The people here are so loving and kind. Church began at 8 a.m. yesterday, ad we were blessed to enjoy the Primary program. The primary in the 8th branch in Phnom Penh has about a dozen children, plus their leaders. I was a little surprised to hear them sing--besides about a dozen other songs--the two new primary songs for this year, "My Eternal Family" and the "builders" song. Most of the parts were memorized and the songs were so interesting since we know the tunes and received their message through the sweet Khmer lyrics to the melodies. Looked like about 90 in attendance at the meeting.
The Sunday School lesson was about the final days of the prophet Joseph's life and how he was peaceful about fulfilling his mission. Ben was asked to explain some concepts from time to time, which he did eloquently (as far as we could tell, being in Khmer, of course!).
The Sunday School instructor sat beside me during the Relief Society lesson to translate for me, which was nice of her. I volunteered to play the opening hymn (the top hand, anyway) and the lesson was about the purpose of each church meeting. About a dozen sisters in attendance.
After all meetings, we visited and took pictures. Ben received cards and gifts, and I was even given a shell key ring with an engraving of Angkor Wat on it.
Then, our day was spent visiti
ng members' families, a rich experience indeed. The first family of six that we visited live in a small, humble home nestled under some stores in Phnom Penh. We all "visited" for about three hours, playing games, working puzzles, and feeling so relaxed together. Don did a number puzzle on the white board, so I did one, too--they loved them! Daniel even showed how much of the number "pi" he has memorized. Dad taught the young daughter of the family the hands over hands--move away before getting "caught"--game. Daniel got in on th
e action and enjoyed other simple games as well--blowing bottles caps with straws across a wet table, for example. We were all in very close proximity due to the small living room, but is was nice--so comfortable and relaxed. We were given dragon fruit with such a bright pink flesh--so delicious! Don, Daniel, and I all got our fingers pink, but we noticed members of the family (and even Ben) all ate the fruit as they peeled back the skin, keeping fingers clean. We also were served bottles of water--and the fan felt good. Our first rain came while we were indoors. I considered it a downpour, but Ben said, "No, if it was a downpour, we wouldn't have been able to hear each other speak."Our next visit was about a 45-minute tuk-tuk ride out into the area where Ben most recently served. It was our first trip out of the city and Ben seemed to visibly become happier--he's a country boy, I do believe. But I could relate. It was great to see some green--a few groves of trees. The home we visited was a haven of banana trees, papaya trees, and other tall, rich vegetation. We were greeted by a 21-year-old daughter of the family. She speaks
Engli
sh very well and is meetin
g with the branch president next month for an interview to become a missionary. Ben said the branch president has given an occasional 4 on a scale of 1-5 as far as how prepared he feels the member is to serve a mission, and he would like to give this girl two fives. She really is amazing. We were served an delicious curry with rice and bread--also some soy milk that the mother had made. About nine 20-year-old boys from the branch were there to meet us as well--all so nice and very happy. They had been waiting for us since 4 p.m., and we arrived at 6! No complaints, though. Ben gave away soccer balls and CTR rings along the way--all well received with smiles and laughter. Such a joyful lot. Seemed a shame to leave, but we had one more family to visit.
This mom, dad, 16-year-old daughter 40-year-old son-in-law and 6-year-old grandson set up a card table with a pretty red cloth and served us "mian" fruits--and more bottle water--and again, we enjoyed the cool from the fans. This 65-year-old gentleman had amazing stories of his experiences during the Pol Pot era--shot at, foraging for food and water in the hills for three months, and spending some time in prison with unbelievable, but true, conditions. When we left, we thanked the family for the visit and for the fruit. Since we mentioned that we liked the fruit, they bagged what was left for us to take with us!
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