We are excited to begin another week! This past week we traveled to Kampong Cham province and visited 14 health clinics. We saw one that needs a new well. They are currently using the water from an open well. The water from the well is foul and smelly, but it is pumped into the health clinic and is used to treat the patients. We found other clinics in our visit that need the plumbing to work. There is a clinic we visited that has no sink or running water in the delivery room. We found others that need incinerators. The difficult thing we wrestle with is burning of the waste here. The many plastic items that get burned, smoke up badly and pollute the air. The smoke is full of toxins that have serious side effects to the animals and the people in the country. We sometimes feel we are trading the waste problem and making it into another type of health problem. We are now getting bids from local contractors to dig the well, build incinerators, and re-plumb some of the facilities. A health clinic is usually a building about 1200 square feet, Usually about 6 rooms. They deliver babies there, Have a recovery room, and a place for patients to recover. Service is basic at the Health Clinic, more serious needs go to the District or Provincial hospital.

This weekend we received instruction to be wise in our movements and restrict our interactions with others. Church is limited to one hour, and no other meetings during the week are scheduled. We are planning to check on the missionaries in our area to encourage them as they lay low in their apartments. We pray for the people here and the suffering all over the world. Living here has helped to shine a light on how blessed we are in the US. The abundance and variety of food, the clean water, safe roads, and clean air. We communicate with our cousin and his wife who are in the Congo. They have shared how expensive food is there, and how challenging it is to drive there. We really do live in a land of Promise as Lehi described it.

Later this week, we are planning to hand off our project of 30 community wells to the community. We are also doing a hand off to the community for a well dug at a school. We are at the same time looking for new projects to start. We are excited to be here. We hope that things stabilize with this virus problem so we can get things done.

In our travel this past week, we found that our last health center required us to take a ferry across the Mekong river to an island. It turns out that in a few months, when the rainy season comes, the island will be almost totally covered with water. The river rises and folks get around by boat. The homes are on the upper most parts of the island. I’m told that they need to watch for dangerous snakes that have been flooded out of their homes. We are excited to see Cambodia when the rain starts to fall. Currently everything is drying out as we head into the hot-dry season.

We love you all. We pray each day for you! A mission is such a wonderful thing! To our grandkids, we would say…Prepare now to serve. You meet the most amazing people, and you have the most wonderful experiences. We love you!! More to come…!