As I sit infront of my laptop, I listen to the sounds of animal noises by my two year old nephew Brennan. Seven months ago, the little red head was saying just a few words. Now he has an extensive vocabulary, some of it borrowed from 'Tree House' including the wacky show 'In the Night Garden'. It's amazing all that can happen in just seven months.

Josh and I are currently immersed in some cooler weather as we visit friends and family on Prince Edward Island. I'll be on the island until June 3 and then I fly to Upstate New York to Double H Ranch. Josh is going to fly out later, swing into Ontario to visit Josh Heymans, and then he'll make his way to camp.

I am definitely missing the mission field.

Our time in Cambodia has come to an end. I have gotten so used to living here in the past 7 months that it seems like it should keep going and going...

Today was our last full day in Cambodia and also my 22nd birthday. Josh told me he had a surprise planned for me.

This morning we went to our favourite restaurant 'The Lazy Gecko' and then we were whisked off in a cheetah spotted jeep, with 4 other people, to Betlenut Wildlife Reserve. This reserve is the safe home to many endangered species including: otters, elephants, owls, tigers, monkeys, bush babies, etc. Majority of the animals were brought to this reserve after being found injured, usually by poachers. For example, the baby elephant named Choop had his foot snagged in a snare for about 3 weeks, and now the reserve is saving up funds to purchase him an artificial leg.

It was a long hot day at the reserve but it was an unforgettable one. My favourite animal was the otter, especially the one who squeaked endlessly and flung himself backwards into the water.

When Josh and I arrived back in the city that evening, we went to Sorya where we have befriended some girls who work at a DVD shop. They surprised me by playing 'happy birthday' on the speakers and bringing out a pink cake! I am definitely going to miss them. It's funny and random how we've become friends with them just by coming to their store.

Tomorrow, we leave in the afternoon. We will spend the morning with the children of New Hope School and then head to the airport.

I am just blown away when I think about our stay in Cambodia and everything that God is entrusting to His people here. We know Cambodia as being in SouthEast Asia and in the 10/40 window, the most ungospelized section of the world, although it is two thirds of the world's population. Founders of Cambodia Mission Outreach, Keat and Sally Kove, weren't familiar with this term. They just knew that God called them to go back and dispense from their hearts the great commission, to people who are sinking in the disparity of dead religion, and lack of the gospel.

            For me, '10/40 window' isn't just a term anymore. It has become names and faces in my mind: Mackera, Dany, the girls who work at the DVD shop...

They are the 10/40 window.

Our time in Cambodia has come to an end. I have gotten so used to living here in the past 7 months that it seems like it should keep going and going...

Today was our last full day in Cambodia and also my 22nd birthday. Josh told me he had a surprise planned for me.

This morning we went to our favourite restaurant 'The Lazy Gecko' and then we were whisked off in a cheetah spotted jeep, with 4 other people, to Betlenut Wildlife Reserve. This reserve is the safe home to many endangered species including: otters, elephants, owls, tigers, monkeys, bush babies, etc. Majority of the animals were brought to this reserve after being found injured, usually by poachers. For example, the baby elephant named Choop had his foot snagged in a snare for about 3 weeks, and now the reserve is saving up funds to purchase him an artificial leg.

It was a long hot day at the reserve but it was an unforgettable one. My favourite animal was the otter, especially the one who squeaked endlessly and flung himself backwards into the water.

When Josh and I arrived back in the city that evening, we went to Sorya where we have befriended some girls who work at a DVD shop. They surprised me by playing 'happy birthday' on the speakers and bringing out a pink cake! I am definitely going to miss them. It's funny and random how we've become friends with them just by coming to their store.

Tomorrow, we leave in the afternoon. We will spend the morning with the children of New Hope School and then head to the airport.

I am just blown away when I think about our stay in Cambodia and everything that God is entrusting to His people here. We know Cambodia as being in SouthEast Asia and in the 10/40 window, the most ungospelized section of the world, although it is two thirds of the world's population. Founders of Cambodia Mission Outreach, Keat and Sally Kove, weren't familiar with this term. They just knew that God called them to go back and dispense from their hearts the great commission, to people who are sinking in the disparity of dead religion, and lack of the gospel.

            For me, '10/40 window' isn't just a term anymore. It has become names and faces in my mind: Mackera, Dany, the girls who work at the DVD shop...

They are the 10/40 window.

 

Saturday was our last Youth Program, since Josh and I will be leaving this Wednesday morning. Josh and I both spoke at the meeting. I spoke to the Christians about joy being an evidence of Christ-filled heart. Josh spoke to the congregation about the authenticity of the Bible and the answers that all religions pine away for. It wasn’t even a long message but it was really powerful and full of information, which is obviously a fruit of studying.

After we preached, our students from each class came to the front to hug us and say good bye, and they also gave us gifts and homemade cards. It was really sweet. Some of my Bible study girls were pretty emotional, although we will meet again tomorrow for the last time.

 As for me, do I want to leave Cambodia? Not really. I’ve liked Cambodia even more than I expected. We had originally only planned on working with New Life in Christ Church for 2 months because we came to Cambodia to be with another ministry. When schedules had to be pushed back, we ended up staying with NLCC for 5 months more. This ministry has opened my eyes to the dedication, out flowing love and sacrifice of the pioneer spirit, which the founders Keat and Sally demonstrate. They have many awesome plans for the future.

 Cambodia itself has opened Josh and I’s eyes to the reality of the 10/40 window, which somehow got neglected by Christians after William Carey’s work.

 

Tomorrow Josh I will be in the New Hope School and the evening English school for the last time...come on, Holy Spirit!

"The only one I would even think of marrying is you or Dr. Luther," Katharina told Nikolaus von Amsdorf. Nikolaus was friends with Martin Luther, and was a reformer himself. Although, the problem of the fallen state of the church had taken a back seat for just a moment; as Luther and Amsdorf pined away to marry off a group of run away nuns.
Katharina von Bora was a dedicated nun. When she was sixteen years old she took her vows as a nun and she of course lived in the convent. Religion began to grow stale for Katharina as the years passed, and she began to hear about the reformation movement which was instigated by the very-controversial Martin Luther.
Katharina and a group of fellow nuns decided to run away from the convent and join the reformation. Katharina wrote to Luther asking for his help in their escape. Luther answered her request by sending a friend who regularly delivered fish to the convent. The nuns hid in the fish barrels and were whisked away in a wagon, leaving their life of Catholicism behind.
Luther went to work setting up the nuns with men, suitable to be their husbands. He managed to get all the nuns married off, except for the stubborn Katharina. She was not pleased with any of the suitors, who Luther found for her.
It was an unlikely romance.For one, Luther was sixteen years her senior. Also, Luther thought it would be better for him not to marry, since he was a  likely candidate for martyrdom due to his unconventional doctrine which oppposed the reign of the Catholic church. Even Katharina didn't have her wedding colours and gown picked out, since she planned on living a life of celebacy as a nun.
But against seemingly good logic, Luther and Katharina were engaged and married on the same day. They were not in love from the start, but they spent the rest of their lives falling in love and kindling that fire.
It is said that 'my lord Katie' as Luther began to call her , brought peace and order into his life. She was a sort of Proverbs 31 woman, pulling in income by breeding and selling cattle, doing administration for the monestry, running a hosital on site, ministering to the sick, managing their own household, gardening and many other things which Luther was not slow to give her credit for.

* I admire how Martin and Katharina were both outstanding individuals who loved serving Jesus, and when they came together they complimented each other in their service. I think that their marriage helps to futher prove that love is a choice and commitment. I think it is better to be committed and realistic about marriage requiring work, rather than just depending on passion and sparks that flickered in the beginning. The flames must continue to flicker. Even a fire needs to be tended to.

Sources:
Wikipedia
Reformation tours