~celebration

Monday, February 27, 2017

We got to celebrate again with Baset as friends and ward members wished him "Congratulations" on his Ph.D. Defense Presentation!!  We are so proud of him!

~so fresh and clean

Saturday, February 25, 2017

Our International Ward is in charge of cleaning the church once a month!

Many times I have to ask Billy to take pictures (and then I am in control of the poses 😌) but today he went all out with the snaps and did a fine job!

 

Unfortunately, there are only about 12 adults that show up to clean each 

time so it takes us a bit longer to get the whole building cleaned!

I have to wear the mask cuz, even though all the cleaning supplies

 are diluted, all of them seem to have a large amount of 

windex in them so the products all smell pretty toxic!

This is Eowyn, her family was here today and she is a real hard worker!  

She also happens to be in my Sunday School Class and is the Best!!!!

Billy loves to tease all the kids and they all think he is pretty funny 

(which he is 😜😜😜)!

Oh, and as a reward we went out for a 
little Mexican food afterwards! Scrumptious!

~i see the mekong

Each day that we travel to the Farm we cross the Mekong River.  I sometimes 

take it for granted and don't realize how cool it is to have this experience!

My camera doesn't do it justice but it really is a beautiful sight!

From China to Vietnam, the Mekong River is the lifeblood of Southeast Asia and offers a glimpse into the long history and diverse cultures of the region. The 12th longest river in the world and the 7th longest in Asia, it flows through six countries: China, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

https://www.google.com.kh/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C5CHFA_enKH710KH710&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=where+does+the+mekong+river+begin&*
The World is a Fascinating Place!

Living a good, simple life!

~unborn heart

Ta Khmau - Insemination

February 23, 2017

Our new friends and helpers, John and Piriana Kaienua who are experts with
insemination came and taught some of our staff about insemination.  We have
24 straws and 11 cows we will need to get impregnated over the next couple months!!

We needed to send Phyna to Vietnam to get some more semen since Pete the Bull hasn't been
pulling his weight at the Farm (looks like he will be going to the butcher shop in the near future).

They brought with them some great equipment that will help make this process easier!

They are going to help us over the next couple of months which will be great for us!

John and Piriana had a bunch of cattle in New Zealand and wanted to start a
Dairy here in Cambodia, but as we've learned, it is not an easy thing to do.
We feel blessed to be able to use their expertise while they are still in Cambodia!

A perfect ending to a perfect day - LoveSG Cafe! And, Yes, those are waffles I'm having!

~nagaworld

We were invited to have a celebratory dinner with our friend, Baset, who presented his Ph.D. 

Defense Presentation this afternoon. This was the first time we had been to NagaWorld 

since we don't gamble and we've been too busy to take time for a nice formal dinner!  

February 23, 2017

As we entered the complex we were greeted by very nice, friendly staff who directed us 
to the different restaurants so we could find our party. We were to meet at one of the 
buffets and since we came a little early we were able to wander around and enjoy 
the surroundings. The atmosphere was much nicer than any Las Vegas casino 
and to my delight it didn't reek of cigarette smoke (I am highly allergic). 

The ground floor was very spacious and there were even a couple stages with singing groups performing; this was very pleasant and not distracting because the music was mellow and 
not blasting in our ears. All of the surroundings were very beautiful and it was a delight to walk 
around and explore the different sights. There are a number of restaurants and we ate at the 
buffet on the ground floor. The food was very tasty and the selection was good. The staff was very 
attentive, helpful and kind. We had a wonderful time with Beset and his friends and colleagues!

Can I leave Billy alone in Cambodia ~ Webster May 2017

I'm not really sure when I will leave Cambodia. Bill will probably have to stay through March and truthfully I'm afraid to leave for a number of reasons. One is that I still worry about his health and the second is I worry the times I don't go with him on the scooter that he will get in an accident (or mugged) and be left for dead (when he leaves the apartment). After prayer 😇 each morning I make him text me each time he arrives at one place and then again when he leaves that place then text when he arrives at the next place, over and over again, etc., this goes on like this all day long 🙄.  He is very good at doing this as he knows how worried I get and stay worried all day [but the alternative is me going with him and sitting around at meetings and stores!😨 ]. 

I do need to get home to the US but I don't want to leave him here without me (or without Kenny here). There was a little gal here that got dragged off her bicycle (late at night) cuz 2 guys were grabbing (stealing) her purse < I use a backpack or pockets for my stuff so I'm safe (hopefully).  It really is a safe country but there are still some not so nice people around. Anyhooooo . . . needless to say I worry and my imagination goes wild!

Last week we had an unreal experience (truly one of the worst in my whole entire life).  A cute couple (our age) from Idaho we're visiting their family here in Cambodia and wanted to go see the farm.  Bill and I got a TukTuk and picked the couple up and headed out to the Farm.  We had only gone a few blocks when we needed to pull over so the husband, Bart, could jump out and throw up a little. Bart had gotten food poison the night before and his stomach was still a little queasy.  

We stopped and got him some Ciprofloxacin and the pharmacist also gave us this liquid calcium/vitamin mixture that was supposed to coat the stomach. Bart only drank a tiny bit of the mixture and then took the Cipro (he was supposed to wait 15 minutes after the mixture [but didn't] 🤔).  

As we traveled out to the farm (it takes about 30-45 minutes to get there) we had an enjoyable time talking, visiting and sharing stories - we really got along well with both of them (which is always rare to find couples that you both like 😜)!  

As we got closer to the Farm (crossing over the Mekong bridge), I was telling a story and Bart kind of started having a goofy looking smile on his face (like a drunk).  I asked, "Bart, are you ok?". Then his wife asked the same thing but Bart was unresponsive. Then all of a sudden his head slightly tips over a bit and he passed out.  If that wasn't bad enough then a volcanic stream of brown liquid literally spewed out of his mouth and nose like a waterfall. It just shot out like a faucet in the sink pouring down on his lip and chin. TALK ABOUT BEING TOTALLY FREAKED OUT.  The poor wife (Joanne) is yelling his name and saying, "Call Collin!!! Call Collin!!! (her son)". She hadn't brought her phone with her and we didn't have Collins phone number so Billy emailed him on his phone. 

During this whole time, Billy, who is sitting next to him, is shaking his shoulder and I am trying to find a pulse on his wrist (to no avail) then calling his name and shaking his leg.  Joanne is just frantic and screaming his name over and over again and telling him to wake up and we are all just helpless.  I am thinking we should continue to the farm (5 minutes away) so that we can get help and a car (and people that speak Khmer and English) and take him to a hospital or doctor.  

This carry's on for about 2 minutes - I know this seems like a short amount of time but it felt like 20 minutes, especially when I thought this person was going to die right in front us. So after this short (long) time all of a sudden Bart just snaps out of it and wakes up.  He was a little disorientated and realizes he has thrown up on his shirt - only liquid but about a gallons worth. Needless to say, we were all sooooooooo relieved. Joanne slowly helps him get out of the TukTuk and goes to the rail (looking out at the river) and rest (and spits).  

When he got back in the TukTuk his lips were a little blue. We tried to get him to take deep breaths and sip on water.  We took him to the Farm and him and Joanne rinsed out his shirt and we put him back in the TukTuk and showed Joanne the readers digest version of the farm.  Then we took off and went back home.  He was a bit better and the color came back into his lips by the time we got home.  I was worried and kept checking him the whole way home afraid he would have another "episode" before we got there. 

He is all is better now! But - OH MY GOODNESS - we were totally powerless that whole time - TOTALLY.  There was absolutely nothing we could have done had he not snapped out of it and being in Cambodia we didn't have access to  . . . anything (besides prayer/blessing). We were in Ta Kmau (province of Kandal), which is only 7 miles from Phnom Phen but it is rural and takes a half hour (or longer) to get here from anywhere - traffic bumper to bumper!  We had no idea where a doctor could have been found let alone a hospital and we couldn't have even called an ambulance.  It scared me to death.  I thought I was going to witness a death.

Pictures of them (not of the incident 🙄)!!

https://jamie5663.blogspot.com/2017/02/soul-sister.html

Soooooo you can see my hesitation leaving Bill here without me in March. If there ever was an accident or emergency he would just die on the side of the road (and if I stay, I'd at least be close by 😌 ). Like I mentioned, each time he goes out on his Moto without me I am on pins and needles until he texts me when he arrives and then after he tells me he's leaving I wait impatiently until he texts again to let me know (just a little psycho)! 

Once Kenny gets here I'll leave but we're not sure when that will be. I think I'll fly into Marcie's to help them before the baptism (April 8th) for a week then on to StG. I just found out that Robbie wants to bless his daughter so we might end up flying to SLC then flying to CA then back to SLC.

I need to get home to clear out the St George house and make a bunch of trips up to Alpine to unload, sort and organize and pack the bottom garage at the Alpine house.  The packing out and unloading is going to be a nightmare and the time is ticking.

P.S. Joanne is Kristine Jenson's (close) COUSIN!

Collin and Rosemay are Kenny and Lindsay's good friends. 

~git bizzy

Bill and I wore many hats at church today~
Sunday, February 19, 2017

When we first arrived at church I had to go and set up 2 separate class rooms then get back to the Chapel and find someone to pass out the fliers/announcements (that we had made the night before).  I then got the Hymn numbers for the Sacrament songs up on the board and begin playing the prelude music. Everyone else in the Branch Presidency were out of town so Bill ended up conducting.  Last Sunday the Branch President asked Bill and I to speak in Sacrament today, so we both spoke.  I played the piano (I had mentioned this once before in a blog but I didn't clarify that I do not know how to play the piano - it is a "self-playing" piano/organ so I just get to sit there and look awesome - yes, I mean AWESOME!  I just think it is spectacular if someone actually knows how to play the piano [my sister-in-law, Cindy] so I will assume that that is how everyone feels about me when I am up there as well (wink, wink)😜😜!)!

After Sacrament meeting I run downstairs to my SS class and spent the next hour with those 

adorable teens.  After Sunday School I run back upstairs to be in the nursery with Charlie (Chantel
was sick today).  There was another gal running the nursery while we were back in the States over Christmas vacation but she got a new calling and was released.  They didn't have a nursery leader anymore and since all the kids graduated to the older Primary class, except Charlie and Chantel, these 2 had just been going to Sharing Time and then just playing with toys the last hour.  I love the nursery and felt that there was no reason to not spend the last hour in there with them and get the program running like before!  I must say that with me being out of the nursery for just a couple months I was a little surprise that my organized closet was in such a disarray.  During snack time, while Charlie ate, I re-organized, got rid of stuff, and cleaned up the closet! Phew ~ it feels like home again!

Bill was also  asked to speak in one of the Primary classes!
Needless to say it was a very "bizzy" day!

SIDE NOTE: The piano thing is a hoot!  It is bit tricky cuz after each verse you have to push "start" to begin the next verse and it has a pause before you can push it so sometimes my chorister (usually a YW) waits a couple seconds waiting for me to start the music cuz I wait a few beats too long or I'll accidentally double push the button cuz I'm too anxious worried about me being late with the beat.  Pretty funny - I also have to make sure I push the "intro" button before each song, then the "start" button for the first verse ~ it is very complicated!  And if that's not bad enough I have to hurry (especially if there are no announcements) and find the Sacrament song and get it up and ready right after our opening song or there is a big wait!!!  So stressful 😂 They should have these piano's everywhere - they are the bomb!  I should go practice and see if I could get used to using the organ part! - Oh and sometimes the hymns in the piano do not coordinate with the hymn numbers in the book and we've had to change a song midstream during the meeting (like the week before when I tried to pull up the Sacrament song and it came up with a number that was different than the number in the hymn book -  I had to go over and tell Bill to tell the BP and then I went back and changed the numbers on the board - talk about pressure 😜!)!

~hey mama

One of our favorite restaurants is Mama's New York Deli ~ 

she used to be on the same street as the church (St 63) just a few blocks 

further down.  Now she has moved across town and is closer to us (on 123St)!  

Hooray!  

This is Mama - and that is what everyone calls her!  She lived in New York for awhile but after her husband passed away she moved back to Cambodia ~ 

she still visits her grandchildren in New York! 

She makes the best Fish & Chips I've ever had - bar none!

Sharing Bills Cheeseburger (with the works)!

^^Truer words have never been spoken 😋😋😋

~soul sister

You go along in life thinking you have all the "besties" that you need then bam 💥 out of no where a new one arrives on your doorstep and you realize that there is always room for one more!!!!

Meet JoAnne Webster, One of My Soul Sisters!

So our new "best friends" are Bart and JoAnne Webster! They are the parents of our good friends
Collin and Rosemay (in our Cambodia Ward). They came out for a visit and wanted to visit the Dairy Farm and there was an instant kinship; I believe we must have been sisters in the pre-existence!

Bart got food poison the night before and his stomach was still a little queasy.  We stopped and got him some Ciprofloxacin and the pharmacist also gave us this liquid calcium/vitamin mixture that was supposed to coat the stomach. It didn't go down so well so Bart took it easy the rest of the day.
JoAnne found out that we have the friendliest calves around! If you turn your back, for even a second, out comes the cows tongue and licks you from behind!

It was a very fun and eventful day!! Safe travels to our new Idaho friends! Good wishes til we meet again! 

We will never look at the Mekong River as we did once before! 
😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛

~instagram~how do i love thee . . .

Let me count the ways~

 I do love social media for so many reasons, but the one I love best is being able to 

see my grand-baby's pictures, video's and voices no matter the distance between us!

INSTAGRAM ~ next best thing to being there and FACETIME ~ feels as if you are there!
~OUR FAMILY~


^^The Jakob & Mindy York Family^^

^^The Jamis & Marcie Charles Family^^

^^The Willie & Grace Matthews Family^^

^^The Robbie & Kelli Matthews Family^^

^^The Kenny & Lindsay Matthews Family^^

^^The Timmy & Sarah Matthews Family^^