Dad and his little girl!!

(Katherine and Dad by the morning glories)



(Possibly the cutest baby picture of all time)


I realize that I am biased but... I'm a firm believer in absolute truth. 8-)

Things are going great here. Jennifer is enjoying motherhood and I am enjoying fatherhood too! Everyday she seems to do something new. This week she has learned to roll over. At first we would lay her down on her back, leave the room for a minute, and upon returning she would be on her belly. And Jennifer would say, "Bill, look she can role over" but then she wouldn't do it. She was like the singing frog cartoon, "hello my baby, hello my sweetheart." We had to leave the room for her to perform. She is now trying to learn how to get back.

The churches and school are doing well. March first is Spring break for the students so I'll have a little more flex time for a week or so. I must say that things here are going almost exactly the way we thought they would. Jennifer and I really enjoy the school, the students, the church members, and the opportunity to share the grace of God to save sinners. Thanks be to God for helping us to find a sweet spot in the ministry here!

In my Systematic Theology class we are discussing the omnipresence of God. He is everywhere, his whole being, not just a small piece. There is nowhere we can go to escape his presence. As I taught the students the lesson I was reminded of the fear of God we should have. Fear of sinning and offending him. If He with a wrathful eye was to look my direction, with me still covered with crimson stained garments, where could I run to escape the horrible danger? Where could I hide from his anger? There is no place I could go (Psalm 139:7-10). As someone has said, "Do not flee from Him, flee unto Him!" Oh blessed is the Lord and gracious to remove our sins and place them as far as the East is from the West.

Bill


Psalm 103:10-12

He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

Pictures!

Surfs Up!

We had a couple weeks of vacation heading into the new year so we decided to go to the beach. The town is called Compung Saum or Sihanukville depending on who you ask. It's about a 5 hour drive from Prek Ambel though the road is actually quite good for most of the way. The town felt different than other places we've been to in Cambodia. Sort of a small town feel. The water was nice and blue, the sand clean and white, and we really enjoyed our stay (1 day 1night).

Chheng and Sophorn introduced us to eating grilled squid. The idea didn't sound good to us at all. After we saw them it sounded like an even worse idea. But actually they taste good, though I only ate a couple and Jennifer could only bring herself to eat one. She was a good sport!

Things are going well here. The weather has been cool and mild for the most part. Katherine is growing all the time and is a good girl. Jennifer is the mom I always thought she would be. The ministry is in sort of a comfort zone right now. We have our classes, our outreach programs, and worship on Sunday. Things are sort of calm...which is good...we want to be at peace as much as it depends on us.

We are starting to feel the amount of time we have been away from the states. It seems like a long time. The holidays were tough...the first time we were completely away from family ever. Some days the weight of the culture over here can be a burden. It is just a fallen society. People say and do things that are just rude and sinful. But we knew it would be hard when we decided to come. We are not backing away...just confessing that it is as hard as we thought it might be.

Our new home continues to be a blessing for us. Its position close to the rice fields often brings a nice breeze. In my spare time I have been building a few shelves for storage. It is a slow, slow endeavor. No power tools...

More pictures of Katherine and us will be coming soon. God Bless you all. Please continue to pray the Lord would establish the work of our hands as we live and work in the Cambodian countryside.

Bill

More Photos

Here are some more photos of Katherine and us. Enjoy!

Bill

Heading Back to the Bodia

Our time in Thailand is coming to a close. We have completed all the paperwork and are set to fly back to Cambodia on Friday, November 16. The Lord has been an ever present help to us during our stay. Katherine had her last checkup in Thailand before we return and the doctor said she is doing great. She has gained weight back to her birth weight and some extra. We thank God for helping Katherine to grow. We know he is the Lord of the harvest! We can feed and take care of her but God gives the increase!

We are looking forward to returning to Cambodia in about a week.

God Bless,
Bill

Short Video of Katherine

Hello everybody! We took a short 2.5 minute video so you guys could see her in action. She really moves more than we thought she would at this age.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7166788722846765545&hl=en

This link will take you to the video.

God Bless,
Bill

Baby Katherine is here!!!!

It is with great joy that we anounce the birth our our first child Katherine Elaine Hale. She was born Thursday, October 25th at 6:34 PM. She weighs 7 lbs and is 19.7 inches long. She is beautiful…she takes after her mother. Jennifer did an amazing job with the labor pains and both she and Katherine are doing well. We couldn’t believe how quickly it all took place.



On behalf of Jennifer and our families, let me say how grateful we are and thankful for all of your prayers and interest in our lives. May God bless you and keep you!

Waiting...

We've almost completed our second week in Thailand. It has been a nice break from the fury of activity and preparation we left in Cambodia, though I might have preferred not swinging so far to the other extreme!

We've been occupying ourselves with walks and taxi rides to malls and markets around Bangkok. (I had determined that Asians don't turn their thermostats down as low as Americans, but Billy assures me it's my thermostat that's been adjusted.) Billy has recorded a few songs and sent them to a band friend, and we have studied Khmer a few times. Applying discipline to a completely unstructured life is actually quite a challenge.

Bangkok (at least where we are) is quite modern and caters to wealthy shoppers, though on the other side of the posh shops and malls are aged buildings bordered by narrow, crowded, and sometimes smelly sidewalks. One could visit a different massage parlor and custom tailor everyday for a month and still not have to look very hard tomorrow.


This is a beautiful nook in a nice city park we walked through on the way to a museum.

I think I've been anticipating, thinking and reading about the birth for long enough that I'm past being nervous and ready to get on with it! So I suppose we'll see what we can do to try to walk her out again tomorrow...

Jenn

House Pictures - Inside

Here are some pictures of our new home. We have been living in it now for almost 4 weeks. It is really a nice place to live. Many thanks to FBC Parker and many others who helped with gifts to complete the construction.

Enjoy!

Kitchen Table

Front Porch

Kitchen Stove

Living Room

Living Room

Bedroom Fan and Ceiling

Bathroom

Update from the Hales...Finally!

Here is a picture of our almost completed house and a current photo of us. It's hard to explain why it has been so long since an update. Probably a little bit of sloth and a lot of just working from sun up until sun down for many days.

We are both doing well. Jennifer has been feeling great for the most part. Lately though, she does get tired much faster than before. We are both sure that this is par for the course. We plan to go to Thailand in about 3 weeks, Lord willing, to prepare for the delivery. Please be in prayer for us as we travel, learn a new country, and for Jennifer and baby Katherine. We plan to stay there about 6 weeks.

God Bless,
Bill