Cambodian Rice Harvest

It is deeply troubling to see all the abandoned rice land as I travel to our rice farm in Balang, Cambodia. This is good land that raised nothing after the floods and drought. Some farmers replanted after the drought only to be wiped out by the flood and then gave up. Few kept on going because they were either dis-spirited, or broke, or both. We were broke, but too stubborn to quit. The rice that we replanted after the drought, which did not get wiped out by the flood, was the best rice we ever harvested, some of it yielding 8 tons per hectare.A big thanks to those who helped us purchase the combine! In hindsight we'd have been better off to have replanted all the rice that did survive the drought, as it was so damaged that the yield is only about 2 tons per hectare. It looked good on the outside, but there was nothing inside. I wonder how often that happens to damaged people? The third crop, which we replanted after the flood, may be even better than anything to date. It will be harvested in January and should get us through to our new crop next July. "True North" for us was never giving up, and to keep on planting, looking, asking, and begging for rice. God saw us through.