Pig in a basket?
Actually their are several and if you look close you will see that they are packed in ice to keep them cool as they travel to market.
Awesome trucks!!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
August 14, 2009
This week marked the official 1 year anniversary of our mission in Cambodia... We have struggled to define in some concise way our experiences, but have yet to come up with anything even remotely coming close to "concise"....How about just reading our blog over the last 12 months?
As I had mentioned in our last entry, August was going to be a busy month and it has been. We started the month off with our Siem Reap and KT Seminary and Institute graduations. This was the first year Seminary and Institute has been available in our branches and we are so very proud of these students. In addition to it being their first year, it was also the first year having the Doctrine and Covenants available in Khmer- so a first on two counts! Our KT Seminary teacher Seeda, who is in 12th grade, taught up to 3 lessons a day in order that her students could have the opportunity to participate in Seminary, and then she attended the weekly Institute class as well. Her devotion and commitment is an example of the truly elect spirits that the Lord has reserved to come forth in these latter days. Seeda is a member of less than two years....
Just three days later, our KT branch hosted a combined 5 branch Mutual (14 and up)/YSA activity that we have dubbed "EFY". Our five branches included Siem Reap, KT, and 3 branches from Comp Cham. This is our third activity that we have been involved with like this- but the first with the branches from the Compon Cham District. These activities are based on the concept of the "Super Saturdays" that I attended as a youth in South Carolina. It was a one day event with separate Seminary/Institute activities in the morning, a combined lunch, separating again for games and then combining again for a testimony meeting. We were privileged to have President and Sister Smedley there and they had the opportunity to speak. We had 140 youth and YSA in attendance- and then we added a few more which slipped in at the end- including some neighborhood children! Due to the large numbers and cost, certain requirements had to be met by those participating, including membership in the Church. We did make exceptions for those who were nearing baptismal dates and were approved by branch leadership. We have great hopes that these events will strengthen commitments to the Gospel, including serving missions and marriage within the Church.
The very next day was our first Zone Conference with President and Sister Smedley. Every other zone conference we combine with another zone and this time we were with Compon Cham. Elder and Sister Richards are the missionary couple serving in that area. They came out to Cambodia about a month before us and are about the same age as we are. We enjoy the times we get to be together and share our common challenges and learn from our successes! President Smedley is truly a man called of God and his wife is a working partner with him in his calling. We know this mission will grow and prosper under his inspired leadership. He loves to tell stories and he shared this one regarding discouragement. He first asked us how many had dogs that lived in the house back home.
What does your dog do when the doorbell rings?
Barks and runs to the door.
Who is usually the first one to the door?
The dog.
Is the door EVER for the dog?
No.
But does the dog ever give up?
No! He just wags his tail, pants, and thinks "next time!"
Just two days after the hectic rush of these few days, we drove up to Siem Reap Saturday morning for our bi-weekly visit. We packed our clothes, food, and were on our way.
That night we got a call from the KT missionaries that there would not be a member of the branch presidency at church Sunday- SO! Sunday morning early we packed it all up again and made it back to KT in time for our Sunday meetings there. We have struggled and continue to struggle with the lack of local priesthood leadership in our KT branch. Our branch president is a wonderful man, but distance and family circumstances have truly hindered his ability to serve.
During this week, on the 13th, was our long planned for trip to Battenbang to visit and met with Elder and Sister Renyolds who serve there. We had a wonderful time and took so many pictures that it will take another blog to fit that in!
The month is nearly half over and we are looking forward to working with our new elders that have been assigned to our branches- this week was a major transfer and many of our wonderful elders that we have served with have finished their missions and are returning home. We have seen them become men of God and know that the Lord has prepared his future leaders. We love each of you and pray that we may all find great joy in the service of the Lord- wherever and whatever that may be!
Hugs and love!
Elder and Sister Dickerson....Grandpa and Grandma
As I had mentioned in our last entry, August was going to be a busy month and it has been. We started the month off with our Siem Reap and KT Seminary and Institute graduations. This was the first year Seminary and Institute has been available in our branches and we are so very proud of these students. In addition to it being their first year, it was also the first year having the Doctrine and Covenants available in Khmer- so a first on two counts! Our KT Seminary teacher Seeda, who is in 12th grade, taught up to 3 lessons a day in order that her students could have the opportunity to participate in Seminary, and then she attended the weekly Institute class as well. Her devotion and commitment is an example of the truly elect spirits that the Lord has reserved to come forth in these latter days. Seeda is a member of less than two years....
Just three days later, our KT branch hosted a combined 5 branch Mutual (14 and up)/YSA activity that we have dubbed "EFY". Our five branches included Siem Reap, KT, and 3 branches from Comp Cham. This is our third activity that we have been involved with like this- but the first with the branches from the Compon Cham District. These activities are based on the concept of the "Super Saturdays" that I attended as a youth in South Carolina. It was a one day event with separate Seminary/Institute activities in the morning, a combined lunch, separating again for games and then combining again for a testimony meeting. We were privileged to have President and Sister Smedley there and they had the opportunity to speak. We had 140 youth and YSA in attendance- and then we added a few more which slipped in at the end- including some neighborhood children! Due to the large numbers and cost, certain requirements had to be met by those participating, including membership in the Church. We did make exceptions for those who were nearing baptismal dates and were approved by branch leadership. We have great hopes that these events will strengthen commitments to the Gospel, including serving missions and marriage within the Church.
The very next day was our first Zone Conference with President and Sister Smedley. Every other zone conference we combine with another zone and this time we were with Compon Cham. Elder and Sister Richards are the missionary couple serving in that area. They came out to Cambodia about a month before us and are about the same age as we are. We enjoy the times we get to be together and share our common challenges and learn from our successes! President Smedley is truly a man called of God and his wife is a working partner with him in his calling. We know this mission will grow and prosper under his inspired leadership. He loves to tell stories and he shared this one regarding discouragement. He first asked us how many had dogs that lived in the house back home.
What does your dog do when the doorbell rings?
Barks and runs to the door.
Who is usually the first one to the door?
The dog.
Is the door EVER for the dog?
No.
But does the dog ever give up?
No! He just wags his tail, pants, and thinks "next time!"
Just two days after the hectic rush of these few days, we drove up to Siem Reap Saturday morning for our bi-weekly visit. We packed our clothes, food, and were on our way.
That night we got a call from the KT missionaries that there would not be a member of the branch presidency at church Sunday- SO! Sunday morning early we packed it all up again and made it back to KT in time for our Sunday meetings there. We have struggled and continue to struggle with the lack of local priesthood leadership in our KT branch. Our branch president is a wonderful man, but distance and family circumstances have truly hindered his ability to serve.
During this week, on the 13th, was our long planned for trip to Battenbang to visit and met with Elder and Sister Renyolds who serve there. We had a wonderful time and took so many pictures that it will take another blog to fit that in!
The month is nearly half over and we are looking forward to working with our new elders that have been assigned to our branches- this week was a major transfer and many of our wonderful elders that we have served with have finished their missions and are returning home. We have seen them become men of God and know that the Lord has prepared his future leaders. We love each of you and pray that we may all find great joy in the service of the Lord- wherever and whatever that may be!
Hugs and love!
Elder and Sister Dickerson....Grandpa and Grandma
The ultimate dirty job, cleaning out the backed up sewers in Seim Reap
.
These girls are part of 100'sof workers who bicycle in
and out of SR daily for construction
work. We see them for miles as we
drive...In spite of their hard
physical labor and distance, the
girls are still very feminine and
take great pains to protect their
skin from the sun. Already olive
naturally, their skin will darken
to a deep dark chocolate color if
exposed to the sun. Fair skin is
considered bueatiful and nearly
every skin product from deodrants
to any lotion will promote "skin-lightening"
as part of it's advertisment.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
ALIVE AND WELL IN KOMPONG THOM, CAMBODIA
The hat lady in Phenom Phenn
Crematorium in PP
(notice the smoke mid right)
July 29, 2009
This has been a busy month for activities- both of our branches have been involved in preparations for Pioneer Day and celebrated the day in true Khmer spirit- which includes a love of parties and food! The youth in KT, which comprise the majority of our members there, preformed square dancing and the popular modern "hip-hop". Several of the sisters got together and sewed delightful pioneerish costume dresses for the girls and with a simple twist, the traditional krama scarf became a bandanna for the young men. In addition to the dancing, we had talks on the Pioneers and a special musical number by our Mutual youth. Our members here have a great desire to be a part of the culture of the Church and it is such a choice experience letting them take the lead in planning activities and enjoying the results! We had planned to be at our Siem Reap's activity as well, but they had a last minute date change and we were unable to get there. However, they took a reader's theater I had written for them and turned it into a pioneer play- we would loved to have seen it!
One of our anticipated events of the month is our trip down to PhomPenh. It is rejuvenating to be with the other couples- all who speak fluent English!! (smiles!) We have developed such love and respect for each couple. In the next few months nearly all the couples we have worked with will be leaving and returning home. Elder and Sister Whitesides who serve with LDS Charities will be leaving in September, Elder and Sister Shumway with LDS Employment in October, Elder and Sister Caulderwood with Physical Facilities in November and then our other leadership couple in the provinces, Elder and Sister Richards leave in December. It will be hard to see them go- as of right now, the only other couple scheduled to come to Cambodia is Elder and Sister Whitesides replacement with LDS Charities. Cambodia is not an easy mission......but we know the Lord is mindful of the needs here. We always enjoy visiting the large local Khmer markets- believe us, it is not an American shopping experience! But we have fun and always have something new to see- this time it was our lady selling hats. It is very common to see large flat woven baskets with food items on top of a seller's head, but hats? That was a new one for us!
As you may be aware, cremation is most commonly used by Cambodians. The wealthy families purchase space inside the wats and build elaborate structures they use for their own family's needs. If you are poor, you can use one that belongs to the monks. On our last trip to Phnom Penh, we were out at night and one of the large wats near Independence Monument was finishing a funeral and the crematorium was all lit up- we tried to get a photo, but the result is a poor showing for how spectacular it was- even to the smoke curling up from the chamber's metal pipe. "Pomp and circumstance" is a very important part of the Khmer culture and it is especially evident in such events as weddings and funerals. Both can take days to complete and with funerals, after 100 days, another memorial service is held. At both events, monks play a vital role in the proper observance of the traditional ceremonies.
In addition to our branch activities, we have had two baptisms in our KT branch this month- both women are solid in their testimonies and have weathered the storms. We still are struggling with getting our Primary and RS presidencies in place, but it will happen. None of the presidencies I have trained in KT have stayed in place, so I have a wonderful opportunity to keep refining my skills! In our Siem Reap branch, we have much greater stability and so we have the opportunity to establish a different level of training. Elder Dickerson has truly enjoyed his opportunities to teach the Priesthood brethren and it is a joy to see them use the priesthood to bless their families and preform gospel ordinances.
August is going to be a busy month for us- we'll keep you posted!!!
We love you all, and are daily grateful for your prayers in our behalf. We know the Lord is mindful of us and we truly have been the recipients of your pleas in our behalf. What a marvelous work and a wonder this is!!
Hugs! Hugs! Love Elder and Sister Dickerson- Grandpa and Grandma
One of our anticipated events of the month is our trip down to PhomPenh. It is rejuvenating to be with the other couples- all who speak fluent English!! (smiles!) We have developed such love and respect for each couple. In the next few months nearly all the couples we have worked with will be leaving and returning home. Elder and Sister Whitesides who serve with LDS Charities will be leaving in September, Elder and Sister Shumway with LDS Employment in October, Elder and Sister Caulderwood with Physical Facilities in November and then our other leadership couple in the provinces, Elder and Sister Richards leave in December. It will be hard to see them go- as of right now, the only other couple scheduled to come to Cambodia is Elder and Sister Whitesides replacement with LDS Charities. Cambodia is not an easy mission......but we know the Lord is mindful of the needs here. We always enjoy visiting the large local Khmer markets- believe us, it is not an American shopping experience! But we have fun and always have something new to see- this time it was our lady selling hats. It is very common to see large flat woven baskets with food items on top of a seller's head, but hats? That was a new one for us!
As you may be aware, cremation is most commonly used by Cambodians. The wealthy families purchase space inside the wats and build elaborate structures they use for their own family's needs. If you are poor, you can use one that belongs to the monks. On our last trip to Phnom Penh, we were out at night and one of the large wats near Independence Monument was finishing a funeral and the crematorium was all lit up- we tried to get a photo, but the result is a poor showing for how spectacular it was- even to the smoke curling up from the chamber's metal pipe. "Pomp and circumstance" is a very important part of the Khmer culture and it is especially evident in such events as weddings and funerals. Both can take days to complete and with funerals, after 100 days, another memorial service is held. At both events, monks play a vital role in the proper observance of the traditional ceremonies.
In addition to our branch activities, we have had two baptisms in our KT branch this month- both women are solid in their testimonies and have weathered the storms. We still are struggling with getting our Primary and RS presidencies in place, but it will happen. None of the presidencies I have trained in KT have stayed in place, so I have a wonderful opportunity to keep refining my skills! In our Siem Reap branch, we have much greater stability and so we have the opportunity to establish a different level of training. Elder Dickerson has truly enjoyed his opportunities to teach the Priesthood brethren and it is a joy to see them use the priesthood to bless their families and preform gospel ordinances.
August is going to be a busy month for us- we'll keep you posted!!!
We love you all, and are daily grateful for your prayers in our behalf. We know the Lord is mindful of us and we truly have been the recipients of your pleas in our behalf. What a marvelous work and a wonder this is!!
Hugs! Hugs! Love Elder and Sister Dickerson- Grandpa and Grandma
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