One bag of rice

So here are a few things that happened to sum up my week:

• I was crossing the street like a normal human and this chick on a moto comes legit out of nowhere. Like on those Gatorade commercials where it says come out of nowhere she did that. I guess she didn't see me crossing the road because she nailed me hahahahaha. I landed on her moto and she was still holding the throttle so I tried to get up without putting both of us in danger, so for a second I just was kinda laying on top of the moto, chilling. Anyway, we both got up, dusted ourselves off, decided to call it splits and went on our way! Few scrapes and sores, but I think sometimes the Lord has a really funny sense of humor.

• While we were riding the bus down to Phnom Penh I was feeling really sick, but that wasn't the bad part. The bad part was the AC vent above me started dripping and then starting pouring hahaha. I was bummed I didn't pack my rain jacket with me on the trip down. Raining on the BUS?

Anyway, things are still all good in the hood with Elder Gochnour! Our week got messed up because everyone had to go down to the city because of transfers, but it was really fun to be able to connect with everyone and to be able to talk to all the boys! I was sick (I will leave it at that) and so we got a late start to the day and couldn't get much done, but Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we went to work! Elder Chaparro is a hard worker and we have already seen increased success in this area! There were lots of miracles that occurred!

The biggest miracle I think I have seen so far, started when we had the idea to try to contact all of the former investigators in the area book. I just called everyone and invited everyone to church. A few said they were interested and that they would come. 

Fast forward to Sunday. A man walks in with his son, walking with a very bad limp, truthfully hardly able to walk. I didn't get a chance to talk to him in sacrament and then he went to a different class second hour and left before we could converse with him. Luckily a member of our branch actually taught him and was one of the missionaries who found him so he could lead us to his house. 

We planned to meet with him that night and called him, but he said he was busy. We felt we should still go find his house anyway. Long story short we met Toic (or something like that in English) and he is by far the poorest man that I have ever met in my life. His wife left him and he has no money, no job, he can't use his legs, and he has a five-year-old son who is practically blind, because of a terrible eye disease. He showed us his "house" which had been flooded the night before. There was nothing but a covering, a mat, and lots of garbage everywhere. He told us how he had left at 7 AM to ride his hand bike to church because it took him two hours. He has been saving all his money to pay for surgery for his son and they had no food to eat on Sunday, but he still had decided that he was going to go to church so he got up early and started making the trek. He told us how he has to stop every twenty minutes or so just to rest his arms. On his way home from church, a lady handed him a bag of rice. Simple, but the answer to his need for dinner that night, a true miracle from our Heavenly Father. 

I will never forget the light he had in his eyes as he expressed gratitude for this gift of one bag of rice from God. Sitting in front of me was this man that had nothing, and yet the gratitude he showed and expressed to his Heavenly Father was more real and tangible than anything I had ever felt. I was someone who had everything, and yet this man seemed happier, more hopeful and more peaceful than I had ever been. It changed me. That experience is why I am here in this crazy country. You can't see things like that and not be changed forever. You can't hear the testimony of that man for his little gift of rice and not know that there is a loving God that will make everything fair. I could never deny the spirit I felt as I looked into the light of that mans eyes. The spirit was thick. God knows that man by name, and although things aren't fair for him now, he has the hope and knowledge of a life without hardship and pain. 

I just want to close by testifying that the gospel can change people. When I first got on my mission (not too long ago) I struggled to contemplate what blessings these people would receive for joining the church. I was thinking much too temporally. Although the changes are small, they are real. I have seen people open up, smiles grow and friendships form. It has changed my life. If I may echo the words similar to Elder Hoole- I am still the same me. I will still always cheer for the Duke Blue Devils and be upset if the Tar Heels beat them. I will always love going golfing with my dad and my brothers. I will always love having a sarcastic sense of humor. I may even watch the NFL on Sunday after my mission, but I will never forget the feelings that I have been felt in this country. I don't feel it all day every day and in fact, sometimes I might not even feel it at all, but this mission is changing me. Slowly, but surely. I can promise that God loves you. And if you try to be changed by his love you will be able to look back at all your efforts and see how much you have grown. 

Read the Book of Mormon. Call a friend. Tell someone you love someone. Make someone's bed. Write a letter. Compliment someone. And make a difference!

"Start by doing what is necessary. Then do what is possible and before you know it you will be doing what is impossible" Melinda Crandall

Joy in the journey,

Elder Gochnour