More on Christmas Day

Here are a few more pictures from Christmas Day:


Cheerful Jennifer with sweet Isaac


While the guys were waiting for our Christmas dinner to be ready, they took David and Thomas for a ride on the moto.


Christmas dinner included sauteed chicken, gravy, green beans with bacon, mashed potatoes, rolls, apple pie, and snickerdoodles. We all enjoyed it!


Jennifer insisted on doing the dishes after we ate, so the Pate fam took a walk and explored a bit. Here is a bony cow, which is what all the cows here look like: white and bony.


A view of the river from our walk





After our walk we bought some cokes and then played a game together. What a great day we had! We are so thankful!

Christmas Morning

I'm pretty sure that Christmas morning in Cambodia held all the excitement that it does in the U.S.



Can we open presents yet?




Everyone waiting impatiently while breakfast is cooking


Kris made excellent bacon and pancakes! He always knows just when to flip 'em so they are cooked through but not burnt. It's an art. Yum!



We brought our Advent calendar with us, and here the kids are placing the last item - baby Jesus - in the manger. Now it is complete!


We brought a couple of small gifts for the kids to open here. They loved and appreciated these small things. I think that being here has really helped them to be grateful for things that otherwise they would take for granted.


David likes his new yo-yo.


A small basketball hoop for our "tiny boy" (that's what Daniel says he is).


Katherine is investigating her new tea set.


Mr. Hale is excited about his Isaac's new toy!


Isaac was certainly present, but not so aware of his first Christmas.


We had a few mystery guests appear during our morning festivities:







We hope that you enjoyed being with your family this Christmas, and that, most of all, you were blessed by reflection on God's great love for His people by coming as a baby to die for our sins. Our place in His family is truly worth celebrating!

Christmas Eve

Anna and David busied themselves on Christmas Eve making decorations for the Hales' home. Thomas helped a little too. Here are a few pictures of their decorations.









We enjoyed making Christmas cookies, and found that even without an electric mixer, it's fun and simple!


Anna thought to draw a picture of Jesus on the cross, "Because that's the true meaning of Christmas."


And here is her picture of the empty tomb. These were sweet reminders of what is truly worth celebrating!


Time for some Christmas Eve candy!


Our homemade, packable Christmas tree. If you are thinking that the stand looks like a rocket launch...it is! That was Kris' idea, and it worked well!


Our happy decorators

The Hales' House

Here are some pictures of the Hales' property. They have a simple but beautiful home and we are so thankful for their happiness to share it with us.


This fence marks their property line, and the banana trees behind the fence belong to their neighbor. He sells the bananas, and dogs and chickens roam in between them as well.



This is the Hales' Forerunner, and the storage building Bill built is behind it on the left. Young chickens belonging to the neighbor behind often squeeze through the bars in the back gate until they grow too fat to fit. Once they are grown, Jennifer enjoys a reprieve from invading chickens for a while, until new ones hatch. Then the process begins again.


The family room


The family room


The guest room, where we sleep. The blanket canopy protects our bed from gecko droppings. They crawl all around the ceiling and walls, especially at night.


The bathroom and laundry room


The shower and sink


The backyard. The concrete barrel on the back right is where Bill burns their trash.


Another view of the front yard. I love this plumeria tree and the flowers surrounding it. They have a compost enclosure at the back left.


The back of the house. This is the kitchen sink window. They have a beautiful, lush view when they do the dishes.


This is the back/side fence, a.k.a. the dryer. Hanging the laundry to dry in the morning sunshine is refreshing and good for me! About 5 to 10 minutes after you come inside from hanging/taking in the clothes, you start to feel a little tickle. It's the ants. They crawl up your feet, and you don't even notice. In fact, you don't really notice them until they are way, way up your legs, in tight places! Then you really do have ants in your pants! Or on your back where you can't reach. Funny!

The week leading up to Christmas

Playing, playing


More playing


Caught a Cambodian worm!


Lunch time in the Hales' yard


Kris, Bill, Li-da and some others went to the other side of the river to share the gospel. Here they are examining a fish.


Sunset behind the Hales' house on the 23rd.


Anna being big sister


Teaching about germs


Watching a video together

Anna and Isaac

Anna is enjoying sweet Baby Isaac.

Church of Mercy Christmas Program

The Church of Mercy Christmas program began Sunday morning at 7am. They first served breakfast to everyone who came early.


The dining "room"


Breakfast dishes


Cooking the food

This was quite a production, and a major effort by the PATC students and the church members to reach out to the community. They hoped to share the glorious Christmas story and the gospel with many who would come for this special event.


The woman second from the right is Sophorn's mother. She had come from Sre Treng and spent the night with the Nuon's the night before. It was special to have her here!


The meeting room of the church looked very nice and clean with special chair covers, foliage by the windows, and lights decorating the stage.


The people were so happy to see Jennifer with little Isaac. She received a warm welcome from everyone, and it was a blessing to see the way they love her.


Some of the adults from the church sang a special song for everyone.


This picture didn't turn out well, but you can see the PATC young women dancing. The PATC students performed several different dances and then acted out the Christmas story. They did a superb job, and you could tell that they practiced hard! When we first planned our trip, we thought we would be helping the students put on this production. But as it turned out, they had so much good experience from the year before that they said they could do it by themselves. And they were right!



They served lunch to everyone, and it was a massive amount of food! We were amazed at the way they prepared it! Here they are preparing a chicken stew dish. Look at the size of the ladle!


Grilling beef over a fire pit


Waiting for lunch


The lunch tent, set up in front of the church for this special occasion

The Christmas Program was a great success as far as how it all went. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it. We pray that it was truly a success in that people heard and understood the gospel and that their hearts responded in faith and love for our great God.

Pics from Phnom Penh

Enjoying air conditioning at the Italian restaurant


Watching the elephant rides


Monkeys on the power lines


Touristy temple complex - more monkeys in the background - asking for only foreigners to pay. From what I hear, that's the way most of the tourist sites in Cambodia are. If you are Cambodian, you don't have to pay, but everyone else does.


Thomas being silly from Kris' lap in the front seat

We've moved

Moving Day for us was last Saturday. We packed up our suitcases again and loaded up the Hale's car, and then we headed to their house and set up. They are so generous to give us a room for the next three weeks! We went to Phnom Penh later in the day to stock up on some groceries, water, and eat at an Italian restaurant with a nice atmosphere, which was a well-appreciated treat for all of us. The driving here is so different...There we were, all nine of us, stuffed into the Hale's 1996 Forerunner. This would never fly in the States, but that's just the way it is here.

We all tried a Khmer "treat" on the way home: looks like a dinner roll but it's filled with sweet bean paste. Then, there was another doughy roll that tasted a little like a Circus Peanut (do you remember that orange, spongy, foam-like candy that was shaped like a large peanut?) but it also had a smell like fingernail polish. Is this something that is okay to eat? Bill says that they grow on you...

Scenes from the week

Anna is taking good care of Daniel! Here they are walking onto the church property. The building on the left is where the male students sleep, and behind Anna is the driveway and gate.


Sophorn sorts dry seeds from a papaya, because she wants to plant some more papaya trees in her backyard.


Daniel discovers that he likes papaya!


This is the "dining hall" and kitchen at the PATC/Church.


Chheng's brother's house, right behind the church


This is the store down the street where Kris tried to buy a coke. He told them he wanted a "Coca-cola" but they did not understand. So later, Sophorn explained to us that we needed to say "Coke - ahh, Cole - ahh" with our mouths open when we make the "ahh" (pronounced with a short a sound). Funny to us that it makes such a difference!


Sophorn is crushing lemon grass and other spices for some soup. This bench is her work table for chopping meat and slicing vegetables, and behind her is the counter with a gas cook top and a sink. This is her outdoor kitchen! It is much more Western than other Khmer kitchens.


The PATC students are all smiles with the kids, always engaging them and trying to get them to talk. This is a blessing to us, as it helps the kids to feel welcomed here.


The computer lab


Children talking to Daniel after Sunday School.