October 31, 2005

Seda and Asna



These are pictures of Seda and her brother Asna... Seda is a great friend and she gave me a great surprise by calling me on Friday evening... I always love to talk to her, although I was a bit tired, and we didn't have the best connection at the end of the call. Nonetheless, great to get a call from as John McCollum calls it "The Other Side of Dawn".

October 28, 2005

Thanks Elisabeth...

As I have read a variety of books, Elisabeth Elliot has to be one of the people who has had her feet most planted on the ground. I love reading the things she says because, A) it makes sense, B) it is rooted in God's Word and C) She know how to write well. But I also like her writing because she has a tendency to pull in quotes from completely unknown (to me) sources that always make me pause... here are two from 'Passion and Purity"

From Lilias Trotter (who?)
"The first step into the realm of giving is... not manward but Godward: an utter yielding of our best. So long as our idea of surrender is limited to the renouncing of unlawful things, we have never grasped its true meaning: that is not worthy of the name for 'no polluted thing' can be offered" (pg. 164)

From T.C. Upham (who?)
"The disposition... to leave the dearest objects of our hearts in the sublime keeping of the general and unspecific belief that God is now answering our prayers in His time and way, and in the best manner, involves a present process of inward crucifixion which is obviously unfavorable to the growth and even the existence of the life of self." (pg. 150)

October 22, 2005

McCollum's Blog

If you get the chance, check out John McCollum's blog on his current Cambodia trip... The Other side of Dawn... he has got a great way with words...

October 21, 2005

A couple pictures of Pheakdey

Pheakdey sent me some great pictures of herself lately... she is a young woman in Kampuchea who is studying hotel management at Norton University. Thanks for the pictures friend!

October 20, 2005

Chanry


Some of you may remember the 14 year old girl that from the orphanage in Battambang that had to have her front four teeth removed this past summer. She has been able to get some dental work done, and they have gotten her some replacement teeth! Here is a picture of her, I think that this picture must have been taken after the procedure because she is looking pretty tired out... her name is Chanry.

October 13, 2005

Sophat


I don't know if this picture will seem anti-climactic, but this was definitely my favorite picture from the trip. The last picture was summed up alot of my feelings about the trip to Kampuchea... a lot of fun, beautiful people, a great high for me personally... but this picture sums up Asia's Hope, the ministry that I have gone with... God is providing hope to Khmers and Thais through a small group of people that are looking to Christ. This boy, Sophat, who had no future of any significance, can now have food everyday, clothing, a place to live, friends to play with, and hope for the future. I will always remember a moment where he was excitedly naming all the parts of the body for us (in English). It was just something that he had been learning, and he wanted to show it to us. These are the discarded of Kampuchea... the supposedly worthless... yet, treasured by God. Thank you God for letting me be there to see it happen...

October 09, 2005

G, Sreynith and a boy




This picture has become the image of my trip this past summer. Most people who have seen it have mentioned how we look like we are happy and having fun. Sreynith, as I have mentioned before is such a sweet little girl. She had spent a lot of time with me and so did the little boy on my lap. I am looking forward to seeing them again soon.

October 06, 2005

2 girls


This shot did not come out like this on purpose, but I have loved it more and more as I look at it. I was actually trying to get a picture of the girl in the background, but the girl in the foreground did not know that, and thought that I was trying to take a picture of her. I think the girl in the back knew what was happening, but she and I were still trying to make the shot work. Nevertheless, I finally relented and took the picture as it is. It turned out to be a great shot. I love the expressions on both of their faces, for different reasons... I did take another picture immediately following this that I will try to add to this post later.

October 03, 2005

Sreyven


This girl just has a million dollar smile. She is one of the cutest children at the orphanage. She has practically nothing to her name, but you wouldn't know it by her personality and disposition. We were playing with a slinky that we had brought in our bag of toys. She had never seen one, and we tried making it work on the stairs in the orphanage, but they were a bit wide for it to work well. Nevertheless, we made it into a belt and necklace... just improvised fun. I look forward to seeing her again next summer.