Lord, I would follow thee.

September 3, 2018

I would just like to start out by saying that I love you all and hope everything is going well back home.

Nothing too crazy has happened in the last two weeks! Just lots of little miracles and funny stories and cool experiences that would take way to long to describe the background situation. I guess I could sum up my last two weeks by saying: I love being a missionary and getting out there every day and doing the work of the Lord. 

We are a little low in the investigator pool right now, so I decided to focus all my studies and efforts on finding new people. I really gained a testimony of the Hand of God in this work. In Cambodia sometimes you just have to go out and walk under the hot sun and try to talk to people that usually have no interest in learning about the gospel. Hardly ever do those efforts result in a baptism. However, I know that as we show our faith, God rewards us in ways that we wouldn't have expected and don't quite understand. We were able to find three new people who wanted to learn this week, just from random situations and I know that God truly does reward us for our labors.

Guntia got baptized! She was an investigator that we taught up to lesson 5 and then handed her over to the Sisters when they moved into our area. I bore my testimony in Sacrament meeting about one of the biggest truths that I have learned so far in this country. On one of my first Sundays in Cambodia there was a guy that was a member from Africa who lives in Cambodia, but super new to the church. He came up to the missionaries and asked, "How can you tell people, and promise them that by following the Gospel of Jesus Christ their lives can be better?" At that time I didn't know how to answer that question. I wasn't sure if I could tell them and know that it was true. I had seen the power of the gospel in my life, but could it really help everyone? Well today, I know. I know that the gospel can help everyone. It truly can change every single person's life. Guntia is an awesome example of that.

I would like to close by sharing a hymn that has really come to mean a lot to me out here on the mission. Give it a read and think about how you can better follow the Lord in your life.

1. Savior, may I learn to love thee,

Walk the path that thou hast shown,

Pause to help and lift another,

Finding strength beyond my own.

Savior, may I learn to love thee--

1. Lord, I would follow thee.
2. 2. Who am I to judge another
   When I walk imperfectly?
   In the quiet heart is hidden
   Sorrow that the eye can't see.
   Who am I to judge another?
3. Lord, I would follow thee. 
4. 3. I would be my brother's keeper;
5. I would learn the healer's art.
6. To the wounded and the weary
7. I would show a gentle heart.
8. I would be my brother's keeper--

1. Lord, I would follow thee. 
2. 4. Savior, may I love my brother
   As I know thou lovest me,
   Find in thee my strength, my beacon,
   For thy servant I would be.
   Savior, may I love my brother--
3. Lord, I would follow thee.

Thanks for all the support and love. 

Choose to be happy this week! 

I feel so blessed every day to be a missionary of the Lord. 

Shout out to Grace for the big birthday this week! 

Love,

Elder Gochnour