Rainy Season

Dengue Epidemic, Termites.

Now that the rainy season has arrived, many places are also flooded and mosquitoes breed rapidly due to water stagnation. Kurt used to think "dengue season" sounded like fun (you know, like, hunting season) until I found out that humans are the target. Several of our missionary friends have required medical evacuation as a result. Throughout the country over 100 have died in the epidemic, mostly young children. Sally's favorite pastime: "dengue-be-gone," is played with a battery powered racket that electrocutes all mosquitoes that are unfortunate enough to play against her. We try to keep our windows and doors closed most of the time. Nathanael sleeps under a mosquito net.

Sally's recent project: assembling a mosquito net barrier for our stairwell and entrance gate.
Kurt's recent projects:

1. Imitating a window mosquito screen he saw in Singapore to make one for Nathanael's bedroom window. A Cambodian handyman said a mosquito screen could not be put on that window, but he had never seen the screens made in Singapore. They are held on by magnets.
2. Hunting and killing pesky termites eating away at our bed frame, desk and dresser drawers.
3. Kurt also designed a metal gate to prevent Nathanael from trying out the four flights of stairs in our building, including our landlord's.
   

Culture
On Sally's way home from her individual language lessons in the late afternoon she could see people on the streets buying food from foot-peddlers or food hawkers. Khmer people like to snack on noodles, rice porridge, fruit, Khmer desserts and cakes of all sorts. Many of our neighbors have wooden platforms outside their houses where they prepare food for cooking, eat, take siestas, sit and talk during the cooler time of day, and bathe their kids with a bucket. Sally stopped to talk to our neighbors in her simple Khmer. The ladies were surprised that she, a foreigner, could speak some Khmer! Their children love to say "Hello!" to us whenever we walk past their houses. It would be quite a sight to watch Nathanael play with the neighbor kids when he gets older. Right now he loves simply baby-talking at them or just watching them as he rides his stroller.

The best part of being in Cambodia: the opportunity to ride a motor bike any time Kurt wants to. We still have not bought one so for now we ride on the back of motodops (motor bike taxis) and take tuk tuks (carts pulled by motorbikes). The hardest part of living here right now is not being able to communicate effectively with the locals.

• PRAISES
  Sally is working on finishing her vaccinations now that she has finished nursing Nathanael.
• Nathanael sleeps longer now that his window has a curtain. He gives us more time to study.
• We are feeling more settled in our home here.
  
• PRAYER REQUESTS
  A house-helper who is teachable, hardworking, capable, honest, literate and able to help with babysitting. Pray for us to be good managers. Our current house-helper just quit.
• Protection on the road as we each travel separately to University language classes and tag-team babysit. Most Cambodians ride without helmets. Those that do often do not put them on properly. They either fail to strap them on or they wear them backwards.
• Protection from dengue and other transmissible diseases. Cambodians who do not have the resources are not able to get the right treatment. Often they do not have the knowledge to prevent them.
• Spiritual warfare is real. Pray for our spiritual lives, marriage, parenting and family life amidst stresses and cultural adjustments.
• A breakthrough in Kurt's language acquisition. Good understanding, memory, and wise use of time.
  

Thank you for standing with us through prayer!
Sally, Kurt and Nathanael Kovach
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Our Vision: To See Indigenous, Biblical
Churches Planted among Cambodia's Minority Peoples.
Kurt, Sally and Nathanael too
OMF International
P.O. Box 570
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Prayer Requests/ Praise Reports

PRAISES
Nathanael is healthy and both he and Kurt have been taking their required vaccinations.
Since we arrived in Cambodia Nathanael (and we) have been sleeping well most nights. Thank you for your prayers!
For the Lord’s continual protection in the midst of disease and death and whenever we walk on the street or hire a ride.
Sally has recovered from being sick and is recovering from a successful tooth extraction surgery. She will need to continue her dental treatment here.
Partners in ministry who send us, pray for us, support our ministry, encourage us, etc.
Another missionary couple babysat Nathanael so we could celebrate our third wedding anniversary!

PLEASE PRAY …
For our adjustments to life and setting up home in Cambodia. That we would learn to trust the Lord in a new way of life and be thankful and content. For good health, safety and protection.
For wisdom regarding transportation.
For a good helper to watch Nathanael.
For good aptitude in language learning with an ability to remember and use the Khmer language correctly.
For the building of good relationships with coworkers, our landlord’s family, our helper, and our neighbors.
For salvation to come to the household of our landlady, who suddenly lost her son-in-law.
We have been able to visit a number of national (Khmer) churches and an international church (for expatriates). Please pray for us regarding where we should settle for both ministry and fellowship.
For good communication in our marriage.

If you would like to get more frequent updates via email, please email us (kurtnsal@gmail.com) and we will add you to our Google Group. You are welcome to see new photos from our blog (www.kurtnsal.blogspot.com). Click on the link for “New Photos”.

Please write us and share with us what is happening in your lives! We love to hear from you. Please do not email large files or send forwards. Sally loves snail mail.

Blessed to be a blessing,
Kurt, Sally, and Nathanael Kovach

Deaths in the neighborhood; Kovach Kourier May 12, 2007

The corpse of a dead man lies on the floor of the living room downstairs from our home here in Phnom Penh. The smell of smoke is climbing up our stairs from the paper that is being burned for the deceased. The drone of 6 chanting Buddhist priests (and priestesses) can be heard over the wiz of our fans. We noticed he had been sick for the last week. His wife had been putting ice packs on his stomach and head, as well as giving him something similar to Chinese medicine. We hadn’t seen him since last night so we figured he had to be admitted to the hospital. I went downstairs to find out why the ladies were crying and was stunned to find the body of this 40 year old laying there with his mouth open and joss (religious incense) sticks being placed in his hands. As I went back upstairs and met one of the family members I knew understood a few words of English I didn’t know what to say but “sorry.” She wiped away her tears and responded kindly.

I sent a message over to my Cambodian American teammate Daniel who knows this family because they used to be neighbors. He said he already knew. Within an hour he and his wife Suzanne were downstairs with the family of the deceased. They translated for a sister in law of the deceased to ask me if I was scared. Apparently they have a lot of fear of the spirits, especially following death. Daniel explained that Christians don’t fear the spirits. We are sad for the loss. Tonight the people weren’t ready to hear the gospel. We will have to wait until after their ritual rites are mostly over.

They said he died of Tb. A multitude of questions flooded my mind and none of the answers seem to satisfy my logical American mind.
1. “But if he was that sick, why didn’t he go to the hospital sooner?”
2. This is the second death our neighborhood has suffered in the last two weeks. “Lord, why do so many people die here even in an area that is probably the richest in this country?”

“Lord, how can we help this family when we can’t speak more than a few phrases of their language?” Thank you Lord for putting me on a team with many much more advanced in language than me.

Please pray for this family, that they will know the hope that only Jesus can give.

After a small flood of visitors left I got to speak to the only fluently English-speaking family member (brother in law to the deceased) and found out his camera wasn’t working. Sally lent him hers. Since this is the second wake we have attended together in the last two weeks he asked me if the ritual is different when Christians die. I said it is quite different, the main thing is that when we die we have a hope because we can go to heaven. Later I realized they don’t even know what heaven is. Do pray he asks about heaven when he is ready to hear.

Blessed to be a blessing,
Kurt for Sally and Nathanael
--
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Kurt, Sally and Nathanael too
OMF International
P.O. Box 570
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
kurtnsal@gmail.com

Kovach Kourier May 9, 2007

We found out our landlady’s son-in-law speaks some English. When a neighbor passed away Kurt visited the family with him. It was a good opportunity to build relationships and to learn about the culture.

We have been able to visit a number of national (Khmer) churches and an international church (for expatriates). Please pray for us regarding where we should settle for both ministry and fellowship.

The best part of being in Cambodia: the opportunity to ride a motor bike any time Kurt wants to. We still have not bought one so for now we ride on the back of motodops (motor bike taxis).
The hardest part of living here right now is not being able to communicate with the locals.

We have learned the sounds for the 33 Khmer consonants and 43 vowel sounds. Now we need to memorize and practice, practice, practice. We are just beginning to learn to read the Khmer script! There are a lot of sounds we don’t have in English or Chinese! We need not only a good ear, but an ability to distort our mouths in ways we are not accustomed to. The nice thing is that when you do learn how to say a word the people usually understand you.

We arrived during the hottest month (April), when temperatures soared passed 100F/30C. The month of May is the beginning of the rainy season, when the rice is planted in the countryside. This afternoon we had our typical downpour. As we were downstairs with our landlady we observed some interesting behavior. The neighbor kids upstream of us ran out into their front driveway naked to play in the rain. Our next door neighbor pulled out her long-handled wet-broom and cleaned her driveway. A neighbor across the street helped himself to a neighbor’s hoe and dug a shallow trench in the “dirt road” to drain the 12 foot long puddle that stretched across most of his driveway. I used to think our street was not sloped because of all the puddles whenever it rains. But actually it is sloped and that is why the puddles are not as bad as those on other streets. Some streets cannot be traveled by motorbike after a downpour. On our daily walk to our language classes the main street we take has several sections that flood during normal rains. There is one area where the only ground above water is a narrow strip just wide enough for Nathanael’s stroller to pass. In these situations you realize who has the right of way in this country. The bigger you are the less likely you are to give way. Pedestrians are on the bottom of the hierarchy and big trucks are at the top.

On Sally’s way home from her language class she could smell numerous people eating noodles as a pre-dinner snack. They eat outside when the sun is about to fall and the breeze is refreshing. Many of our neighbors have wooden bed frames. There they prepare food for cooking, eat, sit and talk during the cooler time of day, and bathe their kids with a bucket.

Praise:
• Nathanael is recovering from his bout of low grade fevers. Two of his vaccinations arrived safely through customs with us in their ice-box.
• Since we arrived in Cambodia Nathanael (and we) have been sleeping well most nights.
• For the Lord’s continual protection from diseases and whenever we walk on the street.

Prayer Requests:
• Sally caught a cold bug & passed it to Kurt. She has bad headaches, congestion, and sore throat.
• We are trusting the Lord for a reliable car but our landlady does not have room for us to store it in a secure location at night, which is typically in the living room.
• Good aptitude in language learning.


--
--------
Kurt, Sally and Nathanael too
OMF International
P.O. Box 570
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
kurtnsal@gmail.com

Kovach Kourier - At the end of Orientation Course in Singapore

We have had a good Orientation Course in Singapore. It has been quite emotional a few times. I, Kurt, don't think I've ever cried so many times. The Lord is touching me with a taste of what I will have to give up to go to Cambodia in the light of how worthy He is to have my everything! His glory is worth it all. One hymn that especially ministered to us is “God sent His Son, they called Him Jesus,” written by the Gaithers. It goes...
How sweet to hold a new-born baby, and feel the pride and joy he gives; but greater still the calm assurance, this child can face uncertain days because He lives.
Because He lives I can face tomorrow; because He lives all fear is gone; because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives.

Thank you for praying for Nathanael’s health. Most of the 16 young children and some of their parents staying here at the OMF Guest Home with their parents at Orientation Course have been ill at some point. He had a mild fever briefly but it has not returned.

This time in Singapore has been a helpful adjustment to living in the tropics of Asia again. It is very hot and humid, but we are trying to use the air conditioning as seldom as possible so we can acclimate. Praise the Lord for Sally’s family that helped us in our transition to this time zone, especially by taking care of Nathanael. He likes to be held and talked to a lot.

It's sometimes funny how God works in even the small details in life. Before we moved into the OMF Guest Home we met with some old friends that we will be on the OMF Cambodia (CB) team with. They were visiting Singapore for Chinese New Year so we got to catch up with them and learn a lot about Cambodia from them. The fact is that there are a lot of things we use that you simply can't buy in Cambodia. We asked them if they could manage to take a suitcase of our stuff over to Cambodia for us. They happily agreed. But then we realized we were short one suitcase if we want to maximize what we can take with us. I was thinking of going out and buying one. However, the Lord had other plans. The very next afternoon I was walking to get lunch for the family when I stumbled upon three suitcases on the curb next to the dumpster. The largest one was a Santa Barbara Polo Club brand, soft suitcase with wheels, in brand new condition. In the end I walked home down the sidewalk toting a bag of chicken rice, dry dumpling noodle soup and tea, while pulling a huge suitcase behind me. When I arrived home Sally could hardly believe what I had found, just when we needed it, the day before our move. As I rubbed the suitcase down with disinfectant, I realized it was an even better find than I thought. The Lord provided, even though I didn’t ask for this specifically.

You are welcome to see new photos and videos from our blog (see right).

PRAISES
· We found out a friend is leading a mission trip team to Cambodia this summer and will help us by carrying a lot of our excess baggage there!
· Four good sharing times at services and a cell group in Singapore.

PLEASE PRAY FOR…
· Nathanael's vaccinations - we will not be able to get all the recommended shots before we go to Cambodia because they have to be spaced out properly to avoid interactions with each other. Pray for protection from polio, Tb, malaria, and dengue fever.
· Rest. Nathanael is not sleeping through the night anymore since we have had to share rooms with him. He has some congestion too. Pray that we can figure out how to have weekly Sabbath rests.
· Good health and protection for us all, especially Nathanael. Spiritual warfare is real.
· That we would learn to trust the Lord amid numerous unknowns and a new way of life.
· Good aptitude in our language learning. We hope to have many opportunities with our landlord, whom we will live with.
· Good communication in our marriage.

Sally, Kurt and Nathanael Kovach

We moved into the OMF mission home in Singapore

Our last 2.5 weeks in Singapore has been a good time of adjustment to living in Asia. It is very hot and humid, but we are trying to use the A/C as seldom as possible. Praise the Lord for family that helped us in our transition to this time zone, especially by taking care of Nathanael. He likes to be held a lot.

Today we moved into the OMF mission home and our 3.5 week course starts Thursday. There are 3 young ladies in the children's ministry, so they will be taking care of Nathanael when Sally and I are in session.

We put recent photos on the web, especially Chinese New Year family reunions. http://new.photos.yahoo.com/xuan.guang/albums

It's sometimes funny how God works in even the small details in life. Last Thursday we met with some old friends that we will be on the OMF Cambodia (CB) team with. They were visiting Singapore for Chinese New Year so we got to catch up with them and learn a lot about Cambodia from them. The fact is that there are a lot of things we use that we can't buy in Cambodia. We asked them if they could manage to take a suitcase of our stuff over to Cambodia for us. They happily agreed. But then we realized we were short one suitcase if we want to maximize what we can take with us. Sunday night I was thinking of going out and buying one. However, the Lord had other plans. Monday I was walking to get lunch for the family when I stumbled upon three suitcases on the curb next to the dumpster. The largest one was a Santa Barbara Polo Club brand, soft suitcase with wheels, in brand new condition. I proceeded to walk down the street toward the coffee shop, pulling a huge suitcase behind me. On the way was a building where I could hide it while I bought lunch. I retrieved it a half an hour later, toting a bag of chicken rice, dry dumpling noodle soup and tea. When I arrived home Sally could hardly believe what I had found, just when we needed it, the day before our move to the OMF mission home. The Lord provided, even though I didn’t ask for this specifically. As I rubbed the suitcase down with disinfectant, I realized it was an even better find than I thought.

Thanks for your prayers,
Kurt for the Kovaches.

back in Singapore

It is great to be back in Singapore! Sally’s family is enjoying getting acquainted with Nathanael for the first time. March 8th we will commence a 3 ½ week OMF Orientation Course. On April 2nd we leave for Cambodia. Yes, we are finally at 100% of our monthly pledged support required for us to serve in Cambodia! We are so thankful to God for providing prayer partners, givers, senders, and encouragers who will work alongside us to see the lost in Cambodia reached with the gospel!

The first year we will be full time students of the Cambodian culture and national language (Khmer). That will help us be effective communicators and ministers of the gospel in the capital city of Phnom Penh the first 2 years. The third year we plan to move to a village near an OMF team working with minority people groups that do not yet have the Bible in their language. Then, we will start with language number two. After 4 years we will return for our Home Assignment.

PLEASE PRAY FOR…
· Kurt’s parents as they miss their son and grandson.
· Packing and other logistics involved in our big move to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
· Teachability, flexibility, patience, and humility for us as we transition into a new culture, language, and climate. We have a steep learning curve as new parents and many adjustments to make in a new country where it is very hot and humid.
· Good aptitude in our language learning.
· A strong marriage.
· Good health and protection (physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental), Nathanael’s healthy growth and weight gain.
· Suitable housing and a good domestic helper for us in Phnom Penh.

PRAISES
· Kurt’s sister is recovering well following her run-in with an 18-wheeler truck. She is finally driving again, but cannot yet walk. Please pray for a complete recovery.
· The Lord helped us sell our car in the States. A friend
· A safe trip to Singapore.
· A new weekly missions prayer group has formed at Calvary Chapel Mountain View.

KEEPING IN TOUCH
Please do keep us up to date on what is happening in your life and how we can pray for you. You can write us at our field address in Cambodia:
Kurt and Sally Kovach
c/o: OMF International
P.O. Box 570
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA

Please write to us using plain envelopes and packaging and send everything via air mail. If you have a heart to send gifts, we would appreciate children’s educational and developmental toys and media as they are difficult to get in Cambodia. You can also email us. But, email will be slow in Cambodia so please do NOT send forwards, large attachments, or e-cards. Do let us know how we can pray for you.

We need your prayers for us as individuals, as a family and as a team ministering the gospel! You are a vital part of our team! Thank you for your prayers on our behalf!

Timetable
March 8th – 30th OMF Orientation Course.
April 2nd Depart for Cambodia.
2009 Move to live with minority
language group in northeastern
Cambodia.
2011 Home Assignment in USA and Singapore

Blessed to be a blessing,
Kurt, Sally and Nathanael Xuanguang Kovach

Kovach Kourier December 2006 - Thanksgivings

Our Vision: To See Indigenous BiblicalChurches Planted among Cambodia's Minority Peoples.

I am thankful to God for...

• Kurt's sister and a friend survived an accident with an 18-wheeler. She was side-swiped and hit the center divider. Her car was totaled and the trucker fled. Thank the Lord she can have surgery to repair her knee, she has medical and auto insurance, and that they both survived a horrible accident.
• A good pregnancy – 9 months of preparation for the arrival of the newest member of our family and mission team to Cambodia. Pray Luke 2:40 and 2:52 for Nathanael. (See Nathanael's updated photos at link to right: Our Baby's Photos).
• Support and help from family and friends during my pregnancy and postpartum – prayer, meals, gifts, cleaning.
• A healthy 3 ½ month old son Nathanael or "gift of God." In a village we visited in rural, northern Cambodia every mother has lost at least one child. One mother has lost four children. The causes range from religious practices to absence of sanitation and health care. The most common killers are diseases such as diarrhea, dysentery and malaria. Only 16% of poor, rural villages like this in Cambodia have a clinic. The parents do not even name their children until they are well past one year of age due to an infant mortality rate which is one of the highest in the world.
• A church Moms' group that provided support to me and other moms with young children through fellowship, encouragement, prayer, Bible teaching, and practical parenting and marriage tips.
• Kurt's job that helped pay for living expenses such as apartment rent, utilities, food and transport while doing deputation in the Bay Area and that provided us with health insurance to help cover most medical costs incurred.
• Faithful partners in missions. We have some 55 prayer and financial partners now and are getting much closer to our budgeted monthly financial need in pledges required for our ministry to the people of Cambodia
• Only 3 months away from departure for missionary service in Asia. How exciting!
• Cars to get around!
• Easy access to Christian resources in English. The Brou, Kavet, Tumpuan, Jorai and Kachok peoples of Rattanikiri (see link for "Cambodia Photos" to right) do not even have a single book of the Bible yet. The Krung only have the books of Genesis, Exodus, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Acts.
• Praise God for freedom from bondage to death and Satan. One family last summer in northern Cambodia virtually let their one-year old daughter die because the witch doctor had told them the baby had to die because a spirit was avenging a murder committed by the mother's uncle. He had been a Khmer Rouge soldier during the Cambodian holocaust and had killed a child in a gruesome manner.
• Salvation is free through Jesus!
• Freedom of worship here in the USA and Singapore, as well as Cambodia. What are you thankful for? Share with us so we can rejoice with you! Blessed Christmas and a most fruitful new year ahead!

Thanking the Lord with gladness,

Kurt, Sally & Nathanael Xuanguang

How to pronounce Nathanael's middle name

A friend asked me how to pronounce my son's middle name. That is a good question as Xuanguang is a fairly unique name in the USA. It doesn't even appear in www.babynames.com. Xuanguang comes from two Chinese characters and is spelled according to hanyu pinyin (Romanized form of spelling from China). The way I would spell it for Americans to pronunce is Shuan Guang, where the 'a' is pronounced like the 'a' is fawn. If speaking to a speaker of Mandarin it is good to know that both Chinese characters (Xuan and Guang) are pronounced in the high tone.

Kurt