Gallant Pictures 2008

Gallant Picture Update for December

2008-12-02T10:28:00.000-08:00

We were very blessed to be able to share with the 2nd Generation class at Brookhaven Wesleyan just a couple of weeks after we arrived home from Cambodia. These young people have been praying for us and encouraging us throughout our first term of missionary service.

Here you are seeing a picture of Tiffany sharing about the life and ministry of one of our students, Som On. The young boys and girls of this group have been praying for our students over the past years, and we were very pleased to be able to share with them the answers to their prayers.

A surprise at the end of the night had the group presenting us with several baby shower gifts. This was one of the first of the baby showers that people threw for Tiffany and our soon-to-be-born baby, causing us to truly praise our Lord for He does certainly cause the blessings to rain down.

The first major event in our time of home ministries was our participation in the week-long missions conference that took place in Bluffton, OH at Ebenezer Mennonite Church. This conference, that gave us the opportunity to share many times with different groups, allowed us to touch base with one of the churches that have been so influential in our spiritual development and missionary service.

Here you are seeing Tiffany and Tim sharing at the Friday evening banquet. We were asked to share about the eternal investment that Ebenezer has made in our lives, especially through their involvement and support of the ministry in Cambodia, an investment in the Kingdom of God.

One of the greatest parts about being at home is spending time with our families. Here you are seeing Tim spending some time with his nephew, Jacob. Talking about important matters such as trucks, games and coloring have been elements of our lives that we have missed being halfway around the world for the past two years.

We were very happy to attend Bluffton’s Blaze of Lights celebration. It was made even more special as we were able to spend the time with our nephew, Hunter, pictured here with Tiffany. The night was perfect for reconnecting with friends, seeing the lights, and driving Hunter around Bluffton in his little car/stroller.

Here is another picture from the Blaze of Lights showing Tim and Hunter.

Visit of Dr. Romy Caringal, GP Asia Area Director

2008-09-25T06:07:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the month of September, our Asia Area Director, Dr. Romy Caringal, came to visit and to facilitate a series of meetings concerning the National Church of Cambodia. Accompanying Dr. Romy was the General Superintendent of the Philippines Conference, Rev. Albert Patacsil. Pictured above from left to right are Tiffany, Tim, Dr. Romy, Pastor Kimsan, and Rev. Albert.

Dr. Romy and Rev. Albert met with the leadership. Here you are seeing the visitors meeting with us, with Pastors Kimsan and Sudthkahn and our translator Leak.

This is a picture of the DBA meeting that took place on the second day of the visitation. The leadership formed plans for the future of the mission and worked on several procedural issues for the DBA meetings.

This picture shows the pastors and the guests in the province of Takeo, where we went to make a visit to Pastor Poleak’s new church plant. The far shores of the lake that you see in the background are actually in the country of Vietnam.

The pastors were called to Phnom Penh on the final day of the visit, where they all attended a special meeting of the National Church. Here you are seeing some of the pastors as they open the meeting with a time of praise and worship.

This final picture shows Tim with Pastor Kimsan and Rev. Albert as we talked together before the service in Phnom Penh. It was a great time in the fact that the three men pictured here, representing 3 countries in the International Conference of the Wesleyan Church, met together, fellowshipped together, encouraged each other and worked together for the glory of the Lord.

Bin Cheow Fellowship

2008-09-25T05:59:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, we scheduled a fellowship at our house. The fellowship, as are many in the Khmer culture, centered around a special kind of food. The food that we prepared that day is a special dish that they call Bin Cheow, a crepe-like dish filled with pork and bean sprouts. Here you see two of Pastor Kimsan’s daughters, Chamreoun and Channa, preparing the braziers and the charcoal.

The fellowship was planned by Tiffany. She and her language teacher, Bpou, pictured above, had planned this day for several weeks. You might remember Bpou’s story from our previous prayer letter, which can be accessed on the main blog page. She has been Tiffany’s language instructor for over 18 months, and has repeatedly asked questions about believing in Jesus and has attended church with us several times.

Here you see Pastor Malout cooking the Bin Cheow. As stated before, the food resembles a crepe, however it is made with rice flour and filled with pork and vegetables. You then eat it wrapped in a lettuce leaf and fresh herbs and dipped in a special sauce.

Visit to Wildlife Reserve with Good News Wesleyan Church

2008-09-25T05:54:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday, we were invited to join the members of Good News Wesleyan as they traveled to a wildlife park on a Sunday afternoon. Here you are seeing several of our friends posing at the park.

We brought food to eat for lunch, a buffet for them, and we tried many different Khmer dishes that we had not previously eaten. Here you are seeing Pastor Chantol and her husband Sonikol with one of the lay leaders of the church, Boleak.

A highlight of the afternoon was the visit to see the performing elephant. After dancing for several minutes to a variety of Khmer dance songs, the elephant began playing soccer. Here you are seeing the elephant passing the ball back to the trainer after the trainer had kicked it to him.

We had a great time of fellowship with the families of the pastors. Here you are seeing Pastor Poleak and his wife Pastor Malout and one of the their twin boys, getting ready to leave on their moto.

On the drive home, we stopped by a roadside stand to buy beef that had been slaughtered that morning. I told Looksrey that we would show this picture to our friends in the United States because they would not believe the fact that you could just stop your car alongside the road and buy a quarter of beef.

World Hope Anti-Human Trafficking Seminars

2008-09-04T00:35:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago, we hosted a World Hope team from the United States. The focus of the team was educating our pastors and church members about Human Trafficking and how this tragic issue can be noticed and reported in their towns and villages. Here you are seeing three of the participants in the conference in Kampong Cham as they work during a time of group discussion and journaling.

When the team was not teaching, they were interacting with the people. Here you are seeing one of the team members, Felicia, showing the video that she had taken to Pastor Kieth’s twin boys.

Much thanks and appreciation must be given to these two individuals. The woman on the left is Allyn, the World Hope Project Coordinator for Cambodia, who prepared the logistics of the conference. The other individual is Pastor Kieth, the pastor of the church where the conference was held who works closely with Allyn on the World Hope projects in Cambodia.

In traveling with the team to Kampong Cham, we were able to help with the conference as well as meet with two of our students who are currently doing their summer field internship in Pastor Kieth’s church. Here you are seeing Tiffany talking with Theavy.

The Sunday prior to the conference, Tim was asked to come and share with the congregation of Pastor Kieth’s church. Tim preached about the Lost Coin and the Lost Sheep from Luke 15 with the translation help of one of our students, Zanda.

Saturday Lunches at Good News Wesleyan

2008-08-23T04:36:00.000-07:00

During the past months, the church here in Phnom Penh has helped to host a citywide program supported and led by World Vision. The program focuses on diet and nutrition, especially to lower class families. The role of our church was to prepare two courses of food from foods that can be cheaply purchased in local markets. Here you are seeing Tiffany and the National Superintendent’s wife cutting vegetables in the morning.

During the course of the day, we had great fellowship with the pastors, their families and with the people who participated in the conference. Here you are seeing Tiffany with Pastor Reksmey’s youngest son.

Maintaining a good diet during this difficult economic time in Cambodia is essential, and we pray that families such as can be seen in this picture can take what they learned in the conference to help improve their health and their well-being.

The conference was also good for the church as we made new contacts and established new relationships with people in the community. Here you are seeing Pastor Reksmey registering people at the door.

Team from Levant Wesleyan

2008-08-23T04:34:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago, we had the privilege of hosting a team from Levant Wesleyan from the Western New York District. The team came to visit another ministry, but they made time in their schedule to see the work that God is doing in Cambodia through the Wesleyan Church. As an example of the ministry we took them to Boeng Krum to visit the church and meet the members. Here you are seeing one of the pastors of the church greeting the congregation, with Tim’s help in translation.

The team later said that one of the highlights for them was meeting Pastor Kimsan, our National Superintendent. They said that his spirit and love of the people was very inspiring and they loved seeing the smiles of people as they worshiped and fellowshipped together. Here you are seeing Pastor Kimsan and Pastor Sithon leading the worship.

We spent time praying with people, eating a meal together, talking, laughing, and telling stories. The day ended at a church member’s house where we sat together and heard about his life. It was a great day with the team, and they enjoyed their time visiting the Wesleyan Church.

Fellowship at our House

2008-08-23T04:26:00.000-07:00

We had a World Hope Team come from the United States to instruct some of our pastors and church leaders in teaching methods. Following one of the class sessions, we had some of the pastors and teachers to our house for prayer and fellowship. We played a game, and the man pictured here was the star of the game with his impersentation of a gheko.

The time for the prayer and the games were great times of fellowship and fun. Here you are seeing Tim with Leak and Chamreoun.

Here you are seeing Teacher Channy posing with Theavey with SoPhol in the background.

The students had played the game before, so they were in charge of instructing the other people on the right way to play. Here you are seeing Channa describing the proper way to play the game.

After the fellowship, we had coffee and cake for our guests to eat. It is still amazing to us to see how much sugar and sweetened condensed milk the Khmer people put in their coffees.

Isaac's Dedication

2008-08-23T04:25:00.000-07:00

We informed you before about the birth of Pastor Kimsua and Srey Eim’s son, Isaac. To give a small update, both baby and mother are doing well.

We were privileged to be part of Isaac’s baby dedication at the church in Phnom Penh. It was a special time of prayer and celebrating the birth of this new baby. Here you are seeing Pastor Kimsan, the National Superintendent and Isaac’s grandfather, leading the prayers.

Here is another picture of Srey Eim and Isaac.

Various Pictures

2008-08-23T04:22:00.000-07:00

We were invited to attend the Kampong Cham Zone pastors’ meeting, and Tim was asked to preach a message. With several weeks of prep time, yes it does take that long, Tim was able to give the message completely in Khmer, preaching about coming to know the Christ as He is portrayed in the Scriptures.

In this past year, the Wesleyan Church has been blessed with many new marriages of its pastors, and now the babies are beginning to arrive. Counting our daughter who will be born in December, there will be eight new babies born this year to our pastors and their wives. It is a blessing and definitely one way to increase the membership in our churches. In this picture you are seeing Pastor Sithon and his wife Srey with their new baby, Rafa.

Pastor Emtee's Funeral

2008-07-30T06:16:00.000-07:00

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.

Meetings and Fellowships with the students

2008-07-30T06:12:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-30T06:02:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-01T09:04:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-01T09:03:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-01T09:01:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-01T08:57:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-01T08:52:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-01T08:47:00.000-07:00

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.

Video Footage in Kratie and Toul Sre

2008-04-09T07:22:00.000-07:00

We have been assigned to do some taping for a video that highlights God at work in Cambodia. Here you are seeing Tim and Allyn, the director of World Hope Projects here in Cambodia, interviewing Teacher Titus, one of the teachers at the School of Hope in Kratie.

Here you are seeing Tim and Titus working on the question and answer phase of the interview, to hone the answers to usable sound bytes for the final editing.

Here you are seeing Tim listening to the interviews as they are being conducted and monitoring the quality of the taping.

That night following the taping, Tiffany was asked to teach a special lesson to the students of Teacher Tess, the other instructor at the School of Hope.

The following day, we traveled to Kampong Cham where we videotaped the community development work in the community of Toul Sre. Here you are seeing Tim and two pastors walking and talking about the benefits that they are seeing in this community since World Hope began implementing development projects.

The landscape provided great backdrops for the taping of interviews and scenes of people interacting together.

The main focus of the two days in Toul Sre was a seminar on raising healthy chickens. Here you are seeing Tim videotaping the instructor and the participants interacting and learning together.

A major achievement in this community has been the digging of wells that now provides the necessary water to plant vegetables and have more sanitary living conditions. Here you are seeing the people of the community posing around one of their new wells that was just completed this past month.

Following the picture, the group joined together to pray for the well, thanking God and asking for His continued providence for the community.

The presence of these wells is life changing for these people who previously had to go buy water at a considerable expense. Having adequate drinking water, water for irrigation and also for cleaning and hygiene has improved the lives of the people in this community drastically.

Here you are seeing several young children of the community bathing during the heat of the day. Their joy at using the well and staying clean brought smiles to our faces and warmth to our hearts.

Here you are seeing one of the young boys peeking around the well as Tiffany snapped his picture.

Easter Service at the New Lot

2008-04-09T07:20:00.000-07:00

Easter Sunday was spent at the new lot where we are building the new Wesleyan Bible Institute. Through a series of circumstances and sharing, a church has sprung up among the workers. Many have accepted Jesus as their Savior, and now they have built a semi-permanent structure where they can worship together.

Following the message, we passed out crosses that had been donated by an individual from the United States. The workers enjoyed these crosses greatly, and here you are seeing our students posing together after they passed out the crosses.

Following the service, we had an Easter Egg hunt for the workers. They had never done such a thing before, and they all really enjoyed it, especially because they were able to eat the colored duck eggs for their breakfast that day. (note.. we use duck eggs for coloring because the duck eggs are white and the chicken eggs are brown in color.)

Here you are seeing our contractor, Mr. Chree, posing with the two eggs that he found. Mr. Chree is a Christian as is his assistant, and he has done a great job of encouraging his workers to attend the church and allowing them time for Bible Studies throughout the week.

Here you are seeing Tiffany with Teacher Channy and some of the workers gathering around the coffee pot after the service. We brought nearly three gallons of coffee, and though they said it was too strong and had to therefore add great amounts of sweetened condensed milk, they drank it all.

Good Friday Service

2008-04-09T07:18:00.000-07:00

The following Friday was Good Friday, and we had a time of remembrance and prayer at our house. Here you are seeing Pastor Kimsan sharing with those in attendance after we watched the movie The Passion of the Christ.

After Pastor Kimsan shared, Dr. Bob shared about the significance of Communion, and we all shared in Holy Communion to end the night of reflection and meditation.

Pastor Rotha's Wedding in Tboung Khmum

2008-04-09T07:14:00.000-07:00

Quite different from Malachi’s wedding, the wedding of Teacher Rotha and Pastor Voechnear (aka Elizabeth) was a wedding that showed attention to the traditional styles of the Khmer wedding. Here you are seeing Rotha and his parents at the head of the line of guests during the Fruit ceremony where we brought gifts to the family of the bride.

We woke up very early in the morning to prepare ourselves and then travel to the join in this service. Here you are seeing us walking in the line, carrying boxes of cookies on silver plates.

During another ceremony later in the day, this time the “Hair Cutting Ceremony” we posed with Srey Lis for this picture.

Yet again, Tim was asked to give a blessing and a prayer for the new couple. As we have worked closely with Teacher Rotha over the past years, it was a special privilege to be part of his wedding day.

The wedding went on all day, with ceremony after ceremony and meal after meal. We ate three times at the wedding, and the cooks worked all day to prepare the many courses of food that we all enjoyed throughout the day.

During the final ceremony and meal, all of the guests are dressed in their very best clothing. Here you are seeing Tiffany and the students posing together.

The final ceremony of the day, the cake ceremony was a loud and festive time to celebrate the marriage of Rotha and Voechnear. We had sparklers and silly string. We sang songs and clapped and cheered as Rotha and Voechnear interacted together as husband and wife and cut the cake together.

Pastor Malachi's Wedding in Kampong Chnang

2008-04-09T07:10:00.000-07:00

The month of March was full of activity and weddings. The first wedding was for Pastor Malachi and his new wife Srey Roath, pictured above.

This wedding was slightly different as it possessed a very light and fun quality, very different from the ceremonial nature of the traditional Khmer wedding. Here you are seeing Malachi and several pastors and friends lounging together for a picture before the service.

The wedding took place in Kampong Chnang, and we traveled there the day before the wedding, staying in a guest house situated about an hours from the actual wedding. Here you are seeing the Bickerts, Mamel, Mam Grace and John Park posing with several jakfruits that were growing on the property of the guesthouse.

Upon arriving, we joined in the morning breakfast of rice porridge. Here you are seeing Tim and Pastor Banyon posing together during the meal.

The missionaries are almost always asked to give a special blessing to the new bride and groom. Here you are seeing Tim giving his blessing and advice for their new marriage.

The ceremony called “Joining the Hands” is an opportunity for those attending the wedding to offer gifts for the new couple to purchase the things necessary to begin their home together. Here you are seeing us giving the money to Malachi and Srey Roath.

A special time of the wedding was when Srey Roath’s father, who is not a Christian , gave his daughter a bracelet during the “Joining the Hands’ ceremony. Here you are seeing the father, carefully attaching the bracelet to his daughter’s wrist. Tears were flowing from the eyes of father and daughter during this special time.

The entire team of missionaries gathered together for this picture with the new husband and wife.

Channa was one of the bridesmaids for Srey Roath, and here you are seeing her pose with Tiffany after the service.

March Piano Recital

2008-04-09T07:08:00.000-07:00

Ms. Grace Tsutada had instructed the students on the subject of Holiness and taught them a great deal about playing the piano. Before her departure, she scheduled a second piano recital, and in this picture, you can see her welcoming the guests at the beginning of the recital.

The students had been practicing for several weeks, and their hard work paid off during the night of music and accomplishment.

Here you are seeing on of our students, Channa, carefully playing her piece of music.

A special part of the night was when Pastor Poleak, who pastors the church that is located on the third level of the Bible School property, played a hymn while his wife Malout sang.

Visit to Boeng Krum

2008-04-09T07:04:00.000-07:00

The weekend following Greg and Resie’s departure, we traveled to Boeng Krum for a fellowship with the students and with the church members. One of the main points of the trip was to enjoy the mangos that can be found at the plantation of Srey Lis, pictured here adoring a mango, freshly picked from a tree.

It is always a blessing to spend time with our students, and we learned a great deal from them concerning mangos, the most popular fruit here in Cambodia. Here you are seeing So Phol explaining to Teacher Tiffany how you can tell when a mango is ready to pick.

The countryside surrounding the plantation was very beautiful that day, and we were compelled to take a picture and share with all of you the beauty of the Cambodia.

For our midday meal, we shared in baked fish, rice, and several other dishes. Here you are seeing Srey Lis’s father on the right pictured with the fish that had been slowly roasting all morning.

After lunch, we rested, ate mangos, and went walking around the plantation. It was a special time of relaxation for us and for the students after a long week of classes.

The life of a missionary… eating mangos and sitting with friends on a beautiful afternoon.

Goodbye to the Fernandezes

2008-04-09T07:01:00.000-07:00

The team from Dakota coincided with Aleeyah’s birthday party and the departure of Greg and Resie Fernandez from Cambodia for a year of furlough in the Philippines. Here you are seeing Resie and Aleeyah preparing to blow out the birthday candles.

It was a great night of sharing our appreciation for Greg and Resie and their entire family. Here you are seeing the female students gathering for a picture during the party.

Following the time of sharing, we spent time praying for Greg and Resie; asking for God’s special blessing to be upon them in their travels and in their ministry in the Philippines. Here you are seeing Pastor Keith Nash leading the prayers for Greg, Resie, Aleeyah and Esher.

Seeing our friends and their children leaving the field for a year was difficult for us. It was Greg and Resie that welcomed us at the airport when we first arrived, and it was a great pleasure working with them during these years.

Here you are seeing Resie waving goodbye to the students, the missionaries, and the pastors. We will look forward to the time when Greg and Resie come back to the field so that we can minister together again at the WBI and the Wesleyan Church of Cambodia.

Dakota Work and Ministry Team

2008-04-09T06:44:00.000-07:00

A week after the Hyde Park team left, we had another team of visitors from South Dakota. Pastor Keith Nash from Mitchell, SD has come to Cambodia many times over the years, but this time he brought Pastor Jim Biswell and Duane of Watertown Wesleyan Church. Here you are seeing Pastor Jim and Duane worshiping in a church in Kampong Cham.

Pastor Jim preached four times that Sunday, at four different churches and cell groups around Kampong Cham. Here you are seeing Pastor Jim and his translator Leak sharing the story of the life of the Apostle Peter, and the lessons that we can learn from his spiritual journey.

That Sunday was full of worship, building relationships, and traveling roads that could be considered impassable. We journeyed for nearly twenty minutes along roads with great numbers of rocks and ruts to arrive at this church. Here you are seeing the house in Toul Sre where a group of Christians meets every Sunday

Along with preaching and teaching, this team also came to work on the New Building Project. We continued to backfill the foundational holes, working for an entire week in order to help the workers and the contractor at the lot, investing our sweat and hard work in the future of the WBI.

It was great to work with these men throughout the week. We spent several weekends at Pastor Biswell’s church while we were in the United States, but it was a special blessing to have him come to Cambodia, to work, laugh, and share together all that God is doing in our lives. Here you are seeing Tim working with the men, dumping one of the many baskets of dirt that we filled throughout the week.

Pastor Keith’s main ministry was teaching a module of classes at the WBI. He taught about the theology of God and Man. His method of teaching by story and by example was a great blessing to our students. Here you are seeing Pastor Keith and Leak teaching at one of the WBI chapels.

Having visitors such as these men was a great joy to us. Here you are seeing Tim and Pastor Keith enjoying a story together during the final night of their stay in Phnom Penh.

Team from Hyde Park Wesleyan

2008-04-09T06:40:00.000-07:00

After a week of conducting medical clinics around the country, a team from Hyde Park, Pennsylvania spent a day working at the lot of the New Wesleyan Bible Institute. They spent the day backfilling the foundational holes with great mounds of soil using traditional Khmer tools and baskets. The intense heat and backbreaking labor did nothing to dampen their spirits, and we had a wonderful day of working together.

With American ingenuity and machinery, any skilled operator could have accomplished what we did that day in a single hour. However, working in the Khmer way speaks volumes to the Khmer workers who are building our school, a testimony without words.

Iowa Ministry Team

2008-02-14T08:35:00.000-08:00

Only several days after the team from Kentwood left, a team from Iowa arrived after a time of work in Thailand. We had a great time of fellowship with these men and women during their several days with us in Phnom Penh. It was also a special treat for Tiffany as the mother-in-law of her former college roomate was also on the team, and they had time to sit together and talk and reminisce. Here you are seeing the ladies and the missionaries posing for a picture.

The men also posed for a picture at the airport. We had the opportunity to house several of the men while they stayed in Phnom Penh. It was great to talk to them about their experiences in Thailand, what was happening at home in the United States, and of course, answering their questions about life and work in Cambodia.

February Student Fellowship

2008-02-14T08:32:00.000-08:00

While Tim was in Kratie, Tiffany had the opportunity to host our students for a Friday fellowship. The students had been studying quite hard for many weeks, and were quite tired and worn out. Tiffany focused on the quality of resting in the Lord, and allowed the students to spend time on activities of their own choosing. Here you are seeing a picture of Srey Lis and SoPhol playing a game together during the fellowship.

Another activity for the students was painting and drawing. Here you are seeing Pholla spending time painting a picture on our roof.

In this picture you are seeing four of our guys playing cards together. From left to right, Rotha, Leak, Som On and Kimsua had a great time playing together.

Resting, physically resting, was also on the menu for the evening for our students. Here you are seeing Channa getting ready for a well-deserved rest during the fellowship.

In this picture, you are seeing Chamreoun, the daughter of our National Superintendent and one of our students, Zanda, painting together on our roof.

Kentwood Construction Team

2008-02-14T08:22:00.000-08:00

This is the team of men who descended upon the building project in Kratie. The team consisted of five men from Kentwood Community Church in Michigan, one National Superintendent of Cambodia, four national pastors, two missionaries, and of course two pastors and various members from the Kratie Church.

One of our initial projects was to prepare and pour the concrete flooring of the entire church. This project took several days of work.

One of the initial jobs was to carry buckets of sand to prepare the floor. Here you are seeing two of the men from Kentwood, Bob and Dick, working with the buckets that we used to carry the sand, the rocks, the cement, and the water all throughout the project.

After the sand, we covered the floor with rocks to fill in the floor. Here you are seeing Eric and Malachi preparing rocks to bring into the church.

Here you are seeing Bernie arranging the rocks after we brought them into the church. After the rocks were placed, we flooded the floor and began to pound the rocks into the sand. It was a big, big job, but we were very happy to see the floor brought to completion by the end of the second day of work.

The third day of work was our longest and hardest day. On that day, we began the day by mixing the concrete for the headers. Here you are seeing Jack standing atop one of the piles of gravel, rocks and sand, vigorously dumping the heavy bags of cement so that they can be mixed into the rest of the materials.

Because we did not have a cement mixer, we had to mix it all by hand. We mixed six large piles of material so that they could be used for the headers for the church. Each of these piles had to be shoveled and blended together, not once, but normally two to three times. This would take about twenty minutes of busy shoveling before the cement was mixed to the contractors specifications. After that, we could form the cement into the “doughnut” as we called it and flooded it with water.

After the “doughnut” had enough water, we would use hoes and shovels to mix the cement so that it could be then shoveled into buckets that were then carried to the upper levels using a pulley system. Here you are seeing the two “partners”, Dick and Kimsan, carrying the heavy buckets of cement to the place where they would hoist it to the roof.

Here you are seeing a picture of Pastor Vande, the head pastor of the Kratie Church. Vande not only amazed us with his work ethic, but also with his knowledge of construction practices. Many times during the week, Vande showed us all how to work, the smart way to do a certain task, and he lead all of the workers with true leadership and a servant’s heart.

The first night that we were in Kratie, I had the opportunity to attend the English classes at the School of Hope. As I entered the class, I was surprised to have Teacher Titus ask me to teach them a small lesson about whatever I wanted. I was glad that I had thought about this a little ahead of time, so I just led them through a lesson that I had taught previously to my class in Phnom Penh. The students at the school are great, and we are very proud of the job that Titus and Rolitess are doing at the school.

On Sunday afternoon, we had time to spend with the members of the church. I was very pleased to spend time with several of the youth group of the church, talking about their lives and helping them with their English. In this picture you see Tim and Nareth going through an English lesson, reading from Nareth’s book together.

This is a boat that was on the river outside of our hotel in Kratie. It was very pleasant to sit outside of our hotel, watch the boat and see the sun set over the river.

After our return from Kratie, we spent a morning working at the new Bible School. As a missionary, I have spent many hours working on preparing lessons and studying language. However, in these days with the team from Kentwood, it was great doing manual labor again, lifting and carrying, sweating and straining, it was a great break from the normal work of a missionary.

Tiffany Speaking at WBI Prayer Service

2008-02-14T08:19:00.000-08:00

Tiffany was the speaker at one of our Wednesday evening prayer meetings at the WBI in the month of January. Her focus was intercessory prayer, and she did a great job of sharing the message in Khmer. In this picture, you are seeing Tiffany and one of our students Zanda, who assisted Tiffany during parts of the message.

During the prayer meeting, Tiffany formed us into two groups and we studied two different Bible stories to analyze them for elements of intercessory prayer. Here you are seeing some of the members one of the groups as they study the story of Abraham as he pleads for the few righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah.

This is a picture of Tim and the other group as they study the story of Esther.

As another element of the study, Tiffany had Som On (center) stand at the back of the room in the style of Moses holding his arms up during the battle with the Amalekites. Tiffany did this to show the importance of having other people hold you up in prayer, as can be seen through the two “assistants” , Pholla and Leak. After holding up his arms for over ten minutes, Som On became tired, so these two men came and assisted him, helping him to hold up his arms for the rest of the time.

Birthday Party

2008-02-14T08:16:00.000-08:00

In the month of January, we celebrated the birthdays of Tim and Resie. As you can see from the candles, we both turned 29 this year, and it was great to be able to celebrate with all of our friends and coworkers.

During the party, we had time to sing, eat and talk. Here you are seeing our National Superintendent Pastor Kimsan and Tim talking together.

With nearly 25 people in attendance, and because we had two birthdays to celebrate, we had two cakes to share with the people. Here you are seeing Resie cutting and serving the cake to the hungry crowds.

New Years Day at Pastor Kimsua's House

2008-02-14T08:15:00.000-08:00

On New Years Day, we were invited to the house of Pastor Kimsua, a teacher and translator at the Bible School. Kimsua and Tim have grown very close over the year that we have been here on the field, and it was a great blessing to share in this time of worship, conversation and fellowship with his family. In this picture you are seeing us with Som On, one of our Bible School students, Channa the sister of Kimsua and also a WBI student and Pastor Poleak the pastor of the Good News Church.

Teacher Rotha's Engagement Celebration

2008-02-14T08:11:00.000-08:00

The day after our final Christmas celebration in Phnom Penh, we again traveled to Kampong Cham for the engagement celebration of one of our staff members, Luk Kru Rotha. He and his soon to be wife Voechnear (Elizabeth to some) were pledged to each other during this celebration. In this picture you are seeing Tiffany, Mam Grace, and Mamel posing for a picture before the ceremony.

As with all Khmer celebrations, the part of the emcee or the master of ceremonies is very important. This person directs the ceremony, explains the importance, adds humor, and is truly one of the memorable points of the celebration. Rotha was very fortunate in the fact that he had four directors of his engagement, Pastor Sideth (pictured above) and three other of our most senior and respected pastors. Together, they added great enthusiasm and fun to the celebration.

Here you are seeing a picture of Rotha and Voechnear dressed in their engagement garb, bowing ceremoniously to each other.

As we were driving home, we stopped with the four “Masters of the Ceremony” to take this picture on the bridge that crosses the Mekong River. From left to right: Pastor Nit Banyon of the Siem Riep Church, Tim, Pastor Kong Kimsan the National Superintendent, Pastor Suthkahn of the Phnom Penh Church and Pastor Sideth of the Kampong Chnang Church.

Phnom Penh Christmas II

2008-01-22T06:47:00.000-08:00

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.

Boeng Krum Christmas

2008-01-22T06:43:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-22T06:39:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-22T06:36:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-22T06:31:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-22T06:28:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-22T06:18:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-22T06:15:00.000-08:00

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.

Phnom Penh Christmas I

2008-01-22T06:12:00.000-08:00

The next Christmas service took place here in Phnom Penh, at the church of one of our former students Vicheak. One of the interesting things about a Khmer service is that household pets also enjoy these festivities, the cat pictured here spent most of the service chewing on the feet of Greg and Tim as they sat and tried to listen to the sermon given by the District Superintendent. Another interesting fact about these services is that even though the picture above may seem chaotic, everyone walks home with a pair of shoes, and most of the time they are the shoes in which they arrived.

Here you are seeing a picture of Vicheak, he is the one kneeling as he greets his guests. It is great to see one of our former students pastoring a church, using the gifts that God has given him to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to those in his neighborhood. He and his entire family have a great witness to all of their neighbors.

The children sang a special rendition of a very famous Khmer Christmas Hymn. The children probably spent many weeks practicing with Vicheak, and they sounded great as they sang the hymn Holy Christmas Night.

After the service, we all gathered together to share in a meal of delicious curry and bread. Here you are seeing us pose with one of our fellow teachers at the Bible School, Neakcru Channy.

Takeo Christmas

2008-01-22T06:02:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, this is a Christmas photo here in Cambodia. In the United States, Christmas photos normally consist of Christmas trees and snow. However, here in Cambodia, the perfect day for a Christmas celebration is a cool, sunny morning when the leaves are falling lazily from the trees. This is Christmas is the Takeo province, and we hope that you enjoy reading more about it.

We were asked to lead the children’s program for the Christmas service. Because we had the entire morning and because there were nearly one hundred children in attendance, we had big job ahead of us, and we knew that we were going to have a great time.

Tiffany prepared the lesson for the children, but we asked several of our female students to come along with us to Takeo to teach the lesson. Here you are seeing Tiffany and three of her students, SoPhol, Theavey, and Zanda doing a warm-up / morning massage exercise at the beginning of the lesson.

These three young women are training to be pastors. God has blessed them all with the gift of working with children, and here in Takeo they were able to use those gifts and their training that they received from Tiffany’s course on Child Evangelism to minister to the children. Here you are seeing Zanda explaining the principles of Light and Darkness.

It was very rewarding to see our students performing so well, but it was also very inspiring to see their ministry resulting in several of the children accepting Jesus as their Savior. Here you are seeing several of the children saying the Sinners Prayer at the close of the lesson.

Because we had the entire morning, we also had time for games. With each new game, the children became more and more excited, laughing and shouting loudly to each other. One of the games that we played was Samson, Delilah and the Lion, a Biblified (is that even a word?) version of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Tim was the leader of the boys’ team, who in the end were victorious over the girls.

We also played several games with balloons. Because it was a breezy day and because balloons just have a habit of running away throughout the day, we decided to use the largest storage area that we could, our car. We did this at the beginning of the day, and though we were all out of breath from blowing up so many balloons, the children had a great time stuffing as many balloons as they could into our Camry.

It was a great morning of ministry, but also of fellowship with our students. Seeing them in the ministry, teaching children, and helping with the service was very rewarding to us as their teachers. We praise God for giving us this great day here in Cambodia.

We also had a great amount of fun with the children. Here you are seeing them pose for a picture shortly after we finished our lesson.

Hey! Watch where you are going! Here you are seeing Leak and Som On taking a spin on someone’s bicycle before the services began in the morning.

It was a great morning in Takeo. Here you are seeing Tiffany posing with Teacher Channy, Theavey, SoPhol, Som On and Zanda as they sat down to the meal that followed the service.

Making Cards in Phnom Penh

2008-01-22T05:53:00.000-08:00

Even busy missionaries have to find time for certain activities that give them a release. Tiffany finds here release through scrapbooking and making cards. Several of our friends here in Phnom Penh also find making cards “therapeutic”, so they all spent an afternoon together. In this picture you are seeing Katherine, Hannah, Tiffany, Denise, Christine and Abby. (The men sat in the other room, talking about terribly important things such as baseball and videogames.)

The life of a Third-Culture-Kid is often very difficult with so many adjustments in finding a definition of normal, so it is a blessing for Tiffany to able to spend an afternoon with these girls, hearing about their lives here in Phnom Penh, encouraging them, and seeing that the lives of TCK’s are often the “Same Same” as other kids, “but different.”