learn as much about everything possible

i am reading many books at the moment about missions. one that i am currently in the middle of is in this place by kim abernathy. in her book she describes her time as a missionary in the jungles of africa in the 80s.

so far i am learning a lot form her experiences. here is a little from her book that stood out to me...

during my first years as an african missionary woman, i was a wife, mother, chef, bed and breakfast manager, teacher, a barber, correspondent/writer and an english professor at the tappeta bible institute. how much is all that worth in today's corporate standards? it dose not matter to me. the heavenly rewards are amazing and eternal and the almighty dollar has absolutely nothing on that.

when someone asks me what they should do to prepare for the mission filed, i answer with a resounding "learn as much about everything possible!" all the little side roads that God takes you down (or even those we chose for ourselves) could be used as preparations for a specific use down the road in ministry. what you learn before you begin ministry is amazingly useful. we often don't like to feel that we are wasting our time with anything. i am telling you, if you truly live out psalms 37: 4 and 5, step out and learn to do things that you love as you prepare for doing the will of the one you love. he is the master engineer!

it makes me think of all the lost opportunities that i missed out on. opportunities to learn new skills and have new experiences that would help me now that i find myself out on the mission field, in a foreign land doing foreign things. 

i took singing lesson which i loved but i always desired to learn how to play the piano. i never took the next step of getting any lessons or learning to read music properly. i wish i had of done that as it would come in handy right now. 

i should have joined in on the crazy races on the scooter around my sister in laws empty neighbourhood. i should have taken advantage of the quiet streets to learn how to ride and feel comfortable riding a scooter. that would have been very useful now that i have to ride one on the crazy streets of phnom penh.

but on the flip side there are a lot of things both greg and i picked up along the way towards our journey of coming here to cambodia. all things that at the time many people thought we were crazy for doing!

for instance our constant moving around. whether it be moving house, travelling from country to country or living briefly in another country. it has prepared us in so many ways.
it has taught us that we will be fine where ever we may live as long as we have each other
it has helped us to not be possessive of our possessions, they are just things
we have learnt how to explore our environment and connect in new communities
we have discovered that we can exsist on our own and not be relient on our family all the time
and it has also taught our family how they can be without us
{and appreciate us all the more when we are home}

yes greg has had a million and one occupations, businesses interests and hobbies but they have prepared him and me for such a time as this. his computer, music, networking, graphic design, business, and communication skills are proving to be very valuable here right now.and i do feel a lot safer knowing that the hubby has the skills to protect his family learnt from his days of being a police officer.

williams ability to travel well, sleep anywhere, his creative imagination, his ability to flourish in new environments and his love of people  are also great qualities to have in a child who travels the world with you.

and the things i have done along my way to here and now... my teacher training, working with small children, first aid courses and even meeting the people along my way, meeting people who have inspired me to be a prayer warrior, to be healthier , to read more and to live in the moment... it has all equipped me to be here and to do the things that are in the desires of my heart.

so if you want to truly live out out psalm 37: 4 and 5

delight yourself in the Lord

and he will give you the desires of your heart

commit your way to the Lord

trust in him

and he will do this

then you need to learn as much about everything possible.
nothing you do is without vain, for one day the Lord may use the gift, no matter how small it is

so learn how to speak a new langugae
learn to cook, sew and fix things
take the opportunity to have music lessons
go on that first aid course
take that marriage course, raising kids or any biblical studies course... you make get the opportunity to share it with others
learn to live without the small things, light a candle instead of turning on the light or open the windows instead of turning on the air-conditioning
learn how to meet new people and make new friends
for one day, like me you may need these skills
listen to the little nudges in your heart or the direct calling out from God to take the little side roads as they may well be preparations for your future calling

the making of sugar and spice

greg took us to visit his work sight the other day. he is overseeing the construction of the new cafe {sugar and spice} for daughters of cambodia. they have rented a building that is perfectly set out for a cafe and now greg is overseeing the fit out which is the installation of the kitchen, purchasing of the kitchen equipment, tables, chairs and couches and everything else that goes along with making a cafe a cafe.

the ground floor cafe

it is going to be awesome. they will have tables and chairs to sit at and eat, they will have a  mezzanine floor and there will be couches on there to relax on, a little play space to entertain the kiddies, lots of green lush plants and a big fish pond. there will be an inside air conditioned area which will be great for people to come and eat and sit on their laptops enjoying free wifi, upstairs there is the phnom penh house of prayer. a fantastic place for individuals or groups to come and pray and worship. there will also be a kids room that will be staffed by professionals who will look after the children while their parents access the prayer room.

the house of prayer have their official opening on saturday night and then the cafe will open at a later date when construction is completed. we are not sure how long that is going to take as this is our first experience with constructing something on cambodia! it is such an exciting new venture and i can not wait for it to open, it is going to be awesome.

cambodian style

we took the folks out for dinner tonight
cambodian style...

we love our street food and mamma and papa loved it too
they are true cambodians now

welcome to our home

the lakes {aka the hubby's parents} arrived on saturday afternoon. we are very excited to have them here. all day saturday william was telling everybody that he came across that his nanny and poppy we coming and he was going to pick them up from the airport. he told the cashiers at the supermarket, our guard and our tuk tuk driver but i think only our tuk tuk driver could understand what he was saying!

will has not let his nanny out of his sight! all we hear is come play with me nanny, read me a story nanny, come here nanny, where is nanny. it is super sweet. he has really missed all of his family, and we have too of course!

they brought with them gifts from home. birthday presents, birthday cards and cute drawings and paintings from wills cousins, chocolates, money, rock climbing gear and clothes. thank you to everybody who sent something for us, we really appreciate your love and generosity expressed through these gifts.

the lakes are here for about three weeks. they are going to spend time with us of course but they are also here to work with the organisation that they support, transform cambodia.

the lakes originally introduced us to cambodia but now we know far more about the place as it is our home.  so now we get to show them around and introduce them to all our wonderful new friends.

blessed

yesterday was our twelve year wedding anniversary, twelve years can you believe it! sometimes it is hard to remember what life was like before we became greg and meek. now it feels like we have just always been together.

we have had an amazing twelve years together
together we have...
moved house what seems like a million times
changed jobs
started businesses
renovated houses
moved churches
said goodbye to old friends
met new friends
travelled the world
lived overseas
grown together
become adults together
become parents together
everything together

when we said our vows twelve years ago and the minister said two shall become one, we took that seriously.

now our family of two is a family of three. three peas in a pod. we do everything together or not at all and that has worked for us.

our little family is  blessed
our life is wonderful
our friendship is strong
our love is unbreakable

we look forward to the years ahead and i wonder what they will bring as these first twelve years have been one amazing adventure!

hibernating

this week i have been in hibernation.

bed... couch... bathroom

i have not stepped one foot outside, not even on to the balcony

unfortunately not by my own choice.

i have been sick with a tummy bug, ick!

i got sick like this last time i was in cambodia in january. i have no idea how i got it and i did not and have not passed it on to the boys. it is a mysterious one, but i am grateful that the boys did not have to suffer like i have {i have a lot more body fat than the boys so i can afford not to eat anything for a week, they on the other hand would have ended up in hospital for sure}

luckily i was prepared for such an illness. i had antibiotics and hydra lite drinks at the ready. this time i was only unwell for about four days, last time it was about six days. today i finally feel well enough to start eating more than just dry toast and apple juice.  i am severely lacking in energy so i am still sticking close to home.

we are pretty self sufficient around here so we were able to cope. it is hard when you get really ill and your family are so far away and they can not help you. but we have made some wonderful friends here and they offered their assistance. even though we didn't take them up on their offers i am still very grateful to know that they are there if we need to call on them.

now onto some good news, there is only one more sleep until we receive some aussie visitors!

the lakes {gregs mamma and papa} arrive tomorrow afternoon and we all very excited that they are coming. they are not only coming to visit us but they are here to work with their organisiation transform cambodia.

so now it is operation clean up and get ready for the in laws to arrive. since this mumma has been out of action all week there is lots to do - cleaning, food shopping, washing, tidying... the list is endless, but lucky we have a small apartment so it should not require too much time or energy.

locked in

we had an intense half an hour or so this afternoon.
will locked himself in our bathroom and we could not get him out.

it was a simple push button lock but it was jammed and the little guy couldn't turn the handle to unlock it. greg managed to get the handle off the door and then we could see what the cheeky monkey was up to. he was pretty calm about the whole thing he had some lego with him so he was having a little play.

i talked to him and fed him snacks through the little hole until super daddy managed to get the lock undone and then he was free. he said thanks dad and then raced into the living room to continue building lego!

gosh the things he gets up too! hmm reminds me of someone, his dad!
so now we have the hard task {and it is going to be hard because of the language barrier} of explaining to the building manager why we have smashed the door handle off the bathroom door.

breaking free from brokenness

yesterday we received some sad news about one of the clients from daughters. i do not want to share all the awful details but she was murdered.

i almost feel like i have been living in a little sheltered bubble up until now, and now i am faced with the reality of what life is like here for some people.

pain
brokenness
hopelessness

we live in a world {and this is relevant to all countries all over the world} of brokenness.

before the fall in the garden of eden, God established four fundamental relationships for each person. we were designed to have a relationship
with God
with self
with others, and
with the rest of creation.

if these relationships are functioning as they were meant to be then we can experience the fullness of life, a life that God intended. 

but for most, we are not experiencing that fullness of life.

instead we are encountering broken relationships
being far from God
hating ourselves and not feeling worthy
letting others use and abuse us
and using and abusing others and the world we live in.

we are all broken
the fall really happened and it is causing havoc in our lives
we are all broken, just in different ways.

and the result of these broken relationships has lead to death and destruction of a life, in fact more then one life was destroyed when that girl was struck down.

our time here in cambodia is not in helping the people to overcome material poverty

our time here is to help people heal their broken relationships.

to help people glorify and enjoy God forever
to serve and give him praise through thoughts words and actions
to have an intimate relationship with him

to help people see that they were created in His image
beautiful and wonderfully made
with worth and dignity
we need to reflect Gods image

to help people understand that they were created to have a loving relationship with others
to know, love and encourage each other
after all they are a reflection of God
angels on earth

to help people interact with creation to make possibilities into realities
to sustain themselves with the fruits of their labor

at the moment we are not in direct contact with clients counselling or discipling them, but we are supporting those who are doing that and those people are highly trained and qualified.

life has become a battle ground, a battle that we are fighting with prayer and plenty of it.
we recognise everyday that we too are broken and we work hard at having the four relationships as balanced as can be.
if we can do that then we can lead by example

our time here is only short in terms of someones life time
and we can only do so much
my prayer and hope is that they can grab hold of Gods promise for them
internalise it
love it
live it
and share it

that they will share it with their family
their friends
their community
their country
their world.

daughters of cambodia have just opened a house of prayer here in phnom penh. you can read more about it here.

the house of prayer is a venue for prayer and intercession, for Christians from any organization or denomination who are praying to see the Kingdom of God come upon Cambodia, to release blessing on the nation through praying for the power of the Holy Spirit to turn hearts of Cambodians to know and follow Jesus, with all their heart, soul, strength and mind.

life is busy and chaotic here  and it is great to have a place to go and be still before God and lay everything at his feet.

if you are in phnom penh i encourage you to use their facilities

if you are not here but still wish to be apart of the team of world changers praying for the people of cambodia you can go to their website and view the prayer requests and you can pray up a storm from wherever you are in the world. 

happenings...

greg is still working hard with daughters.... meeting with builders at the new cafe, running all over town looking for kitchen equipment for the cafe and writing funding proposals. daughters is setting up a new venture which i am going to be apart off. i am very excited about it and i will give you the details when they are a little more concrete. nothing like a little suspense to keep you coming back for more!

yesterday greg went rock-climbing with our friends who live downstairs from us. they rode their motos 60 kilometers out of the city to the only rock suitable to climb in the area.  our friends {michael and wei} are avid rock climbers and they bought all the gear over from the states. greg has no gear so they kindly shared with him. now he is keen to get his hands on some equipment so he can regularly go out, but that is going to be hard as there is no equipment available in cambodia.

will and i are still hanging out every day together. we have met up with a group of mums that have formed a play group and they meet twice a week. it has been great having some more little friends {many of whom will be in wills class at school} for will and it is great to meet some more women going through the same experience that i am.

friends are a wonderful tool in learning the way of the land here in cambodia. we share information about the best supermarkets to shop at, where to buy this and that, great places to take the kiddies, the best cafes, who has a great english speaking tuk tuk driver we can borrow etc etc. it makes me think i need to start listing all the information i have gathered and put it on my blog for any new families that are arriving in the country.

food glorious food

our favorite take away restaurant can be found on most streets in phnom penh...

 

it is not fancy but the staff are friendly and the food is delicious...

 

and best of the all it is really cheap, i guess because they don't have too much money to outlay for their premises, fancy furniture or lots of waitresses.

so if you happen to find yourself on the streets of phnom penh check out the local takeaway restaurant and pick up something yummy. the restaurant looks like this...

yep street food, cooked on a cart. trust me it is good. it is fresh, cooked on the spot for you and it is delicious.

local lunch...

today we headed over to central market with our friends for lunch. central market is huge and it is my favorite market here in phnom penh. it has everything you could possible imagine for sale from shoes to crabs that are still crawling round in the baskets.

the big boys tasted some of the local delights, fried crickets to be exact! i was not brave enough to try one and william turned his nose up at them but williams little friend had fun pulling off the crickets legs and having a little nibble on them!

lunch was delicious and very cheap, we will defiantly be eating at the central again. the only thing i did not like about it was the locals annoying our kids and people begging for money. the kids are so little and cute people cant help themselves and they are touching them all the time. people beg for stuff everywhere so that was not uncommon.

i'm a big kid now...

it was the little guys fourth birthday yesterday. in the morning we went down the road to the phnom penh sports club with our new friends for a pool party. we splashed around in the pool for about three hours. the kiddies had a great time. unfortunately everybody got sunburn so we are all a little red and sore today.

after swimming we headed home so that will could play with his new toys. in the afternoon we had a skype call with some of the family back home. it was great to be able share his birthday with family even though we are in another country. you have to love modern technology.

in the evening we walked down the road to our local restaurant jars of clay, for dinner. it was actually a farewell dinner with the staff from daughters of cambodia. a family was heading back home to the states after being here for two years. we enjoyed a lovely meal and great company. the people who greg work with are so friendly.

then it was home time and time for will to go to bed but all he wanted to do was play with his toys. eventually i got him into bed and before i had even left the room he was fast asleep.

it is hard to believe that my baby is four. the time has gone by so quickly. i am so proud of my little boy. he has settled into living in a foreign country really well. he is so friendly with all the new people he is meeting. he is a bright shinning light with a heart of gold.