Pioneer Children Sang as they walked and walked and walked and walked.

Hello Family and Friends,
This week had its ups and downs. We call upon all who read this blog to join us in prayer for Doug Harada.  Doug has been renting our home while we are serving our mission in Cambodia. This week he was admitted to a hospital in Olympia with a serious infection in his spine. As of Tuesday he was not doing well. The doctors have put him in a medically induced coma to let his body fight this horrible infection. As of Tuesday his condition was serious. Our prayers go out to him and his wife, Shelby.  We also pray for his children and other family members. We have recently seen other people go through similar situations. It is worrisome. We hope for a full recovery for Doug. In situations like this everyone must "wait and see". It usually means weeks if not months of care.

We thank our family and friends in Vancouver who have contacted us and have said that our home will be cared for in our absence. This is a relief to us and will also be a relief to Doug's family who had expressed concern about the house. A big THANK YOU to all who have stepped up to the plate to help.

An up for this week was when we did a Skype session with Jenni's family, Kyle's family and Jay. They were vacationing together in Colorado. A down was the notification less than 24 hours later that Rylie broke her arm while riding her rip stick at the skate park. She was reported to be in good spirits, but it is a bummer thing to happen. We pray for quick healing. There is plenty of summer fun ahead and we hope she will be a part of it.

The remainder of this blog should be all "ups".

Our PEF job requires that we make a voice contact with all 170+ of our students each month. That has been a challenge. We have vanished students. Yes, vanished. No address and no phone number. Their family members have no information to share. This week we were able to make a voice contact with 3 of  those vanished students. Hopefully we can stay connected. We encourage them to attend church and gain the blessings that they have been missing. We know if they will begin to live the principles of the gospel they have "shelved" they will make their loan payments. We encourage our students to pay on their loans so other students can also receive loans to improve their lives. The program is called Perpetual Education Fund for a reason. In the beginning donations were accepted to start the program. Donations are always accepted , but today if every student will make their monthly payment of usually $5 there should be adequate funds available to assist any qualified person to receive a loan.

Every July 24th The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints celebrates Pioneer Day. This is a time set apart to remember the pioneers that dedicated their lives in moving the Lord's work forward. This week the early pioneers of the church were remembered here in Cambodia. It was fun to see the Cambodian children wearing pioneer bonnets, blue jeans with suspenders and dancing to Turkey in the Straw. We did not attend  celebrations at our assigned branches because of distance and timing of their activities. At the building where our office is the 3 Vietnamese branches joined forces to celebrate together. This happened on Friday.  We slipped in to watch their program.The following photos are Pioneer Day in Cambodia.

 They sang "You Raise Me Up"

Not sure if they knew what they were singing but they did a good job.

Dale has a silly finger trick he was trying to teach these unsuspecting pioneers. They are working hard to figure it out. Now how did that goofy Elder Meier do that?

President Moon and his family arrived in a tuk tuk.  I was so impressed that they had brought pioneer clothes with them from the United States. President Moon confessed that it was a last minute packing. Sister Smedley had given them a heads up that they would need them.The members loved it. 

Their celebration mixed western pioneers with a flare of the Vietnamese and Cambodian traditional dance and dress. Dale dubbed President Moon as Woody from Disney's" Toy Story". (Do you agree?)

The words on the banner are Vietnamese not Khmer. These young pioneers are dancing to Turkey in the Straw. It is the only pioneer dance they know and so ALL age groups took their turn dancing to it. It started to sound to me like when the ice cream truck comes down the block with his annoying music being played over and over and over again. The important thing is that everyone enjoyed their turn to "swing their partner".

Christmas garland, lights, and balls are great decorations year round in this country. If it sparkles it is a good decoration. There was not only pioneer dancing but also singing. Here the choir sings a song of Zion...hmm... I can't remember which one.

The members of the church in Cambodia are pioneers too. It is good to celebrate the pioneers of the past. It is also good to recognize and celebrate the brave people in our day who overcome obstacles to build Zion. In Cambodia, for the most part, the leaders of the church are returned missionaries in their twenties or thirties. These return missionaries are both men and women. They are called to serve in not one, but several positions. In the infancy of the church that was true. There was much to do and not many people to do the tasks. A few did much. In Cambodia, a few do much. The church is growing. With time they will have a stake and with a stake a temple will follow. There is still much to do prior to that happening but I have great hope and faith that it will come to pass.

Let me tell you what you should not do. You should not sneak kids into your office and give them candy and expect them not to tell the world. Dale couldn't resist these little people. Big problem. They got candy and went and told all their friends. The members were setting up for pioneer day and the building was filled with children. We were in our office trying to do our daily responsibilities. Once Dale gave out the first pieces of candy there was no end to the door being knocked on and the door knob being twisted to enter our room. We ended up being held hostage. I had to sneak out of our room a couple times. We had a code knock to get back into our room. Don't these kids look so sweet?  They need to have warning stickers on their foreheads. "Do not give candy to cute kids. Giving candy to cute kids can lead to a constant knocking sound in your ears. Ignore this warning at your own risk."

We went to Kean Svay Branch today. There were 5 baptisms. This is Yuen and his wife Paulla. I was surprised when I saw Paulla in baptismal clothes because I thought she was already a member. They look beautiful in white. The next step for them is to become an eternal couple sealed in the temple. That will be a wonderful day. We rejoice in this huge step they made today. 

In the states members will often have BYU bumper stickers. I believe this family from Kean Svay has us all beat with their tuk tuk decked with CTR ( Choose the Right) and LDS ( Latter Day Saints). When they go down the street this tuk tuk is filled! They have a BIG family.

Believe it or not...and since I did not snap a picture you may not believe it, but we saw a car the other day with Oklahoma license plates. We think that because cars are so expensive here that someone decided it was cheaper to ship their car here rather than purchase a vehicle in the country. I don't know what licensing policies are. Perhaps Cambodia doesn't know either. I imagine out of country cars from the United States are REALLY rare.

Today I attended Primary. I listened really hard and was able to pick up several of the things that were talked about. I even spoke in Khmer to the children. I kept my comments simple...why? Because I can't speak anything but caveman Khmer.

Until next week "peace" "victory" "stick 'em up" or "Uncle Sam Wants YOU" and "?".

Who needs table and chairs?

Hello family and friends,
Another week has come and gone. I can not say that time is flying, but it is moving forward. Life is becoming so routine that I am having difficulty coming up with interesting stories to tell. Fortunately Dale took a few pictures to jar my memory.
This week I did a lot of phone call contacting of our PEF students. Dale has been helping our Institute Director create a Institute video to take to the Providences as a recruitment tool. The goal is to get all Young Single Adults in the church enrolled in Institute classes and all students 14-17 enrolled in Seminary. Once they are enrolled the challenge is to keep them attending regularly. This is really important for our PEF students because when they apply for their loan they commit to attend Institute 75% of the time. We do everything we possibly can to assist them in keeping this promise. We allow them to do make up work and in some cases home study. Unfortunately we have had to decline a few students loans because they did not attend Institute and did not do the makeup work. Some of our students learned the hard way that we hold them to their promises. They did not get their loan renewed. If they begin to attend Institute and do the work they will be able to obtain a loan in the future. It is disheartening to have to decline a loan. We do all we can to help our students obtain their Institute credit. Some of our students thought they could slide by. That is not going to happen while we are here. If  we do not enforce the rules we do our students a disservice. We have  many students who were able to fulfill their commitments even though they were just as busy and had similar hardships as those that did not do the work.

The below photo is  Sophornn Touch (on the right) and Pen Vibol (on the left). They are both very dedicated to their work and their service at Church. Sophornn is the Institute Director for Cambodia and Vietnam. Pen Vibol used to be the country coordinator. I am not sure what his official title is now but he is involved with the Church Education System. They both teach Institute and Pen Vibol also teaches Seminary.

This is a still photo from a video Dale shot of these guys thanking Hong Kong for all they do to support the Cambodian people. Sophornn is also the branch president of the International Branch. The International Branch has unique challenges. The membership is Expats. The people come and go frequently. Because of the transient nature of this branch the leaders often teach the classes and present the Sacrament talks.We attend this branch every three weeks. That is where we attended church today.The First Councilor and his family were the speakers. Today there were 6 sisters attending Relief Society. Of those sisters, one who happens to be the Relief Society President, will be moving back to the states the middle of August, two were the Mission Presidents daughters, Chantelle and McKenzie. Chantelle will be going to BYU in Utah this fall and McKenzie will remain here. When Chantelle leaves McKenzie will no doubt travel with her parents to the various branches. So of the six sisters in attendance today, four are not regular attendees.

Tuesday we said good bye to Elder and Sister Greer. They are next to Dale and I . We trained with Elder and Sister Greer while at the MTC . They paid their own way to Cambodia. They requested a 6 month mission.The Church does not pay air fare on foreign mission requests less than12 months long. The Greer's son announced he planned to get married and so they left sooner than originally planned. The Greer's have traveled all over the world with his work. Wherever they go they do service of some sort. None of their other travels were under the umbrella of church missionaries. This was their first "mission". They knew they had a short window of time to serve when they applied for a mission. In Cambodia they served as member leader support in Siem Reap. We were sorry to see them leave. In the few months they were serving they did much good to help the people. We hope that someone will replace them soon and will be able to stay for a longer period of time. In the photo above the couples are Meier, Greer, Westover (office couple) and Tuck ( member leader support Takamau Branch). The mission president and his wife were planning to be at the airport but ended up at  the hospital  with Elder Mickelson who was diagnosed with having swine flu. He is getting better.  He will complete his two year mission in August. Recently many of our young missionaries have ended up in the hospital. Dengue Fever ( has to do with mosquitoes) has been a problem as well as missionaries eating foods they have been warned not to eat. One of our missionaries was involved in a bike/moto accident. He injured his hand. The other people were not as fortunate. It was not his fault, he was just in the line of fire with other colliding vehicles.

I had mentioned in one of my blogs about a mystery disease that is taking the lives of the children here. This week all elementary schools have been closed for an undetermined period of time. They are trying to get this epidemic stopped. Apparently it is Hand, Foot and Mouth disease.

Friday while waiting for the cleaning ladies to finish our office, Dale decided to tour our building. This is the front of the South District Building. Our office and the Church Educational offices are housed here. There is a Family History library also. The International Branch and a Vetnamese Branch meet here on Sundays. The parking lot in the evenings is filled with children and their bikes, balls and other toys. It is well lit and there is a guard at the gate. Most of the children are kids from the neighborhood. Parents feel that their children are safe playing here. Other people coming out of the heat of the day find a cool place to sit and read and socialize. This is a busy place most of the day and evening. Our office is on the upper level. The chapel is also upstairs. Downstairs are the libraries, classrooms, a bathroom and Branch and District President offices.

Dale likes to joke with this guy. He is one of the guards .He doesn't speak English but he and Dale   make each other laugh anyway. One joke they really like is when someone says Sok Sabbay they reply back  Say Sabok  (tee hee...I think it is like pig Latin). Anyway they really laugh at that one. Cambodian humor is a little different.




More of Dale joking with the neighborhood people: Each day on route to the office we pass by this one guy who has a road side tire business. He has an air compressor. Motos and bicyclists and cart vendors stop to get their tires filled or repaired. One day we were passing by  Dale reached for the air  hose and pretended to pump up his shoe.The tire guy and his buddies thought that was great.
Dale decided to take his headlamp with us to the office Saturday because he knew we would be walking home in the dark. The tire guy was working late. As we approached him we saw he was working on someones tire. The lighting was poor so Dale bent forward and fixed his head lamp on the project at hand. The tire guy just laughed and gave us the thumbs up.

On Fridays about four sisters clean our building. They usually use straw brooms. The brooms do a good job catching the fine dust that accumulates. We usually know when the cleaning crew is in the building because they like to play their Khmae music loudly. This little lady stands about 4 1/2 feet tall. She is a real sweetheart. She loves the missionaries. I can't understand her, but that doesn't seem to bother her. We just smile and talk caveman Khmer.

Above is looking down 63rd street towards our home. The driveway where the road is curved is the entrance to the South District Building where our office is. We walk this road every day. This picture does not show the rugged sidewalk where tree roots are breaking through and where cement blocks are missing . It can be a real obstacle course. That is why Dale was using his headlamp the other night.

  This is a shot of 63rd street traveling away from our home. You can get a better idea of what the sidewalks look like from this photo. There is a saying that "a pictures speaks a thousand words". In this case this picture is not speaking truth. Yes the trees are pretty..but the roads are dirty, broken up, and the shops are little holes in the walls. This picture at a glance seems clean and quaint....this picture lies!

Construction work is amazing in Cambodia. They build very tall buildings with very few power tools. There building codes allow structures to be built in months as opposed to years. We found this interesting. As we started studying this photo we realized that someone had hung their clothes to dry.  We can also see that the electricians have been busy getting this place ready for opening day. Everything here is built with brick and cement. There is very little wood used. Brick walls are frosted with some kind of cement or plaster to give a smooth look.

This brick work is the view from our office window. Note the TV antenna to the right. We learned when we were in the Provinces that very few people have electricity there. Some have televisions.They pull power from car batteries to watch their favorite shows. I have observed that if a Cambodian wants something they figure out a makeshift way to have it.

This is the entrance to The Royal University of Phnom Penh. We have extended PEF loans to many of our students to attend this school. Recently we have been presented with a problem. Because of dishonest people or groups many of the schools are asking for cash only to pay for tuition. The Church does not pay by that method. One of our students was told she would not be able to continue her schooling if she could not pay in cash. She came into our office. We called our Tuk Tuk driver Sam OL and he took us to the University to speak with the "man in charge". Our student Nisa Ban went with us.
We could not have done the business we were able to accomplish without her because she became our translator. It was also nice that the secretary at the University also spoke good English. The problem was solved and Nisa can attend school and we can pay with checks. Yeh, score one for us!

Sam OL- Nisa Ban and Me

Saturday evening was Seminary/Institute Graduation. There were about 220 people in attendance. Pictured here are our Institute graduates.In the past four years  these young people  studied all four standard works (Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants). They were very excited to receive their certificates signed by President Thomas S. Monson. They should be proud of their accomplishment. Although they have graduated, our young adults ages 18-30 are encouraged to continue attending Institute. Scripture reading is a life time pursuit. By continually  studying the standard works and attending Institute young adults are able to learn more of what their Savior has done for them and what they need to do to be able to receive guidance and direction from the Lord. They also have a safe place to meet and associate with young people with common standards and goals. These young adults are the future of Cambodia. They are the leaders and future leaders of their church and communities. They know the importance of the family and are being prepared to have families of their own. They represent truth and righteousness and hope.

No church event is complete without FOOD! The evening ended with funky sub sandwiches and cans of pop.

We are in Cambodia. Who needs tables and chairs when the floor has already been set up? Socials are cleaned up in minutes. Set up is a snap too.

THANK YOU!

Taught The Book of Mormon 

How to end this blog....hmm...I know....THE END!

   

Another day/another week...

 It was one of those weeks where life was fairly routine.

Each day I woke up about 5:30, showered, got dressed, packed our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, apples, and Oreo cookies. I set the table with Magic Time cold cereal, the breakfast of choice. Dale was up by 6:30 at the latest. We took time to review the calendar, check Email,and  read from the Liahona or the scriptures. I reviewed a little Khmer language. The floor always needs sweeping so I did that. Once Dale was out of bed made it. We had prayer together, hugged each other and by 7:45 we were headed out the door. We descended the stairs to the parking garage and dropped the trash in the dumpster. As we walked the kilometer + to the office we waved and did our good morning greetings to all we passed. At the end of the day a similar pattern takes place.

We did have some significant rainstorms this week but not at the hours that we were walking. We were granted another "sewer boot" free week. The blessings just keep coming

The Church Education offices are located in the same building that our office is in. There are three people that run these offices. The Institute Director Sophornn, Pen Vibol  and their secretary Kuntheavy Seam. This week was a very special  week for Kuntheavy.  She served her mission in LasVegas, Nevada. While training at the MTC in Provo,Utah she met Matthew Walker who was called to serve in France. They became friends at the MTC.  When they returned home from their missions they began a correspondence through Email and Skype. This evolved  into a 5 year long distance courtship. Matthew saved money to travel from his home in Kentucky to Cambodia. Kuntheavy and Matthew announced their engagement at a simple ceremony on Saturday.

Kuntheavy assists us with translating for non English speaking students that come to our office or call us on the phone. She has also created flyers in Khmer for us when needed. She has taken some of our projects to the print shop. She does lots of little things that makes our life run smoother. This week we made arrangements on Thursday to treat her and Matthew to lunch. We went to the Khmer Sarin. It was the first Khmer restaurant we experienced when we arrived in Cambodia. Matthew is visiting Cambodia for a month. He has been spending his days at Kuntheavy's home. Kuntheavy and her brother live in Phnom Penh. Her mother, father, and sister live in Kampong Cham. While Kuntheavy is busy with her daily commitments, Matthew has been visiting with Kuntheavy's family who are staying with Kuntheavy while Matthew is here. Kuntheavy's mother has been making their meals. Kuntheavy really wanted us to take Matthew to a Khmer restaurant. We did as Kuntheavy requested, but we had a feeling Matthew would have appreciated some fries and a Lucky burger.

 Kuntheavy and Matthew are in our office working on Institute/Seminary graduation certificates.
Kuntheavy was using our printer because hers broke. She is ordering a new printer. We hope she gets one soon. Ink is expensive and we have been using lots of it. Plus our work is put on hold when she uses our office.

Kuntheavy and Matthew in the Tuk Tuk on the way to Khmer Sarin. The sun was very bright and this photo is a result of the reflection off of the van windshield behind them. During the 10 minute ride to the restaurant the sky darkened and opened up with a non-stop rain storm that drenched everyone in its path and flooded the roads. The Tuk Tuk ride back to the office took much longer than the usual 10 minutes. Sam OL our driver had to take detours in order keep us on high ground. It was fun to have Matthew experience the flooding in Phnom Penh.

On Saturday Kuntheavy and Matthew publicly announced their engagement to family and friends. There was a short talk focusing on the importance of marriage and most importantly eternal marriage. Matthew presented Kuntheavy with her engagement ring and then they each spoke a bit about their love for each other and their testimonies of the gospel, of  covenants and of eternal marriage. It is sad that Matthew will return to the United States and Kuntheavy will remain here. They anticipate that they will not get married for another 2 years. The process for citizens in Cambodia to leave their country is complicated. Getting permission from the government can be difficult and costly. Matthew and Kuntheavy move forward in faith believing that eventually they will be together.

In our 9-21-11 blog, "They still call me Charlie" we shared a letter from Charlie. In this letter Charlie outlined the growth of the Church in Cambodia. We were at the Service Center this week and we met Charlie. Now we have a face with a name.

Introducing to you...Charlie. If you review our 9-21-11 blog you will learn that Charlie was hoping to save enough money to get married. About 2 months ago he was married in the Hong Kong Temple.

This is Sam OL, our favorite Tuk Tuk driver. He speaks English and knows where we can buy whatever we need. We just show him what it is we want and he says, "Ya..Ya..Ya.." and off we go to make our purchase. Saturday afternoon we needed to go to the Thai Huot store to purchase popcorn. We asked if he could take us. He asked if we wanted to go to the new store. We didn't even know there was a new store. We said sure. We were taken to a brand new store... bigger and better than the old one.We purchased enough popcorn to last our mission. Sam OL also knows where all the LDS church buildings are. It is so nice to not have to explain how to get places. We will not even use a Tuk Tuk driver that does not speak English. We have had a few bad Tuk Tuk experiences. 

As far as how our calling is going. These next weeks will be very busy as renewal loans are being processed as well as new loans. We also have begun a new course of studies for our institute class, "The Power of the Word". I am looking forward to learning along with our students. This course is intended to help us have more powerful scripture study time which will lead to a closer relationship with our Savior and Heavenly Father.

Thanks for all your prayers. Dale's asthma seems to be under control. With good health our mission is moving along smoother. When sickness hits it can be discouraging. We seem to be over that crisis. Let's hope we can keep our good health.

It has been great to hear from family members and friends. Thanks for sharing what is happening back home. Once again we are so grateful for the technology that keeps us connected.

Have a great week and we will do the same.

God Bless America...

On Monday July 2 we began our week with a Family Home Evening  Fourth of July celebration at Elder and Sister Spencers. Red,white and blue decorated their walls and furniture. All the Senior couples searched their closets for red, white and blue apparel and accessories to wear. We sang patriotic songs, reviewed scriptures and brief histories concerning our great country. We each took turns sharing our feelings about the United States. Some people shared the experiences of their ancestors who helped to establish the freedoms we enjoy today. We saluted our flag and rejoiced in the great country we will return to.

Sister Spencer bought us all sparklers. Considering my luck with broom handles, mops and Khmer safety pins, I questioned the wisdom in actually putting a match to this Fourth of July tradition. Sister Spencer assured me they were safe. She demonstrated by lighting one in her apartment. Sparks flew and landed on the floor. No worries we are in Cambodia...this little sparkler is tame in comparison to the sparks that fly as we walk by the welders on the streets of Phnom Penh.

Elder and Sister James truly stepped up to the plate in red,white and blue.
Their mission is so varied. They are our public relations missionaries. Today they are in Vietnam to report on the Mercy Ship. The Mercy Ship is scheduled to come to Cambodia also. It is a floating hospital. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is working with the Navy to help the people in this area. Several of our young adults will be translators on the ship when it stops in Cambodia.

What is the Fourth of July without Kentucky Fried Chicken, baked beans, potato chips, 3 bean salad, fruit salad, veggies and dip, deviled eggs, root beer and apple crisp with vanilla ice cream?

We had it all... BURP!




Tuesday morning our Family Home Evening group from Clark Ward were having their annual Fourth of July dinner together in Vancouver, Washington. We were able to Skype with them and catch up on what is happening in their lives. It was fun to see how the younger member's children are growing and to learn of babies on the way. It was nice to see familiar faces and hear familiar voices. Happiness is knowing good things are happening in America for our family and friends.

Wednesday we had a special meeting and luncheon to meet President Moon and Sister Moon. Two of their daughters are here in Cambodia with them. The youngest is 17 and will finish high school here. The other daughter is 19 attending BYU. The latter chose to visit her family until school begins. At our meeting the girls were assigned to introduced the family. There was a slide show backdrop as the girls spoke. Their family has traveled to many places in the world including some underdeveloped areas. It appears their trips were often service oriented. Unknown to them, they have been preparing a life time for this Cambodian experience.

President Moon and Sister Moon are in the center framed by their daughters.Some people left before we took this photo. The group is also small because this meeting was one of several that will take place throughout our area and Cambodia. Only 4 districts are represented here and it was for missionaries only. The Moon's were scheduled to travel to the different district buildings throughout the week. They will also travel to the Provinces and to Vietnam.

The same day that we met President Moon Sister James' story "The Coconut Boy" was published in the paper. She was so excited. The reporter whom she worked with added his own comments which put the church in a positive light here in Cambodia. It is pretty awesome what the James' have been able to do already.

While walking home from the Church Service Center we met up with  Sister Phteary Phaong and her American companion. She is one of our PEF Students and also one of our Institute Students. She has been called to serve in Australia and is waiting for government permission to leave Cambodia. She will serve here until she gets the government OK. She is so full of light. Our day was enriched because of their smiles and enthusiasm for the service they are doing. 

 The couple above are so sweet.( Sorry I do not have their names). He is a member of the Branch Presidency at Kean Svay. His wife who sits next to him was baptized today. He has been teaching her the gospel for 10 years. You can imagine how happy he is that this day has arrived. Kean Svay Branch is growing quickly. Today there were 5 baptisms.

Remember Cambodia in your prayers... 

Many of you are aware of the "mystery sickness" here in Cambodia that is taking the lives of the little children. Please pray that scientists and doctors will find the necessary answers and solutions to help the families here. It is so sad. Life is not easy for so many here and now this. I know prayers can help.

We feel your love and prayers on our behalf. It helps. Thanks for your support. We are grateful for the opportunity we have to help the young adults here in Cambodia. We are also grateful for the United States of America. We are truly blessed.

I will end how I began. May God bless each of you and may God Bless America.    

Happy Trails to you...

President and Sister Smedley (center) departed for the United States Saturday night at 11:45 pm. We said our good byes at an earlier welcome dinner for President and Sister Moon, their replacements. Thoughts and emotions are all over the board when change occurs. The Smedley's have dedicated three years to serving in Cambodia. Now they return to their home town to be greeted by family and friends. Their influence will be felt for years to come as the generation of missionaries serving under their direction marry and have families of their own. It is awesome what they have been able to do for the people here. They will be greatly missed and are greatly loved. At our farewell luncheon we all sang the theme song to Roy Rogers and Dale Evans...Happy Trails to You.

President and Sister Moon arrived Saturday morning with two of their daughters. There was a welcome dinner for them Saturday evening. Unfortunately it was at the same time we teach institute. After our class we hurried to the restaurant to say hello. The Moon's are a very approachable couple. We will miss the Smedley's, but are confident that the Moon's will do a great job. They are young and energized. This month they will travel throughout Cambodia to visit the branches. This week the members of the South District have been invited to "Meet the President". A greet, meet and eat affair. Since we claim this district as ours we will be in attendance. It works well for us since our office is in the South District building. President Moon may learn about ants sooner than he would have liked. This is the building I blogged about a few weeks ago. Hopefully we will beat the ants to the dessert.

This week we taught Career Work Shop. Dale actually teaches. I do a brief introduction the first day and he does the rest. We had two Khmer returning missionaries along with six USA missionary. We usually do not teach the Khmer missionaries. No problem, they speak good English. Feed back we received at the conclusion of the two day work shop was positive. One suggestion was for Dale to do all the mock job interviews. At this work shop the missionaries interviewed each other. That will be the strategy for future work shops.

Out of the six USA missionaries we worked with only one was going directly home. The rest were waiting for their families to arrive.Their plan is to tour their mission and beyond. Many were excited because they have served their entire mission in the city. They look forward to seeing the countryside.

It is amazing how we are all in Cambodia yet have such variations in our experiences. Among the Senior couples there are those that do Humanitarian service and travel the country surveying land, distributing rice to the poor and working to get wells dug, etc. We do the PEF program. The Rhynes dedicate hours at the different branch buildings keeping the Family History libraries open and training Cambodian consultants. The James' are meeting Ambassadors and other government officials, familiarizing themselves with current events in Cambodia, and paving the way for good things to come for Cambodia and the church. The Westover's run the mission office and make sure transfers happen, money is disbursed, missionary needs are met and a myriad of never ending tasks.There are the member leader support couples whose experiences are unique to their individual branches. The Senior couples in the Provinces  are truly out among the people. They routinely visit in their homes and stand beside them in the rice paddies and assist in digging and planting gardens. The city Senior couples on the other hand are teaching their youth to build bottle rockets and to do other things the scouts in the US do. They work with the branches to promote Home Teaching and Visiting Teaching which is not a strong program at this time. Several of the Senior couples feed the missionaries regularly each week. There is a rule that the missionaries are not to eat in the members homes. It is a big deal when the young missionaries are fed. Some of the branches are Vietnamese. None of the Senior couples were taught the Vietnamese language. When they were assigned those branches a whole new world unfolded.

Just as the Senior couple's missions vary, likewise do the young Elders and Sisters. When transfers are announced for them new adventures await. In one area bugs are exterminated and the next area the bug may be the main course for dinner. Cambodia ts a very interesting and diverse place. Just like the United States depending where you are serving the language varies. Similar to the South versus the West in the United States. Same language with a different "twang"

Not many photos were taken this week. We spent our days in the classroom or the office. I would like to share with you an article that Sister James wrote about one of our PEF students.

The Coconut Boy

As a young teenager, Kim Sang lived in a tree.  From this lofty residence overlooking the Mekong River in Phnom Penh, Sang managed his affairs, working construction during the day and attending school during the night.  Because his parents needed financial assistance, most of his meager salary of 3500 riel a day was sent to them, but the rest he carefully managed and saved.   Kim Sang had a dream and that dream fuelled his ambition to improve his life.  He determined that he would buy a cart to sell coconuts from.  Eventually he saved enough to buy himself a cart, and because the profit margins were better, he even learned to climb the coconut trees in his bare feet, harvesting the fruit himself to sell from his cart.  And thus began his years as a coconut boy on the streets of Phnom Penh. 

Kim Sang was used to the life of survival.  He was born in 1978 to a family of humble vegetable and rice farmers and at a young age was taught the meaning of hard work and contribution.  By the time he was 12 years old, Sang entered the world of employment when he hired on with a wealthy landowner on the Vietnam/Cambodia border.  His job required that he guard and protect 1000 illusive ducks, collecting their eggs every morning, “herding” them during the daylight hours, and sleeping in an elevated hut over them at night.  However, the monsoons hampered the efficiency of his duck herding efforts because, as Kim Sang related, “you have very little control over ducks that are swimming in the water”.   Sang remembers crying many times over his predicament to corral the swimming, web-footed creatures, but because his family depended on his wages, he persevered.

By the time Kim Sang was 16, he had established residency in the Phnom Penh river tree.  After buying his cart, he worked long, hard hours collecting and selling coconuts during the day and attending school at night.  But Sang wanted more.  He dreamed of being like the businessmen that passed him on the street in their shirts and ties.  He determined that to get ahead in life he would need more education and to get more education he would need more money.

It was about at this time that Kim Sang’s life took an interesting turn.  While selling coconuts on the streets of Phnom Penh, “the crazy Christians on bicycles” would always talk to him, and eventually invited him to attend their church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, more commonly known as the Mormon Church.  After many invitations, Sang decided to go and find out what these young missionaries were so excited about.  He attended the Mormon Church for about a year before he decided to become a member because as Sang related, “I wanted to be converted with my heart not just my mind”.

Kim Sang was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints  in 1997 and in 1999 he became one of those “crazy Christians on a bicycle” as the first native Cambodian missionary to serve the people of Cambodia.  His family didn’t support his decision, nor did they write him or help him out financially, but “I was committed in my heart”, so instead of being sad and lonely when the other missionaries received mail, Sang would spend the time studying and contemplating his life ahead.

On completing his mission, Kim Sang applied and qualified for the Perpetual Education Fund sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  This fund was established by the Mormon Church in 2001 under the leadership of Gordon B. Hinckley, the President of the Church at that time.  In an address to the worldwide members of the Church, President Hinckley told of how when many of the young missionaries from poverty stricken areas return to their homelands, they return with high hopes.  However, quite a few of them find it difficult to find employment because they have no skills.  “They sink right back into the pit of poverty from which they came.  Their future is bleak, indeed.”

In an effort to remedy this situation, The Church established a fund in large part from the contributions of Mormon members called the Perpetual Education Fund.  Loans could be made from this fund, to ambitious young people, mainly returned missionaries, allowing them to borrow money to attend school.  Once it was determined that they were worthy members (The Church has a high standard of ethics) and in need of help, funds would be issued, payable not to the student, but to the school they would be attending.  There would be no temptation in that way for the money to be used for other purposes.

President Hinckley said, “Participation in the program will carry with it no stigma of any kind, but rather a sense of pride in what is happening.  It will not be a welfare effort, commendable as those efforts are, rather an education opportunity.  The beneficiaries will repay the money, and when they do so, they will enjoy a wonderful sense of freedom, because they have improved their lives not through a grant or gift, but through borrowing and then repaying.  They can hold their heads high in a spirit of independence.”

“With good employment skills, these young men and women can rise out of the poverty they and generations before them have known.  They will repay their loans to make it possible for others to be blessed as they have been blessed.  It will become a revolving fund.”

Through participating in this program, Kim Sang not only received his Bachelor’s Degree, but also his Master’s Degree in business.  He now works as a manager of a Service Center in Phnom Penh and is married to his wife, Som Moroda with three children.

The days of selling coconuts from his cart are long behind him, but Kim Sang’s memories of living in poverty continue to fuel his desire to be successful.  His dream of living in a real home, owning his own car, supporting a family of his own, and even wearing a suit and tie are now a reality.  From coconut boy to successful businessman, with hope for the future………dreams do come true.


And with that... may your dreams come true also.