A Call To Serve: Cambo, Kiddos, and Cold

There has been so much that has occurred since our last post. Of course that tends to happen when we don’t blog for three months. But there are a few highlights we would like to share.

First of all, we had a spectacular time in Cambodia. Words cannot describe how happy we were to see Ryan, Nikki and the grandkids. We got a much better understanding of their life and their ministry there. The Baillies truly are living their calling in that country.

The timing of our visit was perfect. Ryan and Nikki had a team retreat in Kep (pronounced Kype), a town near the coast, and needed babysitting during their meetings. Turns out Nini and Papa make pretty good sitters, so we piled in the car and took the long trip across the magnificent scenery of Cambodia. The beauty of the countryside can only barely be captured in words like remarkable, stunning, and breathtaking. We hiked the hills with the kids finding incredible views where the jungle met the coast and small islands floated far off in the sea.

The city of Phnom Penh was completely opposite. Lacking any open space, it still had just as much beauty but in a different light. The streets were narrow and lined with buildings, homes, shops and vendor carts selling delicious dried snails. Inter-twinning strings of electrical wire tied the buildings together, some drooping low enough to nearly touch the roofs of vehicles. Random streets would sometimes be closed for a Khmer wedding (they put up huge tents in the middle of the street that completely blocked traffic and would sometimes last a whole week). The city was so crowded that it is easier to travel by moto (a low cc scooter) than by car because we could literally weave through traffic. To put this in perspective, little Zeb had an accident at home that required he get stiches. To get him to the clinic quickly, Nikki decided it would be faster to put the injured but brave Zeb on the moto with Ryan instead of taking him in the car. For many families a single moto would be their only transportation, so it was common to see mom, dad, one or two kids and a baby riding a moto. Zeb and Jaya share Ryan’s seat to get to school everyday.

Definitely a beautiful country with some remarkable accomplishments over the past few decades. We are also so happy to see the Baillies thrive there. Please keep praying for this ministry and subscribe to their updates.

Dad did well with homecare while we were gone, but was certainly happy to have Jeanine back to help him. He is still very strong but has had a few falls out of his wheelchair when transferring from the bed. He suffered only few bumps and bruises. He has had a pacemaker installed and had a quick trip to the hospital for dehydration, but is happy about how things are going lately. He was excited to watch the Puppy Bowl with us on Animal Planet Superbowl Sunday.

On another note, we are happy to say we were able to go see Tim and Lynsi in Virginia this past weekend. Tim was ordained Assistant pastor, which was something we were not going to miss. It was good to see them and the other grandkids. We did have to cut our trip short and come back a little early due to the blizzard that hit New England. An absolutely ridiculous amount of snow (34 + inches) followed by frigid cold temperatures hit last week. Since then, it has snowed two more times adding another foot and reaching a balmy high of 10 degrees.

We have been spoiled from seeing all the kids and grandkids recently. It was a huge blessing that we both truly needed. It has encouraged us to keep going. We are also very uplifted by our church and feel very welcome there. Jeanine has been playing guitar and singing on the worship team. We have also taken on a teaching gig in the children’s ministry.

Now if we can just get the snow to stop falling and get to temperatures above 15 degrees…..

God bless,

Mike and Jeanine (and Riko)