Hello from Cambodia to all of our family, friends and supporters. As always it seems the days and weeks go flying by. It has been an extremely hot month here in Cambodia. Now at the end of the month we have started to see some afternoon rain storms which means the rainy season is almost upon us.
As I'm sure most of you know our family is moving back to America permanently in September of this year. This is a very bittersweet transition for our family. We are excited for all the new changes that will come with moving back to the States yet we are sad to be leaving Cambodia which has been our home for the past five years. We are so thankful to God for this experience that He has given us to live here and serve Him in many provinces within Cambodia. He is good and we trust Him with all the changes ahead no matter how difficult or exciting.
We spent an evening at a little local mountain called Phnom Kroum.
A beautiful sunset over the rice fields.
Our family decided to go to Bangkok Thailand for a weekend. We had plans to visit before covid but once our trip was cancelled we never got around to going. We wanted to take our children to Thailand and since May is the month of the boys birthday we figured this was a perfect time to go. Above is Thai money which we were a little bit familiar with since we lived right beside the border in Sisaphon. Some of the sellers in the khmer market used Thai money.
We did talk through the trip before with our children. One thing they have clearly learned in Cambodia is that plan A's rarely ever happen. Usually plan B's and plan C's don't either.
We left our home in Siem Reap around 2 am in the morning to make it to the Poipet border by 5 am. The border opens at 6am and we wanted a little extra time to park our car and walk there. Well as things usually go, our car broke down about 45 min into the trip. Britton did take our car into the shop a few days prior for them to check it and get it ready for a trip. But somehow this specific issue was missed.
It was pitch dark outside, not a soul awake besides some random fishermen. After a little bit of a shock and trying to get the car started without any luck, our Khmer friend who was with us, flagged down a night bus. We were unsure if one would stop but one did! The driver agreed to take us to the Poipet border. Unfortunately Britton had to stay with the car until morning and a car shop would open.
Britton waited around 3 hours until morning and then he found a shop and got the car fixed and then he drove it back to Siem Reap. He got a last minute airplane ticket to fly one way to Bangkok in the evening and he eventually made it by 11pm that night.
Meanwhile the rest of us got on the nightbus to the border. When we got to the border we arranged a van to take us to Bangkok from the border town once we got across.
Here we are signing papers to walk across the border.
Everyone looks happy to be across the border. But we did have to suffer in a very long line for almost 3 hours. We were extremely hot and exhausted but trying our best to stay positive.
Driving to Bangkok.
Exhaustion
We made it to our hotel but not without some stress! Thankful for David and all his help! We definitely missed Britton and his calm presence.
Ever so grateful to have made it to our hotel! We tucked away many stories in our hearts for years to come I am sure!
We found the BEST food! This tasted like Heaven! We were so excited! Definitely a great way to end our evening.
Our hotel had such a nice hotel and a great breakfast.
We came down to the riverfront to a place called Asiatique. We had a great evening together.
YUMMY bbq! We didn't eat any Thai food but found lots of American food we that we love and miss.
Another day shopping in a giant mall.
We found Taco Bell but it wasn't as good as expected. We were still happy anyway.
Visiting China Town one evening. Finding yummy street food is a favorite.
Headed home on the train. Our kids wanted to ride the train which we thought was a great idea. But it was a heat index of 115F with no AC. We suffered the 6 hours to the Khmer border. Made it across back into Cambodia and finished our trip with pizza and coke.
Thankful we got to experience Thailand together.
My dear Khmer friend, Rotahana, gave me a beautiful Khmer skirt and a lovely encouraging note.
Britton went to PP with the Outreach team to help with a Christian concert being held by YWAM and some other organizations.
Our friend How who we met at ICF when we first moved almost a year ago. He has since moved to PP to work and study. He lives with his older sisters and seems to be doing very well.
Sunday morning with the Mighty Kids
Mothers Day at ICF every Mother got a rose and a note of encouragement.
Thinking about my own Grandma when I see this one. I wonder what her story is and how many children and grandchildren she has?
Very Special cards from my children and husband.
Britton got me a necklace with a stone from Palin here in Cambodia. Very special to have a stone from Cambodia to take home with me.
A quick trip to PP for a meeting. A picture of a nightbus.
More coffee with Erin. Erin has been the sweetest American friend. There is a good possibility I won't meet her again on this earth as she is moving to the Myanmar border to work with refugees. We have the same sending organization, CTEN. We have spent many many hours together at random coffee shops discussing life together. Saying goodbye is a weird and haunting feeling that cannot be described well with words. Meet you again in Heaven or by Gods divine appointment here on this earth.
Yummy fruit from Davids Mom and beautiful views before heading back to SR.
Happy to see my Nannie again! Even one day apart can be sad! :)
Savanna and one of her little school friends.
Working on preparing for Adventure Kids.
Date night. We are sitting awkwardly across from each other because the table or chairs were built wrong and we couldn't get our legs on the opposite other sides. Life in Cambodia has always presented the most hilarious challenges. We are so thankful for the way God has shaped us through all of our different trials here. ;)
ICF Wakepark is going to have a new owner in June. So this is the last month that our kids have been able to use the park for free. They will miss having this activity to do in the afternoons.
Coconut ice cream at the wake park was always a hit. Our family enjoyed having the 25% discount in the restaurant since we are staff at ICF.
Love talking to our family over FaceTime! We miss our loved ones! See you all soon.
Making cinnamon rolls for my dear friend who likes American treats.
A picture of her and her sweet boy. Channy has been the most welcoming person at ICF. The boys work under her in all their volunteer work. She gave the boys the nicest birthday gifts. We love her.
Happy sweet 16th birthday to Carter. Our children are allowed iPhones when they turn 16, but they sign a contract with Britton until they are 18 when they can buy one on their own. We are so proud of Carter and the great young man he is turning into. He is looking forward to getting his license when he gets back to the States.
We enjoyed going to the Angkor eye to ride the famous Siem Reap Ferris wheel for the boys birthday. The girls gave them this experience for their birthday gift.
Carter asked for sugar cream pie for his birthday.
Yummy coffee to help us get through lesson planning.
Eating sushi with a beloved leader and friend one evening.
Bannana dessert or 'bongeim jayt ki tee' in khmer. Always being given little treats in the office by our khmer friends.
Us girls went to see The Little Mermaid movie. Savanna took her friend Ayu.
My friends gave me a voucher for a massage since I cleaned their house when they moved. Massages are always a unique experience, as we are not used to them as much in the States. For a few dollars you can get a face massage or a foot massage or even just your shoulders and it always feels amazing despite it being slightly awkward.
Brysen turned 14 this month too! He requested a chocolate cake which I enjoyed making and we all enjoyed eating.
For the boys birthday we wanted to do something adventurous. So when we found out our friend Tola knew how to grill alligators we asked him to take us to the countryside to grill one!
Skewering it to a bamboo pole
The alligator meat was absolutely delicious! We loved the whole experience. We ended the evening driving motors through the rice fields with the wind in our face and the stars lighting our path.
Happy Birthday Brysen! So proud of you too! We love you forever.
Gracie and her Bible study group.
Since the ICF Wakepark is closing Gracie finished up her last day working in the kitchen. What a great opportunity for her to have some experience.
One of Brittons pictures from an outreach morning.
Last month I posted about a lady that we donated blood to. Here is Britton with her and her husband. She is recovering well. Thankful for Gods mighty work in their lives. Her husband prayed for years for her to believe in Jesus. Thankful she is in Gods family now. She has a peace now that will help her through difficult times and circumstances.
The boys invited their friends over to have some fun one Sunday after they finished serving together. Our boys donated all their clothes that were too small to their friends. So fun to see how excited and thankful they were!
Sadly our beloved Cat Rosie has run away from home and we miss her dearly. We took in a fellow missionaries cat because they couldn't take it to their new home and that cat got an infection and ended up passing away. So now we have two new little kittens given to us by a fellow staff member at ICF. We will love them for the short time that we have left. They are so cute and little.
This ends our month. We have around 3 months left of working at ICF. We will have a couple weeks in September to pack everything and sell our belongings. Please keep us in your prayers as we end this chapter in our life. God has been so good to us! We have had a wonderful ending at ICF!
