Oi! Parkys... are you still alive?!

So, we're rather overdue an update aren't we?

Sorry folks, July has been and gone, and a few of you may have been left wondering what on earth the Parkys were up to, whether they were still alive and well, or if they'd jumped off the face of the planet never to be heard of again. The good news, for those of you who like us at any rate, is that we're alive and well, and just remembering that there are some things we need to knuckle down and get on with as soon as we remember it's time to do them and to obey the jobs list in your diary, rather than procrastinate and then feel guilty! Note to self over, let's get on with some news shall we?

First item on today's agenda is:

I managed to electrocute myself whilst making dinner last night... twice!
You'd think it impossible, in fact I hear voices crying, 'But, Beth, aren't you cooking on a gas stove?!' And you'd be correct - I do have a double gas burner for cooking, which should make it near impossible for electrocution to occur at meal-prep, (though I'm sure you could manage if you were incredibly determined!). But, dear reader, I was feeling 'experimental' and was making a pork, ginger, bamboo and bean risotto style dish in the rice cooker. Which does use electricity. I still can't work out how I electrocuted myself, given that although the first time I had a knife in my hand, I made no contact with the metal inner bowl of the cooker, and the second time I simply dropped the chopped meat in from my hand, into the centre of the bowl, far away from every metal surface - albeit said hand was adorned by wedding rings. So, it would seem that electricity can and will jump short or longer distances with the express view of making my cooking experience more entertaining. Or something like that. I've been giving the cooker dirty looks today though it still hasn't apologised.

In other news... I've been reading Miranda Hart's book 'Is it just me?' on my Kindle, and laughing incredibly hard... crying in fact, and must apologise/explain that some of the more flamboyant style of writing you're witnessing may in fact be due to her influence, hopefully with no ill effects!

House move!
Some of you may know that we moved into a little apartment and out of the guesthouse we'd been staying in. While we loved having breakfast being included, as well as the use of a swimming pool, and the great staff and owners working there becoming real friends, we'd been umm-ing and aah-ing for a while over the possibility of moving into an apartment - so when the opportunity arose to move into an small open-plan apartment/room with minimum lease of 3 months (rather than a standard 6 months/1 year!) we jumped at the chance. And I'm loving it!! We, or I, can now cook most of our meals, returning the act of going out for a meal into a treat and not a twice-daily chore! I'm now shopping at the local markets, practicing my numbers in Khmer and generally providing amusement for the locals as I try to explain what I want and then haggle a bit. Shopping locally and cooking for ourselves means saving money too, which is brilliant, meaning we can justify the luxury of buying breakfast cereal and bread for toast!! It also gives us our own space, and our front door, which is just lovely! We miss being around the rest of the team on a daily basis, and are trying to become more intentional about meeting up with them, otherwise it's very easy to settle into 'normal' life, completing our roles for church, practicing and performing at gigs, and almost living life as if we could in the UK... which is more than a bit silly! So we're being purposeful in inviting over couples and individuals from the church, which is great fun, and is adding to the depth of connection and sense of belonging that we have with them, and hopefully that they have with us, and with the Freedom Church family!

Gigs and Pilates!
We've been getting more gigs and my classes have grown in popularity, meaning we are able to learn some great principles regarding money even more thoroughly. We're so blessed to have the support that we do coming from so many generous hearts looking to see relevant local church grow all around the world. Through both of these we're continually learning about stewardship of money, and are excited about  the ways God's showing us that He wants to use us both now and in the future. God has been using this time away to teach us about not burying our heads in the sand, but to knuckle down and sort out previous money decisions, and clear the way to give ourselves a better financial future, and I've heard Him say so very clearly on multiple occasions 'Let go, and I will bless you'. As we hand over the worry, the stress, the striving over money, and as we follow what He lays out as His best plan, God has stepped in and blessed us, allowing us the finance to not only cover what we sacrificially give in order to be generous, but beyond. And I write that not to pat myself on the back, but to show gratitude that God really has got our back, that He is never outgiven, and looks with pleasure to a heart seeking to be generous. He really is the God of the overflow, and we see that verse acted out in our day-to-day life, 'Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.' Luke 6:38
 This is something that we started learning before we came out here, and there's been a real sense of God stripping back everything so that He has our full attention and can get to the root of issues, and sort us out properly. With both of us having heard so much great teaching on stewardship of money, we've been amazed to see as we've honoured God more and more with our finances, we've seen increased provision, and the ability to sort out previous financial commitments, and get to the very exciting point of wiping out old debts - things like student overdraft, which can hang over your head for so many years after graduating. It's an exciting time. A continuing lesson in discipline which we're still working through, but we are so unbelievably grateful to be able to learn it!

What else...well it's tipped it down again briefly tonight - apparently there are patterns in the rainfall, it'll rain mostly in the morning for a few weeks, then over lunchtime, then in the evenings and then at night... I keep thinking that I've worked out the pattern, but then it changes on me and I'm as clueless as anyone else... though it definitely was raining early afternoon each day for a week - especially on days I'd put a load of washing on!! It now may have shifted to an evening downpour, but we shall see... another month or so of this and we'll be at towards the end of rainy season and the humidity should go down a little - which will also mean less hair product needed to stop me having a frizzy afro! And no... there won't be *intentional* photos!! ;)
On that note though - here are some of my musings whilst out in a massive rainstorm last week:

You know it's Rainy Season when...

...the sound of the rain making you need a wee is no longer a problem, because you've got so utterly drenched, no one would notice if you wet yourself.
...you genuinely try cycling with your eyes closed, because it's simply too difficult to keep them open.
...tuk-tuk drivers park up in foot-deep puddles to use the rainwater for a free wash-down of their bikes and tuk-tuks.


And after all of those long overdue ramblings I shall sign off... I aim to write an incredibly amusing (in my mind) account of a conversation between Phil and I the other day before the end of the week, mostly because I'm still giggling over it! Do let us know how you are, we love hearing news from the UK/where you are!


Beth x