ANZ Poipet : )

Last Friday I blogged about grace. It was timely. On Friday afternoon I went to the bank to withdraw some cash. I was thankful... came home and scribbled these words in my journal with donors in mind:

If cash is simply a sign of a promise,
I receive your pledges every month.
We distribute payments in three different currencies
and try to share it out well.
The hope is that these promises
will bring life- not just livelihoods-
to individuals and families and communities in Poipet.

Great words. So imagine how my stomach flipped when I counted the money at 6:30am on Saturday morning and realised that almost half of it was missing. I immediately knew that an error had been made counting the notes at the bank. I also knew a) there was no proof of the mistake and b) there was nothing I could do about it over the weekend. All I could do was a) pray, b) ask a couple of friends to pray too, c) try not to worry and d) worry a little...

After the weekend I went back to the bank, wearing my best pants and a clean, long-sleeved button shirt. I was ready to argue my case but I wasn't very hopeful. The manager greeted me in Khmer when I walked in, "Please go to teller number two". I paused for a moment, then started to explain that I wanted to speak with him personally. The manager interrupted, "...about the money on Friday?" Uh-huh!

Teller number two told me they'd realised their mistake as soon as I walked out of the bank last Friday afternoon. In fact, a few staff members had run out of the bank and down the street trying to catch me. But I was on my moto and was half way down the street already...

I was impressed by their honesty, their open apology and their help when I should have been more careful counting the cash. I came home and left the money in the office. Next stop was the cake shop at the casino where I bought a chocolate mud cake for the staff at ANZ Royal to share. I announced it was a small but sweet gift; a sign of my appreciation.