Jesus Loves Me

Good morning from Cambodia!

"Jesus loves me." To be able to speak these words and fully believe them, changes the way you view life and circumstances. A few weeks ago, after kids club, several kids stayed in the room for a few extra minutes. They were doing their own things. Reading books and chatting quietly. My ears perked up when I heard these words, in their local language, "Jesus loves me". One of the little girls, spoke them almost under her breath and to no one in particular. We tell them this truth over and over and have them repeat it often. But what a powerful statement for her to speak over her life. In the midst of her less than ideal life, with mom working, leaving her to fare for herself for the day, she knows that Jesus loves her! 

That's been my prayer over the community. That they would know, deep in their hearts, that Jesus loves them. As I walked through the street to our room in the community, my heart cried out for everyone to know that Jesus values them. He created them and paid the cost for them know love forever and ever! 

Making superheroes!

The kids are so proud of them. We attached pictures of each child's face. Multiple times I saw them flexing their muscles in front of their superhero. It made them feel strong!

Once a month, we have education week. It is just to help support what they learn at school, Khmer alphabet and math. This is the alphabet chart they made during craft time.

We've also done a few basic English classes. Here they learned the English words for different colours. They're loading the train cars with the correct colour stickers. Since we had two trains, it promptly became a competition between boys and girls to see who would be quicker :) 

Learning English body parts with 'Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes'.

One of our team members compiled all the art pieces for each child into separate books. I was surprised how proud the kids were of their work. They usually don't want to bring their pieces home, but they loved the compilations. I guess there was something about seeing it all together and how well they had done.

Playtime!

Heading home after kids club, loaded with fresh fruit. Don't tell the others, but the last ones sometimes go home with more snacks ;)

International Women's Day! This is one of the amazing women on our team! Here she's walking through the community with the rest of the team, celebrating the women by giving them roses. Their responses were remarkable! 

Canada

We got to go to Canada for a number of weeks to rest, rejuvenate, and connect with family and friends. It was such a blessing!

When I got there in March, it was still COLD! Still we bundled up and went on a walk on country roads. 

I miss them so much when I'm away!

Farming with my nephew!

Farming with my husband :)
Colin is so great at trading in life in the city for life on the farm for a couple of weeks because he knows how much it means to me!

Reading to the little ones

Hanging out with this young lady is always a treat! Skyenne, you bless and inspire me with your contagious joy and love!

Catching up with friends was very encouraging! I love hearing what God is doing in each of your lives! 

Family Weekend

April 20th and 21st we had family time. We celebrated two birthdays, everyone together again, and our 20th anniversary of moving to Canada.

These two beauties share a birthday!

Flying kites

Everyone grows up so fast! Hard to believe that I have a 12-year-old niece!

We reenacted a few photos. This one was taken on our move to Canada in 1999. 

20 years later!

Our family in 2008

Sitting on the same rocks in 2019. 

God is faithful! I couldn't wish for a more amazing family! Love and miss each one!

On our way back! Suitcases loaded with chocolate chips, coffee crisps, La Cocina chips, canned peaches, and canned beef. Hearts rested and full of joy and anticipation.

 Thank you everyone for a lovely time and for pouring into our lives again! We couldn't do what we do in Cambodia without all our amazing friends and family!

We've been back in Cambodia for a little over a month now.

Just over a week ago, we witnessed these two commit their lives to each other! It was beautiful and meaningful! I'm glad we were able to be back in time for the wedding.

Life is back to 'normal'. At least as normal as life gets. Work, ministry, friends, marriage, etc. There are new adventures and challenges every day. I will hang on to the truth that 'Jesus loves me'. 

 Love you all!

-Brenda Chen

Christmas Abroad

Happy New Year’s Everyone!! 2019!!

In all my travels, I somehow managed to spend Christmas with my family every year. This year I wasn't with them. For those of you who know me, know that Christmas to me isn’t about presents or food. I know ultimately it’s about Jesus, but a close second is my family. I love spending time with my family. There’s a break from the busyness of farm life. School’s out for a few weeks. Gardening and canning is out of season. It’s cold and snowy outside. Warm and cozy inside. What’s not to love about Christmas with family in Canada?! I still think it’s ideal, but this year I wasn’t there.

For the last few months, Colin and I discussed whether I would go home for Christmas. But I didn’t want to leave him for so long. I remember last winter too well, when we were apart for 106 days. I knew it wouldn’t be as long as that, but it kind of needs to be at least a month, for it to be worth the flight over. We both knew it wouldn’t be financially wise to both go over and Colin wouldn’t be able to leave his job for that length of time anyway. We decided to miss Christmas with my family this time. It wasn’t easy and I’m looking forward to spending next Christmas with them, Lord willing. But we just made a few changes to the usual Christmas traditions and I was ok.

Something God taught me was that there is a difference between celebrating the birth of Jesus and Christmas traditions. I decided to focus on Jesus rather than what I was missing out on. Mary and Joseph didn’t spend ‘Christmas’ at home either. I could celebrate Jesus just as well in a warm country, away from my family, as in Canada with them. At first, I felt guilty for not wanting to attend events that tried to recreate Christmas in the West, with the music, trees, lights, and food. But all that did was remind me of home, which then got me close to turning on the waterworks. So we did all kinds of other fun things that I’ve never done for Christmas before. I wasn’t denying Christmas, just shifting my focus. It’s been interesting. Here’s a few photos of our Christmas in Cambodia. And I actually wouldn’t mind if some of those turned into Christmas traditions for the Chen family 😊

A few weeks before Christmas, we went to the beach for a few days, for a retreat with Colin's staff.

Railway Community Christmas Party! Games, drama, sharing the Gospel, praying, gifts, and food. It was lots of fun!

Christmas Eve Dinner #1. We had a lovely buffet dinner with our dear Mama Ruth. Can't believe we didn't get a picture with her. Guess we were enjoying it too much to think of taking a photos.

  

After dinner, we went to Ruth's house and she showered us with cute gifts. One of them was these snow-covered trees. My little winter forest in Phnom Penh.

 
Christmas Eve Dinner #2. I'm grateful for all our friends here.


Christmas morning - Fast food breakfast


And then watched Mary Poppins Returns


Spent some time walking the mall after.


Came home and cooked dinner to share with our new friends.
They just moved to Cambodia a few weeks ago and were also missing celebrating Christmas with family. Showed them around the city after dinner. God is true to His word and provides family when we say 'Yes' to Him. It was a fun evening!

 
Online Christmas celebration with my family. I thought it might be hard seeing them, and not being there. It wasn't that bad and it help me feel so beautifully loved and included. I'm glad we did it and for how well the internet cooperated. 


As you can tell, internet wasn't quite perfect, but it's already so much better than snail mail.

Between Christmas and New Years I cleaned and organized. 

It's such a good feeling to once again know whats in our house and where it s.

I also made tamales. Colin approved of the the taste, so I'll call it a success :) 

Helped my friends run some errands one morning. Still get a little nervous driving a car in this city, but can't turn down the adventure of doing it.

Got to hang out with this princess while my friends did their shopping.

New Years Eve with our friends. So much food! Thank you Liza once again! 

Also, it's been one year since this beautiful, romantic night! A lot has happened since then and it hasn't all been easy, but I'd say 'yes' again in a heartbeat. I love this man with all my heart!

As much as I would've loved to be with my family for this season, it's been beautiful and meaningful in it's own way. I'm glad we said 'yes' to Jesus and to Cambodia. Full of love, adventure, and faith! 

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

Relationships

Hello from this freezing cold land, aka Manitoba!! Almost three weeks ago I forced my body to transition from hot to cold, a 13 hour time difference, and from being half a world away to living in the same house as my beautiful family. It’s funny how I always forget what it’s like coming home after being gone for an extended period of time. It catches me off guard every time. Let me explain. Weeks before coming home, I anticipate going home. I imagine all the hugs and warm welcome. They pick me up at the airport with big smiles and bear hugs. I feel like the most loved person in the world. For the next few days, we talk a lot, catching up on each other’s lives. Slowly, I feel a mental shift. Something feels different or off. I can’t ever quite place my finger on it. It’s like a weird turmoil inside of me. For a week or two I walk around confused. And then I realize what is happening. I have had to learn to function without my family by my side. They have had to learn to function without me by their side. We’ve all changed and grown during our time apart. Sometimes it feels like irritation or disagreements or unexplained restlessness. So I have to tell myself it’s ok. It doesn’t mean that we don’t love each other. It’ll get better. We will understand each other again really soon and our hearts will feel connected again. Don’t get me wrong! I absolutely love and adore my family and wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world! But I have to ask myself, why do I have to ‘learn’ this the hard way every time?!

On a different note, this is the first time Colin and I have attempted a long distance relationship. I don’t think we’re very good at this. I miss him A LOT! In the last few months, he has become a very important person in my life and I don’t like this 50,000 miles distance (maybe a little exaggerated) between us one bit. I am very excited that he is coming to Canada real soon to see me and meet my awesome family!

Just in case any of you are still waiting on a post of how we met, here you go J. This is for those of you that like detailed love stories. If you don’t want to read it, I won’t be offended in the least bit.  

When I moved to Cambodia, my Malaysian friend, who I had met in Africa last summer, connected me with her friend who is also a missionary in Cambodia. On May 26, this friend, invited me to church and a birthday party after. I didn’t want to go to the party and have to spend the evening with a bunch of strangers. However, I knew I had to be intentional at building community, so I went. I remember sitting sort of across the table from this handsome, dark-haired guy. Colin seemed cool, but I didn’t think much of it. It so happened that he took me home from the party with his motorcycle. This isn’t just any normal bike. It’s beastly and magnificent! We chatted a bit on the way, but mostly, I just enjoyed riding through the streets. I was shocked at myself for enjoying it so much as I never thought I was a biker kind of girl. For a few minutes I forgot all about my homesickness and the anxiety of adapting to a brand new life. When I got home, I felt refreshed and excited! I’d made new friends. I’d be ok. I was especially thankful that I now had a guy-friend, so I had someone to protect me if I wanted to be out in the evenings and someone to be a brother cause mine were so far away.

I started hanging out with Colin’s group of friends. And then he took me out for dinner and a city tour. As we stood by the river and talked, he shared with me why he came to Cambodia and his love for the people there. His eyes glowed as he shared what God is doing in Cambodia and how he’d seen God encounter people with His love and power. Looking back, that’s where I fell in love with him, although I probably wouldn’t have admitted it to anyone, including myself.

We had a few more discussions as the weeks went by and a lot of praying between the discussions.

Discussion #1:

Me: I am new in this country and I don’t want this friendship to be any more than just friends.

Colin: I’m not closed to the idea (of being more than just friends).

Discussion #2:

Colin: I like you. I could really see us build a future together.

Me: I’m not ready to start a relationship just now. If you want to wait till I come back from Canada in January, you can. If you want to move on, you can. (This was after God had already given me great peace about beginning the relationship).

Colin: I will wait for you.

Discussion #3:

Colin: This 'just friends' thing isn’t working for me.

Me: I just don’t know (cause it wasn’t working for me either).

Colin: I have never felt this way about anyone before. I’m having huge trouble sleeping. I’ve been praying A LOT too…

…Circumstances I simply cannot guarantee anything, except a deep reliance on God.

Me: (Jaw drops. I couldn’t believe he’d just said that last sentence. For the last few years I’d been praying that ‘my man’ would tell me that before I’d get married. Tbh I’d tried to come up with a plan to get my man to say it. And now Colin just said it. Without any ‘help’ from me.)

Me: Let me talk with my family. I’ll get back to you in two weeks.

Colin: Goodenachte. Bott lota. (Haha he was already studying Low German)

Discussion #4:

After I’d had a lengthy conversation with my dad.

Colin: Do you want to be my girlfriend?

Me: (30 min later) Yes.

We held hands and asked God to be the centre and focus of our relationship.  

So obviously I’ve summarized the conversations and skipped a lot of what we talked about. It’s been quite the journey since we began the relationship. We have hit a number of rough patches, but also seen God move in ways only He could.

Colin has inspired me to pursue God above all else. He has helped me dare to dream bigger and believe God for the impossible. He listens patiently as I stumble around for words to describe what is going in my heart and only offers a solution to my problems if I ask for it. He lets me cry on his shoulder when I miss my family. We laugh together a lot as well. In all this we want to honour God and put Him before any of our dreams and ideas.

So there you have it J

Jesus. Life. Hope. Colin

Good morning! I've had an interesting last few months. Cambodia has started to feel more and more like home. I'm learning to really enjoy a lot of the foods. I love driving in the traffic. I love trips to the countryside. I praise God for the relationships with the beautiful people here. There have been unexpected twists and turns. Some of them are gifts from Jesus. Others can feel a bit overwhelming. 

Going to the Railway Community two days a week are still my favorite times of the week. A few months ago, I was asked to help lead the ministry there, along with one of the Khmer staff. That has been a stretch for me, but also very rewarding. It provides me with lots of opportunities to trust God for wisdom and creativity. It is incredible to see the kids encounter the love of Jesus. I love seeing their hearts connect with a loving heavenly Father. It's so powerful to get to worship God with them. And to have them come running with smiles and hugs never gets old. 

 

But then there are the hard situations that tug at my heart and I can't just shake when I leave the community. When we pray and pray and the situation seems to just get worse instead of better, I wonder where Jesus is in all this. Hopelessness knocks at my heart and all I have left to do is spend time in the secret place with the One who is our only Hope. He reminds me that He loves and cares about the people involved so much more than I do. 

I have Khmer class twice a week. Today, I was taught how to cook a traditional Khmer dish, called “Lok-Lak”. It is stir fried beef, served on a bed of greens. The classes go at a good pace that keeps me challenged enough that I learn new words every lesson, while I keep up, review and practice words that I already know. I can have a simple conversation in Khmer now! I can’t wait to be able to understand the stories from the Khmer people, pray together and believe God together with them!

Jesus frequently provides me with opportunities for refreshing times as well. One of my favorites so far has been camping at Kirirom. We went up on a mountain, covered in nothing but pine trees, grass, crickets, and fresh air. It reminded me so much of Canada, I forgot I was half a world away. We pitched our tents, built a fire, and roasted hotdogs and marshmallows. It was such a beautiful weekend to just breathe and focus on God.

Remember what I said about unexpected twists and turns? Well, I have another very unexpected twist I’ve been excited to tell you. God brought an amazing man into my life! I met Colin Chen 111 days ago at a birthday party. Since then we have somehow found our ways into each other’s hearts. We started dating 33 days ago. We started the relationship by holding hands and asking Jesus to be the centre of it, and we continue to do so at the end of every date. We really sense God in this and I thank God for Colin every day. He has blessed and encouraged me in countless different ways. One of our favourite things to do is take a drive through the countryside, surrounded by rice fields and cow manure. It’s already been an incredible journey and I’m looking forward to getting to know him even more. Stay tuned for the next post to hear more about him and how God brought us together.

When I Grow Up...

What do you want to be when you grow up? It’s my favourite conversation starter with kids. I love listening to their dreams. Here’s a few of the common ones…

• ·         I want to be a teacher
• ·         I want to be a nurse
• ·         I want to be a mommy
• ·         I want to be a farmer
• ·         I want to be an astronaut
• ·         I want to be a singer
• ·         And the list goes on…

They don’t spend time thinking about the education, time, and money that would go into becoming any one of these. They just see themselves doing it. They have so much fun pretending to be a teacher or an astronaut or whatever.

When I was little, I pretended I lived with the poor. I was a mama to kids who didn’t have parents. I read them stories and held them close. I made sure they were happy and satisfied before they went to bed. I’d tuck them in lovingly.

I grew up and realized for that dream to come true I’d have to overcome some obstacles. As a child I hadn’t realized that it would mean leaving my family. I didn’t know I’d have to learn a new language. I didn’t know it would cost of lot of money and I wouldn’t necessarily be earning any. I didn’t realize that my childhood friends wouldn’t be coming with me. I didn’t know I’d have to learn to enjoy strange foods. I didn’t think about it that I wouldn’t be able to help on the farm with the rest of the family. I didn’t know how hard it would be to be face to face with suffering every day. I didn’t know how many years it would take till it became reality. All I knew was that it made me feel fulfilled deep inside.

For the next 20+ years, I fell in love with Jesus and kept dreaming. God did an incredible work in my heart. He delivered me from fears that were huge obstacles in my life. I surrendered my dreams to Him. I learned to rest in Him. I knew He would make it happen in whatever way and time was best. Next to Jesus, this dream, or calling, became my most important passion in life. I decided at quite a young age that I’d stay single, unless God brought me someone who shared this passion. (Haha that’s for those of you who have wondered why I haven’t gotten married ;)

Three and a half months ago, I got on that plane and flew across the ocean. The beginning was rough. I missed my family. I missed speaking the same language as the kids I worked with. I missed my childhood friends. I missed Mom’s food and having plenty of meat for every meal (still do). But…I get to see the kids come into kids club with expectant smiles. I get to hold their hands. I get to look at picture books with them (I can’t read yet). I get to give them a healthy snack. I get to see them worship Jesus, in spite of the circumstances they’re in. I get to give them smiles and see them smile back. I love being on Jesus’ team and be part of bringing revival to dark places. I love praying and believing for breakthrough for families who feel stuck in the enemy’s grip. I love seeing families rescued from the street and placed in a safe home where they encounter the love of Jesus. This is all well worth any sacrifices I may have made to be here. I feel fulfilled deep inside to be doing exactly what I’ve always dreamed of doing and to see God’s faithfulness through it all.

I had my 3-month interview last week and agreed to stay longterm. I guess that means I’ve officially moved to Cambodia! This makes me very happy!

 

 

Be blessed and don't ever give up hope!

“developing a life in God’s presence above all else is the only way to fulfill our God-given destinies. Keys to our callings are released when we spend time there.” Heidi Baker, Birthing the Miraculous