Help us buy a car!

Our house has four bedrooms. We have fourteen people living in it.

Welcome to our life.

But really—it’s good. We’re not complaining. Cambodia is a place where people know how to stretch what they have, and we’re learning from the best.

I’m Hilde. In 2024, my husband Pagna and I moved from Norway to Cambodia with our eight (yes, eight) children to serve as missionaries with YWAM. Since then, life has been gloriously full of purpose, people, and… increasingly dramatic transportation problems.

We pastor a local church and run an NGO called Emgrace, focusing on church training, education, and social work. And as you can tell, we really like people. Earlier this month, we also welcomed a family of four into our already bustling home to support them with school and rehabilitation. That brings us to fourteen people. And a whole lot of movement.

Every weekday, I herd eight primary-aged kids into tuk-tuks.

Picture this: me, two apps, three tuk-tuks, one annoyed husband, twelve shoes (hopefully all matching), one kid who forgot his backpack, two who only speak one language, four who don’t understand that language, (at least) three who are bickering over who gets to sit where, one who put his uniform on backwards, and one who decided to start an art project as we were heading out the door and sees absolutely no point in hurrying.

My husband is losing patience on behalf of the waiting tuk-tuk drivers.

Then, we stack all the kids and ourselves into the tuk-tuks and off we go.

We quickly realized that one tuk-tuk wasn’t going to cut it—especially if adults, backpacks, or, say, gravity was involved. So now I juggle multiple tuk-tuk apps just to book several rides at once. (Because yes—each app only lets you order one tuk-tuk at a time. Of course it does.) And we try to keep the 2–3 tuk-tuks close together, so each one has at least one person who speaks enough Khmer to giude the driver — because the apps always choose the muddiest route to school.

And it’s not just about school, though.

The church we pastor is a 40-minute drive away when traffic is light. When it rains heavily (which it does nearly every day in rainy season), when we need to bring anything bigger than a backpack, or when the heat is unbearable in the middle of the day, we sometimes have to order a taxi with a car. Which, naturally, costs twice as much as a tuk-tuk. And once it gets dark, tuk-tuks aren’t a safe option anymore due to risks of drunk driving and theft.

We’ve realized: it’s time to get a car.

Now, before you suggest a minibus (which sounds dreamy)—we’re not allowed to drive anything with more than 9 seats as foreigners in Cambodia. But as long as it’s registered with 9 seats or fewer, you can legally stuff as many people in the back as your conscience will allow.

So we’re hoping to buy a used 9-seater car with enough space to squeeze in everyone when needed. We’ll use it for school runs, church travel, and to cut down on expensive transport costs. We might even pick up a few people for church along the way… (or, more likely, just squeeze in the ones already living with us.)

Also… small detail… Pagna has a birthday tomorrow. So if you’re the kind of person who loves giving practical, wildly useful birthday presents—this one’s for you.

If you can give, we are deeply grateful. If you can’t, sharing this fundraiser is a gift in itself.

From our crowded, slightly chaotic, joy-filled corner of Cambodia—

Thank you.

— Hilde (Tuk-Tuk App Queen), Pagna (Birthday Guy), and our chaotic, beloved crowd of 12

Do you want to know more about our life, mission or ministry? Go to www.phenfamily.com

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