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