Dear Family of Elder Baird,

Yesterday was transfer day. Elder Baird went from one extreme to the other in the course of one short day. We picked him up at his Sen Sok house about 11:00. Many many people were sad to see him go. We got his luggage and his bike loaded in and on the car. Then we took him and his companion to Phnom Penh for a steak dinner to thank him and to celebrate the transfer. Next we all went to the Mission home / Mission office. There he met his new companion. They loaded his stuff onto a gongbay or tuk tuk ( little cart pulled by a motorcycle) and they went to the bus station. From there he and his companion would have taken a 5 hour bus ride across most of Cambodia. They would have traveled through some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen. Upon arrival in Siem Reap he would be taken to his new house. It is a new house!!! Four Elders live there. That area has only been open since last April. The house is new and pretty, spacious and clean - quite a switch from a smaller place with intermittent electricity and water. The Elders in Siem Reap are the best of the best. His Zone leader - Elder Masters - used to be an Assistant to the President. He is a remarkable missionary. Tomorrow Elder Baird will attend Church in the newest branch in the mission. The Branch president is a Senior missionary couple - Elder. The first counselor is a Khmer friend of ours and the second counselor was a young Elder - full-time missionary just a few months ago!

Even though that Branch is only about 10 months old it has an average attendance of about 100 each week. It is a fantastic place to be a missionary. The city is beautiful with many many lovely hotels and restaurants. It definitely caters to tourism. I was there just last Monday with one of our sons. The Ankor Wat Temple and the hundreds of other ancient temples and ruins attract visitors from all around the world. As you can probably tell, we really like Siem Reap and we also really like Elder Baird!! Attached are photos to tell "the rest of the story". If you have any questions just e-mail.

Sincerely,
Sister Jean Lyman and Elder John Lyman