Rich and Ronda Dolan

Rich, Randall and I decided to spend a few days at the beach for Christmas. The first picture is of Rich and Randall in hammocks in front of our bungalow out on an island where we spent one night. We will definitely be going there again. Rustic, quiet, beautiful. Then there is a picture of Rich and Randall on the beach in Sihanoukville. We were getting ready to walk a little ways down the beach for supper while we watched the spectacular sunsets that God provided for us. It was a wonderful time. I just wish my other children were here as well to enjoy it with us. We hope you all had great holidays, even though I know a bunch of you are snowed in. (I am trying not to laugh at that...sorry!) Love, Ronda

Friday, Dec. 18th, was our 3rd graduation. Chheav was our only graduate. As you can see in the 1st picture, Randall made it here on Tuesday, the 15th, so he got to attend. Chheav is the last of the graduates that started before we came. We have really enjoyed watching his growth. He and Try, one of our other students, study English with me several times a week. The other pictures are of Rich and I with Chheav and then Rich, Chheav, Tawn (a teacher and Rich's translator), Dennis Welch(our coworker) and James, who used to teach in the school. We had a wonderful evening. We had a good crowd, Chheav got lots of presents, and we had plenty of food. Pray for Chheav as he begins his ministry for the Lord. Much love, Ronda

We decided to teach the CBI students to play Bunco (you know...with dice, etc). In Cambodia, all games are played to win money. They play volleyball, pool, ping pong, cards, etc but bet on them all. So we wanted to let the students know that they can play games and have fun and not involve money. Alas, the teaching of Bunco. OK. For all you Bunco ladies, let me tell you that all your hollering and cheering has nothing on these guys! They had a great time! We were thrilled that it went over so well. So, those of you in Bunco groups, when you are playing, think of your brothers and sisters here playing as well. Maybe in heaven, we will all play together! Much love, Ronda PS. I really meant to take pictures, but got so caught up that I totally forgot until it was over. Sorry!

These are pictures of 3 of the Water Festival floats. They are actually large barges that float down the river after it is dark. They represent the King and several different government branches. All around the base of the barge are huge bouquets of flowers, which I thought was funny since after dark, you can't see them. So, after the day's boat races, the people stay packed in all down the riverbank and wait until dark where they watch the barges as well as fireworks. Its very pretty! We feel very fortunate to be able to live here and experience all of this culture. Much love, Ronda

(This picture is just one I took awhile ago...shows how much they can haul with one little 60cc moto and a flat wooden cart) Now the funny part...As I have told you in the past, the Khmer language compounds words to make other words. And they do it a lot! The word for "elder" as in a church elder are the words for: person-old-ripe(like ripe fruit). So, that gives you something to think about, whether you are a "ripe old person" or trying to deal with one! Much love, Ronda

Unfortunately, we didn't get to see much of the Water Festival this year. We did go to the south end and see the end of the races. The first picture is of the finish of one of the races. We took 19 people in our car to a little get together at the PIP house before we all walked from there down to the river. The 2nd picture is of Dalan, one of our students (in brown jacket). Her brother, in yellow, is on one of the boat teams. Her mother and sister are also in the picture. There are approximately an extra 2 million people in Phnom Penh for the races - people everywhere. The 3rd picture is of Rich giving Pisay, another one of our students, a hard time for her small stature. The last picture is of part of the people at the PIP house. We took some time to sing and have some snacks before walking to the river. There was probably 60 people that met at the PIP house. Since there are SO MANY people around the river area, we quickly split up into smaller group. It tooks us 1 1/2 hou...

I know I already told you that my sister and I went to the coast for our birthdays. Here are some pictures I took. It is rainy season, so the water wasn't as clear as normal, but still beautiful. I am so very thankful that God chose to make this world beautiful for us to enjoy! In the picture of the 2 girls walking down the beach, they are selling bracelets, key chains, etc. Many of the sellers carry their items on their heads. It was a wonderful peaceful time. I enjoyed it immensely! Much love, Ronda

Greg Fleming sent some pictures that he had taken, so now I can share them with you. But first is a picture of just how much the Khmers can get in/on one vehicle. We see scenes like this daily. OK. Now, the next 2 pictures are of Greg and Cindy while we were at Angkor Wat. We enjoyed their visit. Greg taught at the school, which is always a great help to Rich so he can concentrate more on his language studies. Know we love you all. Ronda

I really hate that I didn't get a good picture of Greg and Cindy Fleming. But the couple I took at Siem Reap and Angkor Wat will have to do. The first pictures I took while we were on our way back from Siem Reap. I thought you would enjoy the picture of at least 6 people riding in the trunk of the car - for several hours. I wish the picture was clearer, but you get the idea. It never ceases to amaze us at how much they can get in and on a vehicle here. The Sign picture was taken in the ladies bathroom in the Angkor Wat area. Since they mostly have squat pots here (basically a hole in the ground), not all the Khmers know how to use normal toilet. So, this picture shows them that they can't squat on top of the toilet. Also in all our bathrooms here are water sprayers (the US should get smart and have them too); so the last 2 illustrations are so that they understand that you aren't to wash your feet or shower in the toiler stall with the water sprayer. Picture #3 is th...

...because time is flying! I can't believe that it has been so long since I blogged! And there has been plenty going on. The first picture is of come village kids where we stopped to get a drink on our way to Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) with Greg and Cindy Fleming. They were very excited to see foreigners stop at their stand and they rounded up pretty quick. (You will note that the big kid in the back - the whiter one - is Rich). The other picture is one of a family headed out after gasing up their family car - the moto. Since many only have a moto, they transport amazing amounts of stuff on one. We have seen as many as 7 on one moto - 4 of those were adults. I really hate that I didn't get a picture of Greg and Cindy Fleming while they were here. Greg taught in the preaching school for a month. Cindy got to be here for 2 weeks. We enjoyed their stay and got to catch up on new happenings in their lives. Greg was preaching in Robert Lee, TX when we were just starting out in...

A couple weeks ago, we took Greg and Cindy Fleming to Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) for the weekend. On the way back, we stopped halfway for lunch. Unfortunately (ha!), we didn't see these wonderful delicacies until we had already eaten lunch and were full. The first pictures is fried grasshoppers. The picture with 2 plates are beetles, also fried. And then the other picture is the fried tarantulas. No, we didn't feel compelled to try them. Again, I'm sure they would have been great, but we were already full. Much love, Ronda

Here are the last of our current students. Nuan is the 2nd of 9 children and is 30 years old. He is from the Battambang area. Wannate is the 7th of 9 children and is 19 years old. He is from the Kang Trop province. Pbensorn is the oldest of 6 and is 30 years old. He is from the Cham province. And Pahla is the 4th of 6 and is 19 years old. He is from the Speu province. We currently have a couple more young men studying with us, but are checking things out for now. Dale Lundy has been teaching in the mornings and Greg Fleming in the afternoons. Greg will be with us for one more week before returning to his home in Midland, TX. Keep us in your prayers and thoughts. Much love, Ronda

Here are 4 more of our students. Left to right: Penh is 19 years old and is the 4th of 7 children in his family. Sokgon is 22 years old and is the 2nd of 5 children. Peeap is 18 years old and is the oldest of 9 children. These 3 are all from the Battambang area on the south side of the top of Lake Tonle Sap. Serawhat is Sarawudt's brother (in the last group). Serawhat is the 2nd of 3 children and is 21 years old. All of the students just completed Phillipians and did a great job. The last 4 students will be introduced in the next blog. Much love, Ronda PS. I am not spelling their names correctly, but trying to spell them so you can pronounce them right.

Sarawudt is on the left and he is 23 years old. He is the 1st of 3 children in his family and I will introduce you to his brother in the next blog. He has been instrumental in teaching many people in his village. Lee, in the middle is 18 years old and is from Battambong. He is the 5th child of 6. When he first came to us, he was so quiet we could hardly get him to talk. He is a sweet guy and a good student. Nika is the 3rd of 4 children and is 27 years old. She is from Swy reeung province and is recently married to Chanty, one of our previous students. More students to come! Much love, Ronda

Here are 3 more of our students. We have 4 students that are girls and here is 3 of them. Dawlan is 20 years old and the 4th of 5 kids in her family. She is from Gen swy province. Pisay, the one in the middle, is 22 years old and the youngest of 8 children. She is from Speu province. And then Soknah is 19 years old and is the 4th of 5 children. Her brother is Try, who I introduced on the previous blog. Keep these in your prayers as well. All of our students are so sweet - I wish you all could meet them in person! Much love, Ronda

I want to introduce you to our students. Left to right: Try (pronounced Tree) - is 23 years old and the 3rd of 5 children. He is from the Gondal area. Sovann, in the middle, is 22 years old and is the oldest of 4 children. He is from the Takeo province. And Cheav, on the right, is 23 years old and is the 2nd of 5 children. He is from the Battambong area. He will graduate in December. Try and Cheav come to our house several times a week to study English with me to improve in that area. They already speak English quite well, but know it is useful when foreigners need translators. Please keep these sweet boys in your prayers. I'll introduce you to some more students on the next blog. Much love, Ronda

We have had our first week of classes in the new school and it seems to work well. We are still making adjustments to the class as well as the rooms. The first picture is of Pahla, Pengsorn, and Wanate, 3 or our new students. The next 2 pictures is of the class. This is actually taken during chapel time in the morning. We are thrilled for the new facility and are so thankful to all of you who make this possible. We hope to put it to good use in God's work. It is rainy season now and has really been raining a lot. In fact, many roads into different areas of the country have been shut down due to flooding. However, that is good for the rice crops as they were beginning to die for lack of rain. And it cools things off for awhile as well. I love the rain here; it is just a little cool so quite nice to walk in. Much love, Ronda P.S. from Rich -- We're in an evangelism week this week. Monday was at Vuth's village (where we started the church in April or so). There were many p...

I am finally in the 4th grade!! As of today, I started in my 4th grade book. OK. It's quite humbling that I am only now to a 4th grade level, and realistically, that is only true if I remembered everything (or most) of what I have been taught...which I don't. I am quite sure that most 4th graders sentence structure is better than mine. I probably talk more like a 1st grader. But, as long as I communicate, I guess that will have to do for now. I just attached a couple pictures that I thought you might like. We have now had 2 days in the new school and we think it will be great! Know we think of you often and with much love. Ronda

We sent Saturday moving everything to the new school location. The first picture is of the old school and loading the truck for the last load of stuff that had to be moved. The 2nd picture is of the new school. We now have 17 students as well as Way, our cook, and Tawn and Navy, Interpreter/Assistant Dean and his wife. This new location has 12 bedrooms and 2 areas that can be used for classrooms. The 3rd picture is of the students and Rich at the new place. We are all hot, dirty and sweaty, but excited for the new facility. As you can tell by the picture, the new place is truly new and all the rails, etc haven't yet been put in place. Pray we use this new facility to God's glory. Ronda

On Saturday afternoon, we had a get together at the Partners In Progress house. We had about 50 people come for fun, food and fellowship. Rich gave a short devotional thought (1st and 2nd picture). We played musical chairs as well as several other games and ice breakers. A good time was had by all. Ronda

Meet our new students! Back row: Sarawaht, Dalan, and Peeap; Front row: Pahla, Wonnate, and Sohgoon. (And you can see Rich in the background talking to Tawn). So, the 2nd picture is our students for this school year. We are excited about the year. Please continue to pray for both the students and the teachers. On a sad note, Jason leaves tomorrow to head back to the US. Reuben, Rebekah and Jason got to be here some during the summer; it went entirely too fast. Randall didn't get to come this summer and we missed him. Well, we hope your summer went well. Take care and know that we think of you all and love you. Ronda