Last Sunday in Phnom Penh

Well, Mike and I attended our last church services in our branches 3, 6, and 10. It was so hard to say good by to our dear friends. We look forward to the reunion in the Celestial Kingdom where there will be one language. It will be wonderful to be able to communicate face to face without translators. We have loved our young missionaries that we work with, but a sister told me last Sunday, no matter how eloquent you are, it is lost in translation. These people are so very good and want to do what is right. We have seen miracles occur. Today, a sister that we thought only had a few days to live, who had received a blessing 3 weeks ago, came to church today and said she was feeling well. Great faith and blessings and mercy of the Lord are manifest in this country. It has been such a privilege to work among them and to help where we could.
We leave for Hong Kong on Friday November 28th and will attend the temple on Saturday in Hong Kong and church services there on Sunday, Monday we leave Hong Kong and go to Hanoi and a two day trip to Halong Bay. Thursday we leave for Ho Chi Minh City where we are meeting an Elder who has finished his mission and will give us a tour of the city. We will go to church in Ho Chi Minh City and then return on December 8th to Phnom Penh. We will have 2 days in PP where we will have a farewell dinner with the senior couples and then leave PP for the USA on December 11th and arrive in Columbus Ohio December 12th 1:25 AM. Will have traveled for 25 hours. We gain the day we lost in going to our mission. Words cannot express the blessing it has been in our lives to be on this mission. We will never be the same!

It has truly been a blessing to have served this mission. I can't imagine not having served this time in Cambodia. We have had so many opportunities for growth and development. We have learned a great deal of patience and understanding. Our mission president is always saying "baby steps," remember that these people did not grow up where you did. They are 1st generation members of the church and need to develop their own testimony and understanding of the gospel. Many things we take for granted are an entirely new concept for them. I am ready to be home and experience the comforts of my own home and being able to drive my own car. I hope that my grandkids and spooky still will remember us.

love,

Mom and Dad

Shopping in Russian Market, or any market for that matter

It is so interesting trying to find things in the market. When we first came and went to the markets, all I could feel was hot and confused. I had no idea where to find things and how to proceed to shop. Now, I have adapted somewhat to the heat; at least I know to go when it is cloudy or in the morning before the heat of the day. And Elder Morgan is really quite the bargainer. He can bargain with the best of them. It is a balancing act really, to be sure to get the best price and still allow a profit for them. If you say to the sellers, just looking, they let you look, but if you act the least bit interested, you need to watch or they will sell you the store. They automatically start with their highest price because we are white. Then the bargaining begins. Today we baught some little oranges. We stopped to get some, and the price was really high. Then we went on to another shop and our driver said to Elder Morgan, you talk stop. In other words, he wasn't to say anything. We got the oranges at a much better price. It is all really very interesting.

Halloween Party in Phnom Penh

We watched over a single young adult Halloween party. The branch president of one of the branches brought big sacks of old costumes and people rummaged through them and made up costumes to put on after the fireside. It was really fun to watch and see what happened.

Good-by to 4 Dear Young Missionaries

Sister Hatch's & Sister Loar's Parents came to PP and this was at the dinner they held for all the Viet Elders and sisters. By the time we had dinner, Elder Loc had already left for Vietnam.

The Elder on the left and the three sisters finished their mission the end of October. The Elder is from Vietnam and is going to take us on a tour of Ho Chi Minh City when we go there the first of December. The sister in the middle is Vietnamese but lives in Cambodia and is now going to the 3rd Branch. The two American sisters will be missed so much. The two elders on the right are from Vietnam but still here until after we leave.

Pchumben Again

Pchumben is a holiday where people go to their home provinces and go to the wat (temples) and take food for the deceased relatives. It is this 3 day period that the spirits are released from prison and they come to the wats to get food. So all Buddhists take food to their dead. The whole city of PP empties and it is amazing the little space these people require to travel. Here are some pictures of the vans that left and returned to PP. One of our cleaning ladies brought a pork wrapped in rice that we couldn't eat, but gave it to our driver.

Wheel Chair Distribution

We went with the LDS Charities Couple to distribute wheel chairs to a village about 2 hour drive out into the country. We were gathered at a school. There were many children and parents and others of the community there. LDSC works with another NGO in distributing the chairs. There was a lot of talk, before the presentation. We thought we were just along for the ride, but we were brought into the middle of it all. We were even interview and late found out that we were seen on TV. The children and adults that received wheel chairs were very crippled. Some had very deformed feet and hands, others we were told had palsy. I was happy to see so many people being helped, but not really comfortable with all the show involved in the giving.

Trip Home

Well, we have received our travel itinerary for our trip home. We are leaving on December 11th here at Phnom Penh at 12:45 P.M. and will arrive in Columbus Ohio on December 12th at 1:25 A.M. having stopped at Taipei, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and finally at Columbus Ohio. (It will really be 12:45A.M. Ohio time on the 11th - we will travel for 25hrs to get back to Ohio ) It is an emotional time to think that we are close to the conclusion of our mission. We will "run through the bases." We still have many things to do. We love the people here and many ask, when are you going to come back?
We are so looking foreward to being with the family at Christmas time and holding our dear children and grandchildren in our arms again, and looking at their dear faces and hearing of all that has happened.
We can do this too - we are made to do hard and wonderful things all at the same time. (The flight is long, but it will be so worth it!!)

Battambang Visit

Last weekend we took a trip to Battambang to visit the branch of the church there and also to try to get the saints to sign up for the Liahona, one of our new assignments. We found a thriving branch with a delightful branch president and his wife and child. They were such a cute couple. We were told that the branch president wanted to upgrade his job and so was considering going to some training in Washington D.C. Well the word got out and the branch members fasted and prayed that he wouldn't leave. He failed his visa interview. ;-) Here are some of the pictures we took of the seminary, institute graduation and also the scripture chases the youth were doing with brand new Bibles. This figure welcomes you to the city - the statue's name is Battambang. We also took a little trip to a "mountain" and looked at the bat cave where thousands of bats fly out every night in hunt for insects etc. We got there a little late and we saw only the young bats leaving, but there was a steady stream of them for a long time. We also enjoyed our trip up and back; we saw wonderful green fields of rice growing all along the road. It was nice to see so much green and open spaces.

Visits

We went with the sisters to visit this family. The husband rides a bike with a wagon on the back and collects trash around the city and recycles it to make a living. The area you see is their home. On the other side of the curtain is another family, there is no wall there, just a curtain. The wife cooks outside and their is a comunity rest room not far away. They have a difficult time learning, but come to church every Sunday and they greet us so warmly.

We went to visit this family the sister missionaries are teaching. A father and his three sons. The father is a construction worker and the mother left a few years ago. He is working hard to support his boys, 14 and twins 12. They are so receptive to the truth but with the father's working all the time, it is hard to get time to teach them. It was such a wonderful visit. The boys are at church all the time, the father has to work so the progress is slow.

Train Wreck

We went out visiting along the train track. We wanted to see a member of the 3rd Branch and found his house. A train had jumped the track and fallen into his little house and a neighbors house. He is still living there if you can believe it.

Mission President

Our Mission President and his wife as such wonderful people. They have the country of Cambodia, are trying to help Vietname to open their doors to missionary work, work with all the missionaries of course, and essetially stake president to three districts, which include all the training, temple recommend interviews, calls and all else that a stake president does. He holds wonderful zone conferencese. We love and appreciate him and his wife.

The US Embassy grounds were so beautiful and we were impressed with all that we saw. The plaque where I am standing is to honor those who gave their lives to save other US citizens in 1975 when Pole Pot gained control and the lives of all foreigners were in danger. One doesn't just go into the Embassy, one has to be invited or on specific business. It was good to be there on the

4th of July

4th of July US Embassy

We were so very pleased to be where everyone spoke English and loved the United States of America. We were thrilled to see the American flag brought in with such dignity by the US Marines. Don't they look sharp!! It was nourishing to our hearts to hear the "Star Spangled Banner." We had to buy tickets and show our passports to get tickets. When we got to the US Embassy, we went through very careful screening, as they do to board a plane. We had ice cream and a hot dog. It was a curious thing as we felt we were once again on the US soil.

June Adventures in Cambodia

This man with the dark hair over his eyes had done 180 degree turn in attitude about studying with the missionaries. We were so thrilled to be a part of the discussion and to see the happiness in the family with the father taking the lessons.

We went to visit this father, second from the left and his three sons who are tailors with the young missionaries and the man on the far left, counselor in the 3rd Branch Brother Dung (pronounced yung/ go up on the end of the name) They promised to be to church the next Sunday but they didn't come. Working on Sunday is a big hurtle to get over for so many of these people.

This sister in the center has been inactive and felt she had to sell on Sundays. We challenged her to stop and test the Lord. She came to the next two Sunday meetings, but Dad said she was not there today.

Bamboo Train Ride

Want to go for a ride into the country on a train?

Here is a picture of a 10 horsepower gas engine. Looks like a lawn mower engine. We rode out in the country for about 2 hours and back. We saw a lot of country without the big city atmosphere. We saw very little wild life. No deer, squirels, rabbits, wild turkeys, etc. We did see several very interesting birds, that we had not seen in the city. There are elephants, tigers and bears in the country, but they are very isolated areas. We had a very enjoyable trip together and really enjoyed the fellowship.

We found that the train was two axels covered with a platform made of bamboo.

There were about 12 of us senior missionaries, two of our drivers and the lady who sits on the front of the platform to shoo off the cows and people and cars off the track as we drive along.

If you meet another train coming at you, it is a matter of the train with the most people on board staying put and the lesser number train lifts the bed off, the axels and the other train passes, and then the trip continues for both trains.

Mom is looking happy and glad to be away from the busy schedule that we keep. The railway track was essentially abandoned, with only a tourism traffic.

We traveled through many fields, with raised borders and ankle deep water. The rice seedlings are just being planted and soon will be a beautiful green color.

On either side of the track were fields that will be planted in rice soon. Some water had been retained from the rain we have had this month.

Note the rice paddies on both sides of the tracks.

Funerals and Wats in Phnom Penh

The first funeral was of a much loved sister and her family were members of the church. They held the services at the church and here you see her plain little wooden casket loaded into a funeral hearse. The family is riding with it to the cemetery where the family and friends do everything but dig the hole. After the dedication of the grave, they take care of the rest.

The second post is of a sister whose family are Buddhist, but the children are members of the church. The services are at the Wat and the children did what the rest of the family wanted. This is the day after the mother had passed away. The family has white cloth wrapped around them. The church did a very brief service and then the monks took over. They chanted for a while and then the procession moved to the place where one is creamated. They march around the casket 3 times. This was too much for Soriah and she fainted and took quite a while to recover. Elder Morgan has decided that one of the things he will emphasis in the next training he does will be, care for the family that is mourning the loss of their loved ones. The second funeral took place on Saturday of the open house and the Sunday morning following the open house. It was quite a weekend.