“So how do you feel now that you are a Christian?” I asked seventeen year old, Dani. We were sitting outside having our nightly Bible study. It was another cool night in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

“Well, I am the only one in my family who is Christian,” she replied, as she smoothened out her gospel of John against the table we were sitting at.
     “And what is that like for you?” I asked. She smiled and seemed to be scanning her mind for the right English words to explain to me.
     “I think it is simple because one time, my mother told me about Buddha and Jesus. I believed in Buddha but only a little,” she explained, “When I came to the church to learn English I thought ‘the Christians here are so happy and friendly’ but the people outside the church aren’t nice and friendly. So I prayed to God and I asked Him something, and he answered me back! Oh, I was so surprised. I prayed to Him a second time and he answered me again. After that, I knew that He was real.”
What an awesome testimony!
     “Is your family upset that you are a Christian?” I asked.
     “Only my grandma rebukes me sometimes,” Dani shrugged, “but it is okay!”

  Do we live a life that makes people envious of our faith? Does the witness of our lives, prompt people to pray?

I didn’t know Dani during the time that her testimony was taking place in her life. To me; she was just another face in the crowd.But to God, she was His lost love.
Dani said that she saw a difference between the Christians and the people outside the church. She was drawn to God because of the friendliness and happiness of the Christians. 

This makes me think of the church at home in North America. It seems that people pursue God, despite what the Christians portray and not because of what they exemplify. The church in Cambodia is very young and it is not perfect. No church is perfect, but that’s not our alibi.

Let’s just look at ourselves and ask “Does my life make people want God?”

  Taking a tour just seemed like the best option. If Josh and I went to Vietnam by ourselves we wouldn’t have known where to go to see the scenic views, the beautiful mountains, the crashing water falls, etc. We probably would have just wandered around for six days.

There were about thirty five people on our tour, and Josh and I were the only white people. Everyone else was Cambodian and the whole tour was in Khmer. This made for a lot of surprise, since we usually didn’t know what where we were going next and what we were doing. Some of the other Cambodian tourists spoke English, and so they would tell us what time we had to meet and any other important details.

Eating meals with the Cambodians was a whole other funny situation, as Josh and I fumbled with chopsticks. Several platters of meat and vegetables were set down in the middle of the round table we were sitting at. The Cambodians seemed to watch us as entertainment as we tried to get food into our bowls. Josh would pick up a platter and use one chopstick to scrape the food into his bowl! By the last day of the tour, all the Cambodians at our table were delighted and clapped for him as he seemed to master the chopsticks and was able to pick up anything. As for myself, my technique still needs some work.

On the tour we went to Ho Chi Minh city and Dalat. In Ho Chi Minh City, we went shopping in the very trendy downtown. We also went to a few theme parks that were full of exquisite fountains and sculptures, and one theme park had a crocodile exhibit.  In Dalat we went to flower gardens, rode a cable car over a valley, visited waterfalls and saw Buddha monuments. The days were packed with activities and travel. We would meet for breakfast at 6:30am and not get back to our hotel until around 9:00 pm. There is a lot to see and do in Vietnam.

Josh and I just returned to Phnom Penh yesterday afternoon. We are back in the hot weather, and blissfully back with the beautiful people who we are ministering along side. School starts up again on Monday!

To look at our Vietnam photo album click--->HERE<---

The excitement of Khmer New year has taken the students of New Hope School captive. On this Friday, (which is their last school day before a one week vacation) books and lessons were set aside. The entire school: preschool, grade one, grade two, grade three, joined together to play games, and the air was full of...powder.

 The kids were running around with containers of baby powder throwing it and smearing it on each other. The air smelled strongly of that 'baby scent'. The children were doing 'surprise attacks' on each other, and on me. They were very happy to powder their 'teacher Jenny'. That stuff stings when it goes up the nose!

Then the water balloons came out, as if things weren't crazy enough! After a huge water fight we returned to the classroom where we played games and ate cookies. It was a great day of school!

This Sunday morning, Josh and I will go to Vietnam. We purchased one of those packages which includes a tour, hotel, food, etc. It has the potential to be a very funny cultural experience since the tour is all going to be in Khmer. On the tour, Josh and I may be the only English speaking people with a group of Cambodians. Josh and I know how to say some things, but our Khmer is very limited right now. But we really don't care if we don't understand the tour, we just want to see Vietnam and be taken to all the scenic places! If we went to Vietnam just on our own, we would have no idea where to go. We will be be in Vietnam from Sunday-Thursday, and on the following Monday school will begin again. By that time, we will only have one more month in Cambodia.