New Year, New Me

Happy New Year! 

Fun fact

• My companion got an odometer for Christmas and we bike. On Friday we logged a total of 36 miles in 3 hours and 6 minutes on the bike. Seems kinda slow, but dirt roads and cities don't help your speed at all, haha. Sign me up for the Tour of Utah when I get home! 

Two P-days ago we found a jersey shop and you know I had to stop and buy a Jason Tatum jersey because I am always trying to rep my Blue Devils. While there we met a guy who was super nice named Sophal and after a lot of discussion, he agreed to meet with us and learn more about Christ's church. Fast forward to this week when we met him again and he brought his friend. They also both ended up going to church yesterday! So there is a mini-miracle story about the blessings that come from opening your mouth and supporting Duke, and that God truly does prepare our paths! 

Christmas was super good! We had a party with a senior couple and it was very fun! Games, music, the devotional and good food! It was also amazing to skype my family because I love and miss them so much! 

However, Christmas is different here. It isn't very celebrated, but for those who do celebrate it, I think that they understand the meaning of Christmas better than I did from my years at home. No presents. No tree. No lights. No snow. No stockings. No sleigh rides. No hot chocolate (too hot outside). Just a bigger emphasis of Jesus Christ. A much more pure way to celebrate Christmas. On Christmas eve we rode our bikes a whole hour just to visit the wife of our branch president who has been struggling recently. We got an hour out and couldn't find her house. I was able to take a step back from the situation and realize that this, in a very small way, maybe how Jesus Christ feels when he goes so far out of His way to help save just one lost soul. He will do anything and give anything to help one of those he has stewardship over. That is what I learned this Christmas season. I feel more strongly the love that Christ has for all of us and I am so grateful for the huge effort He makes to save us. He wants to help us and He sacrificed everything to do that. We just have to let Him. I think that on the mission you don’t necessarily learn anything new. You just come to understand the things that you already knew better in your heart. Your heart learns the true meaning of the lessons that your head already knew. I thank God every day for this mission. 

Anyway, as this New Year begins we must set goals and start again! What an amazing season to use the Atonement and begin again. Set goals and then make plans to accomplish them!!!!!!!!!!!!! Be the best you, that you can be and reach out and be kind to others. Especially focus on how you can grow closer to our Savior and read the Book of Mormon!

In the wise words of the prophet who I share names with,  "O be wise; what can I say more?"

(Jacob 6:12) 

I love you all!

Love Elder Gochnour

White Christmas

This week was a fun one, and kinda a chaotic one! The mission just got a new big group of missionaries, but one of the Elders didn't get his visa.  That had a large effect on us because I am staying in staying a trio with Elder Miller and Elder Baird! Not gonna lie a trio is kinda rowdy and hard to get stuff down, but it is a good time! Come what may and love it! 

This week we had to go down on Tuesday night for Mission Leadership Conference which was on Wednesday afternoon and we couldn't head back until Thursday! It was a really great meeting and I love learning from President Lewis. On top of all that we had to pack up all our bags (which I had just unpacked) and switch the elders who had the bigger apartment for our trio! It kinda felt like my life was in shambles and after two weeks I still haven't really settled in haha (just being dramatic)

Siem Reap is a gorgeous area and every day we get to bike through the Angkor forests and see Angkor Wat which is pretty spectacular. I love being here and taking in the true beauty of Cambodia.

The highlight of the week was DAVE DAVIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What an absolute legend! I don't have time to share the whole story, but never did I think that I would be going to Cambodia and have the privilege of helping a Welshman be baptized. What an absolute miracle. These past two and a half weeks have been a journey like I have never seen with some of the most spiritually packed lessons. He had a Christian background which made things pretty fun and new, and there were some amazing lessons. I think my favorite was the Plan of Salvation because he was truly just blown away with the doctrine of the Resurrection. It is pretty cool to help someone come to understand the hope we have for the future because of the Resurrection of the Savior! He was mind-blown. Take a second to step back and realize what the Resurrection means to you. I had the privileged to confirm both him and our investigator that was baptized last week which was a pretty amazing experience!

Lot's of other stuff happened like a ward Christmas party, but just the same old joyful missionary work! 

Before we close I would like to share a very short message. 

I have been working on writing my own "The Living Christ" document and reflecting what the Savior means to me. I haven't gotten very far (2 lines haha) but here is a short snippet of what Jesus Christ means to me: 

Over two thousand years ago in a humble, hay-filled and homely stable, He who heroically heals us all, was born. The Son of God, the Prince of Peace, the Holy One of Israel and Our Beloved Savior was placed on Earth to begin His perfect mortal ministry." More to come later....

In the spirit of Christmas, I want to share my favorite verse about the Savior. 

John 21:25

25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

Every single thing that Jesus Christ did was perfect. Not just His miracles or His teachings, but every word uttered and thought composed was perfect. Take a second to ponder that this Christmas season.

I love you all! Merry Christmas. May this time be a time of joy, and peace because of Him who is our Lord and Savior. I love Him and know that He is the greatest gift we could ever ask for.

Elder Gochnour

Hello Siem Reip!

This week was just absolute chaos. Because we got whitewashed out of our area we tried to go visit as many members as we could, while balancing our time between preparing the area book, packing and teaching investigators. Pretty crazy couple of days. In addition to that, the first couple of days in Siem Riep have just been an absolute whirlwind, but fantastic nonetheless! Because the new group of missionaries has had Visa problems we have been in a trio and have not split our area. That means that we were able to bike all the way to Angkor Wat and go visit members around there which were just absolutely gorgeous!!!!!! I think that there might be more white and Chinese tourists in our area than Khmers haha, but come what may and LOVE IT! We also spent a lot of time moving Elders and Sisters houses around and I just still have not fully unpacked which is a  bit of a headache.

 There were two major things that happened this week:

• When I first got into the area my companion told me that they were planning to have a baptism that Sunday which was pretty surprising because there hasn't been one in this area for over six months. We met this guy and he is literally one of my favorite people in the world. He is so innocent, pure and has such a desire to learn about and follow Jesus Christ. We taught him both Thursday and Friday to get him prepared for baptism, but he said that he would be going to PP to translate for some Chinese people and wouldn't be able to make it to church on Sunday. Boy was I surprised when he ran into the church and gave me the biggest hug on a bright Sabbath Morning. We also had a baptism this weekend! He's an 18-year-old college student named Ly Chai ("Lee-Ch-eye"). He's only learned with the missionaries for 3 weeks, but he was dead set on getting baptized as soon as possible. I wish I had more time to tell about him, but long story short, he said that he saw a moto crash and even though he wasn't involved at all he just walked up to the guy and gave him 20$ because he thought it is what Christ would have done. YUP! The baptism was phenomenal. I literally already love all of the members here in Siem Riep and their primary is WORLD FAMOUS! Reminds me of the H 18 primary back home. The baptism was so smooth and when he got up to bear his testimony he said that he was happy, but he couldn't have a fulness of joy because he doesn't get confirmed till next week! He really does understand the gospel! It does change lives.

• We are also teaching a guy from Whales that has hit a mid-life crisis and needs the hope that comes through Jesus Christ and repentance although our sins may be scarlet, they may be made white as snow. Long story short, we have had some of the most powerful lessons and he is on date for this Sunday even though we just started teaching him this week (long story). So fun to teach in English and ties me back to the Welsh ancestors! 

Well so much to talk about and such little time, but I truly do love this mission! 

My spiritual thought is something that I studied from the Book of Mormon this past week. 

In 3 Nephi 8

20 And it came to pass that there was thick darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof who had not fallen could feel the vapor of darkness;

21 And there could be no light, because of the darkness, neither candles, neither torches; neither could there be fire kindled with their fine and exceedingly dry wood, so that there could not be any light at all;

22 And there was not any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, for so great were the mists of darkness which were upon the face of the land.

23 And it came to pass that it did last for the space of three days that there was no light seen; and there was great mourning and howling and weeping among all the people continually; yea, great were the groanings of the people, because of the darkness and the great destruction which had come upon them.

There was literally no light without the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Imagine those three days. Those three horrible, dark, devastating and utterly hopeless days. May we not forget, however, that Christ did rise from the grave, and because of that we don't have to suffer like those in the Americas did for three solemn and sad days. WE CAN HAVE HOPE THROUGH THE PRINCE OF PEACE AND HIS RESSURECTION! 

We read in chapter 10

10 And the earth did cleave together again, that it stood; and the mourning, and the weeping, and the wailing of the people who were spared alive did cease; and their mourning was turned into joy, and their lamentations into the praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord Jesus Christ, their Redeemer.  

I am so grateful for my Savior and His Ressurection. He is the ultimate source of all hope and happiness in this life! The best Christmas present ever! 

I love you all! Talk to you next week and enjoy the holidays!

Elder Gochnour

P.S. HBD to elder Smith coming up real soon!

also visit this website if you have time www.lighttheworld.org 

 
  

I Hate Goodbyes

The big news of the day is that I am going to Siem Riep!!!! I am not exactly sure how I feel about it. First of all, I don't want to leave my beloved companion (and son)  Elder Chytraus, and I also do not want to leave this amazing area with so many spectacular people. Sad Stuff. On top of that the Christmas stuff going down in PP is gonna be bumping, buttttt I will have the chance to hit all 3 provinces with is way fun! Also, we will probably get to spend Christmas in Battambang, where I started (my birth area) which is LEGIT! My companion is Elder Miller, who I will be training and I will also be zone leader. Lot's of mixed emotions, but it is all the same glorious work of God, so it doesn't really matter! 

So I am pretty sad to be leaving this amazing area! We found some sweet new investigators this week, and have some other ones doing super well. Also, លីand យូបិណ got confirmed this week which was fantastic! 

It doesn't really feel like Christmas at all around here, but on Wednesday we had an English class party to celebrate Christmas and it was actually a way good time! We made ornaments and snowflakes. I really am dreaming of a white Christmas. Honestly, nothing that crazy happened this week, just a lot of missionary work and a lot of pretty cool experiences. If I have learned anything this week, it is that God has a brilliant plan for all of us. SO MANY times we were stood up or our appointments fell through, but God was just preparing our path to go find and talk to someone else.

I love being a missionary. I think one of my favorite characters in all of the scriptures was Jonathan, the son of Saul, in the Old Testament. He epitomizes humility and ultimate love for others, especially loyalty to those he cares about. He is truly someone that is not willing to compromise his morals and stands for what he knows is right. See the Bible dictionary:  Son of Saul, and friend of David; frequently mentioned in 1 Sam. 13–23. His friendship for David, whom he might naturally have regarded as a rival, is one of the most unselfish incidents in Old Testament history.

Anyway, that is all I got! I know that this is the work of the Lord and this Christmas season we must all gain a greater appreciation for our Savior, Jesus Christ!

Love,

Elder Gochnour

 

Peanut Butter

Another week another មួយរយ!

What is up people! How are all of you guys doing?

Another VERY interesting week as a missionary in the greater Phnom Penh baby! I saw a few more naked people than I would have liked, but it is all good. 

The highlight of the week was the baptism of my boys លី and យូបិណ (I am getting better at typing lol). It was awesome! I was a little bit scared because they can only meet on Sundays so we literally did not see them for a whole week leading up to the baptism, but everything went as smooth as possible with the lack of planning and preparation that took place haha. 

Pretty miracle like story about how we found him. About nine weeks ago we didn't have much to do and we decided to step aside and offer up a prayer to our Father in Heaven, to ask for guidance. Well, the next person we talked to on the side of the dirt road, ended up entering the waters of baptism yesterday. From a simple conversation and a phone number, there came a new member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. You can't make this stuff up. God is a God of miracles and if we take one step back from our busy and sometimes short-sighted lives we will see His holy hand touching the seams of each of our lives and creating true miracles. Anyway, I know that prayer and humility truly do bring miracles! What a joy it is to be a part of this work. My companion and I both talked about how much hope has come into his and his son's life because of the gospel. Another life changed by the infinite grace of God! How grateful I am to be a part of His satisfying work of salvation.

Yesterday at fast and testimony meeting our recent convert shared his testimony of prayer and one of our investigators got up and announced to the whole ward that he agreed to be baptized hahaha so yeah good stuff happening! I don't think he understood the purpose of the meeting quite yet, but he has faith that is for sure! I also went on an exchange with Elder McFarland for like the 1,000,000,000 time which was fun as always. Anyway, no need to ramble! A good week full of missionary work! 

Before I close my companion and I came to a pretty interesting realization this week. In Cambodia, there are two types of peanut butter. There is Skippy, which is the GOOD STUFF, but not very many stores sell it and usually, it is a little more expensive. Then there is another brand called Highway Peanut Butter. Skippy is wayyyyy better than Highway, but sometimes you have no options and you have to settle. My comp said that when he first switched from Skippy to Highway he felt like it was not even good at all and he just missed eating the good peanut butter, but after a while, he said that even Highway tasted delicious to him. I think that is kinda how our life is. Sometimes we get so used to living the good life and enjoying all the luxuries and when we don't have them, or when we have a bad day, it feels like everything is falling apart. But life is still good! We are still eating peanut butter! Just because it isn't skippy and we have had some tough times, doesn't mean that it is all bad. And then when you get used to eating Highway PB every day becomes a good day no matter what happened! When a really good day comes and you get to eat some Skippy PB you have so much more gratitude. I am boring you all talking about this, so make what you want to out of that analogy, and sorry if it didn't make sense. 

Go read the talk Grateful in Any Circumstances by Elder Uchtdorf to understand better. 

To close here is a powerful quote that President shared with me in our interview. 

“Nothing will surprise us more than when we get to heaven and 

see the Father and realize how well we know Him and how 

familiar His face is to us.”- President Ezra Taft Benson

Take some time to think about that this week.

Love you all! Joy in the Journey!

Elder Gochnour

THANK YOU TO THE HOLLADAY SOUTH 18TH WARD PRIMARY! I LOVED THIS!

Subject

I all tricked you on the title of the email huh? My humor is just horrible haha, but hey I am a missionary that is a good excuse right?

I don't even know where to start with this email, so how about a story? There is a family in our area who goes to the Vietnamese branch even though they are Khmer and don't really know how to speak Vietnamese. The Viet Elders took us over to their house to visit and invite them to the Khmer branch and it was an experience. Long story short the mom made us a drink that literally had sand and water mixed around. I guess it is supposed to stop you from having arthritis, to imagine the experience of this drink, you would just go to the beach and spooning sand in your mouth and drink a water bottle to get it down. But the beach as one advantage, a cool breeze, which is never happening here. 

For some reason, the branch always asks us to help them sing. Well I can't sing and I haven't gotten any better on my mission, (in fact probably worse) so while the sisters taught and my comp played the piano I was just joking around with this way cool kid from the primary. We found a toad by the door so I thought I would try to pick it up, but as I made my way back into the church the thing just peed all over me and my shirt! Way fun time sitting in Branch council meeting with my shirt soaked from toad pee! Yay!

I won't bore you with any more stories, but this week was a good one! We had zone conference on Thanksgiving and it was a really fun time to celebrate America the Beautiful for a little bit and learn how to be a better missionary. Things are actually moving a little bit slow in the area right now, which can be frustrating, but it is just life sometimes. I feel like sometimes Satan just does everything he can (for lack of a better example like he is playing basketball just putting up triple doubles out here), but at the end of the day, we always go home happy and hopeful because we have the gospel of Jesus Christ. The most glorious message that can truly change lives. I love this area and the members here. We were supposed to have a baptism this Sunday, but the Branch President didn't want to change the ward council meeting so we will just have the baptism this week instead haha..... First, father-son baptism of the mission so super excited!

Lots of thoughts going through my head right now and stories to type, but the only thing that really needs to be said is that I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church of Jesus Christ! I know that without a doubt. I am sorry I didn't do anything super special about expressing my gratitude for all of you and especially for this gospel, but during this season I want y'all to know that I am so thankful. Thankful for my family, my friends, sports, Duke, Utah, and especially my Savior and His perfect gospel. 

Mosiah 2: 20-21

  20 I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should 

live in peace one with another—

21 I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.

Quote of the week from a missionary named Elder Tvetton: "Sometimes reading the Book of Mormon is like taking medicine. You don't want to do it and it isn't very enjoyable, but when you do it you receive hope and healing, and it makes everything better." I love the Book of Mormon!

Love,

Elder Gochnour