From Kevin Elder, who is on the Cambodia Trip: We had a fairly uneventful trip - 30 hours from start to finish. Alaskan Airlines and EVA Air provided wonderful and on time service. The only point of interest was taking off out of Seattle. After climbing to altitude we encountered moderate turbulence. The stewardess started serving dinner (4:00 am body clock time :-)) and the turbulence really started to build. For 15 minutes we had some of the worst ride Ive ever felt. Food carts and stewardesses were rocking & rolling. I was trying unsuccessfully to keep my hot coffee in the cup and out of my lap. Poor Amy had a pot of coffee from a food cart spill on her arm but no serious damage. Terrible bucking ride for 20 minutes. But the funny part of the story was discussing the meal and ride upon landing in Taipei. It seems Lee & Susan slept thru the whole episode. Lee made it more funny when walking off the plane he thanked the crew for the smooth ride. The political climate is changing this trip. The elections of last summer saw the Prime Minister and current government stay in power. But it seems highly likely the election was rigged. Theres a great amount of popular unrest with the government using both police & military to crack down on demonstrations. We were advised to purchase a license for the conference; which we did. We normally invite the pastors and wives, attending the conference, to stay in the hotel with us. Its great fellowship. Were not 100% certain why, but the pastors insist on staying separated this time. Is a little disappointing but something well have to live with. I can say the hotel is much quieter without them - not in a good way. Upon our arrival we were meet by Sreng Suphal and his wife. Hes had many health problems but looks wonderfully now! Thanks to the wonderful folks in Aledo to give to provide him medicines! After a shower and unpacking, we gathered for a trip across the Mekong to visit with Faithful Baptist Church. This is where we did mass baptisms in the Mekong River several summers ago. And where I became famous for singing (and dancing) the Barney three little duck song. As we arrive I was immediately greeted with quacks! I think I said it before - our Cambodian brothers and sisters are becoming family - but as I enter my 3rd year of traveling to this wonderful country it is even more so. Most in this church remember me and greet me by name. And I honestly cant pronounce theres but I remember them - each of them. This is not a country that hugs; its not in their culture. But we greet each other with hugs. It brings me to tears. Getting back to the hotel was an adventure. We arrive at the small village with the river ferry and traffic came to a stop. It took over 2 hours to get across the river. But it did keep us up and about. We arrived back at the hotel after 7 pm; with much welcomed access to a clean bathroom and dinner. Its time for some much needed sleep. It was over 30 hours of travel and an additional six hours of van travel and visiting with the Faithful church. OBTW - Corinne is blogging about the trip and she is a wonderful writer. Ill try to past navigation to her blog in my next writing. And please forgive the auto spelling and finger tying on the iPad. Love yawl - Kevin
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 15:47:28 +0000
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