Monday, September 14, 2009

Gallants in Cambodia II

Preparing for the pastors’ meeting was quite a job, but the result, the unity and fellowship that was felt by our pastors was a special moment, and worth all of the work. Here you are seeing our District Superintendent Kimsan presiding over one of the meetings.


On the agenda was the election of a new District Board of Administration member. Here you are seeing our present students counting the ballots.


Here you are seeing Pastor Reksmey cast his ballot and it being accepted by Channa. Interestingly enough, Pastor Reksmey won this election and became a member of the DBA.


A special event that took place at this conference was the installation of our new WBI President, Pastor Vandy. In this picture, you are seeing Tim giving greetings to those who attended the ceremony.


As part of the installation ceremony, we lit candles that represented the Light of God and the ideals of the Bible School. Here you are seeing Teacher Rotha lighting one of the candles.


Teacher Adam Nash, GO-Net Missionary from the Dakota District, also participated in the ceremony by lighting a candle.


Here you are seeing the installation of Pastor Vandy, the ceremony being conducted by former WBI President Greg Fernandez with the aid of translation by Pastor Titus.


Several days following his installation as WBI President, we celebrated the engagement of Pastor Vandy with Teacher Tess, the missionary from the Philippines who served with him in Kratie.


We were honored to serve as the proxy parents of the groom, accepting the ceremonial plate of fruit from the bride.


Here you are seeing the entire wedding party posing for a picture (L-R Tiffany, Tim, Pastor Vandy, Tess, Resie and Greg Fernandez)


An official picture of the new couple.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Gallants in Cambodia I

Travelling to Cambodia was quite a bit different this time. Not only were we travelling with Baby Katie, but we were also trying to get all of her gear to Cambodia, and as we learned in the United States, when you travel with children, they need a lot of gear.


After arriving and setting up our house, we were invited to go to the birthday celebration of our District Superintendent’s youngest daughter. It was a great evening of fellowship. The picture above is of the birthday girl Chamreoun and the Gallant Trio.


An all-night prayer vigil was held at the WBI in the following week. Prayers were offered up for the WBI, the National Church, the missionaries and leaders, and for the country of Cambodia. Here you are seeing our students, who led the service, praying for Cambodia.


Tim was asked to preach at Good News Wesleyan, the Khmer church where we regularly attended when we lived in town. Here you are seeing Tiffany and Katie with several of the women from the church.


Pastor Greg and Resie moved from their house on the Bible School campus to a home that is closer to the school of their oldest daughter Aleeyah. Before sleeping in the house on the first night, we held a prayer service, praying for God’s protection and blessing for the house.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Gallant TEAM Tour- Update VI

Following our return from the Dakota District, we spent several days in Marion, IN where we visited with our friends and family. Here you are seeing Katie showing her new talent of pretending to drink water from a straw.


One of those father/daughter moments.


It was great to reconnect with our nieces and nephews after we had been on the road for two months. Here you are seeing Tiffany with her niece Gracie.


After arriving back in Ohio, we spent an evening with the entire family. It was great to talk to everyone and share pictures from our travels out west.


In preparing for pictures with her cousins, Katie tried on the dress that she would be wearing. She was quite pleased with the way that it flowed around her, and she was more than happy to pose for this picture.


Katie continues to be given her bath in the sink, a quick and handy way to get clean after a long day. She is most fascinated by the way that the water magically comes out of the faucet, and she loves to run her hands through the stream.


For her last checkup with her doctor, Katie decided to try out his medical equipment. "Can you hear me now?"


In our travels up to Michigan to visit a church, we had the opportunity to take Katie swimming for the first time in a big pool. Here you are seeing Mommy and Daughter, two bathing beauties, posing for a quick picture.


In our travels, it is always great to get back to Indianapolis to visit our adopted parents, Greg and Cathy. Here you are seeing our family portrait.


Katie is now sitting at the table with the rest of us, with the assistance of a chair and daddy's belt. She loves to be able to read her books, pound with her rattles, and of course, to eat right along with the rest of us.


It is always great when the kids help you with the laundry.


In our packing of our things before we head out to Cambodia, we found this plastic tub, which conveniently was Katie-sized, and she loved playing in it.


We took a trip to the Columbus Zoo with Tiffany's family. You might remember the day that we went because it was the only day in July that it rained a great amount. However, we were prepared for the day, and Katie had a good time holding the umbrella so that she and Mommy did not get too wet.


Here you are seeing Tiffany and her mother posing for a picture.



Gallant TEAM Tour- Update V

This is a picture of our car as we travelled to South Dakota. The picture does not truly do justice to the sheer amount of things that we needed for living out of our car for over two months. The most common question for strangers who saw our car, such as a drive through worker was... "are you moving?"


It is always humbling to see your name up on the church's sign, giving the reminder that the only reason that this young couple from Ohio even gets the opportunity to share with a church is because of God's Call and His blessing of the ministry.


During our time in Mitchell, SD, we had many speaking engagements at the church and the Christian school. Here you are seeing Tiffany as she shares with a class about the dress in Cambodia.



Tim got a thrill when he was given the chance to give a short message during the halftime of the youth groups flag football night. It was so much fun being in the pressbox. Watch out, John Madden.


For the close of the mission conference, the church constructed a Khmer village to give the people a taste of what it is like to live in Cambodia. Here you are seeing Tiffany explaining about the homes and family lives of the Khmer people.


With the help of a "clean shaven" member of the church, Tim explained the lives and cultural importance of Buddhist monks in Cambodia.


The children did a great job in participating in all of the village scenarios, including the section on games where they tried their hardest to crack the Cambodian "pinata". Each effort was cheered on by the nearly 250 church members who attended the event.


After our busy time in Mitchell, we tried to catch up on some emails and computer work. Here you are seeing our newest office worker showing Tim exactly how the job was supposed to be done.


Amazingly, Katie, in addition to her knowledge of computers, has a great grasp of Old Testament scripture, and she was more than happy to held Daddy with his studies.


After sharing with Watertown Wesleyan, we travelled across the state for a time of ministry in Prairie City, SD. It was very encouraging to us to have the church members come out on a Tuesday evening, during a very busy time in the planting season. Here you are seeing Tiffany talk about learning the Khmer culture.


In Prairie City, after a storm passed by, we were able to take this amazing photo of the rainbow. Never before have we seen both sides of the rainbow, a testimony to the perfect timing and the extremely flat prairie land.


After Prairie City, we travelled back to Aberdeen, SD, where we shared at a Thursday evening missions service. Here you are seeing Tim sharing with the congregation.


It is always great to share with people as they come to look at the materials on our display table, and it is especially great to talk to young people who are interested in foreign cultures and the ministry in Cambodia.


As part of the missions service, we cooked a traditional Cambodian dinner, ginger chicken. It was great to see how the people reacted to the very strong flavored cuisine.


During the time of sharing with the congregation, we were blessed to have a church member watch Katie as we shared.


After our time in Aberdeen, we travelled up to Bismarck, ND to meet with Pastor Ritchie. It was in Bismarck that we snapped this picture of Katie.


After our time in Bismarck, we travelled up to Williston, ND. In our travels, we drove through the badlands, where this picture was taken on a small turnoff in the middle of the state park.


After Williston, we drove to the small community of Johnson Corners, where we shared at a Sunday evening service and then again at the Christian school. Here you are seeing a picture of Tim sharing about the transportation, and especially the cyclos that you find in the city of Phnom Penh.


Here is a picture of our display table, a display that Tiffany so expertly set up so many times during our time of home ministries.


Here you are seeing Tiffany and Katie posing with Pastor's wife, Pricilla.


After Johnson Corners, we had a Monday evening service in Miles City, MT. In the picture you see Pastor Tom and the many people who came out for a dessert social and missions spotlight.


For our next speaking engagement, we traveled to Joliet, where we met with Pastor Sam and his wife Diane. On one evening, we gathered together around a campfire, where Sam and Diane demonstrated the amazing invention of the "redneck wieny roaster", which is a rake that has been converted into a cooking implement.


During our time in Joliet, Pastor and his wife took us on a trip through Yellowstone. It has always been our dream to be able to tour the park, and it truly lived up to its reputation. Here you are seeing us posing as a family with Yellowstone Falls behind us.


Here you are seeing a picture of Pastor Sam and Diane. On a personal note, there are many people who remark that it must be very difficult to always be travelling around, speaking to churches, especially with a young child. However, it is our experience that we are uniquely blessed by God because we get the opportunity to meet families like Sam and Diane, pastors all across the country, and be encouraged through their fellowship and their care. Pastor Sam and Diane took time out of their schedules to take us to Yellowstone, and that is just one of the many blessings that we have received on our travels.


After our time in Montana, we travelled Southwest to visit a friend of ours who lives in Riverton, WY. It was in Riverton that we took this picture of Katie who was showing her newfound enjoyment in rice cereal.


Katie in her carseat, where she has spent many hours of her short life.


A smile really lights up a room.


This is a picture of Tiffany and Bonnie, a friend of ours who lives in Sturgis, SD. We first met Bonnie and her husband, Pastor Dwight, when we were in the Dakota District in 2005, and we grew to be close friends.


Bonnie and Tiffany share a passion for cardmaking, a passion that Tiffany shared with Katie as they worked together to make many beautiful cards.


This picture taken by Bonnie, shows a proud Daddy/photographer taking many pictures of wife and daughter, pictures that of a normal activity made special by the enjoyment that new parents get in experiencing life with their child.


This picture shows Katie as she first experiences baby food, green beans to be precise, and the face that she gave Mommy really let us know what she thought of the flavor.


For our visit to Pastor Dwight and Bonnie's home, Bonnie brought out the baby carraige for Katie, giving her a place to play and relax as Tiffany and Bonnie worked to make cards together.


Tiffany and the ladies hard at work.


On a Saturday evening, we drove to Custer, SD, and we saw this buffalo grazing by the road, a sight that you don't normaly see as you travel to a church.


After the service in Custer, we had time to sit down and talk with the members of the church, sharing more about Cambodia, hearing about their lives in South Dakota, and sharing the joys of our young daughter.


Feeling trapped?


After many miles and days on the road, Katie was happy to have the car pointed towards home.