PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — After a fire displaced Church member Ros Sam Onn and his family from their home in Phnom Penh on Nov. 26, 2001, they found themselves relocated nine miles from the city living in a tent on a plot of ground dissected by a gully. When it rained, his family's meager living quarters were soaked.

What does a husband and father do with such a devastating challenge? Brother Sam Onn turned to his friends, his God, and his Church.

He remembers working in Phnom Penh and praying that he could somehow find a way to get his family out of the water. That night, he returned home to find the gully filled with dirt.

"Who did this?" he asked his wife, Sum Sophal. The Church had brought in more than seven cubic meters of dirt to make the land more usable for the people who were trying to rebuild.

That night, Brother Sam Onn thanked his Heavenly Father for dirt — dirt so his family would not have to sleep in such wet conditions.

About 10,000 families, including 13 members of the Church, lost everything in the fire. They were all sent to the area now referred to as "Goose Pit." The first week after the government took Brother Sam Onn's family to Goose Pit, they lived under a tree. Eventually, they were given the plot of ground, a tent, two cooking pots and about 100 pounds of rice.

Brother Sam Onn gained spiritual strength through the love and service of fellow Church members in 2001 and is today the priesthood leader of the group of saints in the branch in Goose Pit, a dependent branch assigned to Branch 12 in the Phnom Penh Cambodia North District.

On the last Sunday in April, he presided as the Goose Pit group met in a new building with 112 people in attendance.

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The miracle of the gospel of Jesus Christ shines in Goose Pit as brightly as the beautiful sunrises and sunsets over the vast rice fields. Local branch members and LDS Charities opened their hearts to those relocated Cambodians back in November 2001 and went to work. They dug 10 wells. They helped build numerous palm shacks.

And the Church brought spiritual strength as well. Since those difficult days, membership has grown to more than 60, not counting children. With so many investigators and friends, there nearly always are more in attendance. The missionaries are kept busy with teaching appointments. It is the gospel in action among a people who are still very poor but very resilient.

Until recently, Church members met in a tin shack the Church built as a home for one of the members. The tin shack has long been inadequate, so a larger home was renovated and the members thoroughly enjoyed their new surroundings, despite the intense heat and no air conditioning. There is not enough generated power in Goose Pit to run an air conditioner.

When asked why so many are turning to the gospel, Brother Sam Onn responded, "People find a good way for themselves." Not only have the members in Goose Pit found a good way, they have found the right way. And despite being poor as to the things of the world, they are rich with the promises of eternal life.

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