One of the prettiest houses I have ever seen over here. I just love it. The mirrors for the front window and the beautiful front door of carved wood. The house is made out of stained cement tiles. I talked to the owner and his wife. They are really nice, but are not interested in the church because they have money. These are the people we need to get baptized so they can have some tithing money and hopefully build a small temple here. The church helps them go to Hong Kong temple one time, but they have to save about $350 per family before they can go to the temple. They will get to go only one time in their life. The $350 is nearly an impossibility for most of them. It would be so easy for people in our country to help them go, but the leadership says if they are not committed to save the money themselves they usually don't stay active. Most people who have homes like these are some way related to a government official. I'm not sure what this guy does. Lim said maybe he is a gangster. I think he was too nice, but you never know.
This house and a bunch like it are right acrossed the street and to the side of the neat house above. There goes the theory of it the neighborhood, neighborhood, neighborhood.
This little girl and her family live in the place where you can look out and see the power pole above. She is 8 years old and we are trying to help the Branch President understand that she does not have to be completely through her 8th year before she can be baptized. Her parents really want her to get baptized so hopefully we can get this done in the next little while. Her mom comes to church and stays for sacrament meeting and goes home, but she always stays for the full 3 hours and love church very much. She even knows a little English and you can really feel her spirit when you are near here. She said to be sure and tell Elder and Sister Richards hello and she misses them. Her name is Liak Niae I think. The names are really hard, but we are getting a few of them down.
This is the District Council. L to R High counselor. Rides Moto from Chup 25 km from here. He teaches school and is a barber after school. Dymong 19y/o district clerk--Speaks very good English and helps translate while I teach the AP boys in his branch (1) Pres Say Dist Pres. A really great man with the cutest kids you will ever see. High Counselor Wants to have us teach the teacher develpment class and wants it to go 3 hours everytime for every day until we are through all the lessons. He says every paragraph in the manuel is very important and should be memorized by all the teachers. He's right, but I'm not sure about the 3 hour classes every day. Dist Sunday School Pres Raises flowers to sell in the market for a living. First time we went to his house he was out with hose watering his flowers and when we walked up he tried to squirt us with the hose. He thought it was funny and laughed a lot about doing that and reminds me every time I see him. Jantol Dist Primay Pres. Teaches with us and the missionaries alot and has a very sweet testimony. She goes with us anytime of the day or night and always shares her testimony of how much the gospel has helped her. An old guy. Kim Ly Dist RS pres. Just had a really good RS birthday party for all the dist. She cleans our house and she also comes to church 6 hours (2 Branches) every Sunday because she just loves to go to church Her husband was the branch Pres a few years ago, but he died. She is Dymongs mother. She has a daughter who is a teenager also and one daughter who is working in Phnom Phen who sends her money and when Dymong has his $540 saved which he is doing he is going on a mission. Hopefully that will work because he will be a great missionary. Lena (Pres Lims Daughter) She is the YW Pres and helps us will all the mutuals. We have finally got them tuned in to have mutual every week. Saturday at 5:00pm. How would that work at home. The neat thing is the church is their whole life except when they work or go to school so Saturday was the best time to have mutual.
This is Lim our driver with the nose mustach on
He wants me to print it out to see if his daughter who lives in PP will recognize him. We really love him. We could never do this without him. He goes everywhere with us and translates for us. He has been a branch president in PP called when he had only been a member for 8 months. Counselor in dist pres. His wife was killed in a moto accident so his daughter Starley lives in PP with his 84 year old mother. He speaks 6 languages and was self taught for most of them. His father was killed by Pol Pot when Lim was 11 years old. He gets very tender when he talks about it. He said when he learned English he did it at night by a tiny Kerosene lantern and if he would have been caught he would have been put in prison or maybe worse, but he knew it was his only way to a better life so he took the risk and it has been a great blessing to him. We are going to PP next week for the Khmer New Year and spend a few days so he can see his daughter and Mom. He is really excited about that.
This is Lim with Kosal who is the boy who is a quad in the wheel chair. He got shot in the neck 2 years ago when someone tried to rob him. Fortunately he has very good upper body strength and is able to transfer by himself. He always has this big smile on his face. He has a cute little boy who is 8 months old. He lives with his mother thanks to Elder and Sister Richards. I could not believe it when I saw where he lived before. Up about 3 flights of stairs and Lim would carry him down and back up when he would go to church. The Richards worked it out so he is now living with his mom and that is so much better for him. We go teach him every week and he always reads the scriptures and asked very good questions. He speaks very good English also. His wife signed a contract to work in a sewing factory in Malaysia and will be gone for 2 years. She calls him often, but I don't think she sends him any money. I don't now how she went off and left that cute little boy. I will try to get a decent picture of him. He is really scared of me and every time I bring out the camera he really starts screaming. I looked in the mirror recently and don't blame him for screaming.
I downloaded the special on Cambodia by Carol Makita. It only took about 5 hours, but we showed it to the missionaries today and it was really great because they know all of the missionaries and most of the members. The Cambodian elders who are here knew nearly everyone and even showed some of their branch pres and other branch members. I think it made them kind of homesick. When they are called from Cambodia they send them away from their homeland so they will not have any of those associations. It was really good and it pretty much told it like it is. We know alot of the people in the video and they were filming it the day we arrived in Cambodia and were in the mission home when they came. They only had 2 guys and they asked all the questions and Carol Miketa never came. They just dubbed here in like she was here. Pretty cool anyway. Don & Marylene Naser met a sister missionary from Cambodia who is serving in Logan. Her father is a guard at the mission home and her brother is a missionary here in Cambodia. We know both of them quite well. It really is a small world. Those feelings the people in the video describe are really true. We already feel so close to these people especially the youth and little kids. I have taught so many of them to say see you later alligator. They really have a hard time with the r in later and alligator. It is really funny and they sure laugh. Then they try to teach me all these funny Khmer words. We can't put into words how wonderful this experience is. Our mission president talked to us on the phone before we left for our mission and said Cambodia was the best kept secret in the church for couples to serve a mission in. We feel this is very true. When we first got here the culture shock was tough. All we saw was the trash and dirt and smell and the heat. It is amazing how we have to live with hardly any creature comforts, ie not ac in the 100 temps during the day (we do turn it to 80 at night in the bedroom), you just get used to sweating all the time and we have adjusted quite well. The members treat us like we are royalty and have so much respect for us. They give us stuff all the time, stuff the don't have to give, but feel totally offended if we do not take it. Whatever we say is the gospel truth so we really have to be careful of what we say and how we say it, because they tell everyone and in their mind if say it that is the way it is. I have a whole other story about Vane. The boy who wheeled himself to church in the wheelchair more than 3 miles twice. I'll try to do that another day. Thanks for you prayers and concern. We feel them every day. More later
Hey! the blog is lined up a lot better and Leslie did not have to fix it. Another little miracle.
I downloaded the special on Cambodia by Carol Makita. It only took about 5 hours, but we showed it to the missionaries today and it was really great because they know all of the missionaries and most of the members. The Cambodian elders who are here knew nearly everyone and even showed some of their branch pres and other branch members. I think it made them kind of homesick. When they are called from Cambodia they send them away from their homeland so they will not have any of those associations. It was really good and it pretty much told it like it is. We know alot of the people in the video and they were filming it the day we arrived in Cambodia and were in the mission home when they came. They only had 2 guys and they asked all the questions and Carol Miketa never came. They just dubbed here in like she was here. Pretty cool anyway. Don & Marylene Naser met a sister missionary from Cambodia who is serving in Logan. Her father is a guard at the mission home and her brother is a missionary here in Cambodia. We know both of them quite well. It really is a small world. Those feelings the people in the video describe are really true. We already feel so close to these people especially the youth and little kids. I have taught so many of them to say see you later alligator. They really have a hard time with the r in later and alligator. It is really funny and they sure laugh. Then they try to teach me all these funny Khmer words. We can't put into words how wonderful this experience is. Our mission president talked to us on the phone before we left for our mission and said Cambodia was the best kept secret in the church for couples to serve a mission in. We feel this is very true. When we first got here the culture shock was tough. All we saw was the trash and dirt and smell and the heat. It is amazing how we have to live with hardly any creature comforts, ie not ac in the 100 temps during the day (we do turn it to 80 at night in the bedroom), you just get used to sweating all the time and we have adjusted quite well. The members treat us like we are royalty and have so much respect for us. They give us stuff all the time, stuff the don't have to give, but feel totally offended if we do not take it. Whatever we say is the gospel truth so we really have to be careful of what we say and how we say it, because they tell everyone and in their mind if say it that is the way it is. I have a whole other story about Vane. The boy who wheeled himself to church in the wheelchair more than 3 miles twice. I'll try to do that another day. Thanks for you prayers and concern. We feel them every day. More later
Hey! the blog is lined up a lot better and Leslie did not have to fix it. Another little miracle.
