March 25th continued

I have been writing a small volume when I checked out our blog and realized that somehow most of it had never been recorded- sobs! Due to my lack of time, I will try and hit the highlights of our last two weeks. The visit to the Royal Palace was enjoyable, but our time spent with Operation Smiles was life-changing. Each year Operation Smiles comes to Cambodia and repairs cleft and pallet deformities for children free of charge. For some reason, Southeast Asia has a high concentration of these kinds of problems which the doctors believe are a combination of poor nutrition and possibly genetic disorders. The Church supplies the vital need of translators for the doctors and their patients. The young elders are the ones who do the work, but we as senior couples have the privilege to be involved in support. It was a miracle to see the changes made for the children and the hope these operations provide. In addition to the cleft work, the surgeons provide some slight plastic surgery repairs. As I wandered down the halls to the initial screening area, I heard a young child sobbing. At the screening desk, the nurses check to make sure the children have had no liquids or food for 20 hours and do an initial blood pressure check. This one little boy- possibly 2-3 years old, was having his blood pressure checked for the first time and he was terrified. A young woman stood at his side and I assumed she was his mother. As he continued to cry, I just couldn't help myself, I got down on my knees and gently hugged him. His tears dried up- taking off the blood pressure cuff also helped!- and I found out that he was an orphan who had been adopted. The man who adopted him had hired this woman to care for the child while he was at work and could not be with him. The little boy had facial deformities along with his cleft lip and pallet, and looking into his eyes just tore my heart apart. As I choked back the tears, I felt such gratitude for the Atonement-for the pity, compassion, and love of our Savior. He has already carried all this child's grief and loss, all his rejections and hurts and He will make up all losses for him. I can not express in words this experience of the Spirit, but I testify that the Savior is our Savior and Redeemer and he succors us, all of us, in every whit.

The miracle family














The "loktaa" The grandfather, very rare to see someone this old, especially a man.

















Lunchtime entertainment, jumping through a hoop of knives.
Mom is getting very good with the camera

The doughtnuts on a stick are snakes.















The elephant and the jaguar in the city










Operation Smile what a humbling experience

The Golden Corral Kami style !!

I know, no way!






































The Royal Place and grounds

The village vacation!














Now that's a tailgate party!
















It's hot in Cambodia!

Some of our outstanding young men and youth



























Roadside scenery

Branch open house












Some of our youth teaching their friends

The Branch open house

The Branch openhouse, everybody helps

March 25, 2009

Another chapter to add to our mission... March is our anniversary month- 31 years ago we were married in the Salt Lake Temple and the "rest of the story" began!

For our anniversary, we took the opportunity to visit the Royal Palace and it's attendant buildings while we were in Phenom Phem this month. Cambodia is the Kingdom of Cambodia and the reining monarch retains an important presence in the minds of the people and the ongoing history of this country. One of the most interesting aspect of our visit there for me was the lack of guards, security officers, or heavily secured areas. While there were some attendants, most of the palace area is completly devoid of uniformed police.

We were fortunant to be able to join in with a small group from England who had an English speaking tour guide. We were taken to the royal cornation hall, or Throne Palace, where the king is crowned and holds important audiences. The royal throne is very tall and is only used once in the king's lifetime during his cornation. After the cornation, he sits at the base of the throne on a heavily guilded chair to give aduience. Across from the Throne Palace is another building where the king in former days would step out from several stories onto a balcony where he would mount the royal elephant. Today, the royal elephant has been replaced by the royal Lexus- I'm sure more comfortable, but in my mind, certaintly not as impressive!

This photograph is taken of one of our families in the Siem Reap Branch that live in a small village in the Ankor Wat temple complex.
The entire family was baptised one month ago, with the exception of their youngest daughter who is not yet eight years old. The father built the wooden box that you see wrapped in blue tape. This is their temple box. On top are special mementos, including the pictures of their baptism. The only access to the box is a small, thin cut-out in the top- to open it, it must be cut or broken open. The entire family is sacrificing to add a little money whenever they can. This is one of the greatest acts of faith we have ever witnessed. The handmade box represents what is most important for this family. Their total earnings amount to approx $40 to $50 dollars per month. (This is the same family that we posted baptismal photographs of, and their sweet testimonies of the change the gospel has made in the life of their father)


























The Sisters absolutely love mom.



This photograph was taken along the main river front road in Phenom Phen. We had just left the Royal Palace, and suddenly we saw first hand what an awespiring sight an elephant can be! It didn't take much imagination to envision the royal trappings and attendants that once accompanied such a sight.

The primary President and her husband who introduced and fellowshipped the family.

















The Seim Reap branch family after church.