McKenzie's Awesome Week

What an awesome week!  I have some very exciting news.  One of our investigators is getting baptized on the 8th!  Yes we have an investigator getting baptized on my birthday.  I feel so blessed and so undeserving of this tremendous gift.  She is the sweetest little old lady you will ever meet.  She has very few teeth and is really little and short, but she has the most amazing spirit.  I only came in part way through the process, but it is so easy to see how the gospel has changed this woman's life.  She has the light of Christ in her eyes, and she knows who she is.   

We have been trying to help her overcome feelings of inadequacy that she isn't good enough to keep the commandments.  Elder Uchdorf's talk on Saturday was such a blessing. It was exactly what she needed to hear.   

The other day at the end of our lesson, we were saying a prayer. I didn't understand, but my companion translated it later. Our sweet investigator told Heavenly Father how grateful she is to have met the missionaries and to have a new start with baptism.  She is just the sweetest thing.

For the last couple of days, I have just felt in awe at this blessing.  I truly don't feel deserving.  I didn't do anything; I just was able to witness the Savior’s beautiful miracle in front of me.  I wish you could all meet her.  She is so sweet and funny.  She knows a lot of English words and will help me out when I don't understand.  On Sunday we were going to sit down with her, but she told us she wanted to go to Ward choir practice.  She is so forward and comfortable with herself; she is going to be such a wonderful member because she understands that she is a daughter of God.  

We had a wonderful example this week of member missionary work in the Yuanshan ward.  One of our recent converts invited her friend to come to church with her. She came and had a wonderful experience.  We met them at the door, and the member wasted no time in introducing her friend to everyone and explaining everything. Sister Morey and I have made goals and are working towards having the majority of our investigators come from the members. This was a wonderful example, and I am so grateful for this sister listening to the promptings of the Spirit.  Her friend was so touched by church that she was crying afterwards and told us that she had had a dream about coming to our church. Then three days later her friend called and invited her.  There truly are prepared people, and I am so grateful for the members here who are listening to the promptings of the Spirit and are so bold in inviting their friends to learn more.  

On a different note, every night I lay my clothes out to dry before I put them in my laundry basket the next morning.  I feel really bad sometimes because I will hand people our contacting pad and a pen and they will touch it being totally grossed out because they are covered in sweat.  Sometimes it drips into your eyes and starts stinging.  It actually isn't that uncomfortable; it is just kind of funny how much we sweat.  Some of the elders were showing us their planners the night when we all had to carry our stuff home from zone conference and the bottom half of their planner was completely soaked through. (Check out how hot it really is here!)

Garrett in Cambodia

 I want to help people because I know the gospel has helped me a lot in my life. I want to help them qualify for blessings that the Lord wants to give them.  I read yesterday (and then shared with Elder Sok) about when Alma says to Korihor why would we work and labor so hard and receive no pay or worldly reward if we did not know that this is true and if we didn’t delight in the joy and salvation of our brethren.  (For more see http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/30.36?lang=eng#35.)  I know I messed that up, but it is very true.  I know this church is true, and I am only doing this to try and help people because I know it has helped me so much.  I really love reading the Book of Mormon every day.  I learn so much, and there is always something to learn or relearn from it.  Don't forget to read it every single night.  

Well, this past week has been pretty good.  We have a couple of new investigators we are really excited about – James and his mother.  I can't remember the mother’s name. (I don’t remember most of the names here).  James has been coming to English class every week and is a really quiet 12 year old.  He mentioned to Elder Sok last week that his mom is not a member (neither is he) but that she wants to learn about Christ.  Pretty awesome right?  So we went to their house and taught them the first few points of Lesson 1 (about how we are children of a loving Heavenly Father and about how God calls prophets to teach his word).  We are really excited about them and think that they can learn a lot from the gospel.  Unfortunately we have not been able to meet with them anymore because of Cambodian holidays.  

So, in Cambodia during this time of year (it has been going on for a couple weeks now), everyone, and I mean everyone, goes to their homelands, or Srok.  It is really hard because people are gone, and if they are here, they do not really want to learn about Christ.  It has made it difficult not only for this family but many of our investigators.  Phnom Penh has been pretty dead –not many people around.  Tons of shops/stands closed. It’s a little frustrating, but on Friday is supposedly ends.  But Elder Sok says they won't actually come back fully until Monday.  Oh well, we are still teaching, and there are still people here.   

Another investigator is Borey.  He is a cool guy - probably 45 or 50 and knows a ton about Jesus and God.  He has about 5 or 6 of the little pamphlets that we pass out.  We found him from a referral from the Vietnamese sisters.  We taught him about Joseph Smith and gave him a Book of Mormon.  He told us he wants to find out which church is true so that he can receive eternal life.  Pretty interesting that his desire and Joseph Smith's are pretty similar.  We will meet him today, and I hope he read and prayed about Joseph Smith.  Quick note about him – from what it looks like, he doesn't have a kneecap in the right place. It is because of a bomb that blew up near him and hurt his knee.  He can walk though; he just uses a really big stick.  He is a really interesting guy, and I hope we can continue to teach him.  

I have been contacting - not very well.  But it’s actually pretty fun.  Elder Sok told me he liked me the other day because I do not cry and because I am not afraid of talking and contacting.  I thought that was funny.  I hope I can continue to become better at being a missionary.

Mom, I have seen several BIG rats.  I saw a dead one on the side of the road near a river as we road to an investigator’s house.  It was seriously the size of a youth sized football.  I have come to realize that I don't like them.  There are many dead ones on the roads that people kill and throw them in the roads (because that is where most of the trash goes).  It is pretty funny to be riding along and then run over an 8 or 9 inch rat that is smushed into the pavement.  I thought you would like that.  

*Note: I’m changing all investigators’ names to preserve some privacy! 

McKenzie in Taiwan

One of our great and funny experiences for the week was going to teach a member referral that had come in from another area. We discovered that we were about to teach in her baibai shop.  In Taiwan, a lot of times people will tell us they are baibai de ren, or people who baibai, which is pray and worship in Buddhism.  It was kind of funny to be teaching the First Vision (when God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith in answer to his prayer about which church to join) surrounded by incents and all the other materials you use when baibaing.  It was great though because the spirit was really strong. This lady owns this shop but is very open to the gospel. After our first meeting, says she believes it and thinks we are angels.  Since visiting again she is still really earnestly seeking to know, and we are excited to keep working with her.  We are wondering if she will have to change her profession in order to be baptized.  I am not sure.  

The church's policy on baibaing here is that if your family requires it as a family activity, in order to maintain family ties you can participate as a baptized member, but it would of course not be something that you do because you want to.  And, you, while doing it with your family, you would need to maintain in mind that you are not actually praying to your ancestors or these gods.  We are hoping for the best with her, and we will of course get our leaders’ counsel on this.   

Another miracle of the week was totally unintentional on our part.  On Saturday we had a great day lined up with appointments and members at every one.  Two of the three didn't show up and our third one just went way too long.  We didn't feel like we had gotten anything accomplished during the day even though we had been running back and forth.  It just was one of those days.  We went to the church where we had to practice quickly for a musical number for a baptism that was happening that night.  It was one of the elder's baptisms, and we had invited a couple investigators - one of whom we thought was coming but didn't show.  We were sitting in the baptism, and I was thinking to myself, we have so much to do, we are the only women here, we have no investigators here, why did the elders ask us to sing? etc,etc.  I was just kind of feeling stressed out and like we weren't using our time effectively.

But we sang our musical number and the baptism was very sweet.  We got home and the zone leaders who had performed the baptism gave us a call saying that they wanted to thank us because a miracle had happened.  One of the male investigators who attended the baptism had been an investigator for a long time and isn't baptized because his mom will not let him.  The elders said that after the baptism, he said that while we were singing he had closed his eyes and imagined that Jesus was in heaven blessing people. He had a vision of sorts, and he said that at that time he knew for a fact that Jesus was his Savior and that he needed to be baptized.  While with the elders, he called his mom on the phone and said he wanted to get baptized. She said yes.  We felt so humbled to hear of this experience because if it had been up to our wisdom we would have been out contacting – not singing at the baptism.  But the Lord knew better than we did what we should be doing.  It was a wonderful reminder that the Lord is very aware of his children, and he is very aware of where we are and where we need to be.  So often he makes miracles happen in spite of us.   

  
The weather here has been surprisingly dry.  It has only rained hard one day.  I have heard that I mostly just missed the rainy season although there are some typhoons headed our way, so we will see how that will go.  I have been trying to be diligent with sunscreen – especially on days when we will be traveling a lot.  Everyone in Taiwan wears long sleeves in an effort to not get tan.  They don't understand how we can expose our skin to the sun without worrying about it, and we don’t' understand how they aren't dying of heat!

Another funny thing is that the people in Taiwan are always wondering why my skin is so red.  My skin is its normal average redness which as you knows is above a normal white person’s average redness.  My companion is constantly having to explain to people that this is just the way my skin is. It is pretty funny. 

Garrett's First Week in Cambodia!

Well....where to start?  Cambodia is pretty crazy.  The traffic here is crazy.  There are buses, cars, bikes, and motos sharing the road at the same time – with no apparent traffic rules or laws that I can see.  It is a little nerve racking when you have motos whizzing past you on every side and cars driving right by you.  It is fun to ride a bike in this city....pretty crazy too!  The other day I was sandwiched between a moto and a car.  Not sandwiched like being hit, but they got really close and kind of bumped me.  We were not going fast though, so it was no problem.  I know the Lord will protect me though, so I am not really worried – as long as I pray and am smart when I drive.

Garrett and some of his friends on their way to gym in the MTC.

So, my first companion is Elder Sok.  Elder Sok is a native Cambodian and is from a different area of Phnom Penh.  He speaks VERY good English. There is not much of a language barrier between us.  He is very nice and is a very hard worker.  I am very excited to work with him and learn the language, teaching skills, contacting skills, etc from him. 

We were assigned to Branch 2.  It is in Phnom Penh on the North Eastern side of Phnom Penh.  We are not really in the heart of the city – more on the outskirts.  The branch is actually one of the strongest.  It has about 500 baptized members if I remember correctly, which is awesome.  But we only have 89 people at church on Sunday.  It is okay. We will help them out.  The members seem very nice.  We have taught several lessons with members. It has been really helpful to see their support. 

I know this church is true and that it can help everyone.  I see people who need financial help, physical help, happiness, peace, etc.  I know the gospel can give it to them if they read, pray, and go to church.  I hope/pray every day that our investigators will follow through on their commitments because that is the only way that they will progress.  I know the Lord will help them just like he helps me as a missionary.  He gives me strength.  Even though the language is hard I know I have progressed so much with his help. I want everyone to feel the same happiness and joy that I do every day.  I have tried to tell our investigators and members that we have talked to that very thing. 

                               While still in the MTC, Garrett posed with a picture Emma has sent him.

As expected, the language is hard.  I can teach parts of the lesson, and I can help solidify what Elder Sok has taught, which is good.  I really wish I could speak better – especially regular talk.  I can understand a good amount of what Elder Sok is saying when he is teaching and what other members say when they are speaking about the gospel.  But when it comes to just talking to people, it is VERY difficult.  It is especially a bummer when it comes to contacting.  I don't really know what to say, and I cannot really understand what they are saying when I do throw out a question.  That is the most discouraging part – trying to understand people.  Everybody speaks a little bit different, and it is hard to understand people.  So yeah, the language is hard.  But I am studying and trying to understand what is happening. 

Funny story.  I asked Elder Sok yesterday if his food was crucified.  I was trying to say tasty.  Crucified is chkaang and tasty is chnaang.

Garrett's missionary tag in front of the temple in Provo, UT. (Garrett was really proud of the artistic nature of this photo!)

I really am enjoying myself here.  Even though it is hard, it is pretty exciting to go out each day and see where we will go and who we will teach, etc.  I have also already given four priesthood (the power and authority of God) blessings: one to a baby, one to another Elder, one to a grandmother of an investigator, and one to my companion.  I just do the anointing and I say it in English, but it is still really awesome.  I am excited to be here.  

McKenzie's First Week in the Field

The first night we stayed in the mission home. The next morning we went running with the Assistants to the Mission President.  They took us to a track where they timed our mile and asked us to make goals to shorten it by the end of my mission.  With my 10:30 time there is a lot of room for improvement! They then led this strength training workout which was very tiring, and I could not keep up.  The mission has a schedule where you run 3 days of the week and then do strength training the other two. On preparation day you can choose.  I think it is a good idea because it requires the missionaries to be really fit. I am struggling to get in shape, but that is ok.  Then we got ready and had this awesome Taiwanese breakfast – fried dough type logs.  I don't know how to describe them, but you dip them in soymilk. They’re really good!  

 My trainer (the first companion a missionary has in their country who helps them with the language, missionary work, and living in the country) is awesome! Her name is Sister Morey.  She lived abroad for most of her life in Taiwan and China.  She is so cute and so sweet.  She is so loving and so diligent.  I feel so much more confident with her at my side. She is so supportive and helps me evaluate every situation and work to improve.  She is such a powerful teacher and really in tune.  I said today she is like my mom: teaching me how to do things and helping me feel less and less scared to do things on my own.  

We then made some referral calls, and we set up some appointments.  (Referrals are when members of the church or people who are taking lessons from the missionaries suggest one of their friends or family members who they feel would appreciate contact with the missionaries.) When I call referrals, I normally say hello, ask them to meet. Then they respond, and I can't understand them. So I give the phone to my companion. We had two people set up appointments, which was exciting.  

After dinner one day, we decided to go tracting (talking to people about the Church and gospel on the street). My companion felt like we should turn down a certain street.  We did and talked to these people for a long time who I think in retrospect may have been a little drunk. (It was a Taiwanese holiday and everyone was at barbeques.)  We then talked to two people – me to a grandma.  We were talking about families, and then I asked her if we could meet. She said yes.  I, being ecstatic, tried to get her information. But she then told me she had no phone.  I said she could write down her address, and she said she had no home.  I don't think she was homeless – just not interested.  Anyway, my companion had started talking to this lady who was really interested.  She said she feels like her life has no purpose and agreed to set up time for today. (Sadly this morning she called and said that she is feeling sick and needs to go to the doctor. We were pretty sad, but we still hope to be able to set up an appointment in the future).  We felt really blessed that the Lord led us to her, and I felt really blessed that my companion listened to the Spirit and changed our plans to go down a different street.  

Garrett's First Area - North East Phnom Penh

General Information on the Area
Where is the Church in Phnom Penh?

McKenzie's First Area - Kaohsiung

       

      

       General Information on the Area 

         Where is the Church in Kaohsiung?