ALL YOU CAN EAT!

This week was an absolute grind, but a good one!! 

Elder Cunningham had to go down to the city again, but this time with the other zone leader because they had exchanges with the AP's. Keeping the streak running. Every week down to the city. Things were good though! I went on another exchange with Elder Everett and it was a fun time. It was kinda distressing though because even though we were supposed to be working in both of our areas, we spent almost the whole time in his. I had a little bit of, "a what the heck am I doing here?" moment, but you just gotta keep plugging along! I have the same desire as Alma to declare repentance with the sound of a trump like in Alma 29:1-4, but most of the time it doesn't work out that way.  We had some success at the end of the week so that was a blessing. 

On the exchange, we were biking from deep in my area, all the way to the opposite side of his area. I was caught in my thoughts and we were just hauling on this busy road. This moto couldn't see the main road because there was a semi truck parked on a corner and he just tried to shoot the gap and turn left onto the main road. Of course, he just shot out right in front of me and I literally had no time to react so I just T-boned him. I went full Olympics and did a front flip over the handlebars, but somehow I literally had one scratch on my body. The Lord really does protect his servants. I just told the guy it was all good and we shook hands and went on our way. It was a pretty funny experience just to help me laugh at myself for a little bit. My bike kinda got wrecked, but all good! Also, Elder Cunningham and I made a basketball hoop out of a garbage can and a plastic bag, and we play ball every night. 

As far as the work goes, things are good! Lee Meng is on track to be baptized this Saturday. The golden ticket is BACK (haha an earlier guy we found)! We visited him again and is going to start learning with us! We have lots of hope for him. We also found a new baller named Newt and he came to church even though we had only met him once. Things are looking up! 

The best thing that I heard this week was a quote from Elder Everett while I was on an exchange with him. He said that his grandpa always told him, 

"Life is like a buffet. If you leave hungry, 

that is your fault!" 

How true is that! Often times we go throughout life just trying to hold on, thinking that things will get better in the future. Sometimes I wish that I could be back home watching March Madness, but that is just me selling myself short. Whatever phase of life or situation we are in we must make the most of it. We must indulge ourselves in the joys and the people that surround us. We must feast upon the tender mercies that the Lord gives us in our lives, every single day. We must savor the hard times and make the most of them. We must swallow our pride and try to live humbly. If we do all of those things then we can taste the fruits of our labors and live happily. Life truly is a buffet. We have the choice to enjoy all the experiences, whether they be difficult or easy, sour or sweet, and make the most of them. 

Don't leave hungry!!!!

I could go on and on with the puns but I think you get the point. Life is like a buffet. I am trying every day to make sure I go home full!

We had interviews this week with President and it was pretty amazing. He helped answer my questions and lit the fire under me to keep working hard and doing my best.

Love,

Elder Gochnour

P.S. BLUE DEVILS TILL I DIE! GO LOYOLA CHICAGO! 

P.P.S  my favorite kid in KC we call hug kid. We went and visited him and his family and he will always give us hugs if he sees us. Unfortunately, when we visited him he was naked. It definitely didn't stop him from giving us hugs and sitting on our laps haha. What a baller!

MADDNESS BABY!

 Anyone that has the ability or means, please enjoy March Madness for me. Virginia getting knocked off for the first one seed of all time? Crazy. Duke balling, too easy! SO much fun! I miss it so much. 

Anyway, shout out to Lucyann G for the big Bday this week! One year older and wiser too!

This week was pretty interesting haha. We just get wrecked every day in our area, but we are trying our hardest and that is all we can do! We planned to have an exchange on Tuesday, but the other Elders forgot so then our plans were all messed up and didn't have anything to do except just contact. 

The leader of the government made a visit to the island this week so there was like tons of police and everything was decked out in Cambodian flags, and it was way fun. They made the city look nice and they showed their Khmer pride. We also had to go back down to the city again this week (to Phnom Penh). My comps Visa is gonna expire soon and it is crunch time, so we had to make another emergency trip and spent a day and a half out of our area which makes it hard to keep the progress going. The bus rides were brutal haha because there was no AC and I was just SWEATING bullets, but everything worked out. That makes it every week this transfer that one of us has gone to the city.... Also yesterday, my comp was sick so we couldn't go out except for sacrament, but it was nice to just have some time to relax!

The best part of the whole week was Cantuu's baptism! So exciting. He is by far the most prepared person I have taught. The baptism went perfectly smooth, which isn't a very common thing here in the Kingdom of Cambodia. A pretty amazing experience. He bore his testimony about the gratitude that he has in his life for finding this gospel. It truly has changed his life. He encouraged all of the members to continue to have gratitude for the gospel and trust in the Lord. Pretty cool to hear your investigator encouraging you to be better. Saturday night was a REAL good night. After, they gave us tons of food, and there was a party for a guy going to the states for his mission. IT WAS LIT

I am happy and healthy. I love my mission. There are hard parts, but the joy that you can feel is so unique. It isn't the joy you get when you when a sports game or do well on a test. It is more peaceful. It touches your heart more. That joy is the reason I get up every morning, and the reason I love this work. 

Quick spiritual though. In Alma 19, after King Lamoni, his wife and his servants are all converted they all pass out. The first thing that happens after he wakes up is trying to share this glorious gospel.

 31 And he, immediately, seeing the contention among his people, went forth and began to rebuke them, and to teach them the words which he had heard from the mouth of Ammon; and as many as heard his words believed, and were converted unto the Lord.

32 But there were many among them who would not hear his words; therefore they went their way.

Notice how it said that everyone who heard him believed. Those that did not believe did not even hear what he testified to them. I think there is an important lesson in this. Before we believe this gospel and in the Savior, we must first hear about Him or learn about Him. We must read his words. How often do we question our beliefs without even hearing (or reading) the good word first? 

IN ORDER TO BELIEVE YOU MUST HEAR FIRST. 

Everyone that did take the effort to listen to the King and hear what he was saying was converted. Because it is true! I invite you all to hear the words of Christ in your life, by going to church and reading the scriptures.

Church is true 

Madness is real

Elder Gochnour

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

The Golden Ticket

HEY HEY HEY PEOPLE!

Another great week out here in the big KC baby! On Thursday for Weekly Planning we organized our whiteboard with all the information on our area and gave every single person an NBA player counterpart. It was way funny haha. Our two best investigators are Kawhi and Lebron haha and then our PI investigators are young ballers, the members are Hall of Famers, and the Less Actives are the biggest busts haha (Greg Oden). It definitely helped spice up our week from the long days with lots of contacting. On a basketball note, Elder Cunningham and I also came up with every starting five we could think of. Meaning, the starting five best white guys of all time, most overrated starting five, most athletic, over 7 foot, oriental, under 6 foot, thug starting five and everything in between. My favorite was the scriptural character starting five. Goliath was definitely the starting center. 

We also did missionary work this week too! (much more important) It is pretty cool because our two main investigators are some of the strongest members of our branch and they haven't even been baptized yet. They are rock solid. One of them (Leemeng) (Lebron) gave the other one a tie and they both wear white shirts and ties to church. It is pretty cool to see how big of a positive impact they are having on the branch. Speaking of, we had a miracle with Pu Lee Meng this week. We had a tough lesson on tithing, but he eventually agreed to follow the law of tithing. The next morning he saw a guy outside his house begging for money, and he is very kind so he gave them twice as much money as he asked for (50 cents instead of 25). That same day he found two ($1.25) bills on the ground and therefore he gave away fifty cents but got two dollars and fifty cents in return. Exactly like the law of tithing. God works in mysterious ways.

This week we were just trying to get something going and we were literally going down every single back road that we could possibly see just to try to meet some new people. Right as we were about to lose all hope and just toss in the towel, a high school kid on a moto rode passed us into his house. Immediately after Elder Cunningham said "He is the Golden Ticket," and my first thought was of the Office episode where Michael has the Golden Ticket idea hahah, but after that we went and talked to him and he was a boss! He lives in a house with five other kids that are all around 20 years of age. Although they did not seem to be extremely interested in learning about Christ they showed some interest and they were very kind. We went back the next day and Tiara (the golden ticket) played some Khmer songs on the guitar and he is probably the best singer I have ever heard. He was SO GOOD! We didn't have much time to teach a lesson, but we have a lot of hope for those guys so I will keep you posted!

This week I read the scripture in D&C 58: 16 that reads, "Behold his mission is given unto him, and it shall not be given again." And it kinda lit the fire under me again! I gotta get going because in a year and a half this whole mission thing is over and it is on to the rest of my life, so I better make the most of the time that I have here! 

My spiritual thought for this week is for everyone to go listen to or read the talk called "Oh Lord Keep My Rudder True" by Elder Jeffery R. Holland. Please read it or listen to it. Are you loyal to the cause? Are you loyal to your beliefs? How do you show your loyalty? Loyalty is one quality that is really underrated. Imagine a perfectly loyal world. We must first know where we stand, what we believe in and the standards we hold, and after we figure that out it all comes down to loyalty. Are you your brother's brother? Anyway just listen to it because it is straight FLAMES!

Joy in the journey, hope in the hardship and peace in the peril. That is what Jesus Christ can offer all of us. I know he lives. Read the Book of Mormon and you will too.

// Elder Gochnour

P.S. I went to Auntie Anne's and bought a Shaq jersey when we went down to the city on Wednesday to fix Elder Cunningham's Visa, again. Long story short it was a good week!

P.P.S Shout out to the Titans and the Blue Devils! Undefeated season baby! That's what I like to hear! TTTE

Transferred and The Island

Hey! I am gonna be super lazy this week so here are some bullet points of what happened and what's new with me and my area:

• The night before we left for my new area, Kampong Cham, my two favorite Cambodian families fed us dinner! So yeah two dinners in one night! I had only had one dinner appointment my whole mission before that night, I almost forgot I was in Cambodia (jokes).    It was really hard to say goodbye to them. 

• Transfers were crazy. Packing, riding the bus, then having the bus breaking down and finally getting into the city late, 10:15pm! Then up again at 5 am to play basketball so I was really tired, but BALL IS LIFE!

• We chilled in the city (Phnom Penh) until Thursday because Elder Cunningham's Visa was messed up and we have to go back down again this Wednesday, but it was fun to eat a lot of American food and to chill with all the Elders that I love so much and hadn't seen for so long!

• I am serving in Branch 2 in Kampung Cham. The branch is super awesome and there are some really great members, but on average we only get about 40 to 50 people at church every week, which makes things hard. 

• We have 5 investigators which is a lot different from Battambang, but the best part about it is 2 of the 5 are some of the strongest, most intelligent, and most faithful people I have ever taught. They are amazing. Lee Meng is a 40-year-old who is an absolute baller, and he is already helping the branch run better and giving advice. He knows five languages and he drives a car. Also, he has been to church for 5 weeks straight, all three hours. YUP! 

• The other guy is Chantuu. He is a college kid age, but he is just straight brilliant. We read the scriptures with him, and he understands everything better than me. Super cool!!!!! So things are good. Lot's of time spent finding new people, but we just need to trust in the Lord and be grateful for those elect that we do have. 

• This area is hard because there are huge empty fields that take up about a fourth of our area, then we have the city part of KC which takes up about half of our area, and is all shops, and lastly all the area that isn't in those two parts is either too far away or is Muslim. 

• In Khmer, Cham means Muslim and Kampung means port. So basically this place is the port of Muslims. Long story short, they aren't as nice and friendly, and it is much harder to have people to listen to our message, but you GOTTA LOVE IT, BABY! 

• The best part about my area is that we have the island in it. I am not sure what the island is called, but it is just straight beautiful. I love it there. It is a long bike ride, but being on the island makes me feel like I am in rural Cambodia where I belong. It is amazing there. Also, the church building here is BRAND NEW and it is way dope!

Anyway,  To end I will share a little bit of the talk I gave in Sacrament yesterday. 

Our faith must be centered around Jesus Christ. When I first entered my mission I thought that faith was believing in things you couldn't see. Which is true. But true faith is more than that. I could have faith that Duke is gonna win the national championship this year, but if that didn't happen  - then what? Did I not have sufficient faith? Obviously, that comparison is a stretch, but what is most important, is building our Faith around the only perfect being that has ever walked the Earth. Around our Savior, Jesus Christ. The only faith that can be pure, trusted and sufficient, is faith in Him. In his love, in his Atonement, and in his mercy, to offer us a second chance and the chance to have eternal life. One of my favorite verses is found in Ether 15:34. 

It reads, "Now the last words which are written by Ether are these: Whether the Lord will that I 

be translated, or that I suffer the will of the Lord in the flesh, it mattereth not, if it so be that I am saved in the kingdom of God. Amen."

Our whole purpose in this life should be centered around our eternal salvation, around our chance to achieve eternal life with the help of our perfect, Heavenly Advocate, Jesus Christ. Although we all face trials and suffer, we may always have faith and hope that through Jesus Christ everything will be okay! 

I love my mission and these people, and I desire their salvation! Please center your life around receiving the most glorious gift God has to offer and look to the future with hope!

Joy in the Journey! I met a dude who knew Donovan Mitchell. All the way out here in crazy Cambodia. That is how you know he is gonna be a legend! OOPS. Go Titans, Utes, Duke and everyone else. Also, read the Book of Mormon! I love you all!

// Elder Gochnour  

ឱ​ បាត់ដំបងបណ្តូលចិត្តអើយ

YO YO YO!!!! LET'S GOOOO!!!!!!!!!! This week was LEGIT, to say the least! Trying to be better at staying under me email time so let's get right to the chase.

I GOT TRANSFERRED! I am so sad and heartbroken. I love this city of Battambang. The title of the email is a popular Khmer song that talks about the city of Battambang, being in the center of the singer's heart. This song describes how I feel about leaving this place. It is crazy the love, friendship and care I have gained for the Cambodian people in four short months. Getting on the bus tomorrow knowing that I probably won't be coming back to this fantastic city for at least 2 years is pretty hard to wrap my mind around. I love these people. I know that the people I’ve met in this amazing city were meant to change my life and to help me have a better perspective on life. 

BUTTTTT the good news is I am going to Kampong Cham, which is another Kite (an area outside of Phnom Penh)! So basically I am just going Kite hopping haha, not a city rat quite yet, but I am so pumped! The best part about all of it is I get to be comps with Elder Cunningham!!!! HE IS A HOMIE! He went to Woods Cross before his mission and he is way good friends with Elder Sam Bennion (Elder McDougals cousin), and he loves basketball, the same music as me, and pretty much everything else that I like. I am pumped to go get work done with him.

The song Blessings by Chance the Rapper, is kinda how this week felt. There were so many times I had doubts that everything would work out, that we wouldn’t get our investigators ready for their baptism & I about gave up all hope but the Lord delivered. He always will, we were very blessed. So the big news is we were able to baptize 3 out of the 4 people we planned for! (Benjamin said that he wasn't quite ready and that he wanted to wait 2 weeks)

Dee and Mae were baptized which was pretty much a miracle. They are brother and sister and pretty much only have each other and their mother who is extremely sick. I taught them for the first time, the second week that I was in country. Fast forward four months, after dropping them a few times, losing hope, and meeting them countless times, they are now members of the true church of Jesus Christ. They are so unique, but seeing their conversion really helped me to understand that the gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone. If we keep trying and keep showing hope in these people then one day everything will work out. Dee bore his testimony about all the churches that he has been apart of and ended up talking for 13 minutes haha, but at the end, he talked about the faith that he had in Jesus Christ, and I felt peace to know that he had finally entered into the true fold of God.

My favorite story and miracle of my whole mission is the story of Pu Toic. He is the same man that about four weeks ago had nothing to eat on Sunday and was saved by the gift of one bag of rice. The lessons that we’ve had with him have been some of the most humbling experiences of my life. He collected cans for a week or two just to scrape by and to save enough money to buy his kid $60 dollar glasses, for his broken eyes. The next day, his son was playing in the road and his glasses fell off, and got smashed by a car. Toic didn't get discouraged. He kept working hard. He missed only one week of church because working was his only option to have enough money to buy food. He truly put his faith first in the Lord and made monumental sacrifices in order to do what was right (Jacob 2:18-19). As he bore his testimony at the end of each of our lessons I felt the spirit so strongly every single time. Teaching him was a breeze because he already was following the gospel in his heart. He felt the love of the Savior and did everything he could to live according to it. He never lost hope. And today he is a baptized member. He was able to take at a loan from the bank and now has a tuk-tuk (kinda like a taxi Khmer style) which is one of the best jobs in Cambodia. He has enough food and he is happy. I really can see how much better his life has gotten since that first day that we met him, and Sunday I was lucky enough to confirm him. He has been blessed both temporal and spiritually. Before he had to hand bike two hours to get to church, and now he takes our investigators that don't have a moto to church. He is one of my favorite people, and his story truly is a miracle. If I were to not have one more success story my whole mission, my mission would be worth everything to me, just because of the story of this man. I love Pu Toic.

One of my favorite things every week is reading the emails from all of the boys!!!! I am so glad to be out here doing the same work as them. I love hearing how Christian is getting bit by dogs, James is baptizing in France?, and Ty is going to the office hahahah! Michael Scott would be proud! Love all the boys! Keep doing WORK!

Anyway, Chinese New Year's was this week and everyone loves it here. We went over to a neighbors place and they hooked it up with some random cakes, noodles, and soda hahah! Kinda hard to meet people because everyone was way drunk, but it was fun to have a little celebration. This week was a perfect week to say goodbye to these people that I love. We also went to the Bamboo train on Monday which was way fun!!!!!! It was the most Americanized place I have been for a good minute. The church is true. Read the Book of Mormon. Joy in the journey.

//Elder G

Joy In The Journey

Phnom Simpov

So the first news of the week is I officially reached 180 lbs. on the mission....! WHAT THE. 

I guess all I have to say is oops hahaha. This country will really do it to you. The good news is that I am just packing on the pounds because Dengue fever has increased by 300% in Cambodia.... So just in case I catch it I will have a few extra pounds to lose :) (don't worry mom I wear bug spray)

Anyway super amazing week this week! I LOVE MY MISSION! I am just gonna cut right to the chase. We had a lot of success this week and hopefully, we will have four baptisms this week. I don't know why, but the Lord is really helping us out here. Please pray that everything can go smoothly and that they can enter into the straight and narrow path because life can get pretty crazy here sometimes.

A really humbling experience happened this week. We got a referral from this recently returned missionary and he led us to their house. These people were poor. Like really really poor. They are both about 55 years old and they have a two-year-old child. The Dad has hurt legs and is hardly able to walk, and cannot leave the house because they don't have a Moto and he can't ride a bike. The wife collects aluminum cans all day, every day and yet she only makes about 50 cents a day. Yes, 50 cents. She works about five to six hours every day for fifty cents. I don't really know how they eat. I don't know how they survive, but yet they still have hope. They let us share about God and you could really see the hope enter into their eyes as they gained the knowledge of an ultimate being that loves them limitless. This place is really humbling. I feel so spoiled for the things that I used to take for granted back home. That couple, who has nothing, scraping by with the raw necessities of life, had happiness. And although they don't know if they are going to eat tomorrow they still smile and laugh. Humbling. 

Other than that we had a fun trip to Phnom Simpov last week again! It is pretty amazing there. Look up pictures if you don't know what I am talking about cause I can't send any. Lot's of monkeys, shrines, and caves! Also went on an exchange with Elder Lackey on Friday. He is a great guy!

I don't really want to write much more this week so I am gonna keep it pretty short... Pretty crazy that I hit my 6 month mark this week. 

One thing that I realized when I was studying is that our earth life is a lot like when missionaries go out and serve a mission. We came to earth to learn, grow, gain experiences and be tested. I came on my mission to share the gospel, but also to strengthen my own testimony, to learn, to grow, to live on my own, to become independent. The similarities are crazy. When Adam and Eve fell they were cast out of the Garden and were taken away from the gift of being in the presence of our Heavenly Father. Here in Cambodia, I am very far from the presence of my amazing Earthly parents. We have trials in life that allow us to become stronger and help us to learn for ourselves. I have had trials on my mission that have tested my faith, and allowed me to learn for myself. When I first got to my mission I was looking forward to the day that I could go home and step off the plane and just have everything be over, but this week I have realized (with the help of my Dad) that it is always about the JOURNEY! 

Right now I don't want to go home, but I am learning that that is part of the process.  I do look forward to the day that I can be reunited with my family. This week my thought process has changed a lot. I have realized how much I love these people of Battambang, and of Cambodia in general. I fear the day that I have to leave these people and say goodbye to this amazing, fun and unique culture. 

I think that is how our earth life is too. We come to Earth and we build relationships, friends, and meet amazing people. We don't want to leave them. Death is a part of our earthly life and no one looks forward to death but it is a hope for us to live with our Father in Heaven again.  I know I am not making much sense, but what I am really trying to get across is that LIFE and this mission is all about the JOURNEY!!!!! 

I was thinking about 2 Nephi 2:25 "Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy." This holds true for my mission too. I left my parents, friends, and home to come to this place. But that shouldn't be a sad thing. It should be something that allows JOY!!! So, in the end, I just want to say that I am trying to find joy in this journey. I am trying to enjoy every single day whether it is sweating in the hot sun, gaining weight, killing spiders, or fixing my bike. I would invite all of you to find JOY IN THE JOURNEY as well. Don't waste time waiting for life to be perfect and to be in a situation where everything is going smooth. Every situation and place in your life should be a time of happiness. Don't be someone that is always waiting for tomorrow to be happy. BE HAPPY TODAY. Those good days will come, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the bad ones too!

A quick quote from President Hinckley "Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef in tough, most children grow up to be just like people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, and most jobs are more often dull than otherwise.

Life is just like an old time rail journey…delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling burst of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.”

Anyway, that is all I got for this week! Sorry, I wrote so much. FINAL SHOUT OUT TO RALPH AND ABBY FOR MAKING ME AN UNCLE!!!!! SO EXCITING!!!! I LOVE THAT CUTE BABY OLIVER JAMES!!! And also you named him after me without even realizing it hahaha YUP! In Khmae James and Jacob are the same name, so yeah, taking after his favorite uncle already. OOPS! 

P.S. I took James McDougal's advice and tried to use the quote "I am not a businessman, I am a business, man." by Jay-Z in Khmer and let me tell you, it didn't work out. 

JOY IN THE JOURNEY!!

Elder Gochnour 

Rollin' With It

HEYYOOO

This week was probably the most fun week I have had out here in the Bodi! I loved every second of the week and had some really funny, spiritual and awesome experiences. 

My companion and  Elder Peck's companion went to the city for MLC (because they are Zone Leaders) and then did exchanges with the Siem Riep District so I was at a different house, with Elder Peck (the biggest homie)(from my group) for the whole entire week, in two different areas with twice the people to meet and we put in work!!! The Lord was truly watching out for us and helping us. It was so much fun. One day we kinda ran out of stuff to do and when we were planning we just decided to put "Head out!" from 3 till 7:30 and trust in Lord. Although I don't want to make it a habit, it felt like everyone we talked to was willing to accept our message or at least sit and talk with us. God was guiding our work.

We also had some of the funniest experiences I have had in my whole mission. 

• While riding our bikes down the road a stray cow came OUT OF NOWHERE and just about knocked me off my bike but at the last second, he turned, narrowly missing me and my first collision with a COW.

• Elder Chaparro got locked in one of the bathrooms so I legit kicked the door down, James Bond style. 

• On the exchange, we didn't have enough bikes for the other elders so I rode this kids bike that was the smallest thing in the world. It was hilarious. The bike was called "The pumpkin party"  and we just rolled with it... literally. 

• We were walking around in my area and saw some kids playing soccer, and so I and Elder Peck went full MESSI on them. It was pretty comical. Two white dudes in shirts and ties on a dirt/trash field, playing with kids half our size that had no shoes. I took a second and looked around and thought to myself that this is kinda like what you see on all the pictures, advertisements, etc. back home and yet here I am living it and I couldn't be happier. 

• There was a blood moon on Wednesday and in Buddhism, everyone goes nuts about it haha so we went to the roof and watched the floating lanterns that they sent of to celebrate. I ate this stuff called snake fruit and it was MONEY! It kinda tasted like sour patch kids (or as close as you can get to it) and it was delicious. 

I had a very humbling experience this week. We taught this Pu (man) who is usually super duper drunk and although he told us he hadn't been drinking. He was just kinda rambling and I was just thinking to myself, "Why are we wasting our time on this guy who will never be able to give up drinking and probably never get baptized." I ended up just saying to him that we weren't going to be able to come back and visit very often, and that we needed to go. As Elder Peck and I picked up our backpacks I noticed that he started to cry. I was really confused. Here is this man that seemed so okay with his life and seemed like he would probably never be able to accept this gospel, however as we sat down again and talked to him I was greatly humbled. 

He told us how his son had passed away four or five years ago. While walking to school by himself his son was hit by a car and killed. I could feel the sadness that filled this man from head to foot. He started drinking because of the loss of his son, and his life was never the same. Here we were, the exact people who could give him the hope and knowledge to overcome his sadness and we were about to leave, taking away that opportunity for him to change. We shared a scripture and taught about the plan of salvation, and promised him that we would come back to see him. Although I know that change will be really hard for him, I know that he needs the love of our Savior in his life. He needs the hope of this gospel. We all do. We all need the eternal perspective that maybe one day we can rest from our labors in the kingdom of God and that man can hold his son in his arms again. It was very humbling. I vowed to never make this work about me, but to be able to spread the love of the Savior with everyone I come in to contact with and to be a respecter of all persons. 

Anyway, that is pretty much all that I have for this week! Another amazing week in Cambodia! I love you all and I hope you know that I miss you. I hope you know that this work is truly the work of the Lord. I truly know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. I truly know that we are all children of the same loving Heavenly Father.

Oh... and GO EAGLES, BLUE DEVILS, and MY NEW NIECE/NEPHEW OOPS!

//Elder Gochnour

This is the Work of our Savior

Well, the only shout out that is worth giving is to the big, soon to be grandpa, 59-year-old man, named JEFF!!! What a legend! If anyone has some extra time send him a happy birthday because he deserves it. I love you, Dad! Thanks for being my role model and paving the way. 

Lets cut right to the chase! Another week down in the lovely city of Battambang! A few things that happened this week:

• We had a FHE with the whole district of Battambang (3 branches) and it was a great time. We spent all of our companion study and lunchtime making some authentic, Italian cuisine.  Spaghetti! I was basically chef Ratatouille cooking up that tasty red sauce oops! Hahaha (Lucy, you would have been proud!) It was fun to make something that was kinda American. That night I stuffed myself with all different types of Khmer food!  I love every single member of our district!

• On Wednesday I was cutting carrots and I bit into a big carrot and I broke my retainer... I was kinda like "OK what am I supposed to do now?" We found this ghetto dentist place and this guy just opens up my mouth and went to WORK! He could give Bishop O'brien a run for his money (jokes)! He actually did a great job, and I handed him a $10 dollar bill and all is good.

• We play chess every night as a companionship and I am still holding the title as reigning champ. Elder Chaparro almost had me, but I was able to stalemate him and we called it a draw. We are trying to get good so we can play the Cambodian's at Khmer chess, finding things to have in common with them. 

• I did a baptismal interview for this guy who is basically deaf and it was an awesome experience. The other Elders helped me out and wrote out all the questions and he knew all the answers, but if he was ever confused I had to try to yell to get him to understand. Picture me yelling in broken Khmer, it is a pretty funny image. He has an amazing story of faith that I will have to tell later. 

The big news was that I was able to baptize Sela! He is the self-referral  He has always been super prepared and I feel lucky that I was able to be a part of his seeking. We had to postpone his baptism until Sunday, but when church started on Sunday he wasn't there, so I was stressing a ton, but he came in late and everything worked out well! 

The baptism went smooth and when he got up to bear his testimony he told a crazy story. He said that after the first few times we met, he prayed to Heavenly Father in order to know if what we were teaching is true. He didn't get an answer, but he just got the feeling that he shouldn't worry about it and that he should just go to bed. He said that as soon as he went to bed he started having this vivid, insane dream. It was super detailed and long, but long story short he was walking on the ocean and then all of the sudden millions of people started to appear in the water. They were all telling him what he should do, and he was confused, but there were two that were giving off light. They were glowing. They said that what he was learning was true. He knew that those two people were me and my companion who he was meeting with and he knew it was true. The real dream was way better than that, but it is kinda confusing and hard to explain, but the important part is that God works in miraculous ways. The Cambodian people always have these crazy dreams, and it was pretty crazy to listen to him standing there bearing his testimony on this crazy story. 

Also, we had zone conference and it was super good!  Lately, I have been so worried about what to do to be the best missionary. The best ways to use my time, best methods of finding, most effective way to teach, etc. I stress myself out and get so caught up in the auxiliary of the missionary work.  President and Sister Christensen reminded us that this is the work of our Savior!!!! Don't ever forget that. If I go out and do my best every single day, no matter what happens, the Lord promises that he will be with me. The most important thing is that I just try my hardest and give my all. I listen to the spirit and do all I can and then God will make up the differences. That is what I am working on right now! Stop worrying about "the how so much" and worry about the WHY! For the salvation of these amazing people that NEED this gospel in there life. 

Anyway, I love you all so much! FLY EAGLES FLY! Cheering for the Eagles this upcoming Sunday, halfway across the world (sorry Briggs). I hope everyone has a great week! The Book of Mormon was given to Joseph Smith in the northern hemisphere on September 22, the day that begins the harvest festival. Coincidence? No. The field is white all ready to harvest and this is our tool! Read it! (Mosiah 18)

Goodnight Big Al

Love,

//Elder Gochnour