January 8, 2016 marks two years since our arrival in Cambodia. Two years ago we gathered with our families at the airport to bid farewell. Two years ago we boarded a plane with 16 pieces of luggage carrying what we thought to be our greatest assets. Two years ago we stepped into a bit of the unknown trusting God to lead us every step of the way.

 

I’ve jotted down a few things I’ve learned after our first two years on the field. There is no order of importance or occurrence, but just simple thoughts of some practical and spiritual gleanings.

1. Being flexible.
Whether it’s with my time (nothing is done in a timely manner here), my taste (you never know what I may put in my mouth), or my training (language learning has sure stretched me), I’ve learned to be flexible for my husband, kids, and ministry. Maybe I should say I’m STILL learning. Really, most all of my points could probably stem from this one.

2. Being proactive.
Because of the extra time it usually takes in meal prep, I’ve learned to plan ahead by using a weekly meal planner and cut all my fruits and veggies at the beginning of the week for time saving.

3. Building relationships with neighbors.
We’ve been super blessed to have great neighbors both in the capital and in Kampong Cham. After hearing horror stories about other missionaries dealing with their neighbors, I’ve realized how blessed we are in our relationships with ours. They’ve actually become like our family who even hold a key to our home when we go out of town. We also swap food very often and I will soon be taking cooking lessons from them, too!

4. I’ve never been so thankful for good health.
Living here has made me realize how much your health affects your life and the ministry. Sometimes we’ve had to try changes in our diet, upping our vitamin intake, or just getting extra rest to cope with the different illnesses we may encounter. We get a stomach illness so very often that now we simply just refer to it as the “Cambodian Crud.” Also, after dealing with Matt’s viral infection late last year, I’m much more thankful for those moments you meet a trained physician. 😊

5. I’m driving a moto!!
I figured one day I may give in and ride a moto, but I can tell you I would have NEVER thought I would actually have my very own! I also wouldn’t have thought that I would’ve ridden side saddle carrying my one year old one day before I delivered my second child. Even typing this makes me feel like I’ve gone to the wild side. Ha!

6. Hanging clothes on a line.
Yeah, sure, I’ve hung clothes before, but never have I hung entire loads of laundry every day of my life! Plus, if it’s too windy or humid outside, you’d better forget about drying more than one load that day. I did see a dryer for sale one time in a new mall, but I don’t think we have enough power coming into our home to make that work. Fabric softener, anyone?? 😜

7. Having a baby in a foreign country.
What did I learn from this?? Well, you have to remove toenail polish from your big toe before delivering a child. Expressing pain in a foreign language is easily understood. And getting a passport for new baby takes a long time and requires leaving the country (just crossing borders) as soon as it’s received.

 

8. Mopping, mopping, mopping.
All of our floors are tile, and dust is always coming in, so you can understand why I was thrilled recently to receive a brand new mop that spins itself!!

9. Shopping in the market all by myself.
This was a big accomplishment for me because of the chore it can be to explain what I’m looking for each week.

10. Staying hydrated is more important here (to me).
I drink way more water here than I would in the states. The sun is brutally hot here sometimes and I can get burned without even noticing it.

11. Sewing!
A missionary friend has lent me her sewing machine while she is on furlough and I have completed some fun projects with it! This machine and all its instructions are in Japanese, so a YouTube video was helpful in getting me set up.

12. More in-depth bible study.
I’m not sure if this is because of living here, or just at the stage of life I’m in, but the Lord has shown me that my bible study had to go deeper than just reading a passage and saying a prayer. The Lord has really opened my eyes to the importance of thoroughly studying His word. This has helped me to develop a more thorough prayer life, too.

I really could go on for a long time explaining some of the things I’ve learned, but I’ll stop here. I will just sum it up by saying that these two years in a whole have been awesome! I still feel like I’m living in a dream! How awesome is it that I get to live with my family in a foreign country telling people about Christ!? It is such an honor to serve the Lord here.