Restoring Girls in Cambodia

Saturday, April 1, 2017

Transitions: March Update Photos

My friend Chyanne and I went to Penang, Malaysia for a women's retreat with Thrive.

It was a rejuvenating, relaxing and semi-adventurous trip.

Very thankful for the opportunity to go!

With Chyanne at the beach in Penang.

Testing out my endurance & strength on a zip line ropes course in Penang.

We had our annual AIM Conference in Phnom Penh with Bethel Church this year.

Our 300+ staff joined together to worship, pray & encourage one another while learning about discipleship.

Me with a mix of our House Moms and Teachers.

Apparently this is the season of weddings. Many wedding receptions take place on the road outside the house of the bride or groom. You know it's a wedding when you see big white tents blocking half of the street. Last month, I got to attend the wedding of my friend and co-worker. Congratulations Kakada!

Kakada and I at her wedding reception.

She even made my dress for me!

A friend of ours works for the government and built a school in the province about 5 hours away. When the school was finished, our friend invited us to the opening ceremony to celebrate with him. The Prime Minister of Cambodia financed the construction so he came to speak at the ceremony. His camera person took this picture of us, the only white people, and posted it on his Facebook page. Now we're famous ;)

Ellen & I at the ceremony feeling awkward that our pictures being taken because we're the only foreigners.

The whole crew at the school after the ceremony.

After the ceremony we hung out by the river in Kratie with friends.

We even took a boat to see some Irrawaddy river dolphins!

Monday, October 10, 2016

Birthday celebrations, a special visitor & the new ARH building

Feeling loved on my birthday with co-workers and friends!

Adventuring with my dad who came to visit for a couple weeks

Our new ARH building is almost finished!

We move in November :)

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Summertime in Cambodia

Beautiful Phnom Penh sunrise

The construction progress of the new ARH building.

It will be able to house 50+ girls, provide space for all our staff

and classrooms for our school!

Celebrating with our staff, the graduation of

two of our young women from a vocational program.

Yummy dinner at a new restaurant with some friends.

Ladies bowling night!

Hard goodbyes. Sending our lovely friends

Matt and Sara off, they're moving back to America.

Grateful for the opportunity to play, back on the wakeboard!

Monday, May 9, 2016

Transitioning Back to Cambodia

I enjoyed playing in Seoul for a bit before I headed back to Phnom Penh.

The teachers welcoming me back was filled with balloons and lots of hugs.

Went sailing with my friends Chyanne and Raju in Sihanoukville.

The construction of our new AIM Restoration Home building.

My bedroom in our new apartment.

It's really nice to come back to after a long, hot day.

Some friends and I went to Silk Island to get out of the city,

relax by the river and see how silk is made.

One of the teachers is leaving us to pursue another career.

We had a fun goodbye party with her and the teachers.

She will be missed, but know that this is good for her.

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Speaking Dates

Hello friends!

I am preparing to speak at several churches in the near future. If you are in the area and would like to hear about what God has been doing in Cambodia and in my life, please come join us!

Trinity Lutheran Church - Sleepy Eye, MN - Sunday, March 6, 2016
-- 10am during Adult Education

Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church - Afton, MN - Sunday, March 13, 2016
-- 10am & 11am (opposite the service)

New Harvest Ministry - Seoul, Korea - Sunday, April 3, 2016
-- TBD

**I will be visiting Seoul March 25 - April 3, 2016. Please contact me if you'd like to catch up!

Love, Krista

Friday, February 5, 2016

Season of Rest

I know it’s been much too long since I’ve posted anything here or sent a newsletter. I apologize for my lack of communication over the last year. Your love and support means a lot to me and I will do better at keeping you up to date!

Many of you already know, but in case you haven’t heard I’ll share a brief summary of my last few months. In October of last year I came down with a sudden, mysterious illness that landed me in the hospital in Cambodia, Thailand and then the U.S. for a combined 4 weeks. I didn’t understand the severity of what was happening to my body (thankfully), but it was evident that God was with me at every moment.

My symptoms provided much confusion for the doctors. After 3 skin biopsies of the rash I had, it was confirmed that I have Sweet’s Syndrome. It is a rare skin condition that I may or may not have the rest of my life. However, it doesn’t account for the many other symptoms so we still do not have any definitive answers of how it started. I’m learning to accept that and trust that God is in control, always!

Since the end of November, I’ve been recovering in Minnesota with my family. I am finally feeling more like myself, have regained most of my strength, have very limited residual symptoms and can now feel grateful for this whole experience. Being forced to return to America for recovery gave me quality time to spend with my grandfather in the last 3 months of his life.

I miss my community of friends and work in Cambodia, but I know I needed this timeout to recover and rest. I feel like I had been running without stopping long enough to catch my breath and I needed this season of rest.

I am now starting to prepare to go back to Cambodia. I have committed to serving with AIM through the end of 2016 and will be praying about what happens after that.

Please join me in praying for:

the logistics of my return to Cambodia
my health and full recovery
ways to keep my stress levels low
spiritual growth & putting Jesus at the center of life
our staff & girls at the Agape Restoration Home, especially the leadership & teacher team that I work closely alongside
AIM & all our ongoing projects - http://agapewebsite.org/january-2016-prayer-post/