An Extraordinary Day

It was a morning unlike any Christmas morning we've ever had before.  There was no tree, no decorations, no cinnamon rolls and coffee, and no presents.

Or so we thought.

Because turns out the Tavianos got a word from God and gifted us with a bag of Peanut Butter M&Ms and there was great rejoicing by the Jenkins.  They also gave us a super fun game and an adorable birthday banner that Marla's sister had made.

We are staying at a guest house run by a pastor and his wife.  They have been incredible hosts and work hard to provide an affordable and comfortable place for short term missionaries to stay.  There is a beautiful courtyard where most mornings you will find the kids playing chase and the adults on laptops.

Christmas morning was no different except the kids had something special brewing for the four of us adults.  I was called in to assist as narrator and was in awe at the homemade costumes and organization as they put together a re-enactment of the Christmas story to usher in Christmas Day.  There was the normal bickering as they worked through their creative differences (aka: Nathan wasn't getting to  run the show) and then Garrett rang the 5 min warning bell.

I knew that dragging him to the theater would come in handy!

They had placed plastic chairs in a row with my chair stuck in some bushes because apparently narrating meant channeling my inner Disney where music and magical voices come from vegetation.

The story opened up with Mary receiving a visit from the angel Gabriel.....



Mary and Joseph proceeding into Bethlehem.  Not pictured....Nathan as the donkey Mary rode.  And don't let Garrett's face fool you, he was totally into the whole thing.

There was an adorable shepherd that played her part perfectly.  Not pictured....Nathan as a lamb and then Nathan as a wise man.  The costume changes were frantic but he managed to pull it off. 

They finished up the telling of the Christmas story by singing a few Christmas carols and I can honestly say it was perfect.  It was spontaneous, home made, and wonderful.

After a few rounds of Spot It (you must get this game....it is crazy fun), we headed out for lunch and then to the riverfront to wait on the entire orphanage to arrive.  Asia's Hope was treating them to an hour long boat ride along the river and the kids were super excited!



The river is really low right now and not particularly pretty, but that didn't stop these kids from loving every moment of it.



Our kids had a great time with their friends....there was a lot of running and laughing and posing while Marla and I prayed no one would go over the railing that was about a foot high on top of the boat.









It seemed only appropriate that our two real life angels from the Boy's Center, Yvonne and Steph, joined us on the boat ride.  I find it incredible that they both are involved in ministries outside of their own.  I'm just in complete awe of them.



After the boat ride we took the kids out for fried chicken, french fries, and ice cream cones.  They were in heaven!!!  It was a huge treat for them and I was so impressed at how sweet and gracious they were....all 20 of them.

Christmas night we had tickets to a church event.  Panha and Visna are brothers that work with Yvonne and Steph at the Boy's Center.  They invited us and we were honored to attend this not so small event.



And then came dinner.....



Because we didn't get a chance to give Panha and Veasna the gifts we had brought them, we did it today.  If you remember from a couple of posts ago about Panha sneaking up into the toy room at the Boy's Center to play with toys, you can understand how excited we were to give him his presents.  The Tavianos were super generous with both of them and we gave them micro lego type things.





After reading about Panha, Nathan had decided to give him his PSP and some games.....along with a verbal instruction manual.



If our boys turn out anything like these two when they are older, I would be thrilled.

We leave in this morning for Siem Reap which is a 5-6 hour bus ride from here.  Heaven help me.

That meant saying good-bye to our new friends and it wasn't easy.  I have been inspired and humbled by the people we've met here.  They make me want to be a better person.

Last picture with our tuk tuk drivers.....Po Heng and Po Sivana.

I can not believe how quickly these last 6 days have flown by.  We have 3 days in Siem Reap, Cambodia before we begin our journey home.  All four of us are excited to come back to Phnom Phen to spend time with our new friends and continue to invest in the amazing things God is doing through some folks that are faithful and humble and obedient and self-sacrificing.

Now that we know, we have to do something.  It is, I believe, one of the reasons we are here.

Thank you all for your words of encouragement and prayer.  It has meant a lot to all of us!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Picture This

This is one of those times when pictures are going to tell a better story than I am.  At some point, after we've returned to Singapore and I've been able to process all that I've seen and heard, I will be able to hopefully share with you how in the world I think we can take what we know now and infuse it with our lives.  This is one of those times I'm super glad I'm married to a guy that doesn't make decisions based on his emotions because I'd be going home with 9 more children if I could.

The boys and their new friends....the Taviano girls....in their tuk tuk.  

We arrived at the Boy's Center where the kids were waiting outside for the doors

to open.  The Center has been in operation for only a few months and provides

a safe place for boys that have been sold into the sex trade industry by

their parents or are at risk for being sold.  They get to be kids and play, learn English 

so they can someday earn money without being abused, and they have Bible club were 

they learn about true love.  We've been asked to not show any faces

of these boys online, but believe me when I say that I have a ton...and they

are smiling and happy because they are safe and loved there.

While there are many places for young girls and teens that are immersed in

the sex trafficking business, this is the only center in Cambodia specifically for

the boys.  

We got to be a part of the Christmas party......

the younger boys made these hats and they looked adorable in them!

Every single boy got a Christmas goody bag stuffed mostly with things

we and the Tavianos brought with us.  Thank you very much to those

of you that were involved in helping us give them some really cool stuff!

Working with the Boy's Center staff to fill bags!

Meet Yvonne and Steph.....they are real life angels.  Both of them are in 

their 20's and have devoted their lives to these boys.  They currently run

the Boy's Center with a Cambodian staff (who make less than $200 a month each) 

and are financed entirely by individual donors.  They love and fight for these boys 

and are incredibly humble and selfless......they are two of the most beautiful women

I have ever met. 

Steph loving on "baby P" who is 4 years old.  He had been coming to the 

center for a while before a series of events alerted the staff to the fact

that he and his older brother and sister had been sold by their parents to

a foreigner for sex.  It is absolutely horrific and devastatingly sad, but

so good that he is loved and in counseling and has people investing

in his sweet young life.  

I think this shirt says it all.....

We have also been to an orphanage sponsored by Asia's Hope.  This particular orphanage is supported by the Taviano's church back in Ohio.  There was a difference in the kids at the orphanage as compared to the Boy's Center.  They are more confident and secure and are getting an education...they are safe and loved.  The kids there eagerly await the Taviano's arrival and we got to be a part of that.  We drove up in our tuk tuks to the sounds of kids yelling their hello's and were welcomed with hugs from everyone.  

The boys have been wonderful with the kids this entire trip.  They have 

jumped right in and handled all of it very well.  

Garrett and his new friend Sophan getting ready to play a game that 

required everyone to pair up.  

And then it was silly string time.  We had brought quite a few 

cans with us and the kids LOVED it!!  

This is Sothourn with my friend Marla who is responsible for us being here.  

She is incredible and has a huge heart for Cambodia.

After some discussion we went ahead and let Garrett bring his

guitar with him to Cambodia.  I'm really glad we did....he loved

hanging out with some of the older boys playing their guitars.

Scot has been a kid magnet...especially to the younger kids.  That little boy

in the striped shirt?  He's the cutie from my previous post that had the

enormous smile and pipe cleaner glasses.  He's even more adorable

in real life!!

He was very popular when he started throwing kids in the air.  I love all the

hands raised from the kids wanting to be next!!

While I spent more time taking pictures than anything else, I did sit at the orphanage

long enough for this sweet girl to climb into my lap.  She eventually turned around

to give me a big hug that I desperately needed.  That and a good shampoo to 

get all the silly string out of my hair.

Our Story

I have started and deleted this post about three times.

Frankly, I'm too tired to come up with some incredibly creative narrative about Christmas so I'm just going to share what's on my heart.

I don't get to go back home to the states to spend Christmas with my family this year.  To say that I've had a bad attitude about that would be a gross understatement....and I don't use the word "gross" lightly because it's been super gross inside my head lately.  

As you may know, my family is headed to Cambodia to spend time at an orphanage and a center for boys who have been rescued from sex trafficking or are at risk for being sold into sex trade.

Has there been any temptation to pat ourselves on the back for our super act of giving and service?  I would be lying if I said there wasn't.  Pride is a nasty, nasty thing.  But I also know that it's going to be hard in every single way and I was beginning to wonder what we were thinking by going.

It was the day, or three, where I pulled the covers over my head and slept until an obnoxious hour and then proceeded to eat myself into a sugar high before lunch.  That was the day that I realized that I was acting like a spoiled, entitled child.

Not to be spiritually dramatic, but I literally got on my knees on my bathroom rug and begged God to change my attitude.  That was about it because I just didn't want to talk to Him about anything else.  I just knew I desperately needed an attitude adjustment.  

I wasn't instantly filled with a warm feeling of Christmas Joy, but I was aware that if I missed out on Christmas this year it was not going to be anyone else's fault except mine.  Time to put on the big girl panties.

We decided to take advantage of some of what Singapore has to offer this time of year: 

An open top bus ride with friends to see Christmas lights.

Don't let the look on Nathan's face fool you....he spent

the whole night yelling "Merry Christmas" to all the

startled Singaporeans along the roads.

The lights along Orchard Rd. are beautiful and I love

that the department store posts a Bible verse front and center

on their building.

Nathan and I stumbled upon this group while doing

some shopping.  I have no idea what the sign says

but I have a pretty good idea of the story they were

telling.

Some slight overcrowding in the mall.

Baking cookies with good friends.....while the sweet

girl reminds Nathan of what he's missing by not

having a little sister.  Yes, she's punching at his

legs with her punching gloves on.

Love all of this, but I only had eyes for the buttercream

frosting....in FOUR different colors.  Be still my heart.

None of the cookies I decorated are on the plate.  That's all I have

to say about that.

The boys wrapping presents for their dad....in Dora the

Explorer paper.  They thought it was super funny and 

I was wondering at what point I thought I needed a whole

roll of Dora.

I then got this message from my friend Marla Taviano that we are meeting up with in Cambodia.  Any feelings of pity for myself went flying right out the window.  Who exactly do I think I am?  I read this and then handed my phone to Nathan so he could read it and we looked at each other with tears in our eyes and vowed to buy every magnetic toy on the island.....except they've all be recalled.  No worries...we found some super cool stuff so if even for a moment, Panha can have a childhood again.

Do you have a couple "toys" your boys are tired of that you could bring for our friend Panha (Pawn-yuh). He's 18 and our translator, and I don't have time to share his story (Gabe needs the computer) but he never got to play with toys when he was younger and told me he will sometimes go upstairs at the boys' center when no one is there and play with the toys. His favorite is these little balls and bendy things that are magnetic. Gotta go. Talk soon!

I don't get to go home for Christmas this year but I do get to go meet some amazing people doing some incredible things in the lives of children and I get to play Santa to many of them.  I am very, very blessed.

I stole this picture from Marla's blog.....I absolutely MUST meet 

this child.  That is absolute pure joy.

I know this post has been all over the place.  I wish I could have wrapped up all these thoughts in a nice neat package, but it just wasn't going to happen.  I needed to dust off the 'ol blog because I'm going to need somewhere to share our experiences in the next week and if I don't, my mom is going to ground me.  I'm totally serious....she would.

We have been very open with the boys about what they are going to see and experience including a conversation about sex trafficking.  I am going to be doing a lot of watching and listening to all three of my men as they experience this next week.  I have no doubt this trip is going to impact us all greatly.  Please pray for us and the Tavianos....an amazing family from Ohio we are literally meeting in person for the first time when we land in Cambodia tomorrow.  I will share more of their story another time....they deserve a post all of their own.  I am humbled to be serving alongside them.

One last thought.  A couple of nights ago I was talking to the boys about how our experiences in life when viewed in isolation can seem random and confusing.  We talked about when Scot lost his job and how scary that was except that we had faith.  Faith in a God that knew that had to happen to bring us to this exact point in our family's story.  

We talked about how a boy, a virgin girl, an overcrowded inn and a manger are so random and confusing but it had to happen so one day we'd be celebrating the birth of a Savior. 

Wherever you are this Christmas.....know you are not lost to Him.  Keep living your story.

When good is really, really Good

We walked in and there were between 25 and 30 Filipino ladies.  Most were sitting on the floor because seating was sparse.  They were working on new sewing skills they had just been taught and were taking great pride in their work.

10 of us stood in the middle of the room where the clash in cultures and economic status was palpable.  There is an awkwardness that comes where two groups of women measure each other up wondering how they are going to relate.

I plopped myself down in the middle of a group of women and asked them to show me what they were working on.  I asked for a pair of scissors and offered to help.  They timidly showed me how to cut paper patterns they would later sew fabric onto to form a sort of patchwork.  I got to work thankful for something to do with my hands and my eyes to help make the moment more comfortable for all of us.

As I worked, the ladies started to warm up and quietly began asking me questions.

Ma'am?  May I ask you a question?  Are you married?  Do you have children?  

I answered and asked the same in return.  I had learned quickly during previous visits that their presence in a rescue home for women did not mean they were without family.  Many have children in their native country and many have not seen their children in years.  They have pictures and phone calls and they are excited to tell you all about their babies.

Because that's what they are no matter how old they get.  They are our babies.

I listened and laughed as their wit and humor crept out from behind shy demeanors.  Those not as skilled in English would falter and others would help to translate.

I looked around at my friends who were with me and saw that I was not the only one breaking down some barriers.  Laughter and conversation rang out in that tiny room where over 30 woman would roll out mattresses to sleep on a barren floor at night.  We told them we had brought them new underwear and they giggled.  Many had not put on new underwear in a very long time.

As time passed and conversation flowed, we found out that these women very much liked to sing.  I asked them to sing for us and after much conversation and some debate, they settled on a song.

Diyos ay mabuti

Several began to sing and as conversation ceased around the room so all could join in the song, music poured out in a language I didn't understand.

Diyos ay mabuti

There was joy on their faces in spite of incredible adversity and the music they made was beautiful.  When they finished we applauded and quickly asked what they were singing.

God is good!

I fought hard to control the emotion that was bubbling to the surface as I looked into the faces of women whose lives are nothing like my own.  Women who are currently living behind locked gates for their own protection.  Women who knew that no matter the circumstances, God is good.

With our encouragement they quickly handed out Filipino song books and picked out songs in English that we could sing with them.  There was lots of smiling and complete joy as the music rang out in the room.  We even sang Joy to the World and there was Joy.

Our time too quickly came to an end and we stood and held hands in a circle with these ladies and we prayed.  We prayed to a God that loves each one of us.  A God that knows each circumstance.  A God that sees no racial or economic boundaries.

I went around the room grabbing and hugging as many of the ladies as I could.  They were completely fascinated with how tall I am so there were many giggles when the hugs were awkward.  I wrapped my arms around them all and told them that they were loved.

There was a silence among the ten of us as we walked to our cars.  How humbling it is to be reminded that God is good by a group of women who are living lives we would characterize as anything but.  To see that circumstances did not dictate how they felt about their Creator.  That in place of anticipated sorrow, I saw hope and I saw joy.

Diyos ay mabuti

Days Like These

A few weeks ago I was looking through this blog for one particular post.  I got sucked into reading posts from 3 years ago and just had to laugh.  Oh my, how life has changed!!  We just don't ever know what is in store for any of us, do we?  It definitely reminded me that since I failed at scrapbooking and have thousands of photos that are largely unorganized, I better get busy and start writing some stuff down.  

Football season here is almost over and I haven't posted one thing about it!  These memories are important because one day Nathan is not going to remember what he looked like when he was shorter than 6 feet tall and I need this stuff to remind him!

Football here is MUCH different than it is in Texas.  

First of all, not one single mom shows up to a game with a blinged out shirt bearing the team name.  In fact, there are no team shirts of any kind.  I know, I know......the horrors of it all!

The 5th and 6th graders play in the same league and are divided into three teams.  The three teams are the Rams, Gators, and Longhorns.  Scot and I were crossing our fingers that he wasn't chosen for the Longhorns because I honestly think he would have dropped out of football before wearing horns every weekend.  Heaven help me, that child has been thoroughly brainwashed.

They spent the whole season playing each other because there are NO other football teams to play in Singapore.  Every weekend each team plays two games that are only 2 quarters each.  That means every weekend all three teams play each other.  It makes life interesting when you tackle someone on Saturday and sit across from them in Math on Monday.

A couple of weeks ago they had their games on a Friday night and not being one to miss an opportunity for alone time with my favorite 10 year old, I coerced him into spending time with me Saturday morning by promising to feed him.  It is hands down both Garrett and Nathan's love language right now.

I walked and he took his Razor to the mall that has my favorite grocery store in it.  I still find it so weird that the majority of grocery stores in Singapore are located in malls.  I guess if you don't have a Wal Mart to pick up a new outfit, a piece of luggage and some milk then you need to put your grocery store in a mall.

We decided to check out a new restaurant that just opened.  Then I pulled out my phone to take pictures of some killer bruises he's gotten playing football.  Just because we love stuff like that around here.

Then I took this next picture just for fun and my heart melted.  My sweet boy......I found myself praying that those freckles never fade and wondering how in the world time has gone by as quickly as it has.

I was clearly on a roll so we took a few more and laughed and how I have to stick all my fingers in the air in order to take a picture.  I tried to take one with my hand looking more normal.....it isn't possible.

Have I ever told you that I snap backwards?  It's weird, I know, but I snap by having my middle finger going in front of my thumb instead of behind.  You're trying it right now, aren't you?  Apparently I not only snap backwards, I take pictures with my phone looking like I am some sort of finger contortionist.

While I'm entertaining myself by how odd I am, this is Nathan and his "seriously, mom?" face.  

I see it a lot.  

And then the earth shifted on its axis......I was actually offered a bite of his chocolate ice cream.

After he was sufficiently full, I drug him to the store.  This is Nathan perusing my grocery list so as to come up with a formula to ensure the most efficient path in obtaining all items.  I do love this kid.

Something I quickly learned after being in Singapore.....do not pass up the weigh station when buying produce for fear of the wrath of a 90 pound checkout lady when there's no bar code on your bananas.

Halloween candy is in stock!!!  We learned from last year that if you don't buy it early you are out of luck!  Laffy Taffy and Reeses pieces....into the cart.

It is not unusual to see kids with their scooters and razors in the grocery store.  The problem is getting your kid to resist the temptation to ride through the frozen food section inevitably crashing into someone who doesn't think his freckles are as cute as I do.

This was the day that my small cart of groceries came out to be over $300 and my debit card was denied.  That's always a good time!!  Lines of people everywhere and I'm fishing out my Amex mumbling something about needing to transfer money into the account.  You know, just in case the guy behind me actually cared.  Which he didn't.  

This was also the day that it was raining when we left and Nathan totally bit it going down the ramp to the taxi stand.  I didn't take a picture of that.  I do have boundaries.....kinda.

So as not to leave Garrett out of this post, here he is doing one of his favorite things.  Playing guitar during youth group.  The fact that I was allowed in the youth room during church to take his picture is pretty amazing.  

It's the part where I started screaming and shouting his name that I had to be escorted out of the room.

In less than 2 months, I will be a mother of a teenager.  

A moment of silence please. 

I love days like these.

The Newcomer

What a difference a year makes.

Today I went to a Newcomers Luncheon offered by our church to anyone that is, well, a newcomer.  We had an incredible spread of food in a woman's home that feels like you are in a boutique hotel when you walk inside.  I got there early balancing my salad bowl, my phone, my purse and trying to kick off my cute shoes outside the door before going in.

Yes, I was wearing cute shoes and not my cushiony shoes which means I am nursing a pretty sore foot right about now. But it was totally worth it!!  Or would have been except we all left our shoes outside the door so no one knew those super cute shoes actually belonged to me.  And my mama taught me that it was just plain tacky to walk people to the front door just to show off your cute shoes.  Almost as bad as popping your gum.

Where was I?  Oh, right.  Salad bowl, phone, purse.

I walked in the door and greeted my friends that were all inside preparing for the women that were going to be arriving at any moment.  We talked in that easy kind of manner that comes with lots of time spent together.  A comment, a quick conversation, an easy compliment, the finishing of a story started days before.

As women started trickling in I would look into their faces and see myself just one year ago.  The day I walked into the same house having left my shoes at the front door, cursing myself for not having a fresh pedicure.  The day I stepped out of my comfort zone, which was my pajamas and my couch, and ventured out hoping to make a new friend and determined to remember the names of these women who seemed to have it all together.  The day I tried really hard to not look as desperate as I felt to belong.  To have some kind of purpose in this crazy country.

Today I walked up to different ladies new to Singapore and got to tell them that I understood how they were feeling.  How frustrating it can be to be overwhelmed by a grocery store.  I tried to tell them that they would be ok and could see on some of their faces that they weren't sure they would be.

It's those situations in life that separate you from everyone around you.  The move to a foreign country. The birth of a baby.  The death of a loved one.  A new relationship.  A divorce.  A lost job.  Sudden fortune.

Finding God or feeling like you're lost to Him completely.

The times that you want to find someone, anyone else, that can look you in the eyes and tell you that they understand because they have walked that same road.  Be it a good road or a difficult road, sometimes you just want to know you aren't the first one forging the way.

I currently have a verse hanging on the mirror in the boy's bathroom that I am bribing, I mean, encouraging them to memorize.  I was having Garrett tell me part of it today and it just hit me.  Right between the eyes, it hit me.

He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it,

He bring us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we 

can be there for that person just as God was there for us.  2 Cor 1:4

What a difference a year makes.