The Good, The Bad, and . . . the Spam?

Thursdays are generally our longest day of the week. We back the truck out of the house before 8:00 am and return after 5:00 pm, sometimes even after dark. I suppose I should also tell you I was up past 1:30 this morning watching the livestream of the Apple Event -- Back to the Mac.

Just outside of town, we encountered more trucks than we've ever seen stopped and blocking traffic in both directions. Coming home, the intersection was similar but less chaotic. Not sure what the problem was, but we could only think of the video we had seen last night on CNN -- Truckers in France. I'm quite sure that wasn't what was happening here. I've never seen that level of organization in our 15 years here.

Anyway, The Good:

We really didn't experience anything "real good" today. So I'll just pick a couple "nice" things.

We found some pretty good quality plywood (made in Cambodia) and the guys in the woodshop began to cut and assemble some shelving units for the children. Dar designed them. Our only real problem this afternoon -- We were told by the saleperson that the plywood's thickness was two centimeters. We cut the pieces accordingly and ended up with about a centimeter gap. That's when we discovered the plywood is actually only 18 millimeters (kind of like America's 2X4s). I guess it's a universal problem that mankind can't resolve. Anyway, with some minor adaptations along the way, our first unit is useable, for sure.

While we were meeting with the leadership team, a truck with a crew of four delivered a couple cement table sets. They are very heavy, can withstand some abuse, and are water proof! Just an hour or so after delivery, they are proving to be a welcome addition to life. When Dar yelled to this group that she was not taking their picture, she got some perplexed responses. She tried to explain her remark in the Cambodian language and got some laughs. Still not sure they understood why she wanted a picture of a 'table,' no matter how 'nice' it is. Anyway, the tables are compliments of the Bribie Team from Australia.

The Bad:

We've had trouble with some of the children's relatives. When kids at Jumpah, previously unwanted, get to an age that is valuable for domestic service, manual labor, and the sex industry, they are suddenly wanted.

One particular combination, a gramma and an aunt of a group of our siblings, have requested that we allow the kids to come home to celebrate various holidays. Ever since our very bad experience a couple years ago when a girl never returned (against her will), we always refuse these requests. We do permit genuine relatives to come visit children here, but they rarely do.

Recently, this particular gramma and aunt have stepped up their requests and expressed interest in 'taking' the children. We are alerting the village leader, neighbors, school teachers, and local police to help us insure the safety of our children and all the children in the village. In Cambodia, powerful people or people with means can make 'deals' with local officials. We are doing what we can, but we urge you to remember the kids before our heavenly father, as well. Thanks.

The Spam:

This probably isn't what you think.

We've been trying to raise pigs for years, as most of you know. Over the past two years, I think, our project activities have had access to artificial insemination. Our local staff weren't so sure about this -- "Oh no," they said. "The boar is better."

Their group view changed quickly when the first sow to be artificially inseminated had 13 piglets. Since then, we have had mixed results with no conclusive evidence that either AI or the boar is better.

So, the discussion came up again this morning. I kept referring to the "spam." After our heated debate, some of the guys went to Dar and asked her why I kept saying, "spam."

Well, I had heard them say "spam" for years. I assumed it was a technical name, either in French or Cambodian, for sperm. Turns out the guys were all trying to say "sperm" but couldn't actually do it, since they don't have that series of consonants and vowels in their language.

We all had a laugh. When I got home, this was the only experience of the day that I thought might fit the end of "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly."