I hopefully can keep the connection on to finish some blogging

We have had some amazing experiences this past month.  Many more investigators coming to church.  We had 23 in third branch last Sunday.  The elders and sisters were really excited.  We now have 9 missionaries in our area.  3 are new.  One Khmer Elder and One Elder named Elder from SLC (the members say what is your name and he says Elder Elder and they say we know you are an elder, but what is you name Elder?  We have had alot of fun with that.)  and One Sister named Hildenbrand.  The other sister is from Sanaquin and her name is Askerlund.  You ought to hear them try to say those names.  The just go by Sister Lund and Sister Brand.  It is so fun to serve with them.  On transfers we lost 3 elders and got 6 more  missionaries for a total of 12 now.  It is quite fun because when we ride around doing our visiting we see them all over.  They ride what I call Khmer cadilacs which is a bike that is recycled after being worn out in Viet Nam.  They ride about 25 to 30 miles per day, even the sisters.  The temp the las few weeks has been around 110 to 115 with 75% humidity.  Needless to say the sweat is always dripping off of them.  We feel kind of guilty riding around in an airconditioned van.

Here they are and they get them around quite well.

This is our front door on Preparation day.  This is before we had any sisters shoes to mix with them.  I tell them they can leave them on when they come in our house, but they never do.

This is what they call a moto tuk tuk.  This same guy hauls all these people to market to sell their stuff every morning.  When he goes to start up needless to say the front wheel comes off the ground until he builds up a little momentum 

This is a game we played at mutual where we had a peice of candy that had a hole in the center and we did a relay to pass the candy along the line.  It was really fun and the kids had a blast.  We have mutual every Sat night at 5:00pm.   That's right Saturday night.  It is the only time they have because of school and work.  We get a pretty good turnout each week and the kids really enjoy it.  We come with a game or two every week and we are about out of games so if any one has any good ones please let us know.

This is a family that we taught FHE too.  Yes that is their nice home teaching room and for that matter only room.  Can you tell who the Mormons are by their faces?  The girl in the pink pants served a mission in Las Vegas,  The girl in the yellow is her sister and is a NM.  The mom in the back has held many church callings.  The husband is also a NM.  The other 4 are still members also.

This is a water tank for a village to use for their water needs.  It just goes up into this cement tank and then goes out to the village.  The only purification it gets is what settles to the bottom of the cement tank.

This is the water in the blue pipes going out to the village

This is the pump pumping the water into the cement tank

This is where the water comes from to go into the cement water tank.  This is the MeKong River.  They dump garbage and sewage and anything else they don't want into here and then these people in the village drink and can't figure out why they get sick and so many of their kids die.  We are going to do a humanitarian project to see if we can get this cleaned up for them.

This is the hospital in KC.  Everyone gets the same treatment.  A NS IV and their family have to come and take care of them and bring all their food and do any nursing care.  People ride around on motos with somehold up a bamboo stick with an IV hooked to it and the person getting the IV is riding on the moto.

These muslem women are sitting on a patient bed.  It is just bamboo boards with no mattress.  One of our branch presidents had a gall bladder attack and laid on this very bed for 5 days last week.  I guess they know what they are doing because he got better and is now back at church

This is the front of the hospital.  I am standing out in the middle of the street.  The bed by the black moto is where the branch pres was for the whole time.  I wonder what JACH would think of this.

These are some little kids cooking some mud pies.  They have the cutest grins and really love it when anyone notices them 

This is an old grizzled tom turkey we found at some members house.  They just got baptized last week.  This is the first turkey I have seen over here and Lim our driver says first for him too.

This is a lady on her way to the market to sell what ever is in the basket.  We see this all the time.  When they stop they have to hold onto the basket, when the walk both hands are at their sides.  I tried to get sister Thalman to carry our groceries this way, but she won't. 

I have rattled on long enough.  We are sure loving it here and really love these wonderful people.  The members are so committed to the gospel.  When they asked you to give them a blessing and they are not immediately better they are so surprised.  We have finally got them having mutual every week. We are doing scheduling for a medical and dental clinic that is coming next month right here to Kampong Cham.  (never had one here before)  You would not believe how many rotten teeth and infections that are here and also serious medical problems.  The clinic is coming to the sea coast Schinooksville, about 6 hours from here.  They come to Kampong Cham and do a clinic and if anyone needs surgery which their are plenty they will fly them by helicopter to the ship and do surgery and then fly them back.  There is so much need and so little resources.  The church has donated $600,000 worth equipment to the clinic so we want to get as many members into the clinic as we can.  When we started asking questions it is unbelievable the things people have to live with.  This is where Obama Care needs to come if they is really interested in helping people.  

An Awsome Week

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.

Here is a picture for Bill again to check with Utah Power.  This is right outside of a members home looking off of their patio.  You can easily reach down and touch the wires.  Pretty scary I'd say.

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.

A walk through the Market and A beehive and fruit

This is kind of a stroll through the market.  We go there every P day to buy fruit and veggies, but we don't dare buy much else.  It is really a site.  The place is just packed and they have really good produce, but the fish and meat are scary because of the sanitation and they have no clue any thing is wrong.

                                                                                         

 These are mangos and they are alot like peaches.  I like them green because they taste like green apples.  Ilene loves them when they are ripe.  They grow all over the place and are bigger than my big hand.

These are called jack fruit.  They are huge and have big spines on them.  Ilene really likes it.  I can't stand it.  Some people can smell it and others can't   Guess who can smell it and who can't.  It smells like wet stinky feet to me and tastes like that too.

 Here is what it looks like after being picked.  The big ones are about the size of 2 basketballs held together

 This is what it looks like on the inside and if can't smell it you eat the lining around the holes.  It just comes right out.  You don't have to worry about me eating anymore.

 This is a beehive that just showed up on a members jack fruit tree.  It is a solid mass of bees on both side.  They have been there about 3 years.  In about 3 weeks he will build a fire underneath them and smoke them and then peel the bees off.  He says he gets about 5 liters of honey 2 times per year.  I hope I get to try some.


We are doing really well, but I still don't have much of a clue about blogging.  I can't get anything lined up, but am too lazy to try to learn how.  Thanks to everyone.

More Stuff from the last few weeks

I don't know if you can read this or not, but it is in downtown Phnom Penh and the name of the place is Steve's Steak House. Pretty odd. We had a dinner with all the mission couples there this week. It kind of made me home sick until I tried the steak. It was just one of those old tough, boney, brahamas.

 Here is how cashew nuts grow.  Dr. Henrie told me they grew on a flower and I said yeh right.  Well it turns out that he was right.  There is fruit that grows inside the flower and the nut is on the end.  Both nut and fruit are really good.

Well here they are on the hoof.  There was a whole box of them and they would cook them up fresh if you liked.  It just cost a little bit more money, 7 cents alive and 12 cents deep fried.  I don't think I can work up the courage.  I bought one for Ilene and all she did was look at it and scream.  That is real gratitude

  Here they are after going through the deep fryer.  They love the juice poured over them.  It is really creepy to think about.  It is against the mission rules to eat them.  They had an elder eat one about 7 months ago and he got sick and had to be in the mission home for almost 3 months.  Not really why we are here, plus they look alot worse looking down on them trying to put them in your mouth.

This is a counselor in the district presidency and his wife and daughter.  The daughter is a returned missionary.  Ilene is by Malika.  You won't believe it but she is 22 years old.  She loves to go teaching with us and speaks good english so we enjoy talking to her.  I can tell I need to get a longer and fatter tie to hide the belly hanging over my belt.  The meals Ilene cooks are too good

Me and a nice Khmer guy who was next to a members house planting pineapple.  He had that hoe contraption thing and was really digging in the dirt.  He is in the army and had a physical and the Dr. told him he was too fat and had too much fat in his blood and needed to exercise more so he was out digging and sweating a lot.  He said it was really bad during the Pol Pot years, but thanks to Ronald Reagan the US got NATO there and helped get rid of him.  He was in the army with Pol Pot in charge and then changed to fight against him.  One of the lucky few who survived the whole thing.  They call it the Civil War over here.
                                                                                                                                                                     This is the pineapples and papya trees he was planting.  He was really proud of his work

We went to a Khmer funeral today for a 92 year old father in law of a member.  They just took him out in a field and dug a hole and buried his casket.  They built the headstone while we were there and then cover the grave before we left.  I helped cover the grave.  They dug the grave with a shovel and covered it up with a shovel  It was pretty hot, close to 100 while we were shoveling.  Once the grave was covered they put cement all over the headstone made out of bricks and wrote his name, birth and death date with their finger in the wet cement.  They chanted a lot before they left to go to where he was buried.  It was a Chinese funeral and their was not one thing said about him or his family.  Buddists believe that the spirits go to a nice place where they don't have much to do, and the family will never see them again.  If the family does not remember them they will come back to haunt them.  They do all this chanting while they burn incense and leave food for the spirit, then the buddist monk shows up and blesses the house so the spirits will not harm them and takes the food and they have to pay him money.  They just chanted and burned incense and carried the casket around the grave about 6 times before they lowered it in.  They don't embalm and with this heat you can imagine what is going on.  ( Gary and Alma would have plenty of work over here, but I don't think they would get paid for it)  He died last night at 10 pm and was in the ground by 2pm the next day.

Well all for now.  We sure enjoy the emails and prayers and all of you for staying in touch and supporting us in this incredible adventure.  We are really enjoying this blessing in our lives and love and appreciate all who have made it possible.  Thanks again to all of you, Love Elder and Sister Thalman

l

Finally had some time to post a little

This a big buck that we walk by nearly every day. There is one that has a lot more horn growth, but he will never come close. There are a whole herd of deer in this place where I think is some military thing. I'm not sure what the purpose of the deer are, but they are always there trying to find something to eat.












You can count the ribs on these two cows and all of the cows are that way. I have never seen a fat animal over here. They just wander all over town and try to find someting to eat and then go home at night. No one herds them very often and no one bothers them either.





This is a cow bridle. They punch a hole through the inside of the cows nose when it is just born and put a rope through it and just increase the size of the rope as the calf grows and it is never taken off. They are all brahma cattle, but they are really gentle and docile. You can see when they pull on the rope it tightens up in their nose and they come right too you. They are not afraid of humans at all. They are also the skinniest things I have ever seen. They do not have any milk cows at all they raise them for beef and it is pretty tough. The milk we get is from Australia and is heat treated and does not have to be refrigerated until you open it. They sell by the case and it just sets on the store shelves and it is surprisingly good.






This is medicine that they use for everything. The cut up small tree limbs and put this in water and boil it and then drink the water and is cures everything that is wrong. That is about the best they have









More food under the table. Every place we teach on the ground, and I mean on the ground there are chickens and ducks running all over. It is just a matter of time until they end up on the dinner plate. I don't think they feed them at all, they just have to scrounge for themselves


This is the meal they fixed for us. They killed a duck so we would have some meat. I really wanted to try it, but didn't dare.
A little boy dressed up and ready to go to school. He is the number one student in his class and is so friendly and fun to be around, His family cooked us a big meal while we were there. We didn't dare eat any of it even though it looks pretty good
A really great family that lives out in a place called Chup. They joined the church about 8 months ago and have not missed church one time since the very first time they came. He is now a couselor in the branch presidency. They ride about 25 kilometers on a one moto. He speaks pretty good english and you can just see the light of the gospel in their eyes and they are so happy. He works out in the rubber plantation and it is really nice and somewhat clean out there.



Sister Thalman and Thida. She has been a member for a few months and has a lot of struggles in her life. She is taking care of her 95 year old father-in-law and that is a challenge for her as you can imagine. She has a very successful business and sells ice cream and water and other things. She is a sweet person and comes to church every Sunday and is so fun to visit with. We visit her often and she is so fun. She has a great personality.

More Pictures of this Wonderfully Different World

A cute Khmer member who cannot come to church now because she is going to school and has to take exams on the weekend. Her goal is to go to Los Angeles where her sister lives. She is trying to pass and exam that shows she has a skill in sewing so she can have a skill when she gets to the USA.


The members house where we did the service project. They are the sweetest kindest people, but they don't have a dang thing. Shopping at DI for them would be like shopping at Sax 5th avenue for us.




We did a service project for a member and moved Mt. Nebo from one side of her yard to the other. The crazy basket looking thing is how we moved the dirt. We would rake it into the basket and then carry the basket and dump in to where she needed it. It would have been great to have Tom's bobcat for about 20 minutes, but then there would go all the service hours.



This is the scaffolding they use. It is just tied together with ropes, string, wire or whatever they have. They just have a huge pile of bamboo sticks lying around the construction sites and they just throw it together and climb on it and go to work. I have never seen a backhoe or forklift of any kind. They just have a pulley and rope to lift everything up to the guys working on the house. It takes about 6 guys to lift a bag of bricks up to them or a bucket of cement.





This is the house and it is all cement structure with very little rebar in the cement and what they do use is about 1/4 inch. If there were ever an earth quake here the whole country would be flat, but the interesting thing is you can really feel the Lord's spirit here. They have never had a major natural disaster in Cambodia, only war after war.

This is the bricks that they make and they are all over the place. They just stack them randomly in the wall and don't use any rebar or a level of any kind and do not strike the joints either.