A Solemn Sunday

One of seven survivors

Yesterday we spent the morning with our older children visiting
Tuol Sleng, which was the main prison and torture house for the Khmer Rouge. The
Khmer Rouge was a Cambodian dictatorship under a French educated communist
named Pol Pot. Unfortunately, he killed many families and then trained their
young boys to carry out his vision of communist control by killing the
educated, the talented and the industrious. Tuol Sleng is known by many as the
Khmer Rouge Prison (S-21) and was used by Pol Pot from 1975 to 1979 to torture
and kill men, women and children. The stories that we saw and heard during this
visit, and then our tour of one of the killing fields near this prison, were
humbling since they happened in our lifetime and none of our children have yet
received any education or knowledge of this tragedy.
Nearly three million were killed in four years out of the
eight million that lived in Cambodia following the Vietnam War. The country
today has just over fourteen million and almost all who live here either
survived or are the decedents of a related survivor. It has been our privilege
to be here now for nearly two weeks doing humanitarian work in an orphanage
that is the direct outcome of this tragedy. To tell the story of the two
sisters that started this orphanage is too long and I am sure that Sandra, my
wife, has included it as a link on our blog.
For those of you who are interested, you can read it from that link. But
this much I will tell you.

We arrived at S-21 with Botevy, the director and manager of
the CICFO orphanage that we are serving here in Cambodia. As an adult, she had never been there, and it
was her first time to visit this prison with us. We went through the gate, and
she quietly said “this is where I went to school at age 14."
We walked a few feet farther and then she pointed off to her right and said
“that was my classroom”. We stopped for a moment and decided as a group to
return to the entrance and hire a tour guide so that we could maximize our
experience. When I returned, we listened as a group to the tour director and
then turned to start our tour.
I looked at Botevy, she was wearing sunglasses and then I
noticed that she was wiping her face. Large tears were running down her cheeks,
and then the reality of what we were witnessing hit all of us in the group.
This is where she not only went to school, but the memory of her father’s
murder (who was a general) and the loss of her sister during this tragedy were
all coming to her as she reflected on her life as a student and then the
conversion of her school to a death trap for her friends and family. We stopped
as a group to listen to our tour guide again, and then noticed that she was
alone in one of the torture chambers that were used to kill so many people. She
was weeping openly and all of us began to quietly realize that this was more
than a history lesson for our family, this realization was part of why we were
here in this country.
Later that day, we attended church with Botevy in her branch
will all 32 of her orphan children that come on a weekly basis. They cannot
take the missionary lessons nor be baptized until 18, but they can attend
church. We watched Patika (an 18 year old boy now recently baptized) blessing
the sacrament. It was fast and testimony meeting and my wife turned to me and as
usual, suggested I arise and share my testimony. I did so after a couple of
looks and when I stood, my friend, Matt Smith (who is traveling with his family
with us) stood to do the same. A member of the branch presidency interpreted
for us. I do not remember all that was shared between us and then our wives,
but I was blessed with a feeling of understanding that when Jesus said “Come
unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest, take my
yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall
find rest unto your souls.” He
was referring to this people who have found a revealed fulfillment of this
promise.
Now I must go public, and say that I have come for selfish
reasons on this voyage with my family. It has been my earnest prayer that my
children will come to obey my wishes out of love and not fear. And that, I as a
parent, will come to serve my children in a way that they love and trust me. After
this weekend and the events that have brought us to this point, I simply want
to know how I can do as these people--who have nearly nothing monetarily and so
many reasons to question the existence of a divine source. And yet, as we sang
in one voice on Sunday and I heard the sincerity of their quest, I was the
learner, I was the seeker; I became the
one needing to come.