Three Departing Cambodian Elders

Last Friday Elders Chheoum, Horl, and Duong came into the mission office for their Final interview and their temple recommend interview. We then had them come up into the mission home where they stayed all night and also had dinner with us and the Assistants and Office Elders. These three were very fine missionaries. All had been District Leaders and Elder Horl was a Zone Leader on his release.


Walking the Red Carpet. Elder Chheoum. His family has been on the blog a couple of times. First when we took President Perkins there to visit and last month when his sister got married.

Elder Horl

Elder Duong. Elder Duong came in for his final night with too long of hair. He told us he would get it cut, but then said he had no more money, so Scott gave him a Dollar and the Assistants ran him over to the barber to get his hair cut. Afterwards he said, "Now Sister Smedley isn't sad any more!" And that was true, I was happy he got it cut.

Scott and I take the Cambodian Elders home if they live within an hour or 1 1/2 hours of the Mission Home. The above Elders and the Assistants went with us to take Elder Chheoum home. His Mom and Dad and brother were waiting so they could take him to conference at their new chapel, the Takhamao Chapel. His Father is the branch president there. He is the only one of this group to have a family that were all members.

Our next stop was to take Elder Duong home. This is his Mom and Sister with us. Both look like Mormons. I hope they will listen and he can get them to come to Church with him. All of these Elders go home to more humble home conditions than how they lived during their mission. Elder Duong's Mom's home is on stilts, but is large inside and seems to have plenty of room.

Elder Horl hadn't seen this completed Takhamao Chapel yet, so we swung by so he could see it. I had the pictures on the blog of the openhouse, but not the chapel itself. Elder Chheoum was just getting out of conference, so hopped in the mission van and rode with us to take Elder Horl home. Elder Horl lived the furthest away. He lives in a very remote village about 60 kilometers from the Vietnam border.

His whole family and extended family were waiting for him. They also have Mormon faces and hopefully the church will one day be in their little village so they can attend Church. Elder Horl joined here in Phnom Penh when he was going to school. He will be back here soon to go to school. But we haven't seen him yet, so we hope all is well at home. His family are so nice as were all the families.

We were going to leave and Elder Horl put his arm around Scott and said, "President, my Mom has prepared a special meal just for you. Can you stay to eat it?" Of course we could. This is the kitchen and his uncle is the chef preparing the veggies to decorate the chicken with. We always say a very fervent prayer of the heart before we eat food prepared in some of these kitchens because we do not know how hygenic it was prepared and if it was prepared with pure water or not. But, they gave us their best and we needed to eat. It was delicious. This family is so poor, yet they gave us the very best that they had including their best dishes, silverware and water or homemade punch. Then everyone stood around and watched us eat. I tried to get them to join us, but they tell us they already ate. I hope they finished up what we didn't eat because they gave us so much.


Ex Elder Chhoeum eating the feast with Elder Miles and Cox our Assistants, and Elder Horl. His Mom made some delicious vegetables, broiled chicken which was really good and some sweet and sour soup that was good if you like that. I just had a little of the soup because it's not my favorite Cambodian dish. The Missionaries are sitting on the table/bed/ cooking area.

We were sitting under their home on stilts. They gave Scott and I the chairs and his mom and relatives are clear in the background. His father is sitting by me for the picture.

Our farewell picture with these two Elders. Elder Horl's Mom also gave us the papaya from her tree. Just so kind and nice all of them. And again it was so humbling to have them give you their best and then they don't eat. I hope we left plenty for them.

On our way home we saw this truckload of chickens. I took it because usually they turn the chickens live upside down by their legs and then connect them on to a car, truck, moto. This one, they were all standing up all in a row nice and cozy like. We love it because you never know what you will see on the roads when you travel. It made a fun end to a very special day delivering missionaries back to their homes and parents who were so proud of them even though Elder Duong's and Elder Horl's families are not members.