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.

"I'll See You When You See Me."

Family and friends, Monday morning we walked to work as usual. We busied ourselves at the office. After work we put on shorts and climbed the stairs to the 14th floor of our apartment. We then went into the exercise room to use the stationery bikes. This type of exercise is pure torture. We have never sweat so much in our entire lives. We have been doing this exercise regiment for about a month now. Walking to work is just not enough exercise to prepare us for our planned hike in the Grand Canyon

Tuesday morning began with a trip to Room Chang Dental.

Waiting for the dreaded shots and hours of jaw breaking torture.

Leisure shoes to relax the patient.

Leisure shoes for me too. I'm already relaxed!

Waiting room reading material. Paparazzi Khmer Style. Sure hope there is nothing obscene written on this cover.






Great news! Dale did not need a root canal. The shots he received were not too bad. We are to return this Tuesday to have a permanent crown put on.

Lately our days at the office have been low key. Dale resolved some trouble shooting problems and created an orientation packet for Elder and Sister Wyler, our replacements. I created a spread sheet list of businesses in Phnom Penh to help the Wylers get oriented to their new home town. After all the shredding I did the other week I was amazed to find more old stuff to shred. I think I had shred fever.  I stopped shredding just before the office had nothing in its files. The file cabinets have lots of space now.

We had a few of our students visit us this week for their Participant Progress Reports. Every student is suppose to interview with us every three months. Most do not come to see us. The ones that do are our most faithful students. They are so grateful for the the opportunity they are having to attend school. Interviews are the fun part of our calling.

From July through October student visits to our office should increase. Most of our students need renewal loans for school start dates in September and October.

Since we completed our Institute class we have no lessons to prepare. We both have a goal to complete reading the Book of Mormon before we fly home. We've been doing lots of reading in our spare time.

This Monday I will begin once again contacting our students for the month of July. There were a few students I missed contacting in June. They are students that we do not have accurate phone numbers for or they read their caller ID and choose not to answer.

June and July are proving to be the months to get married in Phnom Penh. In the last week we have received three invitations to weddings and one invitation to an engagement party.  We have not gone to too many of these events in the past. Our first wedding we went to was sometime in the first month that we arrived in Cambodia. That was because the branch President wanted help from Dale to be sure he was performing the ceremony correctly. Our only street wedding we attended was when we were in the Provinces. Remember they served "ant sauce". We have gone to a couple ring ceremonies. They were for our PEF students. We have received  invitations from complete strangers. We don't even worry about attending those.  It is rude I suppose, but weddings are almost a business. Why we are invited is because we are white and therefore "have money". The cheapest amount you can get away with is a $20 gift amount.

We did attend Kheng Chhy's wedding reception Saturday evening. He is one of the clerks at the Tuol Thom Pong Branch that we go to. We had fun. Many of the members speak English which helps the comfort level. The food was prepared outdoors but it was served in the cultural hall of the church building and it was piping hot. We felt it was safe to eat. There was air conditioning and no flies. Not even in the sauce!!

Keng Chhy and bride Sokhom.








The reception was suppose to begin at 4:30. We arrived at 5:00. Nothing got started until about 6:00. The bride and groom never made it into the reception. They were busy changing their clothes for many many photo shots. I felt bad because we would have liked to have interacted with them more. We sat with Kim Sang and his wife and baby daughter and also with Sombian the maintenance manager for the church buildings. Sombian kept us informed on what we were eating. He was a good eater. He said he likes everything. He said he has eaten bugs and dog too. No problem. We had an assortment of appetizers including slivers of pig ear. We ate the cashews and spring rolls. There was duck, and snapper. Rice and noodles and some greens. There was also sour soup. We tried a little of each of these. We ate with chopped sticks so there was no problem with worrying about eating too much. It took a very long time to eat a few grains of rice.

Cooking the wedding feast. The silver dishes behind this young man is what the sour soup was served in. The soup had shrimp, chicken and other floaty things. We opted to spoon the broth on our rice. We were not interested in the chunky stuff.

We sat at the best table (my opinion). Several of the young people were our Institute students.

Fun people we have grown to love.

More great people we will miss when we leave.

Making memories.

Groom and the grooms men.

Bride and bridesmaids.

Saying goodnight. Yet another outfit. This was the brides white dress.

Iy Rathana, Debbie, Kim Houn, and a friend.







Sunday we went to the International Branch. So many people are returning to their homes in the USA. Mackenzie Moon, our mission president's daughter, spoke in sacrament meeting. She will fly home July 5. There are eight missionaries also returning home that evening. Since she has never traveled by herself  she will travel with the returning missionaries for safety reason. Mackenzie has a sister she will stay with before beginning school at BYU.

The Rust family are also returning home to New Jersey.  Sister Rust has been working at the US Embassy doing work in the science field. Her job is coming to an end. She and her oldest daughter also spoke in sacrament meeting today. It was interesting to learn about their Cambodian adventures. The Rust's have three children ages 12,10,8. They chose to take advantage of the many Khmer holidays and did some family traveling. There motto to "do as the Khmer do". Part of that challenge was to pile on a moto. That wasn't enough, they had to crash on their moto. I call that "experience extreme".  It really wasn't in the plans. Their daughter reported that the scar on her leg will forever remind her of her Khmer experiences. Their family went camping in the jungle. She and her father got Dengue fever. They stayed with a Khmer family in a one room house and experienced life in that setting. She learned that children are children everywhere. No matter the circumstances they love to laugh and play. They compete, they get mad, they forgive and move on. She said when her parents announced they were coming to live in Cambodia for a year she was afraid but now  she hopes to one day travel the world.

Kuntheavy has been using Dale's computer and our printer to create graduation certificates for Institute and Seminary. She has not had a working printer for about five years. Dale is pushing her and Sophornn to purchase a new printer. We think Hong Kong is going to actually allow them budget money to do this. It would be incredible if this happens before we leave. Graduation is July 6 so this certificate project will soon come to an end. There may be a few late certificates to be made after graduation. Some students have not turned in their make up work.

Haem Seyha one of our PEF Students drives the BYU tuk tuk. Bun Houch Eng is keeper of the BYU tuk tuk and the gentleman in the glasses is just this really nice guy from Tuol Thom Pong Branch that does not speak English but gave Dale the biggest hug when he saw him at the wedding on Saturday.



As one of our PEF students likes to say, "I'll see you when you see me." Then we all crack up laughing.
Ha Ha, Chuckle Chuckle, Har Har, Ho,Ho,Ho.