Mekong River Boat Trip 1st half

On Aug 21,'09 Five senior couples took a 3 hour boat trip up to a small island well known for it's silk weaving and back to Phnom Penh. How do you like our rig? Notice the sign "for sale or rent". No, we didn't buy it! The scenery was very fascinating. You will get a whole new idea about "river front property"! Notice the lady bending down in the picture below. She was washing a hand full of green onions off----so glad she wasn't fixing OUR dinner! Be sure to look at the following blog (it was all to be one blog but I had computer problems!) where you will see a real contrast to the type of houses along the river front! Watching the hand weaving of silk was very interesting also. Dad was very intrigued with the old war ship and its guns. The end of the trip shows a couple skyline pictures of Asian buildings including a Wat. I couldn't help but think of James Bond adventure movies with their romantic scenes on the mighty Mekong. Where were the fancy private yacht and the starry night sky? It was a marvelous trip anyway!

Mekong River boat trip

Dad, the Farmer!

You know how much Dad loves farming! Well, even half way around the world he wanted to see how rice is planted. Elder & Sis. Whitesides are in charge of LDS Charities. They work with NGO's (non-governmental agencies) in partnership to provide improved agricultural methods, wells, water pumps, rain cathchment systems, wheelchairs, and other worthy projects to help with development in Cambodia. On one of the Whitesides trips to the provinces to check three different projects, they invited us to accompany them. It was a very educational and wonderful day for us. Enjoy the pics.

Changing of the Guard (read from bottom to top)

Next morning the Wineagers said good-bye to many of their close friends. Not an easy thing after 3 years of being with these precious Cambodians! But alas, the 5 couples on the left will carry on with the great work. They started with ice cream from DQ! The only Dairy Queen in the city is at the airport right behind the couples! Couldn't pass that up!

June 30, '09 All the senior couples went to the airport to help Pres. & Sis. Winegar (far left and far right) welcome in our new Mission Pres. Scott Smedley and his wife (center couple). The Smedley's are from Layton, UT only 5 miles away from our old home in Syracuse. Pres. Smedley was actually raised in Syracuse and attended grade school & high school with our dear friend Keith Bourgeous! Pres. Smedley also knows our dear friends Ron & Rochelle Hamblin very well. Small world isn't it!

OPERATION SMILE On Saturday last, March 14th and then again on Monday the 16th Mom and I were invited to work as volunteers for “Operation Smile”. Man, what a special treat. As we neared the entrance to the hospital around 8:00 AM we saw a large waiting room full of mothers holding little children that had major deformities to their mouths and faces. We moved on up to the second floor where the screenings were taking place and quickly Mom was put to work standing on a scales and then holding the little children in her arms so they could be weighed and their vital signs taken. It was easy to calculate the weight of these little children because Mom weighs exactly 100 lbs fully dressed. I was assigned to work with the other four missionaries and coordinate the translation needs. I heard, over and over again how appreciative the staff was for the “Elders” as they were called. And, indeed they did a great work because none of the Doctors or nurses spoke Khmer. At one point I had a minute just to stand against a pillar there in this big room and witness what was going on around me. I was deeply touched as I observed these great doctors, literally from around the world, there at their own expense, working with skilled, surgically gloved hands that wielded tongue depressors and other instruments, examining the serious birth deformities of these children. The mothers had never been in a hospital before and gave fearful glances at the surgeons doing the examinations. They had come in faith that perhaps their little children could be healed and so they spoke comforting words to their babies as they tried to restrain them during the sometimes painful exams. As I stood there and watched the love and compassion being demonstrated by those wonderful surgeons and nurses toward these destitute deformed little children gathered around them, I couldn’t help but think of a similar gathering many years before. The Master Physician, the Savior of all mankind invited the little children to gather around him and then “He did heal them, every one”. This is exactly what I was witnessing right before my eyes. The scripture reads that “He wept”, and so did I (3Nephi 17:9, 21-22). The tears flowed freely but, thankfully no one noticed because sweat was running down my face as well as the faces of all in the room. Again, I said to myself, as I have said so many times before on our mission, “I walk today where Jesus walked and feel His presence near”. There was no air conditioning, there were no sterile chambers—in fact, the nurses had, just that morning, driven rats out of the operating rooms. But there was so much more there in that wing of the hospital that morning than I have seen in the most sterile of environments. There was a spirit of love and compassion that seemed, at that moment, to weld nations and cultures into one perfect union. I reflected on another passage of scripture from the Savior’s life where he said, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, ye have done it unto me” Matthew 25:40). That truth was also being demonstrated right before my eyes. For the few moments that I stood there I received yet another great insight into one of the powerful principle the Savior taught. Let me explain. Here were some of the great surgeons of the world, “rich” in knowledge and skill, bending low, lifting, rescuing, healing, and indeed exalting the poorest of the poor. As a result, these little children would be blessed, lifted and truly “exalted” the rest of their life. Yes, the scriptural phrase, “The poor shall be exalted in that the rich are made low” was demonstrated and clarified to my soul (D&C 104:16). We left the hospital after those two days of volunteer work richly blessed with a much clearer understanding of the Savior’s life and mission. There was an expanded clear vision in our eyes and a heart grown tender in our breast. In just two days we were the recipients of blessings greater than all the riches of the world and experiences like this one are almost a daily occurrence. Is it any wonder that we love our mission? Thank you, our precious children for making this possible. We love you all. Love Dad

A Cambodian Wedding...

A CAMBODIAN WEDDING—MARCH 6, 09Children, tonight we went to our first Cambodian wedding and it was a distinct cultural experience. Typically, weddings here are held in the streets in front of the bride’s home. A wedding decorator is chosen from the many available, a large decorated canopy is erected right in the street. Chairs, tables, napkins, chair covers, table cloths all come in the package. A gasoline powered generator is set up for lighting, a wedding band is hired to play and sing during the 2 day event and food is available during the entire time. It is a very costly event and the guests are expected to pay $20-$30.00 a couple to participate and hopefully that will cover most of the cost of the wedding. For those with more money the event takes place in a Hotel lobby designed for marriages. This particular reception was one of those. We went to a part of Phnom Penh we had never seen before and there were 6 hotels side by side and across the street from each other all with weddings going on. Our tuk tuk driver helped us determine which hotel was sponsoring our wedding and he left. We were now on our own. As we walked up to the entrance where the bride and groom were standing we realized we recognized no one. But, fortunately the bride (she was LDS) saw our name tags and called out, “Hello Elda and Sista”. Relief! At least we were at the right wedding. The bride and all her maids were lined up on one side of the canopy entrance and the groom and all his brothers, best men etc. were lined up on the other side. We had our money appropriately placed in the envelop provided with our name on it so we were welcomed in. There was a live band and about 5 different vocalists that sang one right after the other all night but the music was so loud it hurt our ears and we couldn’t, simply couldn’t carry on a conversation without yelling in each others’ ears. We were over an hour late yet were some of the first ones there. We were invited because the bride’s father is the Chairman of the PEF Committee and I am the Vice Chair. Well, he sat us down at a large round table where we were the only ones at the table. There were four or five cans of pop sitting around so I started drinking pop. Mom said I shouldn’t drink more than one can but I reminded her that we just paid $25.00 to get in. I kept drinking. At the table next to us there were two older couples and one young man—all Caucasian so I got up and introduced myself to them. The one couple was the father of the groom, the other his brother and wife and the younger man a friend of the groom. The music was so loud we couldn’t hear each other so we stepped outside and had a delightful conversation. We found out the groom was from the Netherlands and his dad (the one we were talking to) was a retired Mechanical Engineer and had worked for a company that developed food processing machinery. He had traveled quite a bit for his company and spoke fluent English, German, Dutch, French and Italian. I tried my German but quickly switched to English. He had been very successful as an engineer and was quite well to do. He and his wife were wonderful, down-to-earth type people and after we had talked for a time they invited Mom and me to sit with them at their table. I thought there might be some advantage food-wise if we sat at the same table as the groom’s parents so I readily accepted. Sure enough, a few minutes after we sat down here came the food. There was a “lazy Susan” in the middle of the table and the waiters put down 6 plates of different appetizers. There were egg rolls, slices of wurst, sushi, a plate of spicy jerky, pickled onions, thin slices of a meat I had never eaten before, and a plate of roasted cashews. The cashews were the best. Twenty minutes later here came the Salad. It was a tossed salad and very good but it had things in it I had never eaten before. For example, there were baby squid in this salad! You could see their little arms with the suction cups on them. I ate one and it was a little chewy but squishy in the middle. It reminded me of when Bear Grills ate that big grub. I only ate one. A few minutes after the salad they brought out the pre-entre course featuring large breaded fried shrimp and another type of pressed meat loaf that, again, had a strange taste I had never tasted before. I mainly ate shrimp and rolls. Because of the loud music we couldn’t carry on a conversation with our guests and that was probably good because they were really drinking a lot of beer. I was running low on soda so I got a waiter to bring another six pack. They thought we were part of the groom’s family so we got whatever we wanted. The waiter asked if I wanted alcohol or beer but I told him I was the “designated driver” and that Fanta would be fine. The next course was lobster tails marinated in a curry sauce. They were actually quite good. Mom didn’t want one because she said it reminded her of the time Joseph brought home a live lobster from Dillons and threw it in a pot of boiling water in our kitchen when we lived in Manhattan. I told her to take one anyway and I would eat it. She did and I did. After everyone seemed to have their fill there was one left so I ate it too. I believe that was the first time in my life I had eaten lobster tails. I remember on a Boy Scout campout once we boiled some craw fish and ate the tails but this lobster tasted much better. After the lobster they brought out a large plate of food that turned out to be lentils vegetables and mushrooms covering a whole chicken. It had all been prepared with various spices and juices and was very tasty. The chicken just fell apart when we pulled at it a little. There were seven of us around this table and each platter of food was ample for all to get nice helpings. Oh, along with the chicken hash there was a large bowl of soup. Now, all this food was authentic Cambodian food so my taste buds were going bonkers. The soup had cabbage and other veggies in it along with boiled shrimp. I got a bowl full but it was quite spicy. I set it aside hoping something else would come along that needed a little flavoring. Sure enough, next came fried rice with generous amounts of pork stirred in. I took a good helping and put it in with my spicy soup. It was delicious! I looked at my watch and it was 8:00 PM. We had been eating and drinking for 2 hours! I was getting quite full and Mom had quit eating quite a while back. I was wondering, “Where is the dessert”? About that time Mom told me she wanted some more of the pretty little “welcome packets” they gave us when we came in so she would have one for each of her little granddaughters when we went home. So, I went out one door and pretended that I was just coming in for the first time and got a couple more. No one asked any questions so I took another one in case we have another granddaughter before we get home. Another missionary couple at an adjoining table asked us if we would like a ride home. I reluctantly accepted because if we went now it meant we would miss dessert but Mom hurt her foot a few days back and couldn’t walk so we left the party and got a ride home. As I think back on it I think we probably got our $25.00 worth in food not counting the fun it was just to have this cultural experience. Mom just loved it. I’ll tell you, the Cambodian women there were really dolled up. They wore major amounts of make-up, piled up fake hair, silk and satin dresses (mostly immodest), huge black long eyelashes and jewelry hanging all over. The men, on the other hand were just in regular pants and a polo-type shirt. When we got home we had some real good ice cream and called it a day—another successful missionary day. We love you all—Love DadPS I just remembered, tomorrow night we have another wedding but this one will be at one of the meeting houses here in PP. We’ll see how it compares.

Walk with us to work!

Fed-Ex knows that motos get through the traffic faster than cars & trucks! Hope you enjoyed your morning walk with us!

You can see a bicyclist with his ware of homemade baskets. He is on his way to a passa (market) in hopes of selling all of them.

Dad carries the laptop, his bookbag, and my bag. Do you like the criss-cross design that all the straps make, both front and back? :)

A typical gas station with motorist fill up for the day. The price is 3000 Reil (or $ 0.75 a liter which equates to about $3.00 a gallon).

This man is going down the WRONG side of the street! That's one way to beat the traffic!

Others travel on a moto tuk-tuk.

Some travel via bicycle tuk-tuk.

Some travel to work in a car!

Every other corner has the wonderful smell of breakfast cooking.

I wonder what it ate?!

Everyone is already working. Some are out collecting plastics and cardboard for recycling. It brings in a few "reil" to buy rice for the evening meal.

First we pass the gray water. What are those 2 men fishing for?

Feb. 15 From Grandma

Last night as I was getting ready for bed, I had such a wonderful feeling. It was a feeling as though it had been the best day of our mission so far! We had been planning on using the morning as a P-day to do wash, cleaning, & shopping, but a phone call from Bro. Sophornn on Friday evening quickly changed our plans. He had been in a moto accident. Other than sustaining some scratches & bruises, he was unharmed. His moto however was no longer running. He said he needed Saturday to get his moto repaired and would like Elder Nelson to teach his Church History class at noon. Therefore, Saturday morning at 8 AM we went to the South District Building to our office to get the Church History manual and do some preparation. At 11 AM we had Reveit pick us up from the South District building and take us to the North District Building where the class is held.We have taught that class about 3 times before so we know the students who are in it. They are very dedicated young single adults and will be the future leaders of the church in Cambodia. The lesson was on the last 4 years of the church in Nauvoo. We talked about the Wentworth Letters (eight full pages) that were sent to John Wentworth, the editor of the Chicago Democrat, and how the papers were not ever published in Chicago nor used in the history book of Vermont, where both Mr. Wentworth and Joseph Smith were from and was the reason that he had asked Joseph Smith to write about the church. Besides us having the Articles of Faith from those letters, they were of great value to the saints of Nauvoo because a little was published each week in the Times and Seasons (Nauvoo's newspaper) and the members eagerly read those teachings and studied them with diligence, looking forward to every edition! We also talked about the Books of Abraham that were translated from the papyrus that came from the catacombs of Egypt. I always learn from my precious husband when I sit in his classroom, things that I didn't know before, like how the mummy's were purchased by the church and how Mother Smith had them on display and made a few cents by showing them to people who would come to see them!We talked about how apostasy weakened the church membership and how some men who were once very close to the Prophet Joseph, turned against him, left the church, and were excommunicated. Although they left the church, they couldn't leave the church alone. They aroused and excited non-Mormons to mob mentality and tried a few times to kill the prophet during the last year & a half of his life. My precious companion likened the lesson to the saints in Cambodia today! There are over 7,800 people on the records of the church here in Phnom Penh between the ages of 14-30! Many who were baptized between 1996 and 2003 are now inactive. He cautioned these 11 students to never allow that to happen to them. The church is new and young in Cambodia, just like it was in Nauvoo. They must be on their guard at all times to keep their own covenants with the Lord that they made at the time of their baptism!The lesson concluded with some powerful doctrine that Joseph Smith received just 2 months before his martyrdom. He shared them with the Saints at the funeral of one of his very close friends, King Follett, who had died in an accident while working on the Nauvoo temple. The funeral fell on the same day as the April general conference and Joseph spoke for 2 hours at the funeral/general conference wherein he expounded on 32 different doctrinal themes. A precious part of that sermon included the doctrinal statement, "as man now is, God once was, and as God is, man may become". As we discussed that in class someone asked if Jesus Christ was ever married. One young man said, "Some say yes and some say no, but we don't know the answer." My precious husband shared his feelings that Christ is certainly married, but "So people don't leave class saying false doctrine is being taught", he had the class turn to section 131 of the D&C and we read the first 4 verses together. "I will leave it up to you to decide for yourselves, you have the scriptures and you have the gift of the Holy Ghost to help you as you study and pray." It was very powerful to me, especially when you read in II Nephi 31:5-12 about why the Savior was baptized even though He is perfect!After we left the North District Building, we had our tuk-tuk driver take us to Thai Hout market to pick up some groceries (items that can't be found at Lucky's or Pencils), and then to our apartment. We quickly put away the food and then decided that we must go shopping at Lucky's so we could break the $50 bill in Dad's wallet so we would have some smaller bill for our tuk-tuk driver (we went to Kean Svay today for church and that is 8kilometers away). That was OK as Lucky's has a better brand of shelf milk and we had forgotten to by syrup. A quick walk to Lucky's and we were back home in 65 minutes. That gave us only 3 minutes to get a drink and leave for the apartment of Elder Ormumsby & Elder Porter. We were to meet them at 4:45 so we could meet with an investigator that they are teaching in English. They had told us previously that this well-read man doesn't believe in God, but wants to learn about our church. We had gone with them the previous Saturday, but the man was away traveling on business. His wife had invited us in for a drink of water. The Elders called the man and he apologized for not being able to be there but invited us back. It was a difficult but good discussion for an hour. The man is a military general (he mentioned to us that he is the youngest man in Cambodia to be made a General). We talked about the plan of salvation. It was hard to keep Jeneric (that is the closest I can come to the pronunciation of his name, I shall refer to him as "the General" until I can get his name right). The Elders wisely had us turn to the Introduction page of the Book of Mormon and read the sixth paragraph. (Here I want to interject an interesting note about this man. He has many books in his home which is highly unusual for a Cambodian and even better, he loves to read. But he was very truthful in saying that he had not had any time to read what the Elders had asked him to read two weeks ago.) They tried to encourage the General to pray about what he reads. "But how can I pray when I don't know anything about this book?" was his question. The Elders gave him a half sheet of paper with the five basic steps of prayer written in Khmer and talked about prayer for a few minutes. "But how do I start? Isn't there some way to address this being who they say is so powerful?" I felt the promptings of the Spirit very strongly as I asked him what he likes his little children to call him. "Well---Daddy." I then bore testimony of us being spirit children of our Heavenly Father and because he loves each one of us so much, he likes us to call him Heavenly Father even though He is a God. Dad bore testimony of prayer and mentioned that he and I pray together every night. Dad went on to say that the church is a "family oriented church" and encouraged him to discuss the things he reads in the Book of Mormon with his wife and pray together about them. The Elders closed the discussion and asked the General who he would like to have give the closing prayer. He was quite surprised that he was asked to call on someone so Elder Porter explained that because this was the General's home and we acknowledge him as the head of this home, he may choose anyone he would like to give the closing prayer. The General looked at me and asked if I would say it. I had a feeling that he would call on me so I had been praying silently that the spirit would attend me as I prayed. The discussion ended and we have been invited to return next Saturday at 5 PM. I just pray that the General will read and pray. If he does I know he will find the truth. If he doesn't pray, he will never know, but "will always be seeking but never finding" the truth!

A Stroll in the Park

Our daily early morning run/walk at the Olympic Stadium is a fun way to begin the day and it has turned into quite a ritual. I will explain. The alarm goes off @ 5:08 AM and I wake up, turn the alarm off and say to mom: "Powettchie, another day of our mission has begun, are you going to walk this morning"? Most of the time she says "yes, just give me 5 more minutes". I know what that means so I quietly dress in the dark into my sweaty running Levis that I bought at "Russian Market" brand new for $5.00. But I think they just sewed a "Levi" name tag on them because they really aren't Levi jeans. They don't care about patents or copyrights in Cambodia—you can get a "genuine Rolex" watch for $15.00. Anyway, as I attach my name tag to my sweaty shirt I am reminded that it must be wash day—six days is almost too long. I feel my name tag makes me an "official missionary" and I am then eligible for the protection of angels (D&C 84:88). I then quietly go out to our kitchen where it is very hot and humid (we only have AC in our bedroom) and study Khmai for 10 minutes. Finally, at 5:25 your mother staggers out in her running gear (long pink silk pants with matching top) and we are off! As we leave our gated, guarded complex we check to see if our neighborhood is still intact—yes, we're good because there is the usual pile of new garbage that was thrown there during the night so the rummagers can dig out all the cans, plastic bottles and cardboard before it is hopefully picked up by garbage trucks later in the day. A hundred meters further down the street we see that the "men's" restaurant on the corner is open and the usual 15-20 shirtless men are there eating their rice gruel. On the other side of the street "Grandma Hubbard" has her fire going where she cooks for the "Wat" boys next door. Yes, our neighborhood is getting a good normal start on the day. Oh, and there's "Tinkle" watering his usual column on the "Wat" wall. Actually, there are probably about 15 "Tinkles" that we see every morning on the 500 Meter walk to the Stadium. We enjoy the "wildlife" in our neighborhood and there is one big species of wildlife at the Stadium that I have named "Rattatooie". So far he has seemed to elude the "poachers" and the pot. Well, three minutes into our walk we come to the corner of Sihanouk and St. 163—both busy streets even at 5:30 AM and wait for the walk light to turn green. But I want to tell you that a green walk light gives you, at best, limited protection because no one here stops for red lights! Speaking of lights—a moto just zoomed through the red light without any lights! But we safely cross the street are now walking along the shore line of "Black Water Pond". We have become accustomed to the smell but I much prefer the smell of Uncle Lee's corals. At about this point "Thunder thighs" runs past—a fairly "robust" American woman. I'll catch up to her later as I begin my laps around the stadium. Further on we politely nod "Aarun susa'dey" to our friends at the dimly lit booth where they guard the 220+ motos belonging to those who are exercising. They charge 500 riel (12.5 cents) per moto to park and guard them. We finally enter the running/walking track that is about 1.5 km around. Mom makes me walk with her the first 100 meters until we pass into the dark shadows and out of the rays of the first of only three lights in that 1.5 km circle. I don't know why she makes me walk with her until we are in the dark before I can begin my run but she says she doesn't want "them" to see me leave her unprotected. "Them" refers to the 1,000+ other people walking around the loop. At any rate, I tell mom I love her and that I'll see her in one round. I run about twice as fast as she walks which means I run two rounds and catch her at the beginning of her second round. So, I am off. I run a few minutes and spot "Thunder Thighs" in the distance. I pass her and begin looking for my "running buds" as I turn the corner by the Olympic sized swimming pool. I run quietly, stealthfully, passing the hundreds of people just walking and talking in the dark. Some cut their conversation and speak in "hushed" tones as I pass; I am so—so tall, have such broad shoulders, such light hair—it's like an Angel has just run by them. ( I think I must look a lot like Angel Moroni as he appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith --JSH 1:32). Many of the people on the track are running at a slow pace and as I pass, some pick up their pace to match mine. This is where I meet my "buds". Some days "Asthma Lung" falls in behind me. He breaths very heavy and yet he keeps up with me for about one round because I can hear him breathing behind me. Then I decide I will test his endurance and I pick up the pace. The breathing gets more intense and then stops. Did he pass out because of over-exertion? I glance back; no, he just gave up. I will now look for "Friendly". He will run beside me and will listen to my limited Khami and respond back in broken English. But he's not much for distance—the most is 2 laps. He's a great friend. Any time now "Hare" will be passing me—yes, I hear him coming now, he's passing me—and there he goes. "See you in about half a lap", I say to myself and sure enough after he is about 40 meters ahead of me his little black head quits bobbing quite as fast and then stops bobbing altogether as he slows to a walk. I keep my steady but powerful pace and pass him but it's only 30 seconds and I hear him again thrashing by me. This happens about three times every morning before he gives up and drops back to a steady walk. But, the other day I met "Kenya". Now, he's a runner! I've only seen him a few times but I'm no match for him. He wears real running gear—you know—Dimie-type stuff. Right off, the first time I saw his stride I knew I was no match for him—smooth graceful strides—so effortless. But, I tell myself, "After all, I'm a 64 year old man and do quite well for my age. I could have easily done that back in my prime".Well, now I'm back to running on my own. I round the bend by black water beach and there he is—Rattatooey! He's down by the water's edge munching on a pile of discarded food remains from the last concert. You see, on the interior of our track there is a big bowl-type stadium that will seat a good 60,000 people. Quite often there are events held here and the concession stands discard some of their scraps over the fence by black water pond. Rattitoey and many of his friends love it. I have other smaller friends along black water pond—sewer gnats. My powerful lungs, perfectly conditioned for endurance, create a major vacuum in the vicinity of my head when I inhale. Sewer gnats, having feasted during the night are enroute home in swarms. I must lower my head and allow my eye lashes to filter out many of the gnats so they aren't inhaled into my mouth. In spite of my precautions, however, I always get some trapped in the inner cavity of my mouth. I must expectorate multiple times as I run by black water pond. But so does everyone else. As I run in the dark I hear the up-beat music of the various exercise groups doing their calisthenics. Most of the groups are up on the rim of the stadium bowl but there are three groups right down close to the track where I run. One group is made up of over 100 people who pay about 2-300 Reil to be part of it. I like their Cambodian music—it grows on you. Then there is the Tykuando Judo-type group that yells "fight commands" as they go through various routines. Finally there is the Japanese group with their swords and their slow, quiet music with very graceful movements. That group is mainly made up of older people. Well, my run is about over—4 rounds. I see your beautiful mother ahead completing her second round. As we go out the gate toward home we say "hi" to "Scales". He has a set of scales on wheels that he rolls into the stadium every day and charges 100 Reil (2.5 cents) for you to weigh yourself. I know my weight—a perfect, trim 188 lbs. We take a different way home to see how the other part of our neighborhood is doing. It takes us past our bakery. We love our bakery—fresh-baked breads and pastries every day. The little gals there love to speak English with us but the first time we stopped they were grossed out by the sweat dripping off my face and arms. So, now I take a wash rag with me when I run so I can keep the sweat from dripping onto their goods. Mom picks an item and then I get my usual foot long hard roll (700 Reil--17 cents). As we near our apartment we see "Coc". He has his cart full of Coconuts and every Saturday we buy one for 2000 Reil (50 cents) and have him chop it perfectly so we can insert a straw through the top and drink the pure coconut juice. Very tasty and very healthy. Drink too much, though, and it will act as a laxative. A typical coconut will give you a good quart of juice. Next to Coc is "Mellon" with his cart full of goods. We yell a cheery "Sui 'sdey as we walk by. As yet we haven't purchased any of his melons. They seem a little expensive--$2.00. Well, by now it is 6:15 and we have witnessed the awakening of our neighborhood. "All is well, all is well". We are safely home, ready for breakfast. Wanna walk with us tomorrow? With love, DAD

The Good Samaratan

THE GOOD SMARATAN Sunday, February 01, 2009We had an interesting experience this morning in 1st branch. We walked as usual and as we entered the branch compound we saw an obviously American little gal. We went up, introduced ourselves and found out she was a returned missionary. She introduced us to two other little gals that were with her, all from Utah just touring South East Asia. They had been to Thailand, Laos, Viet Nam and now they were concluding their tour in Cambodia. This was the first Sunday of their tour that they were able to attend church. As they traveled in Viet Nam last week they ran into a guy from Australia who seemed to have changed his travel itinerary to be with them. He was also with them in church this morning. His name is Josh but he seemed to be more interested in the one cute little gal from BYU than anything the church had to offer but I got them all a translator for Sacrament Meeting and then I thought, "We'll see how this goes". It was Fast Sunday and I bore my testimony in Khmei. I felt a very sweet spirit. The language is coming slowly but it is coming. I am just falling in love with these people and the more I am here, the more it seems we have to offer them in terms of strength, leadership, doctrinal power, and just charitable love. I can see the Lord's hand in guiding us here. Yes, I suppose we would be useful wherever we were sent but there is just something about this land that fills my heart with the precious spirit of the Savior. At the end of every day as I reflect on the experiences we had during the day I say to myself, "I walked today where Jesus walked". I believe I feel daily some of the very things He felt during His mission in Jerusalem. These feelings are poignant and powerful—a combination of love, compassion and heart-ache for these precious people who are struggling to simply exist. For example, as we were walking home from church today we passed a little fellow lying on the dirty side of a busy street. He must have been 12 years old. He was asleep. It looked like he had been abused and dumped there. My heart just broke and I wanted so much to stop, pick him up, feed him, clean him and comfort him. I thought, "Here is a child of God laying here in this filth". I remembered the parable of the "good Samaritan". Do I just pass on the other side of the road? Then I remembered the strict counsel given us by our Mission President; "You will see things that will break your heart but do not give money or relief of any kind. By so doing you can get yourself and the church in big trouble". He is right, evil men are often watching to see if they can catch us, as missionaries meddling in their personal affairs. So we continued down the street but I will never be the same because of those feelings I had. I will work my heart out to bless this nation with the Gospel for that is the only thing, and the best thing, that we can do to lift them up and relieve the suffering. Well, back to Josh. As I was sitting in Sacrament meeting I thought that it might be good if I just took those 4 English speaking tourists and teach them a Sunday school lesson myself—I was mainly thinking of Josh, the non-member. I began to think in my mind what I would teach. Yes, I would teach the pattern of apostasy throughout the ages and then highlight the Great Apostasy which would then lead into the restoration of all things through the Prophet Joseph Smith. After Sacrament Meeting I got permission from the Branch President to teach—he was delighted that I would do that—and we all went upstairs to an empty class room. It was great. I was able to teach someone and they understood what I was saying because I taught in English to English speaking people. It was great! You don't know my frustration at having all this vast amount of knowledge and vision and I can't say a word to anyone. I'm sure that Uncle Lee would wish that I would forget how to speak English so I would quit philosophizing and trying to get him to have "vision" as I have "vision". But, anyway, it was great to teach this young Australian the truths of the Gospel and bear testimony of their truthfulness. The foundation was laid and hopefully he will some day in the future let the missionaries teach him. I told him to "let them in" the next time they're at his door in Australia. I hope he does. Well, this has been a typical Sunday in our mission. We love you all very much and keep praying for us. Love Dad

Forward from Stevie

Here is the last letter from Stevie--still in Chicago.
---------- Forwarded message ----------From: Stephen Nelson <s.nelson@myldsmail.net>Date: Feb 5, 2009 2:25 AMSubject: Still WaitingTo: powettchie@gmail.com
Howdy Mom and Dad! (and anyone else who might be reading this)Well, as you can see from the subject of this letter, I'm still waiting for my Visa. Yesterday was the day they said to start expecting it, so I'm hoping that it will come before the week is through. Life here in Elgin is interesting. We talk to alot of interesting people, some are alot nicer than others. Last Sat. we tracted into a man that reminded me of Nathan alot. He was an Electrial Engineer (and obviously very Bright) with a little family (two kids and one on the way) he was one of the kindest men I have talked to since I got here. When he answered the door he had a "Cars" sticker on his cheek from playing with his kids, and he invited us right in and talked to us a bit. My first impression was that he would be receptive to our message, But after we told him who we were and a little bit about the church, he very nicely explined that he didn't believe that there was a God. Then he talked about some College classes he took, and he didn't feel that the "Spiritual" side of religion was physically possiable. he said that he teaches his kids good values like not drinking and getting married, but he didint feel that religion was needed. It broke my heart. he would have been perfect for the gospel, but was hung up on something as dumb as "I don't see how it's physically possiable". It really reminded me of the Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, and how Satan will use anything he can to keep you from finding the truth, or if you have found it, to keep you away from it. It hurts me to even think about it.Well, other than that, i'm just fighting the temptation to become impatient, and discouraged about my visa. I don't understand why I've been delayed, but I know that the Lord has his reasons and I'll go where he wants me to go. That having been said, I REALLY wish I was in Mongolia! I practice my Mongolian quite a bit every day, but it's difficult when all I have are the standard works in Mongolian,a small grammer book that doesn't always make sence, and a pocket dictionary (and half the words in it are incorrect) I can't really start learning unless I'm around the language and people that speak it.I enjoyed the story about the Chineese New Year. In Mongolia they have a New Year that's on Feb. 25th this year, and for a couple of days the missionaries get to dress up in traditional Mongolian clothes and go around visiting members and Eating alot of food. I'm looking forward to that (assuming I ever make it to Mongolia!) Honestly I'm so used to WAITING to go to Mongolia (since June 10th) I don't know what I'll do when they actually let me go! But I know I'll be leaving soon.In reguards to the monks with the clay pots, and the woman trying to give you money, here is another possiability; I know that in Mongolia the people go to buddist temples a few times a year and PAY the Monks to say a prayer for them and their family. It might have been that she wanted you to pray for her, which thankfully we know you can still do even without her money.Well, other than that, I'm not sure if there's anything else to say. we just got back from giving a blessing to a Lady in the Hospitle, which was a neat experience. My companion and I get along well enough, although there are a few things I wish we did a little differently. However, I am the jr. companion, and this isn't even my mission really, so I just follow. It's no big deal any how.Last sunday we were out tracting and to our great suprise discovered that it was super bowl sunday! not a very sucessful night to say the least. Missionaries really are quite oblivious to what's going on in the world around them.Well, I love you both so much, and miss you. I'm also a little jealous of the neat missionary experiences you're having in Cambodia. Maybe in Mongolia I'll get some stories that can rivel yours! Keep up the good work.Love-Elder Stevie

Attn: Wally

A WALLIE MISSION UPDATE
January 15, 2009
I think it might be of interest to you to know exactly what our mission entails. We are PEF/CES missionaries. The PEF stands for “Perpetual Education Fund” and was introduced by President Hinckley back in April general Priesthood Meeting of 2001. It is a divinely inspired program and rather than take the time here to go through the details I ask that you go to lds.org, then click on “Gospel Library” then “General Conference”, then April 2001, then Priesthood Session, then “Perpetual Education Fund”. There you can read President Hinckley’s address where he introduced the PEF. Now, throughout the world there are 33,000 students with loans who are going to school where otherwise they couldn’t.
Now, for a few of our recent experiences. I mentioned a few weeks ago that we went outside of Phnom Penh (PP) about 3-4 miles in an area that was 5th branch when Wallie was here. In fact, the little gal who was guiding us (Suen Sokhom) pointed out the place where Wallie lived as a missionary. Although the apartment complex is set back somewhat off the main road it seemed there was a small alley way leading up to the place. I named that little alley “Waallie Aallie”. I’m going to make a sign.
At any rate, last Saturday we went back to see if we could find the one PEF student I told you about that lives in squalor a little outside PP. Again we rode down the dirt path that led to his little shack and sure enough the whole family was there. My heart just dropped to see that a family of 4 was living in such destitute conditions. There was a little girl, probably 5 and a little boy about 2 ½. The floor was slatted so we could see the tepid water about 4 feet below. At one point during our stay I heard what sounded like a stream of water kind of dribbling down into the water below. I thought “what is that”? Then I noticed that the little boy was using the bathroom as he lay beside his mother. I saw no signs of food anywhere around the room and wanted so much just to give the man a $10.00 bill to buy some food but I realized that doing so wouldn’t help him. It would probably only make things worse in the sense that he would feel more worthless. His self esteem was pretty much gone anyway and he was humiliated that he was in this condition. He had been employed as a guard at one of the churches but had fallen asleep during the night and someone—it seems another guard—had preplanned a robbery. So when he was asleep (when he should have been awake) some robbers took a few things from a storage shed. The next day he was fired. That was devastating to him. This happened about a year and a half ago and since then he has tried to provide rice for his family by fixing old electronic equipment people throw away and then selling it for a small sum.
At any rate, what he really needs is a job. Today I spent some time working with the church employment department (managed by another missionary couple that are our close friends) to see if there were any jobs available. I want to tell you, the Church Employment Resource Center here really does a great job of matching the employment needs of the employers with the skills of the members needing a job. In the last 8 months they have placed over 400 people in gainful employment. Well, the missionary couple told me, and rightly so, that he would need to come into the office and they would help him fill out a résumé. Then they would help him develop some job interview skills. I feel confident that he will get work. He has a bicycle that he can use to ride the 10 miles to the Resource Center. I will keep you posted on the outcome but tomorrow I will work to get him an appointment with the Employment Resource Center.
Last Friday evening, Mom and I were just getting ready to leave our office when a little gal knocked on our door desiring our help to get into a particular school. She is a lovely little gal—so capable in her English abilities and very intelligent. Well after answering her questions and seeing her desire for education we approved the initiation of her loan application. Just before she left we told her that we wanted her to come to our office at least once each month for a few minutes and “update” us on her schooling and other aspects of her life. We gave her our cell number and as she was writing down our name she stopped, looked at us and said “I know this name, I have written it before, did you have a son that served a mission here”? We said, “Yes, we did”. I stood up and said “Was he about as tall as I am, but not as broad in the shoulders nor narrow at the hips”? She said, “Yes, that would be him—but not quite as much hair nor quite as good looking”. I said, “Yes, that would be him”. (I’ll have to admit, I did add a few words in that last sentence. Then she proceeded to tell us that she had embroidered two missionaries on bicycles for an Elder Nelson and then stitched at the bottom a message to his mother for mother’s day. Mom’s face lit up as she said that she has that very picture and holds it dear as one of her favorite mother’s day gifts because it was mailed to her by her son while he was on his mission in Cambodia. Tears flowed as those two precious women hugged each other. There was a uniting of their spirits.
The next day we met another PEF student and as we were talking to him he began to look at us more closely, shook his head a little, stopped speaking, looked at us some more and then just said with a smile on his face, “Are you Elder Nelson’s parents”? As we said we were he got so excited! It turned out to be one of Wallie’s companions while he served here in this area. Wallie, he really loves you. He gives you credit for all the joy he now has in his life. I simply said “I’m his father, you know”. He then hugged me. He’s now married and has the cutest little 6 month old daughter. We call these “Wallie” experiences and they are a regular occurrence. It makes our mission so fun.
Well, I’ve rambled on for quite a while but I want to quit by telling you that we love you all so much. Further, we want to tell you that Obama is not the answer to life’s problems—the Gospel of Jesus Christ is. Mom and I witness the truth of that daily—many times. Stay true!
Love Dad

Dear Stephen

January 15, 2009
My Riever (Elder Nelson):
Here’s hoping you are in Mongolia by now but in any event we want to write you a few lines and I want to attach my latest electronic mission update. It has to do with some of our recent experiences involving the Wallie mission. Here’s the point. You are just beginning your mission and there is no way you will ever begin to realize the impact you will have, not only in the next two years, but throughout the eternities. I promise you, as you serve with all your heart, literally hundreds of thousands of people will one day rise up to bless your name. We see the tip of the iceberg here in Cambodia just 10 years since Wallie was here. So, let er’ rip! (In other words—go to work). Mom and I like to take full advantage of the opportunities we have every day to bless the lives of these people. We still need to learn the language better so we can communicate but in the mean time there is much we can do by just speaking English. I’ll let mom write a few things. We love you so much and our prayers are with you daily. Love Dad
Stevie,
Yesterday as I was in our office inputting CES data into the computer, I glanced up at the clock. It was 12:30 pm (Wed.) and the thought struck me, “It is 10:30 pm Tues. night in Provo. Stephen is either somewhere over the Pacific Ocean full of excitement or he is going to bed at the MTC again.” My next thought was oh how glad I am for your last letter and you commitment to follow Elder Wirthlin’s counsel “Come what may and love it”. If you are still waiting for your visa (like the five young men here in Cambodia) maybe you will get to meet new missionaries coming into the MTC who will be going to Mongolia in April. Your language abilities and enthusiasm for the work will help inspire them and will build a bond with them like the bond of love and excitement you had for the last Elders that left for Mongolia. Whatever the situation maybe, our prayers are in your behalf daily, and I am anxious to read your email on Friday morning (which is the first things we do when we arrive at our office on Friday mornings, since the international dateline doesn’t allow us to get your emails on Thurs.J)
Monday we went teaching with the Elders again (my favorite thing to do) to John & Gosea. At the close of our first visit with them, John had asked a question about the sacrament. He said he partakes of it when he comes to our church but his wife doesn’t as she doesn’t feel that is right because they are not members of the church. The Elder said “That is a very good question. We are out of time right now (we had been with John and Gosea for an hour) but we will teach you about the sacrament next time we meet and answer your question.” I thought that was very wise on the part of the Elders, as it would make the investigators look forward to our next visit. So that is what the lesson was on and what I was able to bear testimony about. Then we stayed with the Elders, picked up another Elder (we have an uneven number of Elders right now), grabbed a quick bit to eat from a 7 Eleven type of gas station (two steamed rice buns filled with minced chicken for 40 cents eachJ) and headed off to another appointment with a very special little family who are in one of the branches that Dad and I are assigned to.
This family was baptized a month ago. (Dad was actually asked by the man to ordain him to the Aaronic Priesthood 3 weeks ago. After Dad finished conferring the Priesthood and setting apart Bro. Bun Thuean as a Priest, Bro. Bun Thuean ordained and set apart his 12 yr old son as a Deacon. The following week the father ordained and set apart his 16 yr old son as a Deacon also.) What a thrill to see this precious mother & father with their 5 children embrace the gospel. They are at church every week with sparkling eyes and bubbling enthusiasm for the gospel in their lives. We accompanied the Elders to this little family’s home to hold a family home evening with them. The house to which we went was the last one in a row of 4 houses connected together. The building was just a long shack with a tin roof. The boards leading to their house were loose and uneven. Upon knocking on the door, we were greeted with smiles and excitement. They invited us in and offered Dad and I the best seat in the one room home, a wooden slatted square on four legs (I’m sure it was the bed as there were several blankets rolled up and put to one side of this only piece of furniture in the home.) Everyone else (3 Elders & 7 family members) sat in a circle on the floor below where we were sitting. The entire room was about 12’ by 12’. I gave a short lesson with a couple of visual aids geared toward the younger children. Then one of the Elder’s told the story of Enos from the Book of Mormon. While the story was being told, my eyes kept looking around the room. In one corner was a small wicker shelf that contained a rice cooker and two bottles of soy sauce. I couldn’t see any other signs of food or cooking utensil around. There was one window besides the door we had come in. The walls were one eighth inch plywood (Dad said he could see through it in some places). There was one outlet hanging from a cord connected to the only light bulb in the room. I kept looking at the beautiful family and their happy countenance. Then we played a fun game with everyone and had a treat. (I had made 2 dozen cookies of which the Elders so kindly only took one so the family could have the rest! Wish I had made 4 doz. for the family!)
After the Elders dropped us off at our apartment, I walked into our 2 room home (about the size of Joseph & Lissa’s apt.) and felt like I was in a mansion. Then I commented to Dad that though the home we had just come from was poor, it wasn’t as poor as the shanty we had been to last Sat. that Dad described in his “Wallie Mission Update” that he has attached!
I began to understand more of what I have seen at church. I always go the Primary class where 3 or 4 of these children go each week. The last 2 weeks, the 14 yr old daughter excitedly pulls me toward the stairs leading up to the classroom where she helps the teacher by leading the song and calling on someone to open with prayer. Then she stays in the class as the teacher teaches all 4 Primary children for 30 minutes, gives them a snack (either some fruit or a package of dry Ramen type noodles broken up which the children devour) and then teaches the 12, 14 & 16 yr old children of this family from the Book of Mormon. The gospel of Jesus Christ and living its teachings brings great hope of a better life ahead!
Hope you have time to read this lengthy email. We go teaching again with the Elders tonight! I know this is the true church of Jesus Christ. Love, Mom

Jan. 4, 2009

January 4, 2009—Fast Sunday--------------Church, prayers and a cockroach
Just a note about today. We went to both of our branches for church—1st branch @ 8:00AM and 9th @ 2:00 PM. We walked home and got lost which took us 3.7 KM instead of 1.7 KM. But that is alright because we saw a part of PP we haven’t seen before.
Church was good but I got a surprise in the 1st branch when a young man about 22 years old who is getting baptized next week asked me to baptize him. I believe today is the first time I have really met him but I casually talked to him last week. I don’t even know how to say the baptismal prayer in Kamahi. I must learn it this week.
In the 9th branch Sunday school class I was trying to stay awake because I couldn’t understand too much—actually hardly anything—when I noticed something moving across the front wall of the chapel. It was the biggest cockroach I have ever seen! It was just crawling around—first on the crown molding and then on the wall below the crown molding. It was obvious to all in the class but it was like no one cared—it seemed to be a common occurrence to all in attendance but me. Well, it finally fell to the floor up on the stand and I couldn’t see it anymore but at least now I was awake. I was grateful mom was in Primary or I’m sure she would have screamed. Well, the cockroach was gone—back to staying awake. On a sudden it appeared again but this time it flew from where it had crawled on a chair on the stand and hit the teacher who was teaching us on his neck and began crawling around his neck between his shirt collar and his neck! He merely brushed it off (remember this thing was at least 2” long with those big antenna’s) and kept right on teaching! No one in the class made a peep but now I was really glad mom wasn’t with me. Even had she not screamed before, she most certainly would have now. But I was grateful the teacher didn’t step on it because it would have really made terrible crackling, crunching noises and there would have been a big spot of slimy cockroach guts on the tile floor. The critter went scurrying off to the pulpit, up the pulpit, around the pulpit and then flew off to the other side of the room, slammed into the wall and hung there for a while. They aren’t the most graceful flying insect—nothing like a butterfly—more like a drunken June bug. Again it fell to the floor out of my sight. Back to the “I-can-hardly-understand-a word-you-are-saying-in-Kamahi” lesson. But by now class is over and Priesthood meeting has begun.
The missionaries were teaching the priesthood lesson and one of them was translating for me and I was really in to it when, Alas! Here came the cockroach again! It was racing across the floor right for the shoes of the missionary who was teaching the lesson. My translator missionary gave him a “heads-up”; he looked around and saw the monster just as it was ready to crawl up his pant leg. He gave it a kick and it landed on its back about 4 feet away and began trying to upright himself by wiggling his legs and shell. But to no avail—he couldn’t tip himself over and I watched him struggle for about 20 minutes until he died right there during priesthood meeting. Well, was that the end of my lesson on cockroachology? Not really. After the closing prayer in priesthood mom came in, everyone else had left but the teacher of the Sunday School class. I took him and mom with me to the dead remains of the cockroach, feet sticking straight in the air, and mom almost screamed right there. She got all goose bumpy and when the teacher told her how it had been crawling around his neck she got pale in her face and had to leave the scene. We walked home.
End of cockroach saga? Not really. We come home from church, we’re very hungry because it’s fast Sunday and so we kneel to have prayers. It’s mom’s turn and as usual she is praying for quite a while and I’m again fighting sleep when I hear the most amazing words I have ever heard her pray. She brings up the cockroach! This is pretty close to an exact quote: “Heavenly Father, help me to look at cockroaches as one of Thy beautiful creations. Help me to not scream if I were to see one again”. Heavenly Father, please help me to see them only in Thy beautiful outdoors and please, not in our apartment”. Heavenly Father, help me to see them with the excitement and enthusiasm that little Reed would have—to love them as he would for he would see them as one of Thy amazing creations and want to catch them and play with them”. I’m wide awake again! Did I hear what I thought I heard? Was mom praying about cockroaches and integrating it with her prayers over her grandchildren? Yes! That is what I heard—I was not dreaming! Oh, how I love your mother. She prays about anything and everything. I will continue to spray our apartment. Love Dad