Arrived in Mondulkiri

Greg, Marti, Martha, and Karl arrived in Mondulkiri province after an adventurous 7+ hour bus ride. We've been on level ground for the past 2+ weeks, and today we went up our first hill in a vehicle and it felt really strange to do that. The countryside got more and more hilly as we went. They call them mountains here, but we wouldn't go that far. Certainly very pretty. The bus and driver weren't made for driving on anything but level ground. We crawled up some hills which should have been relatively easy to get up.

Arriving in Sen Monorom in Mondulkiri province, we were struck by the beauty of the city. It's relatively small as far as cities in Cambodia go, but quite clean. Buildings looked fresh and new. Joyce Johns met us at the bus station and took us to our hotel. We've always thought she lived in the sticks, but actually she lives in a pretty nice city. You just have to go through the sticks to get here. And the road has been recently paved, so it really wasn't that big of a deal. Before the road was paved, there was always a question of whether Joyce would be able to get in and out of town. The only obstacles we encountered today (other than traffic) were the trees and bushes they laid in the center of the road as it went through the mountains. They took up about 1/3 of the width of the road. Vehicles had to drive on either side. Our driver consistently chose the left side, even when he couldn't see oncoming traffic.

We're having dinner with Joyce tonight, and then we'll find out what's in store for us the next few days. We'll be here until Thursday.

Yesterday we had a fantastic visit with Marie Ens at Rescue Orphanage. We can't say enough good about her and the orphanage. We're very much looking forward to having her visit CCC for missions conference this fall.

We also had a good visit with Martin & Judy Johns to learn about their ministry with New Hope Schools, ministering among the Vietnamese in Phnom Penh.

I think it's about time to sign off. A cat just hopped up on the table and decided to sit on the monitor. He keeps staring at us and the mouse.

Karl & Martha

In Tokyo

WE (MO, RICK, CHAD, RON, CHRISTIE) ARE IN TOKYO, AWAITING OUR CHICAGO FLIGHT...10 HR. LAYOVER :-)  THE RIDE TO THE BANKOK AIRPORT INVOLVED PACKING 12 SUITCASES AND 6 PEOPLE IN A SMALL MINIVAN...QUITE A "GET TO KNOW YOU" EXPERIENCE.  GLAD WE WERE ABLE TO TAKE SHOWERS PRIOR TO SQUEEZING IN AND THANKFUL THE AIR CONDITIONING IN THE VAN WORKED.  WE ALL LAUGHED AS THE TAXI DRIVER PLAYED OLD COUNTRY WESTERN SONGS.

Arrived in Phnom Penh

Greg, Marti, Martha, and Karl arrived in Phnom Penh after about 7 hours in a taxi. The trip was uneventful, and we enjoyed watching the scenery go by. The land is beautiful with rice fields, people working in the fields with tractors and oxen, houses on stilts, ox-carts carrying loads down the highway, and vehicles piled high with all types of cargo that doesn't look like it belongs there. Driving is a bit faster than feels safe. The stripe down the middle of the road is mostly there to tell you what side of the road you're on.

We had dinner with Dave & Chris Manfred and daughters Janell and Jenna. It was great to see them again, and they helped us with some of the logistics of our upcoming travels.

Tomorrow we visit Rescue Orphanage in the morning, and have lunch there with Marie Ens. In the afternoon we'll visit with Martin & Judy Johns to learn about the New Hope Schools ministry among the Vietnamese in Phnom Penh. On Saturday we'll take a long busride to Mondulkiri province to visit Joyce Johns there for a few days.