Yesterday, I asked the girls what they were having for breakfast. They were sharing rice and pork, a typical breakfast meal here that I’ll share a bit more about later.
Author: Charles
Update on Charlotte’s Heel
I wanted to give you a quick update on Charlotte’s Bike Injury. We had a check-up at the Doctor yesterday and, as you can see, it has been healing well. There’s still some swelling around the ankle and one wound that’s still open. Charlotte’s been quite enthusiastic about physical activities since returning to school despite…
In Support of a Plastic Ban
This afternoon on a road near Charlotte’s school I got a photo that illustrates the need for a single use plastics ban. I think this one speaks for itself.
គុយទាវ | Kuy Teav
Kuy Teav is a Cambodian rice noodle soup similar to but distinct from Vietnamese Phở. It’s a popular breakfast item across Southeast Asia – with local variants like Hủ Tiếu in Viet Nam, Kway Teow in Malaysia, and Kuai Tiao in Thailand. It’s usually made with pork stock. It uses different spices and rice noodles…
Single Use Plastics Ban
The Khmer Times shared some news this morning that seems too good to be true. Yesterday, the Environment Ministry announced that it is preparing to ban single use plastics in Cambodia. The Thai government announced a similar initiative earlier this week. Biodegradable containers like banana leaf were used in traditional Khmer society. These were thrown…
ផ្លែទៀប | Sugar Apple
Also known as the Custard Apple or Sweetsop, I thought for the longest time that this was Milk Fruit but it’s actually Custard Apple. In Khmer, it’s called ផ្លែទៀប (plae tieb). It’s a sweet fruit with a mild citrusy taste. It has many large seeds that are smooth and quite solid. The outer shell peels…
Cambodian Spice Pack
This morning at the local market I picked up two of what I call ‘Cambodian spice packs.’ In traditional rural life, villagers wouldn’t buy these ingredients but would have them growing in their yards. Life is a bit different in the city – though many homes still have these growing in pots – so they’re…
ឈានចេញទៅ | Stepping Out
This morning we attended New Life Fellowship. We really enjoyed the song Stepping Out that, we think, was written by their praise band. Peter walking on water is one of our favorite passages from the Gospels because of how it illustrates that a little faith is better than none. It’s true that Peter began to…
Willard Swartley
One of the books that I brought from North America is Health, Healing and the Church’s Mission. Reading this book was the extent of my interaction with Willard Swartley. The book is a wonderful – if dense – discussion of the Christian Church’s formal role in healthcare. A role that the contemporary Church has largely…
Three Languages, None Khmer
Yesterday morning at the local market in Phnom Penh a boy asked me, in English, “Do you speak Vietnamese?” I know maybe seven words of Vietnamese so I answered with, “Xin chào.” He responded in Chinese with, “Wo hen hao.” I have to thank the bookshop owner in Prey Veng for teaching me enough Chinese…