Day-2-Day Joys

If you haven't heard, we have decided through much prayer to return home after this first year of teaching. Since the decision has been made, both Brian and I have agreed to consciously make the most out of each day we have left in this multi-cultural, international, so-different-from-home country. Personally, I have tried to search out the things that bring me joy here, although sometimes they are hard to find. I have also decided to go out on the weekends and document, through photography, more pictures of the Cambodian way-of-life. We have a lot of pictures of things we've been doing and enjoying, but I feel our over 1,300 pictures is lacking the lifestyle of the Cambodian people. Needless to say, today's blog will be all about those things: life's joys, and the Cambodian lifestyle. Enjoy! I sure do.

Here is my landlord's dog, Timmy. Contrary to popular belief,
Timmy is not a boy dog. He is a she. Timmy brings me much
joy for many reasons: he/she has an under bite, which can be seen
if you enlarge this picture. He/she also loves to grab whatever scrap of material can be found on the floor, and proceed to ask me (how only a dog can) to chase her around the driveway. Precious.

This pure joy goes without saying. The flowers here are bright, bold, and bloom year round!








There is something about clean, colorful laundry that my camera loves to photograph. It is very common in this country for homes to not have a dryer. Actually, many homes don't even have washing machines. Either way, laundry gets done, and it is always hung outside to dry.

Life long friends are hard to come by, but we were so blessed by the friends we made right when we got here. In this picture is Tess, me, Dean (it was his surprise 40th birthday bash), and Jo. It is so fun to be able to be goofy with these people, and then to work side by side with them throughout the weeks. I love you guys!




This is a view through the fence at the public junior high/high school next door to our house. The public schools here are in very poor condition, and the education follows suit. Trash is everywhere, the fences have barbed wire, and the students are expected to attend school 6 days a week here. It is very hard to see schools in this condition, but it causes us to be grateful for schools like ours where students can learn in a clean, safe, environment.

My favorite, local, Cambodian coffee shop!! My friend and his family own this shop. I recently found out that his entire family believes in the Lord!! I love to come here weekly, to encourage him and to support his newly opened business. I typically order 2 iced coffees (they are very small), and the total bill is $1.00. Gotta love it!

This is a typical Cambodia restaurant. They are most always found on the sidewalks in the open
air. The food is cooked over a simple propane-fueled burner, and it is very cheap. If we ate at these street food restaurants, which we don't, we could probably both eat for under $2-3.00.