Week 21

October 6, 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

Wow, so much happened this week! First of all, we had our transfer call come late last night. All of the sisters have some sort of change this transfer, as the mission as a whole is receiving 30 new missionaries on Thursday!! We have 5 new American sisters coming and my companion will be training one of them in a new area (Pochentong)! I will be staying in Teuk Laák, but I have a new companion. Her name is Sister Fife and she is half Thai, half American, but she grew up in the US. She is about half way done with her mission. I have learned SO much from Sister Kuoch, my current companion, and have loved learning about her and her family and the culture in Cambodia. I am also really excited to learn from Sister Fife!! 

Another big event of this week was that last night, around 12 pm, we received a call from the 2nd counselor in the bishopric of our ward, informing us that our Recent Convert, Om Phany (50 year old woman), passed away. She was the one suffering from cancer. It truly was a miracle that she lived until now and that she had this past week to be with her family. She told her husband, who is not yet a member of the Church, that she wants him to learn with us, get baptized, and be sealed with her. This morning we stopped by their home. I mentioned in a previous letter, that when someone dies they put up a huge event sized tent in front of the house and lots of monks come and say prayers for the person. (Her mother wouldn't allow her to have a service at the church). When we went to see her, they were still in the process of setting it all up, but it was definitely a different feeling than an LDS funeral. The friends and family were all in tears. We quickly payed our respects, gave the family a small amount of money (cultural thing), and left. Although we were sad about Om Phany, we are grateful she is no longer in pain. 

On a different note, we had another HUGE miracle this last week. About a month ago, we contacted a young mother with a new born and 2 year old, standing on the side of the street. She was kind, but she didn't seem too interested... or so we thought. On Tuesday evening, Sister Kuoch and I were finishing up a lesson, and when we received a call from this lady, Bong Phala. She said she wanted to meet with us immediately, and to stop by her home if we could. Luckily, we were just around the corner. As we entered her humble abode, she poured our her heart to us. She told us that her husband had lied to her and actually had another family that he was now going to live with. This lady started working again after only 2 weeks of having her new born. At her place of work, they beat her 2 year old. She has AIDS. She has no friends and really not much food. It is heart-breaking. She wanted to meet with us, in hopes that our church had an orphanage she could put her children. Unfortunately, we don't... but we do know of some members that have connections that we were able to tell her about. We also told her that we could share a message with her, that will bless her life and 100% help her in this difficult time of life. She was in tears as we taught her that she has Heavenly Father that loves her and how she can pray to Him at ANY time. She said she wanted to come to church, but she didn't have a bike or any way to get there with her new born and 2 year old. MIRACLE, on Sunday, a less active that is helping her find an orphanage was able to pick her up on a moto (motorcycle) and bring her to church!!! I am hoping to help her lots this transfer.

Our other investigators are unfortunately not progressing right now. It seems as though Satan has gotten hold of a lot of peoples hearts in this area, but NO FEAR, the missionaries are here to kick him out of Teuk Laák! :) 

I was able to attend the General Women's conference in ENGLISH with all of the American sisters on Saturday. WOW, Elder Uchtdorfs talk was exactly what I needed to hear and an answer to my prayers. As he testified about the love that the Lord has for each of us INDIVIDUALLY, I truly felt the spirit. We all need to remember that it isnt about the make-up, the fancy clothes, the houses, the cars, the body type, etc. God loves us for us, and that love doesn't changed based on worldly possessions or appearance. I can testify of that truth. The people here get by on literally just a few dollars a day, they dont have fancy clothes or cars, and their houses are barely standing, but I know for a fact that Heavenly Father loves each one of these people and desires their Salvation. 

Thank you so much for the continued love and support!!!

Love, 

Sister Lindley

Week 20

I September 27, 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

So remember that holiday I talked about last week? Well, the official "Pshume Bun" day was on Tuesday. Because literally no one was in Phnom Penh, we have zone conference. It was amazing! I really came away from it with a greater desire to serve God with all my heart, might, mind, and strength (D&C 4). 

President Moon talked about a lot of things, but I just want to share some things that really stuck out to me.

1. We are commanded to preach the gospel by the spirit. We can only do that as we overcome fear. Before the Resurrection of Jesus Christ took place, Peter was a fearful disciple. He feared man to the point of denying that he knew the Savior. After the resurrection, he preached the gospel until his death. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ changes EVERYTHING. Knowing that the Savior lives, means that the Atonement is real and that each of us can also live again. Which means, we need to prepare by living the gospel- faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the holy ghost, and enduring to the end.

2. We talked a lot about the difference between faith and knowledge. If all we have is knowledge, it does us no good. If we have knowledge about the gospel, that is great, but it doesn't save us until we have faith- meaning we act on the knowledge that we have received. This principle is so important because it is the first piece of the doctrine of Christ, and is the foundation to everything we do.

On Wednesday, the holiday continued, and so President Moon asked each of us to spend the morning deep cleaning our apartments. Its always great to live in a clean space, so I enjoyed that. That afternoon/evening we visited a couple recent converts. 

We have one recent convert, Om Phany (pronounced om paney), that is on deaths door. We visited her in the hospital and the doctors told us that the cancer has taken over her whole body and it is only a matter of a few days until she will pass. That experience was particularly hard. The hospital was fairly nice, but was like a ghost town. Hardly anyone can afford the health care. Om Phany is not one of those people. After giving her a few pain meds, they sent her home to pass on. She spent that next day half unconcsious, saying things that didn't make sense. Her sweet husband sat by her bed (beach chair) the whole time. They thought she would pass on Friday night and prepared their house. The culture goes that when someone dies, they paint all their windows white, and take everything out of their house and dress the person in white. Well, at about 2 AM on Saturday morning, Om Phany suddenly came to it and was extremely confused as to why her house was empty and all their cousins/aunts/uncles were sleeping on the floor around her. They told her she was about to die and she said she felt okay and wanted to eat. MIRACLE. She hasnt eaten in days and has a bloated stomach. Sister Kuoch and I visited her on Saturday morning and were AMAZED at her progress. I know that all the priesthood blessings she received were what have given her this extra time to spend with her family and children before she passes, and she knows that too. Her husband isn't yet a member, but has come to church the past couple months, even without his wife. He had tears in his eyes as he told us about this miracle. 

Anyway, that was the biggest miracle of the week. The work slowed down quite a bit with the holiday, but we are hoping to have a great week this week with over 30 lessons planned and a baptism on Saturday. 

As for the cultural aspect, this last week I saw a total of about 10 rats the size of a small cat, half of them alive, half of them dead. One group of young teenage boys decided it would be fun to play soccer with a dead one. I also ate more rice this week then I have ever eaten in my life. With this holiday they make this treat with a banana in the middle of sticky rice. The first time I ate it I didn't love it, but I can honestly say that it is delicious. Also, remember how I didn't like the soy bean/coconut milk/ice treat? I love it now. My taste buds are definitely changing! I also ate a soup made from fish and fish bones... I didn't know until after I ate it. It was interesting... but I am learning!

Thanks for all the love and support! 

Love, Sister Lindley

Week 19

September 22, 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

I wanted to start this email off by explaining something about the names that I use in my emails. Whenever I say Bong or Ming, that isnt their actual name. In Cambodia, there is no word for "you". Whenever we address or are speaking to someone, we call them by their name. BUT if they are older than us, we must address them by their "title" and then their name. If they are the same age or within 10 years older than us, we call them "Bong _____". If they are around 40 to 50 we call them "Ming______" for girls and "Look Puu______" for boys, and if they are in their 60s we call them "Om_____". If they are super old we call them "Look Yay____" for girls and "Look Taa_____" for boys. I just had to clarify that so everyone didnt think that everyone here has the same name. 

Anyway, this week was good. It was a little slower than our past weeks because this Tuesday is "Shume Bun". I am not 100% sure what it is, but everyone and their dog leaves the city (I am in the city), and goes to their home town (outer provinces). It is a Buddhist holiday and people take food to the Watts, but everyone in Cambodia celebrates it, whether they are Buddhist or not. We had about 75 in church yesterday, but only 5 in relief society...

One of the highlights of this week, was that we now have 2 more investigators! They are friends with some of our other investigators and so we teach them all together. There are four of them and they are all about 20. They are students and so they don't have much time to learn with us, but when they do, they are awesome!! They have only heard of Jesus Christ, and so every thing we tell them is new. It is so interesting to tell people about the Atonement when they have never heard of it before. They are usually in awe that Jesus Christ died for them and knows exactly what they have been through. That is one of my favorite parts of being a missionary; helping people understand that they are not alone and that Christ can ease their pains and burdens.

All of our investigators but one have gone out to the provinces for Shume Bun. It is super frustrating, but has given us a chance to focus on Bong Leda- our investigator that is still in the city. She is all ready to be baptized, she just has to get married to her boyfriend. Their wedding is planned for December! YAY! She is so awesome. Her story is very interesting. She is 21 years old and grew up in the city. She began dating a less active, Bong Samnang. They really hit it off and wanted to get married. As custom goes, the male must pay the females family to marry her. If they dont offer enough money, or if someone offers more, the father of the daughter will chose the man with the most money. Bong Samnang and his family are very poor, as his mother is widowed and has 7 children. A 60 year old man offered Bong Leda's father a large sum of money to marry her and Bong Leda was terrified. She left her family and was therefore disowned. The widowed mother took Bong Leda in and Bong Samnang used all his money to buy a small house for the two of them. They now live together, but they will be getting married in December and want to be sealed in the temple a year from her baptism! She is one of my favorite investigators and is honestly like a best friend to me. I love her!

Anyway, I hope all continues to go well at home for everyone. Thank you for your prayers and support!

Love, Sister Lindley 

P.S. Last week I saw a store called "6-eleven" hahaha. Gotta love Cambodia :)

P.S.S. I ate 100% Cambodian food for a straight week! My companion and the other 2 Cambodian sisters that live with us made me food every day. They told me it makes them happy when I eat Cambodian food. They made mostly vegetarian dishes and I LOVED it. We all contribute 5 dollars and buy enough food to last a week.

Week 18

September 15, 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

Once again, this last week was filled with lots of adventures and miracles; typical for a missionary serving in Cambodia.

 

The weeks are beginning to pick up pace and go by quicker and quicker! As I read in the Book of Mormon about the 14-15 year missions Ammon and the Sons of Mosiah served, I can't help but think of how quick a year and half will go. I have already been serving for 4 months! I know that these next 14 months will fly by and I need to give the Lord everything I have, even when I want to give up. 

Last Monday after going to the market (we go to the market at 5:30am- our assigned wake up time- because if we go later then the food won't be fresh), studying, and emailing, Sister Kuoch (my companion), Sister Dy, and Sister Ky, went to the mission home to grab a few needed proselyting materials and such. On our way home we ate lunch at Burger King (it is SO nice) and stopped at an American grocery story to grab some milk, cereal, and toothpaste. As we were leaving the store, we realized that it was POURING out side. Literally- cats and dogs. None of us had our ponchos, and so using the bags from our purchases, we covered our precious materials (Book of Mormon and pamphlets) and headed home. By the time we got home we were all completely soaked and- I never thought I would say this- but cold. It was a fun experience though!

This last week we were blessed with 5 new investigators!!! They all seem genuinely interested and all want to meet with us again. Only 2 of the 5 came to church yesterday, but we are hopeful they will all come next week. We also had 4 of our other progressing investigators attend church, so we were very happy about that. It is great when investigators can make it to church because they can learn SO much and feel the spirit as other members testify and teach.

Speaking of members, right now we have a recent convert, Om Pany, that is suffering from Cancer. Because of language barriers, I am not sure of all the details, but as we went to visit her this past week she was very emotional and confined to her bed (a beach chair). She was also hooked up to an IV (hanging on a coat rack). She has so much faith and wanted to attend church, but was too weak. However, it was so touching to me that her husband (not yet a member) came to church for her. He looked stressed and heart broken, but was willing to show God that he and his wife need a miracle.

On Friday I was lucky enough to do an exchange with the Sister Training Leader in this area, Sister Hartley. It was fun to be with an American, but it was also very difficult because she pushed me to do most of the talking, as I was leading the area. I was very shocked with how much I actually did know, as I pushed myself out of my comfort zone. I was able to clearly teach and even read a few verses from the Book of Mormon. 

On a less spiritual note, I almost DIED! Sister Kuoch and I were heading home from our last appointment on Saturday night and were stuck in heavy traffic. There was about a foot gap between me and a Car side by side. We were stopped, when out of no where a motto (motorcyle) zoomed in between us going about 30 MPH. The side mirror of the car flew off and the car had a significant dent on the side, but the man on the motto didn't stop and zoomed away. Although I felt the breeze of it all happen, I was also left without a scratch. I know for a fact that angels were protecting me! Just a few nights before, we saw a man unresponsive laying in the middle of the road with his motto compeletely crashed. There is a rule here that if you hit someone and hurt them,  you have to pay for their medical injuries which can be very very expensive... but if you kill them, you just pay for the funeral- very cheap. So basically- you have to do everything in your power to not get hit, and if you do get hit, you need to get up and leave as soon as possible. 

Oh, one other quick miracle. The ward missionary meeting was canceled on Saturday and so Sister Kuoch and I had an hour to fill. We needed to contact 52 people that day in order to reach our weekly goal, and so we headed to the nearby library- full of college students! In less than an hour, we were able to contact those 52 people and many of them showed genuine interest! It was great!

Anyway, thank you for all your love and support and prayers! I feel them every day! I love you all! 

Love, Sister Lindley

P.S. The computer I am on this week doesn't work to send pictures- sorry!! I will send some next week!

Week 17

September 8, 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was challenging, but we also saw a lot of great things happen too! Once again, one day this week, the streets were flooded with about 2 feet of water. That really makes it challenging to contact people because everyone is either in their houses or in a mad rush to get into their house. When the rain hit this time, Sister Kuoch and I had just received a call that one of our investigators had a couple friends at their house that wanted to learn. Our plans were flexible and so as we were on our way to teach them, water was spraying us from all directions... I don't even know how that happens! Once we got to our investigators house we were drenched! But that wasn't our biggest problem... because the roofs are all tin- it makes it absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to hear anything. We sat there for about 30 minutes until the daughter asked why weren't teaching them! haha She said she would say the prayer and after she did, miraculously the rain slowed and we were able to teach the lesson. This family is AMAZING and their friends were also very open to learn with us as well! They have SO much faith. The Mom and ten year old son can't read, but the seven year old and 15 year old daughter can, and so they read the Book of Mormon to them each night and LOVE it. Unfortunately they aren't very educated, and so it has been difficult to understand, but just by showing Heavenly Father that they are trying is incredible and fills their home with the spirit. Yesterday they came to church for the second time and they will be getting baptized at the end of the month! 

This week was also full of lots of service. We spent a couple hours helping a less-active with her business. Basically what she does is grind up rice until it is a powder and then puts about 3 tablespoons in a little bag and seals it. Apparently Cambodians put it in soup and it is delicious. Our ward also had its turn cleaning the church this Saturday. Sister Kuoch and I decided we would go and help and so we showed up at 8 AM and discovered that the Elders from our ward were the only other people there. After a while, the second counselor from the bishopric showed up as well and between the 5 of us, we managed to clean the church. You may be thinking that it can't be that hard, but the stake centers here are HUGE! It was great to help though!

On Sunday we had quite the miracle! We had just finished Sacrament meeting, when a husband, wife, and their 1 year old son came walking in. They said that they saw all the bikes/motos out front and wondered what this church was all about. They ended up staying for 2nd and 3rd hour of church and LOVED it! Turns out they live right near our house, and so we will be teaching them this week. I am super excited!

We had two baptisms planned for this weekend, but unfortunately an issue came up with one investigator and her baptism is postponed temporarily. BUT, Sotheavy, our 14 year old investigator is getting baptized on Sunday! I am so excited for her. She is so cute!

Anyway, the work continues to move forward in the Teuk La'ak Area of the Cambodia Phnom Penh Mission! Tonight we are going to teach a new investigator that we found through English Class. The Lord has blessed us with MIRACLES. 

As I was reading from the Book of Mormon this morning, I read from Alma 26 and really found strength. Ammon and his brethren had just labored for years in sharing the gospel and is talking about their success and says, "Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success." This last week there were a few times when I felt like I wanted to turn back- especially when I was biking through the rain- BUT I know that if I bear with patience the afflictions that I feel, the Lord will give me success. I know that is true for everyone that is going through ANY trial. Trust the Lord!!

I love you all!!! Thank you for the support!

Love, Sister Lindley

P.S. On a more cultural note, now that I am living with all natives, I have seen some very very interesting meals. Pig skin soup, frog, deep fried fish (the whole thing... including the eye balls!!!), etc. Luckily it doesn't offend them when I choose to eat my American food Mom sent me :)

Week 16

September 1, 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was crazy!!! But every week is crazy here, so that isn't saying much :) I have officially been here for 1 transfer! Woo! I survived!! I can't remember if I told everyone this, but after about two weeks in the country, an American sister and her native companion moved into my apartment! It was great to have someone to talk to about all the cultural things I didn't understand. Well, she finished her mission on Friday, and now Sister Kuoch (my companion) and I live with two other native Cambodian missionaries! That means that I am now 100% immersed in the language, so hopefully this transfer my language skills will improve a lot. Already, I have noticed an improvement. Sister Melton (American sister that finished) had her parents at church yesterday and I was able to translate for them when she spoke! It surprised me at how much I actually know.

Anyway, now on to my week. Last Monday a couple of us sisters when to a clothing market. There were a ton of tourists there and it was weird to see so many Americans! I bought a couple fun elephant print pants for about 3 dollars each and enjoyed myself. Today we are going to a different market, a more local one and apparently a lot cheaper. It should be fun. Monday night, Sister Kuoch and I went to visit an active member that is struggling financially because her husband has a blood disease that requires him to go to the hospital to get blood transfusions twice a week. She was so sweet and really wants me to learn the language quick. She is going to teach me a lesson for about 20 minutes before we share a spiritual message tonight. I am excited!

Tuesday we had district meeting, and talked about the importance of enduring to the end. It is so important to help the members here understand this concept because so many of them think that once they are baptized they are set. We all need to continually have faith, repent, keep our baptismal covenants, and rely on the Holy Ghost to guide us!

Wednesday was CRAZY! Dark clouds rolled in at about 4 or 5 PM and then the rain just started to come... and when I say come, I mean the heavens were literally open and I was concerned we would need Noah's ark to survive. We were doing service for a less active when this all happened, and we only had about 15 minutes to get to the church for English class. Normally that would be sufficient time, but as we put on our ponchos and headed out, I realized this was going to be an adventure. We literally rode our bikes through 2 feet or more of water. There were WAVES on the street! Everyone had taken cover, but we had to get to the church and so as we rode through the streets, everyone was looking at us like we were crazy. Nevertheless, we made it to the church! Luckily the rain slowed down and about 50 or 60 people turned up for English class. Because it was the last week of the transfer, we had a murder mystery activity! Afterwards, we divided everyone into about 5 groups and taught the first lesson (in Cambodian so they could understand it). It was cool to see how many people were interested in taking a copy of the Book of Mormon! I am not sure if they wanted it because it was an English book, or because they are interested in the Gospel... but I like to think it was the latter.

Thursday was full of rain as well, which made is super hard to contact... but we met up with a less active and she took us to a referral- a family! Well, a mom and her 3 kids and 1 nephew. We have already taught them the first and second lesson and they all came to church yesterday! They are SO humble and prepared to hear the gospel message. Getting to their house was interesting and quite frankly, a little bit scary.... They live next to a small river. The name of the river is stinky water, and it is very stinky, but I am not sure it is water. It is black. We had to park our bikes a block away because as my companion puts it "ot mian savatapiap" (dont have safety). After walking next to the river for another block, we walked down an alley, up some very steep stairs, and down another alley. There were definitely angels protecting us, and I hope they will continue to protect us because this family is so awesome and we are going back three times this week :)

Our other investigators are continuing to progress, and we will hopefully be having have 2 baptisms next week! 

I can't remember what day it was, but sometime last week we made a quick stop at a members house, and she was adamant that we had to eat dinner at her house. yikes, I was more than a little nervous. As I watched/helped her make the  meal, my nerves turned to complete fear. The meal consisted of boiled pig skin, pigs foot, some sort of fish, a few baby shrimps, and a couple veggies. She also had some leftovers, of a delicacy- fish that has been preserved for a long long time and smells just wonderful. I put a smile on my face, and swallowed all my food whole. It was a great experience and super kind of her to feed us because she doesn't have much. 

I hope all is well at home, I love you all so much! Keep reading your scriptures and going to church. There is power and answers in the Book of Mormon, I promise!

Love, Sister Lindley

Week 15

August 25, 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

This last week was awesome. We received transfer calls last night and Sister Kuoch and I will be staying in Tuek Laák. The only change that affects us is that the other sisters in our apartment have switched, and now I will be living in a house full of Natives (Cambodians). I am SO grateful for this experience to learn more about Cambodia and really progress in the language. 

Right now we have four really solid progressing investigators. We had one really awesome experience with one of them last week that I want to share. We were planning on meeting with one investigator (Bong Mala), but it fell through... which was actually a miracle in disguise. We met with Bong Kontea, another investigator instead. We had planned to teach the other person about prayer and the importance of recognizing the Holy Ghost and we felt impressed to teach Bong Kontea the same thing. As we began, she asked us how we knew the Church was true. Wow, the spirit was SO strong as Sister Kuoch and I shared our experiences and testimony with her. We then asked her about her baptismal date that she was hesitant about and she said she would pray about it again. I have a feeling that good things will happen with her! 

Right now we have 2 investigators that are set to be baptized in two weeks, Sotheavy (14 year old girl) and Bong Leda (22 year old girl) and they both came to church yesterday. There is no real big concern with either of them, and they both have family members that are already members so they are being fellowshipped really well! I am excited for them to experience the blessings of making their first covenant with God! 

On a more sad note, we had to drop one investigator this last week, Ming Nuan. She is so cute, but she is addicted to alcohol and hasn't really shown us that she is willing to stop. We decided we will still meet her once a week, but for now, she needs to think about what she wants to do with the course of her life. We are hoping that she will realize how much the gospel will bless her life, and we continue to pray for her, but because this is the Lord's time, we need to make sure we use it wisely. 

On a funnier note, my bike got stolen this week! We were in teaching our recent convert, and as we went back outside we quickly realized that my bike and helmet were nowhere in sight! Luckily, there was an extra missionary bike at the church, and I found an extra helmet in our house! I am slowly adjusting to the food here, and have actually found quite a few DELICIOUS treats that they sell on the side of the road! I will try and do better at taking pictures this week... unfortunately i dont have any. We had 28 lessons last week, and this week have a goal of 30! Last week, our mission had 3,000 members attend church, which is just 400 away from our goal for the year! There are about 14,000 members here... so that tells you just how much less active work we are engaged in! The work is great and moving forward! I love you all!

Love, 
Sister Lindley

Week 14

August 18, 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

Another week has come and gone and the work here is pressing forward! We had two baptisms yesterday! Mei and Jun are sister and brother and have been coming to church for about a year with their cousins, but were scared about baptism. It was a miracle because a couple weeks ago, Mei came up to Sister Kuoch and I after sacrament meeting and told us she was ready. Her brother also decided it was time, and we made the preparations necessary for them to be baptized yesterday. There were about 50 people all packed into a tiny room to witness the baptism! Their uncle, who hasn't been a member for very long was able to baptize them and it was so special. After about 10 tries, he finally got the wording right, and they were both baptized. 

We have a new investigator, Sotheavi. She is about 14 years old and just golden. Her sister is already a member of the church, and so she already has a basic understanding of the gospel. After church yesterday, we taught her lesson two; the Plan of Salvation, and at the end we asked her how she felt and she said she knew that this was God's plan for her and that she wanted to go to the Celestial Kingdom! She is getting baptized next month :)

We have six other investigators with baptismal dates, but they don't seem to be progressing quite as well. The main concerns that they have are that 1. Their spouse doesnt want them to get baptized 2. They won't come to church because they are either sick or busy and 3. They don't have time to meet with us throughout the week because they work! We also still have our investigator Ming Nuan, that has the drinking problem. She shows so much faith each time we meet with her, but she can't seem to quit drinking. 

We have one investigator, Bong Kontea, that comes from a family full of recent converts. We are at their house a lot because we are responsible for teaching the recent converts the lessons again, plus we teach our investigator. Bong Kontea has a little boy that is about 2 years old and reminds me of my nephews. I LOVE him! He has been really sick lately, but every time we go over there, I manage to make him laugh. He just starts laughing uncontrollably- it is adorable. BUT, I sat in his pee last night on the floor.... and I put my childrens simplified Book of Mormon in it as well... haha. That is Cambodia for you. I didn't make a scene, but just took a really good shower when we got home. 

Speaking of the Childrens Book of Mormon, that has been a hit here! We still use the regular Book of Mormon, but the simplified book helps the people understand the stories and visualize what is happening. It is great! 

On a more personal note, my testimony has grown so much this past week in so many ways! First of all, I was able to read a talk given by President Hugh B. Brown, entitled the Profile of a Prophet. Wow. I encourage everyone to look that talk up and read it! It gave me a greater appreciation for Joseph Smith. He really did translate the Book of Mormon, and he really did see God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. It is incredible, but not impossible. I know it happened. I also was honored to hear from the Senior Couple sent her to do Family History, in Sunday School. Everyone MUST keep a journal! A picture is good, but when we have the written word, it is so much more powerful! Our journals can become personal scripture as we record spiritual experiences and insights. I can't wait to dive into Family History work after my mission!

Thank you for all the love, support, and prayers! I have felt them- I promise!

Love, Sister Lindley

(Here is a link to the talk Haley referenced: http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=114)

 

Week 13

Dear Family and Friends,

This past week seemed to fly by! It seems like just yesterday I was sitting in this little computer shop emailing everyone! The owners of this shop are actually members of our ward! The wife is a little bit inactive, but the husband is our ward mission leader! They are so awesome!! They are both about 28 years old and love the missionaries! A couple nights ago the wife got in a crash on her moto bike and had road rash all over her leg. She asked me if I had any medicine so I brought her some Lavender and Melaluca yesterday and today she gave me a huge hug and showed me how much better her wounds were! She was so happy :) Because all the areas in the city are fairly close together, there are quite a few missionaries that email here. The husband just came and brought me some bananas and cake (i think)- Cambodians LOVE to give us food. I am still learning to accept everything they give us... :) 

BIG NEWS! I had my first baptism this last week- her name is Vitchikah. The very first day I was in my area, we taught her the first lesson and she has been so accepting since then. She had an issue with drinking coffee but because of her love for God, giving it up was no problem. She is so cute and was so happy afterward. She bore her testimony about how it was so important for her to continue to remain active and come to church EVERY week. I love her! 

We also had a zone conference this last week and the training was focused on teaching the Restoration of the Gospel as it is written in Preach My Gospel. There is real power when we teach pure and simple doctrines. 

I went on exchanges with Sister Melton (Sister Training Leader) shortly after that and we made that our focus. We taught a new investigator of hers the Restoration and had an incredible experience. We took time to plan out what points we wanted to make, and then I was responsible for saying the first vision. I was really nervous because I haven't ever said it in a lesson (memorized), but I practiced it until I felt comfortable with it. As Sister Melton led up to it in the lesson, I could feel the fear starting to take over and the doubts starting to rise. I quickly pushed those thoughts from Satan aside and said a quick prayer telling Heavenly Father that I knew I couldn't do this on my own and that I desprately needed the spirit to be present to help our investigator feel the truth of the first vision. The time came and I was able to say the entire thing, slowly, while looking at our investigator in the eyes. After I finished, I paused, testified, and then asked her how she felt. With a huge grin on her face, she told us of the good feelings that she had. We were then able to testify that those feelings were the spirit telling her that this was true. It was such an awesome lesson and really felt the power of the spirit. The spirit truly is the key to conversion.

The language continues to be a little bit of a struggle, but I am slowly understanding more each day. I had a little bit of a hard time in a lesson we had last week with Vitchikah. We had two members present, and I only was familiar with one of them. As I began the lesson, I was struggle to find a word I wanted to use to ask our investigator a question and the member just looked at me, laughed a little, and then said, "Oh. She doesn't know Cambodian..". Members and investigators have said that to me in the past, but for some reason, this time it really hurt. I was trying so hard, and I was frustrated that she couldn't see that. At first I was angry, but as we went on through out the day, I realized that I needed to not be offended and to let that comment be my drive. Since then, every night when I go home and I try and study extra hard, reading from the simplified Book of Mormon over and over again and defining every word I didn't know until I can read sentences fluently without awkward pauses. My companion is a huge help because she is able to tell me the correct pronunciation with words I didn't know. I also started asked members what words mean and that has helped a ton!

Also, I want to tell you all about some crazy cultural things that happened this week! 

First of all, I saw two dogs attack and kill a kitten... gross. 

Second, there is a random Chinese holiday that all the Cambodians celebrated yesterday- they put food out in front of their houses for ghosts and then eat the food at night... I am still trying to figure that one out. 

Third, on my exchange with Sister Melton, we went to find a family and had to cross the bridge of death!!!! I named it that because it is sooo rickety and if you fall you will fall in a very very dirty lake. 

Fourth, visiting teaching. This isn't really cultural, but because the church is fairly new here, they are still trying to figure out some of the legistics. I decided my new project is to implement visiting teaching in our ward because it is impossible for us to visit all 50+ of the less active sisters! 

I hope all is well back home for everyone. Thank you for your support and prayers!! 

Love, Sister Lindley

Week 12

August 4, 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was so awesome! I have seen so many tender mercies from the Lord and have felt his love for me and for the Cambodian people in abundance!

First of all, the week started off on a great note. Last Monday night, I was informed that the Vietnamese sisters were being relocated and that the Sister Training Leader would be moving into our apartment with her companion. She is from Utah and we get along so well! It has been so great to be able to talk about some of the challenges American sisters face in coming to Cambodia and how those challenges can be overcome. I love her so much and it has been a blessing to have her live with us. My companion served with her previously and so she loves having her with us as well! I know it was inspired by the Lord!

This week, a lot of our lessons to Less Actives have been focused on the principle of hope and faith and how the two work together to uplift and inspire us. It was really a lesson that I needed myself! On Monday night, I testified to a less active about how even though I didn't know Cambodian and even though I was far from home, I can feel the Love of the Lord because of my faith and hope in the Savior Jesus Christ. The spirit was so strong and she came to church yesterday! YAY! 

Tuesday was an interesting cultural day... haha. We were teaching our investigator, when out of no where her naked toddler (super common) just pooped on the floor right in front of us. I was a little bit shock, but I just laughed and tried to help clean it up... (my companion was a champ and did most of it). Right after that lesson, we were in a less actives house and right when we walked in the little boy peed on the floor haha. The grandma just grabbed a tshirt and mopped it up and then WE SAT RIGHT WHERE HE PEED! I am not going to lie... I had a hard time laughing about that, but its just another thing you have to accept about the culture here! 

Another interesting thing I noticed is that EVERYONE is sick here. And the medicine that they use is not effective. The reason I know that is because it is normal for them to show us their medicine when we go visit them. That is actually one of the first things they do. Most of the things they use are random pain pills, but they also do this traditional burning method to heal themselves! Basically they take a metal lid and rub it back and forth all over their backs to "heal" them. It looks super painful, but they believe it works. I need to start sharing essential oils! 

I have seen miracles in abundance this week, but I will just share a couple quick ones. First of all, after church on Sunday, an investigator that we thought we may have to drop, came up and told us she knew she should be baptized in two weeks. We were so excited and happy that she had received that confirmation. It was such a miracle! 

Another miracle was the Sunday as a whole. When we went to get on our bikes to ride to church that morning we noticed that my companion had a popped tire. It was no problem because she just rode on the back of my bike. After church we rode super far to visit an investigator, but she wasnt home! I noticed it was getting harder and harder to ride my bike with my companion on the back and we saw that both my tires were also flat! We were about 4 or 5 miles from home! We had been praying for opportunities to contact and this turned into the golden opportunity! We contacted as we walked all the way home!! It was so fun and such a blessing. Sometimes the worst situations can turn into the greatest blessings!

Thanks for all the support and prayers! Keep the faith :)

Love, Sister Lindley

Week 11

July 28, 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

Well, I survived another week! First of all, I want to give a shout out to my sister, Megan. Happy Birthday last week!! Also, it is good to hear that everyone is doing well and having a great summer!

So first of all, we teach so many lessons every day. It is a blessing because it keeps me somewhat distracted from the culture shock I have been facing. This last week we spent an entire day at a ward activity (I will get to that), and we still had 27 lessons. I dont really know how that compares with work in other places, but we were pretty happy about it. Right now we have 7 investigators with baptismal dates in the next month or so and they all seem to be progressing well (from what I can understand). 

The language continues to be a huge barrier and I think that I actually understand less in each lesson, but I try and focus and just understand the main idea of the conversation. One lesson this last week with a less active was about 90 minutes (i timed it) and I didnt understand a single word. All I knew was that she was talking about some illness with her knee (because she kept pointing to it and it looked swollen). Haha. 

One little miracle that I would like to share was with a recent convert and her husband. Her name is Om Phaney and I don't know what her husbands name is. We just call him "Om" because that is the respectful title for someone of his age (old). So he has never really shown interest in the gospel before and always says he is too busy to learn with us, but he randomly came to church last week and then when we went to teach Om Phaney, he wanted to sit in on the lesson. We decided to switch our lesson plan from Family History to lesson 1 and from his facial expressions, i am pretty sure he was interested. At the end of the lesson we asked him to pray and he didn't know how, so his wife prayed first and then he prayed after. It was a simple prayer, but very beautiful. 

My favorite investigator to teach is a 17 year old girl, Vitchikah, that I talked about in my last letter. She speaks a little english and wants to learn more so I teach her in Khmanglish (cambodian/english). She asks very deep questions and remembers everything we teach her so well. She loves reading the book of mormon and wants to be baptized. 

On Saturday we went to a ward activity in the province. Our mission president approved us to go. It was about an hour outside of the city and honestly I had no idea what we were going to do. When I asked my companion, she told me that we were going to "hang out". Turns out, it was a Pioneer Day activity. The bus we went on, dropped us off 5 km from our destination and we walked in the scorching heat/humidity to get to a cambodian style pavillion. Once we got there everyone just talked and then we had "lunch". The meal consisted of ant stir fry, fly soup, carp looking fish (with all the guts), and every part of the chicken. I opted out of all that and just had a small portion of rice. All the member kept pointing at me and saying eat, eat! I just said no thanks and then my companion would tell them I didn't like their food so now I am pretty sure they all hate me. Hah. After "lunch" it started pouring rain, as it usually does each afternoon and so we all just waited for it to stop and then went to a nearby zoo. It was really dirty but we saw elephants, tigers, lions, and fed monkeys. Between not eating much that day and the heat, Saturday night was rough! I felt like death! I told my companion I needed to sleep early and turned in at about 8:30 (we usually go to bed at 9:30 and wake up at 5:30). 

Oh, one other crazy thing was that one day last week it rained a TON and we had to get to a lesson on the other side of town and so we rode our bikes through about a foot of water for about a mile. I didn't even know that was possible, but trust me, it is. It was nuts! 

Also, I have 27 mosquito bites on my legs/feet! I swear the church is infested with them!!! oh and we got exactly 100 people at church yesterday (that was our goal). Usually we have about 70 so it was a miracle.

Anyway, I love you all. Thanks for your support! 

Love, 

Sister Lindley

Week 10- First week in Cambodia!

July 21, 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

I am officially in Cambodia and all I can say is wow. The poverty here is so real. After a long (VERY LONG) couple days of traveling, we finally arrived in Cambodia. 

The Mission President, his wife, the Assistants and a senior couple were there to greet us. They took our bags to the mission home and all of us newbies headed to a big market in the middle of Phnom Penh to contact! I was with a local Cambodian that knew no English, so it was very interesting! Haha. I just kept saying "We are missionaries for Jesus Christ. I know through Jesus Christ we can feel peace and happiness", and then my temporary companion would take it away. We contacted around 30 people in about 45 minutes! It was crazy.

The first couple days here were spent in the mission home doing orientation things. We were informed that the mission goal is to have 800 converts this year and teach 20 lessons every week. The main problem with the work here is that there are about 12000 members and only 2000 actually go to church every week. So we are working with a lot of less actives. Most of them just say that they are busy even though when we go to visit them after church they are just sleeping... Haha. So I met my companion on Friday afternoon. Her name is Sister Kuouch and she is actually from Cambodia. She is from Steung Mien Chey (from the Rent Collector book). She is about half of me haha, she is SO tiny! She doesn't really speak English, and I don't really speak Cambodian, so I don't really know very much about her! She is 21 and has been a member her whole life (which is actually pretty rare here). We also have 2 other sisters in our apartment. They are both in the Vietnamese program and only speak Vietnamese and a little bit of English. The common ground language for all of us is English and they all understand eachothers English, but I don't seem to be able to understand any of it. Haha.

Anyway, on Friday we went straight to the church from our apartment to meet up with Vitchika for a lesson. She is a new investigator for us, but has met with missionaries previously so she already knows a TON. Plus she is Christian already. She is 17 years old and definitely one of my favorite investigators. We reviewed the first lesson with her and she asked me how I knew the Book of Mormon was true. I was able to tell her my experience with coming to find out for myself it was true and encouraged her to continue to pray about it. She said that she would. It was a great lesson. She even came to church on Sunday too. After her lesson, we went to teach Bang Mala (25 years old- investigator). We taught her at her friends house (Bang Kontea- investigator). The house is a 10 feet by 10 feet room with tile floors and cement walls. It is so humbling to be teaching these people in these conditions. We taught her about the Law of Chastity and she said she has problems with it.. but Im not really sure what else happened in that lesson. On our way home we stopped by at Ming Kangs (investigator) house and shared a quick message about the 10 commandments. I said the prayer for that lesson but I literally have no idea what else happened. The TV was on in the tiny room/house and I was just lost.. haha. But my companion said she isn't progressing and we will probably have to drop her. :(

Saturday was my first full day. A lot of the people we were planning to teach were not home, but we managed to teach two investigators and a few less actives and recent converts. Everyone we teach lives in very poor conditions. It is really sad... But they seem to find joy in the little things and that is all that matters. 

However, last night we were riding our bikes and ran into Ming Nuan! We had looked for her the day before but she wasn't home. She is an alcoholic and divorced with her husband. She was just bawling through the whole lesson and saying that she was trying and she was praying but her heart hurt every day and she needed to drink alcohol. She kept holding my hands and saying a bunch of stuff about her life and I wanted so badly to be able to understand but I couldn't! I just said "I don't know very much about your life, but I know that Jesus Christ does and that he loves you." It was a tender moment. I hope she can overcome her addiction, but there aren't very many resources for that around here.

This morning we were able to go to the market to get some groceries. The past few days I have just been eating random things that I can find in the fridge. Because everyone in our house is from Cambodia/Vietnam, all the food is very asain. We eat rice for breakfast lunch and dinner and I managed to find some cauliflour and carrots that I fried up to add to my rice. The meat is interesting, so I just added a fried egg to my food as well. I had 2 granola bars in my bag, and I rationed them out among the few days I didn't have my own food. Luckily I survived :) haha.

Biking around Cambodia is SO SCARY! I have a constant prayer running through my head asking Heavenly Father to protect me. I constantly fear for my life. You probably think that I am joking, but IM NOT. It is terrifying. The heat here is bad... but most house have little fans so we don't sweat too much. It rains at least once a day, but so far it hasn't really flooded. Anyway, its been a culture shock to put it lightly. I hope everyone has a great week!

Love, Sister Lindley

Week 9-Last email from the MTC

July 14, 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

I never thought this time would come, but I leave to Cambodia TOMORROW! I am so terrified, but I know the Lord will take care of me and wants me there serving the humble Cambodian people. I actually have a funny story about being scared to go to Cambodia. So on Saturday in class, our teacher finally told us more about Cambodian culture. While we are at the MTC, they like to focus solely on how to teach, and talking about cultural things is like forbidden! (Not really, but it's just not the main focus). Anyway, our teacher let us ask him any questions we wanted to about Cambodia. He gave us an outline of what a normal day in the field would be like, which was super helpful! Anyway, after he had told us a few crazy stories about bike/car accidents (VERY common in Cambodia), he told us that he had recently talked to a returned sister missionary from Cambodia and asked her if she knew what she knows now about how her mission would be, would she still go on her mission and she said NO! haha. And then he went on to say that just thinking about doing his first transfer again makes him nauseous! Everyone was just shocked, but he then went on to talk about how much he learned and how much he loved his mission. It was a little bit of a wake up call for all of us, and kind of put things in perspective. Even though this is going to be crazy and fun and exciting, it is going to be the hardest thing we have ever done! 

Anyway, this past week has just flown by. The week started off with skyping a member in Cambodia! My companion and I skyped this lady named Sister Loy. She has been a member for a while and actually translated for Elder Oaks once when he came to Cambodia. She was SO sweet!!! We had major technical difficulties so we only had about 10 minutes to share a thought with her. We focused on testimonies and each of us shared our testimonies. The spirit was undeniable! It was amazing because for the first time (while skyping) I felt like I understood everything that she said. Part of her testimony was about how impressed she was that we were learning Cambodian! It was so sweet to hear and made my companion and I a little emotional! It was amazing! We challenged her to share her testimony with a nonmember friend and she said she would. It was so fun to tell her that we would be in Cambodia next week and possibly serve in her area! 

On Tuesday we had the privlege of hearing from Elder Anderson of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles! We thought that July was their month off, but it was awesome that he was able to come! He gave a powerful testimony of the Gift of the Holy Ghost and all of its many roles. He said that as missionaries, we represent the things that are unseen but are REAL. He said that in the moment that our investigator feels the spirit they CANNOT deny it. They may deny it moments later, but in that exact moment, they cannot deny it. His wife talked about how lucky we are to have a member with the Godhead with us (if we are worthy). She said that when we are faced with temptation to make a wrong choice we need to think about if that choice is more valuable to us than having that member of the Godhead with us. That really put it in perspective for me. 

One of the highlights of the week for me, was the day I finally finished memorized Joseph Smith's first vision in Cambodian!!! Let me tell you, memorizing things in English is difficult, but memorized things in Cambodian is impossible... if you don't have the help of the Lord. It was a cool experience memorizing it because it was only when I prayed that God would help me remember the words so that I could share this with others, that I was able to do it. I haven't shared it in a lesson yet, but I am excited to share it with a real investigator in Cambodia!

We had our last lesson with our investigators this last week and I actually cried saying goodbye to one of them! Oh my goodness, I have grown to love them so much. That is something that I have learned in the MTC. That the Lord loves all of his children SO much and wants them to come unto him!! One last thing I want to share is probably the most important thing I have learned while I have been here at the MTC. I have really come to recognize spirit and how it guides and directs me. It is different for everyone, but as I have acted on promptings that I have had, I have felt that I am doing what the Lord wants me to do. Dad always says that a lot of times there isn't just one big "voice" telling you what you should do or where you should go, but rather it is when you are doing everything  you are supposed to be doing, and acting in faith that you will find you are following the promptings of the spirit. I am so grateful for this MTC experience. It has been challenging and I have felt homesickness, but as I have relied on my Heavenly Father and the Atonement of Jesus Christ, I have felt more love than at any other time in my life. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have SO much more to offer us than the world does, and I am so grateful that I have come to realize that. 

Thank you so much for all the love and support! 

Love,

Sister Lindley

Week 8

July 7, 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

The end is coming! It is hard to believe that I have been here for two months already. I only have 16 months of my mission left and I already don't want it to end! 

Yesterday we had a famous pianist, Josh Wright, come for our devotional and he said "your mission will be the best two years of your life, but the hardest two years of your life". I have already found that to be true. Because it is so hard (even in the MTC), it is so rewarding. Mastering one more word in Cambodian, reading a verse in script, or teaching an awesome lesson just makes everything worth it. This truly is the Lord's work! This letter won't be too long, but I just want to talk about a few of the highlights from this past week.

On Monday we were able to skype some members in Cambodia again. This last week my companion and I skyped the guard of the Mission Home. Near the end of our lesson, two of Elders that are currently serving there popped up on the screen and started talking to us. They said that they were excited to meet us in a couple weeks (now just one week), and asked us where we were from and our names. (This was all in Cambodian of course). I certainly didn't hear them correctly and told them my name was Sister Lindley and then proudly stated that I was from Cambodia. My companion quickly corrected me and we all got a good laugh. I thought, for some reason, that they asked us where we were going. You all are probably thinking I am not doing too great if I dont even know how to say where I am from, but I promise I do. I don't even know where my brain was. Haha :)

Tuesday night we had a devotional by Lowell M. Snow (a former seventy) and his wife. He gave an incredible talk on being converted to the Lord and the gospel, and not just the church organization. He said "don't just belive in Him, believe Him." He also talked about how we make the decision to choose Christ only once, and then from there on out it is whether or not we are willing to act on that decision. Right then in the devotional he told us to make that choice. He said that every disciple of Christ is an excellent missionary, but not every missionary is an excellent disciple of Christ. He also talked about how being a disciple of Christ, sometimes means that we have to make sacrifices. 

During the devotional I thought about my own life and the sacrifices I have made. Honestly, I haven't had to make very many. I decided to make a list in my journal that night of things that I could sacrifice while being on my mission so that I can better rely on the Savior for strength. One of those sacrifices was that I would only allow myself to think about home when I went back to the residence at night. Wow, that has been tough, but I have felt an increase in my focus and love for the work. I don't want to sound "preachy", but I encourage all of you to think of something that you can sacrifice to be a better disciple and devote more of yourself to the Lord!

Another highlight was the progress we made with our (fake) investigators. Bang Ny got baptised on Saturday!!! We taught him on Wednesday about a few commandments and he was so willing and ready to keep them! He also found a new job, so he doesnt have to work on sundays! We were so happy!! He passed his interview on Friday with flying colors. Even though it wasn't real (we practice teaching our teachers to get experience), I really felt true joy that he was able to receive the blessings of the gospel! 

On Thursday or Friday (I can't remember which day), we taught our other investigator Look Puu Trii. He is our more challenging investigator, but we had an amazing lesson. We taught him about faith and repentance and were able to share the story of Alma the Younger from the Book of Mormon. Before we taught him about repentance, we asked him how he felt about that word. He said it made him feel like he was a bad person and that we had done something wrong. Then, the spirit was able to work through us to help him understand that repentance is a beautiful thing because it allows us to change. We talked about the Atonement and he was very receptive. After the lesson was finished and we had said the closing prayer, our investigator put on his "teacher tag" (because he is really our teacher) and was emotional as he told us that that was by far the most powerful lesson we had taught (through the spirit). My companion and I went away feeling very grateful that the spirit was present. Also in that lesson, when we shared the story of Alma the Younger, my companion and I each read a verse in the script! WOW, I am a horrible reader, but I felt the gift of tongues guide and direct me to read each word. It was incredible!!!!

Finally, on Sunday I had yet another incredible spiritual experience. We had mission conference because it was fast Sunday, and I enjoyed hearing the MTC presidency speak. It was very centered on faith as well as the new announcement for missionaries that we will be teaching "lesson 5" before baptism, as well as all the lessons again after baptism. We also are now encouraged to "find, teach, baptize, retain, and activate". I think that this change is great because as we strengthen less actives and members, they will become converted and become missionaries themselves! It truly is inspired to help hasten the work of Salvation! For the film, my companion and I went to watch Elder Bednars talk entitled "Doctrine, Principles, and Applications". WOW. I was so tired and didn't really want to watch the film, but right before it started I said a quick prayer and asked Heavenly Father to help me stay awake and focused and learn something new. I learned SOOO much!!!! He really taught us the framework of how we learn. He said we first much teach the Doctrine (answer the why), then the principle (answer the what), and finally the application (that answers the how). So often in the church we focus on applications. When people say they have an issue with addiction, we turn to applications and give them a million ways of how they can quit. However, that will NEVER work. We need to go back to the doctrine and principle and help them understand the why and the what. Help them understand that the Atonement will help them because Christ has overcome everything for us and that if they turn to him, he will heal them. 

Anyway, the key was this: THE ANSWER IS ALWAYS THE DOCTRINE. True doctrine understood, changes attitudes and behaviors. If we have any question or weakness, we need to try and understand the doctrine and then from there our lives will change.

Anyway, sorry this is so long! I just want to share everything I have been learning with you all!!! 

Love,

Sister Lindley