This month we celebrated Anna’s 12th birthday! We started out the celebrating with her countdown calendar (which overlapped with Passion Week and Josh’s birthday). Anna chose to delay her birthday movie (Caddie Woodlawn) until the week after her birthday, since things were so full, and that worked well with Josh being away at Bible school too.

We celebrated Anna’s birthday a day early, since we have a ministry commitment Saturday nights. Then on Anna’s birthday she went to an all-day KEC regional youth event, so that was special for her. Anna chose to have a different cake this year than her normal panda. She made a beautiful hibiscus flower (peppermint frosting with homemade dark chocolate accents). She did a great job decorating it. Anna’s three siblings made her birthday chalkboards (Becca, Micah, and Maria).

Anna’s birthday meal was tacos. It’s avocado season, so we could have fresh guacamole! We also had a bag for corn tortilla chips from our time in Siem Reap. Everyone ate so much at dinner that people only had a little bit of room for the cake, and we ended up only eating 1/4 of the cake (which is unusual for 9 people!).

Anna is a very sweet girl. She is helpful, and I often find her with one of her younger siblings doing an activity or something else they needed assistance with. She’s creative with crafts and art projects. She’s a diligent piano and flute student. She is also very diligent in accomplishing her daily school tasks. Anna is our “sleep-in girl.” We found out that if Anna sleeps past 8, she avoids getting daily headaches. Anna is doing really well with her Jarai language learning and is bold to speak to others and practice her language skills. WE love our girl and the gift she is to our family.

We had an unusually busy Passion Week this year, with the addition of an overnight guest, Josh’s birthday, and Anna’s birthday countdown calendar. It was also a very hot week – hard to sing songs each night while sweating! But we were able to keep up with most of our family traditions and we survived the heat. Each night we read from Noel Piper’s Lenten Lights. Palm Sunday we decorated our tree and reenacted Palm Sunday. Monday we had our Jesus overturning the money changers reenactment. Maria was a little shocked and we made sure her table was not overturned. Everyone enjoyed a chocolate coin afterwards. Tuesday our guest arrived. Wednesday we had Josh’s birthday. Thursday was our Maundy Thursday service, and Friday we celebrated Good Friday.

Sunday evening we combined our Easter celebration service and Easter egg hunt (since we couldn’t fit it in on any other day). It was a long evening! Maria especially enjoyed using her eggs to buy things from the “store.” To end the evening we exchanged cards and gave the kids gifts. Thankful for the life-changing resurrection of Christ!

Last week we celebrated Josh’s 45th birthday. We had an evening meal of hamburgers (have to grind our own beef) and chips. Everyone enjoyed the meal. Afterwards we gave Josh his gifts and cards. Last week we also had a guest with us for a few days. Lap is the man who helped Josh study Jarai (the dialect they speak in Vietnam) for his dissertation research. Lap was visiting with the Cambodian Jarai to learn more about their language and culture.

We’re all thankful for Josh and the way he leads and loves our family.

A few weeks ago we decided to plan a little vacation to Siem Reap. I feel like we’ve been going non-stop since October and the next few months are pretty full. We were able to squeeze in a getaway from March 21-25. The trip was part of Clara’s and Anna’s birthday countdown calendars – “swimming.” It’s been harder to find a clean pool in Ban Lung for swimming, so to Siem Reap we went!

I didn’t take many pictures. Our goal was to rest. We swam a lot, ate good food, took hot showers with good water pressure, and went to bed. We were also able to visit with the Burkes for a few hours.

The kids love this pool. Sadly Swensens no longer exists in Siem Reap – but Josh found some really good Australian ice cream at a store, and the kids ate their fill. We also found a really good Mexican restaurant and went on their Taco Tuesday.

Our kids were so delighted with our getaway, which Josh started calling Spring Break, and they said thank you multiple times a day for the different things we were able to do. I especially appreciated the break from daily life and ministry. Thankful!

Last week we met for our monthly Music/Art/Prayer Day. Since the spring equinox was the next day, we had a spring theme (though we really dont’ have spring in Cambodia). The music lesson introduced 16th notes, and we studied the first movement of Spring from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Our art project was a 3D beetle on a leaf.

Rebekah provided the main lunch this month, and after lunch the kids played outside, while the moms had a prayer time. I was surprised how content everyone stayed all afternoon.

We celebrated Clara’s 10th birthday last week. We started the celebrations two weeks before with Clara’s countdown calendar, which was themed as a masquerade ball. Each attendee came with a quote to help Clara guess who he/she was. There were only a few that stumped Clara.

We celebrated Clara’s birthday the day before her actual birthday, so we could attend a graduation party for another MK in Ban Lung. Isaiah made a fantastic balloon arch for Clara’s doorway. Becca, Micah, and Clara each decorated a chalkboard for Clara. Clara spent the morning decorating her birthday cake – chocolate cake with peppermint frosting.

Clara requested bratwurst, mac & cheese, and beans, , and a special drink for her birthday meal. The Yamadas had brought us some Veleeta cheese, which our kids were suspicious of, to make mac & cheese. It was so much better than the Kraft box mixes, and all our kids thought it was great! No leftovers. After dinner we did gifts. Micah made Clara 10 cards…each different than the rest. He’s been working on them for a few weeks. Clara was pleased with all her gifts. Then it was time for cake, and then we ended the evening with a slideshow of pictures and videos of Clara’s 10 years.

On Clara’s actual birthday we went into Ban Lung to eat supper at a restaurant, and then we spent the evening eating yummy snacks and fellowshipping with others, celebrating Bella’s graduation. One of the snacks was cotton-candy which the family had made – a huge hit!

Clara is our daughter who is full of life, loves to laugh, and is quite vibrant. She’s excelling in her piano and violin playing. She’s doing a great job taking responsibility to get her school work done each day, and she’s a good older sister to her younger siblings. Clara also doing a good job with learning Jarai and becoming brave to actually use what she knows when we’re at church. We thankful for our sweet daughter, Clara Grace.

The fan in Clara’s hand was a homemade gift from Isaiah.

We’ve been enjoying almost two weeks of counting down to Clara’s birthday!

This is one of those weeks I’m scrambling to post and don’t really have anything to post, so I’m just looking on the camera and posting some random pictures. Maria continues to be a very funny little girl who enriches the life of each individual in our family.

The girls have gotten back into using sponge rollers. I’ve started a Girls’ Bible Study with our girls Friday afternoons. Maria is always very excited about “Bible Study,” since she wants the snacks. We’re using Sarah Mally’s Speak Truth in Your Heart. We’re writing tunes for all the Bible verses we need to memorize, and sometimes Clara plays the ukulele along with our singing.

Last Friday Josh led a hermeneutics review session for all the Jarai Pastors’ Institute students. We also opened it up to the people at our church. I was really pleased that several ladies from our church attended. The second picture is of one of the ladies I taught to read Jarai. I’m now having her help teach the kids when we break up into small groups. She was so nervous, but this is her third week helping me, and she’s doing great!

Micah loves riding his bike. He’s also quite the artist. Recently he’s started making coloring pages and now makes copies of his pages and gives people coloring books!

Isaiah and Ezra are doing great…they have just somehow avoided the camera this week!

Last week we had our monthly Music/Art/Prayer time. The Smedleys couldn’t make it for the classes, but they joined us for lunch and the ladies’ prayer time. The music lesson introduced eighth notes and was about Brahm’s Hungarian Dance in g minor No. 5. The kids did great. Becca did a watercolor painting lesson with the kids.

We were actually planning to meet a few days earlier, but Micah ended up getting sick for a few days. When he was feeling better we were able to schedule it for Friday (Thursday evening), thankfully everyone had open schedules.

We celebrated Valentine’s Day a day early (since Saturday night we’re busy with our Khmer service). It ended up being a day full of celebrations. Friday morning we went to the wedding of Plin and Loai. Loai is Pastor Chuol’s widow, and Plin is a widower who lives in the US (Khmer Jarai American citizen). We had them over for dinner the Tuesday night before. Josh preached the wedding sermon.

Josh took the boys to BL in the late afternoon (originally he was planning to go to take a baby to see a doctor, but the parents didn’t show up). The boys did errands, and Josh bought flowers for all his girls. The boys got to pick out candy at the store. When Maria got her rose she said, “Daddy, you’re a good Dad.”

Friday evening we made heart-shaped pizzas for dinner and ate sugar cookies for dessert. We were planning to decorate the cookies, but everyone was full and decided we could decorate the big cookies another day. Josh read our book about St. Valentine, and then we passed out cards. Passing out cards takes quite a while as each person gives out his/her cards individually, and then the person receiving the card takes time to look at it. Maria was very pleased to be able to pass her cards. It was a very fun time for all of us. After the cards, we gave each kid a new book and then Josh read two of the books aloud.

It’s good to have fun work to do!! January, which is usually a slower month for us, went by really fast. Josh was involved in a special government meeting to accept the Jarai language into the multi-language curriculum for early education. The men at our church had a “party” to celebrate the end of their study of 1 Timothy and Philemon. Our girls had a Ladies Literary Society Tea Party. The boys are working on having a special boys’ club. I’ve started a girls’ Bible Study with our girls Friday afternoon. And life just keeps being full with people and family.

Friday will be our 120th day of school. Everyone did a great job getting back into school after Christmas break, and we’re clipping along. This past Wednesday we had a history/music/art day with a Chinese theme, since that’s what the past few history chapters have been on recently. We made Chinese lanterns and made peanut butter chicken for lunch. Music class didn’t focus on Chinese music, but we did spent some time watching a video of traditional Chinese music being performed.

In music class, we’ve learned to recognize 15 pieces of classical music – from different genres and time periods. The kids are doing great with recognizing these pieces. They are also thriving with their rhythm reading.

Becca and Isaiah are busy with their jr. high and high school work during our history/music/art days, but they often smile as they walk by and say “I remember doing that!”

This week we had elementary Music/Art Day (with a prayer time for the moms afterwards). During music, we worked on rhythm, steady beat, and reading quarter notes and quarter rests. We also learned about the brass family, took a look at a trumpet, and listened to Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto in Eb (3rd movement Allegro). The kids are doing great!

Becca did an art lesson – the kids drew owls and then added embellishments with white crayon; then they used watercolors to paint the scene.

We enjoyed a chili lunch together and then us three moms had a prayer time together.

A few weeks ago our Jarai pastor mentioned his one cacao tree had ripe pods. He wasn’t planning to do anything with them, so we asked Josh to request some pods. I wasn’t sure how complicated making chocolate would be, but it turns out that it’s quite easy. So far we’ve made two batches.

1). Take the fleshy seeds out of the pods and allow them to ferment for 3-5 days. 2). Roast the seeds in the oven for about an hour and a half. 3). Shell the beans and winnow them. 4). Grind the beans in the food processor until it turns into a pourable liquid. 5). Add powdered sugar. 6). Pour into a mold and put in the refrigerator. 7). EAT! Not bad!

This week we had a visit from the Yamada family. It’s been on their bucket-list for their time in Japan to pop over here for a visit. It was our first time to be with them since they had kids, and everyone enjoyed the visit. Josh took Richard to visit two rural Jarai villages on Friday, and all the boys took an outing to Ban Lung on Monday, while the girls stayed home since Anna wasn’t feeling well.

The boys enjoyed having playmates and kept busy playing outside most of the time, from early morning until supper time. Richard gave Isaiah daily trumpet lessons and enjoyed practicing the trumpet on our back porch. Richard also enjoyed having “Max” the lion visit Cambodia and talk with the kids.

It was great to catch up with Rebekah – we haven’t seen each other since summer 2019. The Yamadas left early Tuesday morning to take a van to Siem Reap to continue their visit to Cambodia, and we started back to school that same morning. It’s been a good Christmas break, and everyone did wonderful starting back!

Yesterday I spoke at the Ratanakiri KEC (Khmer Evangelical Church) Ladies Christmas Event. There were about 100 ladies there from about 10 different Jarai churches. Originally they asked me to teach in Khmer, but once I realized most of the ladies would be Jarai, I requested that I could teach in Jarai. (These days almost all my teaching is done in Jarai, and I do very little in Khmer…so I’ve lost a lot of my Khmer teaching language.) The event went from 8:45am-4:15pm, and my teaching was an hour. I taught on the Gospel, using Christmas and Genesis 3:15. So many of these ladies have been believers for a long time but have very little understanding of what the Gospel is. The first thing I did was pass out a sheet we created with 10 sentences that summed up the Gospel. Once we’d practiced reading these, I used them throughout the lesson and had the ladies read different the sentences every time they came up in my lesson. This kept everyone on their toes! My lesson also included props, having the ladies learn two songs, and my singing some of my Bible verse songs.

Josh and I created a book of catechism questions for the ladies to learn doctrine and for teaching their children. At the end of my teaching time I demonstrated with Becca how you would teach a child the questions and answers.

Our Christmastide started the Monday of Christmas week – though we still did Advent, we also start our Christmas activities a little early. We enjoyed our four weeks of Advent, each night singing and reading Bartholomew’s Passage together. The kids accompanied many of our songs with their piano, flute, violin, and ukulele playing. It’s a very special time for our family. One night we had an Advent Tea and Scripture night.

One thing we celebrated during Advent was Ezra’s completion of All About Reading Level 2. He received a Bible for completing this level. We also celebrated Micah’s completion of All About Reading Level 1.

Our Christmas Calendar included: wrapping paper making, movies (It’s a Wonderful Life), reading The Best/Worst Christmas Pageant Ever, making candy-candy cookies, making giant gingerbread cookies, making Christmas cut-out cookies, sleeping by the Christmas tree. Other activities included ornament making, hot cocoa, candy canes, etc.

Christmas Eve we had a friend over for lunch. In the evening we had our traditional meal of tacos and then watched The Muppets Christmas Carol.

Christmas morning Josh surprised me with my gift – a new stove/oven. My other oven is small and can only fit one pan at a time, which is a challenges with the size of our family. Now I can cook at least two things at a time! The kids exchanged gifts in the morning, and then they did their Christmas pageant. Maria thought she was the second narrator this year and every time Becca would finish, Maria would start narrating, “And then the pretty girl said….” She was pretty upset when “Mary” wouldn’t hand over the baby Jesus.

We had a lunch of cinnamon rolls, hot chocolate, oranges, and boiled eggs. In the afternoon we played a rousing game of Dutch Blitz ,with 8 decks going and Maria walking in the middle of it randomly. In the evening we had our dinner: roast, potatoes, bread, cucumbers. Then we did our Christmas singing. The last thing we did for the night was exchange cards and give the kids their gifts. Everyone was very pleased with their gifts and it makes us happy that they are happy with the things we give them. It’s nothing amazing – no electronics or amazing new toys, but our kids were more than pleased – and that’s a big gift to us.

The day after Christmas we had our friends the Queys over for lunch, and we decorated giant gingerbread!

On the church side of things: Saturday evening, Dec 13th, our church hosted the KEC Regional Youth Event. Over 600 people were there for the meal and service. Josh preached and we helped with the Christmas pageant. The youth and upper elementary kids at our church did the pageant for the youth event and for our church’s Christmas. Becca was an angel, and Isaiah and Clara were sheep this year. Josh spoke at our church’s morning service and at one other church for their evening service. Our church had their Christmas Saturday night and Sunday morning, Dec 27-28. I wrote five new songs for this year. The song for the adults was the Lord’s Prayer. I based the tune on Jarai tribal music, and they did tribal dancing along with the song. Maria really enjoyed helping wash the dishes after the Sunday meal. It was a good time for all.

We are still enjoying our Christmastide. It’s been a wonderful season with Advent and now Christmastide. We are filled with joy, celebrating the coming of Christ.

Last weekend we decorated the Christmas tree. We had a special meal for supper with apple pie for dessert. Then we enjoyed decorating the tree, which happens pretty fast with each kid putting up their own ornaments.

Last week we had our monthly elementary Music & Art day. These two families drive about 45 minutes from the provincial capital to participate. I teach music, Becca teaches art, we eat lunch together, and then the women have a time of prayer together while the kids play. This month we had a Christmas theme and the new music concept was tempo using Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker for examples. Micah and Maria helped decorate the room the day before.