Girl's Camp

Adele was asked to be IN CHARGE of Girl's Camp this year. While adult leaders were available to assist, they wanted her to gain the leadership experience. Due to a very busy school year, a committee of girls pulled it together, but I'm proud of Adele and her Youth Camp Leaders for pulling off such a fun and successful camp.

Due to late snows, they had to find a new camp location the week or two before camp. They ended up on Pineview Reservoir in Huntsville, Utah. The started camp with a morning of serving at The Odessey House in Salt Lake, and then it was into nature. They got to repel...

Do skits...

Canoe and swim, learn first-aid and outdoor skills, hike, do a mindfulness workshop, put together self-care kits (Adele was in charge of this activity and the girls made bath salts, body and hair mist, lip masks, etc.), have quiet time to write in journals and read letters from parents, and end with a testimony meeting, a time to share one's personal convictions of faith. They came home dirty, tired from late night tent games and ALIVE.

(And a shout out to leaders who sacrifice and serve to make such memories happen!)

Accra LDS Temple & MTC

We went to the Accra LDS Temple, and it was so amazing to see so many African Saints dressed in white with their characteristic brilliant smiles! What a wonderful place.

Our friend Michael arrived. He is joining Geoff's team in the near future and is jumping in here in Ghana. It is really fun to have a familiar face.

We walked next door to the MTC (Missionary Training Center), where Geoff's brother Ian's mission president and his wife are now serving as MTC presidents. Geoff and President Allen did some work together during Geoff's time in Self-Reliance Services at the church. He and his wife came out and visited with us for about 30 minutes and told us about some of the unique challenges at the Ghana MTC, such as African missionaries not having adequate clothing, immunizations or health (some coming with malaria, scabies and lice.) But relative to missionaries from other countries, the African missionaries are more hard-working and committed, and have a better knowledge of the scriptures. I'm pretty sure this husband/wife team are two of the nicest people I have ever met. They exude love. It was a treat to talk about the MTC and how to prepare our girls for missions, but also to feel of their goodness.

We spent the afternoon at the Marriott pool where we also watched the World Cup.

And then another World Cup game at our go-to World Cup-watching restaurant.

Great day!

Girl's Camp at Six Lakes

Adele and Ceci had Girl's Camp this week at Six Lakes. It was a mismatched group of young women. Many of the regulars couldn't make it, and there were many new and less active girls that went, as well as a sister of a new convert who isn't a member of the church. The girls were a little nervous with the group make-up, but they came back saying it was their favorite Girl's Camp yet.

It was HOT. Many planned activities were cancelled to make room for more water time. Every day they played in the water: tubing, canoeing, paddle boarding and swimming.

They went on a hike and rappelled, a first for many of the young women. We have two new girls from the Philippines and a girl from Ghana in our ward. It was their first time camping too!

Adele was a YCL (Youth Camp Leader) this year and helped with a lot of the planning. As a YCL she was a tent leader. Ceci reported that Adele was always looking out for her tent mates, making sure they were included. They woke her up at night when they had to make the trek to the bathrooms. One threw up after swallowing too much lake water and Adele sat outside the bathroom with her. (For anyone who knows Adele's adverse feelings towards vomiting, this was a big sacrifice!) Adele is a natural at ministering. It was great to hear about it in action.

One of the young women, Kate Baron, took all but one of these photos. She captured some great personality shots of Ceci.

They came home completely wiped out, but full of light and happiness.

Waitomo Caves & The New Zealand LDS Temple

The western coast of New Zealand is the only place on earth to have glow worms. We took a tour of a cool cave that had a river below it. Once we made our way down to the water, through a beautiful "cathedral" section where our guide sang an amazing Mauri song that echoed magnificently, we boarded a boat for a short ride down the river and out of the cave. Looking up, it was like the night sky, only they're glow worms! Actually, they are maggot larvae, but no one would drive a good distance and pay money to see maggots, so we'll go with the worm idea. The bioluminescence attracts bugs to their little nets and they feed on those bugs in their larvae state. It really was remarkable.

Since no photography was allowed in the cave, they touristy establishment created a green screen photo op. We stood in front of a white screen and pointed to a stuffed animal worm hanging from above, and this is what we got, just as if it was the real thing!

Only it wasn't a glowing blue, and it looked more real...

It really was an amazing experience.

We stayed in the LDS New Zealand temple housing during these nights. The accommodations were basic (and just about to be torn down for a major temple and grounds rebuilding). 

The grounds and surrounding area are so green and open.

New Zealand has some incredible trees.

We had some physical challenges on the housing playground.

The church in N.Z. has a rich history. There is a Mauri couple that has been collecting historical information from early missionary journals, photos and gifts and have created the only church history museum outside of the United States. Early missionaries provide details about local tribal customs, costumes and foods in the 1800s, the only surviving details from this period. Some of the gifts they received as missionaries have been returned to this museum from families who have held on to them for generations. It is a special place.

We loved going to the temple together. It was the first time in a few months, and was the last time in the N.Z. temple as it looks now! The church is transforming the current temple and surrounding area over the next three years. Included in those changes is a new LDS housing development that will be open to everyone, but will encourage LDS standards and sense of community. It is called Temple View and is well known in the area. Very interesting concept!

These were our last days on "North Island". From here we go north to "Northland".

Going to Church

The nearest Mormon churches were an hour away in two different directions. We picked one and gladly took the Sunday drive through amazingly green pastures, over hilly terrain, with cows and sheep grazing and green mountains standing guard. We passed through a few beach towns, catching glimpses of the glorious coast.

We arrived an hour early (Geoff only looked up the starting time of ONE of the church options, the other one!), so to pass the time we found a nearby walking path and walked along until we reached an estuary.

Adele videoing Ceci in front of a kiwi orchard.

It was a small branch of the church with a large percentage of Tongan immigrants. This little branch embraces the Tongan member's culture by singing some of their hymns in Tongan, and the priesthood holders passing the sacrament were in their traditional clothing.

I love visiting our church meetings around the world. The light and goodness is the same, the faithful disciples of Christ are choosing to worship together and do their part to build the Lord's kingdom all over the world and in different cultures. Adele noted that Sunday School is the same all over the world - dreadful! Even those observations are insightful! Our many observations lead us to a lot of interesting discussions about how things could be different, and our own opportunities to have positive influence.

It was a wonderful Sabbath. 

Phnom Penh - Day 4

I'm a little behind on posting!

Monday we headed out to see the King's Palace and Silver Wat (temple), but our tuk tuk driver dropped us at a different wat because the King's Palace wasn't open, yet. Immediately we spied some puppies. Ceci began a campaign to keep the puppy while in Cambodia, but my "0% chance" pretty much shut it down.

We got talking to a monk who studied in the US and spoke English. He seemed to have quite a bit of seniority, as he teaches at nearby universities, oversees funerals and travels to train/teach, but he was totally present with us.

We asked him about meditation and, if he hadn't been on his way somewhere, he would have taken us under a tree and led us in our own meditation session, but instead he took ten minutes to teach us some basic techniques, most of which are familiar to us, but hearing them from him added a little richness. "Meditation is when your mind and body are in the same place." He meditates FOUR hours a day!

This monastery has 400 rural kids that come to get an education and be fed. They live there among the monks and are cared for until they are old enough to be on their own. In addition to puppies and kittens...

These beautiful butterflies are everywhere.

Our monk friend told us of a really good place to eat lunch, so we ventured out for another lunch adventure.

Let me pause here to say how much we love our Cotopaxi backpacks! Well, Cotopaxi in general. Geoff's good friend started Cotopaxi and hooked us up with some good deals on gear for our travels. These backpacks are SO comfortable while holding a bucketload of STUFF. Each one is uniquely designed by its factory worker in the Philippines out of spare fabric scraps.

Yesterday we saw someone walking down the sidewalk with a Cotopaxi backpack and we hollered from the tuk tuk, holding up OUR backpacks. There were happy, thumbs up and waves. It was a fun connection with a stranger. Shout out to Cotopaxi! Woot Woot!

Ok, back to lunch. What would you choose?



I cook dishes from all over the world at home, but I've discovered I am not a very adventurous eater. We went to Thai food the day before this, and it wasn't the same kind of Thai food we eat at home. I wish I would have taken pictures of the other pages of this menu, this was one of the better ones. To our delight there was a plump, roasted chicken option! The picture looked like it could have been a poster at Whole Foods! We ordered the whole chicken to share, with sides of rice. Geoff and Ceci also ordered frogs, in honor of a video our brother-in-law Davey made Geoff for Christmas, showing foods common in Cambodia.



We all gave them a try. Adele took a little self-convincing, but she did it!

Not bad, actually! 

And then our chicken came.

Wait! That is NOT what it looked like in the picture! For starters, the picture didn't include the head. Try as we might we couldn't find meat on that starving bird, and what little we did find was rubbery and chewy! I never thought I would say this, but I preferred frog to chicken! And was filled up more by it! We all left hungry.

The king's palace and grounds were beautiful.

The king doesn't have any power here, but he sure lives in style! This is his reception building, with a long carpet, lined with columns, down to a royal throne. No pictures were allowed, but it looked like what you would imagine a movie-set to look like.

The Khmer people love the lotus flower because it grows up out of dark waters into the most unbelievably beautiful flower. They have seen their own darkness in recent history, and they believe they too will blossom like the lotus. This flower at the palace reminded me of similar triumph.

The palace had buildings with old warrior gear, royal outfits and household goods, as well as their elephant seats.

Adele and I don't seem to process heat very well, and this particular day was humid and hot! Aside from nearly melting into a puddle on the pavement, it was an amazing explore.

The Thurstons picked us up from the palace and took us to an orphanage run by a Mormon woman and her grown children. They have 29 children they consider their own and run the place like a large family and home. They teach the gospel of Jesus Christ, studying the scriptures, praying and attending church. She allows them to meet with the missionaries and get baptized once they are 12-years-old, fully aware of their own choices. ALL of the children over the age of 12 have eagerly joined the church. One served a mission and is now at BYU Hawaii. Two are currently serving missions in Cambodia. The older ones are chomping at the bits to go, saving money to serve by making little handicrafts and selling them.

Children attend public school from 7-11:00 here. It is not a robust education. The children in this orphanage come home and continue their schooling in English, computers, seminary (a scripture curriculum) and other personal pursuits.

Most came from off of the streets, some came from a call saying, for example, a step-mother is going to sell her step-daughter into sex slavery, can you please take her?

We were visiting to join them for Family Home Evening, a night, once a week, set aside for the family to spend together in teaching, playing, singing and eating treats.



After going around the room introducing ourselves, a fifteen-year-old boy stood up and led the FHE (Family Home Evening). We sang a song, said a prayer together, and then three of the children shared a scripture and their thoughts about it. I was already in disbelief. These children were happy, like all Khmer children seem to be, but they were also like harmonious siblings in how they interacted, they were helpful in picking up a broom and sweeping up a mess, if needed, they were polite, confident and well-spoken, their English was quite good, their knowledge and testimony of the scriptures was incredible, and they were so full of love and light it was hard to really absorb and communicate what we were feeling in this humble little place. This was not a show for the visitors. It is just what this willing family has created. We truly felt we were standing in a holy place. If this is the future of the church in Cambodia, Cambodia is in good hands and truly will blossom as a lotus.

Here is Ya Ya (I'm sure that is not how you spell her name, but phonetically that is how it sounds). She is a daughter of the founder, and she and her husband are running the show while the mother is in the US fundraising.

The mother who started the orphanage survived the Khmer Rouge. She wants all of these children to grow and become and blossom, AND she wants them to remember their heritage, so they all learn traditional dance. They performed several numbers for us and did an amazing job!

At the end they called us up for a chicken dance.

We were quite good.

This little spot of heaven is located in a very poor area (like most areas in this country). I wondered what the neighbors think as they hear angelic singing and see how wonderful these children are. During the chicken dance many of them were standing and watching at the entrance. I'm sure it was because they thought we Americans were famous dancers...

Geoff felt a special connection to this little girl on his right, and she felt it too. She followed him around everywhere.

The Thurstons have been so hospitable. They have shown us the HEART of Phnom Penh. We got to peek into their daily life of service, which is pretty amazing. It wouldn't have been the same without them.