness.
This is a picture of Grace and Tiffany after the service. This is a typical house for the majority of all Khmer people, palm frond walls, wooden posts for support and a tin-sheet roof.
The food following this service was also a treat. We had what the other missionaries have dubbed a “Cambodian Burger” which is tinned lunchmeat, pickles, onions, in a crusty loaf of bread. In this picture you are seeing the women of the community preparing the great number of “burgers” for all those in attendance.
After dinner, we had some time before we had to leave, so Tiffany started playing some games with the children who were waiting with us. Here you are seeing Pholla and some of the children as they sing a song and play the game together. 
Just before we were to leave, Tiffany and Pholla prayed with the children, asking God to bless their lives and their families. It was the close of a great celebration, and we look forward to the next time that we can visit Dola Gah.
T'boung Khmum Christmas
Our next Christmas celebration was at T’boung Khmum, one of our Wesleyan Churches in the Kampong Cham province. This beautiful church building which was built with funds donated by Kentwood Community Church in Michigan, was the site for the service and the other activities.
In this picture, you are seeing the Rev. Kong Kimsan and the patriarch of this church posing with one of the leading members of the youth group. The patriarch of the church, who is also the father of the head pastor, is knows as the Father of Faith, for many of his children are now in the ministry, serving God in the churches of Cambodia.
This picture was taken as the youth group performed a drama of the Christmas story. Here you are seeing the angel and the poor shepherds being “sore afraid.” The youth group of this church is very strong, with many young people developing in their maturity and knowledge of the realness of Jesus in their lives.
The food at this celebration was in great abundance, and it was great to try the many dishes, fruits and desserts that were prepared for the day.
WBI Christmas Party
The annual Christmas party at the WBI is an event that people look forward to all year. This year was no exception as the students has spent several weeks preparing the decorations, especially the ornamental stars that you see here in this picture. The students had a great time making them, and they were encouraged that they could make such beautiful Christmas ornaments with such inexpensive materials.
It was also great to see SiNol and Srey Lis acting as the emcees for the program. These two students were extremely shy when they arrived at school just a little over a year ago. However, their antics in front of everyone, especially those of SiNol, caused everyone to laugh so hard and they are still a topic of many conversations at the Bible School. 
Here you are seeing some of our students singing a special Christmas song they had prepared for the program. 
Another special event for the night was the graduation of Malachi. Just that day, he had passed his final test at the Bible school, allowing him to finish the few classes that he had remaining in his education. In this picture, you are seeing Pastor Greg Fernandez, the president of the school and Malachi’s soon-to-be fiancée affixing the ceremonial collar after Malachi received his diploma.
The night went on with several games and other activities. Here you are seeing a very competitive game of musical chairs which in its closing rounds had to be officiated by our District Superintendent who later held a long stick to assure fairplay.
Another of the games involved the popping of balloons using sticks affixed with needles. Here you are seeing So Phol preparing to throw her dart.
A fun custom that the Khmer people have when they share gifts in this type of setting is that those receiving the gift most perform some type of action prescribed by the giver. Here you are seeing SoPhol and Pholla dancing so that they may receive their gifts.
Besides his work as an emcee, SiNol’s dancing that night has made him quite famous. That night, he was a modern day King David, dancing to the music of praise to God, though praise the Lord, he was dressed more appropriately.
This is a group picture of us and our students taken that day. Being part of their lives and they ours is a great blessing to us, one that we would not trade for anything else in this world.
Christmas Piano Recital
Before the students left for Christmas break, they all performed in a piano recital under the direction of their piano instructor Grace Tsutada. Mam Grace, as she is known, spent many hours teaching and preparing her students, and in this picture, she is seen addressing those in attendance, welcoming them to the recital and giving the background of why we teach music at the Bible School.
Each student bravely went to the front, bowed nervously as you see Samnang doing here in this picture, and then they performed their pieces of music. All of the students did very well, and it was great to hear all of their hard work of practicing paying off.
The students also sang a hymn in English. Hearing our students sing “O Victory in Jesus” was a great testament to their learning and how they are putting all of their trust in God for their futures, fully relying on the victory they have, not in earthly matters, but in our Risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.