We first want to apologize for taking so long to post another blog. We have been very busy these past couple of weeks but now that things are starting to settle down we’ll be able to post them more regularly. This is the first blog that I (Ryan) have ever written. I hope you enjoy!
We have had 10 or 11 Khmer classes at this point and are starting to pronounce the words well enough that when we go to the market we no longer get laughs and confused looks from the vendors. Well… I guess I should say we don’t get as many laughs as we used to, but we still get a few. I love going to the market and trying to get them down to the best price- usually it’s about half of what they ask for initially. Ciara does not. She is the one who points out (Discreetly of course. We don’t want THEM to know which ones we really like.) what kind of plates, or silverware or trash can we need, and then I move in to seal the deal. It does get tiresome though to have to go through 6 or 7 different vendors to find a good price on a broom… Especially when the fish and meat market is only a few feet away, conveniently crammed into the very middle of the continuously sticky hot market where, as you may have guessed, they don’t have refrigeration or even ice to help keep things a little more bearable. This all happens under the same tin roof as the multitude of vendors selling clothing, souvenirs, jewelry, dried fruits and spices, and more “special discount for you” items than you can count. Let’s just say we are still getting used to shopping in the markets.
From the 31st of January until the 4th of February we were in Bangkok Thailand at the 1st annual HOSEA conference with pastors and leaders from all over South East Asia and a group of 4 pastors from the United States, along with a member of the Church of God’s International missions board Eric Brown and his wife Millicent. He is from Jamaica originally, but is now serving overseas in the UK. We had a great time connecting with believers from Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Laos, Thailand and other countries from this part of the world. The praise band that led worship was from Indonesia and they were truly anointed. I have never been in such an incredible multinational service with such strong representations from so many different countries. The time spent there with those people is truly an unforgettable experience.
We also went to Phnom Penh for the ground breaking of the Build a City Campaign. It is a 3 year long project to transform a very poor village into a model of sustainable living. We were able to attend the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Cambodian Government and received small gifts of appreciation. We were very lucky to be able to be a part of this event. We can’t wait to see its progression over the coming months and years. Here is the website to check out what our team in Phnom Penh will be working on: http://www.buildacity.org/
We have moved into our apartment and met some of the people that work in the art gallery just below us. They are wonderful people. One lady has a little boy and a baby girl that is the cutest baby I’ve ever seen. We live right in the middle of the touristy spot with all the good and cheap restaurants and massage places. Ciara and I went and got an hour long couple’s massage for Valentine’s Day and it was only 16 bucks! I had the traditional Thai massage and it was the best massage I’ve ever had. She used her feet to massage my legs and back because that way she could put more pressure and get deeper into the muscles. One time when she was walking around on my back, she slipped and basically pinched my shoulder between her foot and the floor. But other than that… everything was fantastic. Ciara loved it too.
Tomorrow is our last day of classes for this week and things have gone relatively smooth. We are getting adjusted to our new life here and have a wonderful team that we get to spend time with. We are having a lot of fun learning new things in our Khmer Language class and can’t wait to be able to share more of our lives with you. We have free wifi at our apt and in most situations we can find somewhere to get it at anytime of the day. We are 12 hrs ahead and would love to begin scheduling skype dates. Just message us a time and we’ll try and make it work. We love you all and miss you very much!
Love,
Ryan
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