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.