Our journey to Cambodia really began many years ago in Nauvoo when one of Merry’s ancestors donated his family’s china dishes for the construction of the original temple there. In a blessing he later received he was told that his descendants would be temple builders.

In 1981 Merry’s father’s construction company was awarded a contract by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints  to build 2 temples – one in Samoa and one in Tonga. In September of that year Merry and I took our family to Samoa so I could spend the next two years as the on-site project manager for both of those temples.

In July of 2003 we saw a story on the news about a fire that had destroyed the Samoa temple.  Less than three months we were on our way to Samoa again to be the onsite project manager for a different company.

When it came time for us to think about a mission, we decided to see if we could serve on a temple site that was not in the United States. And that is where this story begins.

This website is about our journey to the completion of the Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple. Each article will be written in the style and perspective of the person who writes it. There will be no particular effort to blend the two views.

We hope you enjoy sharing our journey with us.