Hey, Hey We're the Monkeys...

This past Monday evening we were invited to a local orphanage. The theme was The Importance of Family Home Evening. There was a wonderful spirit of  family which was amazing since these children have not experienced a traditional family unit.

This is Yang Yang.  He stole our hearts. He is a four year old fireball.

All of the Senior Couples were invited to attend a special program the orphanage planned in honor of President and Sister Smedley. The Smedley's will be leaving in July. The orphanage is owned and directed by two Latter-Day Saint sisters. This facility houses and cares for about 20 children. The residents range in age from 4 to 18 years. These children have learned many LDS primary songs along with  traditional music and dances of Cambodia. These children's mothers and fathers can not afford take care of them. The children can visit their families if they want during the major Holidays. There is one young man who came to live at the orphanage at age 7. He is now 18. His name is Patitka. His family rejected him because of the color of his skin. He is black. He is a real charmer and is rising above his rejection from his biological family. He oozes with talent, has great leadership skills and has a huge heart. He taught all the children the dances that they performed for us. If guided well he has the potential to succeed in life. I hope he can rise above the ills of Cambodia. It can be difficult to do well here. Unfortunately there are prejudices.

We were told to expect a light refreshment of fruit. The plan changed and  the orphanage delivered a feast. I felt bad I could not consume all that I was served. I  had a huge portion of raw onions...I ate what I could but knew that I would be miserable for days if I consumed all of them. The older children performed traditional dances while we ate our dinner. Yang Yang and the younger boys did the Monkey Dance. Yang Yang and his best buddy had difficulty sitting down with their monkey tails.

The women in Cambodia are beautiful. Above the older girls are doing a dance of blessing and honor. The dance ends with the tossing of little flowers at the honored guests. One of the girls fought back a giggle and  gracefully kept it in check as she tossed flowers at us. It was probably because of our own expressions. We are not use to being pelted by little flower blossoms.

After the program everyone was invited to dance. We danced the chicken dance, the Macarena, and some  free style dancing. Yang Yang was my first dancing partner. I started to dance with him and in a blink of an eye he was gone. I found myself quickly on the dance floor alone. He had too many exciting things happening. To my relief I quickly found a new partner. Elder Meier even got in on the groove. Who can refuse the children. It was a great evening. These children are well cared for and loved. They are hungry for hugs and acknowledgment. They also care for and love one another. Elder and Sister James are working with the orphanage to find funding to keep them in operation. Times are tough.

The lady in purple on the left  is the main owner of the orphanage. I don't know where Yang Yang is but I speculate he couldn't resist romping with the new orphanage puppy. Yang Yang's buddy is the little guy in the front row on the end right.

This week we had the opportunity to join the young Elders in teaching the gospel.  The Elders are teaching Angel from Thailand. She is about 40 years old. She is working in Cambodia for a few years. She has been attending the International Branch since December. In the past month she has been studying more diligently The Book of Mormon and she testifies that changes are happening within her heart. She said she knows the principles taught to her are true. Prior to receiving The Book of Mormon she had become Christian. Although she believed in Christ she said she had never found a church she desired to become a member of. She wanted to find a church, but none of the ones she went to seemed correct. She said she is feeling something very special about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She is truly seeking truth and studying things out before she makes any commitments. We were able to meet with her for an hour Tuesday and Friday evenings. Next week we travel to the Provinces so we will not be able to work with her. We pray for her and know if she makes the right choice she will be baptized and be greatly blessed. The Lord finds his children that sincerely seek truth.

Table Decoration at the Orphanage

The vase leaves and stems are one unit cut from a green plastic pop bottle.

The flowers are folded colored straws.

I think rocks serve to add weight.

I do not know this ladies name but she greets us every morning when we walk to work. Dale decided to snap her picture. She sits in this little box from morning until evening. Sometimes if it is really hot we have caught her sitting just outside of it. She is a guard for one of the homes along the block. Every home has a guard.

Above is Sophea. She has this little stand at the corner near our office. Every day she waves,smiles and says  hello. Her greeting and smile are a bright spot in our daily routine. She sells coconuts, rain ponchos, pop and probably some other small items that I do not know about. This is a typical business for many people here. They set up their tables and chairs every morning and put it all away at the end of the day. Some people take their things with them to their homes. Others chain their tables to a tree or whatever is near their shop spot.

We took a photo of  the above signs and then looked up.


Yep, these guys have on their Hear Helmets.
                     Way to Go!




We traveled to Kean Svay today. The air was really bad. I wore my face mask and this time Dale put a towel over his nose and mouth. We pray that he does not get sick. He is still recovering from our trip to Kean Svay last month. I hope the air will be clear in the Provinces this week.

These are the Kean Svay Elders following our tuk tuk to their house. It is inspection day. We gave them high scores. They probably would not have gotten such high scores in the United States, but we are working with Cambodia standards. This place is dirty. The Elders will be moving soon. The house they live in presently often has no water. When that happens they shower outside. I suppose this is not so bad except their neighbors are a bunch of girls. These guys really should be able take a shower inside their home away from an audience, bugs, rodents and mud... after all there are two inside bathrooms. A Cambodian challenge is to cook, clean and do laundry with no water.  

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It is hard to believe that another week is past. We have had our challenges since we have been here. We have been kept busy which is good. When we first started this adventure the idea of a mission and the anticipation of moving to a foreign country was exciting.  The reality is that we are simply serving in another part of the Lord's vineyard. It really doesn't matter where we serve. The Church is the same everywhere. I testify to you that there is perfect order in the Lord's church. What the Lord teaches us in the scriptures and what our church leaders teach us today are in perfect harmony. As we serve in Cambodia I can testify that the Lord is the same yesterday, today and forever. At church in Cambodia we sing the same hymns that are sung in the United States, we study out of the same lesson manuals, we review the same conference talks, we partake of the Sacrament every Sunday the same way, we work towards and prepare to go the Temple. Everything is the same...well almost the same ... having popcorn Sunday during General Conference at church ...that was different...but hey...it is Cambodia! The Lord is aware of His children  whether they live in a mansion or a small dwelling made of tin. He loves us all the same.

This week happiness came in a bundle of energy named Yang Yang.
 We wish you each a "Yang Yang" moment this coming week..