The Engagement Story

On December 26, 2010, Titus and I got engaged. The night before, I woke up in the middle of the night with horrible stomach aches; I woke up feeling only a little better, but I refused to allow myself to spend the afternoon in bed. Two hours after a quick breakfast and stopping numerous times for directions, we finally arrived at Koulen Mountain Resort. Vandy and Tess are Titus' and my closest friends, and I was excited to spend the day as "us four." While I got the dreamy private proposal I wanted, it was nice to join Vandy and Tess soon after to share the moment with them, and to celebrate together.

You may notice in the first picture how appropriately I am dressed for such a beautifully memorable day. Tess and I traveled in our swimming clothes; Titus, knowing the significance of the occasion, chose to wear a black pin stripe dress shirt and black dress pants. Before breakfast, I asked him why he was wearing his wedding clothes to go swimming in a river; he laughed, and I was satisfied.

We soon found a short waterfall that was crowded by foreigners; thinking it was the resort's main attraction, we all became inwardly disappointed - though no one expressed it until later. Continuing down the trail, we found a long set of wooden stairs that led us to a much taller, louder, and more beautiful waterfall.

I cannot dream of a more beautiful place to get engaged.

The four of us found a dry, comfortable place to sit and we spent some time together simply watching the waterfall. I grabbed Titus' hand and lead against him. I couldn't say anything; I was in awe of the beautiful falls, the beautiful moment, and the beautiful man I was with. Finally, Titus broke the silence and asked me to swim with him. I was surprised. Titus had announced earlier that the water was too cold to swim, and although I was thinking the same thing, I knew he was willing to swim in freezing cold water for me, and I wasn't going to deny the opportunity.

With our teeth chattering, we entered the water and Titus promptly began splashing me. Jerk! I splashed him back. We laughed. We laugh a lot actually; it was one of the first things that attracted me to him. Eventually, Titus pointed to a secluded rock and asked if I wanted to sit and talk. I like it when he wants to talk, so I started racing to him to the rock.

A few minutes later, I suggested that we move to a rock in the sun, where it would be a little warmer. On that rock, Titus and I talked about our past, present, and future lives together. He asked me if I remembered all the details of our few previous dates, and he stated that he would never forget this date. Next, he calmly and confidently asked me to marry him. I was surprised breath-taken!

I was surprised that I was surprised! The previous afternoon during lunch, our mutual friend, Arun, passed me the rice and encouraged me to "eat more and build up [my] strength for Tuesday." I asked him what was special about Tuesday, he turned to Titus and asked, "Is your engagement party on Tuesday or Wednesday?" So I figured if that was Saturday, and our
engagement party was on Tuesday, Titus would have to actually propose on Sunday or Monday. (Mental note, don't share your secrets with Arun!) Everything was so absolutely perfect on Sunday that I was so caught-up in enjoying the moment and basking in our love, that I had completely forgotten to even anticipate his proposal!

I could feel my eyes grow big and my jaw drop. My first words were, "Are you kidding me??" Breath-taken. After a good 45 seconds, I finally moved my eyes from his eyes and to the ring between his fingers. Another 30 seconds later -- probably the longest minute-and-a-half of his life! -- I asked, "You kept my ring in your pocket while we were swimming???!!" He knew I would notice a bulging box in his pocket, so he kept my precious ring between his precious fingers... in his pocket... in the rushing river waters. I don't remember ever saying yes, but somehow Titus was assured that "YES! YES! YES!," I want to marry him.


We're getting married!!!

Love love love, Jewel
the future Mrs. Romdenh Chamnol

Christmas in Siem Reap

Breakfast on Christmas morning:

Titus and I, and our best friends, Vandy and Tess, a Cambodian man married to a filipina woman.


Unlike the service in Takao, the service in Siem Reap took place inside the church. The sanctuary was decorated beautifully with balloons, large oragami stars, running and flashing lights, a tree covered in colorful garland, and a large Christmas banner.


The order of service included much singing and dancing; the men sang, the women sang, the men and women sang together, the children sang, the pastor's grandchildren sang, the youth sang, the youth danced... it was all wonderful! There was even a guest appearance of Santa Claus himself, dressed in a velvet coat, hat, pants, a fake white beard, and nike sneakers.


Missionary Tim Gallant concluded the service with a powerful Christmas message. He shared a story of a king who fell in love with a village girl; knowing the village girl would never have the confidence to love the king, he humbled himself and moved into the village, where he worked as a peasant and earned the love of the girl. The illustration was a powerful depiction that put the story of Christ's humbling birth in a context that was more understandable in the Cambodian culture, and I know many hearts were touched.


Following the service, everyone gathered outside the church at beautiful tables under a colorful tent, and we enjoyed a delicioius three-course meal and wonderful fellowship.


After a restful afternoon -- ie. watching National Geographic Underwater in the hotel -- we returned to the church and joined Pastors Banyen and Malachi for delicious goat and rice, and the pastors took advantage of the opportunity to share with us about their joys and struggles of serving and pastoring in Siem Reap.


At the conclusion of the meeting, the six of us traveled to the nearby mall (Siem Reap is a tourist city) and had Christmas sundaes in celebration of Jesus' birth.
It was a beautiful day with wonderful people, and I will certainly never forget my first memorable Christmas in Cambodia. By the way, my next post will feature our full engagement story, including pictures. :)

Love love love, Jewel

Greetings from Cambodia!

I arrived safely in Cambodia on Thursday afternoon and it has been a whirlwind since then. I was very warmly greeted at the airport by friends, and with flowers. So so so good to be home again. I surely missed my family on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but I am happy to be where I am.

On Friday I attended Pastor Poleak's Christmas service in Takao. Note: Everyone was apparently kidding when they stated that it's cold in Cambodia now; no one was kidding when they stated that Christmas services are very long. In Takao, the service was almost four hours long. The young members reinacted the entire Christmas story from the time of Mary and Joseph's betrothal up to the point of their leaving for Egypt; it was 45 minutes long! After the service we shared a meal, and then made the one-hour drive to Phnom Penh, and left shortly after for the five-hour drive to Siem Reap.

I passed Christmas in Siem Reap, and we're leaving here tomorrow morning. I traveled here with Titus, Vandy, and Tess; missionaries Tim and Tiffany Gallant, and another pastor's family (Arun) came also. We attended a Christmas service at Pastor Banyen's church on Christmas Day. It wasn't quite as long; the music and games were almost 3-hours long, and Tim Gallant gave a powerful 15-minute sermon (translation time included.) After the service, we shared a meal, and returned to rest at our guest house for almost 2 hours before visiting some other pastors and church members, then returning to Banyen's church for dinner and a meeting. Friday night we walked through the night market, and last night (on Christmas) we went to the mall for ice cream and stopped at a carnival and threw darts and balloons and won our evening snacks.

The concept of Christmas in Cambodia is very different. Except for Christians, which is about only 1% of the population, the day continued on as normal. People were still sweeping the streets, they were still shopping in the malls, and still going to work.

I have big plans for this upcoming week and I look forward to sharing with again soon! Thank you for your prayers and support. I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful Christmas with your family and friends.