Madeline in Cambodia: Valid and Valuable Week in my Village of Kampong Cham

Hello.

7 But behold, they are in the hands of the Lord of the harvest, and they are his; and he will raise them up at the last day.

8 Blessed be the name of our God; let us sing to his praise, yea, let us give thanks to his holy name, for he doth work righteousness forever.

16 Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.

17 Who could have supposed that our God would have been so merciful...?

This is exactly how I feel. Last night I was reading the Book of Mormon, Alma 26 on our balcony, looking at the fireflies (cute right?) and I was filled with such love and thanksgiving. I love my mission. Not with love because it was easy but love from God. This past year and a half has been a gift from God that I will never forget. This week was full of tender mercies. It was such a happy week. I'll tell you about a few.

So do you remember Bong Kunthea? She was from English class probably a month ago. I was sitting next to her and asked her if she wanted to learn more. She speaks Vietnamese and Khmer but doesn't know how to read Khmer. So we met her the next day, taught her about God and prayer and gave her a Book of Mormon. We tried to set up a time to meet her again but she said she's busy, doesn't have anything to come to the church. We told her we could go to her house but she said her family doesn't like Jesus people. We have been trying since then to meet her and we thought maybe it was a lost cause. She comes to English class every week and stays for the spiritual thought and has become one of my sweet friends but I just assumed it wasn't her time to learn about the gospel. Anyway, last English class I asked her, “Is there somewhere by your house we could meet?" She said, "Yes I live right by the river side. I will meet you there." She was pretty excited. And we met her and do you know what??? DO YOU KNOW WHAT? She has read until 2 Nephi 2 and she loves it. She remembers so much about Nephi's family and the teachings from the Book of Mormon. Sister Dy and I were just sitting there, astonished, sitting on some wacky coca cola fold chairs by the riverside in KC with a very loud group of neak mings dance exercising next to us listening to Footloose. IT WAS THE BEST. ALSO she came to church. She was only free at 2 so she went to branch 1. We showed her the chapel and sat with her. So this past Sunday, Sister Dy and I took the Sacrament three times and sang all the same hymns too.

ALSO more tender mercies. After much prayer and prayers of others and fasting and trying we were blessed with new investigators this week. This recent returning member has decided to come back to church. We randomly (meaning God's plan) met her and she's determined not to come back alone. Her name is Ming Mi. She loves the missionaries and loves the gospel even though she doesn't know much. So she's inviting her neighbors and relatives to learn as well. So cool. It’s been a joy to get to know her and to experience the happiness of sharing the gospel.

Also yesterday, Sunday was such a sweet day. The Branch President had Elder Walker and me (we're going home next week) stand and bear our testimonies. In the congregation I sat by Neakming KumOn. I looked around as we took the Sacrament and saw her praying, her lips moving. I looked a couple rows ahead and saw cute little Ceriya doing the same. And so many other friends. I love the people here and I love the members. I've been filled with love, charity and humility and thanksgiving.

Thinking about leaving Cambodia tears my heart apart. I love the people. They have taught me much more about Christ than I could ever teach them and for that I am forever thankful. I'm thankful for these next 10 days to share the gospel with a happy heart.

Also Sister Dy is one of my favorite people. She is so cute. Also for language study I usually tell her stories and she picks out words she doesn't know. I've been running out of stories so I steal plots from Disney movies. Anyway, Sister Dy is super mad that Dory and Marlyn don't fall in love. Have a happy week. If you're not reading the Book of Mormon, you should.

Have a great week.

Love always,

Sister Mortell