Jenny & I so enjoy those times where we get out of our compound and take the 25 minute car ride to Central Market (Phsar Thom Thmei) and Sorya Shopping Center. We frequently visit these places, and have built relationships with tuk tuk drivers, store staff, gracery store clerks, and food court servers. The English we share with them is sparse, but they all know why we come. Whether we are buying a couple of DVD's, ordering our "same same" at the food court, or accepting a ride to the "waterpark" for "$3", we are enjoying these people whom God has put us in contact with.
On our venture today Jenny and Geoffrey (a new missionary at CMO) decided to partake of the local Cambodian delicacy of fried silkworm. We have often seen enormous plates filled to overflowing with silkworms, cockroaches, tarantulas, and God knows what else, but have never especially felt the desire to partake. Today was different though. I did not eat, I figure that "the two are one" so Jenny's bravery should be credited to my account as well :). Jenny actually didn't think it was so bad.  Maybe she has found a replacement for the 'dom loan tien' (deep fried sweet potatoes) we enjoy so much.
The highlight of my day was buying a black leather trenchcoat for $55. What a find.
There is much floating around our minds these days. Things are always interesting; sometimes moreso.

Tonight was the first official Bible Study I have done since being back in Cambodia. I have taught the Bible to some of my teacher/students, but tonight I was invited to teach 10 or so unbelievers. The weight of His presence was heavy, and conviction was evident on their faces. It was a poweful time, more powerful than I have ever had here in Phnom Penh.
Very early into the study, one of the students asked me, "So, how can we know God?" From there I spent a solid hour digging into foundational Christian truths, dealing mainly with why Jesus needed to come, what happened at and following the cross, where is Jesus now, why He's taking so long to return, and how easy God has made it for us to know Him. As I've already said, the weight of God in the classroom was evident, and the intense look on the students faces captured the moment well.
It is times like these that remind us of why we are here. Jenny & I have felt pretty lonely in our service to God here as "English teachers", but we have been given the green light to be teaching and discipling more. We couldn't be happier in that. It is a humbling realization that God uses those such as us, to advance His purposes. He could do it all Himself, but that would not bring glory to His name. He uses the weak, and the stupid, to glorify Himself. God has made His Gospel vulnerable by entrusting it to a Body who seems far less interested in reaching the lost than He.
The students are coming back for another study on Wednesday. I told them to take the next couple days to brood upon what I taught, and to take note of any questions they might have and bring them to the class. I will spend the next couple days praying for God to invade their lives through dreams, or supernatural encounters, or meetings with Christians who simply love to a degree they have never witnessed before.
It may be happening slowly, but the 10/40 Window is getting smaller everyday.

The day we retruned from Siem Reap (Dec23) I have not felt good. I developed a rash, fever, achy body, etc that took about 5 days to heal up. Immediately after, my eyes got incredibly sore accompanied by a bigtime headache. I went to a doctor and he told me that I had an infection and put me on 7 days worth of antibiotics. After a couple of days I started to feel better and went back to work. Too soon, I guess. My symptoms have returned and I am out of action again. Hopefully my remaining two days of antibiotics will kill this thing off so I can start being productive again.

We have made our decision that we'll return to North America in May. That gives us 5 months more here in Cambodia. We both would like to return to school and work towards a Masters degree. Florida Christian University supposedly accepts credits from Celebration Bible College, so we are gonna see about maybe doing some schooling in Orlando, or at least some correspondance, God willing. Whenever we decide to settle down, and if that happens to be in North America, we would like to be able to pursue employment within the ministry rather than secularly. Chaplaincy would be pretty sweet. A Masters, and ordination, would be required.

Cambodia remains hot. The fruit remains slow, and the ministry crawls forward, seeking to accomodate the increasing demands of New Hope English School. Our job in our time that remains is to pour into the NHES teaches, so that they can shoulder the English school after Jenny & I are gone.

It will be nice to see our home church again, and to spend some time in the company of like-minded people striving for more of the manifestation of God in our lives. Our time in Cambodia has been a realization of how much the presence of God should mean to us. "Obedience is better than sacrifice" has not been just a verse of scripture for us, but a practical life lesson.