See You Soon!

Hello Family and Friends, I do not know which is worse having lots of problems or doing nothing at all. Life at the office has been extremely slow. It is final exam time for many of our students. The elections on Sunday has also kept people busy. The church pioneer day celebrations have been spread out through the month in the various branches. We did not participate in them but have enjoyed the Facebook photos.

Meas Sameth who works with us in the PEF offices is part of the CNRP ( Cambodia National Rescue Party). Elections were held on Sunday. The final campaign parades ended on Friday. Saturday was a day of travel for many people in Cambodia as they reported to their various home land provinces to place their votes. Meas Sameth has lived in Phnom Penh long enough that he is now registered there.

Not sure what the number 7 represents, but I do know it is used in connection with the CNRP.

Kampong Cham church members dress up to celebrate the saints that settled in the Salt Lake Valley. The young adults pictured here are 2013 pioneers saints building the Kingdom of God in Cambodia. Many are PEF students and are becoming freed from the poverty that is so prevalent in this war torn country.

Chamkarmorn Branch in Phnom Penh celebrate Pioneer Day. Back row: unknown. Front row:  Tach Sony, unknown, Keo Somaly. Sony and Somaly were baptized less than two years ago. They were students in our Institute class. Tach Sony just graduated from college and Keo Somaly is a PEF student and well on her way to success.

Chamkarmorn Branch having fun. Newly called branch president Tay Phirum is in back row left. He is a PEF graduate.

Sophornn was gone on baby leave part of this week.  Do you blame him for wanting to help out with this gorgeous bundle from heaven?  Luddy, his wife is home and doing well. Her parents are visiting from the Philippines to help cook and clean and extend their support.







Monday Elder and Sister Capener came by the office to pick up their laptop. Now that Dale performed his magic their laptop should operate much better. It was good to visit with them. They are planning for the boys band, Beyond 5, to stop in Cambodia on their Asia music tour. The Capeners' will be their escorts while they are touring in Cambodia. The Capeners' were trying to determine what would be the best places to take the boys. The youngest member of the boys band is age 15.  I recommended the Killing Fields. It is a must experience site in Cambodia. Sister Capener questioned  if it would be too much for a 15 year old to grasp.  I personally feel that the Killing Fields is a very sacred place. Yes, horrific events took place at this site, but those in charge of this memorial have done a superb job in telling the victims stories. No one should ever forget these people. Sister Capener's concerns rest with the fact that to this day the rain erodes the walking trails causing human bones and teeth to surface. Visitors are warned about this and asked to respect the situation. Part of the tour is a walk around a beautiful little lake. Without knowing the history of the area one would never suspect that it is a watery grave site. I always recommend that people rent the recorded tour guide and head sets. During the walk around the lake visitors can listen to a beautiful instrumental composition created specifically in memory of the victims of the Killing Fields. I voiced my opinion that a 15 year old could handle this tour.

The Cambodia Phnom Penh Mission will welcome five new Senior Couples between August 3 and the middle of October. Three of these couples have specific assignments. They are PEF, Public Relations and Family History. The other two couples will no doubt serve as member leader support. We hope they will serve in the Provinces.  It would be great to have more member leader support in the branches in the Phnom Penh area too. With the exception of the PEF Senior Couple all of the other couples will probably need to purchase cars and adjust to driving in Cambodia. We were blessed not to have that additional expense and stress.

We've been using up our food storage. We have just enough with perhaps a little surplus. For sure we will have mustard. We were running low on mustard a couple of weeks ago and purchased a small bottle from Fair Market, a mini mart on our walking route. Later in the week we ended up going to Lucky on an unplanned shopping trip. I was without a list and remembered we needed mustard. I actually did not remember that we had purchased mustard and so we bought another small bottle. I am sure someone will be able to use it. I transferred the last of our Skippy Peanut Butter into a smaller jar. We have eaten 50 lbs of peanut butter! We would have eaten more but three months ago we cut back to eating half sandwiches instead of whole sandwiches. USA Donut and their business partnering with Costco and Sam's Club were a great blessing to us. Amazingly I have enjoyed every single sandwich and will plan to purchase peanut butter when we get home. What a blessing that we do not have nut allergies.

Our bathroom sink has stopped up twice since we have lived here.  I  found a recipe for homemade drain cleaner on line. The recipe called for salt, baking soda, vinegar and boiling water. This concoction worked well. Thanks to my homemade drain cleaner I was able to used up all our salt and vinegar. I will use up the baking soda as a scouring powder and deodorizer.

Monday the intersection at Street 63 and Mao Tse Tung was near completion. The road for the most part is clear of construction work. There are only a few man holes still fenced off.  Elder and Sister Wyler will never know the mud and dirt they "might have walked in". I hope it rains really hard this week. I want to see how good this section drains.

This photo shows the above intersection after a rain storm three weeks ago.

Monday we christened our sewer boots. I should have worn these months ago. I ruined my shoes because of my vanity.  Our boots worked well. I would not recommend them for long distance hikes. The soles are thin and every lump and bump in the road can be felt. My poncho was a great buy at 50 cents.

New restaurants and shops are popping up along Street 63 which is our daily walking route. Elder and Sister Wyler will walk this same route. They may have the pleasure of eating and shopping at some of these new places. "Opening Soon" signs have given us false hope for well over a year as we anticipated a mall near our home and a taco eatery. Cambodians do not know what the word 'soon' means. They do know "min hauy" which means "not yet". Perhaps 'soon' will be sooner for Elder and Sister Wyler. A more accurate sign would be "Opening Someday".

Friday we were pleased to see a canopied area set up in the church parking lot for Camphill International School. We greet and are greeted by the teachers each day as we pass by this school.
A few weeks ago we were asked if they could use our parking lot for their graduation. They are next door to the church building. We could not give permission but gave them the name of the person to contact. We were so pleased that they were given permission. We attended part of their program. The children all speak English.

Getting set up and seated.

Older children reciting a poem about being good stewards of the earth.

Mother kitten with rabbit ears! Mother kitten and three other children recited "Three Little Kittens Have Lost Their Mittens".

This little girl stole our hearts. The first time we saw her she had lost her boot which caused her to become really shy. She stood on stage and just hung her head until her mother came to her rescue.

In the photo to the right she has returned to the stage for her second performance. This time she was happy rocking out to the music.

These are the people that we work with each day. Meas Sameth works directly with us in PEF. He will be a great blessing to Elder and Sister Wyler. Dale has been training him for several months to be able to fill out loan applications and payment requisitions. He also teaches Career Work Shop to the Khmer members and Khmer returning missionaries. He teaches Planning for Success which is a required course for all future PEF applicants. The course helps individuals determine what type of work they would like to gain skills in and what education would best assist them in reaching their goal.  Seam Kuntheavy is in the center. She is the secretary for Seminaries and Institutes in Cambodia. Touch Sophornn is on the right. He is the director of Institutes and Seminaries in Cambodia. It would have been impossible to have served in the PEF department without each of them. They are INVALUABLE.

Kuntheavy and me.

We have 9 days left on our mission. Our final week we will be at work every day as usual. Friday we will begin the day at Yzabellune's wedding serving as proxy parents for her groom. Early Saturday morning we will once again serve as proxy parents. We will race from the wedding photo shoots to the airport to pick up Elder and Sister Wyler. Because time is running out Saturday I vacuumed, mopped and dusted. Hopefully a quick mop job will do the trick just before we move out.


Do the math: One more full week serving in Cambodia + one more laundry day + one more Fast Sunday = We are coming home really soon.

See you soon.

Cambodia has ribs...lots of ribs!

Family and friends departure day is getting close. Dale and I spoke in Sacrament meeting at the International Branch today. I spoke on service and Dale spoke on what is truth. The meeting did not start on time.  The person assigned to conduct was late and there was no bread for the sacrament. As a result most of the members who are usually late were seated in the chapel before the meeting began.  That was a nice change. If we had started on time we would have had plenty of time to present the talks we had prepared.  Because of the late start the time factor became an issue. Sacrament meeting did end a little later than usual.  About 13 members that have been attending the International Branch for the past several months will leave Cambodia at the same time we do. The core group of active members that work and live in Cambodia is about 25 members which includes children.  The branch members are used to waves of members coming and going. To be the Branch President of such a diverse and small branch has its unique challenges. Although the branch is small and transit it is great to have an International Branch in Cambodia. This is a place where  members far from home can meet and understand through a common English language gospel messages each Sunday. While members are living in Cambodia they have wholesome activities to participate in. They are able to interact with people of a common faith and standard of life.

This week we had plenty of time to work on our talks. The office was very quiet. I have made few phone contacts. My logic is that if I keep the phone lines quiet for the next month perhaps the students who ignore PEF calls might answer their phones the next time caller ID shows PEF.  Dale will send a click-a-tell message in another week to announce the Wyler's arrival. The second part to my logical stratagem is that the announcement of "new" missionaries may spike their curiosity. Shh...don't tell!

We continue to pull things together at the office for Elder and Sister Wyler. The mouse for the office computer no longer worked. Dale got a different one. We replenished the money in the petty cash box. The printer ink cartridge for the office printer was shot. That is now replaced. We are now finetuning the office.

Elder Capener called to see if Mr. Fix It Guy could check out his lap top. We had a nice visit with the Capener's Friday afternoon while Dale did some trouble shooting. The diagnosis...the lap top needed to stay at "the shop" for a day or two.  Dale feels that most of the problems have to do with cleaning house. Elder Capener had installed new antivirus software. Dale looked at that also to see if that was part of the problem. The Capener laptop is large and heavy so Dale has chosen not to haul it home. Since we were at our office building on both Saturday and Sunday Dale was able to slip into our office to checkout the laptop status. He feels confident that progress is being made. He will know more in the morning.

We usually leave the office at 4:30. Dale was waiting for one more thing to check on Elder Capener's laptop before we went home. I can't remember when we got home but I know it was after 5:00.





National Elections in Cambodia will be July 28. We are a bit anxious about this. We have been told to stay home as much as possible on that day. It is a Sunday and church will be held as usual. Police and military presence will be beefed up. The last National Elections were held in 2008. In 1998 there were about 20 LDS missionaries in the country. Due to civil unrest they were sent to Thailand for seven weeks. Sam Rainsy is the candidate that is running against the current leader Hun Sen. Sam Rainsy has been in exile for several years. In the past week the king gave him a pardon to return to Cambodia for the elections. If he did not have a pardon he would be arrested. The turn out of people welcoming Sam Rainsy at the airport and then to his campaign rally was huge. Sam Rainsy wants to move Cambodia to a more democratic government . His plans are contrary to what the current government has in place. We have been told that if Sam Rainsy wins there could be riots in the streets. I just hope that things are calm by the time we are to take flight back to the USA. Through our PEF student's facebook entries we are able to watch the events of  his arrival.

Tonight we heard a lot of commotion as we were sitting in our apartment. We looked out our window expecting to see Hun Sen's campaign group. The people who campaign for him are paid. For the past several weeks each evening they parade down the streets of Phnom Penh playing music and promoting their candidate. To our surprise, instead of Hun Sen's campaigners it was the CNRP (Cambodian National Rescue Party). These people want Sam Rainsy to help their country. It was an impressive showing of volunteer citizens with great hope for change. The people on the side streets got out of their tuk tuks and cars to take pictures and watch . No one seemed angry to have to wait for the procession to pass by. As we watched the spectators you could see excitement and hope in their countenances. Only time will tell what the outcome of this years election will be. We pray that there will be little to no violence in its aftermath.

This week we received countdown information concerning our departure date.  A combined farewell/welcome dinner for us and the Wyler's will be held on August 5 at 6:00 at the Viva Restaurant. This is Mexican food which I prefer over Khmer food.  I remember the funky meals that were served to us on the airplane trip to Cambodia. With that in mind I think the Wyler's will welcome a great tasting chicken burrito or taco. They will have many Khmer meals to face in the next 18 months.We also received our official E-mail informing us of our exit interview with President Moon. We will meet with him at 5:00 on August 6. After our interview we will enjoy dinner with President Moon and his wife. The next step will be our trip to the airport.

The most exciting event of our week was a phone message from Touch Sophornn.
Announcing d arrival of our baby girl-Chantelle Anne Touch.  Baby arrive last nite (July 17) at 10:23. She weighs 3.6 kilos (about 7 pounds).  She came fast n strong.  She's healthy and gorgeous. She's an additional joy in d family. Blessing fr above I am ok. Anybody who wants 2 show me how 2 burp a baby? 4goten na!

We were informed that Ludy, Sophornn's wife is doing good although she is quite sore. She left the hospital on Sunday. I believe her parents have arrived from the Philippines and will stay for a couple of weeks to help.

Saturday several of the Branches celebrated Pioneer Day. Friday Meas Sameth left work early to prepare for his branch celebration.  He said another branch is joining with his branch for their activity. They rented ox carts for the members to pull about 3 miles up a mountain (hill). He said that they rented two buses. He expects about 160 members to participate in this event. Not every one will ride on the buses. There are some great pictures on face book dealing with this event.

We did not attend any Pioneer Day celebrations. The Vietnamese Branch will celebrate next Saturday. Their celebration is at our office building. Last year we peeked in on them. We will probably do it again this year.

We got this photo off face book. Sister Johnson is riding in one of the ox carts. Such a trooper!

More face book pictures of the members in Meas Sameth's Branch. I have no idea where they got the cows from.  Sameth only talked about ox carts and people pulling them. If you want ribs...Cambodia has ribs. Lots and lots of ribs.




Saturday morning we stopped by Dara Photo to have our missionaries photo cards made. We ordered 20 cards. That is probably 10 too many. We wanted extra just in case.  Dale continued trouble shooting Elder Capener's laptop. The Kohls had service work to do at our building. They called and asked if they could take us out to lunch as a thank you for the work Dale did on their laptop. They came by at about noon. We walked to Ma Ma's New York Deli for fish'n chips. We had great food and conversation.

After lunch we all walked to our apartment. The Kohl's had never had "the tour". Other than the laundry situation they really liked our place. There place is older but it is a great location for where their office is. Sister Kohls eyes got big when she saw our pool. She said she would use it every day. Dale has used it twice since we have been here. After the apartment tour we showed them where we get our hair cut. That was where we said our goodbyes for the day. The Kohls went to Lucky's to buy groceries and  Dale and I went into to the hair salon for our last hair cuts in Cambodia. After we cleaned up from getting our hair cuts we hired a tuk tuk to take us to the bank to withdraw some cash and then on to Digi Internet Service to inform them of our move out date. We planned our tuk tuk route so we would end up at the Chaktomuk Church Building  at 4:00.  It was the Central District (Vietnamese)  Institute/Seminary graduation evening.

Lim Sophy, one of  our PEF students and member of our early morning New Testament Institute class received her four year diploma for having studied all the standard works.

Central District Seminary/ Institute students 2013.







After graduation we walked to Lucky's to purchase a few food items and then we went home. As we were walking home Dale started to get sick. He was pretty miserable up until late Sunday morning. By Sunday evening he was doing better.

Sister Noun is our Khmer Institute student that is now serving in the Tacoma Washington Mission. Her sister, Den Chen came by our office with a package to deliver to her. A few weeks ago she asked if we could take a package of Khmer T-shirts in our luggage to be mailed to Sister Noun. We said sure. She brought them by this week. Sister Noun will be happy to receive them. We hope we will be able to see her. It will all depend on if she is in Tacoma or somewhere else. We may have to simply drop the package off at the mission home.

The last of the piping for 63rd Street. This the point where all pipes meet. Once this is connected we hope that the flooding problems will be resolved. Once again, only time will tell!

Can you believe that we only have two more laundry days in Cambodia?






I just asked Dale, "How can I end this blog?" He said,"Good-bye".

"GOOD-BYE"

Such inspiration is mind boggling!

Mr. Fixit Guy to the Rescue

Family and friends the days just keep moving forward.

Monday we started our phone calling for the new month. This is the last of the PEF phone calls we will make. Pal Chakriya and But Lum Ang, two of our PEF students that are studying to become doctors came for their payment requisitions. We also received a visit from Elder and Sister Westover. Sister Westover's laptop is sick. Dale worked most of Monday saving their information. He is hopeful that their lap top can be saved.  By evening the problem was not resolved. He called the Westovers to report that he would keep trying to resolve the problem but also warned them that they may need to take their laptop to ANANA, the main computer sales and repair business here in Phnom Penh.

We walked home in the rain. I wore my poncho and Dale used his umbrella. We got home before the streets filled up.

Monday evening  we met with the other Senior Couples to the Tell Restaurant. We were having a farewell dinner for Elder and Sister Yeates.

Sister Westover, Elder Yeates, Sister Yeates, Sister Capener, Elder Capener, Elder Kohls, Sister Kohls, Sister Meier, Elder Meier, Elder Westover.



As we got seated at the table Elder Kohls approached Dale to announce that his laptop was having problems. "Take a ticket and stand in line". Hopefully no one will have computer problems once Dale leaves. If they do let us pray the Lord will provide another computer "Mr. Fix It Guy".  We were told there are four new couples coming to the Phnom Penh Mission. Three couples will arrive in August and one in September. Perhaps there will be more. It would be great to have more couples for member leader support. Member leader support is not an inexpensive mission. All the couples we have talked to in Cambodia that do member leader support have all purchased cars with the added expenses of  licensing, car repairs and tips for the parking lot attendants and bribes for the police. Unless they know the Khmer language well they need to hire a translator. There are always behind the scene expenses too.  Member leader support couples are usually assigned to more than one branch.  The Senior Couple is treated very special and is invited to weddings, birthday parties, baby showers, graduations and whatever else might be a time to celebrate. This means open your pocketbook and shake vigorously.

The evening spent with the Yeates was enjoyable.  They told amazing accounts of what transpired during their 23 months serving in Battambang. They truly made a difference for the people there. After observing mothers washing their children in filthy water and seeing that these children had sores on their bodies the Yeates found a way to get Battambang on a list to receive wells to bring clean water to the people's homes. Once the wells were in place and being used the children began to heal. Besides the wells they were able to contact an organization in the United States out of Utah that provided nutritional kits to families. This organization was only going to offer this project to the Phnom Penh area. The Yeates were able to convince them of the need also in Battambang. If you recall in one of our past blogs we had taken a picture of a young man with a deformed mouth that we had met at the bat caves. We were visiting the Yeates in Battambang at the time. The Yeates contacted Operation Smiles or an organization similar to it and were able to help this young man. We did not see the after operation picture of him, but Elder Yeates said that the young man has a great smile now.  The Yeates also helped an older mother who had lived for years with the same problem. Through their efforts instructing the members how to do Home and Visiting Teaching they were able to reactive five families that had left the Church years ago. They were guided and directed to the lost sheep throughout their mission. They worked hard to learn the language and Elder Yeates taught many lessons to the saints in their native language. The final week of their mission they escorted 30 members of the Church to the Manila Temple. The world is very small when you are a member of the Church. Elder Yeates was unaware that one of his mission companions from when he was a young man is presently serving in the Philippines. They were reunited at the Manila Temple. It was a chance meeting.  What a wonderful reunion for them. The Yeates reported experience after experience and miracle upon miracle. The evening went too quickly.  They testified that there are no coincidences. The Lord is in charge and stands by to help His children. We each must trust Him and move forward in faith. When we come up against obstacles we are to work to find solutions, come up with a  plan and present it to the Lord. If it is a good plan the Lord will support us in our efforts to accomplish whatever it is we need to do. 

Tuesday Dale continued to work on Sister Westover's laptop. I spent my time calling our students. I can honestly say that I will not miss sitting at a desk day in and day out making phone calls. I did have success in making connection with a few of our students that have been near impossible to contact. That made me happy. Two students came to the office for their payment requisitions. Since I can not print from my computer Dale handles the paperwork for all loans. Kuntheavy, the CES secretary, still had graduation certificates to print. Since her printer has been broken for at least five years she uses ours. She was at Dale's computer for about an hour. I used to feel guilty about using CES paper. Dale commented, "Why? Computer ink is far more expensive than a ream of paper."  We left work, walked home and did our exercises. We got cleaned up and then went with the Westovers and Khols to the airport to bid farewell to the Yeates. I actually got a little teary eyed as they vanished up the escalator and out of sight.

Elder Meier, Sister Meier, Sister Moon, President Moon, Elder Yeates, Sister Yeates, Sister Kohls, Elder Kohls, Elder Westover, Sister Westover


WE ARE NEXT TO GO!!

Sister Loy, Loy Chetana, Sister Yeates, Elder Yeates, Un Sophallaroth, Un Sophallara

Sophallaroth and Chetana served their mission together. They were the Yeates' first Sister Missionaries that lived in their house and served with them.

The Loys traveled several hours to be at the airport to say goodbye to the Yeates.


Run Yzabellune asked Sophornn to ask us to come to her wedding on August 2 and 3. She is marrying a German man and needs "white proxy parents" for her groom. This tradition is crazy. She wants us at the North District Center on Friday morning August 2 from 9-11 and Saturday morning from 6-9!! We will have to take a tuk tuk to the opposite end of town. We are not exactly sure what we will be doing besides smiling for photos. At first we did not know who had asked us to be their parent proxies. It was because we don't hear words well when Khmer speak. I asked Kuntheavy to write Yzabellune's name for me and then I knew exactly who she was. She is a bubbly young lady we met when we first came to the country. We actually haven't seen her since Christmas. When Sophorrn told us what we were asked to do we told him that we did not know her.  He said, "Oh yes you do...you know her very well." He said, "If you see her you will know her." He is right. We told Sophornn that we could not do the Saturday morning activity because Elder and Sister Wyler are arriving at the airport at 10:25 that same morning. Sophorrn said he promised we could do both and that we could get to the airport on time. He said, "The airport is very close." This should be interesting. We definitely will be on a tight time schedule. Dale wants to open a business in Cambodia [White Couple For Rent for Weddings]. Kuntheavy said that she actually did make money as a standin for a wedding party. Her purpose was to help make the pictures look good. She said she got about $15 and free food. We don't foresee making a profit off of this event. If anything it is going to cost us money and time. Out of respect for Yzabellune we are honored that she would consider us. We will ignore the fact that there aren't too many of us "old white couples" left to choose from.

Wednesday a few students came to our office for loan payment requisitions. One student came to tell us that she is no longer attending school and does not need anymore loan money.  She had paid for her Bachelor's degree in accounting on her own. She originally came to us because her funds were low and she needed to improve her English skills for her job. She requested a loan to study English at Panasastra University. Dale was able to get special permission to allow her to do this. She has now chosen to take an English course somewhere else for a minimal fee. She will pay for this on her own. She is getting married in November and will be traveling frequently between Phnom Penh and Kampong Cham. With all the traveling it is better for her not to take the college English courses. This new plan allows her the flexibility to study English at her own pace and when her schedule permits.

Dale worked on our picture cards which we will distribute to "our closest friends". We were not sure what we wanted to do for a picture. Dale found a photo that is actually posted in our blog of us walking down the street. It is a good representation of our daily life in Cambodia. It isn't the best quality picture nor the best picture of us but it is just fine. Reality check... the photo will be filed away somewhere and lost in the archives of the photo box. If it was going to be displayed in the Hall of Fame I might protest. But under the circumstances it is perfectly fine. It is tradition to distribute picture cards when missionaries are released.  We can't break tradition can we? Oh the shame!

After spending additional hours on the Westover's laptop Dale finally surrendered. We boarded a tuk tuk Wednesday afternoon and went to the mission home. We met with Elder Westover.  Dale explained the situation to him.  We walked together to ANANA. It was a good thing that Dale did not just send the laptop and Elder Westover to ANANA.  He spent about an hour explaining to the repairmen exactly what the problem was and what needed to be done.  Fortunately there was one young man that spoke some English. We hoped he would be able to make a ghost copy of the Westover's laptop information and then re-install it. The cost of a new laptop in Cambodia is double what you would pay in the USA.  We really did not want them to have to purchase a new machine. We also did not want them to lose their information. Dale had done a backup at work just in case.

From ANANA we went back to the mission home. Elder Westover gave us a ride to our apartment. We arrived home about 5:00. We climbed the stairs to the 14th floor and did our routine exercises on the stationery bikes. Exercise is helping us feel more fit. After our exercising we cleaned up, ate dinner and Dale did computer stuff and I crashed on the bed.

Thursday I started the day with good intentions to call all of our students that required a voice contact this month. I dialed each person's number several times. I was able to speak to about four people. There are lots more than four people to contact.  Fortunately there is still plenty of month left.  Elder Westover called to tell us that ANANA was able to fix their laptop. Hurray!! It cost them about $129.  Dale said the same repair in the states would cost up to $300.  What a blessing that Dale was able to speak with the technician. It resulted in quick and good results.

Friday we spent the day doing routine office work. Dale has been cleaning up the Church computer for Elder and Sister Wyler. As we were working we received a call from Elder and Sister Kohls. Elder Kohls said their tuk tuk always seems to stop in front of USA Donut. They were bringing in their laptop for Dale to check out. He asked if we would like an apple fritter. Of course! We always enjoy our visits with the Kohls. They arrived around lunch time. Unfortunately they missed some of their Skype appointments with Hong Kong because their laptop was sick. Dale worked some computer fix it magic. He thought the problem was resolved. The Kohls left and we carried on with our regular Friday activities.  I had a small diversion because Sophornn and his wife have a baby due at the end of this month. I really do not know where to purchase cards so I used scrap paper and ribbon I had from Christmas to make a baby gift card. I am sure Dale thought I was wasting time. I finished it on Saturday and he said it looked nice. Since it is difficult for me to shop here we will just slip money in the card and let Sophornn and Ludy do the shopping.

Friday after work we once again climbed the stairs to floor 14. After returning to our apartment we cleaned up. I had just finished drying my hair when we got a phone call from Elder Kohls. The Skype was not working on their lap top. They had some important calls to make Saturday morning. We got dressed and went to their apartment. Sister Kohls and I had a good conversation while Dale and Elder Kohls worked on the computer. Dale was able to trouble shoot and get their laptop working correctly. The blessing was it did not take a whole lot of time. We visted a little longer and then said our goodbyes. We had not eaten dinner so we walked to Lucky Burger. I was going to do our laundry but it was late by the time we got home. Since we only work until noon on Saturday and this particular Saturday we had no extracurricular activities I knew I had a second chance to clean the clothes.

Saturday morning we walked to work. I was able to contact a few more students. I finished the baby gift card I had been working on. Dale continued to clean up the computer for Elder and Sister Wyler. He also was getting our own information in order. There is personal information that needs to be cleaned off the Church computer. I did a little more shredding and cleaning too. At noon we walked home. We ate some lunch and then went to the grocery store to pick up a few staples. We do not want to purchase too much because we will be going home soon. Before we went to our apartment after shopping I told Dale that I wanted to check out the laundry room to see how busy it was. It wasn't busy!  And to my great surprise there are three brand new washing machines. Besides being new the instructions are in English!!! I could not be happier. It only took two hours to do three loads of  laundry. There were no problems at all.  I was able to wash my clothes in the daylight hours and there were no rat sightings. Can the blessings get any better than this???

See happy Debbie. The blessings just keep coming!

Baking chocolate crinkle cookies in my Betty Crocker Easy Bake oven.

Drats! The back row burned. The blessing was that all other cookies came out perfectly. This is a great recipe by the way!

Saturday afternoon was really hot. Dale decided he wanted to take a dip in the pool. As we came to the roof the weather changed and so did Dale's plan. Instead of swimming he took pictures.  He stopped shooting pictures when the sky opened up.

Looking towards the bridge to Kean Svaay Branch. (Tonle Bassac River)

The weather can change quickly. When the rain comes so does the wind.






Sunday we went to Tuol  Tom Pong Branch. It was a good day for us. When we got home we learned that Stuart, our son-in-law, while participating in the STP (Seattle to Portland Bike Ride) crashed on his bike near Olympia. He was transported by ambulance to a hospital in Olympia.  He broke his clavicle. He was wearing a very good helmet which probably saved him from more serious injuries. He is home now. The human body is pretty amazing in how it can heal. We ask that you remember Stuart, Jenni and their family in your prayers as they deal with this challenge.

This week may you find the little miracles in each day.  If you look for them you will find them. 

Thirty days and one Fast Sunday to go.

Hello family and friends,

Monday was a routine day up until about 3:00 when we left our office to attend an engagement party. It was at our building which was convenient. One of our Institute students, Kong Mary will marry an American she met when he served his mission here in Cambodia.

Branch President Kim Sang is standing up front. He was not sure what to do because engagement parties are a new concept. I think the young women who are marrying Americans have created this ceremony as assurance that some day in the far off future they will actually get married. Engagements last many years because of the expense and legal hoops the Khmer have to under take to receive permission to marry someone who is not a citizen of Cambodia. The government does not want its people to leave the country.
The ceremony for the engagement was basically a wedding with the exception that no one was pronounced husband and wife. They exchanged rings.

Robert Baird served in Cambodia and was released just before we entered the country. Mary is a really special young woman. She is currently a District Young Women President. She teaches Institute.

Mary and Rob walk down the red carpet towards the main table where the ceremony took place. Dale and I were asked to sit up front and represent Rob's mom and dad. We were the only "white" people that fit the part. We are now in a bunch of their  family pictures. I guess it makes for a good appearance. Perhaps one day someone can switch out our heads for Rob's parent's heads.

The refreshments were colorful. There are lots of the same treat in different colors. It is like a tray of  decorated sugar cookies. Instead of cookies they make their treats out of sweet rice and coconut milk. They also served rolls with hot dogs in them.

Other refreshments were baskets and trays of fruit. There was plenty of food.

One of my favorite parts of the reception.

 Khmer children are precious.









We had to hurry home from the reception because we were meeting at the Khmer Surin restaurant for a farewell dinner for Elder and Sister Tuck.

Elder Tuck and Sister Tuck expressed some of their thoughts about their service in Cambodia. They plan to submit their papers again and hope to be on another mission  within the year.

Debbie, Sister Tuck, Elder Tuck, Elder Johnson, Chouen Khunty, Elder Westover, Sister Westover, Sister Kohls, Sister Capener.

Waiting for our receipts.







We had a routine Tuesday morning.  Later in the day we took a tuk tuk to Room Chang Dental to have Dale's permanent crown put on. As we left Room Chang we would walk a little and pause and walk and pause. Dale was not quite sure if the crown was fitting properly. After some debate he decided to let it be. It seems to be doing good. We walked to the Mission Home and the Service Center to do PEF business. As we walked home we stopped at Lucky's to pick up a few groceries. While walking home it began to rain. By the time we arrived home we were WET.  I had my umbrella, but it could not compete with mother nature. Dale walked pretty fast challenging me to keep up. I was a muddy mess. We cleaned up and got ready to go to the airport to see Elder and Sister Tuck off.

The Tucks will be forever grateful to Sister Kohls who helped them toss a whole lot of weight out of their suitcases. Sister Kohls is Queen Toss It Out!
The Tucks stayed in the Kohls' guest bedroom for their last two nights in Cambodia.

The Tucks were met at the airport by many of the members they served with. As they were getting ready to depart the group began to sing "God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again". Many tears were shed and thank you and farewell hugs were given. The Tucks were/are great missionaries and will be missed and remembered for a very long time. New Senior missionaries will come and go, but there is only one Elder and Sister Tuck. The airport means Dairy Queen so we all got ice cream before we headed home.


Wednesday we arrived to work late because we went with Elder Westover to look for an apartment for Elder and Sister Wyler.  We were looking for a two bedroom apartment that had a private washing machine and was within walking distance of work. This endeavor was harder than we had anticipated. There are lots of apartment buildings in the area, but few vacancies. What we found was OK but we were hoping other places would come available. We arrived to work about 10 am. We did our routine office work for a couple of hours.  The day was short because we had to buy snacks for Career Work Shop. We hired a tuk tuk driver to take us to the store. We did not want to pack 48 bottles of water from the store back to the office. We knew exactly what we needed so it was a quick trip. We unloaded the water bottles into the refrigerator and did a few more tasks. It was sewer boot conditions by the time we were ready to go home. I really did not want to wear the boots. We thought maybe we could make it home. As you know from past blogs the city has repaired the roads so now the drainage should be really good. The pipes are in place and the roads are paved.

What are your thoughts on the new and improved drainage system?
Since we have lived here we have never seen this part of the road under water. On our walk home this is the first major road we cross. In the past if the streets on our route home looked bad we would take a detour and  walk the road that you see in the photo where the cars are. We would cross the street and walk on the left hand side pf the road. This time there was no way this route was going to work.

When the cars would come to this point we had Tsunami waves lap up onto the "dry" spot where we were standing taking pictures.

Pushing water. This is looking at our regular walking route home.

Notice the girl pushing her friends moto. She came to this point. Her moto made a sick sound and stopped.

There were police at the intersection but they were standing on "dry" ground next to us. There wasn't much they could do. It was a major traffic jam. To add to the congestion it is campaign time in Cambodia and up the street was a parade of trucks with loud speakers promoting their candidate.

After evaluating our situation we had one choice. We had to walk in the opposite direction from our home and hope to find a side street that was not totally under water. What is usually a 10-15 minute walk home ended up taking 50 minutes. Our feet were soaked. We had to do some puddle jumping. Dale was better at this feat than I was. My shoes are now gross!



Thursday and Friday we taught our final Career Work Shop. We were blessed to be able to teach some of the best missionaries ever. These guys are true leaders and embraced their missions with their whole hearts.

Pictured here are a fantastic group of men:

Elder Mitton, Elder Gibbs, Elder Pearson, Elder Warr, Elder Rucker, Elder Edmunds, Elder Lor, Elder Meier

A mighty army indeed!




All these guys flew home Friday night. They flew from Cambodia to Seoul Korea and then to California.  You can imagine our horror when we saw the breaking news concerning the air crash below...

Dale was the first to learn about this crash. He told me and  I turned on CNN news. It was a horrific sight. We were not sure if it was the flight that our missionaries and President Moon's daughter were on. We waited until 7 am and then called President Moon. He was wondering why we were calling so early. To our relief we were told that our group from Cambodia landed in Los Angeles not San Francisco. We are grateful and relieved for our people but at the same time our prayers go out to everyone involved in the above tragedy.

Friday Elder Westover contacted us and said that  Elder and Sister Wyler had decided they would prefer a  one bedroom apartment.  We went with Elder Westover to check on a one bedroom apartment that will be available on August 1. It is perfect! Elder Westover signed a 6 month contract with the hopes that Elder and Sister Wyler will be happy and want to remain there for their full 18 month mission. If they change their mind then they can find something else after the 6 months are up. They probably will decide to sign a contract for their entire mission. The location is great.

Friday evening was laundry as usual... Did I mention that Friday evening was laundry AS USUAL? Dale consoled me by informing me that I only have four more laundry days in Cambodia. I hope that the one machine that works can hold out that long. At least this week I did not encounter a rat! Last week I screeched so loud when a rat missed running over my foot by inches. No one seemed to notice my scream. The guards didn't come to check to see if I was alright. I was glad because it was sort of embarrassing.

Saturday morning was uneventful.  We got home about 1 pm and we went to the roof to exercise. After exercising we cleaned up and ate lunch. By the time all that was done it was time to get ready to walk to the church for Institute and Seminary Graduation. There should have been about three hundred people at graduation but the attendance was poor.

Certificates mean a great deal to the Khmer students. Several of these students earned their four year certificate. They earn this certificate after completing classes for all the standard works.

Dale and I were recognized for our efforts too. This is one of the better photos of me. Can you tell that I am smiling?






Sunday we attended Sacrament meeting at the International Branch. The second part of our Sunday meetings were cancelled in order to view the broadcast "Hastening the Work of Salvation". This was already shown in the United States. We had to wait until it was translated into Khmer.  Several of the Senior Couples had viewed it on line and did not attend. The Kohls sat with us. Afterwards we walked home with them. They had a farther walk than us. Sister Kohls has a fractured foot but she walks on it anyway. Elder Kohls just keeps doing his taping magic and she is healing well.

Sister Kohls' well taped foot.








Sunday night we went to a Mission Fireside. It was raining so we hired a tuk tuk driver. Several young adults attended. President and Sister Moon spoke. They did a great job. By the time the meeting was over the rain had stopped so we were able to walk home. After we survived crossing the busy intersection it was a pleasant walk home. There was a light breeze.

A really cool announcement was made today in Sacrament meeting. There is a young LDS girl from the USA who is working with one of the local NGO groups in Cambodia. She had submitted her mission application to serve a mission awhile ago.  Her call was sent to her in Cambodia. When she opened it she was surprised and delighted to learn that she has been called to serve in Cambodia! She will begin her service in the country in December. She already knows many of the people here and she knows her Mission President. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

This was as close as we got to celebrating the Fourth of July this year. We were teaching Career Work Shop on the fourth. The Elders had gotten cupcakes with American Flags on them. One of the Elders left his flag behind so I stuck it to our office wall. " I Pledge Allegiance..." Hope you all had a great day and that this week is full of sunshine and happy moments.