Baatrang April Break

The one week school break for Khmer New year has turned into a little more than 4 weeks due to how HOT it is in Cambodia right now! April is the hottest month of the year in Cambodia, and when your school doesn't have any electricity, and therefore no fans to keep the air moving around the classroom - its just hard to focus on learning!

So, for this month we are making weekly trips out to Baatrang so that we can keep the garden going, as well as the rice field...which was planted just the last week of May! Here are some pics from our first visit!

Holly and Chris weeded the rice field (something you have to do when using the SRI method), and Julee and the boys watered the garden.

We were able to chat with a few of the students and their families as we drove through the village on our way to the school. They were all excited to meet Aiden and Kailen, but none of them were excited enough to come and help us work in the garden!! Oh well, maybe next week!!

pics....

It seems I am getting very good at just posting a bunch of pictures! Here is the latest bunch!

We've got about one week to go and we are headed out on a jetplane bound for Colorado Springs....I can't believe its coming so fast....and NOPE, we're not packed yet!

This is Kailen's warm outfit...and YES he did need it on that day! It was rainy, windy and downright chilly in Cambodia this week (most likely due to a Typhoon passing over us). Regardless of that....isn't that the sweetest smile ever!

This is Aiden's "warm" outfit. It is almost impossible to get this kid to wear clothes. He's gonna be in for a HUGE shock when we get to the states and it is really COLD!

Aiden was sick in this picture....had a temp of 102 and all he wanted to do was play with daddy's ipod. He eventually fell asleep in this position, surrounded by all his stuffed animals. Poor little guy!

Since Daddy recently had Dengue Fever it has been mommy's job to keep Aiden entertained...and that includes rides on the bicycle.

"Don't shoot Sheriff, I'll marry the girl!"

This is Boo Kosal. Boo is one of the words for uncle in Khmer, referring to a man that is older than I am, but younger than my father - you always use titles when talking to/about people. Boo Kosal is a taxi driver and he is always the one who drives us to Phnom Penh for vaccinations or whatever. Aiden absolutely adores the man, and Kosal thinks Aiden is pretty darn adorable too! This last trip down I needed to get some shopping done and since it was just Kailen and I, Kosal helped me out by watching Kailen while I went into the market (its WAY too hot inside the market to take Kailen in!) I came out to find Kailen fast asleep in Kosal's arms - and Kosal very proudly reported that Kailen had been a very good baby while I was away - sleeping the whole time!

During our trip to Phnom Penh Kailen and I spent the night with our Khmer family. This is Kailen and Aiden's Khmer granny. She dotes on them both and of course thinks they are the smartest kids on the block!

Baatrang Middle School...Week One

Thanks so much for your prayers for the beginning of the school year for us at Baatrang Middle School! Holly, Chris and Dhara feel that the first two days of teaching went well. Their schedule changed a bit from what we originally thought so on Tuesdays they go in the morning and teach a class from 9 to 10, and then another from 10 to 11. They then have a break until 3pm when they teach again from 3 to 4, and from 4 to 5. Although that break is long it is good in that it gives them some time to actually go out and work in the garden. On Wednesdays they teach only in the afternoon - four classes back to back from 1pm to 5pm!

For the first class they gave an evaluation to find out exactly where all of the students are at in their experience and knowledge of agriculture. Some of the students' families have gardens at home and some of the families grow rice through the year. Not many students knew what compost is or what it is used for, and many of the families grown only a few kinds of vegetables which they then sell at the market. All of this is helpful for us to know. Agriculture is not a new thing here in Cambodia as you can probably imagine, but it is our hope that what we have to bring to the table in new ways of doing things (composting, living fences, SRI rice farming, etc.) will enrich the lives of the families in Baatrang village.

A few weeks back Chris and Holly went to the school for a work day. They were told where they could put the vegetable garden and given another area to plant flowers. Fortunately we have a soil testing kit, so they took samples of the soil so that we could see what the quality of the soil is. Unfortunatley, like much of the land around here the soil is of very poor quality. Some of our lessons will be on how to go about improving the quality of the soil - they will be making compost, as well as planting beans and other nitrogen fixing plants to help improve the soil.

They were also able to begin building a fence around the plot of land where the garden will be. With the help of the students this fence will be finished in a few weeks time....its gonna take alot of work to get all of the holes dug for the posts!

Pray for Chris and Holly as they continue to prepare the lessons for the rest of the school year. Continue to pray for great relationships with students and teachers to form. Pray also for good relationships for development between us and the community outside of the school. It is our hope that what is taught at school will be taken home and will improve the lives of entire families!

And pray especially as they teach about God! We have been given the 'go ahead' to teach about God and His involvement in and love for His creation.

We continue to be excited at the opportunities that God is giving us at this school and in this community. Keep us in your prayers!

Om Tuk

So this weekend is Om Tuuk here in Battambang City. Every provincial capital here in Cambodia will have one of these festivals this month, and then there will be a HUGE one in Phnom Penh at the beginning of November.

The biggest part of this festival are the boat races. The winners of the races (grouped by size of boat as well as gender of the rowers) will go to Phnom Penh for a final race. During the Battambang race people from all over the province come to town...at this very moment there are literally HUNDREDS of people on the streets outside our house. And for the Phnom Penh race it is so packed that most foreigners either leave town or just don't leave their houses!

We did venture out yesterday evening and made our way through the crowds and blaring music. It makes it even hard that we are white as everyone stops and stares and wants to come and talk to the boys. We decided by the end of our walk that we should've charged 5000riel per time someone touched Kailen and Aiden (we could've made a couple hundred dollars easy!)

The other fun thing is that our language tutors from Phnom Penh came to visit us this weekend as well. We are so blessed to have relationships with these two young women (we're not sure how many teachers have ever travelled to the province to visit their former students!). It was fun to have them in our home and enjoy a little of Om Tuk madness with them.

Socheata (Julee's teacher - on left) and Chenda (Chris' teacher - next to Kailen). We actually made them walk a really long ways...not on purpose, but it ended up being really long! We are pretty sure they think we're crazy for walking so much that evening!

in the middle of the craziness!

Aiden really enjoyed the boats. You can see two of the teams in river below. Some of the boats are short and some are quite long with 30-40 people rowing. We always say we want to be the one standing in the middle yelling "row, row, row..."

all things become new again...

When you arrive in another culture you are overwhelmed by all the things that are different than where you come from....architecture, foods, smells, fashion, etc. etc. etc., but eventually, if you live in your new host culture long enough those things become "normal" and you don't notice them much anymore. Things surprise you now and then, but from the most part when you walk past a full pig head in the market you don't think much about it....you just know someone's gonna make soup!

You don't really realize that these things have become normal to you until you are with someone else who is new in the culture/place where you are. You watch their faces become pale as your taxi/bus driver goes at crazy speeds down the roads, dodging cows and water buffalo or when they attempt to pass a huge truck (on a small two lane highway) while there is another large truck coming straight at you. OR you see them take a double or triple take when the moto carrying 150 chickens tied upside down on the back passes you by. Then you suddenly realize....oh yes, this ISN'T normal is it!

We are currently helping to host a short-term team from North Carolina, and it has been a joy to see them experience all things Cambodia! They have been processing their experiences and it has reminded me of SO many things that not too long ago were not "normal" for me. It reminds me that I need to always be looking for new things in this place, to not get lazy about learning about Cambodia and her people.

I have also been reminded of the importance of interacting in very intentional ways with the Khmer, especially those who are not yet believers. They watch us, they wonder why we live the way we live, why we do the things we do, why we buy the things we buy... PRAY for us that God would give us relationships with people here in Battambang, and PRAY for open doors to share our faith and love of Jesus. PRAY for times of refreshing as we are tired (newborns tend to do that to you, don't they!!!) and PRAY that God's Spirit would move in mighty ways in our hearts and well as those of the Khmer.

PRAY also for this short term team, that their time here would reflect the love of Christ to the Khmer so that their lives may hopefully one day be made NEW in Jesus.

more than a month...

Its hard to believe that we have now been in Thailand for more than a month! We left Battambang (after living there for only two weeks) on May 10 and have been living at the Alliance Guest Home since.

We came here to await the arrival of our second son....Kailen Christopher Bellar, and here he is

He arrived two weeks early on May 29th at 12:23am. He weighed 8lbs 14oz and was 20.5 inches long. He is now two weeks old and doing really well.

Big brother is loving having his little brother to kiss on. We haven't seemed to hit a jealous phase yet, but I'm sure that will come at some point. Both boys are doing well and we are just waiting for Kailen's passport to get finished so that we can apply for his visa to get into Cambodia. Once that is complete we will be making our way back home to Cambodia.

Thanks for your prayers for all of us as we prepare to adjust to life in the province with two little guys. Pray for their health and safety, as well as ours.

More pictures and details of Kailen's arrival will be posted on our other blog: ajbellar.blogspot.com

On the Move...

Well...moving day is almost here.  We are hoping that by this time tomorrow morning most of our things will be loaded safely onto our moving truck and covered with tarps to keep the rain off.  After we send the truck off we'll have a few errands to run and then we'll head off to Battambang in our truck.

Pray for Chris as he manages the moving company tomorrow morning and pray that the truck makes it safely to Battambang without any problems.

Pray for us as we have a farwell dinner with our church leaders tonight and then try and get a good night sleep so that we aren't totally exhausted for the drive tomorrow.  AND pray for our truck to make it safely there as well.  This will be the first LONG road trip we've taken it on...and as it is an older vehicle you never know what to expect along the road.

We'll be staying in a hotel for a couple of days while we get things organized in the house and then we'll be moved in.  

Here's a pic of the front of our new house.  It is one of the older cement houses that was built after the end of the Pol Pot regime.  It is bigger than we thought we would get, but the back of the house will be used for the CAMA office.   We'll have two bedrooms, a living room, office and kitchen...and the large area out front for Aiden to run around in (he's gonna love it!)

As you look at this picture please pray over our house.  Our landlord is Buddhist and he does have a spirit house in the front out near the gate.  Those renting before us were not Christian either so just pray for the Holy Spirit to be present in and around our entire house and for no evil thing to be allowed in.

SO...our next post will be from Battambang!  YEAH!!!

Tex-Mex Meal

Left to Right:  Chris, Julee, Chenda, Aiden and Socheata

(Chenda is Chris' tutor and Socheata is mine)

Today we had our teachers from the Khmer School of Language over for lunch.  My tutor has been asking me for several weeks to make them some 'western' food.   I told her I would but asked for suggestions as to what exactly to make for them....as many Khmer don't like anything but Khmer food!

I asked other foreigners here what they have fixed for their Khmer friends and no one had a positive story to tell, one even saying that she fixed a large Khmer meal (Ginger Pork and another stir-fry style dish with veggies) for some church leaders one time and at the end of the meal one of the women exclaimed "WOW, American food tastes okay too!"

Needless to say I have been wracking my brain for several weeks on what to fix for them.  I wanted them to get a taste of the kinds of food that Chris and I grew up on, but I also wanted to fix something that they might actually like and eat ;o)   So....I went with good old fashion tex-mex!  I made fajitas, spanish rice, beans, and pico de gallo and to top it off I made a chocolate wacky cake and added some cinnamon to it for fun.

When they came this morning I had already made most of the food, all I needed to do was cook the meat and veggies for the fajitas.  As I explained to them what kinds of food we were having and told them the ingredients in all the dishes I could tell they were a little unsure as to how delicious this meal was going to be, but they were still excited and ready to sample it all.

I am proud to say that they seemed to enjoy all of it...though the beans were probably the most challenging for them.  I was really unsure about the rice.  Unless you are making traditional fried rice here you really don't mess with your rice...plain white rice is just the staple of the meal, so I considered making an extra pot of plain rice in case they didn't like any of the food and needed to fill up on something else.  I didn't end up having time to get that done but it was okay as Chris' teacher finished off her first serving of the spanish rice and then took another large serving and finished it all off!

After lunch Chris put Aiden down for a nap and while he slept we played Qwirkle together.  Now that was a challenge trying to explain to them how to play a game in Khmer!  But we succeeded and really had a fun afternoon with them here.

It is sad to leave these relationships behind as we prepare to move on to Battambang, but we hope to try and keep in contact with them and meet with them when we do make it down to Phnom Penh in the future.  Pray for both of these girls as neither are followers of Jesus.  Pray for them to have a continual flow of strong Christian students in the coming years and that they will some day make the decision to become followers of Jesus.

It's Official!!!!

YAHOO!!!!  We are very excited to be able to share with you that as of today we have officially been assigned to work for the next 1 - 2 years in Battambang!

This past Monday-Wednesday we made a crazy last minute trip up to Battambang to talk with David and Doris about what the future is going to look like for all of us and also to do some house hunting (just in case we did move to Battambang).  On Wednesday morning we all came to agreement that Battambang is the place for us to be for this next phase, and we are all at peace and quite excited about it all.

We also were able to find a house to rent....which was a double blessing since it all happened SO quickly!  Unfortunately everything was so rushed that we forgot to take any pictures...so you'll have to wait on all of that.

The house is an older one and needs some work, but the landlord was agreeable to do a few things for us.  It is a cement house with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, living room, office and kitchen.  What is great is that we will only be using the front four rooms and the kitchen and then the spare bedroom and the "garage" area will be used as the CAMA Office so its a great deal for all of us.

Thanks to those of you who have prayed for this, we do now have a yard area that Aiden can run around and play in and our part of the house is only one level so we won't be having to climb up and down stairs with two kiddos.  The extra bonus is that this house sits directly across the street from David and Doris's house and is also quite close to Sharon (our Filipina teammate's) home so we will have a sense of community with our teammates which will be extremely helpful as we welcome baby #2.

An update on that situation - It looks as if Aiden and I will be traveling to Bangkok during the second week of May (need to be there by the 14th) and then Chris has been told that they will allow him to head that way on May 25th, which is 2.5 weeks ahead of the due date.  SO, pray that this baby doesn't come before the 25th!!!

Once the baby is born we will have to get him a passport and then work on his visa to get into Cambodia.  Please be praying that this part of the process goes smoothly and quickly so that we can get back to Battambang and settle into our new life there.  Pray for Aiden...there are lots of transitions coming his way and we need wisdom to know how to take care of  his needs.

Chris and I are so grateful to God for his blessing and guidance in this process.  It has been a long and at times stressful wait, and we know there are rough times ahead with transition, but we trust in God's goodness and rest in that.

Almost there...

Its hard to believe that we are getting ready to start or LAST full week of full-time language study!  We have seven days left to go, and we are hoping that they will be fruitful days of study, and fun times with our teachers.  Its sad to think that we won't be seeing these people who have been a HUGE part of our lives this past year on such a regular basis.  We have promised to come back to Phnom Penh to visit, especially after the baby is born - they are all still secretly hoping that its a little girl!!  Pray for our two teachers at KSL who are not yet believers - pray for the next students who enter into their lives to be strong followers of Christ and that they will continue to hear about the love that Jesus has for them.

We hope to hear sometime soon (around April 1st) where it is we will be moving to.  It still seems that the two most likely locations are Battambang and Siem Reap, so just keep praying for those who are making the decision and then keep praying for a house for us to move into.  

Most likely once we hear which city we'll be headed to we'll plan a quick trip up that way to do some intense looking and then come back and pack up our things.  Our contract on the house we are currently living in is up on the 10th, so we are thinking we'll have to ask for a two or three week extension on that in order to give us enough time to gather our things and clean things up a bit.  Pray for our sanity through it all...and especially for Aiden as his little world is getting ready to be turned upside down!

One year and counting...

     It's really hard to believe that we have officially been in Cambodia for ONE entire year!  We arrived here in Phnom  Penh last February 15th, lived with a Cambodian family for a couple of weeks and then found the home we are currently living in and began our language study!

     At times it seems that time has just FLOWN by...and at other times the days have seemed to drag - you know those days when you just miss your family SO much that you want to pack up and go home.

     This is actually the first time in a few years that we have lived in one place for this long!  In February of 2005 we moved from our home in Wilmore, KY and spent the next 4 months traveling between families and churches while we raised support for our apprenticeship with CAMA Services.  Then in July of '05 we moved to Battambang, Cambodia for 11 months.   After Battambang we moved to Manila, Philippines (for 10 months) where we studied at Alliance Graduate School.  We spent the first 6 months of that time in an apartment in Quezon City and then the last 4 months in a house a little ways outside of the smoggy city near Antipolo.  In April of 2007 we moved back to the US from the Philippines and settled for a bit of time in Lexington, KY while we waited for Aiden to be born.  Then we began several months of traveling back and forth between Texas and Colorado between our families.  In all, we spent 10 months in the States.  And now we have been in Phnom Penh for 12.5 months!!!!  WOW!

     Needless to say we are getting a little 'stir crazy' and feeling the need for a move! ;o)  Ok, maybe not...it has actually be really, really nice to have a place of our own for a bit of time.  However, the time is coming that we will be moving from this city out to the province.  We are still waiting to hear whether we will move to Siem Reap or to Battambang, but our projected move date is sometime in April!

With a new baby coming in a few months time we've got a TON to do so here's how you can be specifically praying for us:

 

          1)  For a decision to come sooner than later on the city where we will move to  (the sooner we know the sooner we can begin looking for a house to rent...which can be a grueling process!)  BUT we also know that this is a big decision for the CAMA personnel here on field, so pray for their wisdom and for God to speak clearly to all of us on which city we are to live in.

         2)  A new home!  There are a few things we are looking for in a home...especially since we'll have two little energy filled boys running around!  We'd like to have a nice outside play area (with NO snakes, and few mosquitos thank you very much!), preferably a quite neighborhood with some other children around to play with, a decent kitchen for me to play around in (Khmer kitchens are quite different than what we have back home...and I want a nice place to make good food my all my boys!!), a nice area where we can really REALLY relax and be a family.  Most homes here have tile floors and tiles half way up the walls which can make for a "cold" feeling and its hard to decorate.  I want my home to not be TOO western feeling, but also to be comfortable and relaxing for us.

** I'm also hoping that our new landlord would be willing to let me paint a bit in the boys bedroom....I've never had the chance to have a "nursery or kids room" and I want to do something FUN....or at least make it colorful for them!

3)  Closure - though our good-byes won't be long term as we'll be back in the city several times a year, we still need to have good closure with neighbors, people at church, and all our language tutors

I'm sure there are more things that I just can't think of at this point, but we'd appreciate your prayers for all these things.

Remembering...

     I can’t believe it’s already been a year (and this is my first time to blog...this is Chris by the way)!  One year ago, on February 13^th, my family and I left Colorado Springs to head back to Cambodia.  I love to fly over Colorado because I get a chance to spot mountains that I have climbed or mountains that I want to climb in the future.  So it was no surprise that I was looking out the window as soon as we left the ground

     About ten minutes into our flight I knew exactly where we

 were…over the Sangre De Cristo Mountains (the Blood of Christ)…I could see the sand

 dunes where the Great Sand

 Dunes National Park 

is located and I knew then that if I just glanced up a bit I would see Her…and Ohh did see Her!  She was covered in snow but that didn’t hide the massive rocks that connect the Crestone Mountains together.  The Crestone Needle was on the right and the Crestone Peak was on the left…and I was setting at about 20,000ft. (and climbing) in awe of the sight.  Then I began to remember…

I have so many great memories in the Sangre’s…but I have one story in particular that I would like to share with you now.  In October of ’96 (or ’97) I went on a climbing trip with some friends and family (my Dad went with us on this trip) to climb the Crestone Needle.  Our goal was to climb the Ellingwood Arete…but what we got surprised us all.

I will not embellish the story here but if you want all the details (from my point-of-view) ask me to tell the story in full sometime.

A good friend of mine, Kin White, and I started out to climb the Crestone Needle while our friends started off for another climb in the next valley (f.y.i. – Kit Carson, The Prow), and my Dad was watching us climb from camp with binoculars.  We had a slow start and continued at a fairly slow pace throughout the day.  When we reached the two hardest sections of the route we had already lost a lot of daylight…we realized this and were doing our best to pick up the pace.  However, on one of the difficult sections Kin took a lead fall and twisted his ankle in the fall.  We were faced with a decision: keep going up (we were not too far from the top), or start going down (and hopefully getting down before dark).  After much discussion we started back down the mountain. 

This proved quite difficult in that most of the sections we were repelling down did not have adequate ledges for re-setting a double-rope repel.  Nevertheless, we managed to loose quite a bit of altitude before nightfall, and found a good ledge to sleep on…so we cuddled up for the night.  Unfortunately, we had failed to bring adequate gear and clothing for a night on a cold mountain (in fact we only had one emergency rain poncho and a snickers bar…and our climbing gear…what was I thinking!).  We anchored ourselves to the Crestone Needle and tied our knots in a way that we would not easily undo them in the event that one of us lost our mind during the night (Hypothermia has many symptoms…loosing your ability to reason is one of them).  It was a long, cold night!

At one point during the night I clearly remember looking at the beautiful stars and talking with Jesus (I did a lot of that that night).  I said something that most of us have said at some point in our lives…I said, “Jesus I’m helpless here, and I’m freezing…I need you!  If you will just get me through this night…I’m yours…and I’m not just messin’ around…I’m serious.”  I would like to think of this more as a commitment to Jesus and not an ultimatum (sometimes I wonder about my view of God from that mountain top).  Regardless, I was helpless and in desperate need, and sometimes that’s how we have to feel before we look for help. 

Kin and I woke up the next morning (if we really ever slept) and started down that mountain with nothing more than sore muscles from shivering all night (Kin had a pretty sore ankle too).  I give full credit to God for protecting us from the cold and keeping us alive.  Getting stranded at 13,000 feet on the north face of a mountain in mid October with snow already on the ground, and no real protection for a cold night is not the best way to find Jesus, nor to make a dangling commitment to him…but it sure got my attention…and continues to get my attention.

I remembered all of this…as I was flying over that same mountain one year ago…I remembered just as I am remembering today.  And now, one year later I’m renewing that commitment.  I am just as helpless as ever and in need of mercy, wisdom, direction, peace, and a love that knows no limits.

So here it goes.

“I still need you Jesus…after all these years.  I’m so cold; I’m so far away; I’m so desperately in need of you.  I’m yours…and I’m not just messin’ around…I’m serious.  How can I be a dad without you?  How can I be a husband without you?  How can I help the poor and hurting without you?  How can I be merciful without you?  How can I see injustice all around me and continue to stand firm without you?  How can I love all of these people in my life without you?  No ultimatums this time, just one statement that I make to you in front of all the people that may read this:  Jesus…I’m Yours!”  

Vacation Time

We just got back from a 5 day vacation to Bangkok.  Really, the primary reason for going was to get all set up at the hospital we plan to have baby #2 at, and have an ultrasound done to make sure everything is going well with baby.  We are happy to say that everything looks good, and the baby... A BOY... is moving constantly and growing just fine.

We've already done many of the tourist things in Bangkok already (our first visit to this city was in 2000), and so now when we go we don't feel the pressure to run around like crazy seeing the sights.  Instead we've found a few places that we just enjoy going to - where we can relax and let go of the stresses of Cambodia for awhile.

Now with Aiden in our lives vacationing has taken on a different look.  We plan things that he will enjoy...we plan around naps and plan for food that he can eat as well (maybe he'll like spicy Thai food when he's older).  

One thing we realized this trip is how much we miss being outdoors.  Here in Cambodia...especially in Phnom Penh there just aren't many places where you can go outside to relax and get some fresh air.  The 'parks' here are not really what Chris and I consider relaxing...

Thankfully Bangkok is FULL of beautiful, huge parks where you can sit in the GRASS and relax, go for a paddle boat ride, rent a bike and ride around for the afternoon and just simply enjoy God's creation (even though you are still in the middle of a HUGE city).

Needless to say except for the day we were at the hospital, we spent every morning of this vacation at a different park.  One morning at the zoo...which is really like a nice big park with animals on the side, one morning at the Queen's park where we rented bikes and went to the butterfly atrium (Aiden really likes butterflies), and another morning at a park where we fed the birds and just let Aiden explore what its like to walk in the grass.

We also enjoy going to the malls....more for the aircon and the food that's available, but this time we stopped by the aquarium that's located in one of the newer malls to see how much it would cost us to get in.  It was a bit too pricey for us, but we happened to time it perfect so that we caught a little dance show with these huge characters (a shark, mermaids, stingray, sea otters...) and Aiden thought that was the BEST thing ever (and we didn't have to pay a dime!).

It was a blessing to get out of Cambodia for a bit....here are a couple of the pics we took along the way.

practicing his Thai???

I'm pretty impressed with myself on this shot!  I was riding my bike in front of them and stuck the camera behind my back to get the shot...its crooked, but at least I got them in the picture!! ;o)

Aiden wasn't too sure about this large animal behind us...he didn't want to take his eyes off of it...lest it come and lick us!

one of the sea otters at the aquarium

Happy New Year.....again!

YES....I did say Happy New Year!!

Here in Cambodia we celebrate the new year, three times!  

There is International New Year.  People celebrate...kind-of, but honestly it just doesn't seem to be that big of a deal.

Then comes Chinese New Year (or the Lunar New Year).  This is the one we are celebrating right now!  There are quite of few Chinese Khmer here so you actually notice more of the festivities for this one.  Many people purchase kumquat trees or other small trees for their homes and I think traditionally you are supposed to hand out little red envelopes with money in them...though I don't really understand this part! ;o)  The malls are decorated with traditional chinese lanterns, posters and many of the shops are giving out chinese candies.  If you are of Chinese decent you should return home to your family for the festivities, which I think are technically supposed to last for 15 days.

Finally, in April will come Khmer New Year.  This is the biggest one of all.  Shops will close down and Phnom Penh and other cities will be emptied as everyone travels back to their family's provincial home.  People like to throw water on one another and here in Phnom Penh  if you are in the "right" place a the right time you face will be smeared with powder.  It gets a little messy!!

So...that is what's going on here....

and again I say 

May you be happy and blessed in the NEW YEAR!

CHILLIN' in Cambodia

So, I really can't believe I'm getting ready to type this....but today it was actually a tidbit cold here in Phnom Penh.  

Ok, well, cold might be an extreme word to use, but the past few nights have gotten fairly chilly (Chris has actually put a blanket on at night the last two nights!!!)  It was something like 68 degrees here in Phnom Penh late this morning and we were told that in Battambang it got down to 55 overnight!!  

I know this sounds like nothing for all of you back there in the states who are buried in snow....but for us here...that's gettin' downright chilly! ;o)  And for sure for the Khmer it is COLD!! 

When we got to church this morning (in our pants and short sleeved shirts, mind you) all of our friends were bundled up in multiple layers of clothes, some with coats on and they were all muttering about how terribly cold it was.  And for sure for people who have always lived in a country that rarely sees the temperature drop in the mid-50's and mid-60's it IS, indeed, cold!

As for us...we're gonna enjoy it as long as it lasts.  And I'm personally hoping it lasts a few more WEEKS!  

I haven't given up yet....

and I hope you haven't either!!!  

     I think every time I write on this blog I tell myself that I will make it a weekly habit...and it just never seems to happen!

     We have been busy, yes, but what's been keeping me away from blogging mostly has been this pregnancy.  Sitting in front of the computer for long bits of time is not something I enjoy doing while pregnant.  It tends to give me terribly unlovely headaches, and lately I can't seem to conjure up the ability to focus long enough to write an understandable blog.

     BUT...I am getting better and hopefully I will follow through and start blogging on a more regular basis.  So don't give up on me yet!

    OH...and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  I'm a bit late on saying that to you all....but truly here in Cambodia, International New Year isn't that big of a deal.  At the end of this month will be Chinese New Year, which will be more noticeably celebrated, and then the truly BIG event will come in April, with Khmer New Year.  Khmer New Year is probably the biggest, most celebrated holiday in this country.  SO, when that comes around we'll wish you Happy New Year once again!

     As for updates....

     As for what's going on at the Thai/Cambodia border... there hasn't been much in the news lately and though things seem relatively quiet, though still tense we just got word from a neighbor (who is a reporter for a local TV station) that Thailand is beefing up their military presence in Preah Vihear (the disputed area)!  We had heard rumors that the new Prime Minister of Thailand was getting alot of pressure to do something to win the dispute over the disputed land...so we'll see what's to come!

      I think that's about it....until next time

another link...

Here's another link to the latest news about the Thai/Cambodia conflict, actually covered by CNN International 

http://edition.com.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/10/16/thailand.cambodia.fighting.ap/index.html

Thailand vs. Cambodia

I am sure that most of you have not  heard that there is fighting going on between Thailand and Cambodia at the moment!  CNN news hasn't covered the story yet, and I doubt they will until things get really really serious.

BUT, if you're interested, here's the story....

Preah Vihear Province is to the north and borders Thailand.  There is a Hindu temple/sanctuary atop a hill very close to the border.  Years ago Cambodia was awarded the temple as part of the country, but there are several hectares of land surrounding the area that continue to be in dispute.  Thailand claims the land is theirs and so does Cambodia.  Several months ago the argument over this land and even the temple was renewed causing both sides to place military personnel and equipment along the border.  There hasn't been any real fighting...until yesterday.  Here's a link to a news story you can read to fill you in on more of the situation.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE49E3U720081015

Because we are so far from the border and Preah Vihear we don't feel any threat of this skirmish, but if things escalate any further we'll keep you posted on our situation.  CAMA does have one couple in the border town of Poipet who are feeling the tensions and have plans in place if they feel the need to leave the city.  Pray for them, their wisdom in how to handle the situation and for their safety.  They have told us that the past two days have been extremely tense in Poipet and the border crossing is officially closed.

Most of us are hoping that the situation will be resolved quickly and without further fighting and loss of life (2 Cambodians have died already).  Pray for the Prime Ministers on each side to have 'cool heads' and to make wise decisions.  Pray especially for Thailand whose government is in upheaval as it is already!

We'll keep you posted if anything else big happens.

The 7 day funeral bon

Today was the 7 day funeral bon.  

Two days ago our neighbor came to our home to give us our invitation to come to the event.  So the past two days I've been asking everyone I know what you do at a Buddhist funeral bon.  My teachers told me you go, give the family some money, eat rice porridge and then leave.

We knew there would be monks...a time of offering prayers for the deceased, and then possibly a teaching time, but we didn't know how it would all play out and what it was that we needed to do.  I got a few different answers on what was appropriate to wear to such an event so I was literally watching as guests arrived to see what they were wearing before I got myself and Aiden dressed!

Above all else we knew that it would make a HUGE statement in our community for us to go....#1 because we are Christian and #2 because we are foreigners.  My teacher at language school said she's never seen a foreigner go to a funeral before...sure foreigners are at weddings, but not funerals, she said.   So we prayed for God's wisdom and got ourselves dressed and went at the appropriate time this afternoon.

We're still not sure what to make of all of it as we don't know language and culture well enough to know exactly what happened, but our neighbors seemed very grateful that we were there and they made sure, several times, that we weren't going to leave too early and miss out on the rice porridge (which was darn good by the way....except for the squid tentacle that got stuck in Chris' teeth!)

Our prayers have been that through this experience that God would show himself to others through us...even if we say nothing at all, that people just KNOW that we are different.  They saw that we didn't participate in the merit making ceremony and prayers with the Monks, but they did see that we weren't afraid of it either.  Pray for this family that because we were willing to step out and go to the bon that they would be curious about us, and our God and that they would be willing to ask Mao, our nanny (who is also a follower of Jesus), or even that they would be willing to ask us about our faith (and if that happens pray that God miraculously gives us the language we need to say all that we need to say!)

Take a gander...

I've put a few new posts on our other blog that you may be interested in reading.  The blog is mainly about Aiden...here's the link:    http://ajbellar.blogspot.com

Enjoy!