Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross,despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2
 
I think this scripture is a very popular one. We've read it many times, sometimes in a program or in a devotional, accompanied by drawing of runners. Let's take this scripture personally and to heart. 2008 is gone and we will never have another 2008 again. Hopefully '08 was a great year of growth and accomplishment, where we can now look back and recognize God-ordained seasons in our life and we can relish his faithfulness and sovereignty is everything. Now we are being presented with a new year. To us, 2009 is blank like a canvas waiting for a first stroke of paint. It is easy to now think of 2008 and recognize those mistakes we made and also smile about the celebrations, the good decisions and the sweet moments. 2009 is so new and there is so much potential in the 12 months that lay ahead.
I wish to echoe Paul's words in his letter to the Hebrews. Let us push aside everything that distracts us from what God has called us to do. As much as we may find other things to do instead, God's calling remains the longing in our hearts. Let us welcome inconvenient situations, so that we may help people and let Jesus serve through us, the way that He loves to. Through these inconvenient situations and through many trials, we gain the endurance we need to continue strong in obeying God's call on our lives. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus and adore Him more than life itself. Jesus must become our everything. Our lives must become hidden with Christ, so that we see only Him and He can do whatever He pleases with our little lives. Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him. Our Father and His kingdom is the joy set before us. We become upset and discouraged too easily. We must delight that God would choose to save us and adopt us from the world, as His children. Even when everything else seems to be a mess, we can rest in the assurance that we are forgiven and saved from eternal damnation. Let us not grow tired, weary, lazy; let us keep running with the joy of Jesus and the life-longing to serve Him, serve Him, serve Him. 2009 a new year, that is ours for the taking. Let us run.

On Friday, Josh and I travelled by bus to Siem Reap, which is about 5.5 hours away from Phnom Penh. Siem Reap is Cambodia's 2nd largest city, after Phnom Penh with a population of 750,000. Siem Reap is a desirable city for tourists and locals, because of it's closeness to Angkor Wat. The temples of Angkor Wat are the remains of the ancient Khmer empire built in the 12th century by kings who regarded themselves as 'god-kings', possessing the qualities of certain gods. Angkor Wat was originally built in devotion to Hindu gods, with statues of the Hindu deity Shiva and Vishnu however, when there was a change on monarchy, those statues were removed and replaced with Buddhist sculptures. Angkor Wat remains, a place of devotion to the nation's religion of Buddhism, and this is extremely evident by the array of glittery alters where people could give offerings to Buddha and put money in the donation box for the monks.
 While touring the famous Angkor Wat temple, a man handed Josh and I incense, and invited us to kneel down infront of the alter and bow three times to Buddha, to receive good luck. We politely declined, explaining that we are Christians and do not bow to Buddha. We gave him an Khmer gospel tract and we continued on our venture to explore the ancient ruins. Our favourite was temple was Bayon, which is also known as 'the temple of many faces' since their are faces everywhere you look, carved into the towers. It was amazing, mysterious and fun to climb. Josh and I also really liked Ta Prohm, a temple that is being literally being overtaken by trees. Huge trees stand tall on top of the stone walls, with their roots crawling down the stone and onto the ground. Some of Tomb Raider was filmed at this temple. Another favourite was the terrace of elephants which was once a giant viewing stand for the king and his associates during public ceremonies. The architecture is exquisite, with the parade of elephant faces that crown the wall and the rows upon rows of sculpted creatures and figures.
What was even more fun than exploring the temples, was hanging out with the children at Angkor Wat. Dozens of kids work at this tourist hot-spot selling postcards, bracelets, t-shirts, books etc. According to what the children say, they sell souvenirs in the morning and attend school in the afternoon, which is very believable because they speak English so well and have knowledge of Canada and other countries. In November during the water festival, Josh and I met 3 girls who were from Siem Reap but had come to Phnom Penh to sell bracelets during the festival. They were such sweet kids that we couldn't help but hang out with them and we also took them to a restaurant for fruit shakes. We told them if we ever went to Angkor Wat, that we would look for them. After Josh showed their photo on his cellphone, to a few people it didn't take long to become reunited with the girls again. We got to meet their friends, and we even returned to Angkor Wat the next morning to spend time and play with them. They enjoyed having a white girl to play with, as they stuck 'bratz doll' stickers on me and braided my hair. These girls have some knowledge of Jesus and know songs about Jesus, but as of right now they are devoted to Buddha along with their families. With this being said, Jesus is real and living. When Cambodians meet Jesus, they will know the inner peace that they once looked for in Buddha. We are not looking to Westernize but to gospelize. Our desire is that people would personally meet Jesus, leaving them in such awe and transformation that they could not possibly deny His existence, and that He is beckoning for them to come and enjoy His love.
Josh and I have been lodging at the King Angkor guesthouse in an $8 dollar room which has the luxuries of hot water and a television. Tomorrow morning, Josh and I will board the bus and head back to Phnom Penh. This little vacation has been great and we even hope for the opportunity to return to Siem Reap and visit the children again. I used to think vacations were selfish and pointless. Now that Josh and I are busy and our work is constant, I see the great value in taking time to refresh and rejuvinate. I feel such importance and joy in the work that Josh and I do in Phnom Penh. I think that always, our work must be for the Lord. What we do, should be a result of our love for Jesus and the aching in our hearts to do only His will. We don't want to do things just to say that we've done them. We don't want to talk just for the sake of being able to say that we did talk about Jesus. We want our actions to be an expression and an outpouring of passionate love to Jesus. We want our words to be from God and to come from His dwelling place in our hearts. We must do things just for Him, being content that if no one found out, it would not make any difference, because He is so worthy and so beautiful to us.
The year is coming to an end, and as we head back to the ministry in Phnom Penh, we reflect on where God has lead us and we feel the wonderful assurance that as we remaining willing and humble, He will continue to lead us

To view our photos of Siem Reap, click -->HERE<--

 On Christmas eve, New Hope School was buzzing with excitement as children exchanged gifts with each other and prepared for the Christmas assembly. The whole school (2 year olds, 3 year olds, 4 year olds, first grade, second grade,third grade) gathered in the sanctuary for a special Christmas assembly. We sang Christmas songs and the third graders peformed a play about Jesus being born. The kids sang happy birthday to Jesus and they also received cake. They were of course very happy!
Josh and I celebrated Christmas at Matt and Nary McCullough's home. We went over to their house on Christmas eve, slept over and spent Christmas day with their family. It was cute seeing their daughters Miriam and Rachel open their gifts in front of a web cam, where Matt's mom was watching from Canada. Josh and I helped cook the Christmas lunch which consisted of: a huge turkey stuffed with rice, potato stuffing, peas, marshmallow salad and sweet potatoes.
In the evening, Josh and I returned to New Life in Christ church where we had dinner with Pastor Keat and Sally and their staff. We gathered on the highest floor of the church which is under construction and has just received a roof. We sang songs and ate a Cambodian meal of: papaya salad, vegetable pastries, mango slices, corn, brownies and sweet potatoes.
It was not a usual Christmas of course. It was completely different from the kind of Christmas that Josh and I would have celebrated in Canada, but it was good. It was our first Christmas as a married couple and away from home.

    Here in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, there is no snow blowing in the air, but there is a lot of dust. Trees are not adorned with tiny colourful lights, Santa Claus does not have his own kingdom in the mall, and Christmas songs are sang only in church. In Canada, whether it was on purpose or not, you were aware of how many days were left until Christmas. In a Buddhist nation, Christmas exists only for the Christians. The many unbelievers here know that Christmas is something that is celebrated in the west, so some stores do sell Christmas decorations, but it is not acknowledged as a real holiday in Cambodia. Schools are open, businesses are open;it is just another day.
    Christmas is my favourite holiday. I think it is a cozy time of the year where family time is much desired. I think that fresh cookies smell like Christmas and fresh snow looks like Christmas. If you are with my family on this holiday, Christmas might also look like my Dad washing the turkey in the sink and making it sing in a high, shrilly voice, all in the name of 'tradition'.
    I think this is the first Christmas that I haven't heard that girl sing in a voice that is so nasally "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas..." I have not seen one picture of Santa, although the girls in my Bible study were asking me about 'who Santa is' and 'why would North America celebrate about him'. I explained but it did not make sense to them, because it does not make sense anyway. As much as I have enjoyed Christmas in North America, I don't feel disappointed about being eased from the pressures of it.
         The meaning of Christmas is precious: our saviour coming to this wicked world, born humbly in a barn as an innocent baby. I think we should enjoy this revelation of Jesus everyday. Without Jesus, our lives would be full of regret and pain. Without Jesus, we would not be a child of God, able to know His heart and His love. Without Jesus, we become our own gods and yet we serve other gods, hoping that in the end the good that we do will be a longer list than the wrong that we've done. Jesus has put our name on His list, and all He has done is good. And then comes the meaning of Easter, Our old sinful selves died with Jesus on the cross and our new clean selves rose with Jesus from the grave. The meaning of these holidays are so powerful, and I think everyday as followers of Christ, need to live like we really and truly believe in these meanings.
    During the Saturday youth program, New Life in Christ Church celebrated Christmas by showing a scene from 'Passion of the Christ', traditional Khmer dancing, hip-hop, and Christmas songs. There were also testimonies from two of the youth, and Sally Kove preached. Following the service, all of the youth were given bags of iodized salt, muffins and some kind of white drink. The night continued with a dance which included songs like 'one way Jesus' and 'waves of mercy'. The next morning in the Sunday church service, there was a short drama about Jesus being born, along with more Khmer dancing and testimonies.
    In the New Hope school there are miniature Christmas trees in every room and a big, lit up tree in the sanctuary. People are wishing each other a 'Suslay Noel' or a 'Happy merry Christmas'! The church and school staff are having a holiday on Thursday and Friday, so the New Hope School including the evening English classes will be closed.
    Our friends Matt and Nary have invited Josh and I to their house on Christmas eve, where we will spend the night and then of course, be there on Christmas day to celebrate with their family. I look forward to being amused by Matt and Nary's young daughters Miriam and Rachel, and also to lending a hand in the kitchen.
    Early Friday morning, Josh and I are getting on a bus and will travel 5 hours to Siem Reap. We are taking a 3 day vacation in Siem Reap, where we will tour the famous Angkor Wat, which is perhaps the biggest religious structure standing today. We have recently been even more busy than normal, because we were creating handbooks for short-term,mid-term and long-term missionaries as well as applications and references for the church website. We have enjoyed this work and we have completed it in joy, but a little vacation will be very sweet.

Yesterday, Josh and I put on a kid's program at 'New Life in Christ' church for the precious children at tent city. We had gone to tent city the day before and handed out flyers with details about the service. Written in Khmer it said:
 'Fun and games!kid's program at New Life in Christ' church, Wednesday 10, 8:00AM-10:00AM. We will provide transportation and arrive to pick up kids at 7:45AM. 7-12 years old only.'
 I was mobbed by a group of kids who all wanted a piece of paper from 'the white girl'. Foolishly, I had given away all the flyers to the snatching hands and the papers were gone in less than 5 minutes. Josh and  I hoped that those flyers would actually get home to their parents, and that word would spread.
On Wednesay morning, we took a truck to tent city. Two of the Cambodian youth, Luke and Una came to help us. There were 20 kids waiting at the entrance for us and excitedly trying to jump into the truck. Una and Luke helped us to have some organization and elimination as we allowed kids to board the truck. More kids came out of their shacks, and we had to make 2 trips with the truck. There were about 90 kids who came to the program.
Our program took place in the sanctuary. First, we sang songs including my off-key version of 'I have decided to follow Jesus'. We had a hip-hop competition on stage while some of the youth from the worship team, played drums and guitar. Pastor Sally told them the Christmas story using pictures, and the kids were so intrigued. Following the story of Christmas, I told the kids about how they can invite Jesus into their hearts  so that their hearts would be full of God's love, they would have a relationship with Him and go to Heaven. When it came time to ask the kids how many would like Jesus, atleast 45 raised their hands and I think even more than that, prayed the prayer of salvation with me. It was very exciting. We finished the program with some 'over and under' ball races, and then we took the kids home in 2 batches.
Josh and Luke went in the truck, accompanying the kids back to tent city. Once they reached the field, and the kids got off the truck, they began throwing rocks at Josh and Luke. They were upset because we did not give them anything. The mindset is that 'the white people will give us stuff'. They think we are rich, and this stereotype has been set in place by white people who have given them stuff in the past.
Back at the church, Josh addressed the situation with the youth so that when word got around about the rocks, they would not be discouraged. To sum up his words: we would continue going back to tent city even if they throw rocks at us. We have nothing to give them but Jesus and our friendship. Missionaries like William Carey, C.T. Studd, Adoniram Judson saw little if any converts after years of hard work but today we are seeing the fruit of the seeds they planted. We want to sow seed in Tent city, even if Josh and I don't see the fruit. Perhaps the youth will be the ones to reap the harvest.
On Sunday, we will be returning to tent city. We are continuing the beginning of this ministry, which is to build relationships, credibility and real friendships.

On this very hot and sunny Wednesday, Josh and I braved the crazy traffic of the main road and crossed the street, adventuring once again into Tent City. This time, it was just the two of us and we brought a 'sei' with us. A sei is the Cambodian-style hacky-sack. It is plastic spring with colourful feathers sprouting out of it. This game is played by hitting it with your foot and also with your hands (fortunately for me!).
As soon as one boy spotted us, it wasn't long before his friends came running and we had a game of sei going.
I met a girl (she was probably 17) who spoke a little bit of English and she invited me to come sit in her tent, as her little brothers played sei. Josh met a young guy who spoke English well, and Josh is hoping to meet with him again on Sunday to talk about how he, his family and everyone else, ended up living in the field.
We are excited and honoured to build any relationships that we can with these precious people. We want to be carriers of His glory, bringing peace and hope where dreams do not even seem to exist. We want to fall more in love with Jesus and play with Him in Tent City.

Love God, and do what you will.
-St.Augustine

Josh and I just began our Bible studies. Josh is doing a Bible study for the men, and I am doing one for the women.They take place three times a week after English class in the evening. I am teaching the gospel of John, and in the process, I am finding out what's inside of me.
There are 3 girls who come to the Bible study during the week and 2 other girls who I meet with on Saturdays. There is a serious lack of mature Christians around here ,so anybody wanting to come and study the Bible is awesome! Josh and I just recently got a hold of some English/Khmer New Testaments, so those are what we use. We also have a book that is just about foundational Christian doctrines, and in its pages is like 'a first year of Bible College education'. I am happy to disciple even just one person because that one person is someone who Jesus is in love with. They are also someone who can run with Jesus and take the gospel to their own people.
Josh and I returned to Tent City with two guys from the youth program who are both Christians. They played with the kids alongside us, and translated for us. I am surprised and delighted by what a hit Josh and I are with the parents. I think they all must wonder why two white people would come and play with their kids. Our passion is to take the gospel to these people who have been so mistreated and forgotten about. We would love to develop leaders amongst the youth who will want to bring the gospel to tent city, and show love for those worse off than they are.

Today after church, Josh and I took our cell group to play soccer. We didn't go to a gymnasium or a typical field. I wish that I could have taken a picture of the youth's faces as we arrived at our destination. Because of the language barrier we had difficulty explaining to them where we were going, so they just followed us, not knowing where we were taking them.
We stood outside a field, where about 500 families live in tents because their houses burnt down. In April, there was a fire which swept away housing of a whole community. Now, they live in the field where they wait for the government to arrange the replacement of their homes. Over 1000 people live in this field without clean water and they seem to be forgotten; just pushed off to the side.
The youth from 'New Life in Christ' church didn't quite understand why we would come to a place of poverty to play soccer. One of the boys who came with us, spoke decent English and was able to translate for us, to the rest of the youth. Within minutes we had a game of 'monkey in the middle' going, and children ran up to us, wanting to join in. I walked around some parts of the field attempting to talk with families and telling them in broken Khmer that we are playing soccer. I thought the parents would be skeptical, but they actually seemed very happy that we would come and play with their children. One mother practically handed her three little daughters to me.
The youth from our cell-group actually had fun, although they probably didn't think that they were going to. They were laughing and talking with the children as the game continued. In Cambodian culture, this is not typical because older people look down on younger people. There are even different words used to address people of different ages, and it seems that with the use of different words, there is also a different attitude.
We will be returning next week to 'tent city' in hopes of bringing the same youth and more with us. We think that it is a great outreach! If you have any ideas of simple games that even just involve a ball-please let me know!

The kids in my first grade English class are starting to get bored. For some reason, pointing to words on a white board and having them repeat the words, just doesn't keep their attention for 20 minutes!
 When I first began teaching, a month ago, the children were very attentive and well-behaved. After 4 weeks, I think they are becoming so familiar with me that they don't feel the obligation to become engaged in whatever I am doing and saying at the front of the room. So, I am starting to take some risks in ESL with the kids.I have found many great websites which offer tons of games and I have also thought of my own. For 2 days now, I have been testing out games to see which actually works. I also need to lead games that can be explained very simply so that the Khmer-speaking teacher will understand and be able to translate the instructions, or I can just act out the instructions. Ideally, I would to be able to switch the activity every 5 or 10 minutes, to keep the little ones interested.
In the evening, I am now teaching' level 2 English' to young adults. Level 3 is the highest level of English in the school. In both level 2 and level 3, a translator is not needed.
It has been a great opportunity to be able to talk with such a large community of young-adults who are a mixture of Christians and non-Christians. In order to attend the English class the students must either pay $5/month or they can receive a scholarship and learn for free by attending 5 church programs a month. There is a youth program on Saturday night and then church on Sunday morning. There are over one hundred students who attend the English classes and I think most of them must opt for the scholarship, because the youth program and church is packed! The students are hearing the gospel, learning more about Jesus and meeting people whose lives have been changed by Jesus.
I am meeting with a student who got saved, the night that Josh preached at the youth program. She is in level 3 English, and so she speaks English very well. We meet every morning to pray together, talk about God and study English. I have purchased an amazing book that is all about 'foundational Christian truths'. It explains foundational Christian doctrine, in basic English and yet it reveals deep truths about God and the Bible. It has pictures and it's even bilingual with the Khmer translation. I have read through the book and have written questions for each section, making it into kind of a course. This girl is very eager to learn more about God, and she is greatly benefiting from the book, along with her own personal Bible study that she does at home.
Today, I am meeting with 3 other girls who are in Josh's level 1 English class, and we are going to talk and study the Bible. So that is what's been happening for these past couple of weeks. Josh has become famous with the children for singing the action-filled song 'baby shark', which he learned during the summer at Double H Ranch. We bought a fruit called sour sop, and I think we'll be sticking it in the juicer and seeing what happens.
Tonight is the youth program and we are celebrating Thanksgiving. Please pray that the students hearts would be open wide to invite Jesus in.

Josh and I have jumped feet first into teaching English at the 'New Hope School'. Sometimes when I am teaching, I just look at the beautiful faces of students, and realize again and again, how precious it is that these children are receiving an education. School in Cambodia is not free, the way it is in North America. Many families cannot afford to send their children to school. 80% of the population of Cambodia makes no more than $2 a day.
'The New Hope School' has invited the poor to come and learn, for a very cheap price. They children also learn about Jesus, study scriptures and pray, during a daily morning devotion. As you continue to pray for these children and for Josh and I, please be blessed to know that Jesus is the hope for Cambodia.