Early in the month we went to Siem Reap to visit Ankgor Wat. Ankgor Wat is a World Heritage Site It is a temple complex and the capital city of the Ankgor (or Khmer) civilization in Cambodia, built between 1130 and 1150 AD by Suryavarman II. This area is visited by about 50% of all the visitors to Cambodia. We spent 1/2 day there walking through the ruins of Ankgor Wat and two other sites nearby.
On our second day in Siem Reap we visited a silk worm farm. When we saw the work that is takes to get and prepare the thread and then go through the steps to dye it and have it woven into a finished product we have a much greater appreciation for the value of the end product.
We were able to watch General Conference (in English) one week after the conference in Utah. The conference here would be delayed one day if shown live and would be in the middle of the night. DVD's were sent here, translated into Khmae and Vietnamese and then made available to the church units here for showing the Saturday and Sunday following. We were inspired by the talks and bouyed up by the encouragement from the messages.
We attended the baptism of Vuthy Savath the day of General Conference. Vuthy has been taught by the missionaries for some time. He has been at several of the lessons taught to other investigators. He was VERY excited on the day of his baptism. He was baptized by Elder Merrill, one of the missionaries that came out just after we arrived. His companion is Elder Te from Logan.
One of our assignments is working with the Young Men / Young Women organizations. Our role is to assist the leaders of the units throughout the mission in understanding the programs and how they can provide leadership and growth to the youth. We have met with leaders from two of the Phnom Penh districts and have attended a couple of their youth activities. Bonnie went to a South District YW activity last week. The activity was well planned and the young women who attended had a great time.
The North District had a youth conference this weekend . They went fishing on one day, had classes and activities the next and ended with a testimony meeting today. It is inspiring to feel the spirit of these young people and to hear them talk about their desires and circumstances. Many of them are the only church members in their family. The families are often not supportive, but the youth talk about how the gospel has strengthened them and how much desire they have to continue to improve themselves. It motivates us to do better when we see the effort they young people make to be obedient and faithful to the Savior.
We've been able to be with the other senior couples several times this month. We enjoy the time with them as we talk about our experiences and how we work through problems that arise. The variety of experiences that we have, individually and as couples, is remarkable. One thing that is common is our love for the people and the privilege it is to serve here.
We held our first Puppeteer practice yesterday. About 10 young people came to our meeting. Their enthusiasm for one another and for the puppet show is contagious. In preparation we have had scripts translated from english to Khmae. We have many new puppets. The equipment for shows includes speakers, amplifiers, CD players, a stage, costumes, etc. etc. We'll tell more about this in the future when we actually get in the road with the shows. We've included some pictures of the young people who came to the practice.
On Friday this week we picked up two sister missionaries at the airport. They are the Southeast Asia Family History support missionaries serving in Bangkok, Thailand. They are responsible for helping family history consultants and directors in several countries. They will be here for 10 days working with us in training and developing family history in Cambodia. Bonnie was responsible for preparing a detailed schedule and arranging for firesides, training of consultants and other logistics related to the trip. A bit stressful, but now the sisters are here the work is proceeding and we expect to see this effort move forward here. The Cambodian and Vietnamese people have a great love for their families and are very interested in tying them together for eternity through the temple. Although historical records are usually not available, they still work to get information on their parents and grandparents. As information has been reviewed and prepared it is remarkable how many individuals (children, adults and families) died in the late 1970's due to the wars and conflicts in the country.
We are grateful for the opportunity we have to serve the people of Cambodia. They are a great example of love and respect for the things the matter most. Our testimonies of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ grow daily as we experience moments with the missionaries, their investigators and the members.
We love our family (and are very glad that we've discovered Skype telephone calls). We enjoy talking our children and seeing them over the internet.
