What's Next?

So this is a really overdue blog update…. It’s been over a month since we have been back from Cambodia and I wanted to share some of our thoughts on the back end of our trip and the season we are currently in.

Some of our thoughts coming back:

First, we want to thank everyone for your love and support through this journey! We really do appreciate it!

We love the people! The Khmer and the Chatamouy* were so welcoming and friendly. We loved getting to interact with the people of Cambodia!

We met a ton of wonderful people while we were there!! Specifically, a couple with a young child that we got to spend a fair amount of time with. Asher is getting close to turning two, and it enabled us to see what having a child on the field would practically look like. It seems like a lot of work, but worth it!

It’s HOT!! The heat, to us, is definitely the hardest part about Cambodia. The heat and humidity drains your energy and makes even the smallest tasks seem more difficult. (A worker encouraged us to spend 4-6 months without using the A/C at all to get adjusted…we're still not sure about this one!)

We definitely want to go back, it's just a matter of when...

So what's next for the Browns? 

This is something we're still working on and at the moment are a little unsure of. In all honesty, I (Donovan) think I was a little disappointed that the Lord didn’t confirm that we are supposed to be there while we were on our trip. In our talks with some of the other workers it took them months, even years for the Lord to confirm they were supposed to be in Cambodia. It's all in His timing, but it still doesn't make the waiting any easier! J

I tend to be an impatient person. So this season of waiting is extremely hard for me, but it is also a growing time. I know that the Lord wants us to draw closer to Him, not to get an answer or anything from Him, but to simply fall more in love with Him and be obedient when He does point us in a direction.

We covet your prayers during this time. Here are a few things you can pray for us about:

·        Clarity & Discernment

·        Patience

·        To fall more in love with Jesus during this season of waiting and listening

*named changed for security reasons

Siem Reap

Himm Family (Reaksa and his wife, Polly and their children, Sophia and Philos)

     So, on Wednesday we had the opportunity to fly to Siem Reap to visit with a Cambodian family that Donovan has become very close with over the last few years. Reaksa has an incredible story...he lived through the Khmer Rouge (Cambodian Genocide) during which time he watched his entire family be killed, exiled to Canada, where he found Jesus...he then came back to Cambodia and found the people that killed his family and shared the gospel with them and they're now believers. Among many other things, he now has a center for kids to come and use computers and a library for free. It's a safe place for them to hang out and fellowship. Reaksa is truly a blessing to the community and everyone he meets! It was such a joy to hang out with he and his whole family! I love the work they're doing here and my heart was definitely stirred to see the way he ministers.

Of course while we were there we did some of the touristy things as well...like visit Angkor Wat. It's the largest temple in Cambodia and is really what they're known for! It's actually quite amazing...there are so many details that it's hard to believe it was built hundreds of years ago! There's also a dark spiritual presence there...they still have buddas set up and places for people to worship. Seeing visitors kneeling before these idols was heart breaking. Honestly, just looking around the country period is heart breaking because there are sooooo many people that are lost...less than 1% of Cambodians truly follow Jesus! God is definitely moving among those that know Him, but there's still a long way to go! 

Here are some other fun pictures for y'all. One of my goals while we were here was to ride an elephant and we were going to try to on our anniversary, but it didn't work out. So while we were in Siem Reap we did just that!!!! Below is Sambo the elephant! =) A typical means of transportation here is motos so Donovan insisted I ride one. On the right is a picture of my first ride!!! =)

365 days of Marital Bliss

That's right folks...last night we celebrated our first anniversary!!!!

This year has been filled with some of the best memories...from the 15 weddings we attended to Cambodia! As I look back over the past year I can't believe how quickly time flies! It feels like just yesterday I was stressing over the details of our wedding and now I'm stressing over the details of potentially moving to another country! =)

One thing at a time right?! 

For now, we're enjoying our time in Cambodia and can't wait to spend many more years together!!!

Village Living

So, immediately upon arriving in Cambodia we headed for a village about five hours outside Phnom Penh called, Chhlong. This is where one of the teams has been working for over ten years. I really can't begin to explain how different it is than city living!! Even though Donovan has spent some significant time here it was still vastly different than what he was used to.

We had been told to bring a mosquito net, but that's about it...this was third world country living on steroids! You can see our bed to the right with our mosquito net...the really "pretty" bed covering was just a bottom sheet because there was no need for any covers because there was no air conditioning...only a tiny fan to circulate the hot, sticky air! The bed was actually quite comfortable and helped get our minds off the loud, barking dogs outside and the rats crawling in the ceiling! =) After the initial shock it was actually quite pleasant! 

  To the left is a picture of the bustling market that was right outside our window, literally. It starts at 4am every morning! It actually worked out well for us because we were still recovering from jet lag so we were already up! While we were in the village we had the opportunity to visit with some of the families of the people group we'll potentially be working with...they were incredibly friendly and welcoming! During one of our visits I'm pretty sure the entire village came into the house to see us, there were at least 30 of us crammed into a 10x10 room. One night we joined the Chhlong team for a dinner to thank the government leaders in the village for allowing them to minister freely. This was really special to witness the team have the government's blessing in a country like this!

This is just the first of what we're sure will be many adventures! =)

Below: Our to go iced coffee - Village style!

We're Here!

After 22 hours of travel time from Atlanta to Seoul to Phnom Penh we arrived at about 10:30 last night! We had pretty uneventful flights, thankfully!

While we were in Seoul, Kimberly ordered us some food from Burger King. She ordered me a cheeseburger with everything on it, and it was fine. But she ordered a cheeseburger with only ketchup, and apparently they didn't think she wanted a burger!! So she got a bun with cheese and ketchup...oh the joys of cross-cultural communication!!! (see the picture to the right)

We are stayed with the Zach and Noelle Slagel last night, potential teammates, they have the most adorable two year old son named Asher. The Slagels are starting a team working with an unreached Mslm minority group here in Cambodia and this is the team we will most likely join.

This morning we are heading out to a village where another PI team has been working for the past 10+ years with the main people group of Cambodia. There we'll be able to see all that they've been doing over the years and what Ch planting in action really looks like! The main focus of going to this village is to visit with some Mslm families and meet that people group. Please pray that the Lord would really speak to our hearts if this is the people group He wants us to work with!

Thank you for your prayers and staying up to date with us! Feel free to send us an email if you have any questions about anything!

Welcome!!!

Welcome to our blog!

I must first admit that I am not a writer and I'm certainly not a blogger, but we'll do our best to keep y'all updated on what's going on in our lives!

-Kimbo