Not much happening here in Cambodia except that we are going through a bit of a rough patch with Covid. Last year we were free from it all but now it’s hitting hard. Lots of markets are closed and a travel ban between provinces are in place for this Khmer New Year. There is also a night clock rule from 8 pm to 5 am. Vaccines are rolling out and we as foreigners can also get it free.
In the meantime, I keep myself busy with making toys and the boys are busy on their computers, wonder what they watch, but we also go for a ride once a week at least. Friends came over and we were a few guys and girls on our bikes, just riding around the lake. The lake is closed due to Covid but we are allowed to go around it and that makes for a nice ride. Keeping the kids happy is a priority. While we were out riding all the kids, small ones, 6 of them and 2 mums stayed behind with Twans. They had a fun time, looked like crèche here for a while. Now our fridge is full of nice pictures from the small cute girls.
Petra, a missionary friend, comes around once a week and then we can do some woodwork in my garage. Her 2 guys are making very beautiful rings from a good wood that I cut for them. Great to see these Khmer guys having so much patience to finish off the rings.
I had to totally revamp Noah’s villa because of the rain. It collected a lot of water and it was a poor design for a roof, hahaha. Well got it done and it seems much better. She is doing pretty good and seems her wound is getting smaller. Please continue to pray for her.
Toinette and the staff is busy with their online classes with the children in the villages due to the Covid. They are getting the hang of it now and the children participate pretty well. The sewing classes also delivered some fancy potholders. This year definitely teach us to be resilient in everything.
Reading a book with the boys, this is my 3rd time I am reading this book so it must be good, Beautiful Outlaw and it is all about the humanity of Jesus. We so often put Jesus in a box. In this book we can discover really who Jesus was and what He did so we can experience Him in our daily lives. Just a short piece of it. Read this with an open mind, please.
“Throngs are flooding to the Jordan to be baptized by John; the “whole region” is making their way to the river. Jesus files down bankside with the rest of the crowd and takes a place in line. Nobody gives him a second glance. He’s just another sun-baked Jew in robe and sandals, taking his turn like a guy at a deli waiting for his number to be called. John looks up from his several-hundredth baptizee, and sees Jesus standing there. He is flabbergasted. He protests: “Never in a million years could I do this.” Jesus says, “It’s fine. This is a good thing. It’s all right.” Then he steps into the river and John dunks him like the rest. It is an absolutely unimpressive story when compared with the men who think they’ve come to change the world. How do they usually get things rolling? Picture the scene in the movie Gladiator—typical to the inauguration of Roman emperors—where Commodus rides into Rome on a chariot like a conquering hero. Cheering mobs line the roads—paid to attend to make a good impression. Amid all the hollow pomp, the pompous fool gives a demur wave, feigning humble acceptance of the throne. It is appalling in its arrogance. When Saddam Hussein was ousted from his dictatorship, a good deal of coverage was given to public places in Iraq. What I found particularly disgraceful were the massive idols he had erected in his honor. Murals and statues of Hussein the Magnificent were plastered all over the country—a handsome and dashing military hero, bold, a man for the people, forty years younger than he actually was. A demigod. Many dictators have done the same. Hitler did it; Chairman Mao too. It’s just creepy—the self-obsession, self-exaltation, the desire to be worshipped. Yet the only king who ever had a right to be worshipped shows up riverside at somebody’s else’s revival and waits his turn. Afterward there is no press conference, no sermon. Jesus just disappears for forty days, and the only one who seems to notice is the wild Baptist in the camel skin. A day or two after his return, Jesus is just strolling by and John—gripped with excitement—seizes his own pupils by the shoulders and says, “Look! Look! There he is!””
— Beautiful Outlaw: Experiencing the Playful, Disruptive, Extravagant Personality of Jesus by John Eldredge
Love to you all
Rossouw-clan
No comments:
Post a Comment