The night of the fellowship with the students, we were saddened to hear of the death of one of our retired pastors. Pastor Emtee had pastured the church in Kampong Speu for many years, and had recently retired to spend time with his wife and grandchildren. Here you are seeing his two sons-in-law leading the procession out of the church, carrying the picture of Pastor of Emtee.
Pastor Emtee had formerly been a soldier, so he was afforded a great amount of honor from the leaders of the local army base. Here you are seeing a detachment of soldiers honoring one of their own as they prepared to carry the casket out of the church.
A striking aspect of Khmer funeral services is that the family cares for all arrangements themselves. From the building of the casket, to transportation, to digging the grave, the family is responsible to attend to all of these duties or to hire people to do them. Here you are seeing the grave that was dug at the foot of the mountain that day, a grave that was partially dug by several of our pastors who attended the funeral to pay respect to a fellow minister in the Wesleyan Church of Cambodia.
Pastor Emtee's Funeral
Meetings and Fellowships with the students
Before our students left for their field placements, we had a meeting to describe their requirements and other necessary matters concerning their ministry placement. Here you are seeing Pastor Voechnear (Elizabeth), who is overseeing the students in their placements, walking the students their requirements.
It was a good night to be teachers at the Bible School for these students that we have worked so hard to train and educate were ready to go out into the ministry for a prolonged period of time. Here you are seeing Teacher Channy, Tiffany and Tim along with one of our students, Pholla, sitting in the meeting that was mentioned above.
Through the donations of several teams who have come to minister in Cambodia over the past few months, we were able to give the students several materials that would help them in their respective ministries around the country. Here you are seeing the students posing together after the meeting with these materials.
The following day was very exciting to the students as we had them over to try a new type of food. Through our influence, we have the students eating pizza and salad, and this night we introduced them to burritos and taco salads. At first, the students were a little hesitant to step up to the taco bar that we had created, but they all said later that they really enjoyed the food. Here you are seeing Chamreoun, Tiffany, and Theavey eating together.
During the meal, there was a sense of celebrating the year together. Here you are seeing Teacher Rotha, Pholla, and Hannah (Teacher Kimsua’s daughter) giving a toast together. It is unclear what they were toasting, but I would like to think that they were toasting the good food that the Gallants provided that evening.
Visit to Boeng Krum
Before our students left for their ministry assignments around the country, we all traveled to Boeng Krum one more time for an afternoon of fun at Srey Lis’ house. Here you are seeing the students walking to the ferry that took us across the river.
The main course for the day was a Khmer/Vietnamese dish called Bin Cheou which is kind of like a crepe filled with pork, fish and coconut. Here you are seeing one of the women preparing the Bin Cheou, which as you can see is quite a labor intensive, requiring many utensils and ingredients.
Here you are seeing a picture of the finished product.
In this picture, you are seeing Tim as he demonstrates the proper method of eating Bin Cheou. First you take a piece of the Bin Cheou, wrap it in a lettuce leaf and then dip it in the 
After lunch, when we were all full, we entertained ourselves by watching the children trap sparrows. Using a net that surrounded the lower section of a house, a little patience, and some rice to lure the birds into the net area, the children caught many birds, and we helped them to pluck and roast these small morsels. 
After lunch and our time of catching sparrows, we all traveled by boat to visit the farms of the people in Boeng Krum. Here you are seeing our students carefully traveling in the rickety boat, a word that here means a boat that is very wobbly, threatening to dump us all unceremoniously in the river, which would have been much to the amusement of the children who were watching us.
A storm was brewing up that day, and all of the students were having a good time walking into the winds, feeling the fresh breezed coming off of the river blowing over their faces and bodies.
As we waited for the boat to take us back to the other side of the river, we took this picture of Channa and Tiffany as they talked on the riverbank.
This picture was taken as we walked through the radish and sesame fields on the other side of the river. This young girl was working their with her mother in the fields.
Before we boarded the ferry again, we took this picture of Zanda as she climbed a tree to search after ripe guavas. Obtaining this fruit was evidently crucial for Zanda as she had to climb nearly 15 feet into the air to pick the guavas.
IWU Team
We were very blessed to be able to lead the team from Indiana Wesleyan University. They were a great enjoyment to us, and being able to spend time with them was a great privilege. Here you are seeing us along with Pastor Vandy and Pastor Titus posing at one of the temples in Siem Reap.
The team focused on teaching English and Children’s ministries. Here you are seeing the team praying together before their first time of ministry in Kampong Speu.
The team also ministered through song whenever they were asked. Here you are seeing Jewel, Beth and Melanie singing at the church service in Kratie, performing their rendition of the classic song “One Plus One Equals Two.” (Just kidding, I do not remember which song they sang, but rest assured that it was a Praise and Worship song.)
The team also had a chance to have fun and do some touring. Here you are seeing Beth and Kristen riding the elephants in Siem Reap.
We were very blessed to have one of our close friends from Brookhaven Wesleyan, our home church, be a member on this team. We were able to catch up on what is happening at our church and with all of our church family in Indiana. Here you are seeing Tiffany and Jewel riding one of the elephants together.
The team also worked together with our pastors and Bible school staff. Here you are seeing Karen and Whitney, the team leaders, working to “clean and green” the property in Kratie, a term that here evidently means to carry heavy rocks from one location to another that was more desirable.
Being missionary leaders of the team has its privileges as well. As the team taught or worked with the youth, we were able to sit in the back and talk to other children or adults who came to see what the “white people” were up to. Here you are seeing Tim becoming friends with a young girl who was at first very unsure about this tall, peculiar looking stranger.
Invariably, spending time with the children at the different churches is always a highlight for the team. Playing games, teaching English, and just spending time together are priceless times of interaction with these children. Here you are seeing two small girls talking together during one of these times of fun with the IWU team.
One of the favorite times for the children was playing with the parachute. It always starts with the game of working together to fling inflatable balls high into the air using the parachute, but it always ends with some children playing under the parachute while others continue to wave it in the air. Here you are seeing one boy, caught in this picture just as the parachute was lifted, enjoying the colors, the gust of air, and the feeling of being surrounded by the cloth of the parachute.
Tiffany said that we must include this picture that was taken at the Cultural Village in Siem Reap. In the picture you are seeing Tiffany posing with the Phnoo people’s village chief, played here by Tim. Tim was chosen out of the audience, much to his embarrassment, and forced into a grass skirt to play the part of the chief.
Pastor Manydt's Wedding
During our time with the team, we were also able to be part of several other ministries and occasions around the country. Before leaving for Siem Reap, we were able to attend the wedding of Pastor Manydt in Kran Yao. Here you are seeing his family and the wedding guests participating in the fruit ceremony early in the morning.
Here you are seeing a picture of Pastor Manydt and his wife walking together in the procession towards the church where they would be married. This was a very memorable day because Pastor Manydt has waited many years for this day, working very hard to save the necessary money for the bride price.
Tim Preaching in Siem Reap
When we were in Siem Reap, we worshipped with the mother church. Tim, having been asked the day before to prepare a message for the service, shared about the Great Commision, pointing out that our responsibility as Christians is to immerse those we come in contact with each day in the Grace, Peace, and Love that comes from our Father in Heaven.
Women's Conference 2008
Also during the time that the team was with us, we held the annual Women’s Conference. Women were in attendance from over 10 different churches around the country, meeting together for reports, voting, teaching, and for mutual encouragement. Here you see Tim sharing a story of one of the first Christians in Cambodia, a women whose years of service and dedication to God are both remarkable and inspiring.
Here you are seeing Tiffany, with Leak acting as translator, sharing about God’s perfect plan for our lives, a life that is producing fruit and found closely connected to the Vine, which is Jesus Christ. In her message, Tiffany told a very meaningful story about an experience of picking mangos with our students, equating their excitement of finding a ripe mango to God holding us up, showing us to everyone, and proclaiming us ripe for service. However, we can only become ripe for service when we remain connected to the vine that is Jesus Christ. It was meaningful not only because of its relevance to finding our worth and our stength in God, the theme for the conference, but also because Tiffany shared the story herself, with no help from the translator, in very clear and precise Khmer.
During the lectures and workshops, the women had many opportunities to sit together and talk about what it means to find their worth in God and to live the kind of lives that both point others toward God and bring glory to Him.
Kratie Church Dedication
For you faithful readers, you may remember a trip that Tim took to Kratie to help with the church construction with a team from Michigan. In April we were very fortunate to attend the dedication service for this church. Here you are seeing a group picture of those who attended the service.
During the service, the National Superintendent, Pastor Kong Kimsan, presided over the ceremonies. Here you are seeing Pastor Kimsan, two of our Bible School students from Kratie, and another youth group member leading the prayers during the service.
This was a special time because the entire mission team was together for this special event. Here you are seeing the Rafaels, the Kongs, the Kratie pastors, and Tess (the World Hope volunteer) posing for a picture after the service.
After the celebration, the party continued at the river. This is a notable picture for us because it shows Pastor Kimsan and his wife swimming together in the river. It is notable because it shows Kimsan and his wife holding hands (a rarity in Khmer culture) as they worked to move against the river’s current. It was very sweet to see our National Leader and his wife enjoying a special afternoon together.
The youth of the church enjoyed the afternoon together as well. Here you are seeing some of the youth reclining in the river for the taking of this picture.
Here you are seeing Channa, one of our Bible School students, sitting in one of the many hammocks, and enjoying the festivities.
District Conference 2008
Following the church dedication service, all of the pastors traveled to Phnom Penh to attend the National Ministerial Convention and District Conference. It was a time of reporting, encouragement, and planning for the future. Here you are seeing Tim as he gives his yearly report of ministerial activities. (proudly reporting in Khmer this year)
As part of the District Conference, we set goals for church growth, tithing, discipleship, and many other areas of measurable church development. Here you are seeing Pastor Muen and Pastor Rotha bringing in a banner displaying the goal set for church membership.
Pastor Kong and Sinat's Wedding
One final event in April was the wedding of two of our pastors, Kong and Sinat. Their wedding took place at the church in Kran Yao, which is located approximately 60 kilometers from Phnom Penh. Here you are seeing Tiffany and Tim participating in the “Joining of the Hands” ceremony with Pastors Kong and Sinat.