Senior Conference Service Trip

Senior Missionary Conference day two took us on a road trip through the country. We all met at the mission home where we loaded into three vehicles for a 4 hour drive into parts of Cambodia we had not seen before. The rains of the past few months have made the fields green and puddles and mud were plentiful all along the drive.  We took along lunch and found a parking lot with some shade at about noon to eat a "tailgate" meal before continuing through muddy streets to our destination Tuol Kdey Secondary School for a bicycle distribution.

Out in the country there are many young people who have such great distances to travel for school that their attendance is not always what it should be. LDS Charities purchased 500 bicycle to help these young people with transportation. The senior trip was to the little town Tuol Kdey where 150 students from three schools gathered on the first day of school. The older students living farthest from the schools were presented with bicycles of their own. It was great to see their joy as they received this gift. Tomorrow the other 350 bicycles will be taken to another community close to the Vietnam border for a second distribution by another group representing the Church.

To make sure we didn't just visit with the same people all day Sister Christensen had groups change for the return trip. This was a great way to better get to know the other senior couples. The return trip only took 3 hours as we made less stops and drove a little faster. We were content to be passengers instead of driving. Our little car is not the best for off-road or long drives, and the back seat has almost no leg room.

Dinner tonight was a simple meal at the mission home with more time to visit. As we finished someone suggested we go out for dessert, so off we went to ColdStone for ice cream. We look forward to getting together tomorrow morning for the conclusion and training with these marvelous friends.