What a memorable Christmas season this as been for us here...in nearly every way we have experienced the classic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas first hand..."It came without trimmings, it came without bows....maybe, maybe, Christmas was a little bit more...." And so it was. As Christmas morning dawned, we were preparing for a mission wide zone Conference and in the early hours we joined together in the ageless hymns of Christmas as the Christmas story was read from the scriptures in English and Khmer.
We were blessed with an outpouring of the Christmas spirit which was "[much] [much] more..."
Right after our trip to Phenom Phen, we stopped in KT for the night, repacked some clean clothes and headed up to Siem Reap. The Lord continues to bless us with treasured and sacred opportunities to see his hand in the lives of these people.
One incident we want to share concerns an older couple who truly are the Lord's elect. They are the ones we told you about earlier who desired to give their land to the Church for a building site. This week the missionaries taught them the lesson on the Book of Mormon. The wife, a native Cambodian, does not read, her husband is Laotian, and only speaks broken Khmer. The missionaries were able to find a Book of Mormon in Thi, a language the husband can speak and read. As he held this book in his hand and began to read, the power of the words was conveyed to all of us...He then went on to say that years ago during the Khmer Rouge period, he had a friend who had been given the Book of Mormon by an American. This friend was killed by the soldiers of the Rouge, but testified to the soldiers that this book, The Book of Mormon, was a good book. This fine man, in all the years following the tragedy of that terrible time, has sought for that "good book"... As we listened to him share this story, I felt these words come into my mind, "...take off your shoes, for the ground thou standest on is holy ground..." He went on to say he had many things to tell us, but we would need an interpreter so that he might be able to share them accurately.
It is more humbling that we have ability to express, the opportunity to experience first hand the miracles and tender mercies of the Lord.... Truly the Lord is mindful of all His children and it is marvelous in our eyes.
We do not know why we have been so richly blessed with these and other sacred experiences, but with all our hearts we express to you, God lives, Jesus is the Christ, and this is the stone, cut without hands, that Daniel prophesied would roll forth and fill the earth.
Hugs and all our love, Elder and Sister Dickerson ie: Grandpa and Grandma!!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
December 15, 2008
Merry Christmas to each and every one! We have been blessed to have a new perspective on this wonderful time of year as we live among a people who generally do not know about or celebrate this occasion. Our two branches are busy preparing nativity plays and singing Christmas hymns with vigor. For some, this is the first time they have even heard of the “Christmas story” and what a joy to share with them this most wonderful event in the history of the world.
In addition, there is no commercialization, no retail hustle, just a few market vendors in Siem Reap who have some strands of tinsel, short and very sparse looking artificial trees, and a few cheaply made ornaments….and we wonder, “Why would anyone want to buy that?” I have to chuckle when I think what the general Cambodian’s perspective must be! Some of the major hotels have put up garlands and greenery, but it looks very out of place.
We will be spending Christmas in a mission-wide zone conference in Pheonm Phen. All you returned missionaries know this takes special permission from the area presidency, and we are so grateful that it has been granted. The Ellis’s and Fairchild’s were the two couples that came with us from the MTC, and the Ellis’s left us in Thailand for their assignment with LDS Charities in Vietnam. They are flying in for this zone conference and it will be good to visit with them.
Our photo log is a window into our last few weeks. In KT, during one of our morning exercises, we literally “walked into” a wedding party. Some of the guests we knew from our daily walks and they all waved and laughed as we took photographs. A wedding is one of the most significant events in the Cambodian culture. Years ago it took seven days, but now most weddings last about two days. In a “traditional wedding”, the bride and groom wear traditional clothing, and in keeping with the 7 colors assigned to each day, the bride will change her elaborate clothing 7 times during the course of the celebration, each in brilliant jewel colors. The guests also wear traditional clothing which for the men consists of a tunic style shirt in silk and dark pants. The women’s clothing is literally like a jewel box- their skirts are Khmer silk woven in patterns a thousand years old, and their blouses elaborately made of lace, satin and decorated with sequins.
You can see the groom in his traditional Khmer clothing holding a bouquet of flowers which he will present to his bride- to- be as part of the wedding ceremony.
In our last blog, we talked about the rice harvest. We are including some great pictures where you can see the woven mats, the threshing machine, and the work involved in the process. The rice stalks are blown and tramped down into large “haystacks” with a pole centered in the middle. You see these everywhere- as they are used, they take on some amazing shapes!
We also are enclosing some photographs of our combined youth activity and the food preparations on the kitchen floor. I do my best, but I just haven’t spent a lifetime squatting like these women have! My job was cutting pineapple, and I will tell you there is a trick to it that I have been taught- can’t wait to show you how!
The last photographs are of the latest baptisms in Siem Reap- ten wonderful people were baptized this past Saturday- five were a complete family. It was a spirit-filled evening and we were so humbled to have been involved in their teaching.
We thank each of you for your prayers- we have felt them daily in our lives and with all our hearts we wish each of you a wonderful Christmas and the joy the angels sang in praise and glory for the coming of the Christ child…..All our love, Elder and Sister Dickerson, or Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma!
Merry Christmas to each and every one! We have been blessed to have a new perspective on this wonderful time of year as we live among a people who generally do not know about or celebrate this occasion. Our two branches are busy preparing nativity plays and singing Christmas hymns with vigor. For some, this is the first time they have even heard of the “Christmas story” and what a joy to share with them this most wonderful event in the history of the world.
In addition, there is no commercialization, no retail hustle, just a few market vendors in Siem Reap who have some strands of tinsel, short and very sparse looking artificial trees, and a few cheaply made ornaments….and we wonder, “Why would anyone want to buy that?” I have to chuckle when I think what the general Cambodian’s perspective must be! Some of the major hotels have put up garlands and greenery, but it looks very out of place.
We will be spending Christmas in a mission-wide zone conference in Pheonm Phen. All you returned missionaries know this takes special permission from the area presidency, and we are so grateful that it has been granted. The Ellis’s and Fairchild’s were the two couples that came with us from the MTC, and the Ellis’s left us in Thailand for their assignment with LDS Charities in Vietnam. They are flying in for this zone conference and it will be good to visit with them.
Our photo log is a window into our last few weeks. In KT, during one of our morning exercises, we literally “walked into” a wedding party. Some of the guests we knew from our daily walks and they all waved and laughed as we took photographs. A wedding is one of the most significant events in the Cambodian culture. Years ago it took seven days, but now most weddings last about two days. In a “traditional wedding”, the bride and groom wear traditional clothing, and in keeping with the 7 colors assigned to each day, the bride will change her elaborate clothing 7 times during the course of the celebration, each in brilliant jewel colors. The guests also wear traditional clothing which for the men consists of a tunic style shirt in silk and dark pants. The women’s clothing is literally like a jewel box- their skirts are Khmer silk woven in patterns a thousand years old, and their blouses elaborately made of lace, satin and decorated with sequins.
You can see the groom in his traditional Khmer clothing holding a bouquet of flowers which he will present to his bride- to- be as part of the wedding ceremony.
In our last blog, we talked about the rice harvest. We are including some great pictures where you can see the woven mats, the threshing machine, and the work involved in the process. The rice stalks are blown and tramped down into large “haystacks” with a pole centered in the middle. You see these everywhere- as they are used, they take on some amazing shapes!
We also are enclosing some photographs of our combined youth activity and the food preparations on the kitchen floor. I do my best, but I just haven’t spent a lifetime squatting like these women have! My job was cutting pineapple, and I will tell you there is a trick to it that I have been taught- can’t wait to show you how!
The last photographs are of the latest baptisms in Siem Reap- ten wonderful people were baptized this past Saturday- five were a complete family. It was a spirit-filled evening and we were so humbled to have been involved in their teaching.
We thank each of you for your prayers- we have felt them daily in our lives and with all our hearts we wish each of you a wonderful Christmas and the joy the angels sang in praise and glory for the coming of the Christ child…..All our love, Elder and Sister Dickerson, or Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving!
What a wonderful way to bring in the Christmas season with the opportunity to start with Thanksgiving! As we consider our many blessings this year, we truly have been placed in a situation that has opened our eyes and humbled our hearts as we consider the overflowing abundance of things we feel to express our gratitude for....
As we travel through Cambodia, we are constantly bombarded with the extreme contrasts that exist side by side here. Even in the short time we have been here, we see influences changing the lives of the Cambodia people- some for the better and others that we morn over. We are grateful that we have had the opportunity to be here at a time when the province people are still largely untouched from less desirable influences. The capital city, Phenom Phen, is quickly becoming an international city- complete with all the associated "baggage".
Here in the provinces, the rice fields are turning golden and the harvest season is beginning. The fields are filled with reapers and the more prosperous farmers hire thrashing machines that resemble a large blue barrel with a few gears attached. They feed in the rice stalks and it spits out the rice on one end and a virtual snow of rice stalks out the other. After the rice head has either been thrashed by hand or machine, they place it on thin woven bamboo matts to dry- the most desirable drying place being a paved road. As we traveled to Seam Reap this week, Highway 6, Cambodia's best and most traveled road was pushed into almost one lane (it has only one lane in either direction to begin with!)with miles of drying mats. After the fields have been harvested, the water buffalo, Cambodia's work horse, are put out into the fields to graze- it is an amazing sight to see these huge animals, 50 to 60 in a field, grazing.....
We have been blessed with the opportunity to teach several investigators here in Seam Reap. One is a family with an American husband, the other a Cambodian with excellent English, and a family we are meeting today for the first time who are Americans from- of all places! Indiana! They are here for about a year with their two children working with a Mennonite organization teaching pottery as a potential marketable income. We are thrilled to visit with them and more to follow as we met them....
We are thrilled to report that we have two buildings submitted for approval for a new meeting house in KT. A more suitable building will be such a blessing for our branch there. Right now we met in a store front location with a massage parlor beside us, and a butcher shop in the back. Theft of bikes is a common occurrence, so the bikes and motos have to be brought into the building for safe keeping- I could go on with a host of problems, but sufficient to say, we are thrilled! The lease is up in February, so that is the target date for the move...(The most likely candidate of the two buildings is just down the street from us- to think we came all the way to Cambodia to be able walk to church!)
In our photos this week, we are including two of the rice fields- you can see the color change as the rice matures. The other is a cow drawn wagon comming down the street we walk down (KT) The last is a funeral procession we passed on our way from KT to Seam Reap this week. The casket was being lifted up into the "boat" and you can see the women and men in their traditional Khmer cememonial dress.
WE love you all!!! Hugs! Elder and Sister Dickerson
As we travel through Cambodia, we are constantly bombarded with the extreme contrasts that exist side by side here. Even in the short time we have been here, we see influences changing the lives of the Cambodia people- some for the better and others that we morn over. We are grateful that we have had the opportunity to be here at a time when the province people are still largely untouched from less desirable influences. The capital city, Phenom Phen, is quickly becoming an international city- complete with all the associated "baggage".
Here in the provinces, the rice fields are turning golden and the harvest season is beginning. The fields are filled with reapers and the more prosperous farmers hire thrashing machines that resemble a large blue barrel with a few gears attached. They feed in the rice stalks and it spits out the rice on one end and a virtual snow of rice stalks out the other. After the rice head has either been thrashed by hand or machine, they place it on thin woven bamboo matts to dry- the most desirable drying place being a paved road. As we traveled to Seam Reap this week, Highway 6, Cambodia's best and most traveled road was pushed into almost one lane (it has only one lane in either direction to begin with!)with miles of drying mats. After the fields have been harvested, the water buffalo, Cambodia's work horse, are put out into the fields to graze- it is an amazing sight to see these huge animals, 50 to 60 in a field, grazing.....
We have been blessed with the opportunity to teach several investigators here in Seam Reap. One is a family with an American husband, the other a Cambodian with excellent English, and a family we are meeting today for the first time who are Americans from- of all places! Indiana! They are here for about a year with their two children working with a Mennonite organization teaching pottery as a potential marketable income. We are thrilled to visit with them and more to follow as we met them....
We are thrilled to report that we have two buildings submitted for approval for a new meeting house in KT. A more suitable building will be such a blessing for our branch there. Right now we met in a store front location with a massage parlor beside us, and a butcher shop in the back. Theft of bikes is a common occurrence, so the bikes and motos have to be brought into the building for safe keeping- I could go on with a host of problems, but sufficient to say, we are thrilled! The lease is up in February, so that is the target date for the move...(The most likely candidate of the two buildings is just down the street from us- to think we came all the way to Cambodia to be able walk to church!)
In our photos this week, we are including two of the rice fields- you can see the color change as the rice matures. The other is a cow drawn wagon comming down the street we walk down (KT) The last is a funeral procession we passed on our way from KT to Seam Reap this week. The casket was being lifted up into the "boat" and you can see the women and men in their traditional Khmer cememonial dress.
WE love you all!!! Hugs! Elder and Sister Dickerson
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
November 13, 2008
Greetings and love to all of you!
Over the past two weeks we have gone from Seam Reap to Phenom Pean and back to KT, from KT to Seam Reap and we are on our way back to KT today- who needs transfers?
We have spent quite a bit of time in preparation for the auxiliary training we have been involved in- especially in our Seam Reap branch where they have just begun the three hour Sunday block time. Last week I had training with the Primary president there and felt that I had things well prepared: the Primary training DVD in Khmer subtitles, simple outlines, the handbook of instruction in Khmer with the basics identified- I was prepared! After an hour of English to Khmer translation and lots of writing on her part, I felt impressed to ask, "Do you understand what opening exercise is?" ....I didn't need Khmer to understand a head shaking "no"! We finished with prayer, I dragged my tail out the door, and got to work! I now have nearly 100% visual training outlines and that experience has truly reshaped my perception of what has to happen in order for our training to be successful here.
We always enjoy our trips to Phenom Phen- Elder Dickerson sailed through his dental work and we got to see the initial preparations for the water festival. This commemorates a time in Cambodian history nearly 1000 years ago when their boat warriors were victorious over their enemies. It is held annually when the Tonlee Sap River reverses course and flows back into the sea. It is a BIG event and all over Cambodia boat races have been held and the winners from each province head to Phenom Phem for the final competition. A much smaller event is held in Seam Reap which we attended with some of the members from the branch here.
The pictures Dad posted are comprised of local KT scenes, the parade preparations for the water festival in PP, "road encounters", scenes on the way to Seam Reap and the water festival in Seam Reap with some of the branch members.
Local scenes in KT: the two children are collecting cow dung off the road- these woven baskets you see by them are used for every kind of work. We see them used to haul gravel, sand, dung... if it can be carried, it is usually in these open baskets.
Children carrying a banana limb on their bicycle,
and children with their new puppy.
Phenom Phen: moving night with a cabinet- now that was amazing to see- this was taken right outside the guesthouse we stayed in.
Parade preparations by the river front
Way back to KT: our familiar water buffalo traffic jam
Seam Reap: on the way from KT to Seam Reap we pass numerous Buddhist watts- this particular one has brightly painted lions and guards in the entrance opening.
It is a common sight to see the water buffalo in the stream causeways, but this group of cows herded upstream was a new sight for us!
A view of the boat races in Seam Reap and
the branch members we went with.
We close again with our deepest love to each of you and our gratitude for the opportunity to see the hand of the Lord in moving His work forward across the world. Hugs and love!!!! Elder and Sister Dickerson "grandpa and grandma!"
Over the past two weeks we have gone from Seam Reap to Phenom Pean and back to KT, from KT to Seam Reap and we are on our way back to KT today- who needs transfers?
We have spent quite a bit of time in preparation for the auxiliary training we have been involved in- especially in our Seam Reap branch where they have just begun the three hour Sunday block time. Last week I had training with the Primary president there and felt that I had things well prepared: the Primary training DVD in Khmer subtitles, simple outlines, the handbook of instruction in Khmer with the basics identified- I was prepared! After an hour of English to Khmer translation and lots of writing on her part, I felt impressed to ask, "Do you understand what opening exercise is?" ....I didn't need Khmer to understand a head shaking "no"! We finished with prayer, I dragged my tail out the door, and got to work! I now have nearly 100% visual training outlines and that experience has truly reshaped my perception of what has to happen in order for our training to be successful here.
We always enjoy our trips to Phenom Phen- Elder Dickerson sailed through his dental work and we got to see the initial preparations for the water festival. This commemorates a time in Cambodian history nearly 1000 years ago when their boat warriors were victorious over their enemies. It is held annually when the Tonlee Sap River reverses course and flows back into the sea. It is a BIG event and all over Cambodia boat races have been held and the winners from each province head to Phenom Phem for the final competition. A much smaller event is held in Seam Reap which we attended with some of the members from the branch here.
The pictures Dad posted are comprised of local KT scenes, the parade preparations for the water festival in PP, "road encounters", scenes on the way to Seam Reap and the water festival in Seam Reap with some of the branch members.
Local scenes in KT: the two children are collecting cow dung off the road- these woven baskets you see by them are used for every kind of work. We see them used to haul gravel, sand, dung... if it can be carried, it is usually in these open baskets.
Children carrying a banana limb on their bicycle,
and children with their new puppy.
Phenom Phen: moving night with a cabinet- now that was amazing to see- this was taken right outside the guesthouse we stayed in.
Parade preparations by the river front
Way back to KT: our familiar water buffalo traffic jam
Seam Reap: on the way from KT to Seam Reap we pass numerous Buddhist watts- this particular one has brightly painted lions and guards in the entrance opening.
It is a common sight to see the water buffalo in the stream causeways, but this group of cows herded upstream was a new sight for us!
A view of the boat races in Seam Reap and
the branch members we went with.
We close again with our deepest love to each of you and our gratitude for the opportunity to see the hand of the Lord in moving His work forward across the world. Hugs and love!!!! Elder and Sister Dickerson "grandpa and grandma!"
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Here is a quick summary of the pictures we have posted:
A very rare shot of a 4 generation Kami family
A typical Kami subdivision
A young boy picking a lotus flower
An amazing family scheduled for baptism Nov 29th (The father worked for many years locating and removing land mines. He is very lucky to be alive)
Mom in her element teaching the dum la a (gospel)
A Kami home we pass on our morning walk
Our Branch clerk, his wife and their newborn baby
Kami scaffolding, they use the same stuff to build high rises in downtown Phenom Phen
We love you all
Elder D
A very rare shot of a 4 generation Kami family
A typical Kami subdivision
A young boy picking a lotus flower
An amazing family scheduled for baptism Nov 29th (The father worked for many years locating and removing land mines. He is very lucky to be alive)
Mom in her element teaching the dum la a (gospel)
A Kami home we pass on our morning walk
Our Branch clerk, his wife and their newborn baby
Kami scaffolding, they use the same stuff to build high rises in downtown Phenom Phen
We love you all
Elder D
November in Cambodia
As I sit to write this, the busy traffic of Seam Reap is whizzing by the door and our lives continue to be filled with many opportunities to grow and our testimonies strengthened- while experiencing a bit of humor along the way.
A perfect case in point was last night when we met with the family in Seam Reap that has accepted the gospel and is ready for baptism. The only glitch is that the father has a knee injury that prohibits him from riding a bicycle and the family does not have the means of any other transportation than walking- and it is too far to walk to church. There are five children in the family, all are reading the Book of Mormon, even the youngest. The father bore his testimony of the restoration and his knowledge that Joseph Smith was truly a prophet of God. As a missionary, it just doesn't get better... However, just after one of the elders began the prayer, a most unusual sound began - a cross between a howl and a moan...and it went on (and on!) during the entire prayer. After the prayer the elder exclaimed, "What was that?" The answer? The covered Styrofoam box that sat in the corner- "home" to his son's two alligators. And what was even funnier, that was the ONLY time they made a sound the entire time we were there!!
To continue the story, the father was given a blessing by the elders, and the branch president, that through his faith, the faith of those present, and his family, he would have the ability and means to attend church as a family. In this country where there are so few, or no means for the people, we have seen the hand of the Lord providing miracles and our faith has grown and we testify again that truly He is a God of miracles, and He reaches out to bless His children.
We are getting more involved in training- there is so much that needs to be done it is easy to get overwhelmed unless you simply take it one step at a time. And "baby steps! baby steps!" as our mission president reminds us. If training is more than a "baby step", we have found that all we have done is create confusion. "Line upon line" is truly an eternal principal!
By the way, the novelty of seeing us on our morning walk has worn off on our neighbors. We still have the chorus of "hello! hello!" from the younger children, but I no longer feel like the local circus! If we don't get out by 6:30 am, it is already hot and sticky- but we keep walking!
Our love to each of you and we send our very best wishes to each of you as the holiday season begins- and our greetings from the land where the bananas grow all year!
A perfect case in point was last night when we met with the family in Seam Reap that has accepted the gospel and is ready for baptism. The only glitch is that the father has a knee injury that prohibits him from riding a bicycle and the family does not have the means of any other transportation than walking- and it is too far to walk to church. There are five children in the family, all are reading the Book of Mormon, even the youngest. The father bore his testimony of the restoration and his knowledge that Joseph Smith was truly a prophet of God. As a missionary, it just doesn't get better... However, just after one of the elders began the prayer, a most unusual sound began - a cross between a howl and a moan...and it went on (and on!) during the entire prayer. After the prayer the elder exclaimed, "What was that?" The answer? The covered Styrofoam box that sat in the corner- "home" to his son's two alligators. And what was even funnier, that was the ONLY time they made a sound the entire time we were there!!
To continue the story, the father was given a blessing by the elders, and the branch president, that through his faith, the faith of those present, and his family, he would have the ability and means to attend church as a family. In this country where there are so few, or no means for the people, we have seen the hand of the Lord providing miracles and our faith has grown and we testify again that truly He is a God of miracles, and He reaches out to bless His children.
We are getting more involved in training- there is so much that needs to be done it is easy to get overwhelmed unless you simply take it one step at a time. And "baby steps! baby steps!" as our mission president reminds us. If training is more than a "baby step", we have found that all we have done is create confusion. "Line upon line" is truly an eternal principal!
By the way, the novelty of seeing us on our morning walk has worn off on our neighbors. We still have the chorus of "hello! hello!" from the younger children, but I no longer feel like the local circus! If we don't get out by 6:30 am, it is already hot and sticky- but we keep walking!
Our love to each of you and we send our very best wishes to each of you as the holiday season begins- and our greetings from the land where the bananas grow all year!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
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