December Update

Merry Christmas!

This update is our year-end review.  By God's grace, it's been a good year of ministry.

Click here to read about it.

A Trip to the National Museum

In November, our entire 3rd grade visited the Phnom Penh National Museum. In preparation for the trip, the students learned about ancient Cambodian history and culture. As they boarded the vans for the adventure, they were eager to see what treasures the museum held.

One of our teachers answers questions about the architecture of the National Museum.

The children and teachers view statues that date back to the 12th century.

Using a large map to explain to the students how Cambodia used to be much bigger than it is currently.

Learning more about the ancient kings who ruled Cambodia.

After touring the museum and enjoying a snack at a local park, the students returned to Svay Pak with a greater appreciation of their country and culture.

November Update

This month Rachel shared about her experience of often feeling helpless in her work in Svay Pak. Check the link to read the update.

Architects, Project Managers and a New School Building

Many months ago, two American architects generously volunteered to design the new Rahab's House School. After countless emails, phone calls, designs and drafts, they arrived in Cambodia in late October to put the finishing touches on their plans. The week was filled with meetings, walking the land and exploring how best to create a good, safe learning environment for the new building.  It was an exciting week as we caught a glimpse of the new school building and what it will mean for the Svay Pak community.

Reviewing the building plans.

The architects and project managers discuss the details. 

The site for the new school!

Walking the land with the architects and project managers.

Rahab's House School

Coming Spring 2016!

October Update

Check out our October Update to see what we've been up to the last three months!

Recent pictures

Here are some pictures of three recent events:  English graduation, our staff retreat, and the first day of school.  Enjoy!

Praying before the English graduation ceremony

The English staff (head teachers and teachers-in-training)

The Master of Ceremonies

Receiving certificates

Hard at work on the puzzle at the staff retreat

How many Cambodians can fit in a tuk-tuk?

Compiling our core values

So many funny faces

More team-building exercises

The finished puzzle

Everyone was so excited for the first day of school

The students reciting the national anthem and praying before class

All but four of our Rahab's House School team

August Update

Thank you for continuing to sit around our table and hear our stories. This month we share about a recent experience with death, grief and peace over understanding in Cambodia.

June Update

Here is our newest update - Around the Table with Kimberly. Thank you for continuing to be a witness to our ministry in Cambodia!

A Dreamland Field Trip

One of the happiest places for children in Cambodia is Dreamland. It is an amusement park in the heart of the city where there are kiddie rides, a large jungle gym, a fish house and lots of fun games.  Last week we had a team from China visit. They offered to take all our elementary children to Dreamland for a morning of fun.

On Monday our second graders loaded into vans and drove through the city. (Followed on Tuesday and Thursday by our first graders and kindergarteners.)  So many of these precious children had never been to Phnom Penh, so they were quite excited to see Wat Phnom and the king's palace as we made our way to Dreamland. Once we arrived, our students were ecstatic. For the next three hours they ran and played, had a great snack and laughed their way through the morning. It was such joy to bring our students so much happiness.

We are so thankful that our students had this amazing opportunity. Thank you LDi schools!

May Update

You're invited to our table to hear stories and be a witness in our latest newsletter.

Welcome to the Family

Last Thursday morning our dear Cambodian school manager gave birth to a healthy and beautiful baby boy. It was such a joy and blessing to be a witness to this new arrival. Daniel Kim Sonio was born at 8:30am on May 15th.

Daniel weighed 3.2kg or 7lbs

Rachel enjoys some baby time with Daniel

Both mother and son were healthy

Welcome to the family Daniel! 

March Update 2014

Over the last few months we have been praying for more classroom space for Rahab's House School. This month we have seen God faithfully answer this prayer. Check out our March update for more information!

Making Cambodian Wedding Clothes

February through April in Cambodia is dry season--the seasonal monsoons stop, the rice harvest is complete and Cambodians wait until May to plan the next year's crop.  Thus this season is the perfect time to have a wedding.  With no rain, relatively cooler weather and no field work to do, everyone seems to get married during these three months!

As we begin our fourth year in Cambodia, we decided that it was time to finally buckle down and get proper Cambodian wedding clothes.  It is quite the involved process so we want to walk you through it step by step.  

An outfit like this was our end goal

First we had to go to the market and sort through loads of sparkly fabric

We finally found the fabric that we liked

This is the vendor who we bought our fabric from

The material had to be enough to make a skirt, a lacy silk top and an inner lining layer

Then we went to the tailor and picked our designs

Three weeks later we returned and tried on our outfits

We even got to see the tailor doing the intricate beading by hand

We are so happy with our outfits and we have already worn them three times!

February Newsletter

In this edition we look at what's ahead in 2014.

Please click here to read our latest newsletter.

Grace and peace,

Rachel, Kimberly and Becki

Random pictures

Here are some random pictures from the last few months:

Staff pizza party

Svay Pak church Christmas celebration

The Independence Monument lit up at night

The view from our dentist's office

Relaxing with friends

Hamming it up at a local Mexican restaurant

Nothing says "Happy Thanksgiving" like a neon turkey

The mountains in Kampot

Sunset after grocery shopping