A Costco Outing and Pictures of Lin Zhen Miao's Baptism

So this week was a good week.  I hope I didn't sound unloving in my last email; my emotions were pretty high when I wrote it.  My feelings of sadness and frustration stem out of an extreme love for these two sisters and a complete sadness to see them miss out on all of the blessings that baptism brings.   

We met with Jiao Mei this week.  She is actually moving to her home town because she just graduated.  I have been in touch with the missionaries down there and have given them instructions to not give up on her no matter what.  We met with her one last time on Thursday.  I was so sad to see her go.  We talked how if she doesn't feel ready that is fine but to make plans to get ready and to keep studying and trying with the goal of becoming ready for baptism.   

Today, we went as a district to Costco.  It was so funny to be in something that is so similar yet is different at the same time.  In the meat section, they had sea cucumbers and squid.  My companion and I bought tortilla chips.  We are so excited; there really is nowhere else to buy tortilla chips in Taiwan except for Costco.  Mexican food is really the only food that you can't get here.  Sister Vandegrift and I then went to this sporting goods store that just opened up right by the church.  It looked so cool from the outside.  The inside just had a bunch of sporting goods equipment.  It was fun to look around though.   

We also had a really exciting thing this week.  We have started meeting with a young woman who was introduced to the gospel many years ago by her aunt but hasn't been able to get baptized until she turned 18 per an agreement with her parents.  She came up to me at church one Sunday and said that it is time for her to get baptized and that she needed to meet with us.  We, of course, were ecstatic. She is super great.  She is completely prepared and teaching her is just like a fun spiritual feast.  She might be getting baptized this week because her uncle (a member) is leaving to go out of town for a long time soon, and she wants him to baptize her, but she doesn't technically turn 18 until July.  She was supposed to ask her dad for his official permission last night so we should find out today in a little bit if it is ago.   


It has been so nice.  We met with her this week and her aunt (a member), and her aunt told us that the whole week everyone had been giving their two cents on her baptismal date.  Everyone is giving her all this pressure to be baptized earlier, but she is worried because she had already agreed with her dad to wait until she was 18.  It was so nice to not be the ones to give anyone pressure.   We were kind of like the sane ones being like, “Well, it is your decision.”  I think it is going to happen this week, but I don't want to assume anything yet.  If it doesn't, she will definitely get baptized just in a month from now.  
 

I love you all, and I know this church is true.  We should never be afraid to follow God and to follow the little promptings and warnings that the Lord puts into our hearts because the Holy Ghost truly is a still small voice of perfect mildness.  I love you all, and I know that this is God's church.  It is the most wonderful and happy thing in our lives.   

Poison by Pepto Bismol and Pictures of Devi and Heng's Baptism

I feel like I am at home right now because I am sitting in an internet cafe full of little Khmae gamer boys. They yell at each other in Khmae.  Tanner would like it.  Then the littler boys, who do not know how to play and just watch the others, keep coming over to look at my screen and realize it is much less exciting.  

A while ago, we had also received a great referral for a man used to learn from the Seven Day Adventist church.  We taught Nit the whole first lesson in 4 appointments because he understands so quickly and was so interested in learning more.  He has incredibly strong faith. The only thing holding him back is that he likes to drink beer.  It is not even an addiction; it is just a social thing that he likes to do.  It's kind of frustrating because he is so awesome. It’s just like, "Why don’t you just stop?" He is good though.  Nit has so much potential.  He used to be the "village chief.”  Which sounds weird, but every village or neighborhood has one.  He was a representative for one of the parties in the last election.  Like I said he is just an awesome guy with incredibly strong faith.  He recognizes that when he gets baptized, it is a lifelong decision.  He says that he wants to be completely ready to be baptized, so that afterwards he will have no problems.  I have fasted and prayed for this man many times.  He has been so prepared by Heavenly Father.  He feels sorry for his sins, and recognizes this is the true church.  He wants to be clean from his sins and live with Heavenly Father forever.  I really hope that this week we see a miracle, and he decides he is done drinking forever so that he can be baptized.  

About a week and a half ago I had to call Sister Smedley because I was worried about Elder Hem's health.  Elder Hem had eaten 6 tablets of Pepto Bismol in a matter of minutes because he thought they were candy mom had sent me.  We were riding our bikes, and he started to tell me he didn't feel that good and that he kind of felt light headed and stuff.  He then informed me that these candies were not very good.  I informed him that we usually eat 1 of those, maybe 2, if we are very sick.  The rest of the night he was fine, but he did not feel very good.  I thought it was funny.  I could not stop laughing.  They do not even taste good. 

I told you a few weeks ago about the older investigator who said she was done learning after 6 days because she saw no benefit, but then we committed her to learning for another 2 weeks.  She is doing awesome.  We meet her almost every day, and she is willing to meet us.  She comes to church and reads the scriptures.  I can see that Holy Ghost is working with her.  She understands clearly what we teach, and I believe she is feeling different.  This next week is the 2 week mark, and I know that she will not tell us that she wants to stop learning.  If we do what we should, the Holy Ghost will enter into our lives and make us feel happier and different.  I know that personally.

You guys needs to walk though a Cambodian market, which are outside of course.  There are huge slabs of meat with the person selling them just hacking pieces off for people.  Flies are everywhere.  Live fish are just being smacked on the head and thrown into another pile.  It is seriously a sight to see. 

I feel like my prayers have really changed.  All my prayers are focused on our investigators – helping them read, feel the Spirit, understand, come to church, etc. 

Campaigning for some type of election is starting here, and there are lots of posters and signs.  I tried to teach a lesson while a speaker blared a recording to an entire neighborhood about some political party.  It was a little weird.   

Yesterday we had a really good District Conference.  The topic was families.  It was a really powerful conference, and the speakers did a great job.  The coolest thought came from the District President: The reason why Satan wants to destroy families so badly is because he will never have one.  He will never have a mom, dad, wife, kids, etc.  He feels sad about that and wants everyone to feel the same way.  That is why families are under attack.  I saw Devi and her husband, Heng, at the District Conference (who got baptized after I was transferred out of Branch 2) and some of the other members from Branch 2.  I really miss them.  There are some great members in that branch.

The Hardest Part About Being a Missionary

I am sad to report that it looks like there will be no baptism this weekend.  Jiao Mei, after a long process, has decided that she needs to wait to be baptized.  It is quite sad as she really doesn't need to wait.  She has a testimony; she has a desire to be baptized; she has repented; she has a desire to follow Christ to the end – all of the requirements for baptism.  On Thursday, she told us that she had been talking to her dad who investigated the church for MANY years before finally being baptized.  He is also unfortunately less active now, but gratefully not antagonistic towards the church.  He just is prioritizing other things over it. He feels that she doesn't need to rush into baptism and has cited all of the preparation he did before finally deciding to be baptized (having read the whole book of Mormon and done a lot of study, etc.  She, who was already feeling nervous herself, was convinced.  Thankfully, she was willing to talk openly with us about it, and we encouraged her to have her baptismal interview on Sunday and then decide. She agreed to do so.   

She had her baptismal interview and passed it with flying colors.  She came out saying that Elder George said the same things that we have said – that she doesn't need to know everything, she doesn't need to finish the Book of Mormon, that she needs to believe and have a desire and she doesn't need to wait for this some unknown time of "readiness" – a readiness that is not described in the scriptures.  We talked the issue up and down, and she talked to members about it who also encouraged her by saying that Satan often gives us temptation and trails before we make an important decision etc.  In the end, she decided that she will not get baptized this weekend.  What scares me is that she doesn't have a plan for how to become prepared for baptism in the future; she just doesn't feel ready. But she can't even say way she isn't ready.  It terrifies me that she will just float outside of the gate with nothing but fear blocking the gate.  There is a difference between knowing that you need additional preparation and then taking the action to complete that and just not feeling ready and not having a plan or a commitment to make yourself ready.  

I am trying to have faith, but I am having a really hard time with this.  I just don't understand why this keeps happening.  I don't understand why these people that I teach who have learned everything they need to learn, who believe and have a testimony in everything they need to have a testimony of, who have committed to baptism, and who openly tell you that they desire baptism, will, at the last minute, push it aside. They push it aside to wait for some unknown date that unless chosen and acted upon with faith will never come.  Both Shu-feng and Jiao Mei decided to be baptized and wanted to work towards it.  I didn't push the date of the 16th on Jiao Mei; that was the date she herself chose.  And I see what has happened to Shu-feng since making the decision not to be baptized right now.  She is swimming around, wanting to improve, but never acknowledging the absolute inevitability of the Savior in that improvement.  

How can we look at the Savior's atonement with its magnitude and mercy and just push it aside because it is not convenient to follow his commandments?  Covenants are not convenient and they are not easy, but neither was Jesus atoning for our sins.  I don't say this out of a lack of compassion or love for these two girls; I just feel such extreme sadness at their lack of understating of the Savior's atonement, and I feel inadequate as their teacher because in the end, they are just content to float around waiting to be acted upon rather than to act. 

I love Jiao Mei with all of my heart, and I am terrified from her response that this will be a digression point, not a launching point like it was for someone like Chen Ming Zhu who felt she needed to prepare more for baptism but had a plan and acted.  Jiao Mei, in my opinion and in the authoritative decision of the baptismal interviewer, is prepared, and the only thing that is keeping her from being fully prepared is actually making the decision to take the leap of faith to be baptized.  I am trying to have faith in the future, but I am having a really hard time with this right now.   

Notes from Garrett's Mother's Day Call to the Family

He has a lot more room in his pants and shirts since he started his mission.  He is hot all the time.  Sweats 24 x 7.  He tries to drink a lot of water to compensate. 

It takes him 45 min. to bike to the internet café and 1hr and 30 min. to the mission home. 

It takes him 10 min. to get from one end of Sen Sok to the other.  It consists of 7 neighborhoods, and they really don’t have addresses.  You just go to the neighborhood and ask around for people.  Neighborhood #7 is built on stilts about 2 feet above the sewage.  They also work in small villages spread out through the rice fields.    Many of the Sen Sok inhabitants moved to the area after their homes in Phnom Phen burnt down in 1999.  Some believe the government did it. 

Crime is not too bad in Sen Sok because there is really not anything to take locally. So that type of people would rob other areas. 

 Sleeping on the roof when the air conditioning is broken

Sometimes the rain is so strong it feels like bullets when it hits them.  It typically rains hard in the afternoon.   

Their branch has a lot of issues with gossip.  They have considerable issues with unity.  Yesterday 67 people were at church of which many were small children.  They have a lot of in-active members.  They did baptize Botum yesterday, which made Garrett very happy. 

He said, “The local kids love me.”  They like to say hello.  They try to climb on the back of their bikes.  Everyone knows who the missionaries are. 

His bike seat is uncomfortable.  His left cheek has a callus.  He also thinks he is going slightly bald. 

He gets woken up at 5 AM by the roosters.     

 Under the nets when sleeping on the roof

He believes his speaking skills are good, and he needs to work on his reading and writing in Khmer. 

Elder Hem is one of his most favorite companions so far.  He is easy going, works hard, and doesn’t like to waste time.  They have had no real arguments.  That being said, Garrett said he has not had any big problems with any of his companions.   

Garrett did remember that KG’s birthday is on May 17^th.   

There is a large group of new missionaries coming in soon – 13 of which are sisters.   

His current mission president does not know Khmer.   

His favorite things about his mission are the people, the culture, and the language (even though it is hard), and the work he is doing for the Lord. 

He has been on really strong anti-worm medication three times.  He said he has definitely had something living in his stomach.  It creates significant diarrhea issues, but after a couple days of the medication, things are much better.  It saps his energy and desire to eat.  

Machine that takes the grains of rice out of the stalk

His scriptures are much thicker now because they have gotten wet a few times. 

1 ½ hours of internet usage costs between 75 cents and $1. 

Garrett keeps in touch with his previous area’s converts.  They are doing well.   

He says time is speeding by and going way too fast.  His release date is July 13^th of 2013.  He is not looking forward to coming home, as he really loves his mission. 

He eats a lot of oatmeal in the morning now.  He eats so much he feels like a horse.  He mixes it with peanut butter.   

It worked out so Garrett could listen to Mc’s call with us.  They loved talking to each other for a few minutes.   

Temple Trip to Taipei

We went to the temple today which was so fun.  We had to get up really early, and then I thought I lost my temple recommend so we frantically looked for it for a while and said a prayer.  Then I realized that it had been in my wallet the whole time.  We had to bike really fast to the mission office, and I arrived looking like I had just taken a shower, but I look like that most days lately.  

We started teaching this Christian woman last week who this week brought her husband to her appointment.  It was an awesome and crazy lesson.  He has a lot of questions and concerns about Christianity all of which are answered by the Plan of Salvation.  We kept having to say, “Just a second. We will answer that question.”  He wanted to know why we have trials in life, why we need to come down to earth, why can't we just go straight to the Celestial Kingdom, why we need a body if we are just going to die anyway, and what happens to those people who never hear about Jesus before they die – all of which are answered by the Plan of Salvation  It was kind of like running a marathon teaching him, but by the time we got to the end, he had all of his questions resolved except for why we can't we all just go to the Celestial Kingdom no matter what we do because we are all God's children.  I gave him 2^nd Nephi 2 as a reading assignment.  Verse 13 answers that question really nicely.  He is a really cool man. I think he is kind of bitter that he doesn't' feel like he has a relationship with God like his wife and children do because he wants one.  We just kept testifying that if he wanted a relationship with God and was willing to pray and read, he would feel God's love and influence in his life.   

The gift of tongues is real.  I have found myself being able to understand so much more now that I am senior companion.  It is like the spirit has just made me able to understand what people are saying.  Truly a huge miracle!

We are having such great joy with Jiao Mei right now.  She is set to be baptized on the 16^th.  After church on Sunday, she was like “Sister Gibson, I don't feel like I am ready.”   We sat down immediately with a member and just started going over the baptismal interview questions.  She answered all of them wonderfully.  We got to the end, and I was like “Jiao Mei, this is what we need to know to be ready for baptism, and if we know this things and we have a commitment to follow Christ till the end, we don't need to fear.”  The member offered a powerful testimony.  Jiao Mei still acknowledges that there are ways she needs to prepare, but we assured her that as she kept reading, praying, and seeking, she would continue to add to the already strong testimony she has.  Her continence has totally changed since we met her.  She used to just kind of look bored and sad all of the time, and now she is happy, excited, and full of joy.  She called me on Monday just to tell me that she was so happy.  The members are being really great with her too.  They took her to a FHE on Monday with no prompting from us, and they are doing a great job of taking initiative and helping her feel loved.   

Seeing Miracles in Sen Sok

So this man has believed in Jesus Christ for many years.  He used to be a member of the Seventh Day Adventist church but was referred to us and now is doing really well.  He told us that when he was young all he cared about was money so that when he got older he could be happy.  But now that he is older, 52, he says he does not care.  All he wants is to prepare to meet God.  He also told us that he recognizes that he truly needs the Lord's help in everything.  When he has food, it is a gift.  When he rides his moto, he prays for safety.  He truly relies 100% on Heavenly Father.  I showed up that day to teach him about the Plan of Salvation, and he taught me.  I am really excited about this guy. 

The good investigator (what Elder Hem and I call him) is still doing well.  We were getting worried about him because he was not really reading the scriptures and coming to church for all 3 hours.  In order to help him, we planned to teach him about the importance of reading the scriptures, but much to our surprise and as an answer to many prayers, he had already read when we met him.  And he remembered everything about the chapter.  He also came to church for all 3 hours, which was a big step for him.  He always tells us that he feels really happy when he comes to church and that yesterday he learned a lot.  

Like I said before, we saw a lot of miracles this week.  Heavenly Father really answered my prayers as I completely put all of my trust in Him.  I know that I cannot do anything without him.  I feel very grateful today for what we were able to see this week.  

So obviously Sen Sok is very poor.  Well, believe it or not there are rich people in Cambodia.  There is an extremely rich international neighborhood close to Sen Sok.  It is called Grand Phnom Penh International City.  I talked to a lady from Thailand there.  Everyone there is extremely rich.  It is crazy to ride my bike  for less than 10 minutes from complete poverty to a paved road next to a personal golf course with a driving range into a lake, etc.  

We have 2 investigators who we met Saturday morning.  They told us that afternoon that they were going to cut and collect sticks and wood to sell and that they were going to do it outside of the Grand Phnom Penh.  After lunch we rode through Grand Phnom Penh to get to an area where we have an investigator.  We left the city and went outside their massive 100 foot gate.  We were riding our bikes on the road back to the other side where regular people live.  We saw our two investigators, their mom and their young brother off in the marshy field to our left.  We decided to help them.  For the next hour or so we cut down dead sticks and gathered them up so that they could then sell them.  I was sweating profusely.  It was seriously hot.  All the sticks and branches had little thorns that were not enough to be a lot of damage but definitely were not comfortable.  It was a little painful, but it was amazing to help them.  They are so poor, and it was great to help them.  We are also hoping that that will maybe build bridges with their mom who is not learning but was very grateful for our help. 

I am amazed with the examples of some of the young men and young women in our branch.  Two in particular are seriously just amazing.  There is one 21 year old whose parents are both members but now are both heavy drinkers.  Both Elder Hem and I are amazed with her faith and her resolve to continue on.  This 21 year old helps us teach all the time.  She teaches the Sunday School class at church.  All of this and her parents are living very far from the standards of the Church.   

Another young man about Tanner's age helps us all the time.  His mom is a member, but is inactive because she is offended with someone at church.  Even though he is kind of a typical 16 year old, his faith is amazing.  The fact that he will sacrifice time to help us and will still follow Jesus Christ despite not having his parents to lead him is amazing.   

First off, I am so grateful for Mom and Dad. Through their faith, patience, and teachings, I have a testimony and love the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I continually am amazed with the young members in this branch.  Their faith and desire to follow Jesus Christ is inspiring.  We do not need others to be active and to go to church. 

I have a very strong testimony of the power of prayer this week.  I know that the Lord helped me to see miracles.  I feel excited to start this next week.

Coming Back to Church in Taiwan

This week was a great week.  We are still working to build up our investigator pool.   I am trying to have the right attitude because we do have investigators, and there are so many wonderful things going on; however, I just feel frustrated because I feel like I have seen the area soar and do so much better than it is doing right now.  I just want it to soar again.  I don't want to be ungrateful for all of the people that we do have right now, but I just wonder why I can't get things back up to the way they were before.  I know I need to have patience.  Every area goes through its low points, and this point isn't even that low.  I just don't want to be satisfied with mediocrity. With that being said, we have been extremely blessed this week and have seen a lot of miracles.   

I also had a really cool experience with a less active this week.  Her name is Ruby Chen, and we have been working with her for quite a few weeks now. She has acknowledged that she has felt this Church is true and that the doctrine and spirit is stronger here than anywhere else.  However, about 10 years ago when she was a new member, she decided to leave the church and go back to her old Christian church.  She has a teenage son that at the time didn't want to go to church at our church but was willing to go to church at the other church.  She also talked about how she came to church, and all of the hymns were unfamiliar the scriptures we used were unfamiliar.  She didn't really feel like she had friends or any responsibility, and eventually, she just went back to that which was familiar - where she felt like she had a purpose and was loved.  As she was telling me all of this, I was sad. She and I both knew that except for the church being true, she had every reason in the world to just stay at her current church.   

Our invitation to come back to church is basically an invitation to change her whole life, which she feels the weight of very acutely.  I told her that the only reason that I was willing to ask her to do this is because I know that the Church is true and because I want to help her go to the Celestial Kingdom.  I testified that this is why God wants her to do it.  She told me that she was just so afraid that it would all be the same and that she would be lonely at church again.  I sadly couldn't promise her that she wouldn't feel lonely.   I hope that it will not be the same, and I will do all I can to make sure it is not the same.  However, there are many members of the church who feel lonely at church, but we need to keep going because it is the right thing to do.   

At the end of the lesson, I asked her to pray and ask Heavenly Father what He wanted her to do.  We knelt down, and she said a very humble, very sincere prayer.  We got up, and wiping tears from her eyes, she said, "I think Heavenly Father wants me to go down the harder path."  Almost immediately all of her fears and legitimate concerns started to come out again, so we got out a piece of paper and wrote down the revelation so that she could always look back and remember her answer.  It was a huge miracle.  There is still a long way to go.   We right now are focusing on setting small weekly goals because the thought of switching churches all at once is just too huge.  She really is a special woman.   

The Hsaio family is doing well this week.  They went to the temple to do baptisms for the dead this week and Hsiao Dixiong's older sister got baptized this week.