CHAPTER ONE
HOME FROM CAMBODIA
HOME FROM CAMBODIA
Our mission to Cambodia was over! We excitedly walked through the airport corridor where we found our very large family waiting with yellow balloons and welcome home banners. What a beautiful sight it was! With more than 50 members of our family waiting it was hard to hug each precious person, but what joy it was to be reunited after so many months. The children had grown a lot; we could barely recognize them and the babies didn’t like us at all!
We all drove to our home where we visited for several hours. Missy had stocked the refrigerator with food – yummy American food! We were really home! It was a glorious time! After living in Cambodia everything was extra beautiful, clean and luxurious. All the homes looked big and spacious and the yards were green and beautiful. Spring flowers were in blossom but snow was still covering the mountains. We loved seeing those beautiful mountains again!
How wonderful to resume our life at home with our family, but my parents were gone and my life would never return to the way it was when I left for Cambodia. Our mission work was a big distraction from the grief at home, now the time had come to face their deaths. Thankfully, Wilf’s Dad was still alive and we were home in time to celebrate his 90th birthday!
Dad's posterity at his 90th birthday party.
As we re-entered our old life, I tried to hold on to the lessons I learned in Cambodia - to walk with faith in every footstep and trust the Lord in all things. I hoped to live the rest of my life this way! We were not the only ones who had changed, there was a big difference in our children. They had moved on without us, independent and happy in their own families. I deeply felt the absence of my parents; their empty house was cold and lonely but filled with precious memories. Each week got better and my tears became fewer as the reality set in that they were gone. My life was now centered around my husband and children.
Each night as I knelt in prayer, in my own home, surrounded by beautiful snow capped mountains and the modern lights of the Salt Lake Valley, I was filled with gratitude, awe and wonder! How could it be that a few short weeks ago I lived in a primitive and poor country surrounded by beautiful Cambodian friends and beloved missionaries! My mission truly was a miracle! I just wanted to be still and process the amazing events of the past two years, and wait on the Lord to guide me through the rest of my life!
After the simple life of our mission, everything at home felt more complicated; there was so much “stuff” everywhere. We were very busy getting our home in order, selling Mom and Dad’s house, and helping our sons in their business, but none of it seemed as important as our missionary work. We longed for the simple life of a missionary, wearing our missionary “tags” and “uniforms” and we especially missed the people. We grieved together as we faced the complicated and fast paced world at home.
My star piano student, Phaury, playing for us.
All too quickly we were back in our old life, eating in restaurants with friends and family. Everywhere I went I was surrounded by expensive and delicious American food; I soon realized it would be nearly impossible to keep my slimmer mission weight. No wonder most Americans are heavy compared to the tiny people in Cambodia; eating out is everyone’s favorite pastime! It’s such a waste of money and way too much food. Even though I tried to control my appetite, the weight I lost in Cambodia soon began to appear.
Happy to be back in the mountains!
Typical of my entire life, my teeth problems came again. One of my bottom molars had to be pulled. The pain was so bad I finally agreed to let the tooth go. My new dentist had a horrible time getting it out, worse than any wisdom tooth. He had to dig for an hour, the roots wouldn’t let go – they were holding on tight! How symbolic is that! I have generational “root” issues that hold on tightly when you try to remove them.
After a painful dry socket that took weeks to heal, I was done with suffering from my teeth! The dentist said 99% of his patients haven’t been through what I have; he said my xrays looked like a war zone equivalent to four tours of duty in Vietnam. I was grateful for his validation; somebody finally understood what I’d been through with my teeth. Thank heavens for implants that replace missing teeth and give me another chance to “chew” my life correctly.
We thought we had good health but I was tired all the time and short of breath, perhaps my fatigue was caused by my return to a higher altitude. After the extreme heat in Cambodia I was freezing all the time. The tremor in my hand seemed to get worse in Cambodia, but even at home my hand was still shaking. I thought the pain in my tailbone came from sitting on hard chairs in Cambodia, but now I was sitting on comfortable soft chairs and it was getting worse. Wilf’s swallowing problem that caused him so much trouble in Cambodia was still bothering him and the doctors didn’t know how to help him.
Our family felt burdened down with the challenges of these tumultuous and difficult times and I felt heavy - mentally, emotionally physically, and financially. In many ways our mission was easy compared to life at home! It was the best thing we ever did, many lives were blessed, including our own family, plus sharing those tender times together made our marriage sweeter. We hoped to get our health and our house in order so we could serve another mission. The scriptures teach:
“Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work; For behold the field is white already to harvest; and he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul.” D&C 4: 3,4
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