The Romdenhs in Cambodia: This one isn't just a draft!

I have drafted six blogs since my last entry in December. I've drafted blog entries about:
---> My daily routine
---> An encounter in which purchasing a plant erupted deep and unrecognized feelings of culture shock
---> My experiences learning a new language
---> Cultural observations from my walk to the market
---> Our friends downstairs
---> Khmer New Year

Sophear & Chamnab with twins
Peter and Paul and their sister Priscilla.
Friends in Takeo!

The truth is that feeling like I owe you an update on our lives and ministry is often too much pressure. Where do the topics "what I want to share with you" and "what you want to know" meet? I do not know. And what do you want to know? Even that I do not know. When friends from home have reached out to us, the most asked question is, "How's it going?" But no one really wants to read an entire blog post about "how it's going" - or do you?

Some days it's going really well and we are encouraged!

Sophear and her friends doing puzzles at church

After a children's lesson that I felt wasn't well received, another mom shared with me that my lesson inspired her to begin teaching her children at home! I felt like this was a huge victory and it continues to motivate me when I'm preparing my lessons each week. I do not expect to see that my 3-5 minute Bible lessons produce any visible fruit in my little ones at church; but I pray that, later in life, their encounters with Jesus and with Scripture are richer because these stories and truths are becoming familiar to them.

Other days are more discouraging.

Some days Sophear is so overwhelmed with frustration that she isn't being understood by non-English speakers. I try to help her, but inwardly I find myself justifying her frustrations because I get it! It's no fun living in a world where you have no idea what happened, what is happening, or what will happen because you simply cannot understand what people are saying. I never imagined how physically and emotionally exhausting it could be to exert all of one's energy in striving to listen and translate conversations. All so that I can feel like I'm a part of the conversations even if I'm not acknowledged and do not speak a word.

Sophear turned four-years-old on February 4th!

And the plant story: Shortly after we arrived, Titus began talking about a flower that he wanted to grow on our balcony. A few months later, I was in the last week of Level 1 at G2K (language school) and I began working to build my confidence and vocabulary to surprise Titus and buy the flower. I learned and practiced all the words I needed to ask Ravuth (my driver) to take me to a plant store and to make the purchase. …But it wasn't that easy. The plants weren't potted, dirt was sold separately, and the vender was persistent in trying to sell me some unlabeled bag that I could only assume was a plant food or chemical that I didn't want. Finally, Ravuth intervened and negotiated on my behalf. I had failed to do something on my own, but I did have the flower!!! I arrived home late to surprise Titus with the flower and was met with: "What? Is? That?" Defeat. It turns out that I was sold the wrong flower (I didn't know) even though I knew all the right words. I hated that plant for a long time. I would sit on the couch and from the corner of my eye, I could see the plant taunting me, haunting me, reminding me of my failure, reminding me of everything I couldn't do.

Then one day, from the same seat where the flower used to taunt me, I read the story of Hagar, Abraham's wife's maidservant. Hagar fled from her problems and God met her (twice!) in the desert - God heard her misery; God saw her. The flower still taunts me, but it reminds me that God sees me, hears me, and cares about my frustrations. In the end, that makes the hard days less harder!

So that's how it's going... from Jewel's perspective. :) Titus has a different perspective, of course, but I suspect he would say that there are encouraging days and there are discouraging days. (I asked him and he said 'Yes.')

If you have any questions about our life, our family, our ministry... please ask us!