ELECTIONS!

This week was very interesting, to say the least! Here are a few things worth mentioning:

• My companion and I helped a girl in our ward fill out her mission papers as she prepares to leave. It was humbling to see how pure of a desire she has to serve and to help people. She comes from a single parent family and her mother is not a member. She is paying for her mission by herself and trying to figure out how to fill out mission papers in English when she knows Khmer. It really gave me so much gratitude for my family and the support system that I have back home. I don't know why I got so lucky, but living here has given me so much gratitude for home.

• We taught some new people this week that another missionary found contacting on the road. They moved from their province and before believed in Christ, but now don't have a church to go to. We taught them the lesson of the Restoration and had a very cool experience. My companion asked them "If a 14-year-old boy told you that he met God and Jesus Christ would you believe him?" Mostly everyone just answers no which is a good leeway to talk about the evidence we can receive from the Book of Mormon, however, this guy just said yes I would believe him. After my comp rephrased and asked the question again he simply said, "Yes, I would believe him because I know that God still lives." I got so pumped up when I heard that. It makes sense! Revelation and guidance didn't stop after the apostles were killed, GOD STILL LOVES US AND STILL REACHES OUT TO US. Just like he did 200 years ago to the young boy, Joseph Smith. It was pretty cool to see the faith of the man that we taught and his strong believe of a living and loving God.

• Elections were the cause of some huge parades and loud cars blaring warnings. Things got pretty intense, but nothing ended up happening and the voting remained the same. So things are still just the same old here and nothing that we need to worry about.

The craziest thing of the week was the fact that my companion and I made the trip back to his house on Saturday (this was also due to the Elections) and chilled there until we could finally get a ride back to the city this morning (Monday). It was a very fun and crazy adventure! On the car ride down we packed in 21 people to this regular sized van and packed being the emphasized word. Crying babies, no leg room and loud Khmer music! Gotta love it baby! It was super fun to see his family and to spend time and get to know them. They have a duck farm and I was able to help pick up the hundreds of eggs that they had in the morning. We also went fishing at a small pond by his house, but we didn't catch anything sadly. While there I was able to eat chicken liver, chicken foot, and some dog! Also took a few showers with a bucket. It was fun to live like a Khmer for a few days and come to love these people and their lifestyle even more! We also had a lot of downtime which I was able to read a lot in the book, Jesus the Christ. I have come to realize on this mission how much I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. He willingly gave life for our salvation, but he was humble enough to give all of the glory to the Father. I love the scripture in 3rd Nephi 12: 48 "Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect."

Although we will never be perfect like Jesus Christ that is our ultimate goal! I know that He lives and because of His Atoning Sacrifice, we can all live again as well. 

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Other than that things are good here! Trying to keep the work of the Lord progressing while still learning and growing individually. 

Love you all back home! Hope things are going well!/

/Elder Gochnour

COME COME YE SAINTS...

this is the state of all my shirts!

Another great week in Paradise! I love Cambodia and serving the Lord!

A week ago on Monday, I had a primary miracle that I figured is worth a share. I got home from emailing and playing soccer and my head was just pounding. I thought a migraine round two was coming and I was not excited about it. After an hour or so of trying to just suffer through it and sleep, nothing was changing or getting better. I just kinda sat there for a minute and then just asked myself, "Why have I not said a prayer." I got on my knees and said a simple prayer and then just got up and decided I was gonna be fine. I didn't feel any pain in my head the rest of the day. Miracles really do happen and prayers are answered. 

I had an exchange with Elder McFarland this week and it was an absolute blast! We had some good lessons and some funny times together. The most hilarious thing happened when we passed out English class fliers on the road. Everyone drives a moto in this country so it is an easy way to hand them out as they drive by and hopefully find some people that are interested. Well we were in front of the church waiting for one of our investigators so we decided to fill the time by passing out some English fliers! While we were in the process of doing that, there was an older gentleman and his wife who rode past. While riding past the lady put her hand up like she was going to take the flier, but as soon as Elder McFarland tried to hand it to her she just SWATTED the flier out of his hand and slapped his whole arm haha. Straight Rudy Gobert on him! It was definitely a foul, but she just denied the flier so hard and then just let out a cackle as she rode away. Needless to say, we took a break from fliers. You gotta love all the funny random moments as a missionary.

The highlight of the week was the two baptisms we had! Surprisingly everything went smoothly and we were able to get our two investigators (Sam and Ponluu) baptized.

Sam is a 14-year-old guy who is a baller! He always gets first place when he tests in his class and is a super smart guy. He rides his bike to church and to meet with us and is one of the most humble and meek people I have ever met in my life. He really just wants to do what is good. I really am inspired at how meek he is and how it really is the meek who will inherit the earth. I was happy to see him enter the waters of salvation

Ponluu is a 30ish-year-old, who is kinda a single mother right now because her husband is in Korea working. She was a former investigator that we called and she really had a desire to be baptized. Her only limitation is taking care of her one-year-old son who is crazy! But everything went smooth and she was able to keep him under control for all of church and her baptism after. Awesome! 

Anyway, I don't have much more time, but it was pretty awesome to see both of those people change as they were influenced and felt the love of the Holy Ghost. I know that both of them our pioneers in their lives, both being the first to accept the gospel in their family. Pretty cool to be able to play a part in modern-day pioneers becoming saints in Zion. Me being a somewhat festive person, I tried to focus more on pioneers this week in my studies as Pioneer day approaches. It was pretty hard to find any reading material on the subject, so I wasn't able to get much out of it, however, I loved reading D&C 136 and rereading the words of the sacred hymn, "Come, come, Ye Saints."

Let me share a few of my favorite lines: 

 Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear;

But with joy wend your way.

Though hard to you this journey may appear,

Grace shall be as your day.

Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard?

'Tis not so; all is right.

Why should we think to earn a great reward

If we now shun the fight?

Gird up your loins; fresh courage take.

Our God will never us forsake;

And soon we'll have this tale to tell--

All is well! All is well!

 D&C 136:31 My people must be tried in all things, that they may be prepared to receive the glory that I have for them, even the glory of Zion; and he that will not bear chastisement is not worthy of my kingdom.

Please take a few minutes to read those two sources and have a little bit of gratitude for the pioneers in your life. I have been extremely blessed because of the courage of the early saints. I feel equally blessed to be able to be a witness of the love of their Heavenly Father to those who are currently paving the way for the gospel of Jesus Christ to enter into their lives. This work is special and elect!

Like the hymn says it best, "With joy wend your way!"

Good luck to all the boys getting home from the mission. Remember who you are and what you stand for. And good luck to all the boys leaving. This is a glorious work.

Love,

Elder Gochnour

A Long Way From Utah...

  

The title of this story is in honor of a conversation I had with a man on the road last Monday. 
Well, actually not a conversation at all, but rather a one-sided remark. An older gentleman who looked American and a little weathered from his time in Cambodia passed me by on the street and made the remark, "You're a long way from Utah, Mormon." I will admit, everything about his statement was fact. A long way from Utah, but loving it!

The big news of the week is that I will be going to Svay Rieng on Sunday in two weeks. To all of you that probably does not mean anything, but because the Khmer Election is taking place my companion has to go to his home province and place his vote. That means that we ride on a bus for 3 1/2 hours with 3 other Khmer missionaries. I can not wear missionary clothes or a name tag. I also am just sleeping at his house with his family for 2 days and just living life as if I was not on a mission?   It should be a very interesting experience. Especially because my companion told me that hardly any white people ever go to Svay Rieng. Living native for a few days haha. I will keep you posted on how it goes in a few weeks. 

The other big news is that we had another baptism this week! I know that the Lord is really blessing us with tender mercies and I feel privileged to be a part of this wonderful work. His name is David! He is a 16-year-old guy that is one of the funniest dudes ever. He still has much to learn before he can hopefully serve a mission in two years, but he has such a desire to do good and follow the commandments of the Lord. I love this little guy!

Other than that we found this guy named Pheap who was actually a referral to us from the other Elders. He is a 53-year-old man with a dark past. On the first meeting, we had together, on a hot Wednesday he basically sat us down and told us his whole life story for 40 minutes straight. He has a rough story. He survived the Khmer Rouge. He lost everything. His legs and body are all somewhat crippled. All three of his children are in jail. He was once put in jail as well. Long story short, tragic. He started tearing up as he told us all this and at the end, he sorrowfully said, "I have not had a full hour of happiness in my whole life. That stuff is humbling. I have come to believe that this is one of the reasons we missionaries are here. To help people that have no hope. To share with them a message that no one has shared with them. The gift of hope and happiness through our loving Savior, Jesus Christ. I am excited to keep meeting with him and teaching his about how Christ's perfect Atonement can heal him. 

The last news of the day was that I actually ate my first bugs! Huge beetles in a bag with some peppers. Actually not too bad, but I don't know if my stomach would say the same.

That is all I got! Good luck to all the missionaries heading into the work! I know that this is the work of God! And always remember to build your faith in Jesus Christ as we read in Helaman 5:12! I had the chance to finish the Book of Mormon again and I want everyone to know that it is TRUE!

Joy in the Journey

//Elder Gochnour

I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!

The fourth of July was quite a day. 

We woke up and made eggs, toast, hashbrowns, and bacon. Bacon is definitely not a thing in this country, but we were going full American. 

Lunch: STEAKS AND FRIES! Yup. You betcha we bought steaks to celebrate the fourth. 

And for dinner, we topped it off with some grilled cheese and more bacon. No rice for a full day. YAGA! We also belted America the Beautiful with each other at the top of our lungs (all four verses). It was a good day and I sure do miss the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

The big news of the week was that we had another baptism! Her name is Danaet and she is AWESOME! She really is one of the most consistent investigators I have ever met. Even though her mother passed away only about two weeks ago she was firm enough to know the importance of the gospel and push forward with our baptism. She is really awesome. We hadn't heard from her at all after she heard about the passing of her mother, and then on Tuesday night, she called and simply told us that she would be getting baptized this Sunday! Sounds good to me! It was a great day and even better was the fact that the man who was in jail for 10 years and found the gospel also got baptized! Super cool experience.

This week we also had a chance to meet with our new Mission President and his wife, and have zone conference! It was pretty awesome. I love both President and Sister Lewis. Also, the cool thing is that President Lewis likes to play basketball and actually looks a lot like Steve Kerr. I hope he has his ankle braces on for when we meet together on p - day. HAHA just kidding. 

On a spiritual note, they really are amazing people and I can't wait to follow their counsel and guidance in order to further the work of the Lord in this country. Their slogan is "Another Day in Paradise!" I love living in paradise every day. (Even if it is pouring rain)

We found a lot of new, awesome people this week and we are busy all day teaching lessons! Things are good and I am starting to love my investigators and these people more and more every day.

To close I would like to just share a little personal testimony of why I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true. I was reading in the Book of Mormon in Ether 4:11-12 and I noticed something pretty awesome. 

"11 But he that believeth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall know and bear record. For because of my Spirit he shall know that these things are true; for it persuadeth men to do good.

12 And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good; he that will not believe my words will not believe me—that I am; and he that will not believe me will not believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world."

I remembered that whenever I ever had small doubts about the church or whenever I questioned whether this church is true, I always thought back to the amazing things that the church teaches us to do, and the people it teaches us to become. We learn to be good people, to serve others, to follow Christ's example and to live morally clean lives. I know that every single time that I doubted  - my concerns were always answered by the fact that everything that persuadeth to do good comes of God. And if we do good then we will truly feel the influence of the Holy Ghost testifying of the truth in our lives. That is the first reason that I know that the church is true. The second is summed up with one single verse.

"4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God."

THIS GOSPEL GIVES US HOPE!!!!!!! 

That is all I got for today! Joy in the Journey. Go tell all the old missionaries that are going back to the 801 what up for me. Those are some good guys. The church is true

Love,

Elder Gochnour

THEY WERE NOT LYING ABOUT THE RAINY SEASON!

   

HELLO BROOKLYN HOW YOU DOIN', WHERE YOU GOING CAN I COME TOO AND.... 

Sorry about that, but anyway hello everyone! 

So let me start you out with a little scenario. 

• Imagine that you are in a sauna and somehow there is a river also in that sauna and then you have to ride through that river full of poop water, on a bike, while avoiding plastic bags and other things that can get caught in your chain. 
• Now imagine that this sauna is 1/2 a mile long and you are getting buckets of water dumped on you while riding through the river. 
• Now take that whole scenario and put on missionary clothes and a bag, and go find some people to teach while managing to meander your way through this river. 
• And don't forget to toss tons of motorcycles and cars going crazy around you and maybe even add 15 miles an hour winds. Sounds like fun doesn't it?

That is kinda how our week went. It makes it pretty hard to proselyte and get things done haha, but we are trying to make the most of it and enjoy the tsunamis that come to every couple of days. 

They weren't lying when they said that it is the rainy season. 

On Wednesday after making it through the flooded streets we taught one of our investigators, however, this was no easy task because he had a tin roof. Have you ever yelled the doctrine of Christ at someone for 30 minutes at the top of your lungs right next to someone's ear, and lost your voice? I can now officially say that I have. On the real, though things are good and I really do love the rainy season. It feels like what Cambodia is all about to me.

Speaking of what Cambodia is all about it has been pretty fun to have a native Khmer companion. Things are for sure different, but most of the time everything just feels more natural. People don't treat you different because you are just two white guys. So yeah things are good with Elder Pov! Obviously, there are cultural differences and we come from different backgrounds, but I am really coming to love him, and we are good friends.

It was sad to say goodbye to Elder Tuft, but not too sad because we live in the same house. It was sadder to say goodbye to the 13 Elders that left our mission (Elder Cunningham and Herrera too). And maybe even most sad to say goodbye to President and Sister C, but life goes on and I am very excited for all the new people and changes that will be happening in the field!

The work is good! We got a solid 5-8 people to church every week, but now we just need to make sure they have enough faith maybe one of the most important decisions of their lives. A lot of teaching, and trying to help people fully embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives! 

One quick story from our week: We were teaching an older guy and his kids, and right as we were about to pray to start our lesson someone called for help from his back room. Everyone got up and rushed to the back room and his dad (a very old gentleman) had hit his head on the door and was gushing blood everywhere. They took care of him but didn't have much to stop the blood so I offered my grama (kinda like a scarf thing that everyone has here) to them to help stop the blood, and clean up the cut. They kindly accepted and we couldn't do much more to help so we went on our way. I was thinking about that experience and realized that a member had given a grama to me the week that I got to Pochentong. I realized that when you receive you have opportunities to give. If you do what is right and give with a willing heart then God will reward you and everything comes full circle. It wasn't a huge spiritual experience, but it helped me realize the importance of giving to those in need, and the Lord will reward you openly. 

ALSO, A BIG SHOUT OUR TO AMERICA! Happy Independence Day.  I hope we all take a minute to appreciate how lucky we all are to be Americans. Now living in Cambodia I love the people here but I often wish they had the chances that I had to gain like getting an education, having the ability to work, enjoying safety where they live and so many more things.  I guess I just took freedom for granted but now being so far away I can say I am so proud to be an AMERICAN. GOD BLESS THE USA!

To finish I would like to share another one of my favorite scriptures. 

1 Samuel 16:7 states 

7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

I know that the Lord truly does look upon our hearts. It is so easy to be worried about the this and that's of the world and it is so easy to get caught up in Babylon. But we must remember that at the end of the day the Lord will look upon our heart. He knows our strengths and weaknesses. He knows the situation that we are in. He knows our hearts. Do your best and have an honest and pure heart and the Lord will reward you. Simple, but true. 

I love this gospel!! The church is true and if you don't believe me then read the Book of Mormon!

Love,

Elder Gochnour