Dear Friends,

Greetings from the Kingdom of Cambodia! We pray all is well with you and those you love. We've been here just a little over a month. It's been cool lately, I don't think the mercury hit above 28 C (about 80 F) all week! Let us fill you in on what else has been happening.

As for our living situation, we had our phone hooked up yesterday, so now we can use the internet regularly. We also bought some used appliances, most of them are from Japan. We were promised delivery, and I anticipated no problems. I was surprised, however, when a fellow showed up with our washing machine on his motorbike. I gasped at the thought of the refrigerator showing up the same way. It appeared a little later on a "cyclo," a rickshaw that one pedals. Both patients survived the ordeal.

We are driving a Mission Van, and will be more mobile in the future. We've ridden behind a driver on the motorcycle cabs, but the cabs are not really safe. We see an accident, on the average, three times a week. There are not a lot of stop lights here, so one has to drive through oncoming traffic to make a left-hand turn. It is one way to forget the boredom of living in a foreign culture, and encourages an active prayer life.

A little about the neighborhood, we live near the Three Little Pigs--or we did. Three pigs would walk past our house in the morning and return every evening. Last week there was a national festival--the King's birthday. I haven't seen any of the pigs since ? The roads in our neighborhood are not paved so we ride in first gear a lot. The holes have been filled in lately with broken ceramic tiles. The place looks like a big stew at times. Another thing of interest, and I don't know the story behind it, is the chicks that run around lose. They are only a couple of weeks old and have their feathers dyed in phosphorescent colors. Closer to home, we had an unexpected visitor a couple of weeks ago. I found a frog in the bathroom. We suspect he came in through the kitchen sink--there is no trap in the pipe. We have a few geckos, too, who stop in regularly. 

One lives in the air conditioner. Yuko is especially cool towards him since the air conditioner is in our bedroom. If you have ever seen "Lenigen Versus the Ants" you will know what it is like here with the burrowing foragers. They are everywhere. We put the cupboard legs in cups of water to thwart the raiders, but not until after they had infiltrated the rice. The Filipino couple we work with told us they call the little blessings "Vitamin X." The husband went on to say, "Most of them rise to the surface when you pour in water." We had a rather larger group, too, about thirty Chinese from Hong Kong and Australia who came for a medical mission. We went to several villages with them and did some visitation while there. A thousand people were treated by the team of nurses, dentists and doctors.

In ministry, we and the Nelsons are participating in a casual English chat time for those interested in honing their language skills. Of course, our church youth will be inviting friends to come. 

Yuko and I are on the preaching schedule at the Mission Church and occasionally at a village church near the House of Love (childcare facility). While at a village a couple of weeks ago where the food shopping is done for the House of Love, I was espied by the owner of an English school. He has asked that I come and teach his staff, English. We are hopeful we can teach the Gospel of John, and eventually raise up a community of believers. I will talk with him about his expectations if I get the green light to proceed at our next team meeting.

We are taking Khmer lessons now. We have five, two-hour classes a week. It's not a tonal language, experts say, but there are more than twenty-five vowels. It is a challenge. We are enjoying ourselves. The Lord takes us step by step, He knows our frailty. Opportunities abound here. I talked with a fellow Sunday who is trying to reach the garment factory workers. Workers put in six, twelve hour days to bring home forty-five dollars a month. Life for many is difficult here. Some of the problems among the youth are AIDS, drug use (yaba is the most popular), gang rape of prostitutes, and gangs at schools. Don't let me paint the dark side, only, God is doing some marvelous things here. Many people are open to hear the message. It is a beautiful land with beautiful people. If you would like to put in a word for us the next time you are in chambers with the King Most High, there are several things we could use His help with.

1. Vibol, one of our youth, helped me with visitation a couple of weeks ago. We talked with one girl who was interested in our English chat time. She has a name with most of the more than twenty-five vowels I mentioned earlier, so I remember her as the girl selling phone cards, rather than using her name. Please pray for her as I re-visit her little phone card stand. 
2. Pray for our language study and acquisition.
3. Continued good health for the team.
4. Understanding among the team, we are truly an international assortment.
5. Hearts with a passion for God and His work.