RAISING YOUNG READERS (as published in TLL Sept. 2012 Issue

Aleeyah reading at Sovanna mall book sale

“There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world. Love of books is the best of all,” says the former US first lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Reading book is essential to the literacy development of a child. Reading is an important habit a child needs to develop early in order to succeed later in life, be it in school or in the work place. Reading demands two ways; parents or adult reading to a child and child reading books himself. 

Following are a few tips how you can help your child develop the love reading:

1   1.  Start Early. There is no such thing as reading to a child “too early”. Studies have shown that it is good for the mom to start reading to her baby while the baby is still in her womb, and then continue throughout the stage of infancy. Reading enhances a greater bonding for the mom and the baby; also with the dad. It will help the baby learn to recognize and respond to sounds that she hears repeatedly.

2   2. Read to Your Child at Bedtime. Read to your children, especially at bedtime. Bedtime stories are special moments to share love to your children. Reading develops their comprehension and logic/reasoning skills. More importantly, reading stories help them learn moral lessons, and also sets their mood to sleep early each night. 

3   3. As soon as the Child knows how to Read, Provide Varieties of Books. Provide the child books of different sizes, colors and genres, depending on their age. Start with stories. Story books are always captivating to a child. Poetry, Rhymes and Educational books can be added to the type of books your child needs to read.  

     4. Read for Fun. Make every reading time a fun time, and not a stressful one. Allow your children to use their imaginations while reading. Let their minds explore the world of imagination as they interact with the authors or the stories in the books. 

5   5. Visit Your Local Bookstore and Buy Books Regularly.  There are several bookstores in Phnom Penh that sells cheap and expensive new books, but there are also numbers of secondhand bookshops that sell books for fifty cents to a dollar per book only.

6   6. Give Books as Presents or Incentives.  Although books may not be as exciting as new toys, books are good treasures and investment you can give to your children as present or incentive. For children who love reading, receiving books always excites them seeing that they have books added in their library collection. A famous American educator once said, “Wear your old coat and buy a new book.” 

7   7. Visit Your School Library. You can arrange with your child’s teacher to visit the school library  and read to your child.

8   8. Support the Reading Program of your Child’s School. When your children bring home some books for reading, encourage them to complete the reading assignment.

9   9. Read Books Yourself. It is helpful when your child sees you reading. Whatever you do, most likely, your child will copy it; and reading is a good one for your child to copy from you. 

1   10.   Go the Extreme. Design your child’s bedroom like a little library. Buy some bookshelves and train your kids to arrange their books orderly. When you do, make sure the room is properly ventilated with enough lighting.
          Enjoy Reading!

My Faith Refrigerator

Two months ago, my refrigerator stopped working. I could not store anything in there. I wasn't willing to have it repaired because it has been repaired several times and i know that i will end up calling the repair man often. I have to go to the market everyday and cook our food every meal. I have to make it sure that there are no left overs so that there are no food that will get spoiled and wasted. I then have to cook so little.
After two months of struggling with the fridge, my washing machine gave up too. Its been very frustrating.

Mother's Day Filled with Love and Laughter

Mother's Day Filled with Love and Laughter

♥♥♥ Celebrating God's Providence ♥♥♥

It has been very tough for me financially these past months. Our ministry budget has not been being completed for many months. We are receiving only 1/3 of what we actually need. So we end up using our little personal support for our house rents and utilities, travels and other needs. As of this morning, I have only $20 dollars left in my wallet and Greg has only $5. This is all we have for 2 weeks before we receive our support and ministry funds the end of this month, that's 2 weeks more. I have only 4 eggs in the fridge, 3 packs of instant noodles, 5 cans of sardines (my children does not even like sardines), and 2 kilos of rice.
It's a 5-day holiday and Aleeyah has no classes, both girls are requesting to buy a new movie, go out for a picnic and get some snacks. I explained to them that we have very little money and that we need to prioritize buying our basic food and that we need to pray for our needs. I am so happy that i have such understanding children and i could excite them to enjoy life even when we have so little. A little later, i just remembered that i have 300 points in my lucky grocery advantage card. I can avail a shopping voucher worth $30. After our whole afternoon business meetings, Greg and I rushed to the grocery store office, got the vouchers and shop for our 4 days food supply, and got Aleeyah and Esher a doughnut and a yogurt for a treat♥ What comes after 4 days, God will provide just as He always does!♥
With the $20 left in my wallet, i am confidently joyful that God will take care and sustain me and my family in the next coming days in many other ways♥ And that is why i praise Him!

Mother's Day Filled with Love and Laughter

As mother's day is approaching, I have been reflecting and i feel like i failed in many ways as a mom. I feel like i do not deserve to be greeted "Happy Mother's day" and I have been really scared that i will not be able to raised my children well. As I reflect more, and as i read more on my devotional book for moms, i had been encouraged. I came to realized that whatever i will do, I will never be a perfect mom and my children will never be perfect. I need to acknowledge that I will need to be grateful and celebrated on the areas that i succeeded as a mom and asked God to help and guide me do a better job on the areas that i have failed. This is when i was encouraged to gather the mothers and mothers to be so that i could rejoice with them on our successes and as a mom and grow with them on our failures. The picture above was our time of intimate devotion, sharing and prayer time and fellowship. This happened on Saturday because i usually get busy with university students outreach on Sunday.

After the ladies' fellowship, i thought what best way to celebrate mother's day than spending time with the girls and make them happy? So Greg and I took them to the no cost 1-hectare city park where they run, climb, swing, walk and Greg and i follow and chase them for 2 hours and a half. We left the park 8:30 PM, pick up 5 pieces of KFC fried chicken pack and enjoyed at home, then showered them, read their bed time stories, say our prayers and good nights. It was an inexpensive mother's day celebration!

♥♥♥

Then Sunday morning came. Esher woke up, came to see me and said, "It's happy mother's day!"

God Answers Prayer!!!

Indeed! God answers prayer in His timing, in His way for His purpose.


Early morning of August 5, Thursday last week, i sent out emails to several friends who have visited Cambodia ministries before, purposely to raise $1000 for the upcoming first pastors' wives retreat. I haven't receive any reply to my emails but it took only four days and this event is fully funded! During those four days, i have been praying. I admit that while i was praying and waiting i was tempted to doubt if it will be funded! For once, it came to my mind, what if no one will give? Well, then i just have to give my family's one month support and then I may have to make cakes, cookies, brownies and others and go sell house-to-house in the neighborhood just so i can fund this. As soon as i said that to myself, i went back to prayer and focus my thoughts to God. I always knew that this is what God wanted me to do with the women (i will be posting my reflection later as to how i arrived to creating this event) . From then on i resisted the temptation to focus on praying for those people whom i have emailed to give but rather just focus on my trust and confidence on the Lord. His Words in Philippians 4:6-7 was very encouraging to me. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." I have been filled with joy and peace with my daily walk with the Lord and forgot depending on those people i have emailed. To my surprise, on Sunday morning, while Greg picked up the teams fro Rochester New York, Greg called my phone and said "it looks like you have enough funds for your women thing." With a smile, i said, "What?!" he couldn't explain more but i knew what he meant. I tell you i was very happy and was praising and giving thanks to my faithful God! I knew that the team would give me some because they mention that they have raised more for their team and because there was a balance from the expenses of the counseling seminar they did with the pastors. But I was expecting for only $150-$200, which would be a huge help. After the morning service, the team leader, Janell Nov, talk to me and explain that they have saved so much and that they are able to fully fund the retreat. I couldn't thank her enough and just hug her for i do not know what else to say.
God keeps on surprising me and teaching me lessons so that i will focus my eyes on Him and depend on Him so that i may grow more matured and be more useful! Ministering to the pastors wives can be a very huge responsibility and accountability, God is preparing me and equipping me in every way possible so that i can be an instrument of growth to the national pastors wives.
I am grateful to the Lord for all of my friends and prayer partners out there who never gave up praying because i cannot do this alone.
Thanks to Bro. Phalkun, Janell and Naomi, Dr. Kerri, Sokna and Julia. I cannot thank you enough but I am praying for all of you that God will also meet your certain needs as you are back ministering in the US. "Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you." 2 Corinthians 9:13-14
To those who have been praying and waiting for any kinds of requests and petitions, know that God answers prayer in His timing, in His way for His purpose. "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him" (1 John 5:14-15).

Lastly, i would like to solicit your prayers that this will be a spiritual formation, refreshing, relaxing, and empowering event for the pastors' wives, a turning point to be a strong and effective partners in the ministry. Please pray for Virginia, Tiffany and myself as we are preparing our lessons and sermons to share to these women. Pray that we will be ready mentally, physically, emotionally, but above all spiritually.