Several days after Christmas, we were very fortunate to receive not one, not two, but three packages in the mail. These packages had just been sitting at the central post office, and we never knew that they had arrived. The packages were sent from our adopted parents in Indianapolis, our youngest supporting group who are in a 5th and 6th grade class at our home church in Marion, and from one of our favorite churches in Montana. Christmas just kept on going, and it was a great blessing.


In our packages, we received the “necessary missionary provisions” such as Kool-Aid drink mixes, beef jerky, chokecherry syrup, and various cosmetics for Tiffany. It was a great blessing to receive these things and to read the letters and cards that accompanied the packages. Here you are seeing the great number of cards that we received from the group of kids from our home church. These homemade cards were read carefully, one by one, and they were a great blessing to us, as was every item and card that we received from our friends and supporters in the United States.


On the 30th of December, we traveled back to Kampong Cham to be involved in several other Christmas celebrations. First, we went to Tpong Khmum, which is a flourishing church outside of the main city of Kampong Cham. Messages were given by Pastor Greg and by Pastor Meng Hong, and then we celebrated with food and games. Here you are seeing several boys who were playing marbles outside of the church after the service.


I have never witnessed so much food prepared for a church Christmas celebration, but it was all wonderful. We all filled our plates, some of us more than once, and young and old feasted together. This young girl had just received her food when I took this picture.

Here you are seeing Tiffany and one of our students Theavy after they went through the line. If you look at their plates, most of the dishes included vegetables and meat served with rice, but a particular favorite was the fried bread that was eaten with the soup.


Four hungry men,
all lined up in a row.
Where did all the food go?
Nobody knows.


During the evening, we played games as the sun sank into the horizon. The lighting was perfect as we took this picture of three girls watching the games from atop their perch on the Jungle Gym.


After another night in the hotel where we had stayed the previous weekend, we traveled out to another church outside of Kampong Cham. Koh Kor church is growing well due to Pastor Perin’s reaching out to the community and the blessings of the Lord given through their new English school. Tim preached his sermon on “What God Gave and What He Wants for Christmas”, even reading two Bible Verses and telling a story in Khmer. Leak, who is shown here translating for Tim, has been a great friend a great language helper.

There was a very large crowd of children, teens and adults there for the Christmas party, somewhere between 150 to 200 people. It was great to see all of these people coming to the celebration of Christ’s birth.


The final event on the schedule at the Christmas celebration was a drama performance of the birth done by the children under the direction of Pastor Perin’s wife. Here you are seeing King Herod speaking to the wise men that have come looking for the new king. The actions were perfect; especially the evil laugh performed by the boy playing Herod, and it was great to see the children’s understanding shown through their performance.

After the New Year, which we celebrated with our friends at our house, we had yet another Christmas party, this one for the national pastors. We met together for a dinner, a special service with an amazing message by Pastor Greg about keeping your fire alive in the ministry, and then we played games. It was a great night of fellowship and fun with these men of the faith, and it was wonderful to see them having fun and showing their joy in the fellowship of believers.

The intern-pastors came forward to sing a special song that they had prepared. Hearing these young men and women sing of their faith and their joy is always such a blessing to our hearts, as is seeing their faces as they praise their Father in Heaven.


We led the games for the Christmas party, and we again played the Christmas tree drawing game. Here you are seeing Pastors Arun and Manet try to draw their Christmas trees on their heads. It is always so funny to see these pastors having fun, acting silly, and enjoying their time together.


Two days following the Christmas party for the pastors, we attended a wedding in Kampong Chnang. After leaving at 4:30 in the morning and driving on some very bumpy roads, we arrived in time for the morning meal and for the service. This young couple Pen and Tawi, who are both pastors in the church, were united in marriage in a traditional Cambodian service. It was our first Khmer wedding, and it was fun to see the differences and similarities in the services.


Much to his surprise, Tim was called forward to give a special blessing to the couple. It was a nervous moment of trying to find the right thing to say to this couple, but God provided the words and it was a high honor to give them God’s blessing for their marriage.


One of the most heartwarming parts of the ceremony came at the end of the service. The couple knelt down in front of their parents and received their blessing and advice. It was touching to see the two fathers wiping away their tears as they spoke to their children, giving them advice for marriage and releasing them to be united as a married couple. After the blessing, they were all showered with palm seeds, which was a fitting and fun ending to the ceremony.


One of the entertaining things about Khmer weddings is the clothes. It is customary for a bride to change anywhere between 5-8 times during the party after the wedding ceremony, and it is also normal for everyone to wear their best. Here you are seeing all of the “Missionary Ladies” getting together for a picture. (from left to right Amber Hirschy, Tiffany, Resie, Aleeyah, and Lindy Morgan)