Kim Sang was born 20 December 1978 in Tra Vinh, South Vietnam which used to be in Cambodia before 1949. His parents were rice and vegetable farmers. His father fought on the side of South Vietnam during the war, and later fought against the Khmer Rouge. Sang’s family moved between Cambodia and Vietnam while he was growing up. When he was 12 and 13 he did part time work taking care of 1000 ducks for a family in the area.

When he was 15 and 16, he lived in this tree close to the river in Phnom Penh and worked part-time as a construction worker to support himself while finishing high school.

When he finished high school, he went to work selling coconuts on the street. His route took him past the Intercontinental Hotel and he used to watch the nicely-dressed workers going in and out and think how he would like to dress like that someday. One day he was standing next to an older man and mentioned his desire. The older man said, "Without education you can not do it." That's when Sang found extra classes to attend at night so he could learn English and better study habits.

In 1996, he heard about the American Prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley, coming to visit Cambodia and he went to the Cambodiana Hotel to hear him speak. Sang didn’t know what a prophet would look like and was surprised to see a mild-mannered gentlemen in ordinary clothing. However, he felt the powerful spirit of the prophet’s words and sought out missionaries to teach him. He was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 21 December 1997, the day after his 19th birthday.

Sang progressed in the Church and, at the age of 22, he was called on a full-time mission to Cambodia and finished his mission January 2001. He learned much during this time and served as a zone leader in both Kampong Cham and Phnom Penh. Sang worked at the mission office as Administrative Assistant to the Mission President from January 2001 until December 2002 when he went to work for the Cambodia Service Center as Materials Management Supervisor. He also attended night classes to earn a degree in Economics.

Sang courted his future wife, Som Moroda, while she was working for Mfone Company. They were married in Phnom Penh on February 23, 2002.

Kim Mary Jane (9), Kim Vanndy (6), and Kim Pich Panha (3) have come to grace the home of their parents. They are united in their love for our Savior.

Sang and Moroda in their Phnom Penh home. He completed the requirements for an MA degree at Phnom Penh International University and was promoted to Service Center Manager on January 14, 2011. He also serves as a Branch President and Executive Secretary to the Mission President. He has come a long way since selling coconuts on the street.

The popular Tay Phirum family--Tay, his wife, Reaksmey, and their two children, Angel and Aaron. They dropped by to see us on Valentine's Day last week.

Unlicensed gun sales and killings were rampant in 1999 so the government collected and destroyed all the guns they could find. Shortly thereafter this "Knotted Gun" statue, inspired by a Swedish artist, was erected in the roundabout close to the Japanese Bridge. Commonly referenced as Gun Circle, nobody pays much attention to its centerpiece, or to the politics behind it.

One of our senior missionaries took this next sequence of photos of a power line worker climbing the cement poles barefoot. Here he is starting his ascent.

He is now perched on top of the pole while tying in wire.

He is shown here descending the pole after his work was completed.

We took a couple of hours yesterday to visit the national museum and paid an extra dollar so that we could take photos of the courtyard garden area. We also took a few of the outside entry area. The inside exhibits focused on stone carvings and many relics unearthed by international teams of archaeologists since the early 1900's. It was interesting to see a chronology of the museum history with the notation for 1975-79: "Khmer Rouge regime--museum closed and all activities ceased."

The following four posts contain eight quick photos.

Dear Family and Friends,

We are delighted to report that an article about our Water Festival Cleanup project appeared in this week's Church News. The piece features some nice quotes from our members, along with three striking photos. Please click on http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/61973/450-Cambodian-Saints-celebrate-Day-of-Service-with-festival-cleanup.html to view it.

Time is passing swiftly and we are surprised that Valentine's Day is already so close. (That's a hint to the guys who may be reading this message!) ;-)

Hope you are all staying warm. We are enjoying 90+ here.

Much love,

The Snyder's