We have been home from Cambodia since March 2017. It seems like a life-time ago. I have been trying to find a website that would print my blog into a book. I still like to have the physical book in my hands! I wanted to share this experience with my children and grandchildren. I wanted them to each have a copy for their homes. It just physically testifies that we went and we were there. A tangible witness and example of serving a mission. As I looked through my blog I realized that there were some very important experiences that I did not write about but wanted to include in the book such as Angkor Wat pictures, the Orphanage, the School/Backpack project, and the everyday streets of Phnom Penh. This entry will try to include those overlooked and well deserved submissions.
ANGKOR WAT
Angkor Wat is a temple complex in the city of Siem Reap and the largest religious monument in the world. It covers approximately 403 acres. It was originally constructed as a Hindu temple for the Khmer Empire and gradually transforming into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the 12th century. It is truly amazing. Pictures don't do it justice but it is all I got!
THE CHILDREN
One of the many orphanages of Phnom Penh was visited often because it was owned and operated by one of the Church members. The children are the sweetest you will meet. The children are not necessarily brought to the orphanage because they have no parents. The children are there mostly because of poverty and parents having no means to take care of them. Botevy is the matron of the orphanage. She is an example of living a Christ-like life.
The School Backpack project
With the help of the LDSC (LDS Charities) Missionaries, Elder and Sister Meinzer, we filled 110 backpacks to take to a little one room school in the hills 4 hours north of Phnom Penh. It was a heart wrenching experience.
There are 2 classes held per day (55 students in each class), AM and PM, from grades 1-6. The teacher was requesting a whiteboard for the classroom. We threw in the filled backpacks on our own. We filled them with booklets, pencils, colored pencils, erasers, rulers, paper and some candies. These people and their children have few, if any, possessions at all, so to now own their own backpacks was more than they could dream of. The missionaries helped fill the backpacks.
The Sr. Couple missionaries helped distribute the backpacks.
This is the school room where education in a far away land, 4 hours into the provinces becomes the most important gift these children will ever receive.
The Streets of Phnom Penh
The streets of Phnom Penh are unlike any other. This was my favorite street. It was a clean beautiful street. Hard to find one of these in Phnom Penh.
