Two FHE's

We took our Church History Department guests and Elder Pratt to two FHE's Monday the 23rd. This first one is with the Central District President's Home. The blurry picture is the best one of their family. My camera got fogged up, but I liked it well enough to put on anyway. Their little boy's name is Johnson. Elder Turley takes alot of pictures for his department.

The next house is the Lam's whom Scott and I visited last week. President Lam is on the left. Hisbrother is next to him and he gave the lesson out of the Liahona on Holding to the Rod and what we need to do to follow the prophet. The others sitting there are members of the 10th branch. The man is the former branch president of the 10th branch who lives in President Lam's branch now.

Sister Lam, the sister of President Lam, did the game of folding a $100 riel note (worth maybe one cent in USDollars). You had to follow instructions exactly and if you got it you had to help someone in your group accomplish the task. I needed alot of help and ALMOST got it. So some gave us their's. The point was to follow the prophet and then when you are strong help others to also be obedient. Afterwards, we were served sticky rice with durian sauce. It was surprisingly very good! I say surprisingly because Durian is a fruit that really has a bad odor before it's cooked and probably while it's cooking. It is NOT a pleasant smell at all , and I was very happy to find out that the taste was much better than the smell. At least the cooked durian. I don't think I will ever try the fresh one. :)

Remembering Dedication of Cambodia

On Monday, April 23rd, along the banks of the Mekong River at the Cambodiana Hotel, a number of us gathered to review the dedicatory prayer and talk about the day that President Hinckley dedicated the land of Cambodia to missionary work. We were with two brethren from the Church History Department, Brothers Turley (assistant director) and Nielsen (manager) and Elder Pratt, a counselor in our Area Presidency.

In reviewing the exact location a member who had been there thought this was close to the spot, so there we gathered on the lawn of the Cambodiana Hotel in Phnom Penh.

Some took turns reading parts of the Dedicatory prayer.

I will identify this picture because it is easy to do. L to R Elder Ellingson: a senior missionary over PEF, Brother Sorphorn: a CES director, Sister Ellingson: senior missionary over PEF, Suy Leng: service center real estate and helps with goverment relations, Us, and Maury: helps with physical facilities of each church building, including the mission office and mission home.

Clean House and President Smedley's Birthday.

Many Missionaries had worked hard to deep clean their homes so they could get ice-cream. And these Battambang sisters certainly earned that. They have a big home and it all was spit spot. I could have eaten on the floor. So, I told them I would put them on my blog. Sister Tay above and Sister Um at the top. Tehy just did a great job and even I wouldn't have minded living in that home with them.

Our Kampong Cham Zone sang I Know that My Redeemer Lives for Scott's birthday. It was their testimony to him and it was wonderful. Our two assistants, Elders Heywood and Schiefer in the center joined them. Going from Left to Right: Elder Thomas, Sister Thalman, Elder Nicosia, Elders Thalman, Um Haem, Chum, Assistants, Salmon and Sisters Chheung and Nouer.

Sister Thalman made a carrot cake with carmel frosting and lit the candles. They put on as many as they could find for his 61st birthday. The cake, by the way was delicious. Sister Houser in Kampong Thom also made a homemade carrot cake with fresh pineapple for a day before birthday cake. It was equally wonderful. Thank you Senior Sisters for making things special for everyone!

They then sang Happy Birthday and gave him a gift of a Cambodian Silk clothes carrier. Beautiful. Sorry for the blurry picture. I need to learn to wait until it focuses before I take the picture.

The assistants and office elders created this special birthday picture for Scott. They did move Scott's hand in the position they wanted and added a jacket in case you can't tell. They were so excited to give this to him. It's a treasure!

Battambang Sisters in the Wilderness

I worked with the Battambang Sisters. Sister Um on the left and Sister Tay on the right, April 18th in the afternoon after our specialty training. We had 3 appointments and went in the tuk tuk which they were grateful for a change to have a ride rather than biking especially with me paying for it! We went out to an investigator who is about 20 minutes out. They told me as they ride out to the home, they call it riding in the wilderness and when they get to their home, they call it the Promised Land! The rice fields haven't been planted yet, but the rainy season is coming and soon this dry fields will all look like a beautiful golf course. We are almost to the home on the bottom left where it starts having a lot of green and foilage.



Now you don't see me, and now you do! They wanted me to wear a mask because they thought it was too dusty. I couldnt' even see the dust, but wore it a ways to make them feel better.

We arrived at the Promised Land to teach these investigators. They belong to another Christian Church right by their house, so it will take some teaching for them to know the truth. They are reading the Book of Mormon and they really feel the spirit as they read. Well he does, I don't think she reads to much, it's difficult for her.

This home, these people are so nice, and yet so poor. Their home is just so small. You can't see it off to the right. He is a painter and had a huge canvas of Angkor Wat he was painting. He lost one of his legs in a mine field blast, but gets around really good with his crutch and the other leg. I don't think he gets enough for those beautiful paintings because of how poor they are, yet they are all so happy. They are good parents and watch their children. I got to teach them about coming to Church and invited them to come, and they accepted my invitation for which I am grateful because the investigators above weren't too hep on coming with their two little children. So, they will take some work and fellowshipping from members. It was a truly great time with Sisters Um and Tay.

From the Windows of Car

On the way to Kampong Thom from Siem Reap we see alot of these poor chickens getting a free ride upside down on their way to be eaten in someone's home!


The round thing on top is called a poke in English. I don't know what it is in Cambodian. You often see the poke on the back of a moto with a couple of pigs in it. Hence the term, A Pig in a Poke comes to life in Cambodia!

As we traveled around Cambodia from the 18th to the 22nd, we sometimes saw some interesting sites and also some beautiful scenery. The pigs were on the road on the way home from our last stop of Kampong Cham. The driver and the one guarding them, looked over and smiled. He took off his helmet, but put it back on when he gave permission for me to take the picture. I hold up the camera, and point to the pigs and him, then the camera, and he nodded his permission.

The one at the top I believe is in Vietnam. It looks like the road to the airport in Hanoi. But I'm not really sure. On the road from Battambang we saw this group of people on back of the truck. The road from Kampong Thom to Kampong Cham is not really crowded and it is beautiful. For the last part of the ride you drive through a huge rubber plantation. I can't believe the bottom pictures almost look panoramic. I'm quite pleased with myself because that was pure accident. I am grateful you can see what I saw from the car window!

FHE with the Lams of 3rd Branch

We were invited to the branch president's house, President Lam for an FHE on Sunday night the 17th of April. They do a FHE often and invite different members of the branch in order to teach them how to do an FHE. His Brother or Sister do the lesson and they have a game. There were investigators there and some less active members. Also one of our former missionaries came, Elder Meas. WE appreciated the invitation.

Khmer New Year Sport's Day

Cambodian New Year was on April 14-16th. Pretty much people in the city go back to their homelands and the town is quite empty. It's great driving though. Not much traffic. So one of those days the missionaries clean thoroughly their homes , which by the way they all had such clean homes, the Snyders rewarded all with ice-cream and toppings when they came in on Preparation Day or down from the Provinces.
Another day they do CBR's and update their records and the last day they have a Sport's Day and go out to work at 5:00 to see who possibly has come back from the Provinces. This was held at the North District Center. What you see in the middle picture is the carport or bike port. Those are all the missionary's bikes lined up. I loved that picture. They played Ping pong. soccer, volleyball, basketball, and some kind of Khmer soccer with a plastic ball. Also the Cambodian missionaries all love a game that is played with something similar to a badminton birdie except that it has a weight on it and they get in a circle and start kicking it with their heels to each other and see how long they can keep it going. It's amazing to watch. Oh and the Elders who played hard and got too tired played a card game called speed. Above is Elder Nordgren. He fell and reinjured a torn rotator cuff. I'm not sure how to spell it all, but it hurts. He is tough and works through it all.

I was watching a group play ping pong when the ball flew towards me, I cringed my neck to try to catch it with my hands and it landed exactly where it is in the picture!! I couldn't believe it. Elder Vanfleet sprained his foot and Sister Liggett, our nurse, is administering first aid to it. It was a mild sprain and he is doing well. Elder Nebeker consoles him. Sister Loy poses with Scott and I and our newest sisters, Sisters Sparks and Bayles pose together. They are in the Vietnamese speaking program and are doing really well.

Sisters Erekson and her companion Sister Robertson visit with Scott. Sister Erekson is one tough basketball player. In one contest, she was in the finals for shooting baskets and they wore each other out. Finally she just let him get the last basket in. Okay, that's my viewpoint anyway!Scott tried his hand at the basketball shot game. Some Elders and Sisters rest after playing hard. Those bottom two pictures are blurry for whatever reason, I don't know why!

This is a fast moving sport with the little plastic ball. They run up and down similar to soccer and try to make points on a loosely appointed goal line! They sure had fun with this. Elder Thompson was our only American who dared brave playing with the Cambodians and one Vietnamse Elder above, Elder Son.
They had a great day and were ready to go home for sure at 5:00 p.m.