Life in Cambodia

Hello everyone! I realized that the last time I blogged was just after we got back to Cambodia. So much has happened since then. I will let the photos tell the stories, even though I'm not the greatest at taking pictures. I usually prefer to enjoy the moment, rather than be taking pictures. You have no idea how many times I think of various ones of you, and imagine you here, enjoying the moment with us. But for now, that's where pictures come in handy. To give you a glimpse of our lives on the other side.

Kids Club is still my favorite time of the week! Last week, while doing crafts, one of the kids began singing. Soon everyone joined in, as they continued with their art creations! Spontaneous worship! It was so beautiful! Like anything else, sometimes being a missionary can become mundane and you start wondering if you're actually making a difference. But it's moments like these that make it all worth it! I know God was smiling!

Preparing crafts for the kids

They have so much fun with these simple competitions. They're using clothes pins to grab pom poms and then placing them in the designated spots. Whoever fills all the spots first, wins. 

Stretchy piece of fabric. So much fun, coordinating with each other to bounce balls on it and making sure they land back on the fabric and not on the floor. 

And then there's these moments, when your head is so itchy, you're convinced you've picked up head lice. I asked my friend to check. Thankfully she didn't find any. We do head lice checks and treatments with the kids on a regular basis. Most of them enjoy the attention and the prospect of a less itchy scalp. 

On to other news, 

Colin started a new job. He now works for a company called WorldBridge Outsourcing. It's an exciting opportunity where we feel God opened up the door for us to walk into it. He didn't even need an interview as back in February and March, he was engaged as a Consultant. God knew what He was doing! Colin's job allows him to be in a position to hire hundreds of Cambodians and give them a career. He also gets to bring kingdom culture and be an impact in the marketplace. 

We purchased wheels for me to get around! This little bike serves me really well. I don't miss having a car when I can drive around on a little scooter! It's big enough to get me around town, and small enough that it's not overpowered. 

This is what it looks like after an afternoon of errands and grocery shopping :) 

We moved to a new  beautiful apartment about 2 1/2 months ago. We've made it into our little home and love having guests over for meals. 

What a blessing to meet up with this beautiful family from my home area! 

One Saturday in September, we spent the day with Delmar, Melinda, and Kyra. Seriously, thank you so much for coming! It was really special! 

A few weeks ago, Cambodia celebrated a 3-day holiday. We took that opportunity to head to the mountains with some of our close friends. 

View from the cabin where we stayed  

Trees, grass and fresh air always do me good. 

My husband makes the best stir-fries. Whenever he's around when I'm making a stir-fry, I always ask him to make the sauce. It's so good and it's such a simple meal! 

Then there's times when I miss home... 

So I made Belizean rice & beans and chicken. I have yet to figure out if comfort food is meant to actually comfort or if it makes us more homesick. Whatever the case, it was a good meal! 

Who would've thought?! I found this at the store we usually buy our groceries. Maybe Canada isn't that far from Cambodia after all! 

So that's a lot of little things that have happened here in the last few months. God is so faithful and patient as we continue to learn to depend on Him above all else. 

Love you all! 

-Brenda Chen

Saying "I Do"

Hello blog world! So much has happened since my last entry, I could write a book. Since December, my relationship status has gone from in a relationship, to engaged, to married. My name has changed from Brenda Dueck, to Brenda Chen. There’s even a wedding band on my finger! I’m back in Cambodia. It’s been a wild journey! 

New Years Eve, at midnight, under the stars, Colin went down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was so awestruck by the beauty of the moment, all I got out was a whispered “Yes”, as he slipped the ring on my finger. We shared our first kiss. It was magical! Time seemed to stand still. At this point we climbed back in the truck, since it was about -35 degrees Celsius. Together we asked God to bless and guide this new step in our relationship. 

A few weeks later, Colin flew back to Cambodia and I stayed in Canada to spend time with my family and friends and plan the wedding. I also worked part time. We spent countless hours on the phone. Both of us had less than ideal WiFi connections, so there was a lot of “can you hear me?”, “let’s try messenger” and “let me go outside”. One of the benefits of long distance relationship is the amount of time you spend in conversations. We had to keep talking. That was the only way to know that our wifi connection hadn’t failed. I learned to verbalize my feelings and thoughts a lot better. We discussed cultural and personality similarities and differences. We talked about childhood experiences. We dreamed together. And prayed together. And so much more. But, boy, was I happy when those 106 days were over and I was back in my beloved’s arms! 

Colin was back in Canada for just over a month before our wedding. We finished wedding planning. We went shopping for our time back in Cambodia. We spent time with family and friends. We did premarital counselling with my pastor. And we counted down the days till we’d become Mr and Mrs. 

June 8, 2018, dawned bright and clear! We did photos in the morning. Had lunch with family and bridal party. At this point I was completely tired. I had wanted to enjoy our wedding but at this point I wanted it to just be over. We prayed for more energy and that we would be able to look back and say we enjoyed the wedding. By the time I got to the wedding site, I was energized and felt recharged. As I walked down the aisle with my dad, looking into the eyes of the love of my life, I thought my heart might explode! So many flutters, feelings, and joy! It was happening! The time of worship was beautiful and full of the love of God. We said yes to Jesus all over again. And then we stepped up to commit our lives to each other. Only God could’ve come up with such a beautiful thing as marriage. As we signed the legal documents, braided the three-cord stand, and shared communion, we remembered God’s faithfulness and love. All this in the midst of our family and friends, who went above and beyond to pour into us, our relationship, and wedding. 

And then we rode off into the sunset (ok maybe the sun wasn’t actually setting yet). We spent four amazing days in a cabin by the lake and two days in the city. Came back home and began packing and spending the last days with family. 

June 24th, we stepped on the plane, together, to fly back to our other home. The first morning we drove around the city on our motorcycle, happy to be home. Spent a week getting over jetlag and settling in to Colin’s apartment. And then Colin went back to work and I went back to join my Iris team. 

These last few months have been such a whirlwind of events and emotions. Most of it has been absolutely amazing and some of it hard! But it’s been so much, I feel like I stayed behind. I jumped back into ministry really fast and pretended all was well. But it caught up with me. I’ve spent the last few days resting, allowing myself to feel, to miss my family, to be a wife, to get used to the food and culture again, to think and process, to trust God, and allow Colin to pamper me. 

In all this, I want to say God is faithful! I am excited to see how He will continue to lead. 

Thank you to so many of you who have blessed us through letters, meals, finances, hugs, and encouraging notes! 

Love you all, 
Brenda Chen