Clips from Cambodia

02.12 Fantastic February

2012-02-10T20:55:00.003+07:00

(21 pictures)
It is so fantastic to get to watch as God adds souls into His kingdom!

Last Sunday, as I sat by Dad and Mom who are here for one month teaching at the preaching school, I got to hear singing in Thai, singing in Khmer, singing in English...all at the same time. I thought, this is what heaven will be like!!! It was wonderful! BUT, the day only got better!

When we met at 4:00 to worship at the BEST Center, we had a great crowd, a lot of visitors! We heard the good news, at the village Channy taught at that day, there was a baptism. After worship service that evening, one of the CBI students, Rodthah was baptized!

Then it still got better...on Monday, one of Sereyvuht's 3:00 students was baptized! Her name is Vandy. She has been so happy; it has been a thrill to witness!

The rest of the week, was full of teaching the Word all day, each day, with a great supper and singing last night (Thursday) to top it off!

What a week!!! (Valentine Party tomorrow!)

01.12 Funerals around Cambodia

2012-02-03T17:32:00.006+07:00

In the last few months, I have been to 3 funerals in 3 different provinces: Svay Rieng, Kandal, and Takeo. All of these were in little villages, where the neighbors all cook the food together. Normally the younger ones in their teen years to thirties work, cook, clean, and serve, while the older ones, sit and listen. Everyone who comes, eats and gives some money.

All three were Buddhist funerals. They have a ceremony the first day they die, then another one on the 7th day, then the 100th day, then at 1 year. The monks come and do their chants, they usually have a table with incense, candles, bananas, water, etc to help send the spirit on and to keep them fed, etc. The Khmers normally cremate, but if they are Chinese or part Chinese, they bury.

Buddhism beliefs here are different from the "typical Buddhist beliefs" you read in books, as the beliefs are mixed with anemism, which is spirit worship, with different areas of Cambodia believing different things, too. Buddhism here is much more lenient than the neighboring countries, such as Thailand. One belief here is that all spirits have to go to hell and pay for their sins, with those having more merit not having to stay as long. Then they are reincarnated as something (animals, plants) or someone else, depending on how they lived their previous life.

The first funeral, one of my old students invited Piseth and I to attend his grandfather's 7th day ceremony in the province beside Vietnam. We were able to use our van to take 17 of his classmates (19 in our 15 passenger van).

The 2nd one was in Avy and Piseth's village. We left early that morning before sunlight and took a couple relatives. That lady was only in her late 50's, I think. Life expectancy is much shorter here. You know, Avy and Piseth's father has died, Dara's mother has died, Sreyleak's father and mother have died, Channy's parents have both died, along with the aunt who raised him, and on and on.

The 3rd one, was the "mother" of one of our newer Christian ladies. Actually, this Christian sister is 48 years old. Her birth mother died during the Pol Pot Regime (Khmer Rouge) and this lady raised her. Chamreoun (our sister) is something!!! She wore her "cross" necklace so they all would know she was a Christian, since the whole ceremony was Buddhist! What courage!

Deaths always make me feel a sense of urgency in teaching the lost. I always wonder who will be next...

I pray it will be one of us whom has received His grace already. What a peace to be able to truly "anxiously await" our turn.

01.12 BEST Way to Begin the New Year

2012-01-24T17:38:00.004+07:00

January 2012
Earlier, we had Billie Campbell's birthday. She was a fun teacher, always laughing, cheerful, loved everything, especially the people (well...and shopping...and the food...)! She was a gem! Great teacher! PLEASE READ HER THOUGHTS BELOW!

After she left, Nita Mansholt and Ida Partlow came from Oregon. Nita and Ida have been to Cambodia many times. I am amazed at these ladies, Nita, age 87 and Ida, diabetic and takes insulin...but they are traveling around the world teaching the gospel. Inspiring!

Reuben and Roma have been here nearly two months. They, too, are just so much fun to have. They get involved with the Khmers, sing, and intermingle all the time. Reuben (and also Peter) spent a lot of time preparing powerpoint lessons and self-examinations for the students. These Christian students have finished the regular WEI course and still come to learn more bible. Roma, has begun showing the Jesus DVDs, given to me by Barney and Linda Cargile, at the end of book 3.

Reuben and Roma have a tradition of taking the staff out to eat before they leave, so the rest of us joined them! Great time!

Due to Chinese New Years, a lot of our students are gone, so Roma got together a "tea" for the teachers (including our newest teacher, Kayla Maynard, who is staying at Ronda's). We had a fun time!

Below are Billie's comments before she left:
This is definitely an "out of 'Your' box" teaching experience! Your patience and respect to the people must be your highest goal here. How you act and behave effects everyone here, including staff and teachers. As a teacher, you should realize "YOU" are not the focus of this operation. "You" are only a tool to accomplish this goal. Leave them with an impression that "we are glad you came" not with "we are glad you are going". I hope by what little help I gave, they will say "We are glad!"

01.12 New Year's Day

2012-01-07T19:36:00.003+07:00

New Year's Day took us to different places. Billie took off for Siem Reap, having a memorable New Year's weekend there. It was fun to listen to her recap her adventures there, as she is the most positive person I think I've ever met. Everything is wonderful to her! She is such a blessing and pure joy every moment to have in the house.

Reuben, Roma, and I went to Avy and Piseth's village. The idea was to watch rice harvested, but most of it had been completed days before, even most of the sheaves in the field had been threshed, too. We did get to see some of it threshed though, both by foot and by machine. I'll let you watch the pictures to see for yourselves. (I am sad the words are cut off of some and the man using his feet doesn't show all the picture. The picture about the skulls and bones left off the words "killed during the Pol Pot Regime, the Khmer Rouge").

Let me introduce Avy and Piseth's family.

Mother (Father died several years ago)
Seven children:
#1 Somalin female early 30's
#2 SopheAVY female age 30 BEST Center cook, Christian!
#3 Sokun male maybe 28 Christian!
#4 Piseth male age 25 BEST Center day guard
#5 Visal male age 21?
#6 Sokuntheary female age 17
#7 Nesiey male age 15

To get to the village, which is on Koh Thom, (big island), we took a little wooden ferry across the Tonle Bassac River, then walked down a dirt road winding alongside the river, through trees and houses on stilts. There were children laughing and playing all around (although no toys!). They played all kinds of games with rocks, sticks, rubberbands, etc. At their house, we sat and watched the river flow by, while people strolled passed, or rode bicycles or motos. I even got to swim a little while in the river with the kids. I loved it at their house! My favorite time of all was getting to worship with Avy, Socheat (her husband), Sokun, Reuben, Roma, and even Avy's mom for awhile. How wonderful! It was the perfect way to bring in the new year!

Below, I want to add a couple comments from two former teachers.

Maurice Charlton:
I asked a lady student about the definition of "a dream". Her reply was, "When you are asleep your mind goes to the cinema." The more I thought about it, the deeper meaning it had.

Polly Charlton:
"You learn so much when teaching your students, but beware it is addictive! You will want to come back!"

12.11 Christmas in Cambodia

2011-12-31T20:46:00.003+07:00

Meet the foreigners here in Phnom Penh with whom I work. We all had a special Christmas Eve lunch together, thanks to an anonymous donor who had been one of the teachers here before.

Rich and Ronda Dolan-the directors/instructors of CBI (Cambodian Bible Institute, which is the School of Preaching here, affiliated with Sunset Church of Christ in Lubbock, Texas). Ronda is also busy teaching classes and translating materials.

Dennis and Sharon Welch-Dennis is an instructor of CBI, too. Sharon is director of the SNACK program (Supplemental Nutrition Aiding Cambodian Kids).

Andrew and Natalie Hayes - are basically self-supported missionaries here, being certified English teachers at a school and they are working with their own congregation.

Chris and Casey Allison and their 4 children: Maggie, Melanie, Mark, and new little Matthew. They also are working with their own congregation.

Doris Marison - has a children's school program, teaching Bible and English to school age kids (like an after-school program). There is also a congregation at her location.

Jimmie Sallivan - not a missionary, but lives in PP and worships with us.

Theary - lives with Dennis and Sharon as their daughter.

We all had a great time together!

The next day, Sunday, the church took a car load of 12 people to Sothea's village to encourage him. He is a former CBI student and preaches in this village...Grang Doung ??? We try to go a couple times a year. It is wonderful to go at this time of the year, since it is not so hot.

Classes are still going on here at the BEST Center. We are closing Monday, Jan 2nd, as it is a school holiday in Cambodia.

This is New Year's Eve and Billie is in Siem Reap. Reuben, Roma, and I plan to go to Avy and Piseth's village for one day to watch some harvesting of rice (most of the field work is done). I'll probably have pictures of that next time.

Thank you to all of you who have supported the BEST Center and me throughout this last year. I am grateful to you and pray that God has been glorified through our work. Please keep me in your prayers, asking God to provide me with wisdom as times are always changing and needs/effective teaching strategies change. Phnom Penh as a city is making drastic changes.

May God bless you in the new year 2012 in your work for Him and spreading His good news!

2011-12-27T21:01:00.003+07:00

2011 BEST Christmas Party!

Actually our party was on Dec 17th. I am just getting behind. I'll let the pictures tell the story. We had around 85 or so people by the time we got all our lists together.

Preparing for these parties takes days, as Avy begins to buy and prepare for the food as early as possible. Everyone has to help to get it all pulled off. The party actually began at 4:00 pm and ended with the last guests going home at 8:00 pm. It was an exhausting week, but fun! It is times like this that such a great staff is so invaluable. It is also invaluable to have teachers who work so hard and don't quit until the last thing is cleaned up, mopped, moved back into place, etc!

Dara and Try did a great job of leading the devotional. Then we had a gift exchange game. After that, Santa made a visit! Reuben was our unique Santa....Filipino coming from California and playing Santa in Cambodia. He played the part great!

I pray God was glorified and our guests saw our love for each other and for the Lord. Hopefully they will someday become our brothers and sisters. Thank you to each of you who make this possible.

2011-12-16T17:36:00.004+07:00

This slideshow recaps the last week Peter, Maurice, and Polly were here.

In the meantime, Reuben and Roma Lacuata from California and Billie Campbell, from Texas arrived! Reuben and Roma have been here before and everyone is happy for them to be here. They love to sing along with the Khmers; they are learning to read and understand Khmer numbers. Billie has jumped right in there and loves the food etc, just like the Lacuatas.

Of course there was the usual teaching classes each day, having the Thursday evening supper and singing, and having the 4:00 Sat. afternoon bible study. Even though this is the shortest sentence, it is the most important, with almost all our efforts devoted to teaching the lost and trying to encourage and build up those who are Christians already. These weekdays are long and mentally draining.

Out of the ordinary was, we had two birthdays: Sreymom and Maurice! Also there was an ongoing verbal challenge (between the staff and the 3 teachers) to a last big game of UNO. So the last Friday night, the staff and teachers had an UNO game. Guess who ended up on top? Polly was the champ! Then Saturday, at noon, Rich, Ronda, Dennis, Sharon, the teachers here, Doug (who was teaching at CBI and is working for Sunset in Lubbock, Texas), and I all got together at a Chinese restaurant. Then after the 4:00 bible study, the foreigners present, along with about 4 of the Khmers decided to sing another hour or so. It was perfect, as Peter left that night, Doug left on Monday, and Maurice and Polly left Tuesday.

Right now...we are BUSY getting ready for a Christmas party tomorrow!!!

Merry Christmas to all of you! Cherish your family time together!

11.11 Happenings at BEST

2011-12-01T22:29:00.003+07:00

The end of November brought us to the end of Bobbie's stay. She plans to return in the spring. Peter only has another week and Maurice and Polly only half a week after that. All four of these people stayed two months.

Included are pictures of the teachers teaching, including Try's class, morning Khmer bible study, Thurs supper/singing, a student visiting with Peter after our Sat afternoon bible study, and the Thanksgiving meal which we (missionaries, teachers, and current guests) had at a restaurant.

Also for those of you who know Nen from the Back to School Program, there is a wedding picture of him.

The teachers after teaching long hours each day, still manage to be jovial, laughing and teasing. It has been fun with them here. The staff was wanting to have an UNO game night with them before they left, so that is scheduled for this Sat. evening after all our guests leave from the bible study. Should be fun...

2011-11-26T06:47:00.003+07:00

Mondulkiri is a province in northeastern Cambodia on the Vietnam border. A beautiful place with mountains, waterfalls, and hilltribes people, who walk up and down the mountains carrying their goods to sell or trade in the baskets on their backs.
The staff and I took our annual retreat over the Water Festival break. We drove about 6-7 hours to Mondulkiri. None of us had ever been there before. It was such a wonderful place; I am ready to move! We left on Thursday and returned Sunday. This staff is the BEST!!! Seriously, they all help; they try to pinch pennies. We ate a bowl of noodles, etc in the market in the mornings and ordered food (from the market) to take with us for lunch. Then in the evening, we ate at the local little restaurants. The last night we took food back to the Guesthouse and ate there.

Make sure to let all the pictures download and enjoy God’s creation!

11.11 Teachers' Trip to Kampot

2011-11-21T17:02:00.003+07:00

November 9-11 was one of the biggest holidays here in Cambodia, called Water Festival. Therefore, the BEST Center was closed on those days. The teachers took a bus to Kampot and stayed with Robert and Jeanie Johnson a few days, while the staff and I took our annual retreat. This blog will be the teacher's trip to Kampot, which also included Kep. The next blog will be the staff trip. This will allow you to "see" some of Cambodia!

Pictures...thanks to Polly Charlton. Therefore, she is not in many, because she is the one taking the pictures.
Text by Bobbie Bertram, who has been here two months and is leaving tonight. I asked her to share a thought about teaching here.

by Bobbie...
"This is my fifth time here and each trip has had its special times. It is amazing to study our God’s word with students who have never heard anything from the Christian bible. One student, when I asked why he had come to the BEST Center, answered for English and to learn about Christianity. He studied each lesson and made 100% on his first test. The smile on his face was worth a thousand words! Hopefully his enthusiasm will continue in the future."

11.11 Early November News

2011-11-07T16:59:00.007+07:00

Early November brings weeks full of work and weekends full of play! Perfect!

CBI, Cambodia Bible Institute (the bible training school here), had its graduation ceremony with four students graduating (one being Try's younger sister). Rich and Ronda (my sister) Dolan are the directors/instructors of that and Dennis and Sharon Welch, instructors/SNACK nutrition program directors, all work very hard making CBI a great bible training school!!!

Two Saturdays ago, Maurice and Polly did the local tourist sights of Tuol Sleng (the S-21 Prison) and the Killing Fields. These are not something enjoyable at all, but a definite "must see" to really understand Cambodia.

The following Monday, was a holiday for the King's Father's birthday. The teachers and I went over to the riverside to enjoy the people, fireworks, and lights around the palace!

Tues-Friday brought days of sharing God's Word all day each day. These teachers put in hours and hours teaching. This is besides other BEST Center activities.

This last weekend, Peter made 3 batches of cookies, which were all eaten at the luncheon on Sunday! Bobbie took off to the Orussey Market by herself and caught a seiklo back. Maurice and Polly went with Rich and Ronda, and Doug and Marge Reeves (who work at Sunset School of Preaching in Lubbock, Texas). As for me, I went to Hou Piseth's wedding. This is the Piseth who has worked on the Ship of Life for so long (for those of you who know him). Tuesday is Nen's wedding, also a Partners in Progress employee.

I thank God that He allows me to be involved with His work here! What a blessing! I also thank my children and family who are so supportive, making it easier to serve God wholeheartedly. I hope if you have a family member wanting to serve the Lord overseas, you will please show them your utmost support, as it is already so hard to be gone from family. Don't keep a loved one from teaching the lost or helping someone overseas go to heaven. Don't be a stone around their neck, but spur them on to good works. It is the one of the greatest gifts you could give them. Again, I am blessed by a wonderful family who keeps me going.

Besides my physical family, I am blessed by a very supportive spiritual family, too. That makes all the difference in the world. Thank YOU so very much, too!

10.11 Party and Play

2011-10-28T21:13:00.004+07:00

The last blog was about the daily bible studies, which lasts from 8:00 am till 6:00 pm. The same thing is still going on everyday, but this blog will be just about "fun", which hopefully will promote more interest by those who are not Christians, and promote close family bonds between those who are!

Last Saturday was quite a busy day! We had a party at 4:00 pm, but the entire day was spent preparing! Avy had decided we would have spring rolls, both the fried kind and the fresh (raw) kind. It took everyone washing, chopping, rolling. At one time, we had 6-8 people around the table rolling spring rolls.

The party was fun with around 70 people attending. Dara took care of the games. Peter gave the talk, "This World is not my Home", such a great message for those attending. Try translated and led the singing. Avy's food is always the grand finale!

Besides that, I have caught the teachers having an evening of playing cards once. Tonight (Friday) Bobbie ran (or rode) off this evening to meet a student at Chaktomuk Conference Hall/Theatre for a program, while the rest of the teachers played UNO with Dara and Try.

Tomorrow night, Sat., we will attend CBI's graduation for 5 students.

Also, tomorrow, the 29th, is the Cambodian Coronation Day and Monday, the 31st, is King Norodom Sihanouk's birthday (the former king and father of the current king). Down by the monument, the trees are lit up like Christmas! A festive time here!

Till next time, may the Lord bless you and keep you.

10.11 Busy Times at BEST

2011-10-22T08:04:00.004+07:00

Bobbie Bertram...she is amazing! 81 years old and this is her fifth trip to come teach! Not only that, she travels by herself. Then while she is here, she gets up early, walks for a half an hour each day, teaches a couple hours, then does her exercise DVD during her off period, then continues to teach the rest of the day...until 6:00 pm! All with a smile on her face...such an inspiration to me! She is here for 2 months.

After teaching a week by herself, Peter Ross, from Canada came. This is his 3rd trip, but 1st time here at the BEST Center. It is so wonderful to have him back again! He is here for two months.

Then another week after that, Maurice and Polly Charlton arrived. This is their 1st trip. Maurice, from England, and Polly from Scotland, are current students in the Seniors Adventures in Ministry Program in Lubbock, Texas, USA. They have come to teach for a couple months. It is a delight to have them here!

Our student waiting list has been so long, that Maurice and Polly have groups of 2,3,and 4 students at different times. Many students schedules have changed while they were waiting for teachers and cannot study now (sadly enough), so we are caught up to a normal amount on our waiting list.

We have been having singing on Thursday nights, but with only a handful of us singing. We changed it into a supper/singing (instead of our Friday morning breakfasts). The first week, we had 10, then next week 20, and the next week over 30! Ha! Isn't that fun!!!

Today, we are preparing for a party and it is raining outside!!! Yikes!!! Wonder what will happen...find out next time...

1011 Avy's Baptism

2011-10-12T21:28:00.002+07:00

Great, great day!!!!! Many, many people have prayed and waited for this day...for years! Avy was baptized today! She is our cook and was the Partners in Progress' cook before here. Many have studied God's Word with her, planting and watering and today, God gave the increase! Oh my......it was so, so thrilling!

I know people studied with Avy, such as Bill, Marie Claire, Emily, Doris, Natalie, and many others. Every teacher who has been here has been an influence in her life and every teacher who has ever been here has fallen in love with Avy's sweet spirit. She is a treasure and now...a sister! Thanks be to the Lord for His grace and loving kindness!

It was drizzling while she was being baptized, but no one cared. Afterwards, standing in a circle, various ones shared and encouraged her, but I thought the sweetest moment was when Sreyleak gave Avy a loving hug and through tears talked softly to her so only the two of them could hear. I know Sreyleak is so happy that now the bond is not just a co-worker, but a sister...family!

09.11 Recapping Billy and Evette's trip

2011-09-30T13:16:00.002+07:00

This group was special because they came from Granbury, Texas. Granbury Church of Christ is my overseeing congregation and they are wonderful to my family and me. Bobbie Bertram has been here many times (and just arrived again for a 2 month stay), Judith Mackey has been here, and now Billy Martin and Evette Orren! They were here 5 weeks. That makes a total of 4 who have come from there. It is like having family come!

These are some of Evette's pictures. Mostly they spent their time teaching full days, but you'd be surprised how much you can squeeze into a weekend or evenings!

Also here are their comments:

Yvette- Patience is a virtue, the Lord never rushes His Spirit nor should we. Teaching is no “piece of cake”, but well worth the exhilarating exhaustion every evening. Hey, He our Jehovah, gives new strength every morning. The Steadfast Love of the Lord never ceases. Go to all bible studies, worships, and church functions-get involved with God’s created people, believers and non!

Billy-One of my students said that a friend recently asked him, “Why do Christians smile all the time?” He told his friend, “I think it is because they know what they believe and it makes them very happy.” SO SMILE “BIG” EVERYDAY! You have something to smile about.

09.11 Church Trip to Kep

2011-09-24T22:18:00.002+07:00

Wonderful fun day to the coast! After another full week of teaching every day and being exhausted, we had a nice change of pace. Dara and Try had planned a day trip for the church a couple Saturdays ago. Two full van loads (30 total people) left at 6:30 am and arrived 3 hours later. While it was mainly for the Christians, we also had a few of our students and also some relatives of members go, too. It was raining and chilly with the wind blowing off the sea (still rainy season here). But following our devotional led by Try, bible lesson led by Billy Martin (teacher here at the BEST Center), and eating lunch, it quit raining enough that some of us swam and all of us had a fun afternoon before starting back to Phnom Penh.

I put a picture of Selak in here. He isn't attending anymore and this was the first time I had seen him in a long time. I love him and miss him. Please pray for him to return to the Lord.

I love these times of being with our brothers and sisters...family in the Lord. Sweet fellowship, enjoying God's magnificence, great day!

09.11 Siem Reap with Billy and Evette

2011-09-16T17:16:00.002+07:00

After teaching a week (and being totally exhausted), Billy Martin and Evette Orren, both from Granbury, Texas headed to Siem Reap to check out the famous sites there. Enjoy the trip with them through the pictures!

While in Siem Reap, we also worshipped with the church there. Rich and Ronda Dolan had also taken a teacher of theirs (for the preaching school) to Siem Reap that weekend, too, so we were able to ride back to Phnom Penh with them. Ha! I do think the ride back was quite a "thriller" for Billy and Evette. You will have to ask them about it.

Billy and Evette have spent the last week teaching all day with Billy starting his first class at 7:00 AM and Evette at 8:00 and finishing at 6:00 pm. How many times have you been able to teach bible all day long to someone who is eager to listen? Along with this opportunity is a plethora of emotions from excitement and rewarding moments, to let-downs and frustration. It is mentally, physically, and emotionally draining, but such a rewarding "draining"! I have thoroughly enjoyed their enthusiasm and positive, caring hearts.

This last week has been packed full of hopeful students coming to take entrance tests who have some vacation time from school right now. Oh my!!! We have 86 on the waiting list right now!!!!!!!! If these kids have to wait too long, they will get busy and not be able to study when we finally call them. Each of these names on my paper waiting are precious souls. Will we get to share the gospel with them before their schedules change or they find some other place?
EIGHTY-SIX

0811 Homecoming

2011-09-02T06:40:00.002+07:00

(Old teachers, make sure to read the bottom.)
My homecoming was perfect! Lin, Dara, Piseth, and Try came to the airport to pick us (Billy, Evette, and I) up. Piseth had me call Avy (this is at 11:00 pm) right then at the airport. The next day when everyone got to the BEST Center, it was just like a homecoming, so great reuniting with the staff, the Christians, and the students I already knew.

I cannot express my gratitude to Sam, Mary, and Lin enough for running the BEST Center while I was gone. The gift they gave to me by coming, which allowed me to stay in the states long enough to see both the wedding and also the birth of my new little grandson, was priceless to me. It was a gift of the heart, time, effort, plus it was during a difficult time for them. They are very selfless, special people. I pray God blesses them a little extra for their kindness and serving hearts.

Also here was Connie Brown. She was a newcomer from California and I barely got to know her, because she was basically leaving by the time I arrived. But I only heard fantastic things about her teaching abilities and hope she will make plans to return.

Arriving with me were Billy Martin and Evette Orren. This is really exciting for me since they both are from my overseeing congregation in Granbury, Texas! Billy is an elder there and Evette is on the Missions Committee. I am thrilled to have them here and they have been awesome! They are so compassionate about their students, so positive, and adventuresome. It's been a joy! I am already wishing they were staying longer.

Now the greatest news is right before I got back, one of Sam's students was baptized! This is a married man with a little son. Hopefully someday his wife will also become a Christian. I am soooo sorry I do not have pictures of this. I downloaded pictures from Mary's camera and somehow lost the pictures. Your new brother's name is Bunleng. He is delightful and eager to learn, quite a sharp young man.

My sad news when I returned was that Dara's (our night guard for 3 years now) mother had just passed away the week before I got back. Dara has basically raised his two younger sisters and had a very difficult childhood. His mother did not know Christ. She was an alcoholic and was currently living/working in Thailand. Since she did not have a visa there, they could not do anything about getting the body out, so it has been very sad for him. Especially for those who know and love Dara, his email is
daraduong@hotmail.com

Thank you again to Sam, Mary, Lin, and Connie who were here while I was gone!

2011-09-02T05:55:00.002+07:00

Going “home”…
It has been such a blessing to be “home” with my kids and visiting my Christian family.
God has blessed me incredibly. I have so many “homes” and people I love and people who are so good to me.
Where is home? Hmmm….I say I am going “home” when I am going to Granbury, Texas, to Muleshoe, Texas, to Kansas, to Thailand, and now Cambodia. Right now, I am on the plane going “home” to Cambodia.
While it is difficult leaving all my children, I am excited about landing and seeing my other “family”. Isn’t God so good? I could feel this sense of desperation each time I thought about leaving my grandchildren and kids and prayed that God would send me peace in my heart. He answered those prayers and I could feel a calm slowly moving in, knowing I was leaving them in their creator’s loving hands as I began looking forward to seeing my “family” of Christians and staff waiting for me at home in Phnom Penh.
Home? Really, I am a sojourner through this lifetime. My real home…heaven! My passport may say US citizen, but not really. My “citizenship is in heaven”. That is the real home for which I wait. However and wherever God wants to use me in this temporary “home” matters not. I am just waiting to go “home”.

08.11 Branson's Birth!

2011-08-19T04:55:00.002+07:00

The birth of a baby! God's incredible power, love, just indescribeable! That little heartbeat months earlier, the first breath after birth, and teeny cry, tiny fingers and toes...praise be to God! Wow!

This is my second son, Brennan, and his wife, Megan's, first child. He was born Sunday, August 14th, came home Wednesday (had to spend an extra day in hospital because of jaundice). Branson Ryder Broyles, 7 lbs, 2 oz, 20 inches long. 5:29 pm.

Sam, Mary, and Lin-thank you for being in Cambodia, so I can be here!

I thank God for my 3 sons, my 3 daughters-in-law, and my 3 grandchildren! Thank you God for this incredible gift!

2011-08-07T03:45:00.002+07:00

My travels in the states...pictures of family. Some of the pictures are before Brandon and Ali's wedding and some are after. I do regret that I do not have any pictures of Bobbye Petty and Linda Guy, two of my beloved sisters, who always pick me up from the airport and give me a place to stay. They always take care of me. I also regret that I did not take my camera to a fabulous supper in the home of Bobbie Bertram, who also invited the Rickey's and Richard and Pamela Snowbarger (Troy Snowbarger's parents). It was an excellent supper and wonderful company!

David Hewitt treated me to a helicopter ride. He is the middle one in the picture of the friends, while the two ladies are teachers I use to teach school with in Granbury, Phyllis Deroos Bolton and Amber Mosher.

I have been blessed to get to fly to Connecticut to visit Troy and Melissa and their 4 children. He is my brother. I hadn't seen them in four years.

My time with my children and my other family members is priceless. I am thankful to God for each minute. He has blessed me richly.

Brandon and Ali's Wedding

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Brandon, my oldest son, and Alecsya Hiett (Ali) were married July 16th. They went through vet school together at Texas A&M as large animal veterinarians and will both be practicing in Spur, Texas (ranch country). Here are some of the pictures of my family.

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I am sitting in one of my son’s houses!!! That is so exciting for me!

This blog is about last week, before I left Cambodia…
Two weekends before I left, the staff and I had a chance to go picnicing at Wat Udong, just about 1 ½ hours north of Phnom Penh. I want to share pictures of that since many of you know and love the staff here. Everyone went: Dara,-night guard, Piseth-day guard , Srey Mom-housekeeper, Sreyleak-secretary, and Avy-cook. The extra people are in the pictures are Socheat-Avy’s husband and Ratana-Avy’s daughter.

David and Michelle Jack, from the Conejo Valley Church of Christ in California, came to visit the BEST Center. They worship where Emily attends. Also Doris Lohry was there for awhile, too. It was fun to get to know them and share the work with them.
My hat is off to Sam and Mary Carpenter and Lin Turner for giving up two months to oversee the BEST Center while I am gone. Lin had a birthday the first Sat. in Phnom Penh and David and Michelle surprised him with a cake.

Tonight is Brandon’s rehearsal, tomorrow the wedding!

0611 So Busy at BEST!

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A HUGE thanks to the Texas A&M team of 7 who came to teach for 4-5 weeks! They did a great job. Obviously, when we have many teachers, we have more students, who in turn recruit more students. Fun times! I was sorry I didn't get a picture of all the Aggies who worked on the songbooks around the table. That was so helpful! Also normally, I don't post pictures all the students or when they receive certificates as it would just be faces after faces...I did put a few in this time, just so you could see.

I included scenes around the BEST Center the last couple weeks of June (except I didn't put anymore of the group teaching, because I posted those already). I want you to understand the Bible/English program is only one part of the BEST Center. It is also a place for the Christians to meet, fellowship, and worship. It is a place for the students to enjoy when they have time. I appreciate so much all of you who make all this possible.

July 1st brought a change of teachers around here. More about them next time!

PS Right now I am sitting in the Seoul, Korea airport headed for the states! See some of you soon!!!!

Ron and Shirley's last days

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Included are sights from an early morning walk with Shirley on the riverside and other misc things we did the last couple weekends during some free time. Even a picture at the weekend night market of Ron and Shirley trying a duck egg, when the duckling is beginning to form inside! Ron and Shirley were fun to have. They loved trying all kinds of foods, and respect the people here, not trying to change things to be "American". They have been here and in SE Asia many, many times. It was sad to say goodbye to them.

The following are some words Shirley wrote for a blog:

I came to love and respect my students. They were so eager to learn and always respectful and polite. It was thrilling for me to hear them asking questions of interest about God, his people, and the church, besides questions asked in the teaching materials. I will have email contact with all of them and hope to continue our relationships for years.

The next blog will be activities here at the BEST Center again!

0611 The BEST Teachers!

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I have thoroughly enjoyed Ron and Shirley Downey being here! They are positive, cheerful, and love the Khmer people! They love to experience and participate in everything! Ron is the Southeast Asia International Dean of the Sunset Schools of Preaching. He is here teaching at CBI while his wife, Shirley is teaching here at the BEST Center. They have been here 3 weeks already and will leave at the end of this week. I will be sad to see them go!

Also teaching here right now are 7 university students from Texas A&M. Just as last year, this group is excellent to have. I never hear any complaining, they smile and teach from 7:00 am or 8:00 am until 6:00 pm (with a couple breaks). It is great to have young people who love the Lord and are willing to give up 5 weeks of their summer break or pay from a job to volunteer and come teach! It is always so fun to have the house full of people getting to hear God's Word, all day long!!! What has more lasting effects?

Personal Note:
Sam and Mary Carpenter, along with Lin Turner will be coming July 1st to fill in for me while I visit the states. I am so thankful to them for this gift of their heart and time.
I am thrilled to say I have two very special events to attend!
July 16th, my oldest son, Brandon (he is the vet in Spur, Tx) will be getting married to Alecsya Hiett (Ali) from Tennessee, also a vet (same class at Texas A&M). The wedding will be in Abilene, Tx.
August 18th, my middle son and daughter-in-law, Brennan and Megan, are expecting their 1st child....a son!!! They live in Muleshoe, Tx and will have the baby in Lubbock, Tx. How exciting!!!
I also will be there July 31st, which is Gracie's 4th birthday! Wow!
I arrive in the states July 7th and return Aug 24th.

I had a hard day a week or so ago, knowing I was missing my niece's wedding and all the family that gathered for that, Then this weekend, I am missing Gatlin's 1st birthday party (haven't seen him since he was born) also a special party for Brandon and Ali. I also am missing baby showers I want to attend. But God answered prayers and has given me peace in my heart! He is so good and He always keeps His promises...it is only my own weakness and lack of faith and focus that gets in the way! My cup is FULL and I am so so blessed, both here in this special place and with my wonderful family! It is a great life...thanks be to God!

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Bobbie Bertram, Texas
I feel at home now! I was walking a couple of miles from our school to do an errand. I heard a “Bobbie!” I looked around to see a student on a moto with her husband and 2 little boys. She said she often talks about her English class and just the night before, one son had said, “Mommy, I want to meet your teacher. “ The very next day, we did meet.
I told Julie, I must be feeling this is my 2nd home. When I’m in Texas, reading her blogs with pictures, it’s like seeing “family photos”.

Roma Lacuata, California
My students are treasures! They are so polite, and they want to learn. They smile continually. They will not even use a pencil without asking permission.
Trying to communicate with a person when there is no common language is difficult. Our students have a very basic working knowledge of English. But my powers of describing and defining words and ideas in simple English are getting a workout. English has so many exceptions! Imagine our students keeping the following straight: Isaiah/Israelites, tomb/comb, hymn/him, live/life, pour/poor/pure, seen/scene, angel/anger, presence/presents, trough/laugh/cough/through.
The staff here is very inspiring to me. They meet for morning devotional everyday from 7-8 am. There are Bible studies going on here night and day, besides the English lessons. Young people, mostly Christians are here often. There is singing Thursday night, English Bible class Saturday afternoon and worship Sunday afternoon. This place is hopping and it is evident that there is love for the Lord and others here. I thank God I have had the opportunity to experience life here!

Moments in May Slideshow

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0511 Moments in May

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Many fun moments in May, of course eating ice cream twice in one day is way at the top of my list! First, Kevin treated me to ice cream with his mom, as "his other mom". Then Try and Dara secretly bought some ice cream and surprised me, too. Very, very thoughtful of these three young men!

I put in a couple shots Kevin took when we went to see the Ship of Life, a medical ship. There are also photos of our Friday morning breakfast/devotional, our 4:00 pm Sat English bible study, the wedding we had here (and YES, they always wear all that jewerly and makeup! The dresses, jewelry are just rented by a place and they just have one size and pin everything up with straight pins down the back! The couple Sovann, the groom is a graduate of CBI and Sokna will graduate in August or October (can't remember).

Then there are pictures of Troy and Tabitha Snowbarger's Going Away party which was after a Sunday evening worship service. They have worked in Cambodia for nearly 5 years! They are going back to work on their masters degrees (which they already have worked on some online). They will be living in New York!

Here at the BEST Center, Kevin and Arleen have left after teaching 2 months (a month longer than they had planned). Right now, Ron and Shirley Downey are staying at the BEST Center for a month. Ron is the director of the Sunset Schools of Preaching abroad and he is here teaching at CBI, while Shirley is teaching here at the center. I accidentally didn't click on Shirley's picture, I wanted in the slideshow, so it will be in the next blog. Shirley had the entire classroom to herself, before the Aggie's for Christ group came in from Texas A&M...7 of them!!!

This week has been wonderful with many teachers and many students! Wish it was this way all the time!!! Pictures of all of them next time!

0511 Rating Your Zeal...

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Where do you rate your zeal? Two short stories I want to share.
Zeal for what?

1. Zeal to…learn all you can learn about God.
We have a student named Pheareak who wants to study so badly that even though he works all night long, he comes here to study at 7:00 am before he goes home to sleep. He always has a smile from ear to ear. Sunday, I learned he sold his moto (to give his sister the money for her medical bills) and was going to have to ride a motodop (a motorcycle, which you pay the driver to take you somewhere). I thought this would soon become a financial burden and did not want him to quit studying, so I told him we would help with the cost. He sent me this text message on my phone…
“hi julie I know u are a good person u 1 2 help me, is ur good willingness, but I can help myself. I 1 2 know English, 2 learn about god so u don’t worry I’ll try with my best.”
This really touched me. Wow! I thought, where do I rate my own passion, zeal, and determination to study God’s Word. Do I do whatever it takes to get to study God’s Word an hour each day?

2. Zeal to… share the gift of salvation to the dying.
When Try had his moto accident, Veasna and his wife Linna went to the hospital to help. While seated on a bench waiting on the x-rays, Veasna started a conversation with the hospital worker who was walking us from place to place. Within about five minutes of small talk, Veasna was teaching this man about Jesus and how Jesus could save him. Wow, such boldness and such …ZEAL in a land where Christians are few and many times scorned.

Jeremiah 8:19b “Why have they provoked me to anger with their images, with their worthless foreign idols? v. 20 “The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved.”
What a tragic verse, but here in Cambodia amidst the images and idols, right now there still is time, the harvest is not yet past, the summer has not yet ended. So…

Where do I rate my zeal for sharing the only remedy that can save all these precious people from going to hell?

05.11 Activities at BEST

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I thought I would give you a run-down on the last week here at the BEST Center. (Sorry, I had everything lined up neatly, so it would be easy to read, but when it's "published", the placement of the words is changed.) :(

April 30, Sat 8:00-10:00 AM (closer to 11:00, good fellowship)
Dale Lundy taught a workshop on job descriptions/work plans etc to Christians, especially Christian leaders
Sat 4:00-5:00 PM or later, Bible Study in English

May 1, Sun 8:00-10:00 AM Worship at one of the other local congregations
Afterwards, we had a luncheon there. (every first Sunday of the month)
Sun 3:00 PM Leave to pick up a new convert, Vannak, who lives far, far away and rides a bicycle
Sun 4:00-6:00 PM Worship
Take people home, Vannak and Dara's aunt probably got home at 8:00 pm or later

May 2, Mon 4:00 AM Raining...didn't exercise, went back to sleep :)
7:00-8:00 AM Khmer singing and bible study
7:00-8:30 AM Julie has Khmer language class
7:00 am-6:00 pm Kevin and Arleen have their first students and teach until 6:00 pm (they do have a morning
and afternoon break!) They teach with a smile and no complaining! So thankful they are here.

May 3, Tues 7:00-8:00 AM Khmer singing and bible study
7:00 am-6:00 pm Arleen and Kevin are hard at it already, teaching!
I have classes scattered out, meet students, give entrance exams, run errands to keep things going
12:00 Had Paul and James Chu over for lunch. They are from California where Barney Cargile preaches.
6:00 Studies are finished. We hosted a supper for the foreigners. Paul and James (his father) Chu, Dale Lundy,
Bobby Deason (here to teach at CBI), Dennis and Sharon Welch, and Andrew and Natalie Hayes were able
to come (Troy and Tabitha were busy...they will be leaving Cambodia at the end of the month to go back to
complete their masters degrees, also Chris and Casey didn't come. Rich and Ronda are in the states right
now.)

May 4, Wed 7:00-8:00 AM Khmer singing and bible study
7:00 am-6:00 pm Kevin and Arleen begin their teaching day
7:00-8:30 Julie has language school, then back to work Right now we have 55 on our waiting list, some old
students waiting for more teachers and some who have passed the entrance exams, but have no
teacher. We need teachers!

May 5, Thursday 7:00-8:00 AM Khmer singing and bible study
7:00 am-6:00 pm Kevin and Arleen begin their teaching day
6:30-7:30 pm or later Singing in Khmer and English, whichever language you use, that is what you sing!

May 6, Friday 6:00 AM Set up for our first weekly breakfast/devotional
7:00-8:00 AM Great! We had about 20 who came to eat and start the day with a short devo! Exciting!
(So mad at myself for forgetting to take pictures!)
11:00 Khmer language school for Julie
3:00 While finishing a bible study with Avy, I got a phone call from Try who just dumped his moto.
Piseth and I went to get him. He was about 30-45 minutes south of Phnom Penh (headed to his home for a
wedding). Since he was the one who called, we knew he was alright, though hurting.
Piseth drove the moto back to PP and Try rode in the car. Thankfully, it was a one vehicle accident
(amazing a car didn't run over him). Veasna and Linna went with us to the hospital to have his shoulder
x-rayed as it was hurting him badly to move. Nothing was broken, just scraped and bruised and of
course in lots of pain. We are thankful to God for Try's injuries not to be worse.

May 7, Sat That was the whole week. Today we are back to Dale's morning workshop, which will end today. Sure hope to have
more weekend classes/workshops in the future. The "T" in BEST stands for "Training"!

A couple of the pictures I added because I thought you would enjoy them. One is the electrician sitting on top of that pillar on our gate! Ha! Wouldn't jobs be so much easier if we could sit like this instead of having to bend over! The other picture is of Sreyleak and her friend. Crazy...it is now SO HOT here and the hotter it gets, the more clothes they put on. It is the complete opposite of us! They wear socks (which have toes so they can wear their sandals and flip flops) and gloves, scarves, hats, long sleeves/sweaters/coats (sometimes even with fur), They say they are cooler if they have layers between their skin and the sun, but especially important is they do NOT want brown skin. They want WHITE skin, so they do everything they can to be white! This includes all their lotions having whiteners in them and on and on, but they always wear LONG sleeves, jackets, sweaters, and coats! Many of them wear the mask (like our nurses and drs wear) when they are riding on the streets, sometimes because they are sick, but most of the time to keep dust etc out.

Just for kicks, here are a couple other things which are different. Since Try was hurt, he cannot drink water that is cold (if you are sick, you cannot drink anything cold or with ice) and he can't eat any beef (can't eat beef if you are sick/have an injury), as it makes scarring worse.

Hope your last week was as good as ours! We had a great week (other than Try's accident, of course)! Love to you all, Julie

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Enjoying God's Creation!

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Since everyone left town for a week or so for Khmer New Year and Kevin was taking his mom to tour Siem Reap for the week, I had the most wonderful opportunity to "just get away". Where would I choose? The sea, of course! 4 nights, 3 1/2 days.....perfect!

I took some work and worked several hours each day in the most wonderful setting! Rabbit Island, one of the few places not yet ruined by "progress" and the tourism industry. I stayed in a little bungalow with a squat pot, running water out of a pvc pipe and a shower hose, electricity from a generator in the evening for about 4-5 hours. The bed had a mosquito net. It was very very clean!

The breeze coming of the sea was wonderful! Enjoy the pictures! Mostly sunsets of different nights.

PS Got to go snorkeling twice, but the coral there is mostly dead and the fish not so colorful, but many. Each day I asked God, "What little gift will you give me to see today of your amazing underwater world?" Sure enough, the first time, I got to see a school of fish that just hung around awhile....how fun!!! Then the 2nd time, I got to see 2 big bright orange and white striped fish shaped like angelfish. They just flitted around together and didn't even care that I was there. Always amazes me that God took the time to create such a fascinating world that mostly is unseen.

A New Story about a New Sister

2011-04-23T15:00:00.001+07:00

There was an odd event at our Khmer New Year Party. While people were signing in, a lady came up and said, "I live across the street and some people told me there were Christians here. I am a Christian and I am so happy to know there is a church here. Can I stay here at the party?"

I must admit I was skeptical, but since she was loud (almost obnoxious) and holding up the line with people watching me, I said that was fine.

Sunday night, when she came to worship she said she wanted to be baptized. She told the people at the place where she went before that she wanted to be baptized and they said she had to wait until they had a big group and they would all go together down to the coast. Well she didn't want to wait and began praying for God to show her what to do. That is when the next night, we had the party. Anyway, after worship, Try studied with her and after studying awhile was convinced she knew that baptism was for the forgiveness of your sins. She was adamant about being baptized. After her baptism, she hugged us and hugged us (which they don't do much of here) and was soooo happy and thrilled. God had answered her prayers.

With this being the beginning of the holiday, she left town the next day and people are just now returning. Please pray for this new baby sister and for us, as we do not even really know this woman. All I do know for sure, is she was probably the happiest person I've ever seen after a baptism!

Khmer New Year

2011-04-19T13:12:00.002+07:00

It was party-time again at the BEST Center!

Khmer New Year is probably the largest holiday of the year. It is such an exciting time with everyone going home to their "homeland" and spending several days (or a couple weeks) in their villages playing traditional games, visiting with relatives and friends. Besides games, there are traditions which show respect and honor to their parents and grandparents. They buy new clothes and it is also the "birthday" for everyone. There are some I've asked whom are not sure when their birthday is, because they just count from the Khmer New Year.

On Friday, April 8th, our party began at 3:00 pm and lasted till 7:00 pm, but since no one had classes or work the next day, probably around 30+ of our (more than) 100 guests stayed until 9:00. It was fun!

I envy their traditions that have been passed down for centuries. They have games they all love and look forward to playing during the New Year, which everyone from all the over the country knows how to play. So we played games, had a bible lesson, ate, and played more. Our guests consisted of: past students, current students, Christians from the church here, CBI students, neighbors from the old neighborhood, neighbors from the new neighborhood.

The staff here is excellent and each one pitched in to help with cleaning the grounds, all the food prep, decorations, and "running the show". Of course "clean-up" was huge and they all worked with smiles, though very weary, on their faces until the last thing was done. They know how to put on a great party!

I must also add, (I am sad I didn't get pictures of Arleen) that Arleen and Kevin were both great participants in all the activities, including the games!!! They taught students all morning, then beginning at noon helped with party preparations. Then late that night were helping clean up...a very long, but fun day for all.

Of course, the point of all this is for our guests to know we care about them, to sing and hear a message from God's Word (by some of the Christian men here), to mingle with some of the Christians, and hopefully arouse their interest in studying the bible further someday. I pray the Lord was glorified through these efforts. I also thank each of you who make this Center possible.

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2011-04-07T20:18:00.001+07:00

New Teachers, plus more!

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BEST Center welcomes back Kevin Kersten, plus he brings with him, his mother!!! I think it is great she has traveled from Tennessee to here (meaning Southeast Asia) to do some traveling with her son. In the meantime they are taking off a month or so and teaching at the BEST Center...and just in time, too! We saw Bobbie off Monday night and Phil and Nita the week before that. It is a blessing that Kevin and Arleen are here. I still NEED teachers for the entire month of May!

We had a weekend trip to the 2nd annual lectureships with the congregation in Siem Reap. I took a vanload of CBI students, along with a vanload in Rich and Ronda's, and a carload in Dennis and Sharon's. It was great to make this trip and hear good teaching all weekend.

We have had a couple novel experiences at the BEST Center lately, including trying to do something about our bat problem which leaves a mess needing cleaned everyday. Another first for BEST was having a wedding for a couple who wanted to have a "Christian" wedding instead of their traditional Khmer weddings (having many Buddhist traditions).

I will leave you with a couple short comments from previous teachers.

Shelly Halters:
"The students are PRECIOUS and it will be very hard to leave them! It has been such an honor to teach these students about God!"

Charles Voyles:
"You can have an everlasting positive impact on several young people that have no knowledge of the true living God in just a short period of time, whether you are teaching for one month or three. The teaching is designed to ensure students know about God and His plan of salvation for mankind. The students will never forget what they have learned about the True God. Teaching at the BEST is a great opportunity for anyone to spread the gospel to an area willing to receive the message."

0311 Our March Madness

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Pictures below of March Madness here at the BEST Center!
We said goodbye to Reuben and Roma last week. Below are some words Reuben penned earlier in his stay here.

"Just Another Day..."
6:00 AM It's still a little bit dark. Phil and I start our morning walk. The city starts to come alive. People are sweeping their driveways, vendors setting up the merchandise and children going to school. We say "Sous dei" (hello) to some people we meet. Most of the time we get an answer and smile back. Back at the BEST Center at 6:45 with just enough time for a quick shower and join in the "Good Morning, Jesus" devotional by the young Christians at BEST. We have breakfast and then get ready for 7 hours of teaching God's word-the most fulfilling and satisfying part of the day. One student asked, "If you are American, then how come you look like us?" (I was born in the Philippines). Others asked questions like: "Why did God accept Abel's sacrifice and not Cain's?" "If God knows what is in our hearts and minds, why do we have to pray?" There will be other thought-provoking questions. The students' eagerness to learn is amazing!
6:00 PM The teaching is finished. We have dinner. We talk about the day. Sometimes, we watch a little TV. Other nights we play Mexican train. Thursday night, we sing.
It has been a long day but with much joy and anticipation, I look forward to tomorrow. Is it 6 AM yet?

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God Causes the Growth

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What a joyous day!!!

The teachers here spend hours planting and watering. Vannak's past teacher was Harold Romine and for the recent couple months has been Phillip Gardner. What a joy to be God's spokesman to the lost!

Pen Vannak is an extremely polite young man with an award winning smile! His desire to learn English and of course, God, brought him here. He came having some prior knowledge of God from some Korean missionaries and an Indian missionary. Through his studies with Phil, he came to realize he needed to be baptized for God to forgive him.

I have been impressed with Vannak. Even though he studies with one of his good friends, who doesn't seem too interested (at this point) in the spiritual aspect of the studies, it has not stopped Vannak from having the courage to follow Christ.

Meet your new brother!

2011-03-17T17:18:00.001+07:00

Teaching and Traveling

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The five teachers: Phillip Gardner, Reuben and Roma Lacuata, Nita Mansholt, and Bobbie Bertram are still here and going strong! There are Bible/English classes going on at the BEST Center from 7:00 am until after 6:00 pm Mondays through Fridays with other misc classes and activities mixed in. Some of those are: the morning devotional, a couple Khmer English classes, a Khmer individual bible study, Thursday night singing, and a Saturday afternoon bible study. Not much time to play, mostly working, but it is definitely the most rewarding work anyone could do! How exciting to share God's Word with others, touching peoples' eternities, can it get any better?

We did manage to take a long weekend trip to Siem Reap due to a holiday. We had a great time! Enjoy the pictures!
PS This could be YOU!

2011-03-05T10:44:00.001+07:00

A Valentine Party to Remember!

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It is fun, fun, fun when Reuben and Roma host a party. The Valentine party was complete with a ping pong tournament, Taco Salad, hot sauce, and ice cream, a devotional, games, and of course love songs, sung by Reuben and Roma, who have gorgeous voices! All pitched in and helped. (Look at the pictures below.)

We had a record 89 people! We had 71 sign in, plus staff, teachers, some children, and some in the kitchen who never signed in. It was a full house and oh so fun! We had new students, old students, Christians, friends, a neighbor.

When we have a house full of teachers, the opportunities are endless. We have so many students being taught God's Word, then they bring their friends to come take the entrance exams and it snowballs. We have more people at the parties and all those people get to hear God's Word, too! It is a joy to see the BEST Center "stuffed full" of people enjoying each other, happy, and most importantly, hearing God's Word! We never have a party without presenting a message from God's Word and singing and praying to God.

I am so thankful to Phil Gardner, Reuben and Roma Lacuata, Nita Mansholt, and Bobbie Bertram for being here 2-3 months each! I am sad though, that when April arrives, only 2 teachers are coming (so far...), meaning many, many students will have to stop studying....

On a personal note, my oldest son, Brandon, now has a website for his clinic. I hope you will take a look! http://www.spurvet.com/

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02.11 Misc. Moments

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Wow, time has gotten by me!

Many miscellaneous things have happened since the last blog. Some of the pictures are as follows:
1) Phil, Roma, and Reuben enjoy an early Saturday morning walk along the riverside. Many sights to see there!
2) Srey Mom finally (!!!) came back from her maternity leave. We are so glad she is back!
3) Roma's birthday was fun thanks to Reuben's planning. He wanted the students involved, too, so Avy baked "cupcakes" for the students, but had to hide them all night, so Roma wouldn't know. What better place than the office bathroom!!! Ha!!!
4) Last night, Friday, the 11th, we had all the foreigners over for a supper, singing, and surprise money tree for Walt and Sarah Kate Epperson's (future) baby. Great singing and fellowship...so fun and such a blessing!
5) Since the last blog, two of our "old timers" (not in age, but in how many many times they have come to teach) have returned to Cambodia: Nita Mansholt and Bobbie Bertram. It is great to have them back again. Their old students get so excited to see them.
6) Bobbie had her 81st birthday!!!
7) One nice thing for me is my parents are now in Phnom Penh. They are staying at Rich and Ronda's. Dad is teaching at CBI for about 5 weeks.
8) Of course the best thing of all at the BEST Center is how many people get to hear about Jesus each day. Having a lot of teachers here means a lot of students, too. It is wonderful! Below are some words from Roma Lacuata, one of the teachers.

Roma Lacuata:

Teaching the Bible all day everyday is such a joy! I was raised in a Christian home, so I have always heard Bible teachings and Bible language; places, names, concepts, etc. Now, I am seeing it all through the fresh new eyes of my students. Many have never heard of Almighty God. After two days with the difficult lesson on creation, one students said, "I have never heard of God before! And I have never heard that man did not come from monkeys." Another student was reading about the time God asked Cain where his brother was. He read, "Cain said, 'I don't know' " and incredulously dropped his book on the table and his eyes large, said, "He lied!" He seemed to find it difficult to believe. I have had to explain what a wild party is. Of course, there are many confusing and sometimes humorous times because of the language differences.

I came here to teach and to serve. I did not expect the joy and all the Christian fellowship. I haven't "given up" anything to be here, but have instead been richly blessed! Every creature comfort is here, with showers, hot water, good beds, and fans. The house is beautiful and modern. And, wonder of wonders...we are blessed to have a cook, and a driver, if we need one!! The food is wonderful, and always beautifully presented. I was surprised to realize after two weeks, that I did not miss home at all! I will be back-the sooner the better.

2011-02-12T22:15:00.001+07:00

2011-01-22T06:00:00.001+07:00

01.11 Your Family is Growing!

2011-01-22T06:00:00.000+07:00

For what reason are we here in Cambodia?
To plant the seed, to share the good news of God's salvation.

It is so moving to watch God giving the increase. Within the last 2 weeks, there have been 4 baptisms in the University Church of Christ, (currently meeting at the BEST Center)...FOUR! Are you smiling? Precious new babies in your family!

Theary was the first one. This is a great story! One time when Dennis and Sharon Welch were traveling out of town, they had a wreck and a Khmer family helped them. They kept in contact with the family and now the family's daughter has come to Phnom Penh for college and is living with the Welches. She shadows them in everything they do. How rewarding for them to see her make the decision to obey God!

Last Sunday night, there were 3 baptized. These are all great stories, too!

The two new sisters, Srey Touch and Makara, are new CBI students who have come from Seryvuht's village. If you remember, Seryvuht wanted to study English and spent 3 days searching for the Partner in Progress English Bible School of which he had heard. After finally finding it and passing the entrance test, we didn't have enough teachers at that time for him to study. He came to worship services always asking me when he was going to get a class. In the meantime, some of the CBI students talked to him and he decided to start CBI, was baptized, and now has taught in his village. Currently there are 4 new students at CBI who came from his village. This last Sunday night, the two girls were baptized.

The last one baptized was Borey. Even though Borey is only in his late 40s, he had a stroke several years ago, which paralyzed part of his right side. If you have been here, you probably know him. He has come for a long time. There is no telling how many people touched Borey's life. It was thrilling to see him finally make the step to have his sins washed away and receive God's grace.

Even though you don't know these people yet, hopefully someday you will meet them in heaven! Are you sure, without a doubt, that you are ready?

0111 BEST Teachers

2011-01-19T11:58:00.005+07:00

Sarah Kate Epperson!!! She is super! Sarah Kate (age 27 and expecting her first baby) and her husband, Walt, work on the Ship of Life, but are currently in Phnom Penh (while the ship is in dry dock for repairs, etc). The last couple weeks in December, while waiting on teachers to come, we showed a DVD on the book of Matthew. For the students, this was optional, as it was not part of the curriculum they were studying to get a certificate. The classes lasted about 2 1/2 weeks, showing 2-3 chapters/day. Sarah Kate is the one who taught the Matthew classes during December. I appreciated her filling in so much! She also has continued to teach in January. It has been fun to have her here at the house.

Phillip Gardner, elder in Peoria, Illinois, managed to arrive New Year's Eve just in time to see the midnight fireworks in the distance, bringing in 2011. He has been here many times and is an excellent teacher (quoted by several of his previous students, who have come by to visit him). He will be teaching here for 3 months!

Reuben and Roma Lacuata have come from East Vale, California to teach for 2 months. It is their first time and they are perfect for this type of service. They are positive, cheerful, and by the second day were already trying to learn Khmer words!

Also in the BEST Center, Try and Veasna, two of the Khmer brothers teach bible and English classes daily.

Following is a current schedule of the classes at the BEST Center:
7:00 am M-F Veasna teaches bible to 3 of the staff. They call their class, "Good Morning, Jesus!"
7:00 am M-F Phil teaches one student
8:00 to 12:00 M-F Phil, Reuben, and Roma teach classes
11:00 am M-F Veasna teaches Sreyleak (again) I Timothy
1:00-6:00 pm M-F Phil, Reuben, and Roma teach
4:15-6:30 pm M-F Try teaches English and Bible/Eng respectively
5:30-6:30 pm M-F Veasna teaches Bible/Eng class
6:30-7:30 pm Thurs Group Bible Study in Khmer
4:00 pm Sat. Group Bible Study in English
4:00-6:00 pm Sun. Bible Study and Worship

The BEST Center is busy morning to night with people learning God's Word! I thank all of you who make this possible and I thank each person who has come to teach, making it possible for those waiting to have a class. (Our waiting list is looong again. We need more teachers!)

I also included a couple misc. pictures, one of a dinner and singing at Dennis and Sharon Welch's house with the CBI students and one picture with the BEST teachers, Rich, Ronda, and I eating with the group of Singapore brothers who have an active part in many facets of the work in Cambodia, including the BEST Center.

If you look on the right side of the blog, there is a link to other blogs. I would encourage you to consistently read those, too. (Rich and Ronda have some pictures of Thailand, beside other great blogs and pictures.)

Please make sure to be watching for the upcoming blog, as it is EXCITING!!!

2011-01-19T11:55:00.001+07:00

2011-01-11T20:33:00.001+07:00

A Time to Rest

2011-01-05T19:25:00.005+07:00

What a wonderful week to relax and be with some family! Ronda and I flew to Phuket, Thailand to spend the week with Dad and Mom. Dad is teaching here for a couple months and had this one week break between meetings and classes. So this was our birthdays and Christmas all combined. We stayed in a little bungalow on the beach which belongs to some Thai friends of Dad's and Mom's. The 3 females slept lined up on the big bed crosswise and Dad slept on the floor. Ha! We couldn't have been happier (except to have had all the family...someday!) A few step walk to the water, the sound of waves, great weather, God's gorgeous creation, and family! Fantastic!

2010-12-31T21:43:00.001+07:00

Different Kinds of Celebrations

2010-12-31T20:34:00.003+07:00

Two celebrations quite different, one the BEST Center Christmas party and the other 4 days later, Tawn's funeral.

On Christmas day, SreyMom (the housekeeper) came by with her husband and baby to say hello. She will be back at the end of January. That afternoon, the BEST Center hosted a Christmas party. We had 59 in attendance. It was quite fun! We sang some traditional American Christmas songs, followed by the "Chinese Gift Exchange" where you "steal" from each other. They had never done that, so it was fun. (Everyone brought a gift which did not exceed 75 cents.) We also had some drawings for a BEST Center shirt, a couple dictionaries, and a couple book bags. Following that, Try gave the devotional time talk, taking advantage of the opportunity to talk about Jesus. Then before we ate, we sang, "Happy Birthday" to Ratana (Avy's 1 year old). It was a fun, long, day with all the staff working that Saturday to help prepare everything.

Four days later, was the funeral procession for Tawn's cremation. It was preceeded by a day of devotionals with singing and encouraging messages from God's Word. Many people told about good deeds and memories of Tawn. On the day of the cremation, there was more singing praises and then loading the casket onto a long cart. Everyone walked with the casket to the temple where there was a place to cremate the body. I had to smile at the strength of the Khmer brothers and sisters in this Buddhist country, who walked down the streets with everyone watching as "Amazing Grace" was sung over and over until we reached the site. I also had to smile at their strength as we walked into the temple grounds with some monks watching as we carried flowers that the Christians had stapled papers to that said, "Jesus loves!" Wow! I want courage and faith like that. While life on this earth will be difficult for many without Tawn's presence, what a great celebration of victory and homecoming for him.

Tawn-Life is so short

2010-12-26T20:12:00.003+07:00

Tawn-
Early 30's
Strong Christian
The translator (and friend) of Rich's and Dennis's at the Cambodia Bible Institute (preaching school)
Instructor at CBI
Dean of the preaching school/dorm
Husband of Navy (sweet Christian lady)

Today, Sunday, Dec 26th, Tawn went on the be with His Father, while the Christians here are in shock. A group of five Christian men took a road trip on their motorcycles over the weekend to northern Cambodia. While returning, Tawn was hit by a drunk driver who came into his lane. It was thought the only severe injury was a badly broken leg: thigh, shin, and knee. He was moved back to Phnom Penh to have the surgery done, but never woke after the surgery and died just before noon Sunday.

Just earlier Sunday morning, probably 50 people had all held hands and prayed during classtime for Tawn. Although I don't understand everything, I did understand that many of the prayers, were begging God for his healing, because they needed Tawn to preach the Good News in Cambodia.

When they brought the body back to the house from the hospital to prepare it, Navy changed shirts and put on her t-shirt that said "I believe in God."

It is great this warrior has gone on to victory, but please pray for Navy and all our young Christians here, that they will rise up now stronger than ever in their faiths, here in this special land of Cambodia. Please say a prayer for our day guard, Piseth, and cook, Avy, that something (maybe this) will touch their hearts for them to respond to the gospel.

Time is so short..................are you focused on the eternal things?

Guests at BEST!

2010-12-11T21:50:00.005+07:00

It's fun to have lots of "guests at the BEST Center". Let me introduce them.

Thanksgiving Bunch: These pictures aren't good, but all I have.

Missionaries...
Rich and Ronda Dolan, Dean of Cambodia Bible Institute (Sunset's School of Preaching)
Dennis and Sharon Welch, Instructor at CBI and will head the Nutrition Program in the future
(Theary-currently staying with the Welches)
Troy and Tabitha Snowbarger, Directors of the current Nutrition Program/Back to School Program
Chris and Casey Allison and 2 daughters: Maggie and Melanie, 1 baby son (oops! can't think of his name)
Robert and Jeanie Johnson, missionaries at Kampot
(Andrew and Natalie Hayes, along with Walt and Sarah Kate Epperson were in the United States)

Teachers...
Sam and Mary Carpenter (Sam was always up serving, not sure he ever sat down)
Harold and Betty Romine
Kevin Kersten

A week later, Luis Chito Cusi and Shem.....(loooonnng name) came from the Philippines to visit another missionary and dropped in. It was great to see them. They hosted the SE Asia Mission Forum this last August. I didn't get to go since I had just gotten back from the states.

Next, Brandi Kendall from my main supporting congregation in Granbury, Texas came in for a couple days. I was thrilled to have someone from my missions committee come see the work here firsthand. I appreciate him coming so very, very much!!!

The church here has begun an English bible discussion on Saturdays at 4:00. I took some photos after the class today while everyone was just spending time visiting and enjoying each other.
Dennis and Sharon were visiting with a guest inside the classroom/meeting room, along with Bora (girl) and Kai (Channy's pregnant wife for those of you who know Channy!). Sam and Mary were at the table visiting with one of Mary's old students from 3 years ago. Outside Dara and Sreyleak were playing badminton, while Borey ,Channy, Sereyvuht played pingpong. Myna and Veasna were at the guard table.

Made me so happy to see them using the center here for fellowship! I thank all of you who make this possible for them. May God bless you!

2010-12-11T21:49:00.001+07:00

Horror at the End of Water Festival

2010-12-02T20:54:00.004+07:00

The last night of Water Festival a lot of us who had already been to the riverside during the day and previous days, chose to not go back and stayed home. The small suspension bridge which many of us walked over earlier turned into a scene of horror as people came to a standstill for a couple hours, not able to go forward or backwards because of the crowds. As time went on, people began to pass out, then some people thought the bridge was collapsing because of the swaying. Putting all of this together set off a panic and people stampeded, leaving layers of people underfoot and still others literally being crushed to the point they suffocated. "Many of those who survived have many broken bones," one of our students who is a medical intern told us. Another student lost his aunt, while another lost one uncle, with another uncle injured. Another lost 2 neighbor girls, ages 15 and 16. There were whole families lost. The stories were so sad.

The Khmer newspaper quoted some authorities as saying it seems they were all stuck together like glue. It took hours to get them apart. Actually it took about 4 hours to get the last bodies taken away. Not enough rescue workers, not enough rescue vehicles, while time was ticking away. In the end, after all the number went up too high and then came back down, there still were 351 souls who perished that night or within the next couple days, with another 394 injured.

The next day, the Buddhist ceremonies began, taking food, incense, etc to the bridge to send with the spirits so they would have food. Also these good deeds can be used as good merit for the ones who died. At night, many of the Khmer people stayed in their homes and set out offerings of bananas and incense, afraid the wondering spirits would come into their homes. On the 7th day after a death, there is another ceremony. This is the day, the spirit knows it is dead and quits wondering from place to place searching (for their family, etc). This ceremony helps to send them on. The good deeds will help them get through their punishment (hell) faster, so they can be reincarnated again quicker. In the meantime, families built paper houses and cars and burned them to send them to the spirit of their loved one, so they would have a place to live.

What does this catastrophe make you think? How does it affect you?

Do we see that we are living this same kind of catastrophe right now, but at even a much larger scale? One man interviewed said people just kept saying, "Help me, please help me..."until their voices grew silent. People are running out of time all around us. People, at least here, are wanting to learn, waiting to be rescued.........but, not enough rescuers........"Help me," they cry.

The video clip below is awful. It will probably make you sick. Hell will be so much worse.

Shocking video of Cambodia stampede, hundreds killed on bridge

2010-12-02T20:51:00.001+07:00

11.10 Good Times

2010-11-27T20:22:00.006+07:00

Teachers who spent the Thanksgiving Holidays teaching...Kevin Kersten, who has been here three months and will be traveling on this coming week, Harold and Betty Romine-staying two months. They now have only a couple weeks left. Also Sam and Mary Carpenter, who have taught in Cambodia many, many times. They are from Alabama and are involved in many ways with the Christians here in Cambodia. It is a blessing to have them back.

One of Cambodia's biggest holidays of the year is Water Festival! I'm sure you have heard of the tragic events on the last night and I will write about that in the next blog, but I want to share some of the fun times from the first and third days first.

On the first day, we had a party at the BEST Center, with over 60 in attendance, some from the Bible/English school, some of the church, and some were just friends. It was a fantastic turnout! We played games, sang spiritual songs, and ate snacks. Then afterwards a vanload went to the riverside for the evening and watched the fireworks in front of the palace and then walked (and walked and walked) to see all the vendors, along with the throngs of people. Kevin went to the riverside all three days.

The 3rd day Harold, Betty, and I went to watch the boat races, which are so much fun! It is so colorful! I love it! My Khmer language teacher was telling me each team has a ceremony to the spirit of the boat to appease it and keep it happy. Then they usually have a ceremony to appease the spirit of the river and putting the boat into the river, when the two spirits meet. You must keep the spirits happy, so they don't get mad and cause accidents/problems etc. They do this by offering bananas, incense, etc.

Pictures below. It was a fun few days.........until tragedy struck the last night. More about that next time.

2010-11-26T22:04:00.001+07:00

An Unforgettable Independence Day

2010-11-11T14:16:00.004+07:00

A remarkable story of “Independence Day”…
Nov 9th was Cambodia’s Independence Day (from France-1956). Charles, Kevin, Shelly, and I went to watch the celebration at the Independence Monument. The moment everyone was waiting for was to catch a glimpse of King Norodom Sihamoni. It was thrilling to even capture a photo of him and also thrilling to hear the Khmers as they at various times, in unison would shout, “Chayo! Chayo! Chayo!” like our “Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!”
***But the most “moving “ Independence Day was Nov 6th, as Sreyleak’s mother was immersed into Christ, being forever set free!
Sreyleak, our secretary's, mother is terminally ill and nearing the end. The Christians here have been praying for her and had gone to study with her. Try (one of the preaching students) had planned to go back on Friday to study again, but we were all crushed to find out Thursday night that plans had been made for her to go back to Battambang Friday morning (a 5 hour journey from here) to her relatives (to die there). We were crushed as we had prayed for her to stay alive long enough to hear the gospel.
Friday morning came and we learned that the car that was to transport her was too old to make the trip and they would have to wait and go on Sat! Wow! This extra 24 hours was a gift from God, an answer to prayers. Try had us pray for him and he went to the hospital to teach her. She made the decision to follow Jesus and wanted to be baptized.
The Khmer Christians began to discuss how they could do this, as she cannot stand or move her limbs any. She cannot sit up without someone holding her. Her neck is extremely painful if not held in just the right position, besides having a feeding tube in her nose, and an IV. When they ask the dr, they would not allow her to leave the hospital. So we had to wait until Sat. morning when the daughters checked her out. Once she was loaded in the van, we came to the BEST Center and she was baptized before heading to Battambang.
Wow! It was very touching to see someone snatched from satan’s grip and to know the angels were singing (even more magnificent than the Khmers chanting “Chayo!”) and to see the love and gentleness the Khmer Christians showed.
What an independence day!
Even sweeter will be to catch a glimpse of the King of all Kings!
Please see the pictures!

PS Just found out Sreyleak's mother died this morning. She has gone to meet the King! I bet she is saying, "Chayo!" :)

2010-11-11T14:15:00.001+07:00

Teaching and Trials

2010-11-02T14:05:00.004+07:00

**************************
The following was written by a teacher who was here in July/August. I thought you would enjoy the teacher’s perspective.

Written by Kelsey Sanders:
Teaching at the BEST center has been one of the most rewarding experiences in my life. This is the type of mission work I enjoy doing: spending time with people, building relationships, and sharing God’s story with people who have never heard of Him before. The students are so eager to learn English, and in the process their hearts are opened to God’s love and Christ’s offer at a new life. I have been able to revisit some of my favorite “bible stories” and re-evaluate them for my personal life. Even reading the lessons that are explaining basic ideas of Christianity have convicted me of where I need to change my heart. It is truly amazing how God works in our lives. The students are some of the nicest people I have met, and I really loved getting to know them personally, even if it was just a little bit. While teaching gets tedious hour after hour, and is sometimes frustrating, I reminded myself that God has called us to plant the seed. And that is just what you do here. Sometimes you are the one planting the seed, and sometimes you are the one seeing the benefits of someone else planting a seed, but God called each of us to a specific purpose for each of our students. I was blessed to be part of each of my students’ story for just a short while and I will pray for them as they continue to learn.

BEST Center Family News

Prayer request:
The mother of Sreyleak (our secretary and young Christian sister) is critically ill in the hospital. Sreyleak and her younger sister have been told if they take her home, she will die, but if they leave her in the hospital, she may live awhile (running up a bill, which they cannot afford) but will not improve and get well. They are tending to her basic needs 24 hours a day now while she is in the hospital. This is a difficult time since her mom is not a Christian. Please pray for Sreyleak’s faith and to have peace, also that God will show her the decision she needs to make.

Good news:
I’m happy to say I just received a call that SreyMom (the housekeeper) just had her baby, a boy, both are doing well. I’m sure pictures will come soon!

10/10 Best Center

2010-10-23T21:19:00.004+07:00

Lots of teachers means lots of students!!! It is so great to have the house full again. It is an amazing feeling to know that almost every Khmer face I see come through our door is going to get to hear the gospel! Wow!

Let me introduce our October teachers:
Kevin Kersten and Bobbie Bertram are still here. Added to those are 4 more!
Harold and Betty Romine, Decatur, Texas (recruited by Bobbie) have come for a two month stay. While this is their first trip to Cambodia, they have taught/lived in China, along with many other countries in the past. This is incredible…they both have had heart surgeries in the past few months, but were determined not to let that stop them! By the way, Harold is 80.
Charles Voyles from North Little Rock is on his 2nd teaching trip. He has been very instrumental in keeping the school going, not only raising funds for the BEST Center, but in also recruiting.
Shelly Halters, who was recruited by Charles, is also from North Little Rock. It is her first trip! I am so glad she has come! I enjoy hearing her talk about her students, as I can tell she already loves them.

We have changed our scheduling to fit the needs of the students. Therefore during peak hours (8:00, 11:00, 1:00, 4:00, 5:00) which had several students waiting, the teachers are now teaching a couple students together. The greatest need was at the end of the day, so we have added 5:00 classes, because so many were waiting for that period or couldn't study at all if we didn't teach then. Therefore we have more free periods during the slow times, such as 9:00 and 10:00 am.

If you are supporting the BEST Center, I hope you can see by the pictures that many people are getting to hear God's Word because of you! Isn't that such a wonderful feeling! May God bless YOU!

2010-10-23T21:19:00.001+07:00

Battambang Trip with Bobbie, Dara, and Sreyleak

2010-10-17T14:35:00.003+07:00

Last week we were out of "school" due to the Pchum Ben holidays. Bobbie and I drove to Battambang, which is in the northwest part of Cambodia, while Kevin struck out on his own to discover Cambodia's coasts. He had a great week and enjoyed a few days in Kampot at Robert and Jeanie Johnson's, too.

Since Dara and Sreyleak's families are both from Battambang, they hitched a ride with us in the van, including Dara's uncle, aunt, and friend, too. We left Thurs. morning and came back on Sunday.

The countryside is beautiful right now with all the rains. The rice is a brilliant green.

When we arrived, we got to see some ladies making ansom, which is a special sticky rice with beans, pork, or banana in it. They eat this esp. for Pchum Ben and for Khmer New Year.

Once we got everyone delivered Bobbie and I found our hotel, ate some lunch and "lazied" around. Driving on these highways is exhausting as you must constantly concentrate to keep from hitting a moto, etc. since the roads are usually two lane and someone is usually coming at you at the same time you are passing the moto.

The first evening, we went down on the riverside and ate a bowl of noodles. Friday, we stayed in town. We got some bread at a bakery and as we drove the streets, we passed many temples. The belief is the ancestors' spirits have these 15 days of Pchum Ben free to roam the earth and to visit the temples to get food for the next year. So the Khmers take food to the temples as an offering for their ancestors' spirits. If their ancestors' spirits come to the temples and don't find food left for them from their living relatives, then they may bring about illnesses, troubles, etc for the living relatives in the next year. It is a happy time for the Khmers, as they then can also eat together at the temples. They get to spend time at home with their all their relatives. Needless to say this is a difficult time for the Khmer Christians, because their families want them to participate in these family traditions they've done for centuries. Two of our new Christian girls were telling about how their families were making fun of them and one of their grandmothers got very angry when she refused to go to the temple with the whole family.

That morning, we went to the market. Most of the vendors were closed for the holiday, but Bobbie was on a mission for some "pajamas" that we see them wearing all day long. By the way, she was successful in finding some and has even worn them! That afternoon, I got to enjoy a visit at the hotel from two of our ex-bible/English students, who are from Battambang. That evening, we were honored to be invited by Sreyleak's family for supper. Bobbie wasn't feeling completely well, so I went. I was treated like a queen! They had flowers on the table, bottled water, Battambang oranges. They had begun cooking at 3:00 and we ate a soup, morning glory, and some beef. It was excellent!!! They were all so sweet to me, even giving me a purse as a gift, besides a big bag of oranges!

The next day, Dara, his dad and two sisters, Sreyleak and her relatives, Bobbie, and I took off for Pailin, which is just about 30 km from the Thai border. I loved it there!!! The landscape was so pretty, mountains, rice fields, and then other fields...cornfields! I was so excited!!! Couldn't help but think about all the harvests in Muleshoe in the fall, which I loved so much!!!

We knew one of Bobbie's (and other teachers) ex-students from a while back had moved to Pailin. He was and is a monk. We called to tell him we were coming to Pailin. He met us and asked if he could go with us to the waterfall. Isn't that a strange group all in the car together! Khmer Christians, American Christians, Khmer Buddhists, and a monk...we had a great time! The waterfall was pretty, but there was quite a crowd! We had to trek quite a ways up the road. After we took Sarorn, the monk, back to his temple, we headed back toward Battambang, stopping to have a picnic by a river (along with huge crowds!). The Khmers love to be where there are many people. The larger the crowds, the more they like it. The last stop was the mountain Sompeou, (with big crowds). Of course Bobbie took off with the males and headed up all those stairs to the top of the mountain where the temple is. The view up there was fantastic!

Sunday morning, after a nice breakfast at the hotel, we picked up Sreyleak and then Dara. About 30 minutes down the road, we stopped at Tawn and James' home and worshipped with a group of Christians there. What a blessing to be with brothers and sisters and sing and pray to the living God after seeing so much idolatry worship the previous few days.

Had to take a couple pictures of our flooded street Monday. It is always fun to watch everyone on their motos and bicycles!
Then Wednesday, Sreyleak and Dara surprised me with a birthday cake, complete with candles...5 in one row and 1 separate, for 51. While I was out at the airport picking up new teachers, she brought a cake to the house ON HER BICYCLE (a LONG way!). When I got home after dark, they, along with Avy, and her husband all surprised me. They are all so good to me! God has richly blessed me!

Wednesday evening, I picked up two new teachers: Harold and Betty Romine from Texas. Then Thursday morning, I picked up Charles Voyles and Shelly Halter from Arkansas.

Tomorrow, we hit it hard with 6 teachers in the house!!! How exciting!!! May God be glorified through them and many seed planted in fertile hearts.

2010-10-16T20:43:00.001+07:00

1010 Kirirom

2010-10-08T20:46:00.003+07:00

What a fun weekend spent with brothers and sisters in Christ, along with some of our BEST students, and other friends!

The beginning weekend of the Pchum Ben holiday, the church took a daytrip to Kirirom, about 3 hours away. We left about 7 am and returned around 7 pm. It was an excellent weekend with the Khmers doing all the planning and bible teaching, preparing, etc. It is wonderful to see them growing and taking on the leadership. The three classes were great, discussing the traditions of Pchum Ben (which is a Buddhist holiday and devoutly observed) vs.us as Christians and that we worship the living God, who is powerful. It was to encourage the Christians right before this pagan holiday.

We took 3-15 passenger vans full. I think it is safe to say that everyone had a wonderful time together.

This week, we are out of "school" due to Pchum Ben. Kevin headed to the coast, while Bobbie and I headed to Battambang, in the northwest. The next blog will be about our adventure there.

2010-10-08T20:43:00.001+07:00

Babies at the BEST Center

2010-10-01T15:19:00.008+07:00

The BEST Center is busy! Bobbie Bertram and Kevin Kersten are teaching full schedules, both having multiple students at times. Their great attitudes towards their students are wonderful models. Bobbie has a 7:00 AM student, trying to accommodate one who got a job. Kevin has found ping pong to be a good way to make a connection with the students, taking a brief break once in awhile between classes to mingle.

With retention of new Christians being so difficult, you can imagine my joy as I looked around at 10:45 a.m. today (before Veasna's bible study in Khmer was about to begin) and saw Sreyleak, Dara, and Piseth (who is not a Christian) pouring over 1 Corinthians. to prepare for his test! It just made me smile.

Having a baby at the BEST Center has been fun for all of us. Avy's (the cook) baby, Rathana must come for a month or so, due to her babysitter having surgery. It won't be too long before Srey Mom (the housekeeper) has her baby, due Nov. 8th.

But the most wonderful times of all are the births of spiritual babies. You have a new baby brother, Long Roty. Wow! What a story!!! This young man began studying the bible about a month after I first arrived in PP. That was 2 YEARS ago! Ryan Campbell took him on as a trial student, followed by a patient Carol Wallace who persevered with him through lessons which took days. After being lovingly taught by others such as: Anna Duncan, Kelsey Sanders, Betty Breeden, and now Kevin Kersten, he has finished the course and ........wanted to be baptized today! Planting, watering, and waiting for God to give the increase! I have always LOVED harvest time on the farm! It is such a special time of the year. Harvest time on the Cambodia soil is even more inspiring! Praise be to God!

2010-10-01T15:01:00.001+07:00

Bobbie's back!

2010-09-25T06:23:00.005+07:00

Bobbie Bertram has returned to Cambodia. She is from Granbury, Texas. Bobbie at the age of 80 got on the plane by herself and came (for the 3rd time) to teach. She is a great example, getting up early and walking everyday, taking a full load of students, and always willing to adjust and meet students early, early mornings, evenings, or weekends...whenever they are available. She is a dedicated hard-worker!!!

Kevin Kersten is still here teaching and has mingled with the culture very well, as he is used to "going and doing" on his own. It has been great to have him teaching all month.

Thursday night, the Chinese here had their celebration to worship the moon, eating cakes, burning incense, and praying to the moon for blessings this year.

Friday was the 1st day of Ben (the Phchum Ben holidays) which will last a couple weeks. It also is based on the moon calendar. Young people met at the temples early in the morning (4:00 am or so) to throw rice on each other on the first day. But the purpose of this holiday time is for the families to bring food to various temples for the spirits of their ancestors.

As I sit here on the balcony overlooking flats, apts, and the early morning hussle and bussle, it makes me sad that so many people have been deceived by satan and spend their lives worshipping false gods: idols, spirits, moon, river, large trees.
It is really sad to think that the price has already been paid for their soul to be redeemed, but they are oblivious.

I am thankful I have been blessed to know God's Word and am thankful to all of you who make it possible for me to be here.

0910 Staff Siem Reap Trip

2010-09-18T12:24:00.004+07:00

Kevin Kersten: 32, from Wisconsin originally, now Tennessee...."foot-loose and fancy-free".

I was expecting not to have any teachers the first two weeks of Sept., but God provided Kevin. He has been traveling SE Asia for nearly half a year now, staying in India, China, Vietnam, and now Cambodia. Next on his lists are Thailand and Laos eventually. He has helped in a big way, taking three classes of 2 students each and one class of 4 students, besides 4 classes with individuals. I thank God for the work Kevin is doing here.

In the meantime, I had already told the staff while we didn't have teachers, we would take a long weekend and go on a staff trip. So we took a Thurs and Fri off and went to Siem Reap (their choice). Only Avy (the cook) had been there, but her brother Piseth (day guard), Dara (night guard), and Sreyleak (part-time secretary) had never been. This is an expensive place for foreigners, but not for Khmers. For example: a day pass to see the temples for foreigners is $20, but for Khmers it is free. Avy's husband Socheat, and 9 month old baby girl, Rathana paid they own way and went with us also. Enjoy some of the pictures from there! Also added some pics. from the countryside because it is so beautiful right now with the rains!

I also had to put the picture of Sokun's baptism at the Phnom Penh congregation. This will only mean something to those who have been here. He is the brother of Avy and Piseth!!! He is the first in their family to become a Christian! I pray for the souls of Avy and Piseth...........someday...........

2010-09-18T12:21:00.001+07:00

0810 Hong and Kunthea's Baptisms

2010-09-04T16:31:00.005+07:00

What a wonderful week! Wow!

Sunday began with the children at the Phnom Penh Church of Christ congregation doing a couple skits following a day of camp with John Rice, his son, and John Watts, then a meal together. The University Church of Christ congregation had a wonderful turn out that afternoon, here at the BEST Center!

Monday, Try Ngounhong...we call him Hong was baptized! This was thrilling! He is currently Betty's student, but studied in the past with Rebekah Dolan, Bobbie Bertram, and Joy Crouch. He has a brother who was Dot Smith's student and we are still praying for him, as he is very interested and has many questions, but is so busy, it is hard for him to have time for more study. Both of these boys have now finished the English course.

Friday morning, we had another baptism, Kunthea! She lived in a village where the nutrition trucks (overseen by Troy and Tabitha Snowbarger) have gone for a long time and there is a church there. She has been influenced by them, then moved to PP to begin her studies at a university and began worshipping here. Many people have reached out to her and she has been attending Veasna's daily bible class here at the center, plus some other study with him.

Teachers: Last week, we saw Barb and Rachel Jacques off at the airport and yesterday, Friday, we saw Ken and Jean Fox and John and Betty Breeden off. Although I had thought we wouldn't have any teachers for a couple weeks, God sent us Kevin Kersten, who lived in Wisconsin/Virginia. These last several months, though, he has been traveling India, China, and Vietnam. He still plans to see Thailand, Laos, and other SE Asia countries. To facilitate more students, we are beginning some small group classes of 2-5 students when the students are on the same lesson and can study at the same hour.

I also started back to language school Thursday. Though it is slow, I am determined to keep "plugging away". I certainly know more than when I came! :) I am studying, one on one, at a place close to here, so I just ride a bicycle.

In closing, I wish to share a thought. It has been amazing for me to see how God has worked through so many people to produce these harvests. These last four baptisms have ALL been people who have been taught and influenced by many, many Christians over the course of a long period of time. I think it can get so discouraging to teach and try so hard and not see any results, but that is because we are planting and watering. The people who were present to witness these baptisms are only a tiny number of those who put in the hours and hours of studying and influencing which have been going on for months and years. So in whatever way you are ministering, don't get discouraged!!! Someone else will probably get to see the harvest of your planting and watering.

2010-09-04T16:13:00.001+07:00

0810 New Teachers and Trips!

2010-08-16T19:26:00.004+07:00

I love having so many people in the house! It is exciting to know seeds are being planted in so many hearts.

Hot on the heels of the Aggie group leaving, came two new teachers, Barb and Rachel Jacques, a mother and daughter team. They are from Edmonton, Canada. We have now had 6 people from their congregation to come teach! They do have a love for lost souls. Barb is a speech pathologist aide and Rachel is a 20 year old, who just spent a year in Mexico and will begin school in the fall.

Arriving on a Thurs, Aug. 5th, they had a few free days before classes began, so we made a quick trip to Siem Reap to visit the renown Angkor Wat, along with other famous temples from the 900's-1200's. Then a trip to the Cultural Village and the Silk Farm.

Back in Phnom Penh, our next set of teachers, Ken and Jean Fox, long-time missionaries in Thailand and Laos (now from Apache Junction, AZ) and John and Betty Breeden from Gilbert, AZ arrived Sat. night, Aug. 7th. Both men are teaching at CBI (the preaching school) and the wives are teaching here at the BEST Center.

There are a couple pictures from last Saturday. The teachers visited Tuol Sleng (the Torture Prison during the Khmer Rouge years in the late 70's) and the Killing Fields.

The BEST Center is busy, with the Bible/English classes running from 8:00-12:00, break for lunch, the 1:00-5:00. One of the Khmer Christians-Veasna, (a CBI graduate-the preaching school) comes each day to teach Dara and Sreyleak (sometimes Selak) at 11:00 and also on Saturdays at 8:00 am. Try, a CBI graduate who is working with the congregation who meets here on Sundays, moved into the BEST Center on Monday, Aug. 9th. He teaches a low English class from 4:15-5:15. This week, he also began a 3:00 Bible/English class for a couple people who failed the entrance exam for our classes. Sundays are busy also with worship at this location at 4:00-6:00 pm. I should have taken a picture this last Sunday, as we had 43 in attendance. It was a wonderful crowd!

I am so thankful that God has allowed me to serve Him here. For all of you supporters, I am so grateful, too.

In closing, I have over 120 people on a waiting list.............they keep coming and coming. Who wants to share the gospel with them? They are waiting.....and I am praying........

2010-08-14T21:52:00.000+07:00

Sat Monorea-a sister!

2010-08-05T23:06:00.003+07:00

If you only knew how much genuine tender, loving-care went into this girl, Monorea, by her teachers, you would wonder why she hadn't made this decision long ago. At that time, Monorea was a giggly, silly girl. You'd wonder if she was even listening. One day she would seem to understand and the next day not understand at all. In fact she failed the entrance exam twice before being accepted into the program. This was before I came a couple years ago.

She later finished the program, but I haven't seen her for awhile. Then last Friday night, she came to BEST and said, "I want to be baptized". This was a serious, more mature girl. I asked her what her reasons were and she said, "I want to be a daughter of God and have all my sins gone."

I do not have Monorea's folder since she finished so long ago, so I cannot name all her teachers, but one was Kevin Carson, who happened to be here! But Myrna comes to mind more than any of the others. She spent hours with Monorea for months, both in the formal classroom and on her own time. Nita and Myrna even visited Monorea's home and family outside of Siem Reap in a village.

Please pray for these two new little babes in Christ, Ny Vannak and Sat Monorea as they have a very difficult task ahead of them to fight the war!

I also added a couple pictures of the last Aggie/CBI devotional at Rich and Ronda's house. The Aggies left in 3 different groups, with the last two leaving tonight at midnight (as I type!) I will miss them so much. Almost felt like having my kids here.

2010-08-05T23:03:00.001+07:00

0710 Ny Vannak's Baptism II

2010-07-31T23:49:00.001+07:00

What a day of rejoicing! We have a new brother! His name...Ny Vannak!

The wonderful thing about living here is getting to see the end results of seeds which were planted months and months prior. It is like getting to see buds start popping out after a cold winter.

Ny Vannak began studying over a year and a half ago, but has had to stop over and over due to his busy school schedule. When he is free, he shows up again, asking if he can continue studying. The seeds would get planted and about the time the interest was growing, the "cold winter" would hit and he would disappear for awhile. A couple weeks ago, Vannak showed up again asking if he could begin again. We were full, but promised him the first available 4:00 slot. The very next day, a 4:00 students had to quit, so he got to begin.............again!

Amanda Taylor's student, Russ Burcham's student, Jill Tucker's student, and my student at times. Planting, watering, and God giving the increase! Don't you wish you hear the angels singing?

2010-07-31T23:27:00.001+07:00

Aggie Party

2010-07-28T22:11:00.003+07:00

It is GREAT having the Aggies here! We had a party this last weekend and they did it all: the food, games, and devotional. It was so fun! We had a full house, with one counting 70 at one point. We invited some old students, new students, CBI students, and both congregations. Make sure to view the slideshow below.

Everyone kept asking if we were going to do this every month! :) If one of you will come up with the games, I will do the rest!

It will be sad this next week when this group leaves. Make sure to read the next blog..........so exciting!

2010-07-28T22:00:00.001+07:00

Opening the Doors of the BEST Center!

2010-07-22T20:53:00.001+07:00

BEST Center: Bible English Study and Training Center
I thank God for all of you who are making this happen!

What a fantastic way to launch the BEST Center! Eight young men and women have come from Texas A&M to teach. I would describe them as mature, positive, hard-workers who spend a lot of their own time in bible study and preparing their lessons. It is perfect to have this number of teachers, which makes the house full of students, who in turn bring their friends to take entrance exams. They are so eager here to gain knowledge...yes, in English, but they are interested in learning about religions, too. It is the prime time to take advantage of this desire. Can we keep it to ourselves when they are lined up wanting to listen?

I am copying some comments off of the Aggies' blog. You can find their blog at http://aggiesforchrist.org/cambodia10/

Shawn Freeman:
Today marks the end of our first week at Cambodia. I can assure you that God has many great things in store for us here. The friendly people here have made the first week awesome. If you have been worried about our safety, I ask that you reconsider your thoughts for two reasons. First, God is in control. Second, the people here are some of the nicest people I have ever met.
The neat thing about teaching English using the Bible is that we have been able to give many people their first Bible ever. Many of my students have never even heard of the Bible. Many of them have asked me to explain what the Bible is.
I also have another student (Im Chek) that I have had in depth conversations with about Biblical things. Today, he asked if worship was something we were only supposed to do when we go to church. I then explained to Chek that our lives are supposed to be worship to God (I also showed him some Bible verses). Chek continued to ask questions and before I knew it we had spent about 45 minutes (each student is here for one hour) looking at Bible verses and discussing God’s word.
I am thankful to have had the opportunity to come on this trip and teach others about Christ. This first week has already had inspired me greatly

Jared Freeman:
Today was our first day to have our English students at the school. It was amazing.
It is amazing to me how my students are so eager and willing to soak up the information in the lessons because many have not even heard of this so called God. One question in the short quiz after a lesson about creation is, what was most meaningful to you about this lesson? Almost all of my students replied “now I know where the earth and animals and humans came from.” It is crazy to think that some of these people have not even heard of the Bible. At the same time it is so encouraging of how much some want to learn about God and the great things he does.

Amanda Taylor:
The best part for me was when you could see the light bulb come on! I would try to use different English words to describe a vocabulary word….I would show pictures, use the English/Khmer dictionary, etc. Finally, they would understand and their face would light up and a huge smile would spread across their face! =) Just from today, I can already tell this is going to be an amazing experience and God is going to do such great things!

This group leaves in less than two weeks with 4 more volunteers coming in. Nearly half the names on that schedule will have to be told they will have to wait, that is not counting the waiting list and the ones coming to test.

I think it is planting season on this side of the world!

2010-07-22T20:05:00.001+07:00

A Wedding and Goodbyes

2010-07-16T20:05:00.001+07:00

Last blog of the USA

What a surprise when Joe Cotter called from Illinois and

said he was going to be in Texas. It was great to meet his

wife, Sandy and have breakfast with them. Joe is an elder

at a congregation in Peoria, Illinois. He has been over

here to teach and their congregation is also supporting

the BEST Center.

Then I got another surprise phonecall from Dad and Mom,

who said they were going to Oklahoma for the wedding of

Randall my nephew (Rich and Ronda's 2nd son) afterall.

You can check Ronda's blog for more of that. (link in

upper right hand side of this blog)

Brady and I drove to OK together and then Dad and Mom

came back with us to Texas, where they got to meet

their first great-grandson and see Gracie and my kids.

We got to Texas Sunday evening on July 4th at Brady's

(joined by Brandon). Monday, we drove 2 hours to

Brandon's so they could see his clinic and Monday evening

drove another couple hours to get to Brennan and Megan's.

Left their house Tuesday after lunch and drove to Granbury (about 5 1/2 hrs). Took Dad and Mom to the DFW airport

Wed. and then I flew out Thursday! A busy fantastic week.

Sure was harder to say goodbye to my kids this time,

knowing it would be longer before I returned.

I did have an excellent meeting with the missions cmt

Wed. eve. and a bible study with the church in Granbury

with many loving words and hugs to send me off. Then

Bobbye Petty, Linda Guy, and Judy Little got up early

Thurs. morning and drove me to the DFW airport. I have

grown to love the church in Granbury so much! They have

been amazing to my family and me.

The next blog.........the new BEST Center!!! The first

week has been so great with the eight Aggies for Christ

here teaching. I want to have this many students all the

time...all it will take is to have teachers here! (not

really "teachers", just Christians who want to share their

faith.)

Gatlin is here! Time with my kids!

2010-06-25T05:10:00.001+07:00

The first picture is the one I promised last time of the

dinner we had at Anna Duncan's house.

Then you will see pictures of my middle son and his
wife: Brennan and Megan. They are now in Muleshoe, Tx,

where Brennan is a banker and Megan co-owns a beauty

salon. They have moved into their first home and are doing

great!
Next are pictures of my oldest son, Brandon, who is now

at his new practice in Spur, Texas. I've enjoyed getting to

watch him work.
Then are pictures of Brady's bunch, my youngest son.

Glenda gave birth to Gatlin Ross June 16th!!! 8 lbs and

4 oz. 20 inches long. Everyone is doing great. Isn't new

life so amazing! How can anyone not believe in God! I

am so thankful that I got to be here for this incredible

event. Gracie has been wonderful, loving her new little

brother.
Lastly, I just want to thank all the people who have had

me in their homes, fed me, called me, and shown your love

and support to me.
I give special thanks to my two special daughters-in-law,

who have endured having their mother-in-law for days, who

comes in and out unexpectedly. They show the utmost love

and hospitality any daughters-in-law could show. And

what a blessing to know my grandchildren are being

raised to know God from the time are only a few days old.

These beautiful young Christian ladies have come to hold

such a precious place in my heart.
I have less than two weeks left in the states. Next

weekend is my nephew's wedding in Oklahoma and I just

found out yesterday that my parents are coming from

Alaska!!! I can't wait!

05.10 Texas and Alabama

2010-06-06T02:28:00.001+07:00

What a blessing to be at my stateside home!

May 11- Linda Guy and Bobbye Petty picked me up

from the airport. Bobbye's kind enough to allow me

to stay at her house, going in and out, whenever I

am in Granbury. The following day these two

wonderful sisters drove me to Texas A&M.

May 13th was Brandon's (my oldest) graduation from

Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine. How

thrilling! Following graduation, Brandon and his friends

had a cookout for all their families.

May 14-Gene Linn, teacher in the English/Bible program,

lives close to Cameron, Texas. I stopped and spent a night

with him. He is a great cook and so much fun! Last time,

we had waffles for breakfast and this time, it was omelets.

His place is on a river bottom and so pretty!

May 15-On to Brady's home in Dudley, Texas (right outside

of Abilene). Brennan, Megan, and I were there for the

weekend. Don't you just cherish time with your kids...

I don't want any moment to end.

May 18- to Granbury, Texas, which is where my

overseeing congregation is. The missions committee and

I have met a couple times working out details for the new

BEST Center! I am thankful for their involvement and am

looking forward to my first visit from one of the committee members hopefully in August in Phnom Penh!!!

Also, in Granbury, I had details to work out with the bank,

drs. appts and got to visit with several people dear to me.

One of those was Judith Mackey, also a teacher in Phnom

Penh. I regret that I didn't get pictures of some of these

people to put on the slideshow.

May 22-I was able to drive out to Lubbock, Tx and pick

Brandon up from the airport. He had helped his girlfriend

move to Kentucky following graduation (she also is a vet

and received a prestigious internship at Rood and Riddle

Equine Hospital). This was a fun weekend at Brandon's new

little house in Spur, Texas. It was his first time to worship

with the church there and then Monday was his first day to officially begin his practice! Wow! Glad I got to experience

that with him.

May 25-Back to Abilene for an appt with Glenda, getting to

see a sonogram! Baby Gatlin is predicted to be big and come early. The actual due date is June 26th. His spine looks good

in the sonograms, which we are so thankful for.

May 26- We (Brady, Glenda, Gracie and also Glenda's parents: Terry and Daphna Chrane) drove to Fort Worth, Texas (a

couple hours away) and took Gracie to the Zoo there.

Then stayed in a hotel that night.

May 27- 6:00 AM at Cook's Children's Hospital for Gracie's

MRI. They put her to sleep for this since she is young and

must lay still. Later, we had an appt with the neurologist.

We are thankful there has been no significant changes

since a year ago. Since she can walk and is doing so well,

nothing needs to be done now. We are thankful for that!!!

(When she begins to have pain, then they will know

something must be done.)

May 27 - late- Sam and Mary Carpenter (and the church

in Roanoke, Alabama) flew me there to meet their

congregation, because they are supporting the new BEST

Center and have a big part in its "getting off the ground".

What a treat!!! We even had a big fish fry. Austin, Sam's

grandson caught the fish in their lake. Among others, I

was privileged to get to meet Sara Turner, who taught in

Phnom Penh before my arrival. Her son, Lin Turner, who

has taught in Phnom Penh came down with his wife, Joy,

and spent a few days. I, also, met Billy and Jeanne Moore (former directors of the English/Bible School) for the first

time, who had to drive quite a distance to come. Besides

meeting wonderful brothers and sisters there, I was shown phenomenal Southern hospitality, getting to ride 4-wheelers, swim, fish on the lake, eat hot breakfast with homemade

biscuits every morning...then add the homemade ice cream, angel food cake, strawberries, and whipping cream...I

could go on and on, but you get the idea? I had to leave

because I was getting fat fast!

June 1st- Flew back to Tx, where the hospitality is also

absolutely incredible and I am struggling, because of all

the wonderful meals!

June 3rd- Met Glenda, Daphna (Glenda's mom), and Gracie

in Fort Worth for tests (videos) for her bladder and kidneys.

They also have to put Gracie to sleep for these tests. Then

went across town, back to Cook's and had an ultrasound and

saw the urologist. He also said she looked good and to

continue what is already being done, as that medicine is

working (keeping her bladder soft, etc). Gracie will, most

likely, always have to be catheterized, but we are grateful

that right now, she is able to enjoy a somewhat normal life

of running and playing, fishing and swimming, and living

on a farm! Thank you so much to all of you who have loved

and prayed for Gracie (along with Brady and Glenda) for

these almost 3 years.

June 3rd -6:00 pm Seven ladies met at Anna Duncan's house

in Hurst, Texas. She taught in Phnom Penh. Also present

among that 7, was Anita Brock, Jill Tucker, and Dot Smith,

who have taught in the program. I have a picture, but will

have to add it next time. We had a wonderful evening/meal/visiting in Anna's home.

This is way too long. I mostly want to express my thanks to

all the people who have had me in their homes, taken me

to restaurants, taken me places, given of your precious

time, etc. I am so very blessed.

Channy's Wedding and Moving

2010-05-19T10:46:00.001+07:00

This is a “hodge-podge” of miscellaneous things I want to

share with you.

1. 1. Because there will be a team of Aggies for Christ (8

of them) coming to teach in July, I needed about 40 more

students, so we put an ad on the internet and over the last

month or so have had about 100 come to take entrance tests.

It has been a constant revolving door in the office! Certainly

getting students is not a problem, it is just if someone will come

share God’s Word with them. They are anxious to get to speak

English with native speakers and they know we use the bible

stories for our conversation. I am sure if enough volunteers

were available, we could have 200 students. I pray for Christians

who are willing to come plant the seed of the great news of a

Savior. I also thank God for those who make this center possible.

2. 2. A few pictures are of some of the staff, who helped me move

some things to the new house a couple Saturdays ago.

3. 3. Channy had his wedding weekend before last, with Friday

morning 8:00 am here in Phnom Penh and then Sat.

afternoon in Khai’s village. Bobbie, Dot (whom I seem to never

get in a picture), Avy, Socheat and baby Rathana, Dara and

Sreyleak, and Touch went in the van with me. We left

early and enjoyed going to the wildlife reservation (zoo).

It was a scorcher of a day…miserable, in fact! J But the day

was fun because it was spent with so many wonderful people!

4. I have now been in the states one week and am excited to

tell you more about my family and also about the new BEST

Center! Next time…

0510 Sothea's Village

2010-05-05T19:17:00.001+07:00

I have many things to write to you, but one at a time! These pictures are from going to Sothea's village (a CBI graduate, partially supported by the congregation which meets here at the PIP house)last Sunday. The church here went to encourage him, as there are only about 4 Christians, I believe, in his village. We had close to 30 members go. It all began Sat morning, with Bora and Veasna going to the market at 4:50 AM while I waited in the car (they said the prices would be too high if they saw me with them). Back home at 7:00 am while Dot and Bobbie (Anita and Ann were in Siem Reap that day) assisted them washing, cleaning, and cutting all the food (preparing for 100). Some food was cooked Sat. morning, leaving the rest to be finished at the village. Sunday morning we left the PIP house by around 8:30AM (scheduled time was 7:30, of course).

Worship there was wonderful with many neighbors coming to listen, while Sothea boldly preached on the most important thing in life... not making money, but taking care of your soul.

It was great to be with our brother, who is trying so hard to make a difference in his village. I know he gets discouraged. I loved also, getting out of the busy, crowded, noisy city and enjoying the country folks and the simple way of life.

0410 Great Sunday and the BEST Center

2010-04-28T20:38:00.000+07:00

...pictures from worship last Sunday... We had 44

attending! It was a great mix of EBS students, new

Christians, old Christians, 2 CBI students (Try now works

with the congregation some, hopefully even more in the

future!), missionaries (7), teachers in the

EBS program(5), plus 1 teacher from CBI (Ron-his wife is

teaching in the EBS program). Sunday morning was also

great, as we had a couple EBS students go with us to

worship across town, too.

Sunday morning following worship, we went to look at

the new house and to take pictures for all of you to see.

It is exciting! The name of the new place will be The BEST

Center (Bible English Study and Training-Center). I hope

in time, it will become a center where the Christians and

the students love to "hang out" during the day and evening

and a place where we can impact the entire neighborhood

for the Lord.

Some advantages:

1. This location is closer to CBI, the preaching/bible

school, so it will be easier to work with them.

2. The current house sold; the new landlord was going to charge$2500/month, but this place in the southern part

of town is $1800/month, still expensive, but $700/month

cheaper than it would have been!!!

3. The living room downstairs will become the

classroom. Hopefully this will encourage the students to

use the house as a center.

4. I think the building is very versatile and functional, so

we won't be limited should something new arise that

would be good for the Christians or the students.

My upcoming schedule:

May 10th 11:00 pm Leave PP for the states

May 11th 9:45 am Arrive at DFW (wouldn't it be nice

if it was only a 10 hr trip...ha!!!)

May 12th College Station, Tx

May 13th Brandon, my oldest son's graduation from

the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Science......

Doctor Brandon Broyles!!!

May 20-23 Granbury, Tx

May 25-26 Abilene - Glenda's dr appt

May 27 Fort Worth - Gracie's MRI

May 28... Alabama (tentative)

June 26 Abilene Brady and Glenda's 2nd child, Gatlin,

is due, my 2nd grandchild, my first grandson!

July 3 Broken Arrow, OK My nephew, Randall's (Rich

and Ronda's 2nd son) wedding

July 8 Leave DFW for PP, Cambodia

July 9 Arrive at my new HOME !

July 10 Hit the ground running!!! :)

Of course in between, I will get to spend time with

Brandon at his new home and job at the vet clinic in

Spur, Tx, with Brennan and Megan at their new home

in Muleshoe, Tx (where he has a new job as a loan

officer at the bank there and Megan is establishing

new clients for her business), and with Brady and

Glenda and their children and Abilene!!! How exciting!

04.10 EBS Teachers

2010-04-23T16:01:00.001+07:00

With Khmer New Year behind us, most of our students have returned from their "homelands" as they call it. It has been fun to listen to their stories as they talk about time spent with their families.

Let me introduce our April EBS teachers.

Bobbie Bertram and Dot Smith have been here two months and still have one month to go. Bobbie's from Granbury, Texas and Dot is from Irving, Texas. They are "old hats" at this now, being their 2nd time here. They have helped the new teachers get acquainted with the procedures and materials.

It is always fun to have new teachers and see their enthusiasm and excitement as they begin to learn about this new culture.

Shirley Downey was our first newcomer. She is from the Sacramento area in California and her husband, Ron, oversees the Asian Sunset preaching schools (Sunset church of Christ in Lubbock, Tx). He is here teaching a month at CBI, while Shirley teaches here halfdays. They are staying at Ronda and Rich's house and Shirley takes a tuk tuk back and forth.

This last Tuesday night, we picked up Anita Brock and Anna Duncan. They are from the Dallas/Fort Worth area and attend Richland Hills. They are finishing up their first two days of teaching! They have wonderful, positive attitudes about their students and Cambodia.

It is great to have these five ladies here and have the students back. I thank God for their love and concern for lost souls and for allowing God to use them in whatever way is His choosing...even if it means halfway around the world!

0410 Khmer New Year-Avy's

2010-04-17T12:01:00.001+07:00

I asked Bobbie Bertram and Dot Smith to share their

thoughts about spending Khmer New Year at Avy and

Piseth's village. Avy has been the cook here for almost

4 years and her brother, Piseth, has been the day guard

here for 1 year.

Written by Bobbie Bertram:

New Year's Days in Cambodia. I had written back home that

I was going to a native village to celebrate. I could not

imagine what it was going to be like. Avy had invited us

to her family's gathering and said there could be as many

as sixty. All I really knew was it was a stilted house. There

was no running water, no gas, no electricity (which would

mean no cooling in 100+ temps or water purifier). It

had an outdoor squat pot, bathing in the river, sleeping

on the floor on a mat (no sheets), eat sitting on the floor,

and we had to take a wooden plank ferry to get to the

village.

But never underestimate "going back to the basics"!!! I

was not exactly in style. If I were, I would have worn

a sarong with a long scarf (grama) tied loosely around

my head (to keep the sun off), and flip-flops. The raised

house gives a cool place to spend the day...two large,

bamboo-slatted platforms with mats provide

the sitting/congregating area. The one hammock was

usually being used. Friendliness reigns. I'm sure Avy's

estimate of 60 being there was accurate (but not all at

once). At one time I counted 25 gathered. Avy's precious

4-month old baby girl was a main attraction. If you got

tired, you just stretched out and snoozed where you

had been sitting.

And you know what? All our modern conveniences

make life easier but they are not necessities to a

togetherness family atmosphere. The entire

small village impressed me as being a "family" who

cares and loves. Dot and I strolled THE dirt road

with our cameras. Everything was new and interesting

to us and we have pictures to prove to friendliness shown

to two "roaming" strangers.

How was my holiday? Awesome, amazing, and an

experience engraved in my memory.

Written by Dot Smith:

Avy's village, the most typical Cambodian village

one could imagine, on an island in the Bassac River reached

by a ferry for two cars, foot traffic and numerous

motos. Two days and one night absorbing village

life. No electricity, no running water, no beds, no

tables and chairs, all cooking, eating, sleeping is done

sitting on the floor.

The house is reached by a steep flight of stairs and all

living is done outside underneath. The neighbors wander

in and out and the children run completely free. There

are no toys around, the children are very creative

with their games. They swim in the river with no

parental supervision, floating on 2 liter coke bottles.

New Years is a time for teen boys and girls to mingle. The

village chief had approved an electric line to run the

length of the

village giving the teens a lighted yard and music for a

dance. They brought chairs for us to sit on the sidelines

and watch as the girls began the dance and slowly, one

by one, the boys joined in.

It would be a hard life for Americans to adjust to but

it is a beautiful life for the people who live it daily. Our

students love their villages and are so happy to have this

week at home.

I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to share such a

special time with Avy's lovely family.

0310 Cambodian Sights

2010-04-05T20:17:00.001+07:00

Lin Turner is here teaching in the English Bible Study Program. He is from Huntsville, Alabama. During the week, he has a full load of students (even though I have only put pictures of 4 of them on the slideshow). However, he has gotten to do some sight-seeing on the weekends. I thought you might enjoy seeing some of his pictures. He is a character and has livened up the house! We've enjoyed him being here.

Dot Smith and Bobbie Bertram are still here teaching and will be here until the very end of May. So glad they have committed to staying that long.

We were sorry to see Nita leave Sunday afternoon, as she headed back home to Portland, Oregon. I plan on her being back in the fall! She is amazing, at age 85, getting on that plane by herself. I admire her!

If you haven't been here, you don't know what you are missing! It is a wonderful place to share the gospel to a sweet people. You should come! :)

03.10 EBS

2010-03-19T20:12:00.001+07:00

Brandon ran a Half Marathon!!! Wow!
Where the Tonle Sap and Mekong Rivers meet.

Beautiful sunrise!

If you haven't been to Cambodia, you are missing out!!! This tuk tuk was hauling an archway (with gorgeous fresh roses) for a wedding. It was so funny!

March at the English Bible Study Program in Phnom Penh!

3/6 Arrival of a trio from Texas, two old-timers and one here for the first time.

Dot Smith-South Mac in Irving, Tx

Bobbie Bertram-Granbury, Tx

Joy Crouch-Abilene, Tx

3/8 Dad and Mom (Loren and Penny Hollingsworth) left for Alaska, after teaching in Thailand a couple months and here a month.

Robb Burnstad, Canada, left. He came to work on the Ship of Life for a couple weeks and stayed here at the house a couple weekends.

3/9 Ladies began their new classes, along with Nita, who has been teaching a couple months already.

Arrival of Dale Lundy, who is staying up the street, but eating here sometimes. He is teaching at CBI.

3/11 Peter Ross, from Canada, left to go home after teaching here a couple months. He has a great love for the lost and enjoys Cambodia so much! He had a few students who would go to worship services with us in the mornings. Another old student he contacted begun studying the bible in Khmer with Bora (girl). Exciting!

3/12 Arrival of Lin Turner, a newcomer from Alabama. He is definitely out-numbered in the house right now, with 4 ladies teaching, besides myself, but he doesn't have any trouble holding his own! He has a great attitude about wanting to try Khmer food, and about seeing and learning about the Khmer people. He is already trying to speak Khmer to his students!

Regular Thurs. night devotional for us foreigners.

3/13 New births of Dara and Sreyleak into God's Kingdom! See the last blog for pictures. The best day of all!

3/14 Sun. worship: Polaing, Kosal, and Selak all came to worship with us. These three are Christians, were strong before, but they haven't come in awhile. It was so wonderful to worship together with them.

3/15-20 Just a regular week of bible studies happening every hour from 8 am-5 pm and even at 7:00 am! We have 37 students right now, who studying the bible for an hour every single day M-F! It is so fun to have the house full of teachers and students! I wish you could hear some of the teachers' comments at the table, especially about their students who have NEVER heard the stories of the bible before. What a treat that God has chosen them to get to be the first ones to share about a God who loves them!

I added a couple pictures of Avy's (our cook) baby, who visited one day. I can't believe I didn't get a picture of Avy!

Family News:

1. Brandon- ran a half marathon in Austin!! He will graduate from Texas A&M Vet School May 13th...and I will get to see that, Lord willing!

2. Brennan and Megan - Brennan got a job as a loan officer at a bank in Muleshoe! Megan, also jumped right in, working as a hair dresser there, as she did in Midland.

3. Brady, Glenda, and Gracie - Brady is still working at BandAg in Abilene (and looking for another job), but their best news is they are having a baby, due June 26th, a BOY!!! Sonogram looked good this last month and she will have another one this month. Gracie is doing very well, for which we are all thankful! Lord willing, I will get to see that new little soul enter this world, too.

4. Me...as most of you know, the English Bible Study Program of Partners in Progress will close this summer. I have been raising funds to begin a new program called BEST (Bible English Study and Training Center). It will still have the same students, same curriculum, and same need for volunteers to teach! I am very excited and so thankful, that God has allowed me to serve Him here in Cambodia. Please pray for me as I seek a new location for this center.

May God bless you!