Much of the time, life in Cambodia bears a lot of similarities to life in the West, in spite of its differences. It’s nothing like the old jungle mission stories, where reclusive jungle tribes thought of the newly-developing field of electronics as magic, and any white people were thought of as baby-eaters. To the contrary, …
My kitchen faucet has been a sorry story since I moved into this little house a month and a half ago. Yeah, it was more than a drip-drip-drip, but not by much. It would take a full 60 seconds to dispense enough water to cook a pack of ramen. And if I ever want to …
Last March, when the pandemic hit countries around the world, the church found itself in a problem. The church had 67,000 missionaries around the world, and as countries quickly implemented lockdowns, the church started working to return its missionaries to their home countries. So then… what? Instead of ending their mission time, the church encouraged …
You know what? It’s easy to forget about election day when you’re on the other side of the world. At least, until it’s already half over and everyone starts asking you who won. In the United States though, it’s different, I know, on this dismal week (either way, mind you.) Nobody forgets. But in the …
I have a friend. She’s a year and a half old, now. A couple months ago, I was helping her family move to a new house, and for awhile in the afternoon I ended up being her “guardian”, while her family was occupied with other responsibilities. Being the intensely happy and always energetic girl she …
Air Conditioners and Cliffs (and lessons on trust) Read More »
He was destined for great things. It’s what happens when you’re a prince; when your father is the king of an empire. This young man was no exception. When his father, while on his deathbed, imparted the crown to his son, the destiny of an entire empire changed dramatically. You know how managing a family, …
As the COVID-19 hurricane has ransacked the world, it’s left a lot of damage. And we keep hoping the storm will dissipate, move back out into the ocean, anything—as long as it goes away. Somewhere. Somehow. Unfortunately though, a pandemic lasts a lot longer than a hurricane. And also, unfortunately, a pandemic’s effects cannot be …
The other day, I was walking on the edge of the valley where I live, an area elevated above the small town with views straight across the valley to the Cascade range. The sun had dropped below the horizon awhile before and the mountains were fading into the starlight. I like the starlight, because it …
Travel is prohibited. You cannot get closer to someone than six feet, so, as the too-familiar slogan states, if a kiss begins with Kay, then it ends by a virus. Nobody can eat at Taco Bell. The grocery store is still open, but you’d be lucky to find toilet paper. (Why toilet paper?!) The government …
They were not unused to trials—for their parents, now dead, had been slaves in a foreign land. Many of these remembered, if only faintly, days when food was scarce, or weeks of anxious waiting to see if papa survived his last stint in the mines, or times when they had to work tiredly all day …
