Glamping in Butterfly Heaven

April 25-28, 2018

For our Senior Missionary Conference President Hassell took us glamping in tent cabins on the shores of Lak Lake Camp in Lam Son Village, near Buon Ma Thuot, in the central highlands of Vietnam. The area around this shallow lake is beautiful. Buon Ma Thuot happens to be the coffee capital of Vietnam, and it is the trees that shade the coffee trees here that attract the butterflies. The cocoons were hatching, and thousands of little yellow butterflies abounded; it was quite a magical sight. This girl was trying to catch them in her plastic bag. 

We were taken by boat across the lake to our glamping, hide-a-way, tent camp. Each couple stayed in their own individual tent cabin, overlooking the lake, which were built up on the side of the hill on stilts. The units each have a modern bathroom attached, with flush toilets and a hot water shower on one end, and on the other end of the tent cabin is the balcony overlooking the lake. The beds even had a soft mattress with an attached mosquito net. True glamping! 

Throughout our stay, we were spiritually fed by President and Sister Hassell as they taught  “Teaching Repentance and Baptizing Converts”.  The Restoration of the Gospel is an ongoing process and we are active participants in it. The Lord helps us because IT IS HIS WORK. There are many people willing to receive the Gospel. We just need to find them. This is an act of faith. We must believe that the Lord will place prepared people in our path. It takes setting goals, working hard, and consistent prayer. This will bring forth the blessings of heaven. Even though we are humanitarian missionaries, we touch people’s lives by our faith, hard work and prayers. Our acts of charity are constantly being watched as we display Christ-like service.

We were encouraged to seek out the scriptures. The truths they reveal will be treasured up in our minds for teaching opportunities. We are promised that when we most need to remember the truths we have studied and learned, they will be there for us. (Elder Renlund)

We were admonished to remember that a mission is a unique opportunity for us to serve side by side with our eternal companion. President Hassell promised that we will grow to love our companion more deeply through this united service. We need to utilize the gifts that each of us has and work as a team to be successful. Gerald and I, personally, appreciate this opportunity. Our mission truly has helped our marriage to be stronger.

During a break from our training, we were invited to go on a hike to nearby Ede village.  It was an experience walking through the rice fields, passing water buffalos, cashew nut trees, coffee fields filled with butterflies, and fully experiencing the heat and humidity, during our hike. 

At the end of our hike we were treated with a cool orange drink at the market as we prepared to take a boat back to our camp.

The next afternoon we took a tractor wagon and visited another village that grows cacao. It is fun for us to visit various ethnic minority groups in Vietnam and become more knowledgeable about all the different people and their cultures in this amazing country. 

We were entertained by the Ede ethnic village people. It gave us a fun look at their unique culture. 

At dinner time we always had the resident cat come up to our laps to beg for tidbits; he was irresistible and very well fed.

One thing that camping always brings is lots of insects… and at night the insects in the jungle really come out, as they are attracted by the light. We found that it was better to go to bed early, turn off the lights and just listen to the “night noises”, rather than deal with the bugs.  Most of the night-time noises we heard were different species of geckos making little chirping noises. The early morning sunrises from our balcony were glorious. Just before dawn we could hear the fisherman on the lake banging the sides of the boats to scare fish into their nets. 

The stay in the tent cabins on the shores of Lak Lake Camp was a most interesting experience, and also helped us to appreciate, all the more, the things we have in every day life that make us comfortable. It is important to remember that sacrifice brings forth blessings. When we sacrifice and get out of our comfort zone, we can experience things that we wouldn’t ordinarily see and do, and our lives are therefore enriched. 

President Hassell left us with a blessing to go forth in our callings. We should never take our “setting apart” for granted. We can be instructed spiritually at the knee of the Savior and be filled with the Spirit as we go forth in this vital work, if we are willing and humble. When we put the Lord first and take Him into our heart we can bless others through His influence.