Chronicalized

There is a little daily devotional book called "Our Daily Bread" that I enjoy reading most days.
A couple days ago the topic was on reviewing the year that will soon be history...
I rarely think about the past because it seems like there is never enough time. The present and future hold more merit, temporarily that is. However, if I were to simply keep moving forward and not remember all the hardships and beautiful moments of my History, there could be no rejoicing and no learning or growth. The age old adage of " You don't know where your going unless you know where you come from..." rings very loud and true this time of year as 2010 is gone, vanished forever from our planners, phone calenders, and checks. I took the time to sit down after reading that convicting little devotional and chronicled my entire year of 2010. I came to find that indeed it was filled with hard moments, laughter, tears, sorrow, hello's, goodbye's, (many)plane rides, joy, a lot of sweat, good music, longer hair, and most of all the fulfillment of knowing I have grown as a person, as a woman of God. So, my life in 2010 is forever chronicled in my new journal and I feel peace about letting it go and moving forward knowing confidently where I have been.




I will remember the works of the Lord; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
~Psalm 77:11

Trick-or-Treat...not so treaty

Child Exploitation-Human Trafficking- Slave Labor

Not phrases usually associated with Halloween but the ugly Truth.

Want to know more: Death...by chocolate

This Trafficking is prominent in West Africa. A place I have visited. Children 11-14, boys and girls, are being taken illegally over the borders from Mali and Burkina Faso into Ghana and Ivory Coast and forced to work on Cocoa plantations run by large corporations such as Nestle' and Hershey. They are often promised a payment that... is never received.
There is HOPE. People are working across the globe to end this injustice and you can help. Even if you are not on the front lines fighting, you can do your part by: 1. Learning about Fair-Trade (not Free-trade)
2. Check out your local grocery store, independent co-op, or coffee house and
find fair trade chocolate (or any other fair-trade product they sell) and
commit to purchasing these products.
3. Tell Others-Invite retailers who are not selling Fair trade products to learn
more about them and look into stocking them.
This is a fight that can be won. In Europe due to demand by consumers (you and me) most large companies are selling fair-trade chocolate. In America the demand is not there... yet.
It is not a political movement... It is a justice movement.
"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:18



The symbol to look for on your chocolate, coffee, sugar, vanilla, nuts, and many other goods

It has been a while...

I like blogs. They relate real people with real issues (added bonus when there is humor).
I am immersed fully in school at this point. My travels are long over and the reality of being stuck in 'ordinary' has set in. It's been 6 months since returning home, to Wisconsin, from Youth With A Mission. What have I done?
Hung out with my family (built a cob oven), Cut down trees (irony), Road tripped to Cornerstone music festival (slept in hammock), Reunited with 3 of my roomies from YWAM (Sam and Lydia and Angela), visited the University I was supposed to attend in Virginia (did not go), amazing family reunion (had to leave early), moved to Appleton (unintended), started classes at University Wisconsin Oshkosh ( Environmental Studies), Hiked 4 days in Michigan (with Andrea my new roommate).
The highlights in a nutshell. I ask myself everyday ' is this really my life I am living'. Is it what I had planned... no. Am I adjusted? Working on it. Content? Most days.
Returning back to American life has been hard. Why did no one prepare me? Impossible.
Is my heart still overseas? Yes. It is a good reminder of how blessed I am everyday.
Have I learned a lot? Yes. God is at work. Always.
I struggled to know what my purpose was upon returning. Me. Everything was focused on me. Not God. I started a study called 'Experiencing God' by Henry Blackaby. It has moved me away from, well, myself. Now, my thoughts are truly focused on What are God's plans and purposes.... and How can I be involved?
Where is God at work around you? How can you join Him in that work?


"The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." Psalm 18:2


Also, if you are curious to to see more about what I did on outreach check out this video Anna made:
EDTS Outreach

Fare thee well dear Friends and we are off again

Fox Glacier

Larry, Jenny, and 'the lot'- Me, Sam, Katie, Ben

Rainbow and Me!

Beautiful Sunset in Oxford before Graduation

Sam -my travel companion and me at Graduation- we sure clean up nice :-)

Dear Friends and Family,
I am an official graduate of Oxford…Discipleship Training School that is in New Zealand. It has been a long journey …to the ends of the Earth and back (well almost).
The past couple weeks have been full of re-entry type things. As a team we all talked about what it was like being back in a western country where food costs 3 times as much and there is clean air to breathe and the language is the understood. Yes it has been an adjustment.
We were bogged down with the unusual feeling of not knowing what to do. There was no more ‘ministry’ work to do upon returning to Oxford and many of us fell quite ill because of the cold weather. My dear friend Monja ended up in the hospital and we found out that she had come down with Malaria from a crazy jungle hike she did in Cambodia. She is now well recovered but it was a shock to our team. We had a lovely graduation ceremony with a ‘hippie’ theme and mainly vegetarian food! It was truly special (minus Monja still in the hospital and Seang in Cambodia) we had many friends and special people come to be with us. The night ended with a coffee shop café’ and open mic night where stories, poems and songs were shared.
Goodbyes were not easy but not hard as the YWAM goodbye is if we don’t meet again in this life I will see you in eternity Nothing could be better. Slowly our team has been leaving the island or venturing to their homes on the island. The Lord has been teaching me that Goodbye’s are part of life and they don’t have to be sad but a positive beginning to a new chapter. I am thankful for the amazing people I’ve shared and lived and grown with and it isn’t over for any of us yet.
I have been traveling with Sam the past week and a half with the blessing of using Mark’s cute little silver toyota Caldrea. We stayed at a wwoofing (Worldwide opportunities on Organic farms) house for one week with 2 of our friends Ben and Katie from Oxford. The farm was called Waingaro Christian Retreat and Jenny and Larry were a very unique couple that specialize in Equine therapy, horse riding and have a guesthouse that is sort of a BandB. We mulched their garden and hacked away bushes. I got to canter on a horse for the first time ever through beautiful NZ forest, a dream come true. We said our goodbyes there and were sent off with prayers and small gifts and the encouragement to keep seeking out what lies deep inside and not be ashamed of who we are created to be.
We picked up a hitcher named Alex from Nevada who spent a couple days with us. He played guitar and had his own and we taught him some worship songs which he rather enjoyed.
Easter was a blessing as we got to spend it at the same little Baptist church I spoke at many months ago. Sam , Julie and I gave a short testimony of Cambodia and how their prayers were appreciated. Then we were off again traveling some more and ended up in a little town called Fox Glacier and I along with the others I am traveling with decided to do a Tramp called the Copeland, expecting it to be easy. It was a 2 day 17 mile trek full of rock hoping, root climbing, bridge crossings and natural hot pools. At the end our muscles were aching and Julie broke her thumb (yes hiking). It was memorable!
And this I maintain ‘God Loves Us’.

Hmmm...and then the ocean

So.... I was cool the otherday. I wrapped a hairband around my wrist and Angela told me I looked cool... If you didn't know that is my goal in life, to be cool. (I am just kidding, but it helps sometimes).
Anyways, I spent the last 10 days up in a province called Rattanikiri. This is where all the injustice that is talked about... you know deforstation, unfair working conditions, and illegal trade are all happening. It was pretty shocking to see firsthand. The people there are indegenous tribal people and their land is being stolen from right under them by money motivated 'outsders'. The land is all in ash or covered with rubber tree/cashew nut plantations. It is reminsicent of the same situation that happened in America a many hundred years ago. The people sell their land or have it taken and use the money they recieve to drink, gamble, smoke and the such. This breaks families and pretty soon the are poor again with no land. This is because they aren't familier with living in a $ based system.
We stayed in a village with the the language group called Jarai for a couple nights. We did some research for our leader Rob and a flood-relief project a local church has started. Last October the Dams in Vietnam flooded and broke cuasing many villages along the Saison river to flood. This = loss of rice crop = starving people. The "Project" supplied money and advice on planting dry season corn and other veggies. (This is a big deal for indegenous people). They followed through. We interviewed the elders of 3 different villages along the river and observed their gardens and then wrote up a formal report on the answers and information we recieved.
It was a rare opportunity and I felt like I should be working for the National Geographic not YWAM. We lived above the kitchen and got 'fine' smells often of the drying water buffalo meat... no lie, it was a rancid smell. We stayed with the only Christian family in the village (a young couple with a baby and their brother and the mom). The village people are in a desperate situation but a little corn is giving a lot of HOPE.
It was a hill at the end of a marathon for sure but we gave it our best. I had a great time enjoying the peace and quiet that being in the hills and far away from the noise of city provided. God gave rest to my soul and led me by quiet waters...we had the opportunity to swim in an extinct volcanic lake and in a couple waterfalls. Monja rode an elephant. Things like that were very enjoyable. I will confess that working for God is sometimes strenuous work, but well worth it!

Now I am in Sihnoukville... the opposite side of the country about 14 hours away. A complete contrast and tourist town on the ocean (Gulf of Thailand?). We are debriefing and adjusting to a more westernized place as soon we will be back to New Zealand. It is beautiful here but hard to be a 'tourist' after working. This is a time we are saying goodbye to our dear friend/leader Seang and reflect on all that has happend.

This verse I just recieved and seems very fitting for the time we have had here:
"God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them" Hebrews 6:10

Saying Goodbye's and moving forward

Almost finished water tank at Base
Julie, Me and Sam with kids on Carnival Day (One in green is a favorite)
Anna working on sawing bamboo for the fence
Seang, Angela, Me and Anna on long boat last Saturday on Free day. It was scary-az and very leaky and about an inch from the water! An Adventure.
The beginning of water tank...Seang mixes cement...we watch...wait...then attempt
Well again it has been a while.
Our weeks are still busy as usual.
An update on everything we have been doing:
At the 4 square Orphanage - we have leveled the mass piles of dirt that we started with and have formed 4 very nice beds out of soil that was full of a ton of garbage, lots of rocks and clumps of clay.
We built a bamboo fence and dug the post holes and it almost finished being put up. It looks great and will keep out the chickens, geese, and cows! What we will work on our last 2 days here and with lots of prayer will finish is installing a water tank and drip line so the vegetables will have water in dry season. The tank will catch water when it rains and store it to water the garden.
I praise God that we have clean water to drink everyday (we get it delivered to the house). At the orphanage there is a well but it runs out often, there is not enough water for them to wash/cook with let alone water their vegetables. Most of the water around is not clean to drink.
~The past Sunday at the church service, Angela gave a sermon on Luke 8 and the parable of the Sower and how a seed planted on rocky or weedy soil won't grow well. The kids got the chance to plant their own seed in good fertile soil (with cow poo). It was the first time a couple of them have had the chance to plant anything. The beans have started to grow in the past 5 days and the kids are always hanging out around them watching them. I believe it has given them a sense of ownership and pride that they can help a seed grow. The prayer we said probably helped them out too!
On Thursday we went out and held a kids carnival for them also. It was so fun! We set up a fishing station (they really enjoyed because of the prizes). There was nail painting and party hat making stations; I helped with the hats and we had lots of fun. Then there was pin the stinger on the scorpian and a musical 'lilypads' game. The prizes of candy, pencils, hair barrets, and sweat bands really were a hit. The boys went crazy with the nail polish.... Then we played a balloon game, where the ballon is tied around the ankle and you try to pop everyone's; it was wild. Then we had a snack and Monja played guitar to calm them down before we left. It was a blast and a great way to spend time with them all and allow them to enjoy being kids! I think it is the first time they have ever had experienced something like it. We are not supposed to pick favorites as a rule to life...but we have all found our favorite 'orphans'...meant in the best way possible!
At the YWAM Base- The past 2 weeks we have been installing a water tank and pump and drip irrigation. They have a fairly big pond that the pump is installed into and hand pumps water into the tank and then it filters through sand, gravel and cloth to the irrigation pipe lines and to the garden. It is more a model system and the hope is others will be inspired by seeing it; people from Cambodia and all over the world.
Phnom Kol- We went out 2 mornings and planted corn and beans into the soil that we formed and manured. Drip irrigation was set-up also. We then had the chance to work for a widow and her daughter and help them form their garden beds to be planted (this is the hard work). Praise God we can contribute in little ways.
Youth Center (Base)- We are in the process of saying goodbyes. It was a great time getting to know Ngim our teacher and some of the students. I started getting Khmer language lessons from a student named Sida. We would meet for 20 minutes before class and he would teach me 5-6 words a day and quiz me the next day. I believe I did pretty well. I learned children, tree, sweat, hair, shoe, glasses, God is love and many other words. (I am not fluent!) I do get compliments on my clear Khmer though and it is encouraging. I don't know much about Sida, if he is a christian, I do know he has an older sister who is and works for world vision. I haven't got the chance to say by to him and so I can only pray God will bless him the rest of his life in all he does.

This week was full of much sweat and tears. The term 'let the sweat drip' has never been so real as it is here. The sweat roles when I just sit... can you imagine how much it drips when we are working in the garden... lets just say my shirt is usually wet by the end of the morning. In the garden this week we had an encounter with a Cobra snake and it was a quite close call. We were digging on top of his home and one guy, Reggie, leaned over to pick up a chunk of clay and says snake, we all go to look and then he says Cobra and we all run away fast. Seang came over with a hoe and wacked him a couple times and he was out. About a meter long and paper towl tube wide ( he was big). The kids were excited, as they get to eat feast on it!!
There was a couple close calls with centipedes this week also. One almost attacked Sam, luckily Seang was there to chop it in half. In English class yesterday one climbed down the wall and to the floor and started fast towards a student. She was not phased and took of her sandal and gave it a good whack when it got close and killed it. The rest of us were up on our chairs or screaming. I don't think they are something I could ever get used too!
I have been running on low this week and finally hit empty. I had no strength left and was unable to do my part on the team. My face and spirit became drawn. I was given permission from our leader Laura to take the afternoon off... I did and took time to journal, ride my bike, write to my sister and spend time resting and worshiping the Lord quietly alone. It was nice and I felt rejuvinated when the team returned. I am still recovering and gaining joy and happiness again. It just made me aware how important being emotionally and mentally healthy is vital to proper functioning! I realized I need to journal to process everything happening as there is soo much... everyday.
Philippians 3:13 'One thing I do is: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.'

We leave Battambang on the 17th and head over to Siem Riep for 2 days to visit Angkor Wat, then down to Phnom Phen for 2 days and up to Ratanakirri for 2 weeks. There is One month left of our outreach and I just need to be confident in pressing forward. Our time here has been great and I have met wonderful people but we get to move on and meet those awaiting.
I have had the sense of home here and run into friends on the street and recognized people in the market and smiled. It has been...life!

We get to celebrate Chinese New Year this weekend with lots of firecrackers...very loud. All there is to do is embrace it as culture!

What a Week

It has been a long but fulfilling week. It is finally starting to feel like 'home' , or regular life. We got a schedule ... I find that I really appreciate schedules.
Well we spent a lot of time out at the Orphanage this week. Good news from Sinoan and that she got accepted to do her DTS with U of N here in Battambang. This will be a life changing opportunity for her. We started helping them build a garden. It is starting from ground zero. This week consisted of carrying dirt (clay, garbage, concrete, brick, rock sub-soil mixture) on plastic bags to cover the entire area of the designated area (about 20 meters long 6 meters wide). It was slow. Next week hopefully it will be ready to add the top-soil and manure. We are working under the Pastor's discretion... making it his project... not ours. We just get to help make it happen! Then we had an afternoon spent putting on a program for the kids.
Afternoons are spent at the student center. I have been a regular at a level 3 and 4 English class with Sam and this week we got to teach for God day. We did a little skit and then I shared my testimony (story on how I know God and where He's brought me). They asked questions... I took that as a good sign. They are a fun class and the teacher Ngim is great, a ball of joy. The other day I was correcting their homework and I pronounced 4-thirty with what must have been a very midwest accent and the students first couldn't understand and then my accent had to be explained... in the end Ngim ended up telling them to keep saying thirty how they say it.

Everyday we eat very well. Sam and I are both vegetarians and so the cooks (we have 2 khmer girls who are amazing) we have always prepare us a special vege dish. Some of the best have been a peanut khmer curry soup, the vege soups, and these egg flat omlete things. Most days it ends up looking (and tasting) better then the full on meat dishes the others get every meal. We also get fruit for each meal... all sorts of fruit. I find my favorite so far is pineaple and dragon fruit (a crazy pink fruit with a white inside with small black seeds, texture similar to a kiwi but very light taste).

I saw a guy with a Favre 4-ever shirt the other day and I was shocked!! It made my day really! Favre is even in Cambodia.... I will keep my opinion to myself....

Clothes washing has been a big ordeal also.... I am someone who would save up 2 months of laundry to take to my mom's house so that when I visited it would magically be done when the visit was over... Now if I don't handwash my clothes every week... I run out. It is still not my favorite.
The heat here is dangerous. The Cambodian people though prize white skin so much that whitening creams and wearing long sleaves, gloves, hats, even socks here is prevelant to make their skin white... complete contrast to the States...

We also set up a drip line out at Seangs parents house yesterday. A drip line is a black house with little one-way valves that is helpful to reduce the work of watering (which they still do by watering can) and to conserve water (in short supply in the dry season January-May). We made 4 new beds and planted Corn in one and long beans in the other 3, covered them with straw and now they are left to grow! May God bless those little plants.

This is life... 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. we are just living here doing the daily work here in Battambang.

Please keep praying for me and that I can hear from God and have consistent quiet-times!

Adventures abound

Our Transportation out to village (Even the tourists were taking photos)
Craft Project at the Orphanage
The Khmer students and their garden.
Working Seangs Garden at his house.
The fruit stand (not the cheapest one though )

Well, lots has happend this week. Last Sunday I got to be Pastor Liz at the Orphanage and gave a short message on Love and What God's Love is and that we are designed with a space in our hearts that only God can fill. Seang translated and it went really well, then we had a dance party with the kids afterwords. That children there are stealing my heart and God is breaking it. I realize that they don't have the choice to live there or somewhere else and the lack of true love they recieve is grave. We are having a great time connecting with these kids and we are spending Sundays and Thursdays there with them. We made the craft, had games and taught the story of the Prodigal Son on Thursday. There is one girl at the orphanage named Sinooan, who also attends an English class at the youth center and she is so sweet and I enjoy seeing her. She is currently applying to do her DTS here in Battambang at the University of Nations and I am so excited for her. She's 19 has 2 younger siblings and no parents.
This week it was also Monja's birthday which was very fun, we got to go out to eat and then planned a surprise birthday for her and Johanna that consisted of candles on the roof, homemade tiara's , cake, and fun. She is 25!
I am finding that the older girls are truly like role-models for me. They set such a great example of determination, leadership, fun, heart's seeking God, gentleness, humor, and the right balance of maturity. I really enjoy being the 2nd youngest and having the opportunity to learn so much.
This has been the longest I have been in a developing country and it has taken adjusting. God has been faithful and is breaking through the Spiritual darkness here. I am feeling healthy and ready for whatever God has planned.
Our team had a big shock last night with the news that Rob our leader and Jenny and family are going to be heading back to New Zealand in a couple weeks. Rob had been tired and dizzy from the start and needs to rest somewhere quiet and see his doctor. I was very surprised and felt sad at the thought of not having them. I am okay with the idea now and believe it will create an opportunity for me and the rest of our team to step out in our leadership abilities.
We visited an example of a world vision garden that is very fruitfull and gave hope for what world vision is doing and for Cambodian people and what can happen when a garden gets proper care. I learned all about a new natural pesticide and herbicide and how to make it and I am very excited to test it out.
Another sad thing is our two Dave's who have been teaching us, left Friday.

Life keeps moving and it is really a day to day thing here. Sunday we are preforming a drama/dance at the youth center for their monthly party and hopefully it goes well. If they laugh that is a sign they like it!

God Bless and remember ...you will make it through the winter!
We had a small blessing of rain for the past 3 days which is very unusual for this time of year. Thanks God.

Tuk-Tuk adventure

Life in Cambodia is crazy, loud, chaotic, hot, sunny, dusty, full of strange smells, and many children.
We have arrived to our new home.
I experienced culture shock and just recently have overcome it with prayer and worship.
I was bed-ridden ill for 2 days with a flu of some sort, followed by the rest of the our team. It was a great (or not) welcome to Battambang.
Praise the Lord that I am well and walking again.
We started a 2-week agriculture class with 2 Daves from New Zealand. It is our team and 4 Khmer ywam students. We are learning to identify the issues they face with farming here in Cambodia.
Our ministry is still being sorted, however we have got to work with a youth center and visit an NGO called Childrens Fund International. We may be helping to build a garden there.
There is also an Orphanage that 2 days a week we will spend there holding Bible Classes and having crafts with the little kids.
Yesterday I purchased a bike to use as transporation and it is a little intimidating riding on the streets. The other main way of transport for our team is by Tuk-Tuk ( a moto that pulls a covered carriage that sits 6 people or in our teams case 11 including the driver).
This land is full of adventure and things my eyes have never seen before.
I hope to bring more updates while we are here but in the meantime please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

James 1