On Friday, Jan 26, 2024, the group convened at a restaurant in Prek Pneau at around 11 am. We connected Cardo intercom units and started out toward Battambang.
About 2 hours down the road, my motorcycle engine dies, and someone notices white smoke coming out of the air box. It looks like the seals for the water pump failed and that caused the water and oil to mix and drain out. I put my moto on a van and hauled it back to PP. Dave, Dennis, Yong and Luke went on to Battambang.
I was not able to be with the group when they visited pastor Sophon in Thma Koul just north of Battambang. How was that visit?
I was able to get the seals replaced on the water pump and a new head gasket as well. Spark plug was replaced and ignition coil too. That put me back on the road at 3 but then had pilot jet issues as well as garment factory shift-end traffic delayed my arrival in Pramouy to 9 pm. $20/night for 2 people with air/con at the guesthouse there. We got going with breakfast on Sunday and then met Piseth along the road in Pramouy. He took us to his house, and we met his family. He came to Pramouy to start a new church. He is trying to sell his land at the previous church so that they can buy more land where they are now in Pramouy. Pich, Piseth’s wife, was so sorry she did not know we were coming by or she would have prepared a meal! She scolded us for not letting her know and reminded us several times to give her a heads up next time so that she can have food ready!
Piseth remembered Dave from 5 years ago. Pich had asked at that time for the prayer team, Dave and Dennis & others, to pray for her to get pregnant with a daughter. God answered the prayers for a little girl rather quickly as evidenced by 5-year-old Hanna smiling and demonstrating God’s faithfulness by her very presence.
Dave mentioned that certain tastes, smells, sounds, feelings of engine vibrations and familiar sights bring to mind stories and experiences from the past. We were able to re- live some of these stories with Dave as we traveled for the last few days.
No sacrifice for twins
Dave related a story of God’s intervention into another very difficult situation from years past. As he and Koy were in a Bunong village, someone approached them and asked for them to come help with a situation nearby. They took off across the countryside, up and down several steep hills just to reach the village. As they were catching their breath from the strenuous trek, they saw a young man with a long sharp jungle knife hovering over a woman with a baby. There were people surrounding the man and woman in a huge circle standing shoulder to shoulder. It looked like the man was about to kill the woman or the baby or both. Koy and Dave go up and ask what is going on. They find out that the woman is an 18-year-old that had just delivered twins. The tradition in the village is when a child is born that a water buffalo and a pig must be sacrificed to the ancestors for the family and the village not to be cursed. The village was very upset that this young woman and her 20-year-old husband would not offer the expected offerings and now the villagers were trying to kill the babies. Because they were twins, the offering required would be two water buffaloes and two pigs. The young man and his wife were new believers and did not want to offer sacrifices to their ancestors, so the young man was standing over his wife and babies to protect them from the village mob.
Koy made his way around the people encircling this young couple and asked questions to clarify what was going on. Eventually he found the village leader and clarified the circumstances. This leader confirmed the plans to kill the twins as he declared that he could see no other path forward. Koy asked if there could possibly be a delay of this action of justice. What if this decision and enforcement of rules waited for 30 days to see how things would develop? What if they let this family keep their twin babies without the normal sacrifices and see if they would be cursed? Koy asked if the leader knew this couple. He said he knew them from a young age as they were his neighbors. He stated that they were good people and he spoke fondly of them. Koy said that he is the police chief in the neighboring district and that if things go south and the curse comes on the village that there would be no repercussions if they killed the babies. He would not tell anyone. The village leader then agreed to wait for 30 days and then to decide about what to do. By doing so he was also willing to risk the well-being of the village as they may be cursed as well from the lack of compliance to the demands of their dead ancestors.
Koy agreed to come back in 30 days to assess the situation in this village. In the meantime, he mobilized thousands of people to pray for this perilous situation.
On his return the next month, Koy found the mood in the village entirely different than on his previous visit! God had truly blessed this young couple and their twins were thriving and had gained quite a bit of weight. They were chunky little babies! The rice fields were dense and thick with grain and the watermelons in their fields were so much bigger than normal. God had poured his blessings out on this young family. The rest of the village noticed their rice and fruit were thriving as well but noticeably not as much as the young couple. The folks in the village were amazed that this young couple had the boldness to stand up for their beliefs and they were also amazed at the way God blessed these folks with strong, growing children and an abundant harvest. They were so impressed that they desired to know the God that helped this young family so that they could pray and worship Him too. A large percentage of this village are now believers.
Watch out for one another
There was a motorcycle expedition early on, (2001-02?), when Dave went on a trip with Malachi, Shannon Murray doping Travis (9yo) and Dave doping Mary (7yo) and a posse of about 8 other men. They were up in Preah Vihear and going through some deeply rutted roads when Shannon’s handlebar hit the edge of the rut, crossed the front wheel sideways and sent him and Trav flying over the handlebars. Trav popped up right away and shook it off, but Shannon was down and in pain. After a quick assessment, it was apparent that Shannon had broken his wrist. Dave gets the kids and Shannon up the hill and in some shade. He brings Shannon’s bike up out of the rut and gets them settled and comfortable to wait for the rest of the team to come back and check on them. After about 15 minutes they think that the posse has gone ahead and may be waiting at a drink shop/stopping place along the road. Dave instructs Mary to ask for coconuts from the local villagers and to stay with Shannon and Trav while he goes on ahead to find the rest of the group so that they can get out of there with all personnel and machines. Shannon is fully coherent and not in shock. He can communicate and can make decisions but is incapacitated by his fractured wrist. Mary can do what Dave asked of her and so she agrees to this arrangement. Dave takes off down the trail hoping to find some of the group coming back his way. However, no one ever came into view. No one had stopped to see that Dave & Shannon with their kids weren’t behind them. Dave went all the way to the guesthouse where they were going to spend the night and found the group taking off their gear and some were already in the shower. It hadn’t occurred to them that Dave and Shannon were missing, it wasn’t even on their radar. As Dave pulled in to the guesthouse, he was upset at the lack of awareness and concern for those missing from the group. He told Jeff Hogues that he was doping him back to the accident and told Malachi and Jamie Cottle to come as well to help get everyone out. Dave takes off on his XR400 doping Jeff and tells the others to try and keep up. They couldn’t keep pace as Dave was blowing off the frustration of the lack of awareness and concern for members of the riding group. On their return, Shannon was resting, and Mary was adjusting the sling. A grandma had come by was able to get some youth to get them some coconuts while they waited for Dave to return with the rescue team. A truck was coming by about that time, and they were able to get a ride for Shannon and Trav in the truck while Dave doped Mary back and Jeff rode Shannon’s bike out.
This story came out as we were asking about Dave’s relationships with his kids and what that was like. He said that these days he is getting questions from his kids asking, “What were you thinking?” He said some of the time these questions have an accusatory tone. Some of the time it is just more for information or asking, “Why would you do that?”
As a 7-year-old, Mary felt that she had all the responsibility to take care of Shannon. This was a heavy burden for her, and she felt it was too much. She felt like Dave should not have asked her to do that. Dave explained that was not really the case as Shannon was coherent and able to make decisions. Everything was not dependent on Mary, but that was the way she perceived it and the weight that she felt. As Dave explained the full situation to her as a now 30-year-old, she understood and when asked “What should have been done diNerently?” she agreed that what was done was the best course of action at the time.
This story also illustrates the need for a certain posture when out on the trail. There needs to be awareness of other riders and conditions. There needs to be adjustments for speed, terrain and skills of all the riders in the group. There is high value to sticking together and working as a team. There is physical and spiritual power in unity.
Dave talked about learning from retelling these stories. He learns new things as he tells these stories over & over and re-lives the circumstances in which they occurred. Not only Dave, but also Mary as she now processes through this situation as a 30-year-old, updating the information and feelings she had as a 7 year-old to fully understand the situation.
Your sister’s keeper
Malachi also had a “What were you thinking?” question. When Malachi was 14, he was asked to dope Mary to Northbridge where they were both attending classes. Malachi is a very responsible and scheduled person and knew what he needed to do to get to places on time. Mary is the opposite as she is not so concerned with schedules and arrival times. This was a frustration for Malachi as Mary was often running late and he felt like he needed to push his way through Phnom Penh traNic in a rushed manner to get to class on time. A solution to this problem was that Malachi was given permission to go to school when he felt it was safe and he would not have to rush through traNic to arrive on time. If Mary was not ready, then he was free to leave without her and she would have to find another way to class by motodope/Tuk-Tuk or hitch a ride with Dad/Mom.
As time passed, Malachi shared that he was not comfortable with the responsibility of taking Mary to school. He was fine with riding to school by himself, but he felt it was too much to ask him to be responsible for Mary as well.
Guardian angels
Many years ago as a riding group was on the way out of town, Dave was navigating heavy traNic with many big trucks and cars in Kampong Speu. As often is the case, it is diNicult to pass on the left of slower vehicles because of oncoming traNic, but it is not uncommon to find passage on the unpaved shoulder to the right. Dave was riding the right-side dirt shoulder to pass the slower moving trucks and avoid oncoming traNic when a motorcycle popped out into his path without looking his way and started heading in the same direction. At that section of road there was a 4-6 inch raised lip on the left to get back onto the paved road so that took out the option of going back onto the main road. The next option was to hit the moto and cause significant injury to the two people riding it. The third option was the ditch to the right which probably would have caused significant injuries to Dave. As he was barreling toward the moto in front of him, Dave was on the brakes and shooting for the gap between the moto and the raised lip of road hoping that the moto driver would notice his presence and inch over to the right a bit to allow Dave to pass by on his left and they both make it through without accident. However, the next thing he knew Dave had hit the raised lip of the road and he was flat on his back laying on the pavement and his head resting on the road. He could hear the 16 wheelers whooshing inches away from his head. When he came through the shock of the initial impact, he was able to shake oN the cobwebs and assess the damage. He had no apparent injuries from the crash. In fact, there was not a scratch on him. No broken bones, no pain and no road rash of any kind. Leroy, the motorcycle, was fine as well and suNered no damage of any kind. In the process of self-assessment, Dave lifted his shirt and noticed markings of two sets of handprints on his body. These markings looked as if he had been grabbed so hard that it caused the blood to be expelled from the capillaries to leave a white shadow at the points of compression. As he noticed these “shadows” of protection, he shrugged his shoulders and felt the weight of a spiritual presence. Dave spoke out, “Your names. Please tell me your names.” On one side the angel said “Michael” and the one on the other side said “Joaquin”. Dave asked, “How long have you been with me?”. They replied “Since you were born.” (add more to this conversation?)
Not-quite-ripe poop
Dave often would travel with Leng to have reliable travel partner. Leng would be looking for jungle routes for his motorcycle tours and Dave would be looking to engage people with the gospel. They would travel together to the far reaches of Cambodia each with their own purpose while traveling together to help one another. On one of these trips, they were traveling up in Ratanakiri. They came to a place in the trail and had to decide which way to go. Leng asked Dave, “Which way?”. Dave says “We’re going east”. They get a little farther down the road and stop in a village. It is getting later in the afternoon, and they are considering what to eat and where to stay for the night. They stop in a Bunong village and turn oN their engines. Dave is praying that God would lead them to the right place for the night. And they wait. Several people approach them with words of greeting and normal “Hellos”, “Where have you been/where are you going”. They wait some more. In a short time, a young man approaches them and says “You’re coming to my house tonight. Follow me.” Leng looks at Dave and says, “You’ve done it again”. If this had only happened once or twice it might be considered a coincidence or maybe because Dave is a foreigner. However, even Leng has acknowledged that when it happens consistently over many trips and situations then it is not a coincidence but God’s direction and purpose.
They make it to the young man’s house and get cleaned up a bit. They are sitting up in the house and learn that the young man’s father has passed away and that two brothers live with their mother and their families in this house. As they are sitting and enjoying introductory conversations, Leng and Dave start to smell a tremendous stench. They make eye contact with each other wordlessly acknowledging the disturbing odors, but their hosts appear to not even to notice. Shortly, they hear the rattling of plates on a tray and the nauseating aroma is getting stronger. The mother of their host was bringing their meal! One of the special meals of the Bunong people is a dish call Ah-kjay (ah-kuh-JI). Translated this means not-quite-ripe poop. This is an exceptional dish reserved for special occasions like weddings or to honor esteemed house guests. It consists of the entire intestinal tract of the pig to be harvested from the animal and each end tied oN so that the contents cannot escape. All the digested material is maintained inside the intestinal tract and thoroughly mixed to have a uniform distribution. It is then steamed and grilled to be served as the most honoring of dishes. Leng sees and smells the dinner oNering and leans over to Dave and says, “Older brother, I cannot eat that!” Dave is praying about what to do while the hosts are dividing the meal, one-half of the Ah-kjay is for the two brothers and the other half is supper for Dave and Leng. Dave was praying for divine help and the Holy Spirit gave wise counsel at just the right time. Dave explained how much he appreciated this special meal. He was overwhelmed that they would even consider feeding them such an elaborate oNering especially as they arrived unexpected and unannounced. Dave goes on to explain how much he loves his father and how much his father means to him. Even though he has now passed on, he thinks about him all the time. He thinks “How would my father react in certain situations? What would my father do?” Dave talks about how wise his father was and how he would want to be like his father. “As much as I would like to eat this special meal with you tonight, I think if my father were here, he would want us to give our half to the children downstairs so that they can really enjoy this special celebration food. Leng and I are simple people and would rather eat plain noodles and see the children enjoy this exceptional meal. Please allow us to honor my father in this way.” The mother was surprisedandjustlookedupandsaid,“Areyousure?” “Yes,we’resure”camethereply. ‘Once I take this down there, you can’t change your mind. Those kids will eat all of this. That it such an admirable thing to honor your father in this way. You are a great son.”
Look in the right direction!
Another time Leng and Dave were traveling together, Leng says, “Jesus is so far from me. I cannot do what you do Dave.” Leng is sitting on his motorcycle and Dave says, “Look out in the distance straight ahead and keep looking in that direction.” Dave gets oN his motorcycle and positions himself right behind Leng so that he can’t be seen but can easily be heard. Dave says, “Leng, this is Jesus, I’m right here. I love you. I want you to know me.” Dave assures Leng that Jesus is not far away, in fact He is right next to him, but he is looking in the wrong direction to see Him.
King of fruits
Dave is traveling with Koy and they are stopped by the side of the road in Memot. Koy suggests that they have some durian as a snack. Dave flatly refuses and says no way is he eating that fruit. Koy asks what does he mean he won’t eat it? You’re a missionary, right? Aren’t you supposed to eat whatever you are fed? Finally, after more shaming and coaxing, Dave agrees to one bite. Koy makes a huge production and dramatization of the event. He picks just the right one, cuts it open and puts a big chunk of fruit on the spoon. Dave reaches for the spoon, but Koy won’t let him have it and tells him to just open his mouth. As Dave opens his mouth, Koy makes huge, dramatic, airplane loops to get the durian to the target. The fruit goes in his mouth but Dave is not going to chew it, so he just chokes it down with a big swallow. He thinks it might come right back up, but he is able to keep it in his stomach. Then the taste of the durian feels like it has infused every cell in his mouth even to the extent of permeation into the enamel of his teeth. He starts to gargle Coca- Cola several times and that cannot clear the taste. He tries black coNee and that bitter mouthwash doesn’t work either. It took two days for the strong taste and odor of that single bite of the king of fruits to be eliminated from his mouth!
Travel commentaries
Road was very dusty coming south along the Thai border to Koh Kong.
Sunday night we were able to visit with Tokna in Jomka Jake for a couple of hours. He had just arrived home from being out as well. We discussed several of the trails in the area to get to various locations. He was also asking for some help in repairing a couple of broken guitars. Luke checked them over as one had broken the head oN the neck and the other looked beyond repair as well. Tokna said that they are still going out and doing ministry visits and the last few years they have been focusing on the islands around Koh Kong and Sihanoukville. I asked how they know where to go and he said that it is all by networking through relationships. Sometimes he travels alone and sometimes he takes a group with him. Sometimes they have food at the destination and sometimes they don’t. They just go by faith and are thankful when there is food and when there is not. He oNered to feed us and let us stay at his house/church, but we deferred as we had talked to the hotel manager in Thma Bang earlier in the day.
Sunday night we stayed at a new guesthouse, and it was $20/night for two people with air- con in Thma Bang.
Monday we decided to go to Kampot instead of stopping in Srae Ambul since Peter was not with us to guide us to visit his contacts. Had good trails all day. Had what looked like a 4- inch welding rod penetrate my tire and cause a flat. Changed the tube and thankfully the
electric air pump lasted just enough to finish the inflation to the correct pressure as it was on its last bit of charge.
We made it to Dennis’ house by about 5:15 and enjoyed a relaxing visit by the river and then moved on to soak in the pool. We had a great enchilada meal with pepper crab, pepper shrimp, salad and raspberry cheesecake. Over the top scrumptious meal and hospitality!
Tuesday we had a great breakfast and hung out around Villa Monorom, Dennis’ house. On the way to eat at Espresso Café, we figured out Yong’s bike is named Yolonda. I think it will stick. Great lunch at the Café before heading out to PP. Dave and Yong stopped by Hebron Hospital to visit with Dr. Frank Cho as he had fallen and broke his hip. He was on his way out of Cambodia that night to head back to the US, so they wanted to stop by for a visit before he left.
Wynona, the WR 250, barely made it back to the house. She stalled 10 times between Hebron and my house with each successive episode more diNicult to get her restarted. It was God’s provision that she got me all the way home. Had the carburetor overhauled and now she is purring again.
Videos
Introduction video from Busra
Win-Win Monument Symbols
For additional photos, here’s the whole album.