Getting crowned in Cambodia.

Family and friends the days are passing quickly. We keep busy. We have been deep cleaning our office in preparation for Elder and Sister Wyler's arrival.

Monday was business as usual. During the day we experienced the typical power outages and slow to no Internet service. Monday evening we joined Elder and Sister Khols, Elder and Sister Johnson, Elder and Sister Westover, Elder and Sister Dilworth, President and Sister Moon and their daughter Mackenzie at Elder and Sister Tuck's home for dinner and Family Home Evening. The Tucks will return home just in time to celebrate the Fourth of July. Their first home in Cambodia was our apartment. Because it was located far from their assigned branches they relocated. They moved from a small apartment to a villa. They began accumulating stuff to make their house a home. When they discovered termites were eating their house and that their landlord refused to acknowledge there was a problem they moved again. There final home is new, large, modern and bright. It also is filled with stuff they purchased. It is all good stuff just lots of it. You must understand they chose to host meals for large groups of people like the young missionaries, and members they worked closely with. Because no one foresees a Senior couple coming to replace them all the stuff has to go. The Church will purchase items to fulfill the necessities to set up a home for a Senior Couple. Things beyond the basics are not part of the budget and need to be purchased by the individual couple. For example some couples chose upgrades in their appliances. Some of the sisters do lots of baking and cooking for their branches. As you can see from the long table, the Tucks have dishes that will serve far more than two to four people.

Continuing on...
For dinner Sister Tuck prepared a yummy curry. The rest of us complimented her curry with a variety of potluck contributions. We had watermelon, assorted fruit salad, a relish plate, jams, jellies and an assortment of fine bakery breads.

There was plenty to eat.

After dinner we gathered in the living room to share mission experiences. After the sharing time the Tuck's invited us all to take what we thought we could use of their things. It was like a huge garage sale where everything was free.

I zeroed in on office supplies which the PEF office could use. The office now has a 10 year supply of scotch tape. In the front of this photo is a black and white framed picture of the Sacred Grove. I claimed it for Meas Sameth's office. He has been saying he needs pictures for his bare walls. Sister Khols took it for me because she and Elder Kohls were going to be at our building. They brought it in their tuk tuk.

The Tucks were also giving away much of their food storage. We are to the point in our mission where we are purchasing very little packaged food items. We need to eat what we already have. I spoke with Sister Tuck later in the week.  She said that they invited some of the young people from their branch over for dinner. She prepared Mexican food. When she went to open a can of corn she realized she had given it all away on Monday night. OOPS! Poor Elder Tuck was put on kitchen duty picking out  individual corn kernels from a package of  frozen mixed vegetables. Whatever works. Apparently there was enough corn in the bag to feed their group.

Walking home from work we were tickled to see these little boys on cloud nine in there oh so slick battery operated car. I know four kids born in 1975, 1978, 1981, and 1984 who would have given anything to have had such a luxury. Sorry kids. At least at age 16 when it really mattered you had wheels.

This week our building was very busy with members deep cleaning. The fuss was in preparation for district conference. I have never seen our building this clean. Even when Elder Oakes came a year ago it was not cleaned this well. It is the rainy season. As the sisters would mop the floor people would enter the building with their muddy shoes. We have to claim to be part of the muddy traffic the sisters had to contend with. They just smiled and mopped up after us.

Elder and Sister Kohls have been busy working on a first aid kit project for some of the branches in Phnom Penh. Wednesday they met at our building with a work crew of young people. They assembled hundreds of kits.While they worked we visited a bit.  Elder and Sister Tuck also helped. The Kohls ordered pizza as a thank you for their volunteers. We reaped the blessings as we were  invited to join the group for lunch. We had  real pizza! Yum! I make pizza at our apartment using a Bisquick crust. When you don't remember what real pizza is like the Bisquick stuff works pretty good. But now we have had a taste of authentic pizza. We have been ruined. I still praise Bisquick, one of my best friends on this mission.

Saturday the Kohls, Tucks and Elder Capener loaded the assembled first aid kits onto a truck to be transported to the distribution point. We finished our work at noon. They were done by then too.  It began to rain but that did not stop us from walking to Ma Ma's New York Deli for lunch. It was great fun sharing camping stories, motorcycle accident stories, children's wedding stories and more.  We had great food and great conversation. We are so glad that we will be able to meet with the Kohls in the future. They live in our oldest son, Kyle's, ward in Fruita, Colorado. They are delightful people. Sister Kohls has had quite the week. While walking to their office they saw a lady throwing rice out to feed pigeons. As they were looking up to watch Sister Kohls did not see a bump in the road. She fell fracturing her foot. Elder Kohls is mister fix it in many ways. He taped her foot. When they went to get x-rays the doctor commented on the great tape job. The doctor said they were doing exactly what needed to be done. So she keeps on trucking with a taped foot. She said she has a high pain tolerance so it is not too bad. She is quite the trooper. It was so fun to hear their stories of family vacations. They did a backpack trip in which everyone did their part. Their youngest who was five at the time carried the candy. No slackers in that group.

Technology blessings bring us close to home. Face book photos and a blog have kept us up to date with our newest grand baby's adventures. He has been a very busy newborn.  Our sweet Avery's first birthday was June 19. Her celebration was to take place this weekend.  We are looking forward to seeing her pictures posted soon.

Dale spoke in Sacrament meeting at Tuol Thom Pong. One of our PEF students, Si Pheng translated for the members.  It was a really good talk. One of the missionaries commented that it was the best talk he has heard in almost 2 years. Dale kept it simple but powerful. He bore his testimony in Khmer at the end.

The conclusion to this blog will be a photo trip of what was happening on route to church Sunday morning. The people are very busy in the morning.

The road crew is starting to smooth out 63rd St. The ride was a little less bumpy today. Not perfect, but getting better.

Remodeling is ongoing in Phnom Penh. Someday this stuff will be hauled away. Not sure which year though.

Trash truck to the rescue.

Monks walk from business to business and home to home seeking handouts of food, etc. They leave a blessing on those who share with them.

It is about 7:50 am. The vendors are open for business. This time of the year rain ponchos are a hot item.

People gathering for breakfast at an outside eatery.

Moving bricks.

Waiting for our tuk tuk to arrive to pick us up from church. This is Khlot Chan Pisey and Pong. Chan Pisey is one of our PEF students. She recently graduated. She is one of the young ladies who translates for me in Relief Society. We first met Pong in Kampong Cham before she was member. She was baptized in Kampong Cham and moved to Phnom Penh about a year ago.

Dale, Debbie and Chan Pisey at the Tuol Tom Pong Building.

Dale, Debbie and Vanny Tol. Vanny is a wonderful young lady. She worked for an NGO. She recently secured a different job. The NGO manager is so impressed with her work ethics that he is paying for her college education. She is a return missionary and lives the gospel she teaches. She currently teaches Sunday school.

Last picture taken on route home from church. Children playing in their front yard???






Can't say all is well. Dale is getting sick. I made kettle corn today. He broke another tooth. Back to Room Chang. He seems to really like getting crowned in Cambodia!!

Have a good one!

What is so important about August 7?

Family and friends this has been one whirl wind week of information concerning the winding down of our mission here in Cambodia. At the beginning of the week we were informed that Elder and Sister Wyler, the new PEF Senior Couple for Cambodia will arrive in Phnom Penh August 3rd at 10:30 in the morning . We remember oh too well that first day in Cambodia. Actually we were in a daze. We remember oh too well the daze we were in the first day in Cambodia. We had tried our best to rest on the plane knowing the inevitable jet lag we would experience. If we were Khmer there would have been no problem. They can sleep in any condition and position imaginable except perhaps in an air conditioned room on a soft bed. The Wyler's will soon have that joyous experience. When we arrived President and Sister Smedley wanted to keep us awake. They tried this by feeding us lunch and talking to us about staying healthy in Cambodia, explaining the mission goals and who knows what else...I can't remember because ...we were in a fog. Unlike our experience we hope the Wyler's will have some down time before they "get to work". We have asked President Moon to allow us two solid days of hands on training with them.

In the middle of this week we received our flight schedule for our return to the USA. We are scheduled to leave Cambodia on August 6 at 11:20 pm. We will have a layover in Seoul  for about 11 hours. From Seoul we will fly to San Francisco and hang there for 5 hours then arrive in Portland at 6:36 pm August 7th.  Now that we are so close to coming home it is all like a crazy mixed up dream. I am so glad I have kept this blog. Did this experience really happen??? The proof is in the blog.

This week the rainy season hit hard. The sky has opened up and the rain comes down so hard that the roofs and streets can not drain fast enough. Most building entry ways throughout the city have a small step up. This is to lessen the chance of water flooding the shops and homes. The rain usually begins about 3:00 in the afternoon. We pray each day that it will end in time to allow the streets to drain by 4:30. Along with every rain storm comes lightening and thunder. "Oh Heavenly Father I pray that thou wilt spare us wearing sewer boots." They are still shiny and new. We'd like to keep them that way.

Friday it was questionable if we would be spared. We took a long route home walking the major roads instead of our more direct route which was totally under water. It worked well. We still had to be careful not to get splashed by passing motos. Our regular road has become a major mud hole. The road work is completed as far as the pipeline, but nothing has been repaved. As it rains and motos and cars drive on the fill dirt the road is becoming ruts and puddles. There really is no pedestrian walkways anymore. The cars park on the sidewalks. Pedestrians in this country do not have the right of way.
Because I asked Dale to take my picture in this lovely sandwich bag we forgot to lock our office door. About 8:00 pm we got a call from the night guard letting us know this fact. I had just showered and Dale was getting comfortable. We got to get dressed. I put my hair in a wet ponytail. By now it was dark, muddy, wet and raining. Fortunately San Sovann one of our favorite tuk tuk drivers was sitting outside our apartment. He drove us back to the office. What a ride! There are so many ruts. I let out of few squeals. San Sovann got a kick out of that. When we got back to the apartment. San Sovann giggled and said, "I heard Madame go wooo!" We all got a good laugh. It took some of the sting from the frustration of what had happened. We will definitely pay attention to locking our office door.

Sunday the rain began in the morning. After church we did not stay for the scheduled baptism because our tuk tuk had arrived and it was a pounding rain.

I snapped a few pictures of coping with the rain in Cambodia.

A normal day in Cambodia during the rainy season.

Our tuk tuk driver is soaked to the bone. The rain does not seem to be stopping these people from going about their daily business. If this picture had sound there would be lots of horn honking.






Rainy day laundry woes...

I challenge you to find a non muddy non wet spot to put a laundry basket on.

As I was standing in water waiting for my laundry to finish I got to thinking...gee...this is all run by electricity. I started looking for where the outlets were. I never did find them. I really didn't want to do too much looking. I was thinking though that in the states this place would probably not be up to code.

Ah yes. A "clean" dry spot to stand and place my basket. Believe me you do not want to drop your clean clothes on the ground. I did. Fortunately it was Dale's dark socks. Shh...don't tell!

This photo is looking toward the laundry room entrance. The two white machines belong to tenants. No one is suppose to use them but the owners. Guess what? While I was waiting for my laundry to complete its spin cycle one of the night guards came and dumped his laundry into them. I watched as he filled the soap dispenser with what seemed to be two cups of soap.So much for the "To Be Used By Mr.Gong Only" sign.


This past week I gave our paper shredder a workout. By the end of the week I hauled away three large garbage bags full of shredded documents. We had an old file of BYU Hawaii stuff. It is now gone, gone, gone. We also had files of outdated college brochures. They are now gone, gone, gone. There were old handouts that each PEF couple left behind explaining the PEF program and how to do reports etc. We leave behind the new and improved program. The old stuff is now gone, gone, gone. I figure what is gone will not clutter Elder and Sister Wyler's minds nor their workspace. It was sort of like when I deep cleaned my mom's home before she came to live with us. Tell me the importance of keeping tuk tuk receipts from 2005. I figure no one will miss files they never knew existed. What I discarded was old, old, old and obsolete.

Every Friday Sotee, the cleaning lady sweeps, dusts, and removes the garbage from our office. This week she brought us these champaka flowers she picked at the Service Center. They are very fragrant. Similar in strength to a gardenia. They are often used in garlands along with jasmine. The garlands are used for protection and also gifts to deity.




In our last blog I mentioned some "last" things we will experience in Cambodia. Here are a few more lasts. Dale thought he was getting his last hair cut in Cambodia yesterday. After he got done he now figures he may need one more last haircut. So yesterday he had his last hair cut before his last hair cut.

This is definitely our last rainy season living in Cambodia.
Tonight we attended our last CES fireside in Cambodia. Stay tune for more lasts to come.

The Khmer have a really different sense of humor. They likewise think we have a strange sense of humor. The following was posted on Facebook by one of our PEF students. You be the judge.

Funny Question coming up in office today through one picture of a snake and crocodile and made me laugh so hard it was.  If you see the snake swallow the crocodile which one would you help?  The answer would be: I would help myself rather than be a hero to either of them.

Woo-boy! Let me get my composure. I busted a gut on this one.

The grand finale of this weeks blog is about 3 feet tall.

Meas Uri

She likes us because we give her candy!

To all the great dads that read this blog. Happy Fathers Day. To all the great people that read this blog have a fabulous week. 

We have replacements.

Family and friends,
Our week began as usual. This is an important month to set up appointments with our students needing loan renewals for their classes that begin in August. I was able to notify most of them to come into the office. Several of our students have fallen behind in their loan payments and their institute attendance, I was the bearer of this news. All I can do is encourage them to do what they need to do to catch up in those areas. They can not claim that they do not know the requirements. We make them accountable in keeping their promises. When they keep their promises they receive the blessings. When they do not keep their promises they must face the consequences.

Tuesday we were preparing for our early morning Church Education System meeting. While reviewing our morning E-mail, Dale was surprised to receive a message from the Senior couple who will replace us in PEF. Their names are Ken and LeNora Wyler from Idaho Falls. They recently retired from being teachers and are very excited about coming to Cambodia. We are excited to be able to pass the baton on. According to their message they will begin their training at the Mission Training Center on July 22. They believe their flight to Cambodia will be August 5. We figure that giving them three solid days of in country  hands on training should allow the Wylers to have a good handle on how PEF functions in Cambodia. We anticipate that our own flight home will be sooner than the original August 27th date. The date has not been changed yet.

 The Wyler's asked several questions in their E-mail to us.We decided it would be easiest to answers their questions by phone. We figured that one question leads to more. Dale found their phone number thru the Internet. We talked with them for over an hour. I told them about our apartment. They decided they want a two bedroom apartment. They also want a washing machine in their apartment. We recommended to Elder Westover to look into renting an apartment unit in the complex the Rhynes had lived in. It is a reasonable distance from the office and has a nice floor plan.

We are anxiously waiting to receive a confirmation date for our departure trip to the USA.

I am highly motivated to cleanup the office files. The office shredder is getting quite a work out. I'm clearing out one large file drawer filled with outdated BYU Hawaii pamphlets, enrollment applications, and files of students that have disappeared from planet earth. Some are deceased but the majority went to BYU Hawaii and simply did not return to Cambodia.

Thursday Dale received a phone call from Elder Westover who works at the Mission Home. He was pleading for help. Sister Westover's computer was inoperable. Unfortunately the "young" office staff decided they could set up a scanner to her computer.  They thought they knew what they were doing. They did not.  As a result, Sister Westover's computer got majorly messed up. Everyone basically put their hands in the air and said, "OOPS! Sorry". And then they walked away.  Poor Sister Westover was pretty sad. Fortunately a backup was made of her information. At first Dale thought she had lost everything. Friday we went to the Mission Home. Dale spent about 4 hours talking with the technical support groups in Salt Lake and Hong Kong to repair the damage. This story has a happy ending.  Her computer is up and running, She still has no scanner capability but she does not care. The information she has on her computer is super important. She is the only one with access to the Visa and passport files. She is also the only person authorized to make travel requests for incoming and outgoing missionaries.  We all are glad Dale was able to do his trouble shooting magic. And what did I do? Prayed a lot.

Dale finished working on the computer about 1:00.  We were all hungry so we went to Magnolia, a Vietnamese restaurant. We all had Vietnamese pancakes. They were good, but I did get sick the next day. I think the sprouts and I did not get along. As far as I know no one else got sick.

Saturday morning we taught our final institute class. Since it was our last class we wanted to have a treat. We bought USA Doughnut Holes. Mackenzie Moon surprised the class with homemade cinnamon rolls. She made a huge pan of rolls. Mm..mm..good!

Sunday we attended the International Branch. Several families and individuals will be leaving Cambodia in July and August. The International Branch is a very transient branch.

Eight year old Mary Rust was baptized Sunday. Her family is from Virginia and has been in living in Cambodia for about a year. Mary's mother is a scientist and works at the US Embassy. Mary and her older brother and sister have been attending school in Cambodia. Her father has been a stay at home dad. Everyone except for Mary's mom will move back to the states at the first of July. Mary's mom will join them three weeks later. After Mary's baptism the International Branch had a pot luck lunch. Most of the food was recognizable. We stayed for the pot luck.

Photo Time...

We are planning to hike in the Grand Canyon when we get home. We decided we ought to get into shape. Sitting all day in an office has taken its toll.

Exercise+Cambodia= Unbelievable Sweat

Dale trouble shooting with technical support in Salt Lake and Hong Kong. Sister Westover hoping her information will return.

Mission Home Secretary Vey Somber is one of our PEF students. He got married this past November. He and his wife are great. His wife actually took upon her Somber's surname, Vey. This is a rare thing to do in Cambodia. Women usually keep their maiden name. Children take the father's surname.
Somber and his wife Kakada were married in the Hong Kong Temple. They did not have a big Khmer wedding. They chose a reception at the church instead.

After fixing Sister Westover's computer and eating lunch we went to the Service Center to deliver mail to the Branch Presidents.

              House 31 Street 228

Directly across the street from the Service Center is The Jewish Center.

While waiting for our tuk tuk  I decided to take a picture of ants climbing a tree. Lucky for the ants I was no longer hungry!

This is the same tree the ants are climbing. In Cambodia if there is a hole of any kind you will find garbage stuffed in it. They have few garbage cans. I guess the more tidy people feel they are littering less by stashing trash in the nooks and crannies they find in their neighborhood.

San Sovan our second favorite tuk tuk driver picked us up from the Service Center. It was way too hot to walk back to the office.

When Dale asked him how much the ride costs he said, "Fifty dollas" and giggled.

Our final institute class.

Not all our students were present, but these are the "cream of the crop".

Seated: Sophy, Sony, SiPeng
Standing: Sarorng, Sophea, Mackenzie, Me, Somaly, Chantha, Vannarith, Rek Smey

         
   International Branch Pot Luck

 THE CUTE FACTOR.






Just came home from our last PEF Fireside. Next week will be our last CES fireside. In the next few weeks we will experience many lasts. And now for the last sentence in this blog entry. Have a fabulous week.

Almost One Year Later/ Another Best Week Ever!

Family and Friends our lives can't get much better with the birth of our newest grandson. We are proud to introduce to you  7 pound 4 ounce 18 1/2 inches Derek Crews Anderson. Nicknamed little "D".

Our little charmer arrived at 1:22 am March 29.

Jenni reported that Derek is a quiet baby. He likes to be swaddled. He is doing great. Because he is so quiet Jenni and Stuart are not sleeping well anticipating when he will be hungry next or need his diaper changed.They lay in bed listening to him squeak, snort and breathe.

Stuart is one proud daddy. An early Father's Day gift from heaven.

Happiness is a new baby brother. Little "D" meets his big sister Rylie and big brother Owen.

Yes, it is definitely another best week ever. Five of our blessings are pictured here.





Our work week in Cambodia was routine. The office and our phones have been quiet. In June the activity will speed up due to all of the renewal loan applications needing to be submitted in preparation for the next school year. We hope to get most of this accomplished before our replacement couple arrive. At least, we hope there will be a replacement couple. We have not been informed of anyone having accepted this call yet. We are confident there is someone out there willing to accept a calling to Cambodia..

Saturday afternoon we had free time. Being somewhat in limbo in regard to who will be our primary care doctor when we return to the states we decided to fill our prescriptions in Cambodia. A prescription is not required to purchase drugs. We walked to one of the more popular Pharmacies here in Cambodia. and stocked up. We have enough medication to cover us until January 2014. Dale got a considerable price cut on his asthma medications. My medications are a little more expensive here but well worth purchasing since we don't know who our doctors will be when we return. Three months after we arrive home we need to choose a health insurance plan. Dale has been doing quite a bit of reading on this topic.  It looks like we will be using some form of Obama Care. Hope it isn't a nightmare.

After our trip to the Pharmacy we went to the Russian market. We wanted to purchase a couple day packs. They are "knock off" North Face. They are fakes, but  for $8 they will function well. Dale has been using a "knock off" for most of our mission. A couple of the zippers have broke. Safety pins are a quick fix until we leave. We plan to hike in the Grand Canyon as one of our first adventures after our mission. We think these "knock offs" will work well.

I purchased several items at this booth. The shop keeper placed my purchase in a J.C. Penney bag. I guess this is the "knock off" J.C. Penney department store in Cambodia.

We were desperate for blog photos so I got the honors of being photographed.  Here I am getting ready to type our blog. Can you see how raring to go I am?




We have some sad news. Elder and Sister James our country public relations couple will be departing for home Monday morning.

Elder James is suffering  with back pain that is effecting his ability to walk. He has been in great pain for several months. The James' were heavily involved in the country wide YSA activity last month. Elder James did a lot of physical labor for it. It was literally " the straw that did him in". He was hoping he could get a cortisone shot to help him through to their September release date. Elder James had x-rays taken at a local hospital in Cambodia. These were forwarded to his doctor in the Utah. His doctor informed him that he needed to get home immediately for surgery. His doctor is hoping that it is not too late to help him. Elder James has great pain in his leg now and no feeling in his foot. His x-rays show that nerves in his back are being smashed. This is serious stuff. He was a pilot and in a airplane crash when he was 24 years old. At a young age he resolved that he would have to live with back pain the rest of  his life. As life takes its toll on our bodies so it has on his. A back injury at age 24 is now a major concern at age 60+. We wanted to see them off at the airport but can't. We were notified today that we have a conference session at 8 Monday morning with Hong Kong. Because we could not go to the airport  we met with them after church. During our visit we  found our that their son was able to secure a speedier flight home for them. They will be in First Class seating. Elder James will be able to travel in a reclined 180 degree position. He has been in a lying down position for seven days now. Sister James whom should be given the title Saint Sister James has had to do all the leg work since this mandatory trip home was announced. They rented a large apartment and decorated it lavishly. Friends they met from the Embassy helped Sister James pack most of their things to be shipped home. They also gave away some very beautiful pieces of furniture. Once word got out they were leaving many Khmer members called asking to purchase their car. We have no idea what they sold it for, but are sure they took a loss.

After our visit we walked home. "Jit Slap!" that is how you say "almost dead" in Khmer. While we were crossing the street a car turned into Dale and missed him by mere inches. I thought his foot had gotten run over. This horrible thought of having him laying injured or dead on a dirty street in Cambodia with people I can't communicate with went through my mind. Not a happy thought. The car sped away. So rude! Like the one professor from BYU told us," if you want crazy" come to Cambodia.

We hope we can stay safe and healthy these next few months. There have been several missionary couples that have served in Cambodia who had their missions cut short because of health issues.  So far on our mission there have been two couples and four young missionaries return home early due to health problems. We learned that  several years ago a couple went home because the husband had a stroke. Elder and SisterYeates will have completed their 23 month mission in July. Elder Yeates is suffering repercussions from Dengue Fever he contracted this past summer.

That's all our news.

Dale has been practicing his time lapse photography.  Hope you will enjoy these sunset pictures taken from the roof of our apartment.

OOOOO!

                                                            AWWWW!

EXCELLENT!


All is well, All is well. May you all have a wonderful week.