Sharing of the Gospel here in Cambodia

Sunday January 28, 2018 at 11:18PM

Hello Hello Hello!

I hope you are all doing well!

Last week was full of miracles. President and his wife blessed us with the opportunity to do zone conferences and trainings across the country of Cambodia. It was such a spiritual road trip! We went to provinces over Cambodia and held zone conferences there! It was an amazing and enlightening   experience. One of the tender mercies came from unintentionally riding the mission car from the Siem Reap Province to Battambang province. On the way there, I kept thinking of my grandpa's house. Then! when we drove passed an old familiar hiking place and we saw a big Buddha statue on top of the mountain. Right then, I knew where I was! It was my grandpa's house a mile off of the mountain. I remember how shocked I was to be passing by my forefather's house. We were all so surprised!  President stopped his car right away and we turned around to see my grandpa's house. My grandpa passed away years a go, so there is no one living there. It has been abandoned for about years now and the inside rooms were closed off, but my family( on mom's side)  would go back every now and then to visit it. The spirit of love and peace was absolutely there! I can only remember being there as a little girl and staying there as our summer home when I would visit my grandpa. I believe the house was built when my grandparent's just got married, or even right after the Khmer Rouge.  I can feel the love of God and my grandpa so strongly there. Looking at every part that makes up the house brought me back to my childhood. The six of us, president, the APs, my comp and I walked around the house. I remember a specific moment when we went upstairs and I stood there reminiscing where my grandpa and I would lay on the wooden floor. It was so a sweet experience! The strings that were supposed to be attached to the hammock were still there. I feel so honored to have an experience as such. I am grateful for the Lord.

When my companion and I got the opportunity to go back to my training area, Battambang this week, we spent some times visiting our RCs. I am touched by the continuous tender mercies of the Lord. We went back to Recent Convert family's house. We decided to surprise her in the morning. We knocked on the door and as she opens the gate, she was so surprised! She started crying and I started crying and we could not help to just feel so much love God has for that family. It has been almost year and a half that I haven't seen her. Her grandchild has grown so much! We found out that the family is preparing to go to the temple. My companion and I sat closely to the woman and listened to stories  and experiences of how the Gospel has changed her life. She said that she had been praying ( ever since she had known of the Gospel) for her village family to open their hearts and to receive the Gospel as well. Because of her faith and her character of a deliberate disciple, she was able to share the Gospel and many of the souls in her village enter into the covenants with the Lord. She had told us of how those around her started to recognize the power that comes from faith in Jesus Christ. They recognized that in no way was it her husband's self-exerted power to stop smoking, drinking in one day and how he stopped living unrighteous habits from his own will power.  The change, the peace, and the happiness that family shows to those around their village brought those around her to gain the witness of repentance in their own lives as well. I know that this work is all done through the saving atoning power of Jesus Christ. I know this to be true and I'd give up anything to treasure the truth I witnessed. Jesus Christ lives and because of this I, too have hope to go on. I am honored by the Lord's words and tender hands in the miracles I witness in my life and the lives of others. My greatest of joy is from sharing the Gospel.

We had a baptism of a mother and a son this weekend. It was very sweet to see how the Gospel has helped the young woman gain more hope in not just for herself, her son, and those around her. She is such a sincere seeker of the Gospel. She has been learning for about 7 weeks and it has been inspiring to see the changes she experienced and bore in her life every time we would go and teach her. Her path of continuous conversion is bringing more happiness to her family's life. She told us that she has been seeking the truth for the longest of time and a distinct point in which the Lord blessed her came when she prayed inside her house to know of the true Gospel. Right after she had opened her eyes. Two missionaries walked by and asked if she is a follower of Jesus Christ. From that point on to now, she has constantly received the confirming witness that the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon is true. It was really nice to also see how the members would be apart of the witness. A woman in the ward would go to her house prior she was baptized and would read the Book of Mormon with her along with bearing her testimony.

With Love and gratitude,
Sister Sok

Sister McIllece and I got the permission to visit the Ancient Ruins of Angkor Wat for my last transfer in the country!

We got to personal study during the sunrise in front of Angkor Wat! A few minutes in the studies, a couple of monkeys ran towards us and hah one stood right in front of us and looked at our breakfast and looked back at us, then looked back at the breakfast and snatched it from us.

Ming Sophea and her son at the baptism

A pic of Oum Vanny (fam RC) and her grandchild!
Grandpa's house!
Angkor Wat

With Love!

Sunday January 14, 2018 at 10:32PM

Hello Hello Hello!

Sister Mcillece and I are doing well! We are working together to build unity in the church and in setting goals for the four focused key indicators for this transfer! We are really excited for this transfer and for the goals we've set. I am really happy to have her as my last companion :). I believe we really do compliment each other. Sister McIllece is an amazing and hard working missionary. We are learning more and more in being patient with certain things that are out of her control. She is an angel. Also, we recently picked up the new missionaries from the MTC at the Phnom Penh Airport last week. Man, they are glowing! We are really excited to help them adjust to the mission culture here in Cambodia and to assist and serve them with the training they need!

Recently, we are really impressed with the Steung Meanchey ward council meeting ( in Ward 1). Almost all of the leaders, representing their classes were there, with the Bishop leading the meeting. There were all participating and hah biting for the goals for this year in building up the ward. They were also offering insights to make the goals as realistic as possible, but optimistically enough to be reached. I believe the numbers in representing those priceless souls will elevate their faith and as well as their work ethics. They went on to continue to set goals of how many of members they hope to attain in each class and have totaled them up for the attendance of sacrament meeting. They followed up with visiting teaching and made sure that it becomes a regular activity for the ward members. They were thorough in discussing ways they could reach the goals.  We so love the spirit of unity in the room. We also joined in another ward council meeting, except this one was specifically for the youths of the church. The leader of the meeting set up the visiting/home teaching for the young women and young men. The execution of the meeting was done well. They had the young woman and young men that represent the 3 wards of Steung Meanchey meet up together and break up into teams for the visiting teachings/home teachings on Sunday morning before their service in the afternoon. They used the CBR book as a resource for help.  The leader of the meeting followed up the next Sunday ward council meeting on each of the visiting teacher's report and what they could do to continually build the relationship with the youths and LA families they visited. They were also asked to share what they had learn from the experience that personally built their faith and the miracles that came from their service. One young man shared that he inspired a LA active youth to have hope in preparing for his own mission and how the experience gave him, the ministerer, the lens into the missionary work. One also shared how the people he planned to visit fell through, but how he had pushed on to find those who needs him more that day. I have hope in the future local missionaries here and to see them as the firm link in the chain of building up the Lord's Kingdom in a land where the church is still very new here. Also the RC class in ward 1 was incredible! We got around a total number of almost 20 investigators in the room. We could barely fit in the chairs! The lord has been blessing both missionaries and ward members in Stueng Meanchey. One of our investigators even had a miracle during the sacrament meeting. She had lost her valued earring on her left ear and tried so hard to find them. She hastily ran back and forth to search for them. She had put her trust in the Lord that whatever happens, it would be up to His Will. During the sacramental service, she told us she had prayed so hard and heard her son's voice saying "Mom, your earring is attached to one of your shoes after closing her prayer and partaking of the sacrament! She was so happy and blessed to have experienced that! The ward members were so excited and supported her miraculous experience! I am really grateful for the ward members here in Steung Meanchey and for the further growth and learning curves they will value.

For ward 3, we worked together with the Bishop in ways we could bring more unity and inclusion back to the ward. We had asked all of the members to come to the ward to bring their own foods to the potluck and to eat and enjoy the food together each 2nd second Sunday of the month. It touched my heart to see how they were all sitting together, laughing, and enjoying the warmth comfort of love and charity.  Ward 3 is still needing some more help in making sure people are receiving their callings and magnifying them. What we are struggling with is being patient with investigators facing different circumstances. The ward faces a lot of illnesses and struggles with financial stability. Sister McIllece and I are learning to be more understanding and learning to minister to those of diverse hardships/ trials/ circumstances, especially those destitute souls in trash mountain.  I am amazed with the humble souls who are seeking to preach and at the same time, repenting to be become what the Lord shapes them to be.  Missionary work truly is changing people's lives for the better. I can testify that it has brought so much light in my life.

With love and gratitude,
Sister Sok​

A Day in a life! + Service Pics

Sunday January 07, 2018 at 10:06PM

Missionary life in Cambodia!