Cambodia Woes

Hi all,
Life to write on the blog has been challenging since coming back this year. My laptop died after only 2 days in country and so I have not had a chance to write anything or post pictures on the blog. It is tough during the school day to find time to write too. The good news is that I have another laptop coming from out of the US in early September and traveling with someone who is headed to Cambodia. Actually my laptop and Dan Hein's, (high school principal) laptop have both died on practically the same day. So in actual fact, there are 2 laptops are on their way to Cambodia. Many thanks to a guy named Steve, from Manitoba, for donating 2 laptops to us.

Myself and Elaine Carpenter, a new teacher at Logos, have started coaching high school girls volleyball. Oddly enough, this is the only age group I have not coached volleyball in my 20+ years of coaching. Elaine has coached girls volleyball and seems like she knows her stuff so that is good news for everybody.
This year, our volleyball teams have an invitation to go to Thailand and play in a volleyball tournament at International Christian School in Bangkok. We are trying to determine the costs (via land travel) and safety to get there. We have many kids who are on scholarship who are playing so it will be tricky. Also Thailand really loves the Cambodians (Er... right) and apparently there is a hefty visa cost to get over the border. The kids would love to go, and I am hopeful, but it is tricky and well to be honest, we are in Cambodia where nothing is easy or straight forward.

Our house helper has stopped working for us due to health reasons. She is a dear 60 year old lady and she is going blind. We have suggested many things to guide her with her health, however, she has her own ideas about what needs to be done.
We had a person we wanted her to see in PP, however, she decided to go to Vietnam to see a "doctor" last week. After all was said and done, the Vietnamese "doctor" told her he would inject Cobra venom into her eyes for a cost of $400 and that would help her for 6 months. Now the cost was already prohibitive, but even our helper was too scared to do that!
Before she left for Vietnam, she also started to act very loopy and we found out that a local "pharmacist" told her to buy these $1/day pills that would help her eyes. It turns out these pills are Diabetes medication and her blood sugar levels was going up and down like a yo yo. Her low blood sugar levels were causing her to act crazy and loopy. I am talking mumbling, stumbling and falling asleep in mid conversation! I took the medication from her and told her to get her money back. Of course that did not last, as she found the pills and kept taking them until they were finished.
Anyways, the struggle we have is how much ownership do we have to help our former helper in this case? She expects us to pay for her medical costs (since there is no health care plan). She really is unable to work for us as she would walk around waving her hands in front of her and in the process breaking our coffee pot (2nd time) and a number of dishes. She has tried bringing in a "niece" to train as a helper, however, while that happened Steph had her money stolen out of her desk. Of course we have no proof that the niece did it, but we told our helper we do not want her bringing in anyone that we don't know. Our helper is caught in a hard place because she has no income otherwise. We don't really know what obligation we have to her either. We are dealing with it.
Please pray for us as we work with finding a solution with our helper. Please pray for our helper's sight.

Blessings,
Dean

Sorry for the delay

Sorry folks, I have been wanting to write for a good long while but after only landing in Phnom Penh a day our laptop died and has not been awake ever since. Alas the recycled Trinity Western Laptop may have seen its last days on earth. Perhaps it could have been the heat and humidity.

Part of my delay of writing also has to do with my health. I have also been really sick since I have been back too. I guess adjusting to the Cambodian dog diet (kidding) takes more time than adjusting to the Canadian Tim Horton's diet (wish I were kidding). However, today is the first day I have been able to eat in about a week. Although I do not know whether I will keep it in at all.
Great to have the girls back with me finally too. We went quite the stint apart as we departed on July 19th in Canada and finally reconnected on August 4th back here in Phnom Penh.

Got some good news and another funny Maya story. Maya just lost her first tooth last night and of course the Tooth fairy came and gave her Khmer money (Worth 4000 Reils , about $1). Maya laughed and was tickled pink that the tooth fairy actually came to Cambodia!!!

Also want to say big thanks to Carla (Bodnarus) Tschigerl for sending us a gift package that she sent some time in April. It just arrived to us today (August 4th)!! The package was filled with Granola bars, chocolate chips (that have become a chocolate block) and a big beautiful tin of Tim Horton's coffee. As a side note: Granola bars from Canada are the best. We can get granola type bars here but they usually shove shrimp flavor, crab, seaeweed or fish flavor with the cookie style bar. Not enjoyable at all. So from the bottom of our hearts, many many thanks Carla.

School with all students starts on Monday. Better get back to work!!

Blessings,
Dean

Pics will follow in the next day.