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