Cultural Experiences in Hanoi

Sister Harrison is the Hanoi Branch Relief Society President. While Elders Oaks and Pratt were in government meetings, she and Sister Marchant, whose husband works with the Embassy, hosted us. They took us to see the Lotus Pagoda, The Palace of Literature, lunch, and then

shopping. Scott was grateful that after lunch he had interviews all afternoon so he didn't have to shop with us!

Entrance to the Palace of Literature. This courtyard is over 1000 years old. However, behind the statue and Sister Oaks and this cute Vietnam lady is something very modern. Yes, a very modern ATM! We found that quite unique. This statue is also very old. The symbol in front means friendship and I don't know about the signficance of the statue.

This is one of the entry ways to 5 courtyards at the Palace of Literature. From L-r: Sister Harrison, Sister Oaks and Pratt, me and Scott.

A group of high school girls were behind one of the turtle posts. They wore their special Vietnamese costumes and looked so pretty we went to meet them. They wore their traditional dress because it was a last field trip while they were in high school. Several spoke English and wanted a picture with us. Really friendly, cute girls. Everyone loved Sister Pratt's light colored hair and several people stopped to ask if they could have their picture with her.

The girls were behind these turtle posts. There are 82 of these in the Palace of Literature. Each one has a different looking turtle and each one represents someone who got their Doctorate back over 1000 years ago. Hanoi is celebrating it's 1000 years of existance this year!

These girls came up to Sisters Oaks and Pratt and wanted to teach them to say I love Vietnam. They were doing it for a class. These high school girls just loved the sisters. We were by the Lotus Pagoda.

This group of children were telling all of us, hi, hi, hello, hello and Sister Pratt and Sister Oaks went over and talked to them too. I thought I was friendly, but they are just comfortable talking with everyone. I learned alot from them on how to do that!

The Testimony Glove

This is the glove that Sister Oaks gave out to the meeting in Cambodia for all the children, parents and new investigators. She also took some to Hanoi and then I brought some to Ho Chi Minh branch. These are testimony gloves. Usually she knows when she will get some. This time, the ones for Cambodia got dropped off by anonymous people who just left them on the Oaks doorstep! She first saw these in the Phillipines and when they got back to SLC she had the Young Women in her stake help make some and now has taken them to many parts of the world. She has taken over 70,000. They have pictures of the 5 parts of testimony that people need to have a testimony of before they are baptized. Those 5 parts are: A belief that God is our Eternal Father, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world, a belief that the Church and the gospel of Jesus Christ have been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and last of all a belief we have a current living prophet, Thomas S. Monson.
The Pratts, us and the Oaks at Vietten (spelling) airport in Laos on the way to Hanoi, Vietnam after the missionary meeting on Monday, May 24th. The red tags on us mean we are in transit waiting to go to Hanoi from this airport. Whenever you go to Hanoi from Phnom Penh, you have to go through the airport in Laos and have a 40 minute layover while they drop off and pick up more passengers.

Returned Missionary Choir

Some of the Returned missionary choir for Elder Oaks member meeting on Sunday, May 23, 2010. The three men in the front are not in the choir! On the left in President Eng Bun Hoch, Scott's 2nd counselor in the mission presidency, then President Am thom, president of the South District where the meeting was held, and last of all President Sam Saphong, Scott's first counselor in the mission presidency.


More of the choir of returned missionaries. In front you can see the Pratts.

A longer view of the choir. Picture turned out a little blurry. I thought there were abougt 60 in it because they all couldn't fit on the stand. But maybe 50-55, which is a good number considering the church has only been in Cambodia for about 13 years. The choir sang I Know The Savior Loves Me. They sounded so strong and good. We were very proud of them and the Oaks and Pratts were also pleased.

Just for Fun.

As in most of Asia, Cambodia is no different and they are very creative with what they can put on a moto, a van or a truck. If you make the above picture larger, you can see way ahead another guy who has lots on the back of his moto too.


A close up. He barely makes it on his seat!

This guy is being pulled by a moto and he is pulling a trailer from the trailer that is pulling him. Quite innovative, I would say!


This one has a truck loaded to the gills, passing a trailer pulled by a man with a truck passing them but not so loaded.

What I loved about this was every available space is taken. He has gas cans on the side and stuff in front. He barely fits, but is focused on the job ahead! Amazing.

South District Conference Visits

Isn't he just a beautiful child all dressed for Church in his little Cambodian dress shirt? It is silk. He looks so cute I couldn't resist taking the picture. This was after the conference at a baptism on May 16th.

On May 15, my birthday, we had district conference visits. We went to this less active sister missionary and her husband. They own a tile shop. IT is one of the cleanest and nicest I have seen. I think they do well. They are starting to come back to the church because they want to have an eternal marriage. On the left is Kim Sang, Scott's executive secretary for the mission and President Am Thon, the district president, President Smedley and me, the sister and her husband. and the Branch President of the 11th branch.

It was fun to visit this family. Ratana and her husband and two children. She works at the service center. She got robbed of her purse and it knocked her off her moto and broke her leg. The robbers of course did not care about this Mother, they just took her money and drove off. Her husband was in a moto behind her, but could do nothing because it all happened so fast. She has another month to stay in the wheelchair. They gave us some apples and delicious fruit and water. A welcome treat. Water in a bottle.

We then went to visit this sister on the right. She is a beautiful returned missionary and teaches Sunday School in her branch. We invited her to the auxiliary training I was doing on teaching the gospel and she came. The black eye is a birth mark. Her sisters and Mom are not members. Her mom wants to fix me some Cambodian noodles.

Happy 64th Birthday to Me!

On my birthday, Saturday, May 15th, Scott outdid himself to help me celebrate. He polished all three pairs of my black shoes! Don't they look great!? Then he also fixed me breakfast and then lunch after our District Conference visits.


For a special treat, Scott did a very unique pillow arrangement. In case you can't tell, the pillow with the hankie on it is supposed to represent a bed. The other two hankies are pillows and the two pillows standing at the back, the headboard. You may ask, is the elephant on the blue pillow standing upright? Nope, he is sideways again!

South Zone and Central Zones Conference

Elders Sweeten and Cox getting the Power Points ready for Scott's and their presentations. The Central Zone (Vietnam teaching) is to the left.


Pondering and meditating while listening to the music preparing for Zone Conference. Elders Schiefer, Heywood, Stevens and Fisher all preparing in their own way. Next row back are elders Conner and Long. Next row back Elders Ballard, Wagstaff, and Haem. Senior missionaries Elders Nelson and Peterson and Elder Fairchild and Sister Fairchild.


Elders Va, Woods, Draper, and Salmon. Next row back Elders Boyd and Baird. The very back now you can see Sister Peterson and going further to the right Elder and Sister Curtis. The conference was good and I think all went away fired up for the next 6 weeks. We hope so anyway!

Some views of the South District Center

We had a Country wide Training for auxiliaries and Priesthood on Saturday, May 8, 2010 in the South District Center. It is just a gorgeous building with a beautiful flower made of rock in the center of the main foyer. I"ll try to take a picture of that next time we're in that building.


The wires you see above are all the electric wires running out on the street.

Country Wide Auxiliary and Priesthood Training.

This country-wide training took place on Saturday, May 8th
Some of my wonderful sister friends from Kampong Cham. They came down in a bus and left home about 6:30 to make the meeting. The bus from Battambang and the bus from Siem Reap had to come the furthest and those sisters and brothers left at 4:30 a.m. One lady slept half way through my training and I'm not sure if it was me or if it was the lack of sleep!


Vanny was my translator for the training I did. She did a great job and we were both tired when we got done. Vanny is on the right. She is married to a returned missionary and she also has served a mission. They were on that special that was done by KSL. The sister on the left is in one of the Phnom Penh branches. Probably the 2nd because that is Vanny's branch.


Scott was doing his training on the use of the LUBA. That is an acronym for the branch budget but I don't have a clue what the real name is called.

You can see we had a great attendance. They were all so supportive and traveled long distances to come. Like 5-6 hours. Some from 2-3 1/2 hours. They were fed rice and pork before they left to go back which was about noon.

Bugs

We were eating at a hotel in Battambang and Elder Sweeten noticed a huge cockroach walking on Elder Cox's shoulder. He jumped up and pointed, "You have a big cockroach on your shoulder." Sure enough there it came crawling from his left shoulder to his right, he hurried and brushed it off. It probably was 2 inch cockroach. The staff came and swept it up. The next morning we were getting ready to go to Siem Reap and Elder Sweeten says to President Smedley,"President you have a big bug on you.' Scott brushed it off and I went to take a picture of it but it surprised me by flying away. It has these beautiful red wings. So this is a picture in flight of the big red bug!

Conference in Siem Reap

A worker at our Hotel in Siem Reap. The grounds keepers and anyone in Cambodia that works with trash or yard work, many wear green and protective scarves on their faces. They don't want to get browner. They would like to be white. Look close and you can see a shadow taking the picture!


We were looking at a lot that the church is interested in buying for a chapel there in Siem Reap. I thought that I probably have never put a picture on the blog of the mission presidents vehicle. It is a Toyota Prado and is a 4 wheel and stick shift. I drive once in a while when Scott is tired. The other day we were coming from a North Zone conference here in the city and Scott was so tired, that he pulled over and I drove. I am fine driving here in Phnom Penh if someone is with me, but the traffic is so crazy I don't like to drive alone. Up in the provinces, I don't mind driving there at all. Traffic is only a little bad.


A corner of the land. It is upside down L shaped with the bottom of the L at the top and that is what this section is.

The branch president here is doing a fantastic job. He tells us he only has a few people less active. He has maybe in the 90's percent coming Church every Sunday. We have 3 sets of missionaries here in Siem Reap and they all stay busy. Everyone would love to work here at least once in their missions.

The rest of the land looking North from the street where the Prado is.

The Zone conference here was great and I forgot to get a picture of all the missionaries. Next time!

The Reynold's Mansion

Elder and Sister Reynolds are the Senior Leadership couple in Battambang. They have been their since a year ago in February, I believe. They are serving for 23 months. The former couples had this home, and it is nice and big and Sister Reynolds besides being a top notch cook is a top notch cleaner and her home is always spit spot.


President Sam Saphon and his wife came to the Branch conference and the Reynolds invited them to eat with us afterward. Elder Sweeten is sitting by Scott.



The three sisters working in Battambang live in the upstairs of the Reynold's home. It works out really good and the sisters feel safe.

Visits for Battambang Branch Conference

Scott and I went with Elders Nybo and Schwindlehurst to visit a young woman and her brother. They are members but wanted to be taught again. They felt like they were missing something. While we were there their father and Mother came out and stayed for the lesson. The father is a kind of less active man who hasn't participated much. After the lesson he agreed to come to church and be prepared to receive the Melchezidek Priesthood so that he can bless his family. The Mother also agreed to come and she has never come to the Church. So, this was good.

Battambang Branch Conferences May 9, 2010

Sisters Noeur, Sok, Pin have taught the woman in the wheelchair. She comes to church in her wheelchair. I think it takes her about 45 minutes to get to Church. What a testimony.

New Home for a Widow in Battambang

We were up North in Battambang for two branch conferences and a Zone conference the weekend of May 8-10th. This woman lost her husband, who by the way was not the best of men. He gambled and drank away the money she earned by selling cell phones near the Thai border. He died and then her home burned down along with her business. She had no insurance and so had to move near her Mom. Her home is the little shack on the left. On the right is the new home being built. Members of the branch were helping her with the labor, but the builder made the home too big and used up the money allocated for the home. Hopefully she will get it all worked out.


She is such a good member and a good missionary. These are her two boys. They are good boys in church and mind her too. The church is helping her be a good Mom and parent.

Here is a better view of her current home and the new one going up.

This is a neighbor that the sister introduced to the church. She comes to Church on her bike. It doesn't have any brakes, so she uses her feet! She also is a very good member and has her best dress on! It is a pretty typical dress with the Khmer skirt and a white blouse. Sometimes people can afford a silk blouse that kind of looks like a jacket. Very beautiful.