We moved to Cambodia one year ago! It’s been an exciting year of adjusting and learning. Here’s a quick review of just a few things we’ve been up to. Thanks for being part of our journey!
We are extremely grateful for the way Josiah’s distant relatives have welcomed us into their family. I don’t know what we would do without them!
We moved into our house the beginning of May. These are some neighbors that live just around the corner.
Our neighborhood is nice but sometimes it’s difficult to get around, especially in rainy season.
This was our front yard when we moved in. Between the wall and our house is a small courtyard that’s entirely paved, so this dirt along the road is all we have to work with!
It was all rocks, weeds, and trash, but Josiah’s been working the land! It was a good opportunity to chat with neighbors too.
We’ve loved getting to go to church again! The best part is the mix of Cambodian and Western Christians worshiping together.
This is our teacher, one of Josiah’s relatives. We call her Neakru, the respectful Khmer title for “teacher.”
After spending several months working carefully on our letters, we asked Neakru to show us her normal handwriting. This is John 3:16 in Khmer.
Josiah got to go on his first project trip in December. It was hot! He’s looking forward to getting out in the field more in 2022. He already looks like he belongs, doesn’t he?
We had an EMI staff retreat a few weeks ago! It was a great time of getting to know the other staff better while exploring Siem Reap, several hours north of us.
We’ve also done some exploring on our moto, which Malachi loves! We found a mangrove forest on the south side of Cambodia near the beach.
We also found some mountains and a fun waterfall!
Malachi got his first mask for Christmas. When he was born in the spring of 2020, I never thought that the world would still be wearing masks as he approaches his second birthday! We’re grateful for our health and that Cambodia has eased all other Covid restrictions.
We look forward to what 2022 has in store, especially meeting our baby boy in about four months! We’re also excited for family to visit and see all the growing up that Malachi’s done since we moved. We’ll both (mostly Josiah) be more involved with EMI while continuing to improve our language skills and get more involved at church. It’ll be a busy year and we so appreciate your prayers and encouragement!