Four Months and counting...

Hello family and friends,
We took several photos this week. That does not mean it was an exciting eventful week. It means when I woke up Monday I was looking forward to finally getting lots done for PEF. I was determined to make the week a good one.

Monday morning I began with taking pictures of Dale walking to work. Monday was hot and muggy.
Dale is passing a guard station outside somebodies home. The guards are suppose to open and shut the gate when the owner comes and goes. Most guards are young adults who spend much of their time studying, text messaging and sleeping. This guard station has been vacated for several weeks.

This is the road work outside of our work place.  At the present time only motos, bikes and pedestrians can pass through this area. It is too narrow for cars.

In this photo we are approaching the path directly in front of our work place. We are required to walk around to the back of the building. The main entrance has been closed due to the road closed to cars. One month ago this dirt path was a grassy area. The rainy season has softened the ground.  All the traffic has killed any grass that there was. The ground is now packed rock hard dirt. We doubt the work crew will replace the landscape once their job is complete. I imagine we won't see grass here again while we are in Cambodia.

A wave of his hand and off Dale goes. I'm only a camera shot behind.

We are nearing the corner where we will turn right  in order to get to the back gate.

                         Getting closer.

One last look back before we arrive at work.

The back parking lot has two basketball hoops. Many young people hang out here in the afternoon. It was quiet at 8 in the morning.

This is looking back towards the back gate. There is a theft problem and the guards are suppose to keep watch that no bikes and motos get stolen. The only problem is that the guards like to watch the road construction work during the day. They guard the locked front gate instead of the open back gate. Go figure!

There are flowers in bloom year round. These are blooming outside our building.

Mixed white and pink blossoms make a beautiful ground cover in one of the flower beds that beautifies the Church grounds.






We finally arrived at our office with great hopes of getting many things accomplished. By 9 o'clock we had already had the power shut down twice. We rely on a generator to kick in when the city power fails. We played "red light-green light" all day long. The maintenance man informed us that the guy that has the knowledge to repair the generator was in the Provinces. He was due to be back in Phnom Penh at about 1 o'clock. It was questionable when he would actually be able to make repairs. We have no clue how many times the generator has been resuscitated. There will come a day when a replacement generator will be necessary. I personally believe that day has arrived.

What would you do if there was no electricity, no Internet and your office was heating up fast?
This is what we did. Dale found some reading glasses in his desk left behind by past Senior missionaries. Kutheavy, Dale and I were the only people in the building. Let me share with you how we wasted a few minutes of our day.

The grasshopper look.

Oh...the mystery.

Kuntheavy models the grasshopper specs.

Are we having fun or what?

                 Oh yeah, this is fun!

What a way to make the time pass by.

I even tried on Dale's glasses. This is SOOOO fun!






Let's check out the time...

Wow we wasted 6 minutes! Monday was a VERY LONG DAY!

It rains every day now. So far we have not had to walk in it. As I write this blog we are having a lightning and thunder storm. The television just went out. I hope the Internet and other electricity remains on so I can complete this blog entry.

Friday evening Elder and Sister Rhyne left for the great USA. We went a little early to the airport so we could eat at Burger King. I had a caramel sundae and Dale had a Whopper meal. He said it was really good. My sundae tasted very American.

Good-bye dear friends. Sister Rhyne is frowning because we were joking around at the same time we snapped the photo. As I sit here blogging they are enjoying being with their family in Texas.





Saturday we taught early morning institute. We actually had power the whole time we were in the building. We left about noon. As we headed out of the building we could feel the humidity. It had been a pleasant walk to the church at 6 in the morning. At noon it was HOT and HUMID. These construction workers were either on break or done for the day. Everyone was resting on whatever they could find to lay on. These guys had the best resting spots.

They set up their hammocks across where we walk to work. Notice the guard house to the left just beyond the hammocks. This is the same guard house that Dale is walking passed in the first photo of  today's blog.

This weekend we had South District Conference. Saturday Elder and Sister James, who own a car, picked us up to go to our meeting. On route it began to rain. As we watched people scurry for cover we also saw several little kids strip down to nothing and basically take baths in the rain. One little guy was thrilled with all the puddles to play in. Of course we had no camera. After Saturday evening conference we went to a Mexican restaurant we had never been to. The food was great.

Everyday we check out our window to see what is happening in the alley below. This week a guy was moving into one of the apartments. He had a tuk tuk piled high with his belongings.

Our same alley was bustling with children and women the other morning. The orange table the baby is laying on is actually an ice chest. It is very versatile. Today it is a changing table. This small area is the closest home to our window. We believe it is a small community store. That is why they have an ice chest. Most people have no refrigeration. They shop daily.

We learned this week that people get their best buys  at the open markets about 10 in the morning. Farmers like to get home before the heat of the day.  They begin their day early and hope to have all their produce sold before noon. Khmer who want the bargains shop the later part of the morning when prices go down.

I would love to write an exotic wonderful report in our blog, but I simply do not have one to offer. To update you concerning Dale's asthma, he is taking the strongest dosages he can of his medicine. He is not completely asthma free but he is considerably better.

In regard to doing LOUNDRY.  I had only one glitch in my laundry experience this week which was resolved quickly.

At the beginning of the week we had a new leak in our ceiling. By the time anyone could check out our apartment the ceiling was dry with no evidence of a problem. There is nothing they can do until the problem resurfaces. I will be very happy if it does not leak again. The evening I stepped in the puddle and looked up and saw the drip I was a bit upset. I imagined the huge chore of cleaning plaster dust again. Not fun.

District Conference was excellent..
President Moon offered this thought:  "Service is the rent we pay for living on the earth."
Sister Moon said, "Tithing is not about the money, it is about our faith."

That's all folks.

What a week!

Family and Friends,

What a week!. I have very little to report in regards to our mission in Cambodia.

Because it was Khmer New Year there were very few people on the city streets. We chose not to work on the two main days of the holiday, Monday and Tuesday. By Monday most people had left Phnom Penh and arrived to their homeland destinations.Wednesday they would begin traveling back to Phnom Penh.

Monday Dale decided we would seek to find a Pharmacy where we hoped to purchase NyQuil. With his asthma he can at least sleep through the night using this. We were fortunate that the first place we went to was open and had the coveted drug of choice. From there we headed toward the grocery store. We saw a group of European tourists enter a small shop. To our delight  a second Touis les Jours, a new french bakery, had opened. We purchased a loaf of REAL bread. It had great texture and no funky taste. It made great sandwiches and toast. We are so happy to have found a descent place to purchase bread. To add to our joy it is fairly close to our apartment. Thrilled with our purchase from the bakery  we continued our walk. It was now lunch time so we stopped at Lucky Burger. Although the streets were quiet, Lucky Burger was packed with people. In the past when placing an order the procedure was to take a number card to our table and a waitress would deliver our food to us. On this day we were given a receipt with a number and told that they would call out our number. Seems simple enough. One problem was that their spokes person called out numbers in Khmer. We know our numbers, but  the spokes person said a bunch of stuff before announcing the number. All the words seemed to merge together making it difficult to actually be sure what numbers were being announced. Dale decided to stand near the counter and watch for our order of 2 hot dogs and a Lucky burger with no drinks and no fries. It worked. Our food was not as good as usual. I attribute it to the fact that the place was crowded and under staffed. I really like Lucky burger sauce. Unfortunately for me there was barely any sauce on my burger. I also needed a magnifying glass to find my onion and tomato. Dale's hot dogs looked OK but the assembly was off. They are usually topped with onion. This time the onion was hidden deep in the relish and ketchup. With our tummies full we went next door to the Lucky Grocery store. We purchased a few things that we had run low on. I was hoping to stock up on a few baking items. It seems that the shelves have not been restocked since we first arrived in the country. The selection was small then and now it is really "slim pickings". After our shopping spree we went home to get out of the heat.

We were invited to Elder and Sister Tucks new home in Ta Khmau for dinner. Monday evening Elder and Sister Westover picked us and Elder and Sister Kohls up to go out to the Tucks. The Tucks made a yummy curry dish served with french bread and ice water. The dinner was topped off with homemade chocolate/cashew cookies. We had great food and enjoyed great company.

Tuesday while talking with Elder and Sister Rhyne we discovered that they like us were unable to get any concrete work done with Phnom Penh being a ghost town. The Rhyne's will be leaving at the end of this next week. They had a few items they wished to purchase before they depart. They asked if we wanted to go shopping with them. We said sure. We got a tuk tuk and went to the Russian Market. There was a slight problem once we got there. It was closed until after the Khmer New Year. It was getting close to noon and outdoors was heating up. We discussed doing a plan B but any place that "might have been interesting" to visit was two to four hours away. I remember the last long trip I made in a tuk tuk. My back ached for a month afterwards. We had no other ideas of what to do so we all went home.

Wednesday we had planned to return to work as usual. We left for work about 7:45 am. When we arrived at our building the guard informed us that the electrical panel for the building had burnt up and there was no electricity. He told us that with the Khmer New Year there would not be an available repairman until Friday. No electricity meant no lights, no computer, no air conditioner and no reason to stay. We went back home.

 I baked some cookies, did a load of laundry and we took a few short walks to pick up some fresh vegetables and to stock up on a few Costco/Sam's Club items from USA Doughnut. I think we have enough canned chicken to last the remainder of our mission. We will probably buy one more canister of Country Time Lemonade.

Late Friday we were informed that the electricity box was temporarily fixed. They are waiting on parts, but it is working. We were able to hold our Saturday morning institute class. Cambodia showed General Conference this week end also. It all worked out well.

This next week we plan to be back to business as usual. We haven't had a peanut butter sandwich since Wednesday. We had one then because I had packed us a lunch believing we were going to spend the day at work.

Thanks to technology we have been very much in the loop on all that has been happening in our great country. Because we could not go to work we spent our days glued to the television at our apartment.  We spent hours flipping between CNN and the news stations from Asia, Australia, and Russia. It is interesting to hear comments from sources other than USA. We were relieved that the two young men that did such horrific deeds in Massachusetts are no longer on the loose. Our hearts are broken for all the victims. Please know that prayers are being said for the USA here in Cambodia. The world is not as big as one might think. God's children may speak different languages, live in a variety of climates and terrains, dwell  in a assorted shelters and eat diverse cuisine but the majority of us desire to be good and to be at peace with each other.

No pictures this week. We spent our days reading scriptures and watching one disaster after another. First there was the Boston Marathon bombing. Next the ricin tainted letters. Then the West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion. It was tense here as we watched and prayed. We are grateful for all our family members and friends.  We pray for your safety each day. As General Conference came to a close President Monson wished us all well until we meet again in 6 months. We will be well settled in Vancouver, Washington.


We are grateful that we are having this opportunity to serve in Cambodia. We are also grateful we have a return ticket home.

GOD  BLESS AMERICA .

GOD BLESS THE GOOD PEOPLE THAT MAKE  OUR COUNTRY GREAT.

GOD BLESS EACH OF YOU.

Proof is in the Picture.

Family and Friends,
Another week has come and gone in the blazing hot country of Cambodia. We are grateful for air conditioning and back up generators when the power fails. Several of the other Senior Couples have not been as fortunate. Elder and Sister Johnson live in a fairly expensive apartment. The location is not the greatest. They have frequent power outages. The place where they live does not have a generator. On our hottest days so far this season they had no electricity. Their apartment heated up quickly. Elder Johnson informed the manager that if they did not get a generator soon they would be moving. The lack of air conditioning has played havoc on Sister Johnson's health. The Tucks reside in the Ta Khmau area. They also have frequent power outages. The Capeners live in Kean Svaay and also have power outage issues. We have been pretty lucky. Our work place is a whole other story. You have read about our Internet /electricity sagas in past blogs.

This week began with work as usual. We left the office early Monday. We had Family Home Evening at our place. We left work early to prepare our apartment for our guests. Dale presented a lesson on the principle of grace. We also listened to a talk presented by Brad Wilcox. I set up the refreshments which consisted of USA glazed donuts, lemonade and ice water and a vegetable tray.  Everyone was on diets. Very few donuts were eaten. I offered to wrap some up for people to take home for breakfast. No one wanted them.We wrapped and froze some donuts and also took some to work. Kuntheavy's birthday was Friday. We were not going to be able to do anything for her on that day because of Career Workshop. Tuesday we had donuts and sang happy birthday to Kuntheavy after our Church Education committee meeting. It worked out well.

Wednesday was a routine day up until 3:00. We left early in order to get to the airport on time to greet Elder and Sister Dilworth who were scheduled to arrive to Phnom Penh at 4:00. Their flight was delayed one hour. We had down time at home before we actually left for the airport. I used that time to begin popping popcorn for our Career Workshop to be held Thursday. I made enough popcorn to fill 16 bags.

Proof is in the picture:
Last week I blogged that I would get a picture of Burger King, home of the Whopper. We haven't eaten there yet. It is no big deal if we don't. It is just cool to see signs from home.




After greeting Elder and Sister Dilworth we boarded the vans to meet for dinner at the Tonle Bassac Restaurant. It is an "all you can eat" buffet specializing in Khmer, Vietnamese and other Asian cuisine. Because Elder and Sister Dilworth's flight was delayed,because we got a flat tire leaving the airport, and because we were traveling during peak rush hour traffic we arrived at the restaurant after the main rush of cuisine eaters had arrived and dished up their food. The lines were long and many food choices were gone. The online reviews of  Tonle Bassac are both positive and negative. The differences in reviews seemed to be influenced by the time of day the patron was at the restaurant. Our experience was on the negative side. Dinner was a bust. Travel to and from the restaurant was fun. It is always great times when we are able to talk about our different mission responsibilities and our families.  Elder and Sister Westover and Elder and Sister Kohls are great people to "hang with".

We could sense Elder and Sister Dilworths' pain as they dealt with jet lag. The first days and weeks in Cambodia can be overwhelming. After all the planning and preparation finally the arrival day comes and it sort of hits you in the face. SMACK!! Then you pick yourself up and get to work.

We were very fortunate to be able to meet with the Dilworths on Friday afternoon. We were given time to introduce them to the PEF program. Dale showed them the steps that are all part of helping students apply for loans. They were told that at any time they can call us and Dale can walk them through the application steps. Having now received a little training  they will be less apprehensive to help.  Elder and Sister Dilworth are a vital part of helping the PEF participants in Kampong Cham and Kampong Thom. WE ARE SO HAPPY TO HAVE THEM.

Two days in the country and Elder Dilworth bought a car and was maneuvering his way down the streets of Phnom Penh. Elder and Sister Tuck sold their car to the Dilworths. The Tucks have several months yet to serve, but they were concerned that they would not find a buyer for their car when it was time to depart. They have opted to hire a tuk tuk driver for their remainder months here.

Sister Dilworth is in red vest and Elder Dilworth is in the suit.

Traveling with Elder and Sister Dilworth was Elder Pham from Seattle, Washington. He is Vietnamese and already speaks the language. I am not sure if he will serve in Cambodia or Vietnam or both.





Thursday and Friday we dedicated our days to teaching Career Work Shop. Dale does all the teaching. This time we had a large group of missionaries returning home. The group we said good bye to were the leaders for these past months we have been here. Several of these young men had served in the mission office and also as Assistants to the President. If any of you remember the documentary "Two Brothers Apart",  it will be of interest to you to know that Elder Nelson is going home. His family is actually here in Cambodia. They will tour Cambodia for two weeks prior to traveling to the USA. Elder Nelson's brother and his new bride are also here. Elder Nelson was a valiant missionary. He served well and we were blessed to have been able to rub shoulders with him. I also found out that he is from Cougar Mountain Ward. They meet in the meeting house next to the Seattle Temple. When I was in town dealing with my mother and sisters health problems I would attend that Ward. Many of the Relief Society sisters know my story and were very kind to me. I will be forever grateful for the "Charity" they showed me. It is a small world.

Elder Meier eating popcorn while the Elders work on their "power statements".

Elder Kuhn, Elder Price, Elder Hall and Elder Kim's arm.

Going around the room clockwise start with Elder Meier, Elder Jorgensen, Elder Nelson, Elder Nielson, Elder Jensen, Elder Knight, Elder Anderson, Elder Kim, Elder Hall, Elder Price, Elder Kuhn.

Elder Knight, Elder Anderson, Elder Kim.

Elder Nelson, Elder Nielson, Elder Jensen, Elder Knight.

Elder Jorgensen, Elder Nelson, Elder Neilson.








A great group of missionaries who have been dedicated to the work they were called to do. A fun group to work with.

Saturday morning we got to the church at about 6:20 and were blessed to see this little boy. His mom was setting up her road side restaurant.






When we arrived home Saturday afternoon we were greeted with a filthy apartment. Earlier in the week I kept finding white crumbles of paint on our bedroom floor. At first it was small pieces. When dime size pieces began falling I looked up and saw that pieces of our ceiling were flaking off. We had a leak that was causing damage in all three of our rooms. While we were at work a crew made repairs. We came home to floors, wall trim, counters and furniture covered in plaster dust. I spent Saturday afternoon on my hands and knees scrubbing floors and wiping down doors, furniture, trim and bathroom fixtures. I was tired by the time I was done. I also did the laundry. As of Saturday there were only two washing machines that "sort of work".

Khmer New Year is here and most places are closed. The streets are quiet. People will not return until later next week.

This is the road we walk every day. This picture was taken about 1:30 Sunday afternoon.The construction crew has moved  further up the street.  To the left a gravel road covers the work area. We hope that asphalt will be laid soon. The dust is pretty horrific. Dale's asthma has been BAD!!


Some of our tenants have left their garbage at the end of the hall near the elevator. The management posted the following request:

And with that we would like to show hearty thank you for visiting our blog this week.

104 Degrees !

Family and friends,
You ask yourselves, what in the world? This rather pathetic looking mounted rabbit is displayed on the wall of the Tell Restaurant in the group dining area. We have gone to the Tell several times for farewell dinners as Senior Couples complete their missions. I was in the mood this week to add rabbit head to our blog. I begin this blog with a rabbit theme. Our good friends, Kay and Curtis Dahl shared with us a great Easter greeting which we want to share with you also.
A man is driving along the highway and sees a rabbit jump out across the middle of the road. He swerves to avoid hitting it, but unfortunately the rabbit jumps right in front of the car. The driver, a sensitive man as well as a animal lover, pulls over and gets out to see what has become of the rabbit. Much to his dismay it is the Easter Bunny and he is DEAD. The driver feels so bad that he begins to cry. A beautiful blonde woman driving down the highway sees a man crying on the side of the road and pulls over. She steps out of the car and asks the man what is wrong."I feel terrible!" he explains, " I accidentally hit the Easter Bunny with my car and Killed Him!" The blonde says, "Don't worry." The blonde goes to her car and pulls out a spray can. She walks over to the limp, dead Easter Bunny, bends down and sprays the content onto him. The Easter Bunny jumps up, waves its paw at both of them and hops off down the road. Ten feet down the road he stops, turns around and waves again, hops down the road another ten feet turns and waves, hops another ten feet, turns and waves, and repeats this again and again and again and again, until he hops out of sight. The man is astonished. He runs over to the woman and demands, "What is in that can? What did you spray on the Easter Bunny?" The woman turns the can around so that the man can read the label. It says..'Hair Spray. Restores life to dead hair and adds permanent  wave.

TEE HEE!

Try telling this one to a Cambodian. Takes too much explanation to remain funny.

We began our week with a hot, muggy walk to work. We arrived before anyone else. This allowed Dale and I to have fun tricking the CES secretary, Kuntheavy.

Sunday evening we received a call around eight o'clock from Kuntheavy informing us that the building guard called her to tell her that her office door was unlocked. Unable to call her boss she tried us. The guard does not have keys to the office rooms.The protocol is that if a door is left unlocked someone with a key needs to return to the building to lock it. Because the main printer, the water jugs and the refrigerator are located in the secretary office we all have a key to the room. Touch Sophornn, Kuntheavy's boss is a Branch President. His branch meets at our building. We think he may have gone into the office and then forgot to lock the door when he left. Theft in Cambodia is a major problem. Unfortunately some members do succumb to temptations when made available. The guard told Kuntheavy he would do his best to keep watch through the night. I think when she called us she was hoping we would go to the office to lock her room. We were not excited to redress in Sunday attire and hire a tuk tuk driver for a 20 minute round trip just to lock a door when the trip could be avoided. The guard offered to keep watch and we chose to chance that nothing would be missing in the morning. This scenario lent itself to the perfect April Fool's trick. If people had arrived to work on time our opportunity to play our little trick would have been thwarted. Because no one was around we enjoyed a bit of mischief. The Khmer are unfamiliar with April Fool's Day and its tradition. They soon learned. We decided not to disturb Kuntheavy's room too much. She has a very nice cushy chair at her computer desk. She also has chairs for visitors. We removed all the chairs. When she arrived to work we heard a quiet knock at our door. In a little Kuntheavy voice we heard, "Elder my chairs are all gone." We played along with the confusion of what must have happened. Meas Sameth shortly arrived and with his help the mystery was quickly solved. She found her chairs in the CES classroom. A small HA! HA! for the beginning of our week.

Touch Sophornn and Meas Sameth spent Monday setting up their offices. As I mentioned last week, Pen Vibol is no longer working here. Meas Sameth moved into Pen Vibol's office. Now all our offices are next to each other. Touch Sophornn inherited Pen Vibol's desk top computer. Dale was away from our office helping set up computers most of the day. Around noon "the guys" road a tuk tuk to the store to purchase two Universal Power Supplies. Dale reported it was hot outside.

Meas Sameth has used a whole can of room deodorant as he has been cleaning. When Dale asked him why so much spray he said that his office smells like Pen Vibol. Pen Vibol occupied the room for about ten years. It is not that Pen Vibol smells, but he stored some food items that I guess smell. I know that Vibol himself would often open his office window and door telling me that he was airing the smell out of his room.

Before Vibol left he gave me this note:

He also gave me the origami bird that a student had made him. He will be missed and we all hope he is able to secure work soon. He wants to take courses to improve his English. He is 50 years old. Like in the USA this can make job hunting more difficult.

While Dale was trouble shooting for every one I spent my day reviewing  institute student make up work. It can be time consuming to do. One of our new PEF students had agreed to send me his make up work by email. He has not attended institute class in several weeks. He works as a translator for tourists outside the city. He took on this job after receiving his loan. His job pays well. But he has temporarily dropped out of school to work. The temptation for quick money was great. There is no reason for him to fall behind in his $5 per month payment. It has been less than a year and he is behind in his payments and on our bad list. Since he has Internet access there should be no problem for him to submit make up work to me on a regular basis. Because I have seen no action on his part to do what he said he would do, I wrote him an email message informing him of my disappointment in his lack of commitment to the promises he made when he received his first PEF disbursement. I told him that I would not accept his make up work if I received it all at once at the end of the term. To do such a thing is abusing the program and me. I also informed him that we would not continue to fund his education if he did not live up to his signed and vocal promises. He wrote me back and apologized. He said he would start turning his work in and also said that on March 27 he paid money at the Service Center.  Two days later I received one make up work assignment from him. I wrote him back to thank him for his prompt action on this matter.

At the end of the work day on Monday we were surprised and happy to be able walk home under a cloud cover with a slight breeze on our faces.

Tuesday Dale spent the day trying to down load PEF reports necessary to do our daily work. We download information such as a list of our High Priority students who must be contacted during the month. We also contact our students having  Birthdays during the month. We are required to contact our New students. These are only a few of the many reports we use throughout the month.  For some reason our system could not process them correctly. As a consequence I did very little phone calling. Tuesday was slow in the office.

Tuesday evening we joined the other Senior Couples for a farewell dinner for Elder and Sister Grimnes. Elder and Sister Westover gave us a ride to the Tell Restaurant, home to the decapitated rabbit at the beginning to this weeks blog.  Elder and Sister Grimnes served in Kampong Thom Province for the past 18 months. Like all of our Senior Couples who serve in the Provinces, they will be greatly missed by the members and us. First the Greeres left Siem Reap, then the Shelley's left Kampong Cham and now the Grimnes have left Kampong Thom. The couples who serve in these areas are our life line to the saints that live far from Phnom Penh. Our job is difficult without these Province helpers. President and Sister Moon were not in attendance. They were with their daughter, MacKenzie celebrating her 18th birthday.

The young missionaries as well as the Seniors always hand out photo cards with their name and address printed on them. This is Elder and Sister Grimnes.

At the Tell Restauruant  we ordered our usual Chicken Dijon. Several couples did the same. It is a real comfort food dish. It costs $7.50 a plate and oh so good.

After dinner Elder and Sister Grimnes reported to our group what they have been actively engaged in these past months. They also shared with us some of their plans once they return to the USA.  Like us they will be introduced to two new grandchildren. Their home is in 70 degree California. They will travel to Washington State to visit family in Hoquiam, Aberdeen and Leavenworth.

Because the Grimnes purchased a car in Cambodia they took a side trip to the ocean prior to arriving in  Phnom Penh. Sister Grimnes said it was absolutely beautiful. Missions carry with them challenges. For months the Grimnes believed they had a buyer for their car and were not worrying about that added stress. When they arrived in Phnom Penh to make the sell, the buyer backed out of the deal. He wanted to pay far less for the car then the Grimnes had requested.  The Grimnes were already taking a loss on their car. A typical Khmer story behind the sale of this car. The person who was going to purchase the car agreed to do so sight unseen. When he saw the car he did not like that it had a dent in the front, that the air bag was inoperable, and that it was a 1996 not 1997 model. The potential buyer is a mechanic. We learned of the story through the brother of the mechanic. I had commented that it was too bad our new Senior Couple who will arrive on April 10 could not purchase it... then I paused and said, "Oh yeah the air bag does not work. The Khmer response was, "That's OK, they don't need to know."  Gee thanks, we white people are dispensable!

The Grimnes were able to make a sale the day before they left. One last worry checked off the list.

It was interesting to hear their missionary experience as compared with ours. They worked among the members and community helping with building latrines, planting gardens, and digging wells. They taught Sunday school and other Sunday classes. Sister Grimnes ran Primary. She introduced several primary songs to the children and created Family Home Evening lessons for the families to use. They lived in a house, had a live in cook and house keeper, and owned a car. Of course none of this was free and they doled out a fair amount of cash helping the members.They made sure our PEF students had their needs met. They were dad and mom to the young sisters and elders living far from home. The list goes on and on of the many "hats" they wore. They reported that they worked around the members schedules. They learned that many people sleep during the day. In their down time they read a lot of scriptures and other gospel related books. Sister Grimnes said if it weren't for Sophal, their live in cook, their life would have been very quiet and dull. Instead their home was filled with life because of Sophal and her young friends who frequented their home.

Sophal and Sister Grimnes created a cook book of Sophal's specialty recipes. Sophal plans to sell these books and also make aprons. She already is the church resource for Khmer ties and scripture covers.

           
           What we Senior couples do best...EAT!






Wednesday I spent most of my day composing a letter to the Service Center trying to get one of our PEF students records correct. Prior to our arrival in Cambodia she had applied for a loan to a local University. She received a check for the school and had paid her tuition.When she went to enroll for the courses she desired she was told they were closed. She received a reimbursement in cash from the school and returned the money  to the Service Center. The Service Center did not give her a receipt. The returned money was deposited in the Service Center bank account. As far as we know PEF has not been refunded. After our student believed her record was cleared she discovered that  PEF was continuing to accept her $5 auto debit from the bank. She solved the auto debit problem by closing her account. PEF is no longer charging her but in our records it shows that she still owes money. Her balance should show 0. PEF also owes her $20. She will begin serving a mission on May 10. I would like to have her record cleaned up before we leave. It was a mess when we arrived and we want it not to be a mess when we leave.

I had plenty of time to work on the above problem while Dale "the dragon slayer" did more problem solving for the other people on our floor. The blue screen of death has reared its ugly head.

Dale is the Cambodia Phnom Penh Mission computer whiz kid. My calling is to daily complain to the maintenance guy concerning faulty light switches, building power outages, and toilets that won't flush. I believe the staff asks us to make the calls for help because if a "white person" makes a request action will happen. We are good to solve their problems, yet it's no big deal if our car airbags don't work.

Another Khmerism we will remember has to do with a conversation we had this week.  I truly believe some of the Senior Couples that have served here have caused the Khmer members to have a warped idea of what we represent. Too much money is disbursed among the members from the Senior Couples. There are proper channels that should be used to better help our members here and throughout the world. Good intentions often backfire when generous Senior Couples go home. Americans are looked at as "money bags". Today we showed one of our co-workers a recent picture of our house. It made us so happy. The flowers were beginning to bloom and we were thinking about how we really do like our home. The comment from our co- worker was, "When you get home are you going to tear it down and  build a new one!" No...we like our house thank you very much. We just laughed.

Farewell Elder and Sister Grimnes. Hello Burger King! I did not get a picture for proof, but next week we will be at the airport again to welcome Elder and Sister Dilworth to Cambodia. I'll get proof for you next week. The airport is the place to eat if you crave a blizzard from Dairy Queen, Pizza, Fried Chicken, or a Whopper from Burger King. Touch Sophornn got so excited when we told him about Burger King. He lived in Hawaii and Utah for a while and he knows what a Burger King Whopper is. He will be traveling by plane in a couple of weeks. He got really excited anticipating arriving ahead of his flight schedule to purchase a Whopper. In his words, "Mmm...very juicy and good!"

Elder and Sister Grimnes and some of their young members who visited their home in Kampong Thom.
Chansokhom, Amerith Phrium, Elder Grimnes, Sister Grimnes, Meas Ratha (Harry).






Thursday the power went out at the same time we were trying to help one of our medical students. She was the last of the group of medical students that we needed to inform concerning funds are running low for their future funding. The power kicked in after our student had left. Fortunately Dale had reviewed her records enough that he was able to talk to her without actually looking at her loan. It of course would have been better if she could have viewed the information on line. Had I not complained concerning the power outage who knows when it would have been turned back on.

Friday morning at 7:45 am we received this phone call,  "Elder Meier, what does the phrase 'Are you a Sports Nut?' mean?" One of our institute students was teaching a class and needed to explain this phrase to his students. I can see the confusion. There are lots of expressions we use that the Khmer just 'don't get'. This rings true for us too with Khmer phrases and jokes. These types of things lose something in the translation.

I was speaking with one of our students as Dale was teaching Saturday morning. We were discussing the three degrees of glory Celestial, Terrestrial, Telestial. A trick to remember the order is Sea Turtle. This is a great memory trick in English, but not Khmer. Sea turtle in Khmer is a very different word.

 Friday morning about 7:45am as we were walking to work the temperature was 86 degrees. Dale commented that , "It is hotter than hot out here".

Saturday we learned what hot really is when we went to buy groceries. At 3:00 pm it was 104 degrees. This was the new "hotter than hot". I do not believe it got this hot last year.

The rainy season is not here yet, but this week we did have our first official rainy day of 2013. The wind blew hard and people in the alley outside our office window were racing to get their laundry off the lines. People ran for cover. Meas Sameth said that the first rain washes acid off of the trees and out of the air. People caught in it often develop skin problems. The rain finished before we had to walk home. As we walked home we could feel the damp humidity on our skin and there was a muddy smell in the air. There was however, no dust!

Dale slipping into an air conditioned ATM at  Canada Bank on Saturday in 104 degree weather.

The front door to our bank. We have never been inside.

Happiness in Cambodia on our walk home from work. These young boys found a wonderful dirt pile to play on. Thank you road construction crew for dumping this outside our door. When Dale took this photo the little boy in the orange shorts ran like a scared rabbit. Once we left, he joined his friend again. I am sure his mother said, "Don't speak to strangers." When he saw Dale it was ,"Yikes, there's a big, white, scary, stranger. Get me out of  here."

That is about all I have to report this week. We are not sure what we will do during the holiday. We usually go to work, but if no one is in town we may choose to do something else. Elder and Sister Dilworth arrive on Wednesday. We look forward to meeting them. We hope we will have time to train  them on PEF and tell them about the students living in Kampong Cham. If we are unable to speak with them this week we will visit with them for sure in May when we travel to their province. Looking forward to "getting our of town". 

God bless your upcoming week.