When was a time that God answered your prayer in an immediate, almost shocking way? I was recently reminded of this event in my own life: When I was in college, I had a green mechanical pencil of a particular brand that can (perhaps) only be found in a certain […]
The Rabbit on the Moon and the Language of Sound
I was sitting in my kitchen the other night in Cambodia, staring at my bathroom door, and it occurred to me: the bathroom, of course, has a three-inch threshold. You have to step over that to get in. This detail of architecture is so ubiquitous I never stopped to think […]
Teacher, Do You Believe in Ghosts?
I once read a comment that said, “Southeast Asia is haunted.” Cambodia definitely is. People are deeply animist, worshipping spirits of all kinds and seeking to commune with the dead. People see ghosts, interpret dreams, and go to fortune tellers. The language has vocabulary words for categories of spirits that […]
Let’s Play! (But Cambodian Style)
Kids love to play. That’s true everywhere on the planet, but even in games you can find cultural differences that alter the experience. Since I work in children’s ministry, the issue of games and children’s play comes up a lot. As a teacher, how much effort do I need to […]
What Does It Mean to Be “Teacher” in Cambodia?
Kids are kids everywhere, but in different cultures there are different cultural practices around teaching, learning, and even play. As a missionary focusing on children’s ministry, I wanted to develop for myself a style of children’s ministry that would fit naturally into Cambodian culture and be easy for Cambodian Christians […]
When I Feel Dead Inside: Ecclesiastes
Every so often, I slip into a melancholy mood. Life seems a weary thing; the world noisy and discordant. My emotions stagnate. Joy and excitement are lost to a dull monotone of feeling. I try to pray. My spirit is cold. That’s when I open up Ecclesiastes, and there I […]
Books that Shaped My Childhood: Peter Pan
“All children, except one, grow up.” This is the iconic first line of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. I don’t really remember when the book first reached my hands, but my beloved, battered copy remains on my shelf to this day. I have been surprised by how many people have not […]
Happy Khmer New Year! Pursat Songkran 2025
The following describes the adventurous journey to see the fireworks on Pursat City’s Golden Ship Island on April 15th, the second day of Khmer New Year, 2025. We brave the streets during the height of songkran, several days of public free-for-all water fights, where baby powder is included in the […]
Guiding Young MKs: Adventuring Out of the Fortress
It’s a unique thing, growing up in a country where you look different. In the previous post, “Looking Different,” I explained what it’s like for many missionary kids who live in countries where they are in the extreme ethnic minority. It can be hard to deal with the realities of […]
Guiding Young MKs: Looking Different
Many missionaries in my circles serve in countries where their family is ethnically different from the nationals of that country. A lot of these missionaries are citizens of Western nations where the population is a lot more multi-ethnic than the country in which they serve. What does this mean for […]