So the school year has gotten underway, actually 5 weeks of it! Over these last couple of weeks I am starting to better understand 2 things… the classroom and the culture.

I’ve heard parents with multiple children tell me, often times you can’t raise your children the same way. Each child is different and sometimes what you did with the first child doesn’t work with the next child. You have to find out what works for each child and do that. I am starting to feel the same way about last year’s class and this year’s class. I’ve tried to require the same things and have the same expectations from both classes and it hasn’t worked. I have had to adjust my way of thinking and what I’ve allowed this year in the classroom. I have had to get creative, I have had to find ways to relieve stress, I have had to remind myself that I cannot do this on my own… God already knows what is going to happen and He loves each one of these children and has formed them in His image! I can only depend on Him for help… but I have had to remind myself of this daily.

I have also come to a better understanding of what Buddhist parents think about “Christian” education. They send their students to Logos wanting their children to get a good education and if they hear about Jesus and Christianity on the side, that’s just part of it. Part of my understanding came this week when one of my students received a progress report because he has low grades in Language Arts and Bible. I asked him what his dad would say about this report. My student said his dad would be upset about the Language Arts grade but not the Bible grade. After we spoke for a moment, he said his dad didn’t care if he memorized his weekly memory verse because his dad was not a Christian. I told my student I respected his dad and will continue to pray that God will draw him to Himself. We then had a great talk about how memorizing things helps us in the future, it’s a great skill to have. We will use this skill throughout our entire lives. If the Lord leads you to pray for my students, please do. I don’t think he is the only student who struggles with wanting to learn about Christ but not getting any support at home because the families don’t believe in Christ.

Please pray for me to know how to support my students spiritually, socially and academically. Even though this is my 9th year of teaching, I am still growing and learning more everyday. God is shaping me and molding me, sometimes it’s hard and sometimes it’s easy… but these first few weeks have been hard.

Ashley

It’s going to be a busy next few months for the Phifer Phamily here in Cambodia.  School just started for Ashley and Luke.  Ashley has a full 25 kids this year and Luke just started 1st grade this past week.  We have people from Texas planning visits during the months of October, December and February.  How awesome is that!  While I am on the subject, if anyone that reads this blog wants to come for a visit, reach out to us and we can help answer any questions you may have.  We love showing people our side of the world.

Kam-Air is going strong.  We have had two months of solid revenue generation. We held two weeks of Summer School with Logos, teaching about 12 kids to wakeboard over that time period.  We have also booked up the past three Saturday’s in a row and have several additional groups booked moving forward.  We were also recently featured in a Khmer language magazine, Sabay. Both Alf and I feel this momentum that is carrying us along right now and it’s awesome!  Their are many exciting things happening in the near future for Kam-Air and I can’t wait to share them with you.

Our two employees, Thy and Tha, started English classes and are progressing well.  For those that don’t know who they are, see the following links Thy and Tha. Thy spent time studying English and does all of our translation work we need.  This is the first time for Tha to study English, so it’s a tough job for him, but we are confident in him. Over the past several months Alf and I have watched Tha and we feel he has a gift for hospitality.  We feel that giving him his first shot at learning the English language will help him in future business opportunities in his life.  Here at the end of August, they will finish their first three months of class.

We have had several generous people step up and pay for their classes through the next semester.  If that is something you might be interested in, get in touch with me.

I have also been studying Khmer two times per week and its not easy.  I have mainly been focused on speaking the language compared to reading and writing it.  I have about four weeks of class left in this section and then I will start learning to read and write (good times).  Although it’s difficult to learn a language in your 30’s, I am committed to it and will keep working hard each week during my class.  I feel it’s important to learn the language as we plan on being here at least three years, maybe more.

That’s all for now folks.  Have a good week!

Today marks our one year anniversary since leaving the states and moving to Cambodia to pursue God’s calling on our lives.  Our original plan was to stay here for two years with the option for more.  We left it somewhat open ended surrounding this topic.  As some of you may already know, we have signed on for an additional year, bringing our current commitment to a total of at least three years.  Ashley and I still have the same mentality when it comes to additional years beyond three.  We are open to staying longer and will seek God’s guidance as we get closer to that time frame. Continue reading →

Asia Life Magazine came out to Kam-Air Wakepark and wrote an article with John and Alf. Here is the link to the article if you haven’t seen it! Wakeboarding at Kam-Air Wakepark

As the school year has come to a close, I think to myself… “Is it possible we have been in Cambodia for 11 months now? Have I been teaching in a foreign country for 10 months? Where has the time gone?” As I reflect on the last 10 months of teaching at Logos and 11 months of living on the other side of the world, a couple of things come to mind and it reminds me of a movie my dad loves an old western movie called, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (secretly I really like the music!). So here is a list of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of our time here in Cambodia!

The Good (just to name a few!) – finding a furnished house within our price range to rent on a monthly basis within the first couple weeks of us being here, having people here we already knew before landing, hosting a lifegroup at our house every Saturday, John coming along side Alf and starting Cambodia’s first wake park, two Kam-Air employees learning new truths about the Bible, through weekly Bible study with John and Alf, finding a church to call our church home, John volunteering with the sound at church and me teaching Sunday school when needed, the wonderful and supportive staff at Logos, flying to Thailand – the doctor finding what was causing my pelvic pain and taking care of the problem the same day, skyping with friends and family, seeing 25 kids change and grow into a wonderful group of students and the highlight of the year so far…. one of my students accepting Christ as his Lord and Savior.

The Bad (not so many, promise) – having a mouse in our classroom and not being able to catch it, the truck alarm going off and not knowing how to turn it off without getting into the engine, the wake park system not working for a couple of months, having pelvic pain and the 1st doctor you go to tell you there is nothing there, John falling down on his moto twice, Luke going through a “hitting phase” when we first landed

The Ugly (personal) – God using Cambodia to strip away my pride, selfishness and control issues… He continues to do this everyday, but this really hit hard in February!

So on the last day of school, I sat in front of my students crying uncontrollably as I thought about God’s goodness and how He has carried our family through “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” this year. Through this all, God has remained in control of everything and has shown His power and grace to us time and time again!

UPDATE from Kam-Air Wake Park – The system had been down for a couple of months. The guys didn’t know what they were going to do. They needed parts and didn’t know when those were coming. Sure enough, God had a different plan. He sent a team from Canada (from Matthew McCullough’s home church) to be a blessing. One of the men on the team, Dave, is an electrician and he went to work on the system. Sure enough, after a couple of months of not working, it’s working again! Praise the Lord for He is good!

In Him  ~Ashley

Well just to give you guys an update about our little family. John and I will be traveling to the hospital in Bangkok, Thailand this weekend. I have had some pelvic pain (standing up, getting out of bed, walking up stairs, etc) for a few months now and need to get some answers about what is causing it. A month or so ago, John and I went to the Royal Phnom Penh Hospital to get some test done and see if the doctors there could tell what would be causing the pain. I had a sonogram and an ultrasound done and neither scan showed any problems. I guess that’s good news but also bad news… so John and I decided to go ahead and fly to Thailand. There is a very nice hospital there where many of our friends on this side of the world go to have check-ups, surgery and other minor medical procedures done.

Luke will be staying with my wonderful teaching assistant. I know he will be taken care of and they will have lots of fun!

I will keep you guys updated when we know something more. Please pray and ask the Lord to give the doctors knowledge and wisdom. Pray for traveling mercies (about an hour plane flight) and everything would go smoothly with traveling in a different country. I am not nervous about the trip, but would desperately love to get some answers about what is causing the pain. Thank you in advance for your prayers and thoughts!

Ashley

Every Wednesday at Logos International School, we have chapel for the elementary school kids. One week the chapel will be for kids PreK-2nd and then the next week it will be for 3rd-6th and it alternates back and forth. Each chapel is led by one of the grade levels and this year the upper elementary kids are learning about: Our Identity in Christ, who am I? A couple of weeks ago, it was fourth grade’s turn to lead chapel. Our topic for that week was, “In Christ, I am… complete.” My students had brainstormed a list of things that weren’t complete if things were missing from it. Things like:  a remote without buttons, a puzzle without all the pieces, a motherboard without the other computer parts, a cell phone without a battery, etc. So during chapel the students were on stage sharing about the things they brought and how they weren’t complete without the missing pieces. Then I gave a short message and shared my testimony. Continue reading →

Many of you who follow this blog knew what I did in my previous career back in the US.  I worked at the Institutional division of TD Ameritrade.  There, I managed a group of people and helped financial advisors.  My standard day was spent sitting in a small cubicle, talking on the phone, writing emails, attending meetings or working with my staff.  All of that to say, it was a pretty standard job in my eyes.  It was a career that I originally envisioned myself being in for a good portion of my working life.

Fast forward to today.  My standard day is sitting in a homemade pallet chair or hammock from Kampot, talking with the local kids, eating rice, exploring the local markets for parts, learning how to build a wakeboard park and also learning to wakeboard and as of this week learning to drive heavy machinery.  That’s right, watch out all of you construction folks back home.  I can now operate a Caterpillar Bulldozer and will learn to operate the Caterpillar Excavator later this week. This new phase of my life has been fun, difficult, exhausting and exhilarating all at the same time.  Some days I come home and I am ready for a second shower because I have been outside all day. Continue reading →

We have officially been in Cambodia for six months now.  I missed the December post so I will make a second post this month to make up for that.

We still managed to have a family Christmas here in Phnom Penh.  We did a Skype/Facetime chat with both sets of parents on Christmas morning our time and it was fun “being” with them during that morning.  Christmas was an interesting time in Cambodia.  Around town you see random Christmas trees and lights and in all the big stores you hear Christmas music.  It’s almost surreal and according to people that have been here longer than us, it’s becoming more common to see Christmas stuff around town during December.  We still managed to visit a mall on the days right before Christmas and there was no major parking shortage or last minute shoppers running around.  I don’t know how to describe it beyond it was just a different experience compared to back in the States. Continue reading →

As I reflect on Thanksgiving this year, several things come to mind….

I am thankful for family. I am thankful for a healthy husband who has gotten up at 5:00ish on Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning for the last several months to work out. I don’t know how he does it, he is looking SO good 🙂 A husband who is working hard physically to build a wakeboard park with Alf and reach the community around him. I am thankful for a healthy, growing little boy who is learning to read and is constantly active. I am thankful for my extended family who loves us unconditionally, no matter where we are or what we are doing. I am thankful for our “Cambodia” family who keeps us going on a daily basis. Continue reading →