Ringing in the New Year!

Hello, 2014!!!

Each year we think that because we have little kids (yes, this year it's kids--plural!) so ringing in the New Year will probably be a quiet little event in our home and we may not even make it to midnight. 

However.

Kids do not seem to stop us from party hopping and ringing in the New Year with pizazz!

This year, December 31st saw us both participating in a street party with our neighbors, and visiting PPBS to celebrate with the students. 

Since I had made cupcakes for his birthday, Biqtu wanted me to make them again for the New Year's street party! Here are a few of the kids helping me frost the cupcakes and drizzle them with chocolate. I let the boys carry the big tray of cupcakes outside and pass them out to the neighbors. They had a blast!

Here is the street party buffet. It's directly in front of our house! It was fun to visit with all the neighbors in one spot! However, there aren't too many that speak English, so we smile and nod a lot, and play with the babies together. :)

Once the music at the street party was turned up SO loud we could feel our hearts pounding with Gangnam Style beat from in our kitchen, we thought it was time to leave party number one and escape to PPBS where the students were also hosting a party! It was a relief to have the Bible College as an escape. 

We laughed as they played funny games and watched some students perform and had a big gift exchange.

Here is Briana with the principal of the School, Sangnam

Joey & I definitely have more energy than the kiddos. 

We left the party early. The kids were READY for bed. 

Till we got home. Wes then had a renewed wind and enthusiastically watched Hoo Hoo Ha till midnight! Thankfully the street party had lessened to a dull roar and we were then able to sleep the rest of the night in peace. What a fun way to bring in the New Year! I love my little family.

As I think about the New Year, there is one word I want to focus on throughout the year. 

Intention. 

I need to be intentional about decisions I make. 

I no longer have "auto pilot" for my spiritual growth. I'm not in Bible school any more; I no longer have required meetings to attend or lead or big expectations on me to be a spiritual leader, whether it's organizing retreats, conferences, or girls' groups. I can't just "get by" anymore with doing regular life and expect to still grow in my relationship with the Lord. I need to be intentional. 

I also need to be intentional about what I eat. I'm getting older! Food sticks a lot better than it used to, and I can't just skip a meal to fit into that shirt again. haha! A healthy diet and exercise are going to have to be a regular for me!

I also need to be intentional about my ministry. 

It's easy for me to stay at home, work, and care for my family. However, to reach out to my neighbors, establish lasting friendships in this city, and get connected within the church and Bible College, I really need to be intentional. I'm always asking the Lord to give me creative ideas on how to expand His work in my little corner of the world. He is answering those prayers!

We were so happy to be able to have Matt, Nary, and their three girls Miriam, Rachel, and Rebekah here to stay with us for a few days! Missionaries here in Cambodia, they had just returned from furlough (in the Ottawa area) and needed a place to stay until they found a house again. I had so much fun with them! It was nice to have them around, especially since Joe was out of town on his Ministry Trip with some PPBS students. More about his trip HERE.

Here is a photo of the girls helping me to prepare for the New Year's party that we hosted for the neighborhood kids. We planned to have a cookie decorating party! So they helped me mix the dough!

However, the day of the party, we had a big power cut. 

We didn't have power from 9 AM until almost 7:30 PM! Since our party started at 4:30 PM, needless to say, I couldn't bake my cookies. I had everything ready to go, though, just in case the power came back on! 

Here is a pic of my cut out cookies, sitting in the dark, waiting to be baked. :(

We fired up our generator, so it was kind of fun to host a party for the children when most of the rest of the street was in the dark! Our home was lit up with laughter, music, lights, and food, so we had additional neighbors also coming over to do things like charge their cell phones or just be where the action was! It was fun!

I love this picture of our housekeeper, Kim, with Briana!

Poor Rachel was SO excited for the party, but suffered from a severe case of jetlag. She crashed as soon as she got back to our place and didn't leave this position all evening! haha, jetlag is the WORST.

Nary and I. She was my translator for the party! I'm so glad she was here for it! She ended up sharing the gospel with my neighbors! Whoo hoo!!!

Wesley can either be the CENTER of the party, or VERY anti-social. 

This was an anti-social evening for him. To keep him away from grabbing his toys away from other children or pushing kids over if they got into his space, I put him in his chair and let him watch his leap pad all evening. So he still had a good evening.

I love these kids!!

I recently had a neighbor come over to my house to visit! I knew she spoke some English, but she was always shy to just sit and talk with me. So I was so happy when she came over for a visit!

She asked me if I ever get tired of having kids in my home, playing, and making messes and noise. 

I told her I LOVE the neighborhood kids, and I was surprised at how sincerely I meant it! Each one is so special to me and I feel has a special place, also, in Jesus' heart, who is WAITING for them to know Him personally. I hope I can be a reflection of His love to them.

Briana with her "Uncle Matt"

   
We purchased some Bible Story comic books for the kids to read while they're at our house. They are written in Khmer, so the kids are enjoying it! They are reading about the prophecies of Jesus, Jesus' birth, Jesus' life, and Jesus' death and resurrection, and His expected return! We are praying that these truths will become rooted in the hearts of these kids, and they willhav e a real and personal relationship with Him that will transform their lives and that they will be used to also transform this country. These are the next generation for this country! God is at work!

The next day, after the party, we had power again so we had a little cookie-baking party. Two parties in a row! So exciting! Nothing like keeping myself busy while Joey's out of town!

Thanks for being a part of our 2013 and for all you do to enable us to be here! We are excited about what God will do in 2014 and pray that He will bless the coming year for His glory!

Love to you all!

Joe, Nica, Wes, & Bri