My Khmer Family

Meet my beloved Cambodian family, the bloodline of my pdai (husband):

Pa and Ma. Chamnan and Sokly. A beautiful couple who have raised six, strong young men.  Pa is an engineer and currently works as a "project manager" in the rice fields in the province. Ma stays at home and raises our nephews. One mealtime it was mentioned that I want a Khmer name (that my family can pronounce and remember!) Pa chose Leakena, which means "girl with an almost perfect attitude."  They are beautiful people and I think about them all the time, always praying that they will recognzie their need for Jesus Christ- Savior and Redeemer.  I'm anxious to see how our relationships grow and develop in the years ahead. :)

My nephews! On the left is Chamroat, age 7, and on the right is Reaksmey, age 5. (Both much smaller than your average 7- or 5-year-old child in America.) They are adorable... Seriously, so cute!  We visited them at home twice before going on vacation together. At the beach, Chamroat warmed up to me, but Reaksmey never really overcame his shyness. I really enjoyed watching the boys play and interact with their uncles!  The boys LOVED the beach! While we were in the sand or water, they were all smiles, all the time!  In the days ahead, Chamroat and Reaksmey will be starting school for the very first time! We are excited to help provide this opportunity and to see what the future holds for them!

My brothers! When I married my husband, I gained five more bong-tlay (brothers-in-law) - Chamraun (28), Chamnieng (26,), Chamrong (24), Chamnong (20), and Chamnob (16). Pictured with me above are Chamrong, Chamnob, and Chamrong.  While we were in Cambodia and on family vacation, I especially enjoyed getting to know these guys! I miss them today!

They were all very welcoming. They seem very close. They are all funny like their oldest brother, my husband. I could hardly understand any conversation that took place during our time together (HATE THAT LANGUAGE BARRIER!) but I can see that they all love their motherly deeply, have great respect for their oldest, and are curious about their new sister-in-law. I often find myself thinking about them and wondering what they really think, how they really feel, always praying that they will come to know the Lord. I'm anxious to see how our relationships develop and grow in the future... and I'm anxious to see this family grow more!

At home, the Romdenh family minus Pa and Chamraun


Chamnieng and wife, Bopha, with sons Chamroat and Reaksmey


Sad good-byes at the airport

Missing them,
Jewel

Romdenh House Jewelry

If interested in purchasing anything below, please e-mail jewelincambodia (at) yahoo.com or leave a comment in the comments section below. Thanks!

The funds raised from the sale of these Cambodian souvenirs will help us continue to support 1 of our pastors in Cambodia with a monthly income, as well Titus' family and other special ministry projects in Cambodia, such as:
♥$30 will buy approximately a month's supply of rice for a small family
♥Quarterly training seminars for the pastors (averaging $500 to cover the entire event, including transportation and food)
♥A bicycle for Titus' brother so he doesn't need to pay for a ride to/from work
♥Tuition and uniforms for our nephews, Chamroat (age 7) and Reaksmey (age 5), to start school for the first time



55lbs bags of rice purchased for 6 families during our January 2013 trip
There will be a couple of opportunities within the next few weeks-months to get more items from Cambodia, so if you are interested in something that has already been sold and you are willing to wait [until perhaps April,] let me know and I'll get one for you. ♥

Thank you for your support! Your dollars go a long way in Cambodia! ♥


Chunky stone bracelets $9/each ~ Still available in Yellow, White, Red, and Lime Green


Long chain of wooden beads $8/each ~ Available in pink, purple, blue, multi-colored, orange, and green


Unique dangle earrings $7/each
Bottom left pair sold; all other pairs still available


Stone elephant necklaces $6/each ~ Available in turquoise, yellow, and purple
The length of the necklace is adjustable.


Elegant stone bracelets $6(thin) and $7(thick)/each


Colorful anklets $3/each

If interested in purchasing anything below, please e-mail jewelincambodia (at) yahoo.com or leave a comment in the comments section below. Thanks!

With a passion to see
Christ glorified in Cambodia,
Jewel

Romdenhs in America: December Update and Specific Prayer Requests for Upcoming Trip

A green Green Card!

Titus received his Green Card! (And yes, it is green!) We are praising the Lord!! He is now a permanent resident (at least until his status expires in 2 years!) The process/journey of applying for a fiancé visa, [Titus] transitioning to the USA, applying for a Green Card, interviews, appointments, documentation, etc. has been a CHALLENGING experience. It has, at times, tested our faith, and brought us to our knees in exhaustion; but through it all, we have seen the Lord MOVE MOUNTAINS and we can stand today and testify to His FAITHFULNESS and His GOODNESS! When Titus was still in Cambodia, every time (3 or 4 times) that we needed to exchange paperwork, there was someone (short-term teams or missionaries) going to and/or from Cambodia/USA at just the right time. This saved us 100’s of dollars, and much time and frustration. The same week that we submitted his Green Card application, I started a full-time, well-paying, job with benefits! The Lord is in the details, and we are so immensely THANKFUL for that! His blessings are new every morning. Praise Him!!

With his Green Card, Titus will be allowed to re-enter the United States. That means… we’re planning a trip to Cambodia! Titus and I have already been talking about how we would LOVE to see his family accept Christ while we are there!! Please, please, please join us in praying for the salvation of his parents, brothers, cousins, and every member of his family! While our time in Cambodia will be short and busy, we plan to commit much of our time and energy sharing God’s Love and Good News with the Hem and Romdenh families.

We do not have dates yet, but I am already raising funds for our next trip. Right now, I have lots of unique and beautiful Cambodian souvenirs (jewelry, wallets, hair accessories, & scarves) for sale, as well as some things that I have hand-made (journals, flower magnets, headbands.) If you are interested in purchasing any of these, browse my  my Facebook (facebook.com/jewelromdenh). Thanks to those who have already supported us in this way!

The Lord has been opening doors [and surprising us!] with opportunities to share our story with 3 other Cambodian-American couples who are also pursuing visas of some kind. One of the couples – Amy and Thanak – found my blog while searching the embassy and visa requirements on the internet. If that alone isn’t surprising – Amy lives less than 40 miles from us! The Lord works in mysterious ways. I never thought that the Lord would be using us in this way (other than helping Jessie & Aldean!) and never did I think that my blog would be so far-reaching! Titus and I were HUGELY blessed by having another couple help us through the visa-application process (Thank you Novs!) and it has truly been a blessing to be used in this way! Pray that God will continue to use us to be a blessing and encouragement for these three couples [and potentially others] and that the Lord will continue to guide them. [Megan and Tee pictured above.]

Additional prayer requests include: Please pray for wisdom and discernment as Titus and I continue to pursue his education at Indiana Wesleyan University. The process has been more complicated than what we anticipated, requiring receiving his transcripts directly from Cambodia, not accepting any of his credits from the WBI, and requiring an expensive English proficiency test.

Thank you so much for all your prayers and the support that you have provided for us as a couple in the last year. We have truly been blessed by having so many wonderful friends and family members! To those who we do not hear from regularly: please, let us know how you are doing!

Serving Him,
Titus & Jewel

This little chicky went to market and wobbled all the way home!

Monday night, Titus and I had chicken feet for dinner at my house.

Chicken feet...
for dinner...
at my house.

"These morsels of skin and bones are a unique combination of textures: the wrinkled, puffed up skin on the surface and the soft, gelatinous tendons within."

My husband had all the toes cut off before I got home, so I sadly do not have any pictures of the claws. [Click HERE to see a picture from the fabulous www.]   However, I did get plenty of other INTERESTING pictures to initiate your curiosity, and a recipe to satisfy your craving. The following are three simple steps to creating a fabulous feety feast:

• First, I recommend that you start by removing the claws (you can do this by simply cutting off the toes) as they do not “swallow well.”
• Next, season the feet in 2-3 cloves of garlic, a few pinches of salt, a few more pinches of pepper, and 3-4 tablespoons of brown sugar.
• Finally, fry the feet in oil over medium feet. The minute the chicken feet enter the pot, the hot oil will begin to sputter and growl like some form of primordial lava, engulfing the feet until all you can see are the bubbles of the oil.

Something's afoot here...

One foot in the right direction...

Footloose and fancy free...

Put your best foot forward...

Holding one's feet to the fire...

Tip-toeing around...

The shoe is on the other foot...

Going toe to toe...

Putting one foot in front of the other...

Fancy footwork...

Anyone want leftovers??

Love love love, 
Jewel

and here I am, honest

I have some very dear friends on their way home from a missions trip in Uganda.  They will come home with incredible stories, testimonies of God's goodness and power, and changed hearts; and HERE I am.

Here I am.
Yearning to GO.
Yearning to SHARE.
Yearning to BE USED.
"...Understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here..." (Romans 13:11, 12). Christ is coming back and only 1.3% of Cambodia’s population knows Christ as Lord and Savior.


"You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, 'Here is your God!'"
Isaiah 40:9

the Apostle Paul in Romans 9:2,3; 10:1-3; 11:13,14:

"I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers... Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness... Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them."

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?..."
Romans 10:14,15


Yet,
Trying to patiently WAIT for the door to open.
Looking for His PLAN for us here.
HOLDING FAST to His spoken Word in Jeremiah 29:4-7,

"This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 'Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.'"

I'm happy for my friends; proud of them, actually. I'm glad that all 12 ladies had the opportunity to go.  I'm excited to see them and to hear their stories and see their pictures. I'm anxious to hear how God used them and spoke to them, and what He's calling them to next.



Rachael at the orphanage where the team lived for a week


A few of the ladies on the team with Uthman, an orphaned, Ugandan boy that a family in our church is in the process of adopting; Uthman has not yet been blessed to meet his new family , but he knows each of them by name.


"Painting the Kwagala Prjoect’s salon today and through God’s provision blessing them with a business loan, aprons, capes, and supplies for their salon. Loved hearing from the director that because of God’s provision they will now be up at running at full force by the end of the week! All glory to God!" - Jade, women's team leader to Uganda 


Joy in receiving [their own copy of] God's Written Word!

...but I'm anxious for my turn.  Lord HERE I am, use me.

Love, love, love,
Jewel