It's over already?!

Keri (fellow Ambrose student and onSiter in Cambodia) and I at the airport.

Team Place of Rescue! :) Melanie and I at the airport the night she and Keri left for Canada

Melanie's farewell party. (I have no clue what I am trying to do in this picture!)

Some of the kids and I at Melanie's farewell party.

The countdown is on! I have less than a week left in Cambodia. This has been a busy month to say the least! At the start of the month, I said farewell to Melanie as she went back to Canada. It was an absolute blessing to serve with her this year! I also said farewell to another Ambrose student and onSiter named Keri. It was so great to have two other onSiters so close! Teaching has gone really well this month. One of my groups finished the textbook they had been working on for months and it was really neat to be able to share that accomplishment with them! A highlight of teaching this month was teaching my advanced class the song, "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong. I forgot how much I love that song. I know its incredibly simple, yet there is just something about it that brings a tear to my eye.



I preached this past sunday in Phnom Penh at International Christian Assembly, my home church here in Cambodia. My message was entitled, "What Fuels You?", and I looked at what fuels us as believers in Jesus Christ.

I focused on four things...

1. Fueled by the body (Phil 2:1-4)
2. Fueled by home (Psalm 84)
3. Fueled by scars (Isaiah 53:4-5)
4. Fueled by the future (Gal 5:1)
   

It was a blessing and an honor to share in front of so many passionate Christians. I felt kind of strange after it was over though, it was about a 6 month process of praying about and planning that sermon! :-) hahaha

This week is my week of "lasts" here in Cambodia. My last day of teaching is tomorrow! That still feels weird to say that...My farewell party is Thursday and I leave Place of Rescue on Friday afternoon. I can not believe at how quick these 3+ months have gone! I will spend the weekend in Phnom Penh with friends and then Monday night I start my journey home...

I have a 12 hour layover in South Korea! Video blog or two??? Maybe...time will tell friends :)

Love and Blessings,
Brian

It's April already!?

Hey all! How is everyone doing? I hope my dear friends in Calgary were not too disheartened by the recent snow. :) We have gotten a surprisingly high amount of rain in Cambodia this past month and I have loved falling asleep to the sound of rain hitting my tin roof.

This has been a great month of teaching and living life here in Cambodia at Place of Rescue. A teaching highlight was the unit my students and I did on eating in a restaurant. We had great fun learning how to order food and learning about common items such as plates, knifes, spoons etc. My students are all learning a lot and progressing in their studies well. I am really really proud of all of them! I know how much hard work it takes to learn another language and I am excited to see where God will take them and the paths he has in store for them.

A second highlight from April was being able to go to Vietnam for a few days for a time of debriefing with two fellow Ambrose students. I greatly appreciated the opportunity to rest for a few days, think about/reflect upon the incredible things God has done in my life, and just connect with God and friends. Vietnam was beautifal! The people are amazing and the scenary is incredible! I have found it amazing to see the beauty of God through creation here in Southeast Asia. The sunsets of Cambodia, the mountains of Vietnam, the forests of Thailand, they all point to the loving and beautifal hand of God at work in creation.

Can everyone please pray for me? May 30th I am preaching at my International Church in Phnom Penh. I am looking at the question, "What Fuels You?". My hope and prayer is that God uses it as a great motivation and encouragement to my church family here in Cambodia. I love my church and church family here. We have 30+ countries represented and it is a place full of people that absolutely love Jesus Christ!

As I sign off, let me leave you with a portion of scripture that has really encouraged me these past few weeks...

Jeremiah 1:5-8

⁵"Before I shaped you in the womb,
I knew all about you.
Before you saw the light of day,
I had holy plans for you:
A prophet to the nations—
that's what I had in mind for you."

⁶But I said, "Hold it, Master God! Look at me.
I don't know anything. I'm only a boy!"

^7-8God told me, "Don't say, 'I'm only a boy.'
I'll tell you where to go and you'll go there.
I'll tell you what to say and you'll say it.
Don't be afraid of a soul.
I'll be right there, looking after you."
God's Decree.

"God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called"

-George Barna

Love and Blessings,

Brian

Place of Rescue II, Angkor Wat, and True Love Seminar @ Rescue I

On Friday, April 9 the youth of Place of Rescue attended a two hour seminar on healthy, God-honoring dating relationships. The seminar was held on the Rescue property and between 40-50 of our youth attended. I really enjoyed being able to watch the youth I care deeply about learn and talk about what true, healthy, holy love looks like.
The seminar was taught by this man, he is a pastor at New Life Church in Phnom Penh. The kids really seemed to enjoy him. He spoke on the difference between love and lust. He had the youth's attention and had them laughing a lot which are two key things in working with youth :-)
I had the opportunity to go to Place of Rescue II in Monkol Borey (Northern Cambodia) and Siem Reap. This picture was taken at a night market in Siem Reap. Yes, those are fish you see around my feet folks, this is called a "Dr. Fish Foot Massage" and for two dollars you stuck your feet in this huge tank and these fish came to suck the dead skin off of your feet and "massage" them. I laughed, giggled, and screamed the entire time because they TICKLED SO BAD!!!!
This is a group shot of me and some of the kids at Place of Rescue II. We were greeted with a mass amount of hugs upon arrival and these were and are some of the sweetest kids I have ever met in my life. Place of Rescue II is almost at full capacity already! :) God is SO good!
This is Nisa. She is one of the kids at Place of Rescue II.
This picture was taken within one of the temples in Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat was absolutely mind-blowing to see! I had read a bit about it before coming to Cambodia and it was unreal to see it in person. I enjoyed being able to explore the grounds and bit in order to understand more about Cambodia, its people, and where they are coming from. I highly recommend seeing it if you are ever in my end of the world :)

Adios for now friends! God Bless

Love and Blessings,
Brian

Back in the swing of things and a beach adventure with 300 people!

(Hanging out in Sihanoukville)
(This was a giant statue right across the street from our hotel
in Sihanoukville)
(Dara and I chillin' in the sand)
(At the beach, playing with kids, and not a care in the world!)

Hey everyone! I can't believe I have been back for over a month! Time sure does fly :) I am back into the full swing of things at Place of Rescue. I am teaching 4 classes a week and doing some one on one tutoring. I have really enjoyed getting reconnected with everyone and shared with my church here in Phnom Penh how God has been healing my heart the last three months. A highlight of my time back came this past week. Place of Rescue does a yearly trip to the beach at Sihanoukville in Western Cambodia. I LOVED seeing pure joy and smiles on the faces of 300+ kids, grannies, house moms, and staff members. I remember standing on the beach looking at the kids and playing, I was blown away by the sheer goodness of God. So many of these kids have stories that would break your heart, yet to see them being kids without a care and just playing at the beach was amazing! I am really excited for this coming week because I will go to Place of Rescue II. Place of Rescue II is in Monkol Borey, Northern Cambodia. I am excited to see how the orphanage looks, meet the kids, and hear the amazing stories of what God is doing in the lives of people here in Cambodia.

My hope and prayer for you all is this, that you embrace the life that God has given you and love it passionately! I know I do :)

Love and Blessings,
Brian

The lighter side of life in Cambodia...

I really do believe that one of the best gifts we have in life is laughter. The ability to laugh with others and laugh in the right situations truly is a gift. I want to share with you a couple of lighter moments I have had this week...

Yesterday, (Monday for me), I was playing with some of the kids before they went to have dinner and they kept wanting to see my biceps. I don't have the biggest arms ever but apparently here in Cambodia I do. I thought I would have a little fun with the situation and I told the kids that the reason why I have the muscle that I do is because I do the following things...
1. Eat all my vegetables.
2. Listen to my mom and Marie.
3. Go to bed when I am supposed to.
4. Do all of my homework every night.
We all shared a pretty good laugh and lots of smiles.

I went to the local market in my village of Baek Chan on Monday. I rode a bike for about 15 minutes into Baek Chan from Place of Rescue and was greeting by many smiles and surprised people to see a big, foreign guy riding a bike along the road in the village. I got to the market, parked my bike in the "parking lot" (covered hut that cost me 12.5 cents to park at), got some money exchanged and started shopping. I was really excited to be at the market and practicing my Khmer language skills. I stopped at one stall and got talking to the people that owned it. We were having a great chat, I was explaining to them that I was an English teacher from Canada and they got a kick out of how tall and broad shouldered I am. We probably talked for about 5-10 minutes. I turned around to leave the stall and proceed to absolutly smoke my forehead on a cross beam of a stall. I think it was about 6 or 7 of the sellers at the markets got a HUGE laugh out of it and I did to. I guess I need to duck lower next time...;-)

It's good to laugh and appreciate the lighter moments of life. Thanks be to God...

Love and Blessings,
Brian

Back in Cambodia!

Hey all! I have been back in Cambodia for over a week and it had been really really great thus far. I was met at the airport in Phnom Penh by my friend Michael and fellow onsiter's Melanie and Keri which was fantastic! I had a great first day in Phnom Penh at the Christian and Missionary Alliance's guesthouse, hanging out at a favorite coffee shop of mine called "Jars of Clay", doing some shopping at a local market, and had a feast of Lebanese food with some dear friends to celebrate my return. I really am one of the most blessed individuals with the people I know here in Cambodia, God is good :) I arrived back at Rescue on Monday and was met with an unbelievable amount of hugs, smiles, and love.a spent my first few days unpacking and reconnecting with all of my dear Cambodian friends! I taught on Thursday and Friday. I am now teaching grade 7-9 and a couple of older youth privately. I am really excited to work with these youth and develop great relationships with them all! I am coming into my first full week of teaching and am really looking forward to it. I feel like I am in a good place with the Lord right now, I am taking things a day at a time and clinging to His presence and word in a way I haven't before.

Psalm 119:50, "...Your promise preserves my life."

God is bigger than the pain we experience!

I don't know what the future holds exactly, but I know who holds the future.

I am filled with hope :-)

Love and blessings,
Brian

I'm back!!!

R.I.P Dad

This is easily the hardest thing I have ever had to say; my dad has died. I am coming home to Canada...

New Pictures on Facebook!

Hey all, just a quick note to let you know that I have updated my photo album on facebook...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=316256&id=711450530&saved#/album.php?aid=316256&id=711450530

Love and Blessings,
Brian

WAY too long!!

Hey everyone! I know it has been WAY too long since I updated and for that I am sorry. I am officially settled in at my new home at Place of Rescue. I am currently in the middle of my second full week here in the village and I love it. I teach a class of 24 grade 4's, 7 grade 10's, 3-8 grade 7-9's, and some one on one tutoring with a grade 10 and 12 student. This past Thursday, we had the honor and blessing of welcoming Paul Brandt to Place of Rescue. He was here for the day with a group of six other people from North America. He toured the orphanage and then performed an acoustic concert for the kids! Everyone loved having him and listening to him sing. The older kids had t-shirts from his most recent tour and the young kids had "I heart Paul Brandt" t-shirts. I experienced something amazing last monday, I had the chance to help welcome one of our newest children to Rescue. He is a two year old boy named November, he was left at an NGO by his mother and sent to live with his grandparents. The grandfather was abusive, tied him up when he left the house, and fed him nothing but the equivlent of sugar water; heartbreaking to say the least but a wonderful experience to welcome this little guy into a BRAND NEW chapter and opportunity in life. If I could sum up the last little while in one sentence, I think it would be this; Life is so much more fulfilling when it's not all about me.

Love and Blessings,
Brian

Thailand and Moving to Rescue...

Hey all! Sorry it has been awhile since the last post. My trip to Thailand was AMAZING! I saw shows about and pictures of Thailand for so long that it was amazing to finally live out the dream to go and see it first hand. I went with Melanie and Keri and it was fantastic to just relax and be tourists. We flew into Bangkok and stayed at a guest house for a night before taking the day train through the country. I really enjoying being able to see the countryside of Thailand, yet the 13 hrs on a train grew thin to say the least! We finally arrived in Chiang Mai and were greeted at the train station by our guides Tom and Cheeky Nicky, both of these guys were hilarious and definately made the trip worthwhile. We were in Thailand during the new moon festival so it was a lot of fun to check that out and learn more about Thai culture. We packed so many wonderful things into our time in Chiang Mai. We went to the zoo, aquariam, white water rafting, bamboo rafting, visited a couple of Thai tribes, rode an elephant, swam in a waterfall, watched Muay Thai fights (our guide fought and WON!) and so many other wonderful things. It really was the trip of a lifetime. I just moved to Place of Rescue yesterday and am so happy and thankful to finally be here! We have just been in meetings today about figuring out our teaching schedule but I am really excited for what the future holds. Until next time, stay classy friends!

Love and Blessings,
Brian

A quick request...

Hey all! Just wanted to write a quick note to share something that God had placed on my heart awhile ago. As I was preparing to come here to Cambodia, I could sense that God wanted me to do something with this experience and with that said, I want to share a project I will be undertaking; As I move out to Rescue and start my ministry I will be keeping a video diary. My prayer and desire is that I can use this back in Canada to share what God has done, I am not sure how it will all look or anything like that...I do know that it will happen though, He will take care of the rest! Please keep this project in your prayers friends! Thanks!

Love and Blessings,
Brian

Typing is overrated

Frog legs, Wat Phnom, and a taste of home...

Greetings all! Time for another update from the land of Cambodia...Things are going pretty well these days, I have been under the weather this week though with some sinus problems/head cold so prayer would be very much appreciated :) I just finished my second to last week of language school and it was certainly an adventurous one! On Tuesday, our language teachers took us to Wat Phnom (http://www.arrakeen.ch/cambodia/119%20%20Wat%20Phnom.jpg) and we got the chance to talk to some of the beggars and children selling water there. I spent a few minutes talking to a beggar...a very cool experience to say the least. I also had my first of three Cambodian food experiences of the week...I had two bites (incredibly small ones! haha) of a duck embryo egg, needless to say I wasn't a big fan but I did try it! haha After our visit to the Wat, our teachers took us to a roadside restaurant complete with small, plastic stools about a foot off the ground :) I had deep fried frog amongst other delicious Cambodian food, and please excuse this tired saying but it is actually true, it really does taste like Chicken. On Wednesday, our teachers took us to a pagota and we got to practice our Kami with monks. My afternoon Kami teacher is a former monk so it was interesting to practice Kami with them and hear a little bit more about my teacher's life story. My third and final food experience came when I ate my first of four crickets! They were surprisingly tasty and spiced to the point that I had no idea I was eating a cricket! So it has been an interesting week food wise. A couple days ago I received a package from Ambrose via a Place of Rescue board member (Thanks Emma)! I got some candy and two new CDs amongst other little surprises...Super nice to get a taste of home! I start my final week of language school tomorrow, I have definately had a challenging time during language school but I have learned so much about persevering and determination for the sake of Christ! After this week of language school, I am heading off to Thailand for a few days with a couple of friends for a personal holiday. Cambodia has a national holiday during the first part of november and it will be a great time of relaxation and being refreshed before I move out to rescue and start my ministry! I worked really hard this summer and it will be nice to have a bit of a break before the next part of this amazing adventure starts...I promise loads of pictures from Thailand!

Love and Blessings,
Brian

Kami Church in Phnom Pehn

Melanie and I had the pleasure of experiencing a Kami worship service and it was amazing! Here is a glimpse of what musical worship is like. The church is called New Life Centre and there was about 300 Kami young people there, it was amazing to just take a moment and look around at our Kami brothers and sisters worshipping. God is doing a great thing here in Cambodia with our generation.

In other news, I want to take a second to thank everyone that has been praying for me in regards to language studies. I am finding things a little smoother and easier so praise God!

Thanksgiving was a great time here in Phnom Pehn! We were able to join about 30 other Canadians for a massive dinner party on the rooftop of a home in Tuol Kork, a neighbourhood in Phnom Pehn.

I am officially a youth leader at my church here in Cambodia! I am helping out with the Grade 10-12's and went to my first event on friday as we were painting the youth centre that is opening soon in a local neighbourhood. Great kids! I am really excited to work with them.


Love and Blessings,
Brian

Pictures are worth 5000 words...

Kami Lessons and Almond Lattes...

Hey all! I hope everyone is safe, happy, and not freezing from the cold! haha. I have had a busy and incredibly fun week. On October 1st, I officially began taking Kami lessons. I am at Kami school for 4 hours a day, 5 days a week, for approximately 5 weeks. I have a private tutor in the mornings and then lessons in the afternoon. I thoroughly enjoy both my tutor and my teacher. I would really like prayer though for learning Kami, it is a tricky language to learn and it does feel pretty overwhelming sometimes! :-S. I was able to buy a t-shirt at the market today with my tutor speaking only Kami :) A highlight of the past little while was being able to celebrate the high school graduation of one of my roomates. Kosol recently graduated and Place of Rescue threw a party in his honour. Due to Kami lessons, I unfortunately missed the majority of the program but was able to join in for a traditional dinner with the kids and staff. After dinner, the kids and some of the staff decided to dance, most of the dancing was traditional and it was really an interesting experience to join in and learn how to dance. I am sure you all can imagine me trying to dance with my two left feet...hahaha but it was still SO fun! In other exciting news, Melanie and I have a new Canadian roommate! Her name is Anne and she is from Toronto. She will be serving at place of rescue for the next three years as a nurse. I have really enjoyed her company and it is always great to have another canuck around. I am blown away by the number of Canadians I am meeting here in Cambodia. I met a fellow Calgarian at church a couple weeks ago named Wes. I have really appreciated meeting another Christian guy, especially one from Calgary! :) God is good! What does everyone have planned for thanksgiving?? Thankfully, An amazing missionary couple here in Phnom Pehn has invited the three of us over for dinner on saturday :) Not quite my mom's cooking, but it should be FANTASTIC none the less!

Praise Items:
-I feel more and more at home here in Cambodia everyday
-My mentor is fantastic! I had my first meeting with her today and I am really excited for the year with her.
-The Cambodian guys we live with are like the little brothers I never had :)

Prayer Items:
-Continued financial support.
-An understanding and grasp of the Kami language, it's coming but it is still really overwhelming to me sometimes.
-To be used by God, despite language barriers.

Friends, I love you all!

Love and Blessings,
Brian

P.S. The "almond lattes" portion of the post title is from a coffee shop in Phnom Pehn called, "The Terrace" the logo looks a lot like Starbucks but they are WAY better!

This is why I am here....

A Place of Love

Greetings from Cambodia! We have been here for a week now and it has been a busy but AMAZING time. We have been to Place of Rescue three times. The first time was for a visit and general orientation of the property. The second was to help Marie sort out donations from Canada and the third was to be a part of a monthly birthday celebration for the kids at the the orphanage. I truly loved being able to be a part of this amazing celebration and it was a neat experience to hear people worship in the Kami language. Apart from Rescue, we have been busy with exploring Phnom Pehn. We have seen the genocide museum Tu Sleng, the Royal Palace, Central Market, and Russian Market. Melanie and I will start our language study on Thursday so please keep us in your prayers. We are living in Phnom Pehn at the transitional house owned by Place of Rescue with three young guys from the orphanage named Phanna, Kosal, and CT. We are helping them with English and they are teaching us Kami. I am loving learning bits and pieces of Kami thus far, an incredibly funny yet humbling moment was having a young boy at the orphanage teach me to count to five in Kami while he sat on my lap :-). Language tutors come in all ages here in Cambodia! I am still processing the sheer goodness of God in His blessings in bringing me to Cambodia. I am excited to meet our mentor tomorrow. She is a pastor at an international church here in Phnom Pehn and she seems like an amazing lady. Anyways friends! I love you all...Be blessed!

Love and Blessings,
Brian