TENDER MERCIES AND MISSION MIRACLES (August 2026)

  ...HAVING BEEN HIGHLY FAVORED OF THE LORD IN ALL MY DAYS....

1st Nephi 1:1 (the very first verse of the whole Book of Mormon)

-A tender mercy is a clean church to welcome people.  We really feel like we make a difference in the spirit felt here.  We quietly work behind the scenes and love to contribute this service.

-Prompted to visit someone we haven't seen for a few months, Lee and Vanny.  What a warm, welcoming feeling!  Vanny really embraced me!!  They are the "cow" family.  Their little 4-year-old grandson, BonYa, also just ran up to me.  Such a great feeling!  They are not being taught right now, but the relationship is there.  Followed this by a visit to the village where the children absolutely squealed in delight when we arrived. Nice to feel so welcomed and loved!

-Prompted to share "Faith" song from the Primary songbook with the video to Soknem and family.  Beautiful feeling.  

-Special connecting moment with SokMien on her baptism day.  Wrote a special note for her on the back of the picture of Jesus visiting Mary at the tomb.  She loved it!  What a special moment in her life to share together!  She is one of the most elect, spiritually sensitive people I know.

-Got to see the inside of the brand new Cambodian temple for the first time!!  The feeling was overwhelming!!  The rush of the spirit was incredible.  What a beautiful, beautiful design.  Ohh, this is so very special to be here at this time!!  This was preceded by a wonderful missionary devotional with El. Gong.

-At the "Gongfest," both East and West missions were invited.  Because of this, we had a very happy reunion with Phattla!!  I'm still amazed that she was a recent convert not that long ago, and now she is on a mission.  

-Blessed from morning to night on a very busy Sunday - gave talks in Sacrament Meeting, made Primary happen (lesson, handout, andmusic), did the prep for the baptism (including having over a hundred pineapple cupcakes made!....and moving all the serving things and juice up 4 flights of stairs).  Jim cleaned the chairs and patio off, filled the font, and performed the gift of the Holy Ghost ordinance.  Then off to Kamboul to help with Primary and interacting with people there, then made dinner made for the Elders in the evening.  It was a paced, focused, and wonderful day!

Temple open house day!  Blessed in every direction as we took 75 people from Kampong Speu to experience it!!  This was such a culmination of  much  effort in inviting, setting up buses, preparing snack bags, etc.  Everyone was so positive about the experience!  I loved how the sweet volunteers explained things in each room. There was such a feeling of God's love for His children.

-Botisak gave the most beautiful answer when I asked him how the temple made him feel.  I recorded him - want to remember his sweet little voice! He said, "I love to see the temple and I'm really grateful to see it!  The temple is very beautiful,  and I feel so happy when I go in there, and I feel God is nearby me."

-I felt guided on my Primary lesson on Psalms.  Before I wasn't sure how it would go because it wasn't a lesson with an exact storyline, but I felt like it went especially well.  The children really responded and were more attentive than ever! Just felt blessed.

-Teaching at Mousea's home is always rewarding, and this time there was an added blessing of several children joining us.  I could tell they were feeling something, and I frequently saw them staring at me in wonder.  Children are just so special!

-I took the time to make the handout for Primary extra special. It was a picture of Jesus with children. The elders helped me order color copies on cardstock, and then I put a ribbon in it so it could hang.   The children colored a frame around it.  They treated it so special!  Between Kamboul and Kampong Speu, there were problem about 40 children who now have that hanging in their homes!  Imagine my joy when I saw that Phirum (11 year old boy at Mousea's home) had it hanging in their outdoor courtyard area! .....a home out in the middle of nowhere, not even members yet.  Wow!  The influence goes far!

-Such a precious moment when nine of our Relief Society sisters did a musical number in Sacament Meeting, singing "As Sisters in Zion."  I love their unity!!  And to think, just a few months ago, most didn't know each other or even know of the gospel yet!

-El Dutchak lost his wallet for three days.  After much searching, he retraced his steps and thought of going back to Bingue Ice Cream.  When he walked in, they handed it to him without him even asking! Everything was intact.  The honesty of the people is so inspiring!

-5-year-old Raksaa (granddaughter in the village) was leading the music as we sang for part of the lesson.  We also heard that she prays and wants the scriptures read to her.  She has a spirit that is full of faith.

Goneeta (Bai's wife) finally came to church, after months of inactivity and many, many visits.  She went to the temple open house, and something really sparked a desire! And she bought krammas (Cambodian scarves) as a gift for us personally!  She is much more warm and engaging now.   I think that the blessing for their son also made a difference.  He was quite sick and got better.  

-Baked 120 pineapple cupcakes for the baptism.   That is no little effort in our tiny toaster oven!

-El. Larsen got a roundworm parasite.  So grateful for the medical care available here to treat it.  That is serious business!  The symptoms would have made it easy to dismiss as something less serious.

-We were able to do some service with Lon and Heup, helping to clean up their yard.  We also took them a food order.  Love interacting them!  They seem happier than ever!

-There was a special feeling at church the Sunday after the temple open house.  Just more happiness!  Already the spirit of the temple is blessing us our group!

-Said goodbye to the faithful senior couples, El. & Sis Clark and El. & Sis Webb.  Have loved the friendships formed with them!  It just won't be the same without them around.  A joy to serve with them!

-Listened to El. Kearon's BYU Education Week devotional on "Being Still."  The message really spoke to me.  So glad we are still able to access such wonderful gospel talks, even out here in this remote area of the world!

-Hiked back up to the waterfallls in the nearby Kirirom National Park.  My favorite site was several small waterfalls near each other with a cascading larger one shooting over the top of them.  Cambodia has some of the most beautiful nature settings.  It is a lovely land!

-Tender mercy to simply have games to play with the elders - great interaction!  Love to laugh together.  Builds unity!  SkyJo and SkipBo are the two most played games currently.

-El. Paletu'a was so kind to buy me some light purple material to make a Khmer skirt.  It was a thank you for the many things he sees us do.  (bought a nice wallet for El. Duffin) Very thoughtful and kind of him!  Chanta sewed it for me, and I had something especially nice for the temple dedication day.  So grateful.

-So much excited build up for the Temple Day!!  DEDICATION, AUG. 30th.  What a JOY sitting in the room with hundreds of people who were all temple recommend worthy.  (Also broadcast in other buildings)  El. Kearon's talk and dedicatory prayer were beautiful.  The Cambodian members have waited a long time for this special day!!

-Bus ride over to the dedication was meaningful, especially our preparation for the Hosanna Shout.  We showed a little Bible video of the palms welcoming the Savior to Jerusalem and then played a video clip of Pres. Nelson explaining it in a conference talk.  We had special handkerchiefs made for them (by Chanta) to have as a keepsake.  We also sang hymns, talked about what a dedication means, and shared more about El. Kearon's background.  Beautiful unity together.

BIGGEST MIRACLE OF ALL - each of our Kampong Speu members has a temple recommend!!!  Every single member!!!  When has that ever happened in any church unit?!?!  The elders (especially El. Paletu'a) worked really hard to have that happen before the dedication.  What a joy to see the progress from just learning about the gospel to baptism to participating at church to temple worthy!!!