The Hourngs in Cambodia!

There was a season in my life when I became quite addicted to baking bread. I remember it so clearly our son, David, was around six years old when we discovered he was having frequent skin rashes. We couldn’t figure out the cause. His doctor advised us to try a gluten-free diet until we could identify what triggered his allergies. At that time, I was both worried and overwhelmed. When I researched what foods we should avoid, I was alarmed. Almost every food David loved had gluten in it. As a mother, it broke my heart to see my son’s limited food options. I wanted him to still enjoy eating without fear of allergic reactions. So, I decided to do something new. I thought, maybe I could make our own bread from scratch. I read that handmade bread is often better than the commercial ones because it doesn’t contain as many preservatives and unnecessary ingredients. That discovery gave me hope and so began my bread-making journey.  The Early Days of Kneading and Waiting Hear me out it wasn...

It’s a long holiday week here in Cambodia the Bon Om Touk or  Water Festival , one of the most celebrated national holidays. Usually, Phnom Penh becomes a lively place during this time. The streets fill with people from all over the country, and even visitors from other nations come to watch the boat races along the Tonle Sap River. Each province sends its own team to represent them, and everyone gathers in front of the Royal Palace to cheer for their favorites. At night, the sky usually lights up with fireworks that reflect beautifully over the river. The King and his royal family join the people in celebrating, watching from the Royal Palace balcony. It’s one of those moments that remind everyone of the unity, joy, and cultural pride that Cambodians share. However, this year feels different. The government announced that the festival would be cancelled for safety reasons. Cambodia is currently undergoing peace talks regarding border concerns with Thailand and is also managing a...

We are grateful to end the month of October with prayerful hearts. It has been a beautiful sight to see our family, our dorm students, and our Khmer church community united in prayer. Throughout the month, we have intentionally set aside time to praise God for His faithfulness and to lay before Him the burdens we cannot carry alone.  There are things in life that we simply cannot control. We try our best, but we soon realize that we are limited. Our energy, time, and resources can only go so far. And yet, in those very moments, we experience how faithful our God is. He fills the gaps we cannot fill. He restores what we lose. He provides when we lack. As our pastor shared in last Sunday’s sermon, sometimes we must learn to encourage ourselves in the Lord, especially when no one else can. Ministry can be tiring. There are days when we feel exhausted in the vineyard when the results are not what we expected, or the funds are not enough to sustain both ministry and family needs. But in...

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...

Last night during dinner, David began sharing stories from his day at school. These moments around the table are some of my favorites simple, ordinary, yet full of hidden lessons that often reflect deeper truths about life and faith. He told us that after P.E. class, he was the only one among his 7th-grade classmates who took a shower. The rest of them were, in his words, “too lazy to do it.” He laughed as he told us how quiet the shower room was without anyone teasing or bickering. I smiled and thought to myself how refreshing it is to see him growing into a young man who values cleanliness and enjoys the small moments of solitude. Then, with a change in tone, he shared something that caught my heart. “One of my friends from another class shaved his head today,” he said softly. “He looked really sad, so I sat beside him on the bench.” I asked what happened, and David told us that his friend’s father had just passed away. His friend had shaved his head as part of their Buddhist funera...

I don’t know for some reason, God’s Word really comes at the perfect timing. It’s like He has His own divine way of setting things in motion. Sometimes I joke that God has His own “algorithm” He knows exactly what we’re thinking about, even before we open our Bible app or pray about it. Just this morning, during my usual devotion time on my tuktuk ride to work, I opened my YouVersion app to read and reflect. The topic for today stunned me because it connected so perfectly to what my husband, Vandy, and I had talked about the night before. Isn’t it amazing how God’s Spirit moves and speaks to us in such personal ways? Last night, before we prayed as a family, Vandy suddenly asked me a question that took me back to a painful chapter of my life. “Why didn’t your family pursue your papa’s robbery case?” he asked. “Those people who did that to him should have been punished.” His question brought back memories I hadn’t revisited in a long while. The Pain of Losing Papa My papa, Rolly , was ...