More Stuff from the last few weeks

I don't know if you can read this or not, but it is in downtown Phnom Penh and the name of the place is Steve's Steak House. Pretty odd. We had a dinner with all the mission couples there this week. It kind of made me home sick until I tried the steak. It was just one of those old tough, boney, brahamas.

 Here is how cashew nuts grow.  Dr. Henrie told me they grew on a flower and I said yeh right.  Well it turns out that he was right.  There is fruit that grows inside the flower and the nut is on the end.  Both nut and fruit are really good.

Well here they are on the hoof.  There was a whole box of them and they would cook them up fresh if you liked.  It just cost a little bit more money, 7 cents alive and 12 cents deep fried.  I don't think I can work up the courage.  I bought one for Ilene and all she did was look at it and scream.  That is real gratitude

  Here they are after going through the deep fryer.  They love the juice poured over them.  It is really creepy to think about.  It is against the mission rules to eat them.  They had an elder eat one about 7 months ago and he got sick and had to be in the mission home for almost 3 months.  Not really why we are here, plus they look alot worse looking down on them trying to put them in your mouth.

This is a counselor in the district presidency and his wife and daughter.  The daughter is a returned missionary.  Ilene is by Malika.  You won't believe it but she is 22 years old.  She loves to go teaching with us and speaks good english so we enjoy talking to her.  I can tell I need to get a longer and fatter tie to hide the belly hanging over my belt.  The meals Ilene cooks are too good

Me and a nice Khmer guy who was next to a members house planting pineapple.  He had that hoe contraption thing and was really digging in the dirt.  He is in the army and had a physical and the Dr. told him he was too fat and had too much fat in his blood and needed to exercise more so he was out digging and sweating a lot.  He said it was really bad during the Pol Pot years, but thanks to Ronald Reagan the US got NATO there and helped get rid of him.  He was in the army with Pol Pot in charge and then changed to fight against him.  One of the lucky few who survived the whole thing.  They call it the Civil War over here.
                                                                                                                                                                     This is the pineapples and papya trees he was planting.  He was really proud of his work

We went to a Khmer funeral today for a 92 year old father in law of a member.  They just took him out in a field and dug a hole and buried his casket.  They built the headstone while we were there and then cover the grave before we left.  I helped cover the grave.  They dug the grave with a shovel and covered it up with a shovel  It was pretty hot, close to 100 while we were shoveling.  Once the grave was covered they put cement all over the headstone made out of bricks and wrote his name, birth and death date with their finger in the wet cement.  They chanted a lot before they left to go to where he was buried.  It was a Chinese funeral and their was not one thing said about him or his family.  Buddists believe that the spirits go to a nice place where they don't have much to do, and the family will never see them again.  If the family does not remember them they will come back to haunt them.  They do all this chanting while they burn incense and leave food for the spirit, then the buddist monk shows up and blesses the house so the spirits will not harm them and takes the food and they have to pay him money.  They just chanted and burned incense and carried the casket around the grave about 6 times before they lowered it in.  They don't embalm and with this heat you can imagine what is going on.  ( Gary and Alma would have plenty of work over here, but I don't think they would get paid for it)  He died last night at 10 pm and was in the ground by 2pm the next day.

Well all for now.  We sure enjoy the emails and prayers and all of you for staying in touch and supporting us in this incredible adventure.  We are really enjoying this blessing in our lives and love and appreciate all who have made it possible.  Thanks again to all of you, Love Elder and Sister Thalman

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