A Changed Life

From Zander Cook

Teaching in Cambodia

For the last couple of weeks, Vwnaa and his wife Ming Li and their 4 kids – who are members in our branch – are always coming with us to help teach lessons. (The youngest 2 daughters are the cutest things ever, especially the baby girl who is, like, 4 or 5ish and has become my best buddy over in this country).

Elder Cook with Vwnaa, Ming Li and family.  Siem Reap, Cambodia

 As missionaries, we feel bad because Vwnaa “moto dopes” for a living – which means that if he isn’t working, then he isn’t making money. Moto dope means that you sit on the side of the road with your moto (motorcycle) and if someone needs a ride, you put them right behind you and you take them where ever they want to go. It is Cambodia’s version of taxis. So in order to provide for his family, he drives people on his moto all day. A good “moto doper” can make about 5 dollars a day and that is about what Vwnaa makes. We always feel so bad when he is helping us because that means he isn’t out working and making money to feed his family. 

For the last 3 weeks or so, he has been helping us like crazy. He calls us asking if we were going to teach Ming Sokom or other investigators and if we are, he comes to help us. He always brings the whole family (all on one moto of course). So the guy is super poor, but really doesn’t care so much about working, but rather just serving the Lord. Well, the Lord paid him back this week. 

So on Wednesday while he was out “moto doping” he met some white guy. The guy told Vwnaa to take him to a Tuk Tuk shop. When they got there the man told him to get off his moto and then told Vwnaa to pick himself out a tuk tuk that he liked. The guy then paid for it and then just disappeared. Vwnaa said he didn’t know who he was or where he was from, just that this guy dished out a thousand dollars to buy him a Tuk Tuk and then was gone. I don’t know if we can comprehend how big of a miracle that is. A Tuk Tuk driver can make 50 dollars a day driving people to see Angkor Wat. That is a 1000% increase in salary each month from a “moto doper”. Can you imagine what you would feel like if you got a 1000% increase in salary???

So obviously Vwnaa was so stoked that he drove the thing right to church to show off his blessing to the whole branch. It was super cool. I am so happy for the guy. No one deserved something like that more than he did. The guy is a stud and now he will have a changed life because of some random white guy, who was obviously inspired by the Lord, blessed him. There are miracles around us every day and the Lord rewards us all according to our labors. I saw that first hand this week

Ming Li and her kids on the new Tuk Tuk

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I Had An Undeniable Feeling That We Had To Invite Her

From Cambree King

Teaching in Honduras

On Sunday, the elders in our district had a baptism and we really didn’t have any reason to go but they kept calling us and telling us to come. So, as it was starting, we headed to the church. A mototaxi offered us a ride and took us right up to the door of the church because it was pouring. But about a block before the church on the corner was an hermana that sells ojuelas (fried tortilla things) that I have seen several times. As I looked at her on the corner, I felt an undeniable feeling that we had to invite her. The baptism was waiting on us and it was pouring rain and I about didn’t go back. But I knew I couldn’t walk in without inviting her. The Elders came out to let us in and I just said, “You have to wait. Give me a minute,” and they kind of freaked out. But we went down and invited the hermana to come to the baptismal service. She didn’t even hesitate and came with us. I don’t know what difference it made in her life, but I know that she felt the Spirit and I am so grateful that I listened to the Spirit in that moment. Sometimes, we don’t understand why the Spirit tells us to do certain things,  but the Lord has a higher manner of thinking in all ways. 

On Tuesday, we went to contact a block close to our house. A week ago, we promised the Lord that we would be there at that time and that we would knock every door of the block. Of course we found some very interesting people, but the Lord blessed us with Mario and his two boys. Mario has heard of the church quite a bit in his life but i think that now is just his time. He has had a bit of alcohol in his life but he has decided that now is the time to leave it. In college, he was studying to be a sacerdote in the catholic church but got with the wrong group of friends and he said that it has changed his life. We invited him to commit to pray to know if he needed to listen to our message. The second time we went back he said that every single one of them had prayed about our message and that the answer was a clear yes that they needed to open the door to us. He claims it is a miracle that he even let us in the first time, but he has so much potential. 

She Felt Something She Couldn't Describe

From Karsten Hinckley

Teaching in Thailand 

This last week we taught one of our investigators, and let’s just say that a miracle happened. The first time we taught Sister Dingdooy she took a baptismal date right away. I could tell in the last lesson that she felt the Spirit.

 In the lesson just the other day, she said she felt something that she couldn’t describe. Before we taught her about the Restoration, Elder Parish and I said a prayer together to help us to teach to her needs. When we got into the lesson everything unfolded just the way it needed to happen. I think in every point we mentioned that Heavenly Father loves her so He has given her these things. When we asked her what she was feeling, she expressed that she had a indescribable feeling. She said, “Both times I have meet with you Elders, I have felt really good and loved.” I know that she was in tune with the Spirit. We couldn’t have taught that lesson without help. I know that the prayer that we said, just Elder Parish and I, really helped with that lesson and really helped our investigator. We explained that the feeling she had was the Holy Ghost and He would help her know and understand truth. Such a great miracle! 

It is Amazing the Things that are Happening

From Cambree King

Teaching in Honduras 

We started making the JAS (young single adults) do activities and get together. It is amazing the things that are happening.

There is one girl whose name is Katty. She accepted to be baptized in two weeks, she is incredible. She has come to church three times with her boyfriend, and this week we taught her. As she said the closing prayer, she said that we were grateful that we could see if maybe this was the true church. She paused and changed her words and said,”Just kidding. I am completely convinced and know without a doubt that this is the true church of Jesus Christ.”

 And this Saturday, Paola is going to be baptized. When we found her, she was seventeen and we were waiting for her 18th birthday. She has been going to church for a good year with her boyfriend and knows that she needs to be baptized. She is just worried about what her family will think. But yesterday she expressed how, now that she has made the decision, she can finally sleep at night. Every talk in church, she said, seems to be directed completely to her. She is incredible and I feel like she could be my sister.