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!