Cambodia 2013: March 2014

Well, I thought about putting "Hightower" in the title of this post since I see that the Hightower titled post received a record number of reads. I attribute this to one of two possible reasons: 1) The undeniable popularity of the Hightowers, or 2) Malcolm himself logging on multiple times to admire pictures of himself that I posted in the blog. I will let the reader decide what is the most logical option.

When I first moved to Cambodia it seemed like my days mostly consisted of waking up whenever I wanted to, having a leisurely wonderful quiet time and breakfast, going to the gym and pool multiple times/day, taking bike rides around the city, and going to a coffee shop to blog. What ever happened to those days? I will tell you what happened. I got one job, then a second job, and then a third job! Just this week I was finally able to cut back to two jobs, but both of them are busy.

Employment Services Cambodia has been an amazing blessing. Neth and I begin every workday together with fellowship, worship, and prayer. We usually do this in my studio apartment and we always sing worship songs together. (Today I taught him two old hymns and we sang them a cappella.) He has a professional voice (he has been recorded on 5 CD's) and I still sing sounding like Kermit the Frog with a sore throat. So, it is quite interesting. The other day I heard a neighbor talking about me to someone else at the gym. The neighbor was telling the other person that I was a really good guitar player and singer. I just about choked on my own laughter, but of course I did not intervene to set the record straight. I am just glad that the voice that carries through the walls is Neth's and not mine.

There has been a real shift in the work of ESC. When we first opened 4 1/2 months ago we were pounding the pavement to meet people and talk about our business. We really had to work hard to get any clients. Lately, we have been approached by new clients (both on the employee and business sides) who we have never spoken with. Also, now we are getting new clients and new work before we even get fully through our "pitch". People seem eager to want to work with us. God has opened doors for us that we never even saw and we humbly and gratefully walk through them; and each and every time we discover that God has planned a grand adventure for us. We are meeting so many wonderfully interesting people. We are recruiting for positions ranging from tuk tuk driver and cleaner to university professor and director. We are working with people from Spain, America, France, New Zealand, Australia, the UK, Canada, Vietnam, China, the Philippines, Thailand, Japan, and, of course, from all across Cambodia. It is absolutely wonderful work.

It has been awhile since I last posted a coffee picture and so to conclude today's blog I would like to post a picture of my white chocolate mocha at Brown. Some people see Jesus in the bark of trees. I see a bear in the foam of my coffee.

It is hard for me to believe that it has taken me over a week to blog about my first official visitors to Cambodia: Malcolm and Andrea Hightower. (I am calling them my first official visitors even though my aunt and cousin came to Phnom Penh in September of last year; because they were here on a pre-planned cruise that was only briefly in PP.)

I think that the reason it has taken this long to blog about the Hightowers is that I literally have had zero free time since they arrived. We have had so much fun going to Vietnam, Sihanoukville, and eating out every single meal for the past week and 1/2 (while I have still tried to do a reasonable job in the 2 jobs that I have here). We have laughed, we have prayed, we have played, we have swam in the ocean, and we have experienced a lifetime's worth of bus rides. For the first time in 6 months the majority of my daily conversation is easily understood and Malcolm even laughs at my jokes (he and Madge may be the only two people left on this earth who do). Every day I have been reminded about why Malcolm is one of the best friends I have ever had in my life and how blessed I am to have him as a friend.

Seeing Malcolm and Andrea together I am encouraged and reminded about the blessings of marriage.