The Hourngs in Cambodia!

Today is a holiday in Cambodia. It is Peace Day . This is actually a new holiday created just last year in 2024. When it was announced, many of us welcomed it with hope. A day meant to remind us that peace matters. A day to pause and reflect on unity, healing, and safety for our nation. And yet, who would have thought that this year, a border dispute with Thailand would take place so close to this very day. It feels ironic. Peace Day arrives while bombs have shaken border communities. Families have been displaced. Homes have been damaged. Fear has quietly entered places where children once played freely. For many, peace suddenly feels fragile and uncertain. In moments like this, staying silent does not feel right. As a family, and as part of a faith community, we felt a strong pull to do something. Even something small. We could not just watch from a distance and move on with our daily routines as if nothing was happening. These are not just headlines. These are real people. Mothers. ...

It has been more than 15 years since our family first answered God’s call to serve in Phnom Penh.  Looking back, it’s amazing how time has passed and how much the Lord has done in and through this ministry. When we first came and moved to the city to serve in a Bible School , we had nothing but faith in our hearts and a deep desire to serve the Lord among the Khmer people. Eventually God lead us here, we didn’t know exactly what the journey would look like, but we trusted that God would lead the way. Read Previous Posts:  Bible School 👈 Our first mission field in Kratie, Cambodia 👈 Trusting God's Quiet Provision 👈👈 Today, as I write this from our home in Phnom Penh, I can’t help but thank God for His goodness. Every year has been a story of His grace, and every challenge has become an opportunity to see His faithfulness unfold. Our family has been serving faithfully with Phnom Penh Church (PPC) for over a decade now. Our calling is simple yet deeply meaningful to disci...

David's Display Kiosk (Unmanned) at Limkokwing University Last week was a hectic week for us both in our home and at the university as we wrapped up the semester. We have never baked that many brownies, cookies, and Oreo banana bread before! I couldn’t help but smile thinking how our small kitchen turned into what felt like a mini bakeshop. The sweet aroma of chocolate brownies and bananas filled the house, and though it was tiring, it was also joyful. Praise God for the opportunity for David’s brownies to join our school’s cultural event. It was all by His grace that we managed to pull it off. Everything happened so quickly. My boss called over the weekend and asked if my son could sell his goodies at the event. It was a last-minute invitation, but I didn’t want to say no. My colleagues had tried David’s brownies before when I brought some to the faculty room, and they encouraged me to let him join. They said, “Your son’s brownies are really good! Let him sell them.” The only prob...

As a family, we’ve been serving the Lord here in Cambodia for over a decade. Looking back, it’s only by His grace that we are still doing what He has called us to do. We have simply depended on God’s quiet provision through our jobs and side hustles. We are grateful to our friends who would sometimes surprise us with their gifts. And we value and honor God for we know that's also one of the ways He would meet our needs. 👉  Our "Love Project" 🥰💕🙏🍪🍰🎂🧁   Psalm 127:2 says, “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for He gives to His beloved sleep.” This verse is like a warm blanket to us, especially when the worries of tomorrow try to steal our rest. We don’t live stress-free lives. There are bills to pay, mouths to feed, and ministry responsibilities that don’t pause. But we have learned something valuable over the years: when God is our provider, we can rest. Not because everything is perfect, but because everythin...

If you’ve been following my blog, you already know that weekends and sometimes weeknights are special moments in our home. Not because we go on big trips or do something fancy, but because of something simple: baking with my son, David. There’s a kind of joy that comes from working side by side in the kitchen. We mix ingredients together, knead dough with our hands, and wait eagerly to see if it rises just right in the oven. The excitement in our eyes when we see the bread puff up or when the brownies turn out with the perfect crackle on top it’s priceless.  It’s not always perfect, though. Sometimes we mess up. The dough doesn’t rise. The yeast was inactive. The brownies turn out too sweet or too dry. And when that happens, we don’t give up. We just try again. That simple process of baking has become more than a hobby for us. It has become a space where we see God’s grace at work where we learn about life, failure, patience, and love. Just like how failed dough needs to be remade,...

Weekends have become our sweet little experiments in the kitchen. Next to tending my plants, baking is one of those hobbies that brings me joy. The smell of warm dough, the sticky chocolate melting in our fingers, and the happy anticipation while waiting for the oven to ding, it's an experience I share with my 12-year-old son, David. Homemade Bagels! You see, David recently became a small business owner in our little Cambodian community or "Borey" as we call it. He’s been baking and selling chocolate crinkles and brownies to our neighbors. I couldn’t be prouder. What began as weekend fun turned into bonding moments, life lessons, and faith-filled reflections over flour-covered counters. Read a previous blog on David's Jumbo Chocolate Crinkles We’ve tried red velvet, chocolate chip cookies, crazy cakes, and even homemade bagels, cinnamon rolls, and the classic Filipino pandesal. The kitchen gets messy, the oven gets warm, and our hearts get full. But even in the joy of...

  I have this disciple who has quietly and unexpectedly become one of the people God uses to keep me grounded. She and I rarely meet face to face. She works in the outskirts of Phnom Penh, which is technically already a province. The busyness of her schedule and the distance make it hard to sit down for coffee and talk. But every morning, as I ride my tuktuk on my way to teach at the university, I find myself sharing a devotional message to her on Telegram. It’s not a big production, just a simple sharing of what God showed me that morning during my quiet time. A verse that spoke to me, a prayer I whispered in the stillness, a thought that reminded me of His faithfulness. A Morning Routine That Keeps Me Grounded I’m deeply blessed by her life. Even though she’s still young in the faith, she’s hungry and eager to know Jesus more. She’s passionate, open, and intentional. And without her knowing it, she’s become my accountability partner. She keeps me mindful that what God impresses ...