Farewell Dinner for Michels and Snyders- May 16th.

Elder and Sister Michel have been serving in Hanoi.  They graciously agreed to come to Phnom Penh and their way home to have their final interview and dinner with the other Senior Couples.  We took them to see the Killing Fields before their interview and dinner.

The Snyders will be leaving on the 17th, so this was nice to combine both farewell dinners.  Elder Snyder is turning the responsibility of being a Senior senior over to the Spencers. They will now direct social acitivities and FHE that the couples want to do together.

Elder and Sister Michel walk the Red Carpet on their way to the airport.  We so love this couple and appreciate all their hard work in Hanoi as LDSC country directors and also in MLS.  They have done many good works.

Good luck Elder and Sister Michel as you return home!  We love you.

My Birthday-May 15 2012

For my birthday we did some member visits. The first one was to But Lam Ang and his wife, Marisa.  He is Branch President in the Pochentong Branch.  They had built a house maybe a year ago, and we finally got to go see it. He is in Medical school studying to be a Pediatrician.  He has 4 years left.  President But Lam Ang got a tie from President Smedley.

Next we went to visit Brother Derahn from the Pochentong Branch.  He and his wife were getting ready to go to the temple in two weeks. Scott wanted to see how they were doing.  He got a tie from President Smedley too.

We made it back in time for our staff devotional. Afterwards, Sister Snyder, in one of her last acts as the Travel Secretary and whatever else assignments they have, got me an icecream cake that was delicious, then Scott remembered he had had Sarat bake a cake, so he brought that down too. Elders can eat however much you will let them, so we all enjoyed some of each cake. What a great surprise that helped me enjoy my birthday with the dear missionaries that we love.

Brother Kim Kuong stopped by with a farewell gift for Scott and I from him and his wife, Vanny.  It is a pan that you cook on an open fire or a gas fire. It has a mound with with some holes in the mound.  Oil is put on the mound and vegetables and thinly cut beef or other meat is added.  It is called Koo laung Phnom  or Cow that Climbs Hill. It is a social food because many people can cook at the same time. You eat the cooked food with rice.  Very delicious. It was raining really hard and we prayed that he would make it home safely. We were worried. He wasn't.

At the end of the day, Scott presented me with this beautiful floral arrangement.  You can get fresh flower arrangements this big for $10 at the market.  We will miss the convenience of picking arrangements like this up whenever you want to unless you need to order more.  It was a great birthday. I heard from all our children and many friends. Thank you for helping me have a great day.

Finishing Up and Catching Up

We have 5 more days left in Cambodia/Vietnam. We have loved working with our missionaries, members, and investigators.  It has been a great experience.  I am going to try to update this blog sometime this week.  I will give it a good shot anyway.  If not, I will be able to sit at my home and finish up the blog in 2 weeks, after we speak on July 8th.  Thank you for sticking with me and for being patient with our schedule.  We will have some great memories from the blog.  Thank you Kali for making blog books for the 3 years of our service!  We will treasure them.  Thanks so much!

Seret's Wedding and Reception, May 11th

Long, Seret and his bride Soum, Davy.  Seret is Scott's Administrative Aide. He is doing a great work for us. They have been friends for years and finally realized they were in love.  What a great force for good they both are. That same evening after the reception, Seret and Davy along with 6 of their friends took a bus to Bangkok and from there they flew to Hong Kong for their sealing.

Some of the delicious food that was served for those of us attending the wedding ceremony.

The bride and groom with the bridesmaids and the best men and the officiator of the ceremony along with his wife!

I love how they decorate with these banana trees. They are the tops of two trees along with the bananas hanging from those trees. The bananas are spray painted silver and gold.  I think it is very impressive how it all adds to the decorations!

Last Visit To Takhmau 2nd Branch

We were delighted that our missionaries had a baptism we could attend on this last visit. Elder Hall is in teh suit and Elder Mitton is doing the baptizing.

The former branch president, President Chhoem, is a supportive member attending the baptism.

Monday, we took the Jones to the airport to be on their way. What a gracious couple they are and we so appreciated them stopping in Phnom Penh first, as President Smedley asked them to even though it was a bit out of the way!  They are now settled in Hanoi and doing well in their assignment as LDSC country directors for Vietnam stationed in Hanoi.

This beautiful little girl was with her family at an airport restaurant. We were outside sitting at a table waiting for the rain to stop. It was coming down in torrents.


On the way to the mission home, we were greeted with all this water.  It takes about an hour after the rain for it all to drain. We made it home safe and sound.

Here Come the Jones.

A big welcome to Elder and Sister Jones from Idaho. They have traveled all over the world, so Hanoi is a great assignment for them. Scott wanted them to feel a part of the mission so he had them stop here on their way.

Sisters Tuck, Spencer and Henderson give Sister Jones a warm welcome.

Thanks Senior couples for giving such a warm greeting . The Jones were very appreciative.  From l to R: Elder and Sister Westover, Elder and Sister Henderson, Sister Spencer (Elder Spencer took the pic), Us Jones, Elder and Sister Tuck and Elder and Sister Meier.

While Scott was polishing Elder Jones's shoes, Elder Jones was polishing President Smedley's shoes. The finished polished shoes of Elder Jones. Way to go President Smedley!


Working away getting those shoes a nice spit spot shine.

Zone Leader Council and Leadership Training-May 3-4

I think I won't do collages anymore. These are too little.  Oh well for this time. We had Zone Leader Council in the morning and in the afternoon we started leadership training for the District, Zone and Trainer leaders.  Scott decided he was going to demo how to make a fire in two different ways without matches.  One was with the sun and magnifying glass and the second one was with a spark.

He has the missionaries' rapt attention!

Even the painters who are painting the outside of the home, are wondering how he is going to start this fire.

There is all the material.  Char cloth and coconut husks. A rock, battery, flint and magnification.

Sister Eng came out of the watchers all on her own to help out. She is just a tiny little thing and thought she had more air in her than President Smedley I guess!



There it goes!

Now they are processing what they have learned and how they can apply that to their roles as leaders.
Here is Scott's analogy.  It takes 3 elements to create fire: heat, fuel, and air. If you leave any one of those out, you can't build a fire. IT takes all of these elements together to create a spark with the char cloth using the above mentioned tools.  Char cloth will hold a spark for a long time.  The tin box is good for keeping the heat and making the fire start faster.  Analogy:  the char cloth is like the light of Christ.  Sometimes, people have lost that flame and need to have the 3 elements working together to create a fire in their heart again.
Elements represent the basic three of prayer, scripture, study and going to church.  Doing all of those will rekindle the spark and make a flame thus rekindling the spirit and testimony.  So, there you go.