Covid ... fear or myth!

The Premier Sen Sok Centre

This is the Premier Sen Sok Centre where President Russell M Nelson stayed and used as a venue to meet with the Saints in Cambodia back in 2019 before Covid.  It was a grand hotel, but now it becomes one of the  quarantine facility In Cambodia,;  if one is tested positive for Covid, they will be sent a  quarantine facility for two weeks.  The once beautiful maintained ground is now littered with trash and people hanging their clothes to dry and people!

The most frustrating thing for me in Cambodia is the fear of Covid!  Since Covid, no one has any other diseases such as normal cold or flu.  Missionaries will think they had covid when they have a stuffy nose.  The weather in Cambodia had changed from dry to wet season, there is monsoon rain pouring down in a minutes and then dried in 10 minutes.  Missionaries are on their bikes and most of the time they don't have a poncho with them, so they get wet and then go into a place where the air conditioning is on full, they get chills and cold, a fever follows.  Every time they texted or called, they wanted to know what I can give them!  My question to the missionaries has always been:  do you have a fever and the answer is usually "NO" but I know I feel HOt inside of me.  Most of the time their true temperature is normal.  

As I said before, when a person is tested positive, he or she is sent to a government quarantine facility where almost no medical services is provided, therefore, our policy is to not go to get tested and treat covid symptoms as covid and have the missionaries stay quarantine in their apartment for 10-14 days.  Majority of the symptoms has been cough, sore throat and then a stuffy nose plus fever.  Some also has body aches.  When we (I) don't administer the test, missionaries feel I don't care for them.  I tried to educate them that if I do test them, I will need to send them to quarantine facility and that whether they have covid or not, the treatment is the same, quarantine/social distancing, medication to treat symptoms!  I feel like a broken record to repeat the same every time a missionary called with their complaints.  I feel like people are mostly reacting out of fear and all critical thinking is gone ... So frustrating!

I wondered if life as we knew is forever gone and Covid is here to stay, hopefully, just like everything else, we will get so used to have Covid, it becomes one of those normal illnesses that we will have to live with from now on!  One thing I do know is that it is no fun to live in fear.  

So, please stay healthy, take care of your body with good nutrients, practice good hygiene, hand washing, cover your mouth when you sneeze, stay home if you have a fever, get the vaccine if possible, then live a healthy and fearless life!

P.S.  Vaccines:  I know there are a lot of controversial regarding the Vaccines, just a personal thought: if we do not make this a political or freedom of choice issue, if there is a disease that is easily prevented, would you want to do all you can to protect oneself.  I have lived thru Polio as a child and seeing how devastating it was, where children are crippled because of it, I was glad to get the vaccination even though it gave me a scar for life!  Please put all aside, follow the recommendation of our living prophet, see his example if you are in question!  Most of all don't let vaccines divide you from your God, your faith and your family!

Once beautiful building, now littered with people and tents outside for Covid quarantine

All the tents were set up used for people to stay for 14 days!

Cambodia Temple site dedication

We finally got words that the Cambodia Temple will be have its groundbreaking ceremony on September 18, 2021,  The following is an article written by Elder Daniel Sellers on the event:

CAMBODIAN TEMPLE GROUNDBREAKING CHOIR

The announcement by President Russell M. Nelson in 2018 that there would be a Temple built in Phnom Penh Cambodia came with great surprise and profound thankfulness to the saints in Cambodia. The beautiful and strategically situated Temple Lot along Russian Federation Boulevard will provide a particularly inspiring reference to The Savior Jesus Christ for the citizens of Cambodia to reverence with awe.

In anticipation of the official groundbreaking on September 18, which will be conducted under the direction of President Veasna Neang of the Cambodia Phnom Penh Mission, President Neang asked Sister Marian Sellers, one of the Senior Couple Sister missionaries, to organize a choir to enhance the spirit of the groundbreaking celebration. With the invaluable assistance of Elder Ethan Arkell, a missionary currently serving in the Phnom Penh Mission, a missionary choir was assembled and began earnestly practicing Sister Sellers’ arrangement of “High On The Mountain Top”.

President Vichit Ith, one of the first members of the Church in Cambodia, who had stood next to President Hinckley in 1996 as the land of Cambodia was dedicated for the preaching of the Gospel, was asked to organize the details of the ceremony. With Cambodia’s Covid policies to consider, the 33-voice choir first recorded the musical rendition of this majestic hymn while gathered together in the Mission Home. Then under President Vichit Ith’s guidance, an independent filming group was retained to capture video of the choir as it divided into three separate small groups within the government-prescribed gathering limit and put faces to the previously recorded music. One group was recorded at the waterfront junction of the Mekong, Tonle Sap and Bassac Rivers, with a breaking sunrise behind; another group was videoed at Neak Banh Teuk Park in the heart of Phnom Penh, with the monument to Cambodia’s independence as their backdrop; the final group was filmed at the East District

meetinghouse of the Church, with its beautiful stone plaques proclaiming the name of the Savior, and the towering rooftop spire as the backdrop.

The day of the outdoor recordings was weather perfect. The sisters fairly glowed in their traditional Khmer skirts, and the Elders reinforced the Khmer fittings with Cambodian-themed ties.

A deep debt of gratitude was felt toward Heavenly Father and His Son for their gracious oversight of this special musical addition to the Cambodian Temple Groundbreaking Ceremony upcoming.

We were able to help out on the day of the video recording of the choir, the choir consisted of local Khmer missionaries (current and past), and a few foreign missionaries), they spent days practicing the song with music arranged/adopted by Sister Sellers, they pre-recorded the song ahead of time, due to Covid restriction, we divided the 30 plus choir into three different groups and take videos of the three groups singing.  We made cookies as a treat for both the missionaries and the photographers who did the shoots for us.  The final product was professionally done.  We loved the beautiful sceneries, the sun raise behind the choir on the first few pictures, the perfect lighting while we were in the front of Independent Monument and finally at the church building!   Cambodia is a blessed land and with the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we pray and hope that it will become a land of peace and growth for its citizens.

September 18, 2021:  We were not able to physically attend the dedication prayer/ceremony but it was videoed and broadcasted in Khmer.  Our Mission President was assigned to give the dedicatory prayer, even though we don't understand the words he spoke but we could feel the emotion and the love and gratitude he expressed to our Father in Heaven for the wonderful blessing that a temple will bring the this land!  We are so grateful to be part of this historic moment in the history of Cambodia!

 

Driving ... an organized chaos

 We got our driver's license and let me tell you, I will not be driving any time soon here!!!

We were given a three months visa when we arrived Cambodia,  we applied for an extension as soon as we got out of quarantine, it took a little bit time and our one year visa came back after 3 weeks, then after getting resident letter to prove we are legally here, we went to the Licensing department, pay money ($10,000 Kriels, which  equals to $2.50 US) for vision test and then another US$35 to get our license.

Let me explain how Cambodian drive:  Everyone has the right of way!  If you want to go thru an intersection, you cannot just wait for your turn; depending on who get to the interaction, that person/car/motto are the one who have the right of way.  Same with pedestrian crossing the street, if you wait for your turn, you will never cross the street, so we just step out of the street and cars and mottos will slow down or stop for you to cross!  a little bit crazy and dangerous I know, but now I feel like the road belongs to me, haha!

We got a car once we get our license and the same evening, Ted almost got T-boned at an intersection, people go full speed at intersection without checking for oncoming traffic on the cross road and luckily, Ted was able to drive around him!  Same examples of this organized chaos that we have seen so far are:
1.  you can turn from any lane: for example, I have seen someone on our right turning left right in front of us when we are going straingt
2. with blinker on to make a right turn, multiple motto (motocycles) would drive pass you to go straight. 
3.  A lot of the road a one way, but it does not prevent people from driving on the wrong side of the road for a few blocks so that they can cross over to the "right" side of the road: I had to hold my breath when I was riding on a tuk tuk with sister missionaries to go to the wet market!

Needless to say, you have to have your eyes watching all directions, tuk tuks, mottos, bicycles, cars and people!  Ted has gotten very brave with me as second "back seat" driver, telling him to pull out and wait for on coming traffic to slow down so we could make a left turn, It is crazy but it is life here!  So pray for us so we won't get in any accident!

Ted finally got pull over by the police for running a yellow light!  Here in Cambodia, the police would come out in packs: one would be driving on the road, you might not have done anything wrong, they will pull you over.  We were told to have a second wallet in the car with documents and if we ever got pull over to hand over this second wallet which would have some amount in it (a few thousand kriels - US$1-2), they will return your wallet with money gone and then let you go.  When Ted got pulled over, they said he ran a red light, which he did not, and they asked for $350,000 Kriel (US$80), Ted showed them the wallet, they just took his wallet and emptied the money out - he learned a lesson, he is going to have a wallet that has a $1,000 kriel instead!  The traffice polices are so corrupted here, he also radio ahead for someone else up the street to pull you over!

Here are some pictures of the traffic situation here:

One lane road becomes 3, all trying to convert into one lane to turn right!

A car making a right turn in front of you as you are going straight, first come first served!!