PICKLES

Hello!

First things first, shout out to Lucy and Eli for getting engaged! YAY! Now you only have to wait a year and a half until I get home to actually get married (yeah right). Shout out to the big bro Ralph for having a birthday! Just an old dad man haha! Also, shout out to Chase Thatcher for his birthday.

Anyway, this week was a grind haha! This area is very hard. We go out every day and just try to find, find, find, and most of the time things just don't end up that way. We had a lot of hope for three or four people that we contacted, but when we set an appointment to meet with them, none of them showed. The most important thing is just trying to stay positive, though. As soon as you get negative things just spiral downward. You have less of a desire to work, causing you to have less success, causing things to just get worse and worse, so we are trying our best to stay humble and do the work of the Lord.  The thing that gives me hope is the two investigators that we are working with. They are the best. Every time we meet with them it just gives me a renewed desire to work a little harder to just maybe find one more person that is prepared like them. Pu Lee Meng said that he wanted to go to Salt Lake as soon as we taught him about temples. He started doing the math figuring out how much money it would be to fly, eat, stay in a hotel and everything else. I offered the house for him to stay (sorry mom and dad)! Long story short, they are both so ready and so prepared from the Lord.  Cantuu should be getting baptized this week! YAY!

I went on an exchange with Elder Everett, a guy in my group that is from Arizona. He is a pretty shy guy so it was a lot of talking in Khmer and it just straight up wore me out. I got home at night and just tanked! It was super cool though because he taught me some magic tricks and we even used them contact. Call me Houdini! OOPS! (Dukedini) 

We had zone conference on Saturday with our 10 person zone, hahaha. There used to be districts bigger than our zone... But it was pretty awesome to have a more personal connection with President and Sister Christensen. We focused a lot on the Book of Mormon, and it was really powerful. 

I was asked to give a talk on how I know the Book of Mormon is true. I used sort of a comical analogy, but also a very true one in my life. I got it from reading Lorenzo Snow's Teachings of the President's book. The analogy goes as follows: When you make a pickle you must first start with a cucumber and place it in a barrel of vinegar. When you first place it in the vinegar does it instantly turn into a pickle? No. Wait twelve hours and is the cucumber fully changed? No. The vinegar has hardly had an effect on the skin of the cucumber. But, if you wait an adequate amount of time and let the vinegar soak all the way through, through patience, you will finally have your desired pickle. That is how my testimony of the Book of Mormon has been in my life. I have been saturated by the Word of God, from the Book of Mormon my whole life. I have constantly learned from the stories in the book and tried my best to live the doctrines taught. My testimony didn't just form the first time I read the Book of Mormon, but through constant study, prayer and living according to its teachings were I able to be fulling effected by the truth and power of the Book of Mormon. It wasn't instant, but like the pickle, if we are patient to abide by its precepts and let the truth and the power soak all the way into the core, then we can come to know the truth of the Book. Please read it and find out for yourself. 

And keep in mind what the Savior tells us in D&C 6:23-"

 22 Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things.

23 Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?

Listen to your thoughts and feelings as you read and trust in God! I am grateful for this mission. For the hot, sweaty days, where I come home and feel discouraged because it is at these times that I am humble enough to be strengthened and taught by the Lord. Those times are the times when I must rely on the Lord to feel his love to motivate me to try a little harder tomorrow! I love this church and the Book of Mormon! I love the grind too! I will talk to you next week!

Elder Gochnour