Ciudad de Angeles

This past week we enjoyed a family trip to Cozumel, Mexico. Our family has been scuba divers for several years and now we are happy to include our newest members to the underwater world, Janice and Zac. Janice's parents, Doug and Marilyn Wilson, joined us to complete the group since Marilyn is a recent certified diver. The trip was truly wonderful and the diving memorable. Sunday, we were able to meet with the church of Christ that is associated with Ciudad de Angeles, which is an orphanage in the city. Gary Gardner and his wife Nancy are the directors of the organage which has about 23 children. We were not able to meet them, but we did meet Dennis Wilson and Mike Campbell and their families. It was a wonderful and large congregation. Unfortunately, for us, it was all in Spanish! It is truly a blessing to meet family all over the world! gail

Short Break

We really appreciate all of you who follow our blog. We try to think of interesting events along the Mekong that will keep you looking. Of course, we have to throw in our personal special happenings, but we try to keep in mind what would be most interesting. We are back in the states now until July 15. Our time here is mostly spent with family gatherings besides the doctor, dental, accountant..etc, appointments! We will not post as often and hope you will check later to see what is going on! When we return to Cambodia, we have many visitors coming and we are excited about our return and the summer events. So keep posted!! Thanks.. gail and rick

SMU Graduation

Our trip to the states couldn't have been smoother! No delays and all luggage arrived! But the best was to come! We enjoyed a beautiful night at the Ranger's ballgame on Friday evening. Nothing like hotdogs at a ballgame to make you feel like you are in America!! More importantly, however, was watching Brittany recieve her hood at her SMU Law School graduation ceremony. We are proud of her accomplishment and know she will use her talent to serve God. She has already passed the bar exam, so now reality hits and she has to go to work!

Happy Belated Mothers Day

I missed being with my kids on Mother's Day, and I appreciated the ecards they sent. Rick talked about the special day to the crew, so Phearith went out in the Lotus fields and brought me the lotus buds. Sokun couldn't be outdone, so he went and found the yellow one in the middle and it was very unique. Rick and I are blessed to have wonderful mothers who have been and still are a great example. We love to go to Jacksonville and get pampered by Delores. We joke about her "licking her calves", but I certainly know the feeling now that I am away from mine! gail

Having Fun - 30 years!

Today is our 30th anniversary! Wow! How time flies when you are having fun. Gail and I decided today that we have been having fun for the most part. We had a nice dinner at a local French restaurant.
Tomorrow we head for home. Will see some of you very soon!

Kids and Krayons

We are at a village called Anchor Ban now. Last year when we were here a fierce storm came up in the night and destroyed our gangplank and shook everyone on board up a little bit! So far this year we have had no storms yet. It has begun to rain each day, however. The rainy season usually starts in June but began a full month early this year. The farmers will be happy!
Saturday morning we had another coloring session with the local kids. This time we did not have a crew member to translate for us so we did our best. We handed out crayons and pictures to be colored. It was hard to get them to use only one crayon and not hold 10 in there hands! I felt like a first grade teacher. I tried to teach them to share and put all but one back in the box so the others could use them. I finally got the idea across.
We had the same problem when we brought out the popcorn. They dove right in and began filling their pockets like there was no tomorrow! I think here the kids have to grab for anything they can get when they can get it.
Wished you could have seen their faces when we gave each one a tiny little 10 cent “etch-a-sketch” tablet. They acted like kids on Christmas morning who have received the ultimate gift and not expecting it! That was fun. rick

O Happy Day!

We sang the song after we were done. His choice was fixed. You Da, our pharmacist, had decided to give his life for Christ. I wasn’t at all sure of how much Da knew about or cared about Jesus. He is very quiet by nature so I was a little surprised by his decision. I simply gave a short invitation last Sunday night and You Da simply said yes.
We leave the ship tomorrow and do a few things in the capitol of Phnom Penh before we head home on Thursday. Join us in prayer for You Da and the other Christians here to continue to grow in faith and the Spirit. Rick

Leadership Class

Good things have been happening since Dale Lundy arrived. He and Evelyn have been in Phnom Penh for two months helping with the English classes and many other things. Dale started a Leadership class and was impressed with the interest. Over fifty young people wanted to be involved in this five two-hour class sessions. The course is Biblical based and yet it reaches into the work and family life, also. As in most foreign mission work, Christian leadership from the nationals is one of the most difficult tasks to accomplish. I'm sure this class will guide some of these young people to be better leaders, but also that God will use it to develop future Church leaders. gail

Fun at the House!

Our trips to Phnom Penh are always fun. Usually we have a list of "to dos" and are running around the city, but the gang at the PIP house make it fun!. The flowers are beautiful hanging off the fence, the table is full of laughter, and Rick gets to use his muscle to lift a 55 lb drum of oil into the pickup! Actually they borrowed a metal trailer from the neighbor to help lift the drum and roll into the back. Andrew and Natalie have left for a month to Thailand and other destinations, so we will miss them. Troy and Tabitha are working extremely hard on their "back to school" project for the kids in the villages. Emily, Dale and Evelyn are holding down the English classes hoping for reinforcements! Many good things are happening in Cambodia! gail

Technical Difficultly

I am currently in Phnom Penh, but just arrived from the province. We have not had internet for a week and a half and I came in to try and figure what is wrong with our connection. Rick and I came in last weekend to meet with the Ministry of Health and to hire a new engineer, so we used the internet cafes, but now I am back to attempt to solve the mystery of why no connection. It was an interesting trip in from Peam Chikang where the ship is now. First leg was a moto ride that I think the moto did not have shocks. Not long into the 30 minute ride, my sandal was thrown from my foot. It was alittle embarrassing to ask him to turn around and retrieve my sandal. But onward we go. I help on securely to the back of my seat to keep from bouncing off. Upon arriving at the village along the highway, all sorts of moto drivers wanted my business, but no, I was looking for the van to the city. I waited only 15 minutes and a van appears. I think "great!" only three of us are riding. But that was a ridiculous thought because it wasn't five minutes later the driver was pulling over for more people. Finally with sixteen of us stuffed inside, we drove on. The baby next to me must have been scared of my white face since she cried everytime she looked at me. Then the rain started. I thought I was being smart by sitting next to the window so I would be sure and have air, but when the rain began, my window could not be shut because of the rope tying the bamboo posts on the top of the van. I was trying to meet with the computer expert at 5:00 p.m. and was getting nervous about being late. I thought by leaving at 1:30, I would have plenty of time. I did not consider that rain might slow the traveling down, but the stops as people got out was a bigger issue. Finally the city came to view and I was hoping the rain would stop long enough for me to take another moto ride over to the computer shop. It did and I made it to my appointment! So hopefully we will be back in business with better posts than this one! gail

Rains

The rainy season is not officially suppose to have started. But of the last four days, it has rained three. The skys get dark in the afternoon and then the bottom drops out and the winds blow hard. We are protected inside the ship, but the villagers are scrambling to secure their boats. After the storm, these young men were trying to bail the water from their small canoe. gail

Tea Tim

Saturday morning we went for a walk in the village of Chhiher. They have a pretty large market and we made a few purchases and just ambled around like you would do in a shopping mall. On our way home we were invited to join a man and his wife for tea. We normally say no but this time we agreed.
The man brought out hot tea. He had an interesting carafe to keep the tea hot. It was a customized coconut shell with a tea pot inside! Pretty ingenious I thought.
Gail talked with him a while. I think this was alittle different from the times Gail had tea with Christine! He wanted to see the things we bought and his wife was frying fish over an open fire. The fish smelled really good. rick