Maly's Conversion and Garrett's Head-on Collision with a Moto: Last Months in the Mission Field

Means you need to know your own self worth.

I am psyched to be in Kean Svay for the last 3 months of my mission.  Kean Svay is called a half khet because it is kind of outside of the city.  It is still pretty darn close though....we ride our bikes 30 minutes or so to get to our house.  Not really that far...it is on the south end of Phnom Penh.  The area is cool...really pretty.  Mango trees everywhere.  I am training a new missionary named Elder Seever.  He is a really diligent, self-motivated 19 year old from CA.  I really like him.  He works hard, and I do not have to force him to do anything.  He is ready to jump in and get to work.  I know that we will get along well.   

I want to tell you about a miracle.  After coming home from church and studying, we left the house around 5 to go and visit a potential investigator.  I was riding my bike down National Highway Road 1.  It was slightly raining after raining extremely hard for an hour or so.  A man on a moto going way too fast and coming off another road merging to the National Highway Road 1 looked at me and then looked away and ran straight into me.  It was not a head on collision but it was pretty close.  Based on how he acted after he hit me I am pretty sure that he was drunk.  Either way, he hit me going very fast and almost head on.   

Bats

 Mekong River

The miracle is that I really do not remember what happened, and I did not really get hurt.  I do not know how I fell, but I just remember being on the ground with my left leg under my bike.  I did not have a single scratch, and my arms did not hurt from breaking the fall.  The only thing that really hurt was my left leg.  My left calf/ankle hurt pretty bad, but nothing too serious.  I can walk/ride my bike just fine.  I am amazed as to how I do not remember falling or breaking the fall with my arms, and the fact that I got whacked by a moto going pretty fast, and I did not even get a scratch.  I am also amazed because if a moto or car would have been following me I know I would have gotten hit, because I was in the road.  I have traveled down that road before and it is very busy and almost always full of motos and cars.  I felt very protected and although my bike is now un-rideable I know that it could have been much worse.  I really believe that I was protected by the Lord yesterday.  Don’t be worried...just happy that I was protected. 
 

A combination wedding and baptism 

A combination wedding and baptism

A combination wedding and baptism

My bike was ruined though.  The front wheel is all bent up and un-rideable.  I have just used Elder Caine’s bike that he left here.  I was pretty famous actually.  I did not even know that anyone would really notice, but the Khmer elders who work in the other area got several questions about it from people who know who we were and knew members and asked them.  I guess when a Cambodian hits a white guy on a bike things get around.

Maly

Week 1 with Maly: We have a new investigator, a 50 year old women who came to church yesterday.  She is a really nice woman who has a lot of troubles with her family.  Actually her daughter is good but her younger (17 year old) son is really bad and never talks to her and smokes all the time.  So she is really sad and worried about him. After talking to her one afternoon she allowed us to come back the next day and then came to church for all 3 hours.  I have hope for her that she can progress quickly through the gospel.  Her only problem is that like many Cambodians her eyes are terrible.  I do not know why but tons of people in their 40's 50's cannot read because their eyes are just not good.  She does not have glasses either.  I have a big copy of the Book of Mormon that I am hoping can help her out.  Her name is Maly.

Help fix a member's house

Week 2 with Maly: So this week Maly is still doing really well.  She came to church again.  She is super friendly and sometimes just calls to ask if we are going to come even when I told her already that we were going to go.  She is a cool lady.  She told us that her son is a little bit better.  He spends less time out and about and is at home now more often.   I arranged for a member who lives near her to pick her up for church, but she called in the morning and said she had already started walking already.  Her problem is that she cannot read.  We are going to have another girl who lives near her who is preparing for a mission to come and read with her 2 or 3 times a week.  

Help 'cha' or fry the food at the Branch Presidents house

Elder Seavre and Elder Mao cutting fruit

Helping fill up the cups of soon to be jelly at the church

Week 3 of Maly: This week we saw a lot of good progress from Maly.  We finished the 1st lesson with her.  I was surprised and happy to see that she went out and bought her own pair of glasses so she could read.  These are not fitted glasses – just glasses with numbers on them and you try them on until it fits.   

Well, she got the glasses.  Then we found our real problem.  She does not really know how to read.  I mean she does, but at the same time not that well.  I read better than her.  So at least she can try to read and to make out the words that she can.  I have seen/ heard of a lot of Cambodian members who testify that when they first started to read the Book of Mormon they did not really know how to read, but then as they read they were able to read a lot better than before.  So I really believe that if she tries to read every day that the Lord will help her to know how to read better.  We are still going to have members read with her though.  She is cool.   

I told you that her son is a punk.  I met him, which I had tried to do several times, but he was never home.  He is a regular teenager.  He was nice but kind of shy.  I asked him if I could meet him that night at 6.   He said yes.  Well, he wasn’t there at 6 but after going to a different appointment and coming back around 7ish, he was there.  I think we are going to be able to start meeting him.  I don’t know how far it will go, but I am ready to do what I have to do to help him.  She is always begging us to try and help him.  We will give it a shot.

Mouse somehow got in the fan

Week 4 with Maly: Maly is doing well.  Monday we taught her about the 10 commandments, and we especially hit on the one of having no other gods and not worshiping idols or other statues and things that people worship here.  She accepted them easily....almost too easily, so I was pleasantly surprised.   

Well I was worried when we met her again on Thursday because that day we went and met with another couple that she referred to us.  She met them at her house and had a quick meeting with them. Someone asked a question the almost everyone asks, "so if I am Christian can I still go to the Wat and light incense, etc."  Usually you give them the buttered up version of "right now we just want you to learn with us and see what you think, we won’t force you to do anything”, etc. not to scare them off and get their faith and desire up before we try to encourage any changes in their lives.  Well, she piped in before I could say anything and explained that it was okay he could keep still doing what he wanted to do and that Christianity did not mean they could not "worship our ancestors."   

 Elders in Kean Svay

Well, I was kind of bummed, and I figured we had to go over it again.  When we went on Saturday to meet her I had planned to go over that.  She was talking to me about him (the investigator), and she explained that she is trying really hard to help him have a desire and help his wife to have a desire to learn as well.  She said that right now when she talks to them she only focuses on things that are fun and happy and stays away from the fact that he can’t smoke, drink , or cannot go to the Wat, etc.  So, she cleared it up that she understands and she is willing and desiring to do what the Lord asked.  She was just trying to ease him into learning.  Pretty smart actually.   

We had District Conference in the city so our branch got a big coach bus.  There was extra room so we rode with them.  Maly was there and brought 2 friends as well.  Out of over 400 people there she sat in the front row with her two friends.  She really liked it and afterwards there was a quick welcome from President Moon and the District President to all the new converts and Maly stayed for that and loved it as well.  She is showing her faith a lot.  She reads, prays, shares the gospel and gets tons of persecution, walks to church, etc.  A lot of people have made fun of her and persecuted her, but she says that she does not care and that before she had no purpose or happiness but ever since she started learning she has been happier and more hopeful.  Also her son is doing better.  She said that he is less mean and angry in the house and that he has slept at home every night this week.  She said that he still is not talking but went fishing the other day and caught some fish and gave it to his sister and told her to go and give it to her.  So she thinks he is changing.  

Maly's baptism

Week 5 with Maly: This week was great because Maly was interviewed by the Zone Leaders and then by President Moon for baptism.  She passed both of them.  I was a little worried because she has a lot of faith but is kind of forgetful.  She shows her faith though.   Her baptism was a great service.  She was nervous but afterwards said that she felt so grateful for this church and for Jesus Christ.  She broke down crying when she was sharing her feelings.  I want to remind you of her story.   

Maly's baptism

She was born in Phnom Penh, but then during Pol Pot was forced with her family to go back to Kampong Cham.  When she was 7 she simply woke up one morning and both her parents were gone.  She looked for them and asked for them and started walking looking for them, but they were gone.  It is assumed that the Khmer Rouge came in the night and then killed them.  For some reason they did not kill her.  For the next part of her life she lived with people that knew her or felt bad for her.  At age 15, she was forced to get married because some man that she knew felt that she needed protection and support so he arranged it.  She had two kids and moved to Kean Svay.  About 7 years ago her husband hanged himself for an unknown reason.  She said that she would constantly go to the Wat to send rice and other things to her mom and dad and her other ancestors.  Lately, her son also has turned to drugs and hanging out and has not talked to her in a long time.  She told me that she has never seen any elders come down her road.  It is a dirt path that looks like there is maybe nothing down there.  But when we went that day she said she felt an instant connection.  She took the Gospel on and felt that this is the only thing that has given her purpose, hope, and peace in life.  We taught her about temples, and she was very excited for the possibility to live with her parents again.  I really love her and I feel like we were supposed to find her.  She needed Christ and His gospel.   

Maly at the talent show

Week 6 with Maly: We had a great talent show at the church.  Over 80 people came.  It started off slow because people were nervous and coming late.  Elder Sam is really good with words and stuff so he did a great job in getting everyone excited.  We had over 25 acts or singing, dancing, telling jokes, a model walk, etc.  A YM/YW group synchronized a few dances.  That was cool.  Maly sang and had everyone up and dancing.  It was really fun.  All the members had fun and the next day at church a lot of people were taking about it.