DAVID AND LAUREN
David and Lauren are both native Texans, born and raised in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. After seminary (Logsdon Seminary in Abilene, Texas for Lauren and Denver Seminary for David) and lots of stops around the world in between, they moved to Cambodia to serve in October 2015. They live in Phnom Penh with their two daughters.
CAMBODIA
Cambodia, located in Southeast Asia between Thailand and Vietnam, has a population of approximately 17 million. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, a city of over 2 million people. About 80% of Cambodians live rurally, many as rice farmers. Theravada Buddhism is the religion of 95% of population.About 2 million Cambodians died in the genocide during the bloody regime of the Communist Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979. Cambodia has had peace since 1991 as a constitutional monarchy with protection of religious freedoms. In 2005 the country joined the World Trade Organization and opened markets to free trade. The country faces numerous challenges, including widespread poverty, corruption, lack of political freedoms, low human development and a high rate of hunger. Cambodia is also one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia with agriculture, garment factories, construction and tourism as its main drivers. Over 4 million tourists visit its temples and beaches each year.
Cambodia is in the tropical zone, just north of the equator. It is warm to hot year round, and the climate is dominated by the annual monsoon cycle with its alternating wet and dry seasons. The southwest monsoon brings the rainy season from mid-May to early October.
