Technology for meeting together continues to be challenging. If we do a zoom meeting when everyone is at home, it seems to work out OK. But if some or all the staff are at the office, calling in on their own phones, there’s a lot of cross-talk and feedback. And using just one computer for the staff in Kampong Cham to zoom with me in Phnom Penh requires them to be close together. I’m still trying to figure out how to help the staff with this.

We joined with other faith-based groups to apply for some USAID money for a corona-virus response. Pray we do or don’t get this money—whatever is better. Reporting for USAID is supposed to be tough. Pray that we get other funding if this money doesn’t come through.

Cambodia has very few confirmed cases of COVID. Either the government isn’t testing so there are lots of cases we don’t know about, or Cambodian weather and habits are protecting us—or both! In the rural areas there’s no air conditioning and people basically live outside—this is true for the poorer half of all urban areas as well. There’s little public transportation like buses or trains and people use motos and tuktuks—all full of fresh air and sunshine. People are rarely in enclosed spaces with strangers. Pray God continues having mercy because our medical system couldn’t handle a crisis.

Personally, our daughter is almost done high school (2 more weeks?). As a stop-gap career she is learning from me to zoom-tutor dyslexic kids (the same Barton tutoring I did with her years ago). It’s not her favorite but it’s good money without going to college, which she doesn’t want right now. Pray as I mentor her and thanks to God that she’s finished school and I’m more free to work. Whoo hoo! It’s been a long journey for our family for her to finish school—I loved it but it’s time to be done.