Whoa, who changed the screen?? Do you see green? Everything looks different to me! I guess Dean's got in here. Cool. If it looks the same to you, something has changed on my blog page! anyways...
Well, no news is good news. Seriously, we have very little news to report in the area of general life out here, since we last wrote. Things are going very well. The kids are all fine, Maya is really reading words, so everyday I get all excited about that. Dean is still continually heading out to the new school to work on the progress there. There is ALWAYS alot to do in our library, from fine tuning the current library, to preparing for the new space, which is HUGE in comparison to our small space now.
And if anyone's looking for a special project to donate towards, the Logos library just might be it! We are in need of shelving, some desks and furniture, a magazine display--most things you can imagine in a new library. And our budget is... $0.
I had a certified librarian from OMF come out and look at our new facility, and she was just thrilled with the space and gave many good suggestions for it's use. We will continue to work with her a bit, and hopefully get something really special up and running to serve the school and the community, as libraries of any quality, are few and far between here.
Everyone keeps asking... are you guys staying on for another year? Are you going back? What are your plans? What do you guys think you're going to do...? We certainly don't blame everyone for the questions, and it's nice that they're interested. I'm sure all of you are to a degree as well. The answer to date is: No news is good news! Seriously! We've been asking God, trying to listen, and we honestly still don't know what His path is for us. That's ok with me--we still have some time. haha. (Am I still going to be so easy going about things in a few months from now?)
What I can say though with certainty, is that God has a very definitive plan, and I can see some of the pieces starting to come into play. It's very exciting and I look forward to sharing with all of you when we know the anwers. No news, so far, is good news, because everything about God is good, so when he is ready to share with us, it will be good news, even if it's not. (do you get what I mean??)
Happy birthdays to my two beautiful nephews, Benjamin 6 and Emmett, 2. and to Justine, on her 12th Birthday. From the pictures I see, that's 12 going on 16! What a beautiful girl you are! You all are beautiful. Glad to have you in our lives. Congratulations also, to that small little bump on Tracy, that is going to turn into a much larger bump over the next few months! We are so excited for you and for us to be aunty and uncle again! yay for babies!
We are heading into a week long vacation, as the King's Birthday and Khmer Water Festival all line up together. We will be back to school Wed, Nov 3. Then I will really start gearing up for the two Christmas concerts I will be involved with--the elementary musical, and the middle/high school concert. Looking forward to both, although alot of work ahead to put together two Christ-honoring shows. We are blessed to be able to spend this coming vacation going to Malaysia, and spending 6 days in Kuala Lumpur. (this was my infamous, $0 ticket seat sale, booked way back last year! Seriously! 5 return tickets for just the taxes and fuel surcharge, which was $150!) So, we're going to enjoy a bit of civiliation--movie theatres, shopping malls and maybe a starbucks or two. The things we can't get here. (Ok, maybe 3 starbucks--we'll see how expensive they are out there!)
Will sign off. Thanks all for your prayers. We continually remember you as well. If you get any inklings from the Lord about our future, let us know. You may be part of the plan! Cool.
L
PS Oh ya, the mold is growing back on the girls' desks, and it's on their drawers (made of the same type of wood) and on a shelf in our downstairs. Weird. And Gross. I managed this weekend, by borrowing spices and a blender from Ilana down the street, to make 2 pumpkin pies from pumpkin that was cooked over the thanksgiving weekend, but never had enough time to put into a pie then. Quite delicious, if I don't say so myself! (Sorry mom, really wanted to save you a piece!) However, main part of my story--MOLD ON MY ROLLING PIN! It's true--this green, dusty-type mold, same as on the desks. It must be because we back onto a lake, that it's just that much more humid inside the house. Washes off easy, but still. No mold is good mold!
See ya!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
God's Power is not like that!
Hey all. Hello and want to fill you in on the last week.
Well, report cards came out last Friday. Good news all around. If it wasn't, I probably wouldn't be blogging it! haha. Everyone works pretty hard around here with school work, so we're blessed as parents. Attitudes are excellent. Grade are good or great, and where they're not good or great, future improvement is the goal. Even Maya had lovely comments about her unabashed enthusiasm for school. She's one big bundle of excitement. Today she brought home a big science experiment book from the library, and was begging me to try them all the minute we walked in the door!
Last week we had a power problem. We felt it a bit at school, with losing power here and there throughout the week, for not too long periods of time. But Thursday night, Dean was at ball hockey, I had just cleaned up maya and was ready to put her to bed (8ish) when there was a huge surge, and then 3 seconds later--nothing. Hoped it would be a short one, but unfortunately, 20 hours later, we received power again at the house.
Well, I brought lots of tea lights and some nice and functional candle holders from canada, so we were set for light. It's the heat that is unbearable. It was pretty hot that day, and it is just impossible to sleep with no airflow in the bedrooms. I decided to lug the mattresses outside on our deck and put up the mosquito nets and sleep outside! Yes, just like many cambodian's, sleeping under the stars. Except that we're rich beyond compare to them, and we had an overhang from the house, and our mosquito nets were "pop up," like an umbrella, AND we had padded mattresses--most people out here sleep on a straw mat, c'est tout!
So, the dogs barked incessantly all night. The illegal chop shop just down the street got a "shipment" that evening; some container full of cars and parts and who knows what all else. That was noisy. Then, sometime in the night, I saw lightening, but it didn't rain on us! (That would have been funny!). And the worst part is, we thought we were protected under our nets. Well, what I learned about myself that night is that I actually do get bitten by mosquito's, I guess I just don't feel it! 7 or 8 punch-drunk mosquitos, barely hovering inside my net when I woke up that morning--full of my blood! I killed them all, don't you worry! Unfortunately, some elbows or knees were sticking out, or holes in the seal of the nets, or the buggers are just so dang small they fly right through--whatever the reason, Steph and Julia were pretty damaged. You should see their welts right now! Nasty. Otherwise, they're ok.
Well, on sharing our torture the next morning (actually it was cool enough that Julia wanted her blanket in the middle of the night), seems we were the only area without power, everyone else at school was fine! Nice. Then others had to laugh, "why does this stuff always happen to you guys?" I guess we need fodder for our blog, I'm not sure.
To make it more interesting, since there's no power, no way to make coffee in the morning and I don't want to open the fridge to lose what's left of the cool air, I figure we'll just head to school early, and pick up some snacky breakfasts on the way. No small task out here. The coffee shop made me a lovely tasting latte--the largest size stood the size of those mini can drinks, (I coulda had about 4 of them!) we bought these deep fried donuty type things that ended up being quite gross, I stopped at a western type place, but even though the shop was open, the owner was still sleeping upstairs, so no cinnamon buns, AND the quick stop at the local corner store produced some puffy Korean snacks, (don't know the name of them) and some crackers just like what we had at home! We should have just gone for the buns and PB in the fridge! Barely made it to school on time, but the kids were happy. Glad it was Friday!
Also, found the signs of a rodent in the back trunk of our car one morning. Like, droppings, a chewed up water bottle--I mean, to be on the safe side, let's call it a mouse. Does the thing LIVE in our car, or does it just GET IN at nights to chew stuff up??? Either way, I'm not too impressed! having the car sure has been nice, though, a huge blessing actually, now that I'm getting used to driving it. We're dry and quite frankly clean, by the time we get to school, AND I don't have to balance Maya on a bike afterschool when I'm beat! I'm not too bad at driving it now, either. You get used to creeping out into oncoming traffic to stop it so you can get through, edging people off the road, cutting people off, honking for motos to move, turning and racing to get away from the police--as just a normal part of driving! Somebody ask Ange Booy about my driving! She'll tell you how great it is!! haha
This losing power story just makes me think: At least God's power is not like that! He doesn't go out on us! He doesn't force his way in to our lives, the way I have to drive me car out here. He is constant. He knows what He's doing, and He's good at guiding. He knows everything, so why do we have to worry? He's got everything working together for a purpose. He is good, all the time. No matter what, whether I feel it or not, or whether it's obvious or not.
Fianlly, I am busy preparing the preparations for the christmas concert. I will have two to do this year--elementary and the middle school band will join the High school. Of course, my main goal for the elementary is to have a good strong message about the story of Christmas, which is so lacking out here. So far, things are going well. I'm a bit overwhelmed by a few work related things, but nothing too serious. Just want to get things done with small amounts of time--welcome to the club, right??
We've been ever so much enjoying the basketball season, with both our older daughters playing on the same team! It's so fun to watch. Steph is point guard and Julia, well, she's just always trying to steal the ball and take off for a grand slam lay-up! Saturday all morning was a tournament. Due to changes in the draw, the girls played the FIRST game of the mornign (we missed it, still at home) AND the VERY last game of the day at around 1pm. What alot of sitting around and waiting! Only two games and that was the timing of them! And there's no McDonalds to run to, or Tims to sit around and have coffee and bide the time. There was a nice playground at NISC, the host school, so Maya had a treat!
Will sign off for now. The new school is still progressing well--Dean and Dan head out there on a regular basis. We've been enjoying time with Ange Booy--a good trip to Russian market on Sunday was a blessing for all of us. I'm trying to send out e-mails to say hello to many of our supporters personally so bear with me. We are thankful for everyone who reads and prays for us.
Take care all, and love you lots!
Well, report cards came out last Friday. Good news all around. If it wasn't, I probably wouldn't be blogging it! haha. Everyone works pretty hard around here with school work, so we're blessed as parents. Attitudes are excellent. Grade are good or great, and where they're not good or great, future improvement is the goal. Even Maya had lovely comments about her unabashed enthusiasm for school. She's one big bundle of excitement. Today she brought home a big science experiment book from the library, and was begging me to try them all the minute we walked in the door!
Last week we had a power problem. We felt it a bit at school, with losing power here and there throughout the week, for not too long periods of time. But Thursday night, Dean was at ball hockey, I had just cleaned up maya and was ready to put her to bed (8ish) when there was a huge surge, and then 3 seconds later--nothing. Hoped it would be a short one, but unfortunately, 20 hours later, we received power again at the house.
Well, I brought lots of tea lights and some nice and functional candle holders from canada, so we were set for light. It's the heat that is unbearable. It was pretty hot that day, and it is just impossible to sleep with no airflow in the bedrooms. I decided to lug the mattresses outside on our deck and put up the mosquito nets and sleep outside! Yes, just like many cambodian's, sleeping under the stars. Except that we're rich beyond compare to them, and we had an overhang from the house, and our mosquito nets were "pop up," like an umbrella, AND we had padded mattresses--most people out here sleep on a straw mat, c'est tout!
So, the dogs barked incessantly all night. The illegal chop shop just down the street got a "shipment" that evening; some container full of cars and parts and who knows what all else. That was noisy. Then, sometime in the night, I saw lightening, but it didn't rain on us! (That would have been funny!). And the worst part is, we thought we were protected under our nets. Well, what I learned about myself that night is that I actually do get bitten by mosquito's, I guess I just don't feel it! 7 or 8 punch-drunk mosquitos, barely hovering inside my net when I woke up that morning--full of my blood! I killed them all, don't you worry! Unfortunately, some elbows or knees were sticking out, or holes in the seal of the nets, or the buggers are just so dang small they fly right through--whatever the reason, Steph and Julia were pretty damaged. You should see their welts right now! Nasty. Otherwise, they're ok.
Well, on sharing our torture the next morning (actually it was cool enough that Julia wanted her blanket in the middle of the night), seems we were the only area without power, everyone else at school was fine! Nice. Then others had to laugh, "why does this stuff always happen to you guys?" I guess we need fodder for our blog, I'm not sure.
To make it more interesting, since there's no power, no way to make coffee in the morning and I don't want to open the fridge to lose what's left of the cool air, I figure we'll just head to school early, and pick up some snacky breakfasts on the way. No small task out here. The coffee shop made me a lovely tasting latte--the largest size stood the size of those mini can drinks, (I coulda had about 4 of them!) we bought these deep fried donuty type things that ended up being quite gross, I stopped at a western type place, but even though the shop was open, the owner was still sleeping upstairs, so no cinnamon buns, AND the quick stop at the local corner store produced some puffy Korean snacks, (don't know the name of them) and some crackers just like what we had at home! We should have just gone for the buns and PB in the fridge! Barely made it to school on time, but the kids were happy. Glad it was Friday!
Also, found the signs of a rodent in the back trunk of our car one morning. Like, droppings, a chewed up water bottle--I mean, to be on the safe side, let's call it a mouse. Does the thing LIVE in our car, or does it just GET IN at nights to chew stuff up??? Either way, I'm not too impressed! having the car sure has been nice, though, a huge blessing actually, now that I'm getting used to driving it. We're dry and quite frankly clean, by the time we get to school, AND I don't have to balance Maya on a bike afterschool when I'm beat! I'm not too bad at driving it now, either. You get used to creeping out into oncoming traffic to stop it so you can get through, edging people off the road, cutting people off, honking for motos to move, turning and racing to get away from the police--as just a normal part of driving! Somebody ask Ange Booy about my driving! She'll tell you how great it is!! haha
This losing power story just makes me think: At least God's power is not like that! He doesn't go out on us! He doesn't force his way in to our lives, the way I have to drive me car out here. He is constant. He knows what He's doing, and He's good at guiding. He knows everything, so why do we have to worry? He's got everything working together for a purpose. He is good, all the time. No matter what, whether I feel it or not, or whether it's obvious or not.
Fianlly, I am busy preparing the preparations for the christmas concert. I will have two to do this year--elementary and the middle school band will join the High school. Of course, my main goal for the elementary is to have a good strong message about the story of Christmas, which is so lacking out here. So far, things are going well. I'm a bit overwhelmed by a few work related things, but nothing too serious. Just want to get things done with small amounts of time--welcome to the club, right??
We've been ever so much enjoying the basketball season, with both our older daughters playing on the same team! It's so fun to watch. Steph is point guard and Julia, well, she's just always trying to steal the ball and take off for a grand slam lay-up! Saturday all morning was a tournament. Due to changes in the draw, the girls played the FIRST game of the mornign (we missed it, still at home) AND the VERY last game of the day at around 1pm. What alot of sitting around and waiting! Only two games and that was the timing of them! And there's no McDonalds to run to, or Tims to sit around and have coffee and bide the time. There was a nice playground at NISC, the host school, so Maya had a treat!
Will sign off for now. The new school is still progressing well--Dean and Dan head out there on a regular basis. We've been enjoying time with Ange Booy--a good trip to Russian market on Sunday was a blessing for all of us. I'm trying to send out e-mails to say hello to many of our supporters personally so bear with me. We are thankful for everyone who reads and prays for us.
Take care all, and love you lots!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Pics of Thanksgiving and other places.
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| From Thanksgiving09 |
Well I thought I would quickly share and let you know that we had a wonderful Thanksgiving as we hosted nearly 45 people on our rooftop. Marie Ens was the most experienced Canadian living in Cambodia (started in 1961). It was a nice evening as the weather was slightly breezy and nobody was sweating. Actually Mindy (formerly from TWU) was very cold and used a borrowed blanket. The evening temperature was still around 29C. So I have enclosed a number of pics to let you look at.
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| From Thanksgiving09 |
Some of the pics are random. Initially there is a pic of a bat that was just begging to come into our house one morning as it lay at the doorstep. After further investigation it had a broken wing. So we hit over the head and cooked it for breakfast. (Kidding-- the sad part is some of you thought it may be true, and that some how the Weiss' are going "tribal" barbaric).
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| From Thanksgiving09 |
Then there are a number of pics of the First teacher's retreat for Logos School. We took the whole staff of teachers and TA's (38 total) to the border town of Koh Kong. We stayed at a local hotel for $13/room -included breakfast for 2 called the Apex Hotel. What you will notice is some really nice pics of a Casino hotel we visited on a "free time" afternoon.
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| From Thanksgiving09 |
This place was really pretty much on the Thailand border and it was gorgeous. It cost us $1.50 to hang out there for the day.
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| From Thanksgiving09 |
Then some of the pics get random. A series of pics are of some sort of mold that suddenly showed up all over Julia's desk one day. The humidty etc.... not sure but whatever.
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| From Thanksgiving09 |
Some of the other pics included having some of the girls from the Asian Hope Girls House (orphanage with the school) over to our place for dinner. We made pizza together- Les made the dough and she found some Mozerrella cheese for the topping (although it was melting before we could get it on the pizza). The pizza was good and those girls are great pizza makers.
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| From Thanksgiving09 |
The neighbors got another puppy to replace a dog they got rid of. The other large dog "Buddy" they had was biting all the moto passerbys so they thought they should send it "to the farm". Not sure what that really means- I think it could mean they are letting it stay at a farm. However, it could mean- it is being used for a dinner? (I mean, its a big dog so it could be a wedding dog?)
The final pics are of course the Thanksgiving pics.
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| From Thanksgiving09 |
Actually today I wish I had my camera. As I was heading to the new school with a number of people this morning in the school van, I caught the last end of a large white cow hammering a moto driver off of his moto. The cow was somehow startled along with three other randomly scampering cattle when all the cattle suddenly just came off the side of the road and one lucky cow hit the unaware moto driver. The cow was alright and the moto driver was being assisted by some on-lookers. The driver was definitely shaken up. Apparently it is the cow owners fault but he was nowhere to be found. Just another day here in Cambodia.
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| LINK TO THE WHOLE ALBUM OF PICS |
By the way, for those of you that watch the Amazing race, those places mentioned on the show may be some of the nicest places that are here. As a side note: the place where the contestants had to go FCC to get a clue from 2 guys just reading a paper was also the very place where I took Les for her 40th birthday party- just one floor higher.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving to all the Canadians back in Canada. We are once again hosting the Canadian Thanksgiving for all of our Canadian friends over here in Cambodia. I am not sure what the numbers will be but I am sure it will be between 30 to 40 people.
No luck finding a turkey (thanks for the hint David Ens but to no avail), so we will endure with some chickens. Suzanne Johnson, a Canadian and a new teacher at Logos, suggested a goose? Not sure that is going to happen but it could get interesting? Actually it will be lots of fun getting together with all those displaced Canadians and singing the Canadian anthem and of course being thankful for all that we have. Part of the guest list includes, Marie Ens along with the Lobozos (spelling?) among the many. Ange Booy, MEI teacher, and another Canadian girl from YWAM are also part of the VIP Canadian list.
From the school side, we just had a chance to send a Logos school team over to Poipet to spend time with Joel Reimer. Joel was awesome and really did a wonderful job hosting our group of 19 students and three teachers. The students prayed for the sick, preached, played, and sang for many groups over in Poipet. I was scheduled to go on the trip but I really did want some of the teachers at the school to have an opportunity to go up there and see what that part of Cambodia is all about. Was really excited to hear some of the stories from those three teachers that went. Poipet is about an 8 hour bus ride from us here in Phnom Penh. I also invited Joel for Thanksgiving but he is way up there so... we will hope he has a blessed one up there in Poipet.
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| Dean. PP |
Coaching the high school boys volleyball team at Logos. A number of the boys from "the boys house", the orphanage with Asian Hope, are on the team. It has been a real change of pace. We are going to take the team to the dirt courts on the streets next week to play against the Cambodian men. Should be fun and crazy at the same time. We will be required to pay 1000R each person to play. This works out to about $.25/person/game. Cheap entertainment if you ask me but big bucks for some of the men we are playing against. The boys are excited. We will leave after school on Wednesday and play if it doesn't flood the court or if it gets too dark.
Anyways got to go for now,
Deano
“It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.”- Deuteronomy 13:4
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