Cambodia: Day Three

Day Three was Sunday in Battambang.
Marc had served in the area around his
first year mark on the mission, so it had
been awhile since he had seen the people
there. Being Sunday, we would get to meet
with plenty of the members as we would be
going to church with them. Below is a
picture of the church building.

Church was a pretty great experience. There were
many that we made instant connections with, especially
people who LOVED my mother. There were a couple of sisters
that wouldn't leave her side! So we were welcomed by many of
the members beforehand. During church, Marc translated for us
and the senior couple serving in the area. In Relief Society, a
cute younger sister translated for us to the best of her ability.
She actually did very well for only learning English for about
2 years or so.

After Church is when I really felt like a celebrity or something.
Everyone wanted to take pictures with us. They each took turns
taking pictures with us or just giving us hugs. Below are just some
of those pictures:

This is the cute sister that translated for
us during Relief Socity.

Dad kind of got tired of taking so many pictures.

After church, we went over the the senior couple's
apartment and had dinner with them and the
branch president. His wife, who is Filipino, made
a really delicious dinner. It was a pork and pineapple
dish served in the cut opened and hallowed pineapple
eaten with rice. Hmmm, how I wish I could eat some
of that right now.

Here's our dinner group:

After dinner, we went around town visiting some
of the families. I've included pictures of Battambang,
which was quite different than being in Phnom Pehn.

Dad in the gongbay.

Marc so excited to visit the people in Battambang.

No, we didn't visit the cows, though we drove
past many on the gongbay.

The "statue of liberty" of Battambang.

Yes, this little baby has no pants on.

While we were there, the kid started to pee.
It was kind of funny. Dad with his new girlfriend, and some
other really cute kids.

Meeting this sweet lady and her family was such
a great experience. She had been learning from Marc
and his companion when he had been serving in
Battambang, but as soon as he left the missionaries
lost contact with her. Several months later, the sister
missionaries were looking for another family when
they came across this family. They started taking the
discussions again and the Sunday we were at church
was the first time her husband had ever attended.

When she saw Marc at church with us, she was so happy
and she instantly connected to my mother. Later when we
went to visit them at their home, she kept calling us angels
and really wished that she could talk with my mom.
They cried, a lot, though I must admit I cried some myself.
Ok, so maybe my dad did visit the cows.

The cute little dog in this picture is named Kiki.
We became instant friends.

After a long day of visiting people (and a running nose
due to the dusty roads) we finally went back to the hotel,
had some dinner (not very great) and went to sleep. The
next day we would be off to our next destination...Siem Reap.