October, November, December 2004

October 2004

Monday, October 04, 2004

I’ve got to keep writing more often than this.  Something troubling has happened.  Manda called last night in tears.  She and Jim are splitting up.  Apparently he has been drinking quite a bit and she can’t take it any more.  We did not know of any of this !!  We are so sad for them.  Manda is pretty heartsick over this.  It will be trying days ahead, as she tries to work things out.  Right now she is pretty set on coming back home to Morgan.  She will have to sell her house and quit her job.  She and Camryn will live with us until she can get on her feet.  She is very upset and confused.  I have prayed and prayed for her, and this hard time she is going through. 

I feel so down, and sad.  Sometimes it seems there is no peace.  I know my Heavenly Father is always there for me.  I pray that Manda will come to know that he is there for her too, and he loves her, and our Savior died for HER, and took upon him HER sins, and if she will but turn to them, she will feel their peace.

Tuesday, October 05, 2004

I am fasting today.  I know that even though Manda is not close to Heavenly Father, I have faith that if I fast and pray for her, that HE will see that she makes the right decision.  She is struggling right now to make that decision.  Pause.......  She just called, 7:20 a.m.,  and said that she had decided to come home.  Does she want to leave Arizona, her job, and her home?  No – but it is doing what is best for Camryn.  And she’s most important.  These are Manda’s words.  

I will still fast and pray throughout the day, so that she might have a confirmation and peace of mind that this is the right decision.  I feel bad for Jim. Hopefully this will wake him up and he can get some help, so that he can be a good dad to his daughter, albeit a long distance dad. 

Today was a very peaceful day for me.  I fasted all day long, prayed quite a bit, and felt humble and meek and felt like my fast meant something, and helped someone, my daughter Manda.  This is the first time I have ever done this the RIGHT way.  I know it made a difference.  She seemed a lot more calm today, and had made up her mind firmly to come home to Utah.  I know this will be VERY hard.  I pray for the strength, and patience, and love that it will take – for ALL OF US. 

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Well, this past weeks have been VERY exhausting.  I flew down to Arizona last Wednesday morning, and we got back on Monday about 1 p.m.  I am so glad I could be there for Manda.  We worked together, getting her all packed and boxed up, over the course of Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and then Roger, Zac, CJ and Landon came down (drove the truck and trailer) on Sunday.  We loaded everything up, and turned around and headed HOME !!  It has been an emotional week for everyone, especially Mandy.  

Monday, October 18, 2004

Well, last week has gone good for the most part.  Manda and Camryn are settling in, and it is very enjoyable.  Manda is SUCH a help around the house.  Camryn is SUCH a sweet baby, and we are glad to have them here.  I am so glad Manda had the courage to make this hard decision, to get her and Camryn out of an abusive situation.  I hope Manda knows now that her family is ALWAYS there for her, and I hope she will not let herself get in another situation like this.  I wish so badly that she would turn to Heavenly Father for help.  It would make things SO much easier.  Oh well, I will keep praying and praying and lead by example, and maybe she will see the light.  We have slacked off on our family prayer at night, and also reading in the morning.  I need to get back on track !!!

Landon played another awesome JV football game last week against Grantsville.  He cut his hand and had to have 6 stitches.  Zac finished up pouring his cement – it sure looks GREAT.  Landon also went to the Girl’s Dance with Chelsie Ross.  They went with a bunch of kids, and had a great time, and dressed as characters from the movie Grease.

Sunday, October 24, 2004

Well another week passed, and Manda and Camryn are even MORE settled.  It is nice having them here.  I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad Manda had the courage to change her life and Camryn’s also.  Manda’s house should close (sell) this week.  And she should receive the information for a job which she can do from home, while she is going to school.  She found out about CCI – a place where she will go to Medical Coding school.  She will either start in November or December.  She will go for 4 nights a week from 5-10.  We will watch the babe.  It will work out just fine. 

Zac and CJ went deer hunting yesterday, and they didn’t see anything worth shooting.  Also, he is coming up today to work on tiling the kitchen in the basement.  Me and Manda and Camryn went to Ogden yesterday and got the cabinets for the kitchen downstairs.   Did I mention that Zac “found” a buried cesspool or septic tank in his back yard?  Now he has to worry about digging it up or filling it up !?!?

Landon played good in the JV game this past week against Ben Lomond, and got to play quite a bit of Varsity too.  They won both games.  They play this Friday at home against Uintah High School for an inter region playoff.   Landon was supposed to get up this morning and go to a Priesthood meeting at 7 a.m.  He slept in, didn’t set him alarm, and I forgot to set mine too.    I wish he cared more about this……….. me too, I should have been more on the ball.

Roger is hating work more than ever.  He had to work yesterday, because of a problem with a guy not  coming back from a semi run to Elko Nevada.  They had the police out looking for him, and everything, and apparently he was back in Salt Lake, checked into a clinic??  For Drugs, depression, we don’t know.  It’s good he isn’t DEAD, but he had a lot of concern and worry and work expended in his behalf by many employees at the bakery.

Thursday, October 28, 2004

Well we got the tile all layed downstairs, and will grout it tonight (maybe).  Zac is such a great helper.  Amanda and Camryn are settling in, and Camryn is becoming quite vocal.  She has so much attention showered on her, that when she’s NOT the center of attention, she let you know!!  Manda brought her over to a courthouse luncheon yesterday, dressed as a bumble bee, and she was SOOOOOOOOOOOoo cute!!!

Mom is fixing supper for us tonight.  There time is quickly passing as they get ready to go on their mission.

Landon is getting ready for the BIG game tomorrow night with Uintah High School.  This is the first round of the playoffs. 

Roger is disappointed as his Cardinals got SWEPT by the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. 

Tomorrow morning at 9 am we are taking a picture of the wrestlers for a poster which I have put together to put in businesses around town !!

November

Monday, November 01, 2004 - Zac and CJ are going to have a baby !!  She is only 4 weeks along, and is having some problems.  She will find out today if everything is okay. We are happy for them and hope that everything is okay.

Morgan Football won against Uintah.  Landon didn’t get to play as much as Rog thinks he should, but Landon doesn’t seem to mind.

We went down to UVSC to see the girl’s volleyball team play Saturday night, and they lost and only took 2^nd place. This was a shocker !! 

Zac and I got the tile grouted yesterday, and it is looking GREAT !!

November 9, 2004 - Tuesday morning.  I painted the wall red this morning.  Looks like it will need another coat before we can put up the cupboards.  Dang.  Getting a new washer and dryer today.  Football is over, and wrestling is coming up !!  We lost the game last Saturday to Dixie.  Today Manda starts school at CCI.  Hope all goes well.  Last night though, CJ had a miscarriage.  I haven’t yet heard this morning how she is doing, but our thoughts and prayers are with them.   They (Zac and CJ) are obviously down about this.  It is sad to see your kids go through sad times.  Landon has started wrestling practice, and working out.  It’s exciting to change seasons in sports.  I got my office rearranged, and it looks great !! 

Thursday, November 11, 2004 - Didn’t have to work today.  Cleaned the house, and I’m busy getting all of my files gone through !  Manda has inspired me !!  I’m throwing ALOT of stuff away. I hope I won’t need it later !!  Went down today with Manda and got Camryn’s pictures taken at Kiddie Kandids.  She sure is cute.  One of the cutest things she does is suck her fingers when you are feeding her vegetables and fruits.  She sticks them in her mouth between bites, and then when she pulls them out, she KNOWS she wants to pull them out, and her little arm does the work, but she doesn’t know to STOP sucking, and so there is this big “POP” when they pop out.  It is SOOOOOOOOOOO funny !!!  She has brought so much joy into our home.  Manda is going to school now, and will be starting work.  Life goes on.  We’re happy !!

December 

Thursday, December 02, 2004 - So much is going on and I need to take more time to write.  We had a nice Thanksgiving, and took family pictures, and they look great !! We got the tree up.  Everyone is fine.  Manda decided not to work, and just go to school, and I think this is right.  She has started seeing a therapist to help her work out her feelings.   Zac is having trouble with his little car.  CJ is still going to work and school.  Landon wrestled his first matches last week and won both of them. Tonight he goes up against Brad Gustafson from Tooele, and he is nervous.  I have been going to Park City to meetings yesterday and I’ll go today.  Roger is still hating his work so much, but like a trooper he goes on…..

Mom and Dad went into the MTC a few days  ago (Monday) and she called tonight and said they are keeping really really busy, and are doing well.  Camryn is such a sweetheart, and I enjoy tending her at night.  Tonight we’ll take her to her FIRST wrestling match !!  Hope all goes well !!

Monday, December 06, 2004

Well, the start of another week.  Camryn was GREAT at the wrestling match last week.  She looked so cute in her little shirt !!  Landon lost against Gustafson.  Hopefully he will get over this mental block, and be able to beat him at Region later in the season.  At the Evanston Invitation this past weekend, he won 4 out of 6 matches, losing 2 times to a kid from Laramie Wyoming.  John Nicholas.  Both matches were REALLY exciting, and Landon wrestled really good, but just came up a little short.  He pretty much dominated the other matches, winning over kids from Evanston, and Jackson Hole, and I can’t remember the others.  He got beat up pretty good, getting a black eye, and a torn up lip.  

Haven’t seen Zac this weekend.  I know he was working on putting a baseball on Landon’s gear shift to give to him for Christmas.  I’ve got to get some Xmas shopping done.  It will have to be this Saturday, as Landon only has matches on Thursday and Friday.  Hopefully I can get to the gym everyday this week.  I’ve got to watch my weight.  I gained 1 pound 2 weeks ago, and last week, maintained.  I’m afraid I’ve either gained, or stayed the same this week (I weigh tomorrow). ( I gained 1 pound) I’ve got to get my butt in gear.  Today a guy (appraiser) from Provo is coming up to help me with Holcim……  Well, I better get my butt in gear and get going for the day.  It’s 4:27 a.m.   

Friday, December 10, 2004 - All it has done the past few days is RAIN RAIN RAIN.  Roger goes to work as usual and hates his work as usual too.  The thing is, he doesn’t bring it home with him and make our lives miserable.  I think both of us do a great job in leaving work AT WORK !!  I have been working on the Holcim appraisal this past week, and have almost gotten it wound up.  Manda is going to school as usual, and we have been watching the babe.  She is so precious.  She got really sick on Monday night, and on Tuesday Manda took her to the doctor, and he said she might have the Roto Virus, which causes vomiting, diarrhea and dehydration.  She seems back to normal now.  She is so sweet, and has us all wrapped around her little finger.  Landon had a match last night against North Summit.  He pinned the poor kid handily.  Today we head to Union High School ( 2 ½ hours away) and watch him compete in the Union Duels.  He should wrestle 4 times.  We’ll probably get home in the wee hours of the morning tomorrow.  (We actually got home at a decent hour (10-11 p.m.)  Landon won 1^st place in his weight (135) and it was the sweetest!!! Match he’s ever won.  The kid was sooooooooo cocky, and Landon wiped the mat with him!)  

Mom and Dad should be back in town tonight, from the MTC.  I haven’t talked to her since last Wednesday (two days after they got in).  It will be interesting and inspirational to hear of their experiences and accomplishments.  They will stay at Mark’s, and leave for Cambodia on Monday morning. 

Friday, December 17, 2004 - Well, mom and dad left for Cambodia, and arrived safely per one email I received yesterday morning.  There luggage however had some problems, and I’m not sure if they have that yet.  Cambodia is 14 hours AHEAD of us.  So now when it’s 5:34 a.m here, it’s about 7:30 p.m. there.  Roger has been in Twin Falls for the past 3 days.  He’ll get home today, just in time for the Weber Duels.

Sunday, December 19, 2004 - letter from Mom and Dad on their mission.

Dear Family,

Well we have had quite an adventure since arriving.  The trip was uneventful but when we arrived at Phnom Penh our luggage didn’t.  Our carry-on bags had an extra shirt and an extra pair of garments for your mom and me.  We were put up at the Mission Home for the next two nights.  These are really luxurious accommodations; all the floors are either tile or wood.   Even though our luggage had not arrived we were not comfortable staying there so we moved into our apartment, which is very nice but not luxurious. 

Fortunately our luggage caught up with us Friday night so we are now settled in (we don’t know where it was, only that it got left behind on one of our four plane transfers).  We spent most of Saturday cleaning the apartment.  Every thing was covered with a layer of dust as fine as talcum powder.  It took us the whole day to get it clean.  Yes, I worked right along with Mom to get the job done.  Since I don’t type, I’ll have mom do all of the letter writing including finishing this.  She will tell about what we have been doing.

We attended one of the Branches (2^nd) Sunday.  It was all in Cambodian (Khmae pronounced Kah-my) and was interesting to see how things were done.  The people here seem to look more like people from India instead of Oriental.  There were a lot of young people in the Branch and we saw the cutest little baby girl.  Her mother had her dressed in a red Santa hat with white fringe and tassel. 

Monday:  We had our first day of teaching and we each have two classes.  It’s hard to tell how many are actually in the class as quite a few didn’t show up.  I guess they thought there was no school this week.  We both felt very good about the classes, probably because we speak better English than the students.  They love to sing Jingle Bells.  We finally got our Internet hooked up this afternoon and got the returned e-mail from Gwen.  We attended a musical Christmas sing-a-long program this evening at the big new church that was on the cover of the Church News in Feb.  What a beautiful building.  No this is not where we do our teaching like we had thought.

The traffic here is unbelievable.  Cars, motos (small motor bikes), bicycles, gong bees, etc. driving everywhere and anywhere.  Everyone just seems to move over and accommodate whatever happens.  The best explanation is it looks like water running through rocks, with the rocks moving around.  We’ll send you some pictures later.  We’re glad Landon isn’t over here testing his skills at driving.

The weather is dry and hot, but not terribly hot.  Thank goodness it’s not the hot time of the year.  Right now at 8:20 PM it is 82.4 degrees outside.  Thursday, the day after we arrived, we left Phnom Penh and drove two hours southeast to a Vietnamese village were we distributed powdered milk and sacks of clothes from the Humanitarian Center to about 130 families.  These families live in huts on stilts because the river floods periodically.  Underneath the huts are animals (pigs, chickens, etc.).  The bigger animals are tethered to a stake with a rope around their foot.  Even though they live under these conditions, the children were all clean and looked healthy.  One of the little girls received red and white ski bibs, which she immediately put on even though it was very hot.  To reach this village we had to ferry our van across a river. 

So far we have both been well and haven’t caught the gomboo.  We have been very careful and only drink bottled water.  We wash our dishes and then rinse them in water with Clorox added.  What a chore it is to brush our teeth.  It is so easy to forget and use the tap water like we do at home.  The food prices are about the same except for boxed cereals.  The kind in America run about $4-$5 for a small box and the peanut butter is $5.60 for about a pint size bottle.  The bananas are a dark green but they are ripe.  If you wait until they turn yellow they are spoiled.

The Mission Home is located in a ritzy neighborhood and is surrounded by a number of embassies (U.S., Indonesian, Singapore, Australia, and Canada) and less than a quarter mile from the royal palace.  All of these big places are behind locked gates with guards.  They also have high fences around them.  In fact most of the homes, etc. are protected the same way, as is our apartment building.  Anything that is left outside, walks away.  People think that if something is outside, no one wants it and they can have it.  The Learning Center is also behind a locked gate.  It houses two branches and the Learning Center, which is on the 4^th floor.  No elevator and we haven’t counted the steep steps that lead to it yet.  We are so glad it is air conditioned.

We will sign off now.  We miss you.  Oh, by the way, the big picture of the family made it here in perfect condition.  Thanks again.  Let us know what is going on back home.

Love, Grandma and Grandpa Dickson

P. S.   Our new E-Mail address is vldickson@camnet.com.kh .

Tuesday, December 21, 2004 - my letter to Mom and Dad

It was good to hear from you !!  The picture was great.  I don't know how long it took to send, but hopefully you'll be able to send some more.  Do you have to pay by the minute (internet) or is it unlimited?  Maybe you could write all your messages, and just hit send before you go to bed?

Everything is fine here.  We are ready for Christmas.  Landon did REALLY well at wrestling last week.  He took 2nd place in the Weber Duels, losing only to a  2 time state champion from Star Valley Wyoming. (Sondergroth).  Last year this kid wiped him all over the mat, and this year, Landon hung right with him, and even had him on his back and was ahead for a little bit, and only ended up losing by 2-3 points. It was the happiest loss ever, if you know what I mean.  Manda is finishing up a "section" at school, and will start on another right after the holiday.  She has all next week off.  She and Camryn head out  for Arizona on Christmas morning, and will get back on Tuesday.  We also will head for Pinedale and will get back Tuesday also.  CJ passed her Pharmacy Tech exam that she took last month, and just found out she passed yesterday.  We are really proud of her.   Roger was in Twin Falls for 2-3 days last week.  Still loving it (NOT)!  I'm still working hard (haha).  Today is the day they finally approve the budget, and we'll know for sure if we get our raises for next year.  Sure hope so !! Take care, we love you and are praying for you.  Do good.

Love Gwen

December 22, 2004 -  We got our raises approved last night !!  YA HOO  that will mean a $10,000 raise for me !!  That will be put away for Landon’s mission and college.   Today is our county party at noon.  Got all the plates of goodies handed out last night, and got our money figured, and this morning I cleaned off the filing cabinet !!  I’m on  roll……………..

Received this letter from Mom on December 22, 2004

We received your e-mail so it looks like everything is working well between our computers.  We were so glad to hear that Landon is doing so well in wrestling.  Tell him to keep up the good work and we will even cheer for him here in Cambodia.  We received an e-mail from Zac and CJ today but couldn’t acknowledge that we had received it because all there was for the e-mail address was:  zacandcj  (could you get us their complete e-mail address).

School is going well but we still need to fine tune our lessons and try to decide just how much to cover each day so that we accomplish what we need to.  Our classes are an hour long and start at 10:30 A.M. and 1:00 P.M.  I am teaching Level 2 and Dad is teaching Level 3.  The students are special, some more advanced and outgoing than others.  Yesterday after classes four young men (ages 20 to 24) stayed after classes and wanted to talk to me.  They wanted to know where I came from, a little about my family, what I thought about Cambodia and coming here, and just anything and everything they could think of.  They are a very polite, loving and friendly people.

We have been invited to all of the Branches’ Christmas parties during the next 7 or 8 days, so will be kept busy celebrating Christmas in that way.  There are a few Christmas trees around – a big one at the Mission Home and a few at the big hotels who cater to tourists, also a few Christmas decorations.  Since this is a Christian holiday it is not celebrated here by the Buddhist religion.  We will close the school down after today for a week though.

We just received information for those corresponding with missionaries from the Office of the Presiding Bishopric about POUCH mail service.  All POUCH mail should be addressed the way we told you - to Salt Lake City with your name and complete return address.  Items sent in the POUCH should be limited to the following:  letters and documents (paper copies of photographs are classified as documents). Anything else is restricted, however they may be sent through the U.S. Post Office.  Just address them to the following address.  They will be mailed to the Post Office here in Phnom Penh and someone from the Mission Home will pick it up, as there is no postal delivery.  Maybe we will be able to send some pictures home or put them on a disk and send them to you.

Elder and Sister W. L. Dickson

Cambodia Phnom Penh Mission

House 2B, Street 222, off Norodom Blvd.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Will end for now.  We love you and pray for you all the time.  Give Camryn a tight love for us and tell Amanda to be careful on her trip to Arizona.

MERRY CHRISTMAS – have fun snowmobiling.

X O X O X O   Grandma and Grandpa Dickson

December 31, 2004 - Last day of the year………….  We had a fun time at Pinedale.  Weather was okay for the most part.  Manda did not have a good time in AZ.  Camryn was out of her element, and was onry, teething?   Maybe………..  Amanda didn’t take Camryn to see Jim or his family, because of Jim’s last tirade.   There was a bad earthquake and tsunami over by Thailand, India, etc. and Thailand is next to Cambodia, but mom and dad didn’t even know it had happened.  Landon and Chelsie have broken up, he doesn’t seem to be too upset about it.  Apparently her parents want her dating more??  Well…..   they didn’t seen to be “dating” that much, but I guess they WERE known as an exclusive item, so it is for the best.  I wish he would hang out with a BUNCH of different girls and boys and have fun with all of them, and not be “STUCK” with one girl.  He is going up to Dwight Gailey’s “barn” tonight for New Years for a party.  He sure likes his letterman’s jacket and MP3 player he got for Christmas.  Roger got a new coat, and I got a gift certificate to Meier and Frank, and a new watch (charm) from Manda, and a candle holder from Landon, and a gift certificate to Deseret Book from CJ and Zac.  It was a good Christmas.