Harvesting Rice and Eating Dog Covered in Ants

As you saw from the pictures I sent (the two below) I tasted some of the most delicious food known to man - I ate dog meat covered in large red ants. Well, it all started when our member dropped off an entire leg of a dog at our house and said that he was going to come back the next day to make us food. Well, he came back and made us a dog/ant stir fry. The ants are a huge type of ant that lives on most of the trees here and they are straight vicious. If they get on your skin they dig their head in and just start biting....sometimes with the rest of their body straight up in the air. Well, some Cambodians eat dog meat with this type of ant because it gives it a nice sour taste. It did. The meat and the ants were pretty sour. Quite honestly I did not eat that much because it was not the best, but I did eat it. Our house had a weird smell for the rest of the week. So, you guys will have to try it someday.  

Mealea was also baptized which was really cool. (See next two pictures.) She has been really progressing in the gospel, and it has been so nice to see her change her attitude and to be happier. When we first started to teach her she was very frustrated with her life and with her family. She was not even that receptive to the members that tried to help her. It was really rewarding to see her start to pray and to read the scriptures and then to start to have more peace with her family and to start to feel happier. We are really trying to work with her parents. Both Mealea and her sister Leap are now members, and I feel like the father and mother are very close to learning with us.

 
After the baptism, Mealea was given the time to share her testimony and she explained how she had seen a miracle that day. Her parents are not opposed to the church, but they are not yet learning with the missionaries. That Saturday one of their relatives came to town and her parents told Mealea that she would need to stay home and watch over the house while they went out. Well, that meant that she would not be able to be baptized, because it was already 4 PM and they would not be back before 5 PM, which is when the baptism was starting. In her testimony she said that at the time she did not know what she could do. She said that she prayed and asked that Heavenly Father would help her have a way to go and be baptized that day and that she would fast the next day and keep all the commandments. She said that about a minute after she prayed her dad came home unexpectedly with the moto and told her she was free to go and do whatever she wanted to do that night. I know that the Lord provided the way for her to get baptized.

Pretty cool experience with Mealea. Just to clarify, it is often very difficult to get entire families/households at church because they feel like there always has to be someone at home to watch and protect it from robbers and such. It is a common problem. Even the District President made his son-in-law stay home in the morning and then go to the other branch at night in order to have someone home to protect the house.

I think that I told you last week that Viraneath got the Aaronic Priesthood. We got him to bless the sacrament this past week. He did a really good job, but had to do it two times. He did a good job though. One tiny mistake. His dad then received the Melchezidek priesthood later that day. Their family is doing really well right now. The key is just to keep getting Viraneath involved with his responsibilities at the church to help him to keep coming to church.

I have been doing a lot of work with the branch. Home teaching, attending branch council and other things and giving suggestions to keep everything running smoothly. I love our branch presidency and Relief Society presidency. They are very dedicated, and it is showing. We are getting a lot of people to church, but it is because they are doing a great job in getting out there and helping the members. I love this branch so much. There are so many awesome members here.

We had a pretty good week. As the pictures show (all the rest of the pictures in this post) we had some really fun service. We went to our first counselor’s house and we were led to the back of the neighborhood which is just a HUGE area of rice fields. Many, many rice fields all together. Well, we took off our shoes and rolled up our pants and then jumped into the rice fields that are flooded with water. The areas with the deepest water made it to my knees, but most of the time it was to my skins. We had little curved knives which we would hold in the right hand while we grabbed a bundle of rice stalks in the left hand and then cut it. It was really fun, and it is in a really beautiful area.

The past month or so we have been teaching the fiancé of our district president’s son. He used to be inactive, but has come back ever since we have been teaching his fiancé. He is actually a really good guy and has a lot of potential. Our District President has told us that his fiancé and soon to be wife is the only way that his son will come back to full activity. She has been doing really well and went off for about 10 minutes about how awesome Nephi was. She went on and on about how he had all these problems and trouble, but he kept following God and then he received blessings. She told us that about a month ago she had a dream where she was riding in a really nice car across a really beautiful bridge. On both sides and all around was just mud and tons of people were swimming /walking in the mud. She said that she thought to herself that she was so grateful that she could stay out of the mud and just be clean. She told us that she believes that it was an answer that God can help her stay out of sin and cross the mud safely. She told us right after we taught her about the Plan of Salvation and talked heavily about the Atonement. I am excited for both of them, and we have a goal that he will baptize his fiancé in the coming weeks.

The wife of the crazy man should have been baptized this week. Like I said, she is not the most polished person in personality and characteristics, but she comes to church every week despite lots of persecution. And like I said before, our RS does a great job encouraging her. We have been sharing more about showing your love and being patient when others do bad things to you because we want her husband to see that our church teaches her to show her love. She was not able to be baptized this past week because we were not able to finish all the lessons. She will be baptized next Saturday. Her husband is doing better. He is actually pretty friendly to us. She has a difficult time understanding tithing, which causes her to think she needs to pay more than is really necessary. She is doing well though and she is going to be baptized next week.

I continued my study on patience this past week. I came across two scriptures that I love. Hebrews 12:1. “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” When I first read this I did not understand because I only thought about the word race and that how do you run a race patiently. Then I figured that this race is more of a long distance endurance race where it does not matter if you finish first; it just matters that you finish. So it makes sense that if the only goal of the race is to just finish, that you can do it patiently. I really like this verse, but I need to think about it some more.

I also liked D&C 67:13. “Ye are not able to abide the presence of God now, neither the ministering of angels; wherefore, continue in patience until ye are perfected.” That first just changed my whole idea about life. We are just not good enough or ready to go to heaven yet. But we continue with patience, meaning that we improve every day until one day we can become perfected in Jesus Christ. Really awesome. I love the scriptures. I have been continuing my reading in the New Testament, and I love it all. When I find a really good verse I just get this pump of energy and desire to go and do work.

Adventures in Outfitting Newbies with Bikes

Viraneath's Baptism

Viraneath
is doing well.  We had a really good lesson with him about missionary work and his friend who is in the other branch but in the same class at school.  His friend made the point that they could both finish school with each other and then go on their missions at the same time as each other.  I set up the appointment for him to be interviewed by the Branch President to get the Aaronic Priesthood next week and it happened, which is fantastic.  He should get the Aaronic Priesthood next week, and then I am going to really get him involved in blessing the sacrament and things like that.  The only problem is that his two best friends are in the other branch.  It’s okay though; his parents are good role  models for him. 

Viraneath's Baptism

We have been able to find some new investigators this week as well.  Our area is doing pretty well.  I really love being a missionary.  I mean it.  It is the best thing for my life.   

 

Viraneath's Baptism

 I am doing a study on patience, because I want to have more of it.  I loved this verse this morning.  Romans 5: 3-5

3 And not only so, but we glory in ^atribulations also: knowing that ^btribulation worketh ^cpatience;

4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

5 And ^ahope maketh not ashamed; because the ^blove of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

A member who is 12 needed a ride back into town.

We also had transfers up here.  We have a lot of Khmae missionaries up here which is good.  No matter how hard Americans try, it is still always easier to gain the trust of members, investigators, etc when you are from their country.  I think it is really good.  I was able to get all the things done that I needed to do for the new elders. (As Zone Leader, Garrett is responsible for the wellbeing and training of a group of about 10 missionary companionships in a geogrpahical area.)  I spent about 2 hours getting bikes for them.  I was on strict command to only get the best of bikes.  We actually went to a member in the other branch’s house and asked him to help us because he fixes bikes and knows exactly what is good and what is not.  He was extremely helpful.  We would walk into a place, and he would get down and look at bikes, tap on the metal and stuff and then tell us which ones were good and which ones were not.  He made sure that we did not get swindled either.  I was really grateful for him as he spent seriously about 1 1/2 hours with us trying to help us get good quality bikes.  If one place did not have what we needed he would just take us immediately to another place.  I was really thankful for him.

Update on the crazy man.  Well, he came to church!  That was amazing, but then for some reason he left after the second hour and seemed angry.  Well, he went home and we were all worried, but apparently he was just not used to the way things go and was a little uncomfortable.  Our Relief Society president is a straight up intense and went right over to the house to figure everything out.  Everything is okay now.  We really want him to start progressing because I feel like if he gets baptized he is going to one day be a leader.  

Garrett REALLY liked Angkor Wat

As I told you before, every missionary gets to go to Angkor Wat once during their mission. This time it was my turn. I went and met with Elder Stokes at the mission home so our companions could go with each other, and we made our way over to a market to catch a shuttle taxi up to Siem Reap.  It was really fun being with him.  The ride up to SR was long. We left at 9:00 ish and got there at 3:00 or so.  It was actually faster than usual because we went in a small shuttle taxi thing and not the bus.  Either way we had a good time talking and enjoying the Cambodian countryside.  

When we got up to SR, we met with the other elders at their apartment for a little while and then we went to go buy a few things for the next day - including our tickets to go to the different temples.  We were also told that after 5:00 everyone was able to get in for free for the sunset.  Well, we bought the tickets and then made our way to a mountain/hill which, but for some reason they did not let us go up.  So we went over the famous walkway that goes over the mote to the Angkor temple.  We took some pictures over there and watched the sunset.  It was really pretty.  Super awesome.  Then we eventually made our way back to the other elders’ house.  The next day we were up and out early so that we could see everything that we wanted.  

 Our tuk tuk driver met us out the elders house. His name was Dara, and he was a member.   

 We started the day at a temple/building called Beantey Kdei. (I am going to butcher all of these spellings). It was cool and awesome because it was the first thing we saw, but the day just got better. 

 Then we went to Angkor Wat, which obviously was amazing.  It was so big.  When you get inside you can go up into to one the buildings and look out over everything.  I do not know how they built it all.  The walls, ceilings, etc are carved and look amazing.  The mote is also perfect.  They made it themselves, and it runs in straight lines to a 90 degree angle.  Awesome.  It was really awesome. Then that day in the afternoon we got the shuttle back to PP.  Wednesday was back to normal.  

Down the road was Bayon, which is where all the pillars with a face carved on each side is.  That was crowded but also really cool.  How did they carve all of those heads?  I do not know, but it was awesome.   We took tons of pictures, and after Bayon we were feeling tired. So we had lunch.  

Down the road was Bayon, which is where all the pillars with a face carved on each side is.  That was crowded but also really cool.  How did they carve all of those heads?  I do not know, but it was awesome.   We took tons of pictures, and after Bayon we were feeling tired. So we had lunch.  

We then went to a place called the elephant terrace, which is a cool place where they said that back in the day they would prepare all of their war elephants for battle.  The carvings along the way were cool.  

 

 Then we went to a temple that was really tall and seemed like a Aztec style temple.  It was called Ta Kaev - also very cool and steep in climbing up the steps to the top.  

 We then went over to Ta Prum which was probably my favorite.  It is the one where they filmed Tomb Raider, and it has huge trees growing all over the temples and buildings.  IT WAS AWESOME.  The roots on the trees were going everywhere, and it was cool.  

 We met an Israeli couple who was impressed that we had long-sleeve shirts on. They took a picture with us calling us their "long sleeved heroes".  

 Across the road was a big lake called Srah Srong, which is where the say that the King used to bathe back during the Angkor time.  

 Seim Reap and the sunset

Sunset

Garrett and the Terrifying Monkeys

All these pictures are of a placed called Phnom Sompeu.  I am not even going to try to sound it out because there is just no possible way it will work.  Either way it is in my area.  We rode a tuk tuk for about 45 minutes or so.  There is a temple on the top of the mountain, with really awesome views, monkeys, natural nature stuff (vines) and skulls.  Like I said last week, during the Pol Pot era, some of the workers and people would be marched up the mountain and then hit on the head with a rock or club and then they would be thrown into the cave from the very top.  Now they collected all of the bones and they still have some of the clothes on site from the people that were killed.  A lot of little kids were killed as well.  Then as you continue up the mountain you see monkeys.  They are all wild, but some of the people who live on the mountain (mostly monks) have them on leashes.  The baby one crawled on me, and we were messing around with a big one that was not on a leash until one of the old monks yelled at us that that one will bite us.  It was really fun, but quite honestly...I am terrified of monkeys.  They are just so crazy.  The view from the top and the temple was really cool.  Just rice fields, trees and other mountains as far as you can see.  So pretty.  I love it there.  We missed one of the coolest parts which is when tens of thousands of bats come out of the cave every night at 5:30ish to go and feed.  It was too late and we had to start proselyting, but I have heard that it is really cool.  It was a sweet P-day.   

 Monkeys - wild and chained. Really they are all wild though. Also, monkeys are really scary. 

Viraneath was baptized, which was awesome.  The highlight of the week was seeing Elder Chan baptize our investigator Viraneath. Viraneath has showed great faith. He already stopped working on Sunday from the day that we taught him about it and this past week we focused really hard on ways that the Holy Ghost will tell him that Joseph Smith is true. We talked about the feelings that he would have and reminded him that he would need to focus and try to feel the spirit while and after he prayed. Well, when we met him on Wednesday he told us that he knew that it all was true, because when he prayed he felt different than he ever had before and that it was "like something told me it was true." I was so grateful for the Holy Ghost at that moment and for the time that we had to teach him. Both of his parents are members and he has great support. It was so nice to go and see him last night after his confirmation and give him a tie as a gift. I was grateful for his faith as before he would have not been home because he would have been at work. I know that Lord will bless him. It is a lot easier to promise blessings to him and his family as I realized that the Lord has already promised them to us.

 Garrett describes the view as ridiculously beautiful. 

We had our investigator with the crazy husband call us on Friday night and tell us that her husband freaked out, took the moto, and threatened the family if she didn’t stop learning.  It was pretty crazy stuff.  So we went the next day and conveniently he was home, but would only yell at us and his wife from the house.  We told him we were done teaching her and told them both we would not come back again.  It was pretty sad as the woman has such strong faith.  Well, we were more than surprised to see her at church that next week. Come to find out her husband drove her there.  Well, she said that she laid down the law and told him that he would have to leave if she couldn’t learn.  Well, our branch presidency went to go see him and talk to him, and they worked a miracle.  Before coming here today I talked to our second counselor on the phone and was met with laughter and an apology from the crazy husband and a declaration that he wanted to learn.  I am not really sure what has happened, but we are going to tomorrow to figure everything out.  Either way, things are much better than before.  Pretty crazy turn of events.  

We came home from church yesterday and spotted a snake in our coconut tree. I moved the branch to get a better look, causing it to fall out and hit the ground.  It was a big snake.  Really weird coloring.  It had a small rat halfway down its throat, which it spit out and then was up the tree almost immediately.  It was pretty scary.  I really do not like snakes.  

The Funeral of a King

I do not know if this has received international coverage, but the King of Cambodia died. Things have been a little crazy here for the week.  All of the places that "make you happy" have been closed by the government.  So all the clubs and big restaurants and things like that are not allowed to be open.  Each building that is run or owned by the government has a picture of the King with flowers and a place for incense and other things.  Some places are bigger and grander than others.  We even have one in front of our church.  It was interesting as before both morning sessions all the members gathered around it and prayed for him.  I was just happy no one lighted any incense.  The people really love him though.  One member told us he had not even read the scriptures for 2 or 3 days because of how sad he was.  I shared Jacob 2:8.  Even last night apparently you could see the King’s face in the sky as you looked to the moon.  I looked and saw nothing, but as we road home there were many, many people looking up at the stars talking on their phones and taking pictures and such.  Pretty much every TV in Cambodia has coverage of the events in the city and other stuff that relates to his death.   

Phnom Sompeu

We had General Conference this week, and it was awesome!  I loved it so much.  I felt so much peace and happiness as we listened to conference and learned about the teachings from the prophet.  I really liked Elder Dallin H. Oaks’ talk about children.  I thought it was really powerful and was a great example of what we need to do to help children.  I also really like President Uchdorf’s talk on being happy in the moment and just being happy with what you have right now.  I thought the music was really good too.  I gotta give it to the Tabernacle Choir.  I never liked them before my mission.  Either they got dramatically better or my taste has just improved.  All the talks were very good, and I cannot wait to get the Liahona magazine so I can read them again.

 In the Pol Pot times they would kill the people and then throw them down into the caves.

Viraneath should be baptized this next week.  He is doing great.  He talked to his boss and told him he was done working on Sunday.  His boss was okay with it, but it will still be hard as their family does not have that much money.  I feel a lot of hope for him because his mom and dad are members, and he knows several of the members in the branch.  I am really impressed with his willingness to just pick up on the importance of commandments and then actively keep them. 

Mealea is also doing well.  I can see that she is happier, and she came to both sessions of General Conference on Sunday.  She is really growing in her testimony. Out at the market one day she was told that only poor people become Christians.  She quickly responded that it doesn’t matter if you are poor; it just matters if you have faith.  She told us she thinks the Holy Ghost helped her a lot.  Technically she could become a missionary soon because she is 19!

So, for the scorpion.  I went outside at night with Elder Chan to get his laundry and I noticed that guy sitting right outside our door.  We obviously tried to kill it.  We sprayed it with a can of Raid and it was having the desired effect.  Well, Elder Chan thought we should just let it go.  When we left he started dumping water on the scorpion to save it.  Well, the scorpion received its strength and ran away.  I was a little peeved but did not show it.  He kept saying it was meek and that it does not hurt anybody.  Cambodians are like that.  They do not like you to just kill animals and insects even if they have the potential to kill you.  

A member asked for us to go and cut grass and plants in order to clear the land for vegetables.  I was armed with a sword and went to work hacking up plants.  It was fun, but it was really tiring as well.  We then aerated the ground with what I think is called a hoe but It might have been a rake.  Either way, this is much harder than just sitting on the lawn mower and going for a ride.