The Miracle Man got Baptized

Well, I spend all of my email time looking at pictures of my niece and nephew so #sorrynotsorry

To start things out I would just like to give a personal shoutout to Elder Michael Cunningham who sent me a Donovan Mitchel jersey that is now my new favorite item of clothing. Somebody let my boy Donny know that he has fans repping him all the way out in Cambodia!!!!!! Also, shout out to the Titans for just balling out! TTTE!

This week I had the chance to go to Sen Sok again for the fourth time. Honestly, when I first went there I thought boy I would never want to serve in this area, and I felt pity for the missionaries there, but now I am actually jealous. I love that place, and it came to show me the importance that attitude is everything.

Our investigators are doing good and we are working hard to find new ones! I won't go into detail, but the work is really moving forward here.

2 highlights of the week:

• There is a recent convert family that is very poor and some of the most faithful people I have ever met. His name is Pu Rat and he always feeds us once a week even though they hardly have enough money for their own food. I have learned to love that about these amazing people. They give you everything they have, even if that is nothing. Anyway we were teaching about enduring to the end and I told a story about how I had worked so hard to cook this delicious food called Kha and I did everything right, but then because I didn't watch it while it was cooking on the stove I burnt it. Just like in our lives. Even though we may have all the saving ordinances and have everything done right and followed the gospel our whole life, if we aren't careful we might burn our delicious meal and make all the hard work worthless. Anyway, this guy just got into it and he was so pumped. He was talking about how the salt was like reading the scriptures and the garlic was fasting haha and as I sat there I just felt happy. This gospel truly is for everyone. I feel so blessed to see the joy that comes from these people following the gospel of Jesus Christ and how pumped up he was. 

• The miracle man Setha got baptized this week! If I typed everything that happened from the time that we met him while walking on the side of the ghetto railroad tracks, till the time that he entered the waters of baptism, then you would be reading a novel. I will have to save the stories until I get back. The baptism went super smooth and then the coolest thing happened. He got up and bore his testimony about his family. Because he had lived a life full of sin and satisfying himself. His family had all become separated. He lost communication with his mother and that broke his heart. As he accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ he came to slowly but surely and it changed his life. At his baptism, he testified of his love for his Savior and his hope of connection with his family again now that he has got his life in order. The gospel really does blesses us temporally and spiritually. Then the member of our bishopric and got up and bore his testimony. Most of his kids are less active which I think is very hard on him and he talked about the importance of our relationship with our earthly parents and the love that they have for us no matter what happens. He also talked about the love that our Heavenly Father has for us and both him and Setha were letting the tears flow. Pretty cool to be a part of such a monumental and life-changing work. I love this gospel.

I am out of time, but all of you scrubs better go read Mosiah 24. Love you all! Go Utes and Titans! Joy in the Journey!

Elder Gochnour

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

"One had vision, the rest had none..."

I would like to apologize for my lack of time, but I have no time to do that.

Today I would simply like to bear my testimony of the Book of Mormon. I know that it is true and I know that the Book of Mormon can change lives. Before my mission it was important and I believed in the Book of Mormon, however, I didn't know why it was so important and the spirituality that is contained in its precious pages. As I read through the Book of Mormon in the missionary training center in a time that feels just like yesterday, I really came to love this special Book. I felt like I was reading something that I had never read before. I was gaining knowledge that I had never been introduced to. I once heard someone say that you don't necessarily learn anything new on your mission, you simply come to better understand the things you know in your heart. That is how I feel about my testimony of the Book of Mormon. 

I always knew that this sacred record was true, however as I have studied the words on the pages, and more importantly the words not on the pages, but the words influenced by the Holy Spirit, I have really come to understand the meaning of the Book of Mormon in my heart. Four transfers ago on my mission, I made a commitment to read the Book of Mormon at least a chapter or more every day for the rest of my life. Ever since then, day by day this Book has changed me and I know it has the power to change you too. Please read it, study it, ponder about it, and most importantly pray. Find the answer for yourself. It will change your life. The Book of Mormon is the keystone to our church and it is the evidence that through Joseph Smith the Lord restored His Church on the Earth. I would like to testify that I know that is true, and yet the Book of Mormon is so much more than that. It is everything. It is power and peace from God. Sorry for the scrambled message, but I would like to firmly and wholeheartedly declare that the Book of Mormon is the word of God!

Everything is going well and I love being a missionary! We should have a baptism next week so I will keep you posted on that! Sorry for no more updates but I am alive and well! 

To close I will share a poem President talked about in zone conference. Pretty powerful:

Three stone Masons were working one day; I paused a while as I passed that way.
I asked this question of all to see, just what they thought and would say to me.
'What are you doing?' I asked them all. These are the answers, as I recall.

The first man said: 'I'm chipping stone' He saw his job and his job alone.

The second man answered: 'Can't you see - My ten bucks a day look good to me'.

But the third man answered, and he was right, 'I'm building a temple on this site'.
The selfsame work by all was done, but one had vision, the rest had none.

Your work is easy or hard for you, It all depends on your point-of-view.

Enjoy football and fall back home for me. JOY IN THE JOURNEY! 

Love,

Elder Gochnour

1 YEAR AND CARING FOR THE 1

      

Hello! Congrats to the Titans for balling out and I also heard that Zion Williamson is looking good. Blue Devil Nation baby! This week was good and actually, a lot happened and I hardly have enough time to scrape the surface of expressing my every day coming and goings, so I will just give a quick recap:

• As ironic as this sounds I decided that in order to mix up my transfer I would wear the same outfit every day for six weeks. Wearing the ugliest tie I have and a rotation through my three pairs of tans pants. Not to mention the killer Keens (loafers) haha! My humor has really gone downhill...

• Went on another exchange to Sen Sok. No way to describe that place so I will just have to tell you the stories when I get home. Lots of goats and sheep and missionary work.

• Had a meeting with almost the whole mission because one of the area 70 came on Saturday and it was pretty awesome. I love getting together as a whole mission and feeling the spirit.

• One of our investigators named Seyta is really the miracle man! He has no food and no money and is literally barely surviving. His blind dog isn't doing so great either. It was his birthday on Saturday so we took him out to eat and we just went big! Steak, pork, octopus and everything a man needs to have a good meal. He was so humble and grateful for that meal and I think we really made his day. After a lot of sacrifice from the members, he should be starting work this week and getting baptized the next! An awesome guy with tons of faith. He would have already had a job, but he decided to starve rather than to take it because he said it wouldn't allow him to go to church on Sunday. Pretty cool stuff. The work here has been a little bit slower, but it has given us more time to just focus on the one, and spend more time thinking about each one of our investigators and is really a blessing in our lives! 

I hit my one year mark! It was actually pretty anti-climatic, but crazy to think that I have been out here for a year. I burned one of my white shirts and spent a lot of time reflecting on this past year and looking forward to the year ahead. 

I spent a whole study time in Preach My Gospel thinking about the person that I want to become when I step off the plane in the Salt Lake Airport a year from now. I feel like I have changed so much, but yet have so far to go. I feel like I have done so much, but yet have missed so many opportunities. No words can adequately express the feelings that I have for the past year and the feelings I will yet have for the year ahead. 

I guess simply put, I have gratitude. I have gratitude for this mission, for this Gospel and for my Savior Jesus Christ. I know that the most important thing is being able to bow down to the Lord every single night, and say with an honest heart that, "Heavenly Father today I tried my best, and tomorrow I will try a little bit harder." That is all that matters. And if we are able to bow down and say that every single night of our lives, we will eventually become the finished product that we once only hoped for. I would invite you all to do the same. With that all in mind, President Homer the area 70 shared this scripture D&C 45:2 and it really kicked me into gear. 

It says:

2 And again I say, hearken unto my voice, lest death shall overtake you; in an hour when ye think not the summer shall be past, and the harvest ended, and your souls not saved.

We can't come to the end of our missions, or more importantly the end of our lives, and realize that the summer has passed and that our glorious and precious time to harvest has ended. I may have one year down, but that means I get a whole other year to devote my self to the salvation of souls. The summer is not yet over and when it is, I don't want to think that there was a soul not saved that I could have shared this wonderful gift of hope that the gospel of Jesus Christ offers everyone. And after this year I have the rest of my life to finish that work until death does overtake me. I love being a missionary and can't wait for another 52 weeks of pure joy in the Lord's vineyard!

Thanks for all the love from back home! You guys are the best!! Read the Book of Mormon!

//Elder Gochnour

"I am never lonely"

  

  

Hello people! 

Glad to hear the wedding went well and the knot is finally tied! Shout out to Lucy and Eli FALK!

A very interesting thing happened this week. After asking President multiple times, he finally found the means to put Sisters in our area! We just have a lot of female RC's (recent converts) and investigators, and it would just be a lot better if there were Sisters to teach them, instead of having us Elders do it and always having to find member help. That being said in the short term vision it put things into a spin, to say the least. The Sisters already have another area that they are busy in and don't have a lot of time to meet with our female investigators and RC's as of right now. 

We had transfers on Wednesday and a service project on Saturday that ended up being an hour and a half bike ride. We also helped a member fill out his mission papers so it was hard to get a lot of work down but here are two pretty cool/ humbling things that happened this week:

1. We have this extremely old member in our ward that we just call "grandmother" and she is unable to go to church, but we occasionally go and visit her at her pharmacy that she lives at. She is one of the most awesome people I have ever met in my life. She always reads the Book of Mormon, and when I first got to the area she was just starting Alma and now she is close to finishing Ether! An absolute baller! She has to read with the big Book of Mormon and she even uses a magnifying glass haha. Super funny and so awesome to see her faith. Every time we visit her I ask her what her favorite scripture is and she just always responds, "They are all my favorite!" 

I also say that we wanted to come visit her so she didn't feel lonely, but she simply responds "I am never lonely! I have God and the scriptures with me." She is one of the happiest and optimistic people I have ever met, and this week we were able to ask a little bit about her past. Without getting into too many details because of lack of time, she shared about the dark days of the Khmer Rouge, that had haunting effect on her family. She and all her relatives (more than 80) (including her 10 children) were forced to go to the province Pursat. They had nothing there and as the days went on the food supply became less and less until ultimately they would each only get one spoonful of rice soup (not sure what else to call it) for every meal. That is all the food they had. All but one of her children starved to death. Of the 80+ that went only 4 returned to the city. Her husband was taken from her and killed. Tragedy. And yet, here was this old lady, "grandma" sitting in front of us with no worries or fear on her face. No bitterness or resentment toward God, or the trials that she suffered through. Simply hope, love, and the perfect knowledge that one day she would be able to see her children again. That is what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about. That is why this message is so glorious and perfect. Because of hope and happiness that comes from the healing of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

2. Wow, that took way too long to type. The other story is about our old investigator who is the miracle man. Long story short he has no money and no job and didn't eat for three days. We are helping him out and the bishop is amazing to help take care of him. Pretty cool miracles have been manifest through his humble faith. More to update next week.

Anyway, love you all!  I was reading in Jacob 4 today and it says in verse 3, "Now in this thing we do rejoice; and we labor diligently to engrave these words upon plates, hoping that our beloved brethren and our children will receive them with thankful hearts, and look upon them that they may learn with joy and not with sorrow, neither with contempt, concerning their first parents."

We must rejoice over the Book of Mormon and learn with joy from its precious pages! I know that that Book is true and you all should be reading it every single day!

Go Tiger, Utes, Jazz, and sports!~

Love,

Elder Gochnour

    

Anotha One!

The week started with a bang, quite literally actually. It was Tuesday night after a pretty regular day of proselytizing and it started pouring rain pretty hard. We were also coming home late so I was trying to haul on my bike and at this intercession, I saw a moto slow down so I thought I was good to go, but then he just sped up right into me and t-boned me haha. No injury and still living baby! I wish I could say that was the only accident, but at one point I may have biked into a parked car this week as well ha. We had a good week of missionary work! Honestly, missionary work is not too exciting on the everyday level, but when you look back at the effect that the work you put in has had then you really can get excited. A lot of teaching, biking, and having to rearrange our plans when people don't show up or don't answer their phones haha. This week we also took home 300 duck eggs from Elder Pov's house so I pretty much just ate about 13 eggs a day haha. Fun stuff and really making memories out here. We had transfer calls and I am staying here with Elder Pov so another transfer in Pochentong and I am gonna try to make the most of it because it will be the last one. 

The fun news of the week was the baptism of another one of our investigators named Jing Choan! We have seriously been teaching her for probably about 4 months and it has been a very slow process. She had been to church 10 times and has a lot of support from the members in the ward. Countless times throughout our lessons she had questions or concerns. We would do our best to answer them and resolve them and eventually the concern would go away and things would fall into place. I know that that didn't happen because we are good teachers or we shared the right stuff with her. But I know that because she continued to stay faithful and trust in the Lord, eventually everything that she was worried about made sense and didn't matter so much anymore. I know that the true power and truth of the gospel can resolve anyone's concerns, whether you are a member for your whole life or just starting to learn about who Jesus Christ is. I know that because I know that this church is true and as we continue to trust in God and continue in faith everything will work out just like it did for her. Awesome baptism and great to see her enter a sacred covenant with her Father in Heaven.

If any of you want a few good reading assignments I have some for you that really helped me understand about faith and endurance. I was reading in Hebrews 11 and then in Ether 12:7-22. It talks about the amazing miracles that the prophets were able to do because of the faith that they had. 
I would invite you to read those sections of scriptures and think about your own faith. We also have to realize that many of the prophets did not have the ultimate success story. Although they had many miracles wrought by their hands, they had to face extreme hardship, suffering, and even death.       

Just because we have faith doesn't mean things are going to be easy, but they are going to be possible. That is where we have to endure and use our faith as the stepping stones in our path of life!

SHOUT OUT TO LUCY AND ELI FOR GETTING MARRIED ON SATURDAY! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH AND WISH I COULD BE THERE! ENJOY THE PERFECT DAY!

Also, shout out to William West with the big bday last week. I love you man!

Thanks so much for all the love and support!

Elder Gochnour

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. 

• 
  

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