November

November - How Time Flies.... well, most of the time. 

We were fortunate enough to get to have dinner in our apartment for a new 'incoming couple' - the Clark's - on the left. Bertin's are on the end - we just lost them last week as they accepted a call for mission president. Will miss them a lot. Walkers on the right - work in the 'every day branch.' Sister Clark is Bishop Kilpack's cousin and we're loving getting to know them. We're truly humbled to know and work with such good people. 

We've just returned from a week in Cambodia - weary but energized - does that make sense? What a great privilege for us to go there and meet so many good members. First a few days in Phnom Penh and then Siem Reap where the members are so thrilled with their new church house - held their first meeting in it last week. It's beautiful and other than the hotels, it's by far the nicest building in town. Even a wood floor basketball court - they just couldn't stop grinning. 

"This little piggy to market" Cambodian style 

Unfortunately one of the sad things about some many of the places we visit - are the children who plead for money. This little boy just kept saying - "two fo dollah - two fo dollah." We give when we can, but if you open your wallet, you're inundated with 25 more. It's the eyes that get to me.

Getting on our plane from Phomn Penh to Siem Reap. I don't get too excited about little prop planes, but nobody seems to care -  Always an adventure.

One of the days there we had a young Cambodian who took us out in his little boat to see a floating village. A pic we snapped as some local people went by - carrying supplies.

A little glimpse of the floating village area. Children learn to navigate their boat\transportation at a very young age,  as it's the only way of getting around.

We always ask (with gestures) before we take pictures - and they agreed. Just mom and the kids out shopping in Siem Reap. 

Very typical street  scene 

Another young paddler

 This is actually a gas station - they use the large plastic bottles to purchase from a supplier then come back and fill the small bottles (funnels) for motos to stop and 'fill up.'

 Our 'member' tuk tuk driver offered to take us to the Angkor Wat ruins. When we asked what time he'd pick us up, he said "4:30"  as in AM.  When we protested and asked why so early he said (very emphatically) it was because we needed to be there at sunrise. So we complied as he'd be so disappointed if we didn't. We now admit - it was beautiful and worth it. Neat silhouette, isn't it?

One of our tuk tuk transportations. We had stopped here to take pictures of the lotus plants and blossoms.

Elder & Sister Wyler took us on a tour of the Royal Palace - beautiful buildings, gardens, grounds... but makes one wonder at the opulence of the palace and the destitute poverty of the provinces.

Elder & Sister Wyler in Phnom Penh. I was trying to get the street scene behind them - pretty typical. All the time we're  amazed at how much one person can carry on one moto. 

Another pic at the Angkor Wat ruins. Gosh - how fortunate are we!

In Phnom Penh, we went to a cultural show one evening. One of the performers walked thru the aisles and asked 4 people to join them on stage in one of the depictions of a wedding. I tried to say no, but Garald said I had to oblige. (sure -he wasn't the one being asked) As I was sitting there, I wondered about the incongruity of appearing in a traditional Buddhist play about Cambodian history with my Christian missionary name tag - 

Oh, it's just so much easier to take and post pics of the touristy kinds of things. But we really do spend much more time working than playing - it's just that work doesn't make for very interesting pics. I tried to quietly click one pic at our monthly PEF committee meeting. Garald on my right - President Funk at the top and the other members of the committee on my left - out of camera range.  So much work, thought, planning and discussion goes into every aspect of the loan process. Garald goes over every 'key indicator' for every country. Sometimes it's a little stressful - well, make that a lot stressful - most of the time.

A quick snapshot of Garald at Angkor Wat ruins. They were amazing indeed.

Sweet Cambodian Mom asking for help- her other baby was sleeping on the sidewalk behind us.

Meat for lunch....? Looks like these piggies made it to market. 

This was the Mom and baby who followed me around for a time saying - "money please money." It makes me weep. This was right outside the opulent Royal Palace where they can encounter tourists.

Another pic with Garald at work. A young Vietnamese girl getting help filling out her PEF app. Smart, savvy young girl - she'll go far.

 Traditional Cambodian cultural show one evening in Siem Reap at a buffet that our 'tuk tuk' driver said we really must not miss. So we didn't.

 Feet first - Aw - these countries live on chicken - I have to question the raw meat in the heat for long hours. But I seem to be the only one concerned.

Must add one more little face. 

Well, one more 'we're really working' picture. Having a PEF discussion with the country couple in Cambodia and one of the local leaders. We couldn't work with nicer people. 

One more floating village pic - fascinating to us. There's a school and a little restaurant where we stopped for 'fresh picked' coconut drinks. 

 This young man is a member\PEF graduate and works driving his tuk tuk. Jobs are very hard to find and we are always stressing - only pursue education that will lead to an 'in demand' job. Do notice his BYU logo on the side. Garald gave him his BYU cap - that brought out a big smile.

The Wyler's took us to one of the Cambodian killing fields. Quiet, somber, very sobering place. Bone fragments on the ground that continue to come up from mass graves during rainstorms. Hard to imagine this atrocity was as recent as the late 1970's. It's the reason one sees very few older people in Cambodian. Most of the population is under 25 years old and everyone has ancestors who lost lives in the Khmer Rouge take over. Cambodians are such a gentle, soft-spoken people - just too hard to comprehend such an evil time.

One last little street scene. A quote of Oliver Wendell Holmes - "A mind stretched by new experiences can never go back to its old dimensions."  We were different people leaving Cambodian than when we arrived. Beautiful country - beautiful people.