tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2708097346216116902024-02-07T12:19:20.080+07:00DREAM TEAM JOURNALCambodia. Faith. Travel. Us.Leanne DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957213581224268841noreply@blogger.comBlogger219125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270809734621611690.post-6351079242280777422013-07-13T00:06:00.003+07:002013-07-13T00:14:21.779+07:00We Somehow Lived...
Where to start...all that has happened in the last month...
People ask us how the move went and how the transition back to America is going, and we respond with, "well we made and we somehow lived." And I know that each of these people would love a better answer, and one we hope to give one day, but everything that has happened to Chris and I in the last month seems hard to sum up nicely Leanne DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957213581224268841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270809734621611690.post-82200993055750981942013-06-16T11:33:00.000+07:002013-06-16T11:33:07.662+07:00Giving to Missionaries
Many times we have the conversations with people on the topic of, "what can I do to help the global missions movement?" This conversation came up often last year when we were visiting America or when we have visiting teams or our own personal visitors, and even over email. People want to know how they can be a part of God's work outside of the walls of the States.
We most often Leanne DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957213581224268841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270809734621611690.post-7153062211631925782013-06-10T23:21:00.000+07:002013-06-10T23:21:37.069+07:00What We Have Learned in Missions
If this whole missionary thing has taught me one thing, it is that this life is full of insane juxtapositions. I have one life of working with Khmer and Vietnamese staff and the students who have to be on a payment plan to pay the annual school fee of $2.50 to be in our catch-up schools, and then I run home to eat my hamburger that was cooked by our house help while we watch theLeanne DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957213581224268841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270809734621611690.post-87713431852001112652013-06-02T10:53:00.002+07:002013-06-02T10:54:34.622+07:00One last bike distribution.
The staff and women from Precious Women Cambodia
On Tuesday I was able to distribute bikes one last time before leaving Cambodia. Leanne, our friend Kristi and myself picked-up and delivered 13 bikes to a ministry called Precious Women which reaches out to former prostitutes and helps them get vocational training.
As we passed out the bikes, talked to the women and prayed for their new Chris DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612228858933272775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270809734621611690.post-10145920354793098952013-05-31T09:58:00.000+07:002013-05-31T09:58:52.849+07:00In the Province
Asian Hope's 2Five2 program took on an additional project this past year to open a partnership with another organization called Children In Families. This organization works to help children who are orphaned stay in Khmer families through foster care and kinship care before they would ever go to an institutionalized orphanage. We have loved working with them and are excited to see Leanne DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957213581224268841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270809734621611690.post-56636088702809685982013-05-29T14:49:00.001+07:002013-05-30T12:51:37.946+07:00Stayin' Classy at Graduation and Senior Banquet
Leanne, myself and the Moons acting fancy at Banquet. All my ties were packed, don't judge!
Two of my most significant events of the year happened in the last two weeks. First and most obvious was the Logos graduation ceremony in which the school said congratulations and goodbye to 21 seniors whom I have come to know well and love over the last three years. For the second year in a row IChris DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612228858933272775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270809734621611690.post-52219904564732177312013-05-22T08:12:00.000+07:002013-05-22T08:12:42.164+07:00Starting Over Again. Yup Again.The craziness of packing, cleaning, sorting, more packing, and somehow stuffing our lives into perfectly sized 50 lbs boxes is well under way. We are days away. No longer months, only days.
In a matter of days we start over again...again.
Often I find myself overwhelmed with the thought of trying to end a life in Cambodia. Finishing our jobs well, saying all the hard good-byesLeanne DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957213581224268841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270809734621611690.post-86586746226016710092013-05-17T14:29:00.003+07:002013-05-17T14:29:58.564+07:00One Last Visitor
We have had the privilege to host many family and friends here in Cambodia. We have had each of our families come, and a handful of some of our closet friends. There is nothing as special as showing your life to those you love, and we feel honored that we have gotten to do it so often.
For the past week Kim and Taylor Nelson have been hitting Phnom Penh by storm. TheyLeanne DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957213581224268841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270809734621611690.post-58571138379739351502013-05-13T09:15:00.003+07:002013-05-13T09:15:45.807+07:00Cambodia Bike Project Keeps Rollin' Along
Starting Cambodia Bike Project has been such a blessing and an exciting part of the work that Leanne and I get to do here in Cambodia. The program is so simple to manage, pay for and organize but it has such a substantial and long-lasting impact.
Leanne was kind enough to connect me with a teacher that she works closely with and recently I was able to do a distribution just around the cornerChris DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612228858933272775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270809734621611690.post-11557453118918795432013-05-07T09:58:00.003+07:002013-05-07T09:58:46.902+07:00So We Did a ConferenceSo we did a conference back in 2012, and it was a big deal. A big deal to us. You know one of those life changing ones. I know it sounds over-kill, but really for us it was exactly what we needed at the time.
It was called Refocusing Leaders and we wrote about it a little here. It is a year long conference that meets four times for 2-3 days at a time. I know super Leanne DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957213581224268841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270809734621611690.post-55073681908957557062013-05-04T08:19:00.002+07:002013-05-04T08:19:35.643+07:00Mamma was in TownIt has been a busy month, but now we are back. Starting four weeks ago Chris broke his wrists, then we were gone for our "spring break," then my mom was here visiting us, and last night we ended a very busy work week where I was training my successor to take over 2Five2. But for now I want to give the highlights of my mom's visit.
We met her, and our close family friend, Mary Beth,&Leanne DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957213581224268841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270809734621611690.post-17836426662205492612013-05-02T15:41:00.001+07:002013-05-02T15:41:20.243+07:00one month...We have one month before we leave Cambodia. One month of the sights and sounds of the streets. One month of the dirt and the rain and the dirty rain. One month of lizards in our trash cans and bats in our bedrooms. One month of flooded homes and streets. One month of three dollar meals and fifty cent beers. One month of pushing hard and making the most of the opportunities we have, and I hope we Chris DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612228858933272775noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270809734621611690.post-26058094048386681722013-04-23T17:27:00.000+07:002013-04-23T17:27:45.980+07:00First Day of School
Today was a huge day for 2Five2. A Monumental day. Today we walked 107 students ages 5 to 17 to school for the first time in their lives.
A day they were told almost 2 years ago would come eventually. A day they have been studying for at our catch-up school for days on end, so that they could too have a piece of paper that said they had accomplished something.
Students were a little nervousLeanne DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957213581224268841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270809734621611690.post-21815663662270245612013-04-14T07:41:00.000+07:002013-04-14T07:41:57.091+07:00Friends and Babies
Our dear dear friends Dan and Jess Hein are having their third baby this year, and we couldn't be happier to celebrate with them. A few weeks back I hosted a baby shower for Jess so we could celebrate their new baby boy, Joshua.
I hosted it with another friend Angela (all three of us run together on Wednesdays for the past 3 years) and we enjoyed fun games, good food, and Leanne DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957213581224268841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270809734621611690.post-20432197121292928182013-04-11T10:14:00.000+07:002013-04-11T10:14:13.206+07:00It's All in the WristsChris plays in a Monday night men's basketball league, it is a highlight for him every week. All the guys that go have come to be his close friends, co-workers, and people we deeply respect. It usually is a great night.
But last Monday while playing Chris took a fall and hurt his wrists. As I watched one of his friends help him put his shirt on because Chris couldn't do it Leanne DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957213581224268841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270809734621611690.post-18296463232580251482013-04-05T06:24:00.000+07:002013-04-05T06:27:35.030+07:00Our Easter RecapWe don't have any pictures to post or great stories to tell, but our Easter was wonderful. Easter was the closing day to a very packed two weeks for Chris and I. We had a team from America that were here working in our projects, the end of the season soccer tournament, and a bike distribution, along with our everyday roles and responsibilities left us tired and ready to rest in Leanne DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957213581224268841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270809734621611690.post-79512452123009436462013-04-02T16:24:00.000+07:002013-04-02T16:24:12.080+07:00Give it to me dirty or don't give it at all...Leanne and I have been a part of a lot of brokenness over the past year. We have mourned the death of a student who was close to us and a co-worker we both admired. We have seen illness and how it impacts the physical and emotional health of a families and communities. We have seen marriages struggle and fail. We have seen the perils of addiction, the darkness of depression and the barbs of Chris DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612228858933272775noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270809734621611690.post-11690847606560872102013-03-22T11:49:00.001+07:002013-03-22T11:49:16.065+07:00JusticeI often read the blog A Life Overseas because it provides great insight and comfort that other people out there feel the same way we do here in Cambodia. Earlier this week the blog posted a video about why people give their life to seeking justice.
You can check out the video here. It's only 2 minutes.
We loved the video because it explains the connection we feel to the Leanne DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957213581224268841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270809734621611690.post-11211007368635199792013-03-19T10:24:00.001+07:002013-03-19T13:20:18.699+07:00To Be a Fly on the WallIf only I could be a fly on the wall or have video taped our evening and sleep of Monday night...
As you often hear us say now, it is hot season, and the adjective "hot" does not by any measure encompass what the weather feels like for the next 4 months. Having power during this season is vital to yes, I am going to say it...survival.
Phnom Penh doesn't have the power grids to Leanne DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957213581224268841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270809734621611690.post-72772218164727636092013-03-13T19:15:00.001+07:002013-03-13T19:15:18.590+07:00The Ease of TravelIn honor of it being Spring Break time back in the States, we are going to do some catching up on our getaway from last October. The "fall" slipped away from us, so even though this is dated we will still fill you in.
One of the many things we love about living in Cambodia is that places like Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia are in our back yard. Vietnam is 6 hours and a $9 bus ride Leanne DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957213581224268841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270809734621611690.post-92104698109686756392013-03-09T20:23:00.002+07:002013-03-09T20:33:00.359+07:00The Fashionistas of Phnom PenhI (Leanne) have never been one to be real good or keen on fashion. I am a jeans and T-shirt kinda gal, and here in Cambodia I am a capris and T-shirt kinda gal. I am the person who always wants to buy a scarf but doesn't because I don't really know how to wear it. Matching and knowing what type of accessories seems harder to me than learning Khmer.
Here in Phnom Penh I have now Leanne DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957213581224268841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270809734621611690.post-38155825481530449212013-03-06T19:57:00.001+07:002013-03-06T19:57:39.004+07:00Pitch PerfectSoccer season has been in full swing for the past month and I must say this is the most fun that I have ever had on the sidelines. I have coached high school soccer for six years now and I have never been around a group of players who are as talented, motivated and driven. Watching them play is a simple joy and there are times when I believe that they could play with any team they oppose, Chris DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612228858933272775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270809734621611690.post-81574791183140413682013-02-22T09:25:00.001+07:002013-02-22T09:33:43.832+07:001,000In April of 2011, I began the process of learning about finding joy in thankfulness. I read the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp and discovered life through a completely different set of eyes. Eyes of looking for the joy in every part of your day, and being truly thankful for all the many gifts that are lavished upon me.
On April 28, 2011, nearly two years ago I began my own list of 1,000Leanne DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957213581224268841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270809734621611690.post-19380426799395788552013-02-19T19:16:00.002+07:002013-02-19T19:16:54.353+07:002Five2 Staff Retreat through Pictures
Last week I, Leanne, headed to the Cambodian beach for our 2Five2 staff retreat.
We had 3 days to play in the waves at the beach. To catch crabs. To sing while the evening lights scattered the shore.
We played silly games to enjoy true fellowship with one another.
We sang beautiful worship in Khmer as a group who is faithful to Christ despite the struggles that it&Leanne DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957213581224268841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270809734621611690.post-42439742915382847992013-02-14T11:28:00.000+07:002013-02-14T11:28:08.919+07:00One last stay with the Ketchums
For the past week and half or so we have been staying at Angie and Ryan's house with their 4 sweet girls. If you have followed on previous posts, Angie has been going to Bangkok for the past 4 months for chemo treatment for her recent diagnosis of breast cancer. These last two weeks her and Ryan went for her surgery. For those who have been praying the surgery went great Leanne DeRemerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07957213581224268841noreply@blogger.com2