This week began with a holiday on Monday. That means Dale and I were the only people at the office. Actually Kuntheavy the secretary for the Church Education Systems called and asked if we would be at work. She needed to pick up something from her office but did not want to go there with no one else in the building. She came by about 10:00 and visited for a few minutes. She did not have school so she was wearing her blue jeans. We teased her about coming so casual to work. Her branch Relief Society was having an afternoon gathering and then she was going to teach Seminary in the early evening. We said we hoped she would change her clothes to teach. She giggled and asked why. After all it was a holiday...a day to relax.
In the afternoon Elder James dropped by our office with laptop problems. Dale performed his fix it magic. Elder James left happy.
Monday evening we attended Family Home Evening with the other Senior Couples at Elder and Sister Johnson's apartment. Sister Johnson labored all day preparing a Mexican feast that was out of this world. I did not know that in Cambodia it was possible to cook like she did. She had to improvise on some ingredients. Had she not said anything we would not have known there had been changes. Our first course was corn chips and the best ever cold cranberry salsa. The main course was chicken enchiladas with lots of melted cheese. We also were offered side dishes of Spanish rice, mixed bean salad, cubed watermelon and homemade rolls. We had lemon pound cake with lemon glaze and whipped cream for dessert. Sometimes eating in Cambodia can be a challenge. Monday night the challenge was to refrain from eating too much. As the Cambodians would say, "We were lucky!"
Tuesday everyone returned to work. No more holidays for a few weeks. We attended our weekly Church Education staff meeting. Sophornn, Pen Vibol and Kuntheavy are on pins and needles as they prepare for a visit from their boss from Hong Kong. He will arrive this coming Wednesday. Everyone is scurrying to make sure he has a good visit.
Wednesday everything fell apart. It began when the wireless Internet connections shut down. The Family History Library located on the lower floor had access, but all the offices upstairs did not. Most of us do not use wireless, but Sophornns' room uses wireless only. The staff was frantically calling upon Dale to fix the problem. He called the Church help line. As a result of following their directions we were in a real pickle. Now everyone's Internet connections shut down. Business was not as usual. Sophornn called in the problem to the Service Center. Those that could assist us were out of town. With no one to help, Dale and I decided to go home. We told the office staff to contact us when help was available. We planned to work from home until then.
Thursday we were still waiting for help. Elder and Sister Rhyne called and tempted us to go shopping at the markets. Playing hooky sounded like a good idea to us. We discovered that the best time to shop the markets is weekday mornings. We got home around lunch time. After eating we went to the office. No problems had been resolved and to add to the mix there was a power outage. When the lights go out the halls are dark like a cave. We opened our office doors allowing window light to stream into the blackened hallway. We finally received word from the Service Center that a new router would be installed Friday morning.
Friday morning came and went. In Cambodia lunch time is very important and so we had to wait until everyone was done eating. Now it was close to three o'clock. Finally people showed up and Dale went with them to the room where the router is housed. While they were working I received desperate calls from two of our PEF students. One of the young men had turned in his paperwork and payment request to the Service Center two weeks ago. He should have received the check for school a week ago. Unfortunately when he called with his concerns that he had not yet heard from them he discovered that the Service Center has apparently misplaced his information. Without access to the Internet I was unable to send duplicate information to the Service Center. His payment will be late or not accepted. I received a call from a second young man. He had procrastinated coming to get his loan. He works at the Service Center. We were able to get his money disbursed to him, but it was a through a back door approach. Not the way that I care to do business. We had other PEF students that we had to turn away due to the computer problem. This has been a real headache. At the end of Friday our problems were still not resolved. Salt Lake told us that they would be able to help us on Monday. That is Tuesday in Cambodia. Remember that the BIG BOSS from Hong Kong will be in town on Wednesday. Dale decided after our Saturday early morning institute class to try to contact Salt Lake again. Victory, they were able to get our hard wired systems working again. We still have no wireless connections. Sophornn is now in panic mode because his office has no hard wire He ordered a work crew to come on Monday morning to drill a hole between our room and his so he can hook into our computer. This should be interesting. You need to understand that all walls between rooms are made out of brick. If you would get mad and punch the wall you would bust your hand and maybe knock some chalky paint off the wall.
To add to the joy of this week. Tuesday my lower back began to hurt. I am clueless to the cause. Perhaps it is because we stand on hard surfaces, we walk on hard surfaces, we sit on hard surfaces and we sleep on hard surfaces. Apparently Tuesday night I hurt bad enough that I must have clenched my teeth as I slept. I woke up with a strange feeling in my mouth. It was not fun trying not to swallow a piece of my tooth while painfully attempting to sit up in bed. Part of my crown broke. My tooth is a bit sharp but there seems to be no pain. I do not want to go to the dentist in Cambodia. Unless it gets worse I will take care of it when we get home. Saturday morning Dale was walking funny. I asked what had happened. He said that he tweaked his back. We are quite the PEF Senior couple. If I didn't hurt so bad this could be funny.
The weather is beginning to change. It is heating up. Once March arrives it will be hot until we return to the states. "We are Lucky!"
The king died a few months ago. He will be cremated in February. This structure is being built to house his remains. This area was a beautiful park and play park for families. Now all the land has been sacrificed for this. In Phnom Penh there is very little grassy spaces. We would like to tour the Royal Palace. We will be able to once the king is laid to rest in February.
We will be back to work in about sixteen hours. Not looking forward to going to the office. We are looking forward to meeting with the Senior Couples for a scenic drive on the riverfront Monday evening. We will be riding in cyclos. These are like backward tricycles that a cyclo driver pedals. All we have to do is pay money and sit back and relax. I think we will go to Dairy Queen afterwards. Dale's asthma has settled some so he should be able to have ice cream.
Let me share with you a thought for the coming week. "We can't claim heaven as our own if we are just going to sit under it ". This quote was taken from The Rent Collector by Camron Wright, a book I just finished reading. It is about a Cambodian family who lived in the Stung Meanchey dump. The inspiration for the story evolved from a documentary that the author's son made titled River of Victory. You can see the trailer at www.RiverOfVictory.com . I hope to purchase it when we return to the states. The author creates a novel (fiction) that reflects the setting, conditions, character traits, and important historical facts from the documentary. The author imagines what might happen if the gift of literacy were given to a family in those circumstances. It was an interesting read and cleared up a few questions I have had in regard to some of the traditions of the culture of the people we are serving.
You are each in our daily prayers.
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