On the 4th of July, I went to a celebration in Bloomington (suburb of St. George) as a part of their first planned community celebration. The combination of patriotic memorabilia, songs, slide shows, and speakers was outstanding reminders of our great freedoms in America. The speakers were Dr. Paul and Chandra Gooch. He was born and raised in Utah and she was born in Cambodia at the time of the "killing fields". As her father was a pilot for the ousted government, she and her family were in the labor camps and rescued (father and grandfather were killed) by the North Vietnamese 3 days before they were to be executed. Their sharing was powerful as he shared what he was experiencing in Utah and USA on certain dates and she in turn shared what she was experiencing those same dates in Cambodia. She, her mother, and siblings were sponsored and brought to America. They are now parents of 5 children and took a trip (with her mother) back to Cambodia in 2007. The slide show that they put together to illustrate her experiences and the beauty and devastation of the area made it all real. Thank you, to the community of Bloomington for all your efforts.
Sue Judd, M.S.S., L.S.A.C.
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