Siem Reap, June 2, 2009

Siem Reap, Cambodia
3:30 PM ICT

We are nearing the end of day 5 in our family’s experience in Cambodia. I can’t get over how slow things seem to be here. I suppose that we will get used to it eventually, but everything seems to take a long time to accomplish. Most time is spent waiting on people, and nothing and no one seems to be on time (I know, those of you who know me best are thinking that sounds just like me).

I was able to identify and diagnose the electrical problems that we were experiencing. The voltage at our home fluctuates between 165VAC and 215VAC. The operating voltage for equipment and appliances over here is 220V – 240V. The cause of the low voltage is a significantly undersized electrical service wire. We are waiting for the power company and the house owner to work out the details on fixing the problem. Please pray that it will be resolved soon.

We originally purchased two electric burners for cooking, but because of the voltage problems, we had to instead purchase a gas cooktop. It is working well, and to date we have eaten scrambled eggs and rice, chicken stir fry and rice, chicken and rice, and spaghetti. Ah, yes, rice, Brother Zack, can’t you just taste it?

Today’s great accomplishment was the acquisition of a local telephone number for my phone and an order for internet service to our house. When it is connected, we should be able to have a regular telephone line with which to communicate back home. Also, I will be able to do a better job of updating our website and facebook accounts, and the children will be able to access the school related resources upon which we have come to depend so much.

Last evening we were able to get one of the laptops and the projector working so we were able to enjoy a family movie night with VeggieTales Moe and the Big Exit. It was a refreshing touch of home for all of us. The children were very excited and went to sleep peacefully afterwards.

I spent a good bit of the night afterward working on the water tank and well only to determine that the well was dry. I am a bit concerned that it may not be able to keep up with our demand. It ran for a short while this morning, and we are getting about 6 inches of depth in the tank for each time that I run the pump. It is a new experience for me and certainly will increase my awareness of water usage/conservation.

I spoke with Dara this morning, and God willing, we are scheduled to visit with him at the orphanage on Saturday morning, June 6. Tomorrow we will try to visit with David here in Siem Reap and begin to discuss the work at Varin and other related congregations.

I have not yet experimented with loading pictures on the blog page. Meanwhile, those of you who are on Facebook can see a number of photos that were uploaded this morning.

Please pray that God will direct us through the next few weeks as we continue to explore the realities of life here and seek His will for us in the work that is ahead.