Greetings from Cambodia...

Hello <<First Name>>,

Makara and I hope you are well and that 2016 has been a great year for you so far.

We are good here. The kids keep getting bigger and more energetic. Soon, Noah will be ready for grade one. We've decided that home school will be the best option for our kids. We are currently researching some good programs. Home schooling is more expensive, but seeing the children of other missionaries in Thailand who are home schooled, and how bright they are, we are convinced that it is worth it.

Makara is in the process of opening a small restaurant at our home. It will have four tables and the target customers will be the high school students who will attend the private school which is being built down the road from our home. Also, she will serve breakfast to the parents who drop their kids off at our school in the mornings. A restaurant has been a dream of Makara's for a long time.

Recently we put in a request, along with our neighbours, to the local government to have our road paved. We will pay some (probably about $1400 USD), the government will pay some, and the private school will pay some as well. All our neighbours wanted Makara's dad to be the liaison between the contractor, government, school, and home owners. They trust him to be honest with the funds. But Makara's mom veto'd that -- he's too busy already, plus he'll get blamed if anything goes wrong. I don't know when the road will actually get paved, but the process is in the works and there is light at the end of the muddy tunnel.

Last week I taught a course on the Old Testament in Hua Hin Thailand. Friends of ours, Aua and Renee, are planting a new church there. They are also now starting to teach bible college courses to train their church members. Hua Hin is a beautiful city right on the ocean. It is also a retirement location for many white westerners. Because of that, Hua Hin is tough ground to be planting a church in -- the cost of everything is high and the people can be closed minded. One elderly British couple left my class because they "could not accept my DOCTRINE". Oh the humanity! But, it turned out to be a great class, and all who stayed enjoyed it.

April is Khmer New Year month -- that is the Buddhist new year. This is the biggest holiday of the year in Cambodia. Many Cambodians will stop work for the entire month and spend the time at their home villages. Poipet quiets down quite a bit during this time. Our school will continue to run for most of the month, but our numbers will drop to about half of normal as the families are all out of town. It's at this time of year when I take time to do renovations in the school and our home.

After my mom's visit to Cambodia last October, she has been telling people in her church about our work here. This is the church that I grew up in (West End Christian Reformed Church). Interest was enough that they put a notice about our work in the church newsletter. We've already received some donations as a result. We are very thankful for this!

Thank you to all who support us as we continue our work here!

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