Safely arrived...

I'm sitting here at my favorite restaraunt in Kratie, Cambodia, 11 days after my left for America, informing you that they have safely arrived. =) If you were waiting to hear this news from me, I appologize for the delay. The team left Friday May 22, and arrived home the following evening. I am staying 3 more weeks to minister.
Thank you for you prayers and support! It really was an incredible trip, and God worked in amazing ways. Everyone learned and was changed. I wish I had more time to write, but when I return to America, expect a short trip summary with a few more pictures. Oh, and a poem too!
Please continue to pray for me and my ministry in Cambodia. I am now in Kratie, teaching English and ministering with the youth. On Friday I will return to the Bible college in Phnom Penh, and then I will fly home on Friday, June 12. I have a 13 hour layover in Seoul, and I'm not looking forward to that. =)





A group photo in Kampong Cham, the first province we visited in Cambodia. Pastor Paroath (younger Khmer man in back) and his English students stole our hearts.

A group photo at Ankor Wat. (It will be worth your time to search Angkor Wat on google images!)

Our team with our Buddhist van driver Om.


Saying goodbye to good friends in Kratie.


With our favorite waiter at U-Hong Restaraunt, in Kratie.

The people we're meeting here in Cambodia..

I can't remember when I updated last or what I wrote, but Í'm sure alot has happened since then. We had an awesome time in Kratie. Everyone enjoyed connecting with the youth at the English school, at at the missionary's home. On our last night, our team, the pastors and teachers and missionaries, along with 10 or 15 youth gathered for a meal and fellowship at Tess' home. We played Uno and Signs and Boggle and Scrabble. We ate rice and swine, sang worship, shared testimonies, and prayed. Goodbyes have been difficult, because relationships are established very differently in Cambodia - so we leave, feeling as if there is no closure - but we know that they are in our hearts, and we are in theirs.
After Kratie, we spent 2 days Kampong Cham. On Sunday we visited 3 churches. We did children's ministry at the first, and Pastor Greg asked me (Jewel) to share a sermon. With only 3 minutes of preparation, I did. I had a message on my heart, so I went up testifying to God's goodness and praying praying praying that He would give me the words to speak that would share my heart's message, and He did. The 2nd and 3rd church services met in homes, but the presence of God was equally (if not more) strong than the 1st. During the 3rd service we had the opportunity to pray over a woman whose mind is not right. The pastor has been praying over her, and as a result of her continuing sanity, her parents have come to believe in the Lord Jesus and they have opened their home for Sunday services. It was an awesome experience.
Right now I am sitting in a shady internet cafe with Loren and Ashton and Poo Greg. Aimee, Zoey, Hannah, and Angela are at the World Hope Assessment Center, doing crafts and sharing God's love with a group of young girls rescued from sex trafficking. Unfortunately, only 4 could go, so the 3 of us are spending the afternoon with Poo Greg in the market. I'm looking forward to hearing what the 4 girls have to say about their experiences there - they were very excited about the opportunity to go, and I pray that right now they are filled and overflowing with His love.
We are reaching the end of our 3 weeks in Cambodia. The team flies to South Korea on Friday night, waits 12 hours there, then will fly to Chicago on Saturday. Our next few days will be spent with the students at the Bible college. They are asking if we will teach them English worship songs. We also will have 1 or 2 chapel services, and a dawn prayer service. I'm looking forward to the time we will spend with them.

Please pray for Zoey, Aimee, Hannah and Angela right now as they minister at the assessment center.
Pray for our hearts as we prepare to leave Cambodia and the people we have grown to love.
Pray that we will continue to learn things each day, and pray that we would be drawn closer to Him.
Please remember the names Paroath, Arun & Charia, Vandy & Tess, Tito, Malachi, Sreyroath, and Greg & Resie in your prayers.

Thank you for your prayers and encouragment!

Learning to cook rice...

Hello everyone! I hope you are doing well on the other side of the world. We are doing well here. No one has been sick past a small headache or a little nausia. We have all grown very accustomed to rice and noodles. Still waiting to try tarantulas and crickets....
We are in Kratie now. This morning we hiked up a mountain to see the city. Monday evening we rode elephants up a mountainside in Siem Reap and it was absolutely beautiful at the top. Every evening after team devotions we talk about our "highs and lows" of the day, and everyone's high was the top of the mountain, the view there, and the group of chidren that a few of the girls met and talked with. Our van driver, Om, also went up with us - he doesn't join us for many things aside from meals, so we took advantage of the opportunity to take a picture with him, and I think it meant alot to him. We have seen him bow his head when we pray over meals, and it warms my little white heart. =)
We love Kratie. The students here are wonderful and we have enjoyed talking with them. The youth are very involved in the church. Last night we went to Tess' house (she is a World Hope missionary in Kratie, teaching English) and we had prayer meeting. We sang praises, then shared a testimony, and shared prayer requests then prayed the Korean way - everyone outloud and holding hands. It was really neat.
We are all still sharing 1 room. We pushed 3 full beds together and 7 of us are sleeping comfortably. We have gotten very close and it's been alot of fun experiencing Cambodia together.

Please continue praying for us and our ministry here. We want to grow closer to God and take others with us.

The musings of Cambodia...

We are still here at Freedom Hotel in Siem Reap - the tourism hotspot of Cambodia. We have been a few different places. This morning and afternoon we walked through Angkor Wat (google it!) and in 2 hours we will be riding elephants through the mountains to watch the sun set. Yesterday was our first Sunday here in Cambodia, so we visited 2 churches. Loren and Ashton gave their testimonies, and we shared a very special song. Aimee and Hannah worked with the children at one church and taught them the song "God is so Good" in English (which they performed very well), and Angela and Zoey worked with the children at the second church. Tonight we will return to one church to teach English classes. Yesterday evening we visited the Cultural Village (a tourist attraction of cultural dances and shows) but it rained very much and we were not able to see any shows, but did walk through the rain - running from tree to tree.
Our missionary (Pastor Greg, aka "Baby Bird") left us in Siem Reap with 3 Khmer pastors - Vandy, Chamnol, and Arun. We have had lots of fun with them - learning Khmer, telling stories, and being embarassed (oh wait, that was only one of us!) We have also hired a Buddhist driver named Om (he looks like gorilla.) Please pray that we can be a light for him. His English is not good, but I know that he is listening to us and watching us.
Tuesday morning we will leave for Kratie. Pastor Greg and his wife and 2 young daughters will be joining us there. Kratie is much more "remote" than the other cities we have visited. The church in Kratie is strong, and there are many youth. This week is a national holiday (the king's birthday) so many schools are closed, but we still expect to offer our evening English courses because when the American girls arrive.. so do the Cambodians.
A few of us have had our moments of feeling sick, but it hasn't been bad. Please continue to pray for our health and energy so that we can be effective in our ministry and not be held back by our physical bodies. Thank you for remembering us in your prayers. God is teaching us new things everyday and we are all feeling closer to Him. Pray that we will continue to be filled with the Spirit and that our minds will give attention to opportunities to minister. Thank you!

Still kicking in Cambodia...

Chume reap sua! We're now here at Freedom Hotel in Seam Reap, Cambodia. We are loving everyday here and always learning new things! Seriously, God has been so good to us! For starters - I know God has brought us of us here because we mesh together perfectly! We are 7 amazing friends and have had so much fun together. I have loved getting to know Aimee, Loren, Hannah, Zoey, Ashton, and Angela. They are 6 amazing women of God and He is doing great things in and through us.
We have all adopted Khmer names that our missionary picked for us. Sri Leak, Sri Nanng, Sri Navid... Also, we all together decided what animal we each look like. I (Jewel) am a kangaroo. Aimee is a baby lion. Loren is definitely a fish! Angela is definitely a snake! Hannah is a beagle puppy. Zoey is a deer. Ashton is a koala. We also pick an animal for everyone else we meet too. (Vandy=pandy, Greg=baby bird, Tito=lizard, Arun=parrot, Kimsan=Mufasa..)
Happy Mother's Day to our moms and all the moms out there! We love you very much and want you to know that we are well taken care of and having an incredible time. I hope that you have a wonderful day. To my mom: happy birthday!
This afternoon on our way to Siem Reap from the Bible college, we stopped at a rest area which is also an outdoor market. As we opened our van door, we were immediately flocked by children selling mangos, pineapple, and an assortment of fruit. They say: "2 for $1" and that if we do not give them money, then they cannot go to school and they will cry. Three of the girls also had live tarantulas hanging from their collars. I was terrified, but I am very proud of my girls who were brave enough to hold one in their hand! I am also very proud of Aimee for eating a whole duck egg! Everyone did try a bite or more.
Tomorrow we will attend our first church service. We have a skit prepared about Paul and Silas in jail, and Ashton will be sharing her testimony. Angela and Hannah have already shared theirs, and Aimee and Zoey also shared devotional messages with the students at the WBI.


Please continue praying for us. Each day has new experiences and we continue learning. Pray that our eyes will continue to be open to see the things that can teach us. God, help us to be radical in our faith and show us how to reach the people who are different from us (the beggars, the crippled...)

Thank you!!



A word from Loren::

Hi everyone! I am doing great! Everything is so beautiful here and the people are great! I love working with the children, they are adorable and so happy! Thanks for praying for us and please continue to keep us in your prayers, that we would stay healthy and have strength. Pray that we would allow God to shine through us. Thanks!

Miss and love you Mom Dad Dani and Michael. I am doing great :)

Camodia - An Experience

We arrived safely in Cambodia around 11:30 Sunday night. Our flights were nice. Everyone had plenty of room on the flight from LA to Seoul. We watched alot of movies, and ate lots of sticky white rice on the plane. We stayed our first night at a guest house in the city. Hannah and Loren kept me (Jewel) up all night, and I think they regretted their choice to stay awake the next day when they were very tired. Our first meal in Cambodia was interesting. Our missionaries left us alone at the guest house, so we had problems ordering food. We all had butter sandwhiches for breakfast (yes, lots of butter between 2 slices of bread) and mixed fruit shakes which stayed in our mouths hours later. (It was bad news, friends.) We visited Teoul Slang (a genocide museum) and the killing fields. There we met a man who was 1 of only 7 survivors of the Khmer Rouge - Teoul Slang was a tribute to the 20,000 people that died. We also went to the World Hope office and a man talked to us about human trafficking in Camodia, and their work to rescue girls. Finally, we arrived at the Bible College and met the students. Almost everyone took naps, then we had chapel and fellowship with the students and staff after dinner. Today we are in Kampong Chnang with Pastor Greg (our missionary) and Pastor Kim Sua (the #1 man of the Wesleyan Church). We are in a guest house now. All 7 of us in 3 beds in 1 room with sketchy cave drawings on the wall (I think they're in blood HAHA).
Thank you for praying for us. We are all adjusting to the extreme heat and lack of sleep. Cambodia is a beautiful country and we are all very excited to be here. Please pray for us as we begin our English classes tonight. Pray for our stomaches as we are adjusting to new foods. Pray for our hearts that we will be open and filled with the Holy Spirit as we encounter non-believers, and that we will be an encouragement to the Church in Cambodia.
I hope to update you again soon.
Jewel

A word from Angela::
Cambodia is amazing and our team is alot of fun. It has been really nic e to see all the people again that I met two years ago. Please pray that our ministry is effective. Thank you for all your support!

A Countdown to CAMBODIA

Family, Friends and Faithful Supporters,

We are excited to share our experiences with you while we are in Cambodia.  I hope that this blog will be a testament of God's faithfulness and He works in us and through us to bless His children and see lives changed.  We encourage you to follow our postings while we are in Cambodia so that you can pray for our specific happenings and follow our reflections on our ministry.  Please leave us comments of encouragement, share with us how you are praying for us, and let us know what you would like to hear from us!

Early Saturday morning the 7 of us will depart from a variety of destinations and meet in Los Angeles, before the 13 hour flight to Seoul, South Korea, then another 5.5 hour flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Sunday night.    Please pray that there are no complications and that we are able to rest on the flights.

Other specific prayer requests include::

We will be traveling 3-6 hours every few days as we travel from province to province, so please pray for safety as we travel a variety of elements, and pray that we will share God's love with the people we meet along the way (van drivers, market vendors...).  Also, I expect that these hours will be a great time for ofur team to bond with each other and with our missionaries.

Pray that we will be filled with and led by the Spirit as we share and minister in the churches, teach in the schools, and encounter many unbelievers on the way.  Pray also that we will see opportunities to offer our hands and hearts in love.

Pray that we can be an encouragement for the students and staff at the Wesleyan Bible College, for our missionaries Greg and Resie Fernandez, and for the pastors that we meet in the small country villages.

Finally, pray that our team will feel God's presence and see His blessings with each new day.  Pray that we will be filled with God's love for the Cambodians, and for each other.

"The Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;

the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."

Numbers 6:24-26

Blessings,

Jewel Reed

Hannah Puffer, Zoey Henderson, Loren Dearth, Angela Schram

Jewel Reed, Ashton Rank, Aimee Odum