Wecome Westovers!

Arriving safe and sound and looking great for all the travel they did, Elder and Sister Westover are here to replace Elder and Sister Snyder who return home after 23 months here in Cambodia.  Already the Westovers are doing great. We are so happy to have them here with us.  We get to work with them for 2 months but President and Sister Moon will have the opportunity of working with them much longer.


Our wonderful senior couples are always great to come and give support to the newest couples coming in. Left to Right. Elder and Sister Rynes, James Snyder, Westovers, Scott, me, Tucks and Sister Spencer. Elder Spencer took the picture.

Sister Set, Amina goes to Provo MTC

Sister Set came in on April 22nd to be set apart for her mission to California. She flew to Provo by herself. Luckily she speaks English quite well. She is a well prepared young woman and will be a wonderful missionary.

Her Branch President and the counselor in her district presidency came to the setting apart.

I forgot she was coming and put my "relaxing" clothes on.  Not the most flattering, but still I was able to give her a hug and encouragement.  This was 8:30 p.m. by the way.  And we left at 9:00 p.m. to take her to the airport. 

Surprise! Happy Birthday for President Smedley

Scott thought we were going to lunch with Elder and Sister Snyder.  He was so surprised when he walked in to Lorenzo's to see most of the couples working in Phnom Penh at lunch to share a birthday dinner with him.  I had made a carrot cake with carmel frosting, his and my favorite, which we shared after with all the couples. This kind waiter and waitress saw that I had plates and napkins for all.  I was glad we had the restaurant to ourselves! Going around the table from left to right: Elder and Sister Snyder, Elder and Sister Tuck, Elder James (his wife was sick), Elder and Sister Spencer, Elder and Sister Henderson, Elder and Sister Meier.



Ahhh, just enough left to nibble on for a couple of days!

Senic Views from the Air

We could only get a late flight our of Siem Reap. We had been on the road about a week. I was looking forward to sleeping in my own bed.  We traveled over this big body of water which is the Tonle Sap Lake.
It's fish feed thousands of Cambodians yearly. 


I loved the sun setting and showing off the beautiful cloud formations as we traveled.


The sun is about ready to set as we begin our landing.  Love it!  A good memory that makes me feel good.

Teaching in Siem Reap

The day after specialized trainings, Elder Edmunds and Elder Sok were teaching in the Srah Srong area of Siem Reap.  We went with them and were able to see some of our good friends we have met since we've been here.  This sister was so surprised to see us and was busy sewing.  She wants us to come back one more time before we go.  I hope we can.

She works so hard to help her husband provide forthe family.  She sews and he works in a bank.

It was dark but this little one was busy in her hammock playing with a few toys she had.  She is a beautiful little girl.

This sister and her husband are new members. She was busy cooking, so I went behind her home to see if I could help. She was squatting over her stove, which is a ceramic pot made to cook with wood. She had her pot on top and had already cooked her rice which was sitting off to the side.  She was just finishing up.  She had one plate and she arranged the food so pretty for her family.  I was so impressed.  Her home is very humble, yet she provides the best she can and makes it looks so attractive for her family. 

We dropped by to say hi to Sister Yin who has been called to our mission. She is in the MTC now.  Her Mom and little brother were home. 

While there this sweet sister dropped by and gave us a gift of bananas, which were delicious. She is the one who saved for 3 years to go to the temple.  She is went last year. She remains faithful and true.  She is one of the most humble people I know.

Specialized Trainings in Siem Reap

On April 17th we sere in Siem Reap for Specialized Trainings.  We flew in from Ho Chi Minh.  Our Zone Leaders helped and are great teachers.  Elder Oleson from the Battambang Zone, Elder Sok from the Siem Reap Zone and Elder Wilcox from the Kampong  Thom Zone. Everyone is with them and learning.  Good job Elders.

Elder Oleson had my camera to take some pictures of the Elders for their profile to put on mormon.org and he saw this frog just outside the church. Soooo, now we have a great picture of a Cambodian frog. 

Portrait Practice in Ho Chi Minh

All let me practice with my new camera taking a solo picture.  The Elders had two serious and two not so serious. The sisters are a little more relaxed. They are surely beautiful young women.  Sister Blinn and her husband are a very postive and happy couple serving as the LDSC for Ho Chi Minh.  They also enjoy working with the missionaries.  We are so happy to have them there.

Off to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh

We left for Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh on April 13th. Elders Frank and Sanford came along to help with the  specialized trainings with the missionaries in Hanoi and then Ho Chi Minh.  They have been in the Vietnamse speaking program in Cambodia and they are/were quite excited to go with us to the real Vietnam.



We are arriving after dark.  I love to see the sunsets from the plane.

Elder Pham, Elder Frank, a member, Elder Sanford, Elder Kim (LeNguyen), and Sister Pham and Ly. We had a great training with them. They are all hard working and great missionaries.

Next on to Ho Chi Minh to the senior couple's apartment for some Root Beer floats Sunday evening after our arrival.  Elder Ly was Elder Sanford's trainer and Elder Sanford was Elder Vu's trainer. That is why they are posing in this manner.


Sister Huong and Hung (actually spelled same way but with different accent marks, so this is the closest to the pronunciations) pose with Sister Blinn and I in the Blinn's new apartment. 


AFter the training we all walked over to Evita's to eat.  All are so happy to be in the picture including Sister Blinn!

I got to help teach these two sisters.  The one in the red sweater had been learning from the missionaries 5 years ago, then decided she was too busy. As the years went on, she realized she was missing that special feeling that comes from having the Gospel of Jesus Christ in your life. She walked into the Church and asked to learn again. She has a baptismal date for this month of May. She was taught about prayer from the Book of Mormon.

The sister on the right is learning and will be baptized soon and the sister on the left in black is a recent convert.  We were studying Alma 32 to help her see what she needs to do to build her testimony. She totally got it after she remembered she had planted a watermelon seed in a pot. She had nurtured it and watched it grow and it got one watermelon. She was so excited. She ate it and it brought her so much joy and she wanted to share it with her parents.  So, after that came out, she totally knew what to do to keep her testimony growing:  Pray, go to church every Sunday, serve and Read the scriptures every day.  It was wonderful to participate in that! The sisters are wonderful teachers and did so well teaching out of the scriptures.

A Sweet Reunion

Proud parents Jeff and Tina Erekson greet Sister Erekson.  This fine member picked them up at the airport and brought them directly to the mission home.  He is a good man.



Sister Erekson says goodbye to her companions: Sister Johnson and Sister Kosal. Sister Kosal was on a pre-mission and has now been assigned to our mission. She is in the Manila MTC and benefitted greatly from Sister Erekson's expertise as a seasoned missionary.

Sister Erekson gives one final walk on the Red Carpet and off she goes with her parents for a week before arriving home.