Sunday September 24, 2017 at 9:11PM
We had a sweet miracle that happened yesterday. We tried to meet up with the investigators we planned, however our plans feel through. As we were leaving the area, this huge chunk of fish jerky fell almost on me. I looked up and saw a young girl saying "Dang it, my fish jerky fell! Hah it was hilarious. I picked it up for her but then dropped it again because it was so slippery! I dropped it in the mud and man I felt so bad! Well she came down to get it from me and I remembered how we both laughed so hard. I spoke with her more and introduced ourselves. We had asked if we could meet with her mother and visit her apartment right then. She replied with such an inviting yes! We got in the room, and saw her mother sitting in the hammock. We spent a while listening to the stories of life and the burdens that she has been carrying. We spoke and shared the love that God has for her! We taught the truth of divinity of our living Godhead. As times passes by, she had set aside the things she had on her lap and even lowered herself to come down and sit with us! It was then when I felt most of her heart opening to receive our message! Her daughter listened intently while holding the Book of Mormon. The mother had told us that she had been looking for "plans" in her life and seeking to understand what it is she needed to do. The house was just only her daughter and her and she had been trying to make ends meet. I realized how in the midst of listening I started to feel this sincere love for her daughter. These are complete strangers we came across with but to listen to her and how open her heart was to the message of the Gospel. We invited her to church that very day and her daughter and her came! It was so sweet.
"For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole" -Mark 5
I remember reading a talk about drawing the power of the Savior in our lives by Elder Nelson and how sweet the message that was embedded in the talk was. The healing that Christ has performed wasn't just specifically for that woman, but it is a power that transcends and resonates to even today. For the woman who has been seeking to be healed for years, in her hopeless state, it is her last resort to seek for healing, or evermore so as stated, she reached for the savior's power of healing. I know this work to be true, there is such joy if we give our hearts to the Lord. I am, like those around me, realizing more about the Nature of God and as well as realizing how my own nature is changing in the act of giving my heart to those around me.
With love and gratitude,
Sis. Sok
Oh, the Places You'll Go! .........Sophia in Cambodia
Friday, September 29, 2017
The Miles to Church
Sunday September 17, 2017 at 11:09PM
Hello Brothers and Sisters,
I hope you are all doing well. I send my love to you all! Steung Meachey is a great area. We have been witnessing a few miracles here and there and much humbling experiences that touched many hearts all around. I just wanted to share a short but sweet testimony that Christ lives, everyday of my life, He truly does. I get to witness His living divinity everyday through the sacrifices of others and how their lives have changed! With my utmost conviction, lives are changing and it is a blessing to be a part of the experiences. There is nothing better than to share the Love I have for Christ and to spend this 1 year and half serving Christ each and everyday. It is a blessing that is so absolutely raw and natural, the blessing of being loved and being full of His love, the blessing of giving all of your heart and wanting nothing back, but the pure joy of those who received of His love. My companion and I were able to witness an experience where 3 groups of our family investigators, 2 walked miles to church after having one of the children experienced a painful accident in the morning and the other family still sacrificed to come even knowing that they are very sick. It brings me much tears of joy as we saw them crossing the road and us running to greet them and crossing the road with them. Christ's atonement and His absolute strength inspire many lives in this world! Truly, I was able to experience the verse in the scriptures "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. "-John 15:13.
1) A family we are teaching.
2) My new comp, Sister Thouk.
3) Saying goodbye to my old area in Toul Tompong.
Sorry if it is out of order.
With much love and gratitude,
Sister Sok
Hello Brothers and Sisters,
I hope you are all doing well. I send my love to you all! Steung Meachey is a great area. We have been witnessing a few miracles here and there and much humbling experiences that touched many hearts all around. I just wanted to share a short but sweet testimony that Christ lives, everyday of my life, He truly does. I get to witness His living divinity everyday through the sacrifices of others and how their lives have changed! With my utmost conviction, lives are changing and it is a blessing to be a part of the experiences. There is nothing better than to share the Love I have for Christ and to spend this 1 year and half serving Christ each and everyday. It is a blessing that is so absolutely raw and natural, the blessing of being loved and being full of His love, the blessing of giving all of your heart and wanting nothing back, but the pure joy of those who received of His love. My companion and I were able to witness an experience where 3 groups of our family investigators, 2 walked miles to church after having one of the children experienced a painful accident in the morning and the other family still sacrificed to come even knowing that they are very sick. It brings me much tears of joy as we saw them crossing the road and us running to greet them and crossing the road with them. Christ's atonement and His absolute strength inspire many lives in this world! Truly, I was able to experience the verse in the scriptures "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. "-John 15:13.
1) A family we are teaching.
2) My new comp, Sister Thouk.
3) Saying goodbye to my old area in Toul Tompong.
Sorry if it is out of order.
With much love and gratitude,
Sister Sok
The Door Happened to be Open
Monday September 11, 2017 at 12:08AM
Hello Hello Hello!
Whooff, I don't even know where to start! This week has been really good, full of miracles. The last few days in the area I previously served were remarkable, full of the Lord's tender mercies. It was the last appointment of the night and my companion and I took the leap to see our member at her house. She is the only member of the family ( she requested to not see her at her house). Well, we had this prompting to say goodbye to our member at her house (to say some last few words and thank her), even knowing that her family would be at there ,as well. We came to the door and thinking, well hah I am not sure if we are going to be chased with a knife or an ax, and so we braced ourselves! However, right as we got to the door, her mother and sister greeted us with the warmest of smiles and invited us in. We got to know more about her life and right away, a young woman came in and sat next to us. She asked that she wanted to learn more about Jesus Christ. She had had miracles in her life that testifies to her of Christ's living existence. We were in awe. We were so blessed to have the door be opened. The young woman explained how she had been saved by the Lord, how her life has been saved. It was so good to be there that night to hear of her testimony. Man, so good. We taught our member's mother and sister and the young woman about the message of the Restoration and the spirit filled us with such an inviting love.
New Transfer has just started and boy!!! so many learning experiences! The new area is called Steung Meanchey and it is known as a very busy area for people who are striving to make ends meet. It is one of the poorest areas in Cambodia, but but but FULL of many humble souls who are reaching out for the hands of the Lord! I believe missionary work here is going to be so amazing. My new companion is amazing! Her name is Sister Thouk. She just came from the MTC in Manila 4 days ago and she is doing so well! she is a native Khmer. My companion and I are doing very well. One thing I admire about Sister Thouk is that she is very inquisitive, but with sincere intentions for seeking truth. She loves to ask questions regarding all aspect of missionary work. She enjoys learning about the Gospel and growing in the Gospel, as well. I find that her hard work brings both of us to be unified together. It took me by surprise to how well she is doing, in adapting to the over aspect of missionary work. Last week was a bit rough, hah it rained and flooded so much. It was really hard to see the road and became very difficult to try to find one of our investigator's houses. The water nearly came to our knees and my companion rode into this huge rock and fell over. The experience was such a fun journey, though. We missed our landmarks hah and rode for the longest of time, until realizing that we were almost entering another missionaries' boundaries hah whoof!
I love the area, though! The lifestyle for the people here is so difficult for them, I get to see the destitute, poverty each and everyday and it makes me feel so grateful that I am so blessed to have what I have now and to know the many things and acts of love the Good Lord has shown me!
I know with my heart that Christ lives, that the Book of Mormon is true, I know that God loves his children and touches many lives all around the world. I know that my life has changed so much and continues so, because of the Atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. I know this to be true.
With much love and gratitude,
Sister Sok
This is one of the pics with a woman who is learning to change her life for the better, Ming Vanak! She is so kind!
Hello Hello Hello!
Whooff, I don't even know where to start! This week has been really good, full of miracles. The last few days in the area I previously served were remarkable, full of the Lord's tender mercies. It was the last appointment of the night and my companion and I took the leap to see our member at her house. She is the only member of the family ( she requested to not see her at her house). Well, we had this prompting to say goodbye to our member at her house (to say some last few words and thank her), even knowing that her family would be at there ,as well. We came to the door and thinking, well hah I am not sure if we are going to be chased with a knife or an ax, and so we braced ourselves! However, right as we got to the door, her mother and sister greeted us with the warmest of smiles and invited us in. We got to know more about her life and right away, a young woman came in and sat next to us. She asked that she wanted to learn more about Jesus Christ. She had had miracles in her life that testifies to her of Christ's living existence. We were in awe. We were so blessed to have the door be opened. The young woman explained how she had been saved by the Lord, how her life has been saved. It was so good to be there that night to hear of her testimony. Man, so good. We taught our member's mother and sister and the young woman about the message of the Restoration and the spirit filled us with such an inviting love.
New Transfer has just started and boy!!! so many learning experiences! The new area is called Steung Meanchey and it is known as a very busy area for people who are striving to make ends meet. It is one of the poorest areas in Cambodia, but but but FULL of many humble souls who are reaching out for the hands of the Lord! I believe missionary work here is going to be so amazing. My new companion is amazing! Her name is Sister Thouk. She just came from the MTC in Manila 4 days ago and she is doing so well! she is a native Khmer. My companion and I are doing very well. One thing I admire about Sister Thouk is that she is very inquisitive, but with sincere intentions for seeking truth. She loves to ask questions regarding all aspect of missionary work. She enjoys learning about the Gospel and growing in the Gospel, as well. I find that her hard work brings both of us to be unified together. It took me by surprise to how well she is doing, in adapting to the over aspect of missionary work. Last week was a bit rough, hah it rained and flooded so much. It was really hard to see the road and became very difficult to try to find one of our investigator's houses. The water nearly came to our knees and my companion rode into this huge rock and fell over. The experience was such a fun journey, though. We missed our landmarks hah and rode for the longest of time, until realizing that we were almost entering another missionaries' boundaries hah whoof!
I love the area, though! The lifestyle for the people here is so difficult for them, I get to see the destitute, poverty each and everyday and it makes me feel so grateful that I am so blessed to have what I have now and to know the many things and acts of love the Good Lord has shown me!
I know with my heart that Christ lives, that the Book of Mormon is true, I know that God loves his children and touches many lives all around the world. I know that my life has changed so much and continues so, because of the Atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. I know this to be true.
With much love and gratitude,
Sister Sok
This is one of the pics with a woman who is learning to change her life for the better, Ming Vanak! She is so kind!
The Dark Alley Way
Sunday September 3, 2017 at 9:33PM
Hello Hello Hello!
A particular experience that I would like to share is one of last week. At the end of a day, a couple of the lessons fell through. I remember praying really hard with my companion for the Lord to help us grow in the experience and to specifically meet someone the Lord wants us to share the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with. We felt OK to go on with the potential investigator we were going to visit. Then as I got on my bike and rode forward with our member for about for 4 secs, I heard my companion's voice to stop. She had felt that we needed to visit this lady's salon place, which was through this dark alley way. When we got there, her shop had already been closed for that night. The dark, gloomy alley way was not lit at all, accept for one house, one house at the end of the alley. There was a woman cooking fish outside of her house. She socialized with her for a bit and she invited us in her house to meet her husband, as well. I know that the spirit of the Lord was there. I bear my testimony that what had happened in the house in that dark alley had helped me build my testimony in the Lord Jesus Christ. I remembered the man asking us a question of which I myself in my knowledge couldn't answer, yet the Spirit of the Lord quickened my response. I know that the experience strengthened my member help and my companion, whether they did not accept our message of the Gospel.
Thus far in the mission, I have learned that the certain trials in my life that have been accessed by the power of the Atonement become gifts/empowering instruments of experiences to use in the prospective challenges to help me grow. The past trials are molded as the leveraging tools for the next journey that I will take part in. The mission truly is the Lord's time and influence of your personal conversion. Whether the miracles that you have witnessed is to be accepted through others or not, whether the bearing out of your heart to fill others' is rejected or not, I believe that the process of doing so is the very testimony that Christ lives, the testimony that I know for myself. It truly is that process of how the spirit bears to me the witness of the truth and the process of the sanctifying change in myself, in offering up my brokenness, and partaking of the broken bread, and living water of Christ, so that I can continually be made whole.
We had just received our new transfer call last night. I am going to whitewash a new area, called Steung Meanchey and training a new missionary there. She is in the MTC right now, but getting ready to depart soon! I am really excited for the next journey! Oh the places we will go!
A family home evening with one of our investigators' fam.
Hello Hello Hello!
A particular experience that I would like to share is one of last week. At the end of a day, a couple of the lessons fell through. I remember praying really hard with my companion for the Lord to help us grow in the experience and to specifically meet someone the Lord wants us to share the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with. We felt OK to go on with the potential investigator we were going to visit. Then as I got on my bike and rode forward with our member for about for 4 secs, I heard my companion's voice to stop. She had felt that we needed to visit this lady's salon place, which was through this dark alley way. When we got there, her shop had already been closed for that night. The dark, gloomy alley way was not lit at all, accept for one house, one house at the end of the alley. There was a woman cooking fish outside of her house. She socialized with her for a bit and she invited us in her house to meet her husband, as well. I know that the spirit of the Lord was there. I bear my testimony that what had happened in the house in that dark alley had helped me build my testimony in the Lord Jesus Christ. I remembered the man asking us a question of which I myself in my knowledge couldn't answer, yet the Spirit of the Lord quickened my response. I know that the experience strengthened my member help and my companion, whether they did not accept our message of the Gospel.
Thus far in the mission, I have learned that the certain trials in my life that have been accessed by the power of the Atonement become gifts/empowering instruments of experiences to use in the prospective challenges to help me grow. The past trials are molded as the leveraging tools for the next journey that I will take part in. The mission truly is the Lord's time and influence of your personal conversion. Whether the miracles that you have witnessed is to be accepted through others or not, whether the bearing out of your heart to fill others' is rejected or not, I believe that the process of doing so is the very testimony that Christ lives, the testimony that I know for myself. It truly is that process of how the spirit bears to me the witness of the truth and the process of the sanctifying change in myself, in offering up my brokenness, and partaking of the broken bread, and living water of Christ, so that I can continually be made whole.
We had just received our new transfer call last night. I am going to whitewash a new area, called Steung Meanchey and training a new missionary there. She is in the MTC right now, but getting ready to depart soon! I am really excited for the next journey! Oh the places we will go!
A family home evening with one of our investigators' fam.
Friday, September 1, 2017
The picture book: The Maker
Sunday August 27, 2017 at 8:12PM
I absolutely love this labor. I love God and I am so grateful for the continuous Light He is bringing in my life and the lives around us. My growth in the mission each and everyday has been rooted from the pure and raw love of how the people here are willing to sacrifice because they love Jesus Christ. It is not stressful anymore when the small and simple things you do becomes so natural, because it is out of love. The beauty of God's plan is to feel His love, to feel, to see, and to sense all sorts of emotions to understand our divine identity and truth. My job is really to bring back the love that has been ostracized from years of oppression and darkness. To bring light through love. It's becoming more and more natural. All because of the power of God. One of my best friends had said that "true love is not about what others can give you, because you're empty, it's about what you can give others because you are already full, full with the pure love of Jesus Christ." Just to wake up everyday feeling full and to have that desire to share what makes you happy. God truly is good.
Recently we taught this wonderful woman and her grandchild about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My companion and I were always looking forward to hear her sweet prayer at the end of the lesson. Man, it is truly something. Every time she prays she puts repentance into work. She's start out with addressing Heavenly Father and then the second point would " I am a child of God". She would go on to ask God to continuously help her offer her sins, so she could change. AS she puts it "to wash me clean everyday as I do what you tell me to do". It was so sincere. I can't fully the describe the way she puts her words and heart into it. I mean we are talking about a woman who has lost everyone in her family, even her first husband. It makes me think about the story that Pres. Uchtdorf mentioned in his talk "The Hope of God's Light". I feel that the Khmer people are still suffering from that history darkness, where the expression of love is faded, where the light in their lives is so dim, where years and history of abuse dictates their destiny. It is so much that yes, in order to protect themselves, they rather choose to stop feeling. However, there is hope and hope brings back light and a freedom to choose for themselves to "pursue that happiness" and to understand our true worth and to realize that worth directly from our Maker.
I love you all and thank you for the love you have sent me!
With much love and gratitude,
Sister Sok
Attached is a pic of a senior missionary, Sister Jones. This is from a conference that happened last week. It was regarding international religious relations, where the Loas ambassadors and many other church denominations leaders came to visit our church. My mission president had asked me to do a quick exchange with another missionary to join in and be a part of the representatives. It was a really nice experience. I got to go in the Family History Center and showed them more about family history work. They toured the church building and it was a really neat experience to bring more of missionary work to the Loas people!
This is my testimony in the Khmer language!
ខ្ញុំស្រលាញ់ម្ដាយខ្លាំងណាស់! ខ្ញុំបានរៀនសូត្រច្រើនណាស់ពីប្រជាជនរបស់ខ្ញុំនៅកម្ពុជា! ខ្ញុំបានរៀនអំពីការបន្ទាបខ្លួននិងសប្បុរសធម៌។ ខ្ញុំបានដឹងពីការឈឺចាប់របស់អ្នកដទៃនិងវិធីជួយព្យាបាលការខូចខាតជីវិតរបស់ពួកគេ។ ប្រជាជនខ្មែរពិតជាអស្ចារ្យណាស់! ពួកគេបានបង្រៀនខ្ញុំយ៉ាងច្រើនអំពីសេចក្ដីស្រឡាញ់សូម្បីតែអ្នកដែលក្រីក្រឬអ្នកមាន។ សេចក្ដីស្រឡាញ់គឺនៅជុំវិញយើង!
I absolutely love this labor. I love God and I am so grateful for the continuous Light He is bringing in my life and the lives around us. My growth in the mission each and everyday has been rooted from the pure and raw love of how the people here are willing to sacrifice because they love Jesus Christ. It is not stressful anymore when the small and simple things you do becomes so natural, because it is out of love. The beauty of God's plan is to feel His love, to feel, to see, and to sense all sorts of emotions to understand our divine identity and truth. My job is really to bring back the love that has been ostracized from years of oppression and darkness. To bring light through love. It's becoming more and more natural. All because of the power of God. One of my best friends had said that "true love is not about what others can give you, because you're empty, it's about what you can give others because you are already full, full with the pure love of Jesus Christ." Just to wake up everyday feeling full and to have that desire to share what makes you happy. God truly is good.
Recently we taught this wonderful woman and her grandchild about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My companion and I were always looking forward to hear her sweet prayer at the end of the lesson. Man, it is truly something. Every time she prays she puts repentance into work. She's start out with addressing Heavenly Father and then the second point would " I am a child of God". She would go on to ask God to continuously help her offer her sins, so she could change. AS she puts it "to wash me clean everyday as I do what you tell me to do". It was so sincere. I can't fully the describe the way she puts her words and heart into it. I mean we are talking about a woman who has lost everyone in her family, even her first husband. It makes me think about the story that Pres. Uchtdorf mentioned in his talk "The Hope of God's Light". I feel that the Khmer people are still suffering from that history darkness, where the expression of love is faded, where the light in their lives is so dim, where years and history of abuse dictates their destiny. It is so much that yes, in order to protect themselves, they rather choose to stop feeling. However, there is hope and hope brings back light and a freedom to choose for themselves to "pursue that happiness" and to understand our true worth and to realize that worth directly from our Maker.
I love you all and thank you for the love you have sent me!
With much love and gratitude,
Sister Sok
Attached is a pic of a senior missionary, Sister Jones. This is from a conference that happened last week. It was regarding international religious relations, where the Loas ambassadors and many other church denominations leaders came to visit our church. My mission president had asked me to do a quick exchange with another missionary to join in and be a part of the representatives. It was a really nice experience. I got to go in the Family History Center and showed them more about family history work. They toured the church building and it was a really neat experience to bring more of missionary work to the Loas people!
This is my testimony in the Khmer language!
ខ្ញុំស្រលាញ់ម្ដាយខ្លាំងណាស់! ខ្ញុំបានរៀនសូត្រច្រើនណាស់ពីប្រជាជនរបស់ខ្ញុំនៅកម្ពុជា! ខ្ញុំបានរៀនអំពីការបន្ទាបខ្លួននិងសប្បុរសធម៌។ ខ្ញុំបានដឹងពីការឈឺចាប់របស់អ្នកដទៃនិងវិធីជួយព្យាបាលការខូចខាតជីវិតរបស់ពួកគេ។ ប្រជាជនខ្មែរពិតជាអស្ចារ្យណាស់! ពួកគេបានបង្រៀនខ្ញុំយ៉ាងច្រើនអំពីសេចក្ដីស្រឡាញ់សូម្បីតែអ្នកដែលក្រីក្រឬអ្នកមាន។ សេចក្ដីស្រឡាញ់គឺនៅជុំវិញយើង!
"In Christ Alone"
Sunday August 20, 2017 at 8:54PM
Hello Hello Hello!
Cambodia has been such a blessing in my life. It is beautiful in many ways, ways I can't even express. The humility of those around me is astounding. I just want to be with them for as long as I can.
On Monday, we got to teach this down-to earth young woman. She used to live in New Zealand and obtained her education their. However her uncle had passed away, from a hiking accident,
making it not possible for her to stay in the country without his support. She came back and a few months later, he brother had passed away. When we entered her house, I can't quite explain it but there is this overwhelming love in the house. We were teaching her on the restoration that evening. She had her bible and had opened to James 1:5. While turning to the pages, I realized that there was a picture of her uncle standing on top on the snow mountains of New Zealand. It was a memoir/ program for his passing away. We asked if we could take his picture out of the scriptures and to look at it. I decided to place it on the center of we were sitting on the floor. More and more, we felt this great peace around us as we continued to teach her about the profound truth of the Restoration. It was like the spirit of her uncle was there, right there with us, touching his niece's heart to greater truths. At the end of the lesson, I glanced at pamphlet program of her uncle's and realized that the closing song was in "In Christ Alone". Oh my, that is one of my favorite songs. We asked her if we could sing together. An even such a greater spirit entered our hearts. The room was gloomy and so peaceful. I learned more that day, that love is kind, it is all around me, all around us. I know that Christ lives,with all of my heart. I know this to be true.
Every Wednesday, we'd go on a quick visit before lunch to this cute elderly woman's house. Man, she is the sweetest! She does not have any family members and lives in a house all by herself. She has this crazy cat, that has the same name as my last name. Crazy. But she is one of the strongest members of the Gospel. Well, last weekend, we went ahead to do her dishes and help her clean the house, man she got feisty, but in a cute way. We left and came back the next week to her telling us how mad she was that we served her by cleaning her house. She told us that she is a capable independent woman and the one thing she is not capable of is reading. Her eyes are not as clear, making it difficult for her to read.
She told us that we serve her enough! She wants to be independent and the only request she wanted from us missionaries was to read the scriptures for her. It amazes how this old woman, in her 90s is able to take care of herself and is able to work and make a living. She is so inspiring and all that she ever wanted us to do is for us to share the Word of God with her. That would fulfill her life! She doesn't need us to clean dishes, not the house, or feed her cat, nor cut up potatoes for her to sell, but to just sit down with her and read the plain and precious truths to remind her of her divine identity,as a daughter of God. That is all she ever wanted once a week. It was so cute.
Last Sat., we felt this prompting to call a potential investigator. We tried to call her again and again, but she never answered her phone until that morning. We found out that her husband had
to be emergency transported to Vietnam, because he had suffered a stroke. She was crying on the telephone and we couldn't hear her clearly. We asked if we could visit her before she goes to Vietnam to see her husband. She accepted the request. When we got to her house, we found her looking so frail and scared. We sat down and literally the whole lesson, she was begging for God to heal her husband. She was so desperate. She did not have enough money to go see her husband, let alone find enough money to save his life. She was so desperate to find enough food to feed her children. My heart broke. I just didn't know what to do. We sat there and looked at her beautiful eyes, as
they were constantly filled with tears. We shared her a message of hope and prayed together. Right after, she told us, Sisters I feel that God is telling me that everything is OK, He will take care of my husband. Man, there was this sweet relieve that entered my heart! My companion and I were so overwhelmed of that experience! The Love of God is great!
This is all that I have for this week! I pray and hope you have a wonderful week!
With much Love and Gratitude,
Sister Sok
Attached is a funny picture of our mission Family. Me, sitting right next to my companion, Sister Smith (in the long white dress at the end of the row)
Hello Hello Hello!
Cambodia has been such a blessing in my life. It is beautiful in many ways, ways I can't even express. The humility of those around me is astounding. I just want to be with them for as long as I can.
On Monday, we got to teach this down-to earth young woman. She used to live in New Zealand and obtained her education their. However her uncle had passed away, from a hiking accident,
making it not possible for her to stay in the country without his support. She came back and a few months later, he brother had passed away. When we entered her house, I can't quite explain it but there is this overwhelming love in the house. We were teaching her on the restoration that evening. She had her bible and had opened to James 1:5. While turning to the pages, I realized that there was a picture of her uncle standing on top on the snow mountains of New Zealand. It was a memoir/ program for his passing away. We asked if we could take his picture out of the scriptures and to look at it. I decided to place it on the center of we were sitting on the floor. More and more, we felt this great peace around us as we continued to teach her about the profound truth of the Restoration. It was like the spirit of her uncle was there, right there with us, touching his niece's heart to greater truths. At the end of the lesson, I glanced at pamphlet program of her uncle's and realized that the closing song was in "In Christ Alone". Oh my, that is one of my favorite songs. We asked her if we could sing together. An even such a greater spirit entered our hearts. The room was gloomy and so peaceful. I learned more that day, that love is kind, it is all around me, all around us. I know that Christ lives,with all of my heart. I know this to be true.
Every Wednesday, we'd go on a quick visit before lunch to this cute elderly woman's house. Man, she is the sweetest! She does not have any family members and lives in a house all by herself. She has this crazy cat, that has the same name as my last name. Crazy. But she is one of the strongest members of the Gospel. Well, last weekend, we went ahead to do her dishes and help her clean the house, man she got feisty, but in a cute way. We left and came back the next week to her telling us how mad she was that we served her by cleaning her house. She told us that she is a capable independent woman and the one thing she is not capable of is reading. Her eyes are not as clear, making it difficult for her to read.
She told us that we serve her enough! She wants to be independent and the only request she wanted from us missionaries was to read the scriptures for her. It amazes how this old woman, in her 90s is able to take care of herself and is able to work and make a living. She is so inspiring and all that she ever wanted us to do is for us to share the Word of God with her. That would fulfill her life! She doesn't need us to clean dishes, not the house, or feed her cat, nor cut up potatoes for her to sell, but to just sit down with her and read the plain and precious truths to remind her of her divine identity,as a daughter of God. That is all she ever wanted once a week. It was so cute.
Last Sat., we felt this prompting to call a potential investigator. We tried to call her again and again, but she never answered her phone until that morning. We found out that her husband had
to be emergency transported to Vietnam, because he had suffered a stroke. She was crying on the telephone and we couldn't hear her clearly. We asked if we could visit her before she goes to Vietnam to see her husband. She accepted the request. When we got to her house, we found her looking so frail and scared. We sat down and literally the whole lesson, she was begging for God to heal her husband. She was so desperate. She did not have enough money to go see her husband, let alone find enough money to save his life. She was so desperate to find enough food to feed her children. My heart broke. I just didn't know what to do. We sat there and looked at her beautiful eyes, as
they were constantly filled with tears. We shared her a message of hope and prayed together. Right after, she told us, Sisters I feel that God is telling me that everything is OK, He will take care of my husband. Man, there was this sweet relieve that entered my heart! My companion and I were so overwhelmed of that experience! The Love of God is great!
This is all that I have for this week! I pray and hope you have a wonderful week!
With much Love and Gratitude,
Sister Sok
Attached is a funny picture of our mission Family. Me, sitting right next to my companion, Sister Smith (in the long white dress at the end of the row)
"All that my Heart Desires"
Sunday August 13, 2017 at 9:42PM
Hello,
Life in Cambodia has taught me much, every single day. I get to see new faces and work with different types of people, of different types of life backgrounds, and it is interesting to see how their upbringings have made them the person they are today. Traditions and religious backgrounds have such an influence on a person. It influences their choices in life and each facet on how they want to live their lives.
I got in contact with and taught this woman. She has been raised as a Buddhist for all of her life. Different forms/ branches of religious practices from Buddhist traditions have had such an influence in her perspective of respect and change. If that makes sense. Her past traditions has been instilled in her mind for so long that it becomes really difficult for her to have that change of heart to feel free. She had told us how afraid she is for change and that she is too old to change her life. It is so sad. However, what I have noticed here is that though the older generation of people ( back from the Khmer Rouge era), have a difficult time to change their beliefs, they still want their children to learn about the Gospel so their lives can be better than what their ancestors had gone through. It is quite interesting.
Sunday was so amazing. Cambodia has just dedicated a new stake. We now have 4 stakes in the country!
Also on Sunday, we planned to teach an investigator whose sister had just been baptized. We had planned to meet her at the church, but got a phone call saying that they are trying their best to get ready for the lesson and church but could not get everything ready on time. We offered to come to their house and help them prepare. Oh man, it was the cutest. Just the 2 sisters living together. Makes me think of Mary and Martha. Well anyway, we helped them build a rat trap and cleaned up a bit before we taught the younger sister a lesson. I felt really happy helping them getting ready. It was just really neat.
Also, we recently visited family who used to learn about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Some of the children in the family got separated and only one of the children is a member and she had moved away. We tried to find their house, but found out that they have moved to another area. The neighbor directed us to their new house. Turns out, the wife ( who is a member of the church) in the family had recently passed away due to an illness. We were invited in and the father has just walked in (from work). He is so humble. He sat in with us and for the first time in a while, he prayed with us. He even invited his children to pray with us. We met up with his daughter the next day. I remember asking her a question and I remember how her response had touched my heart deeply. All that that young woman wanted was to feel of her mother's love ,again. That was it. That was all of her desire. oh my, I remember how the light of Christ starts to shine out as she prayed with us. She walked away, and by the corner of my eyes, we saw an old woman sitting at the edge of a wooden bed. She had told us how hopeless the family is ever since her mother of the family passed away. I remember the old woman telling us how hopeless they are. Man, we are going to give it our all to help this family. I love that the start of a conversion is absolutely through the brokenness of one's life, from a state of hopelessness to hope again. To ask the Lord : What is it that I can offer to mend the shattered past so I can start a new life?
“And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart …, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost"(3 Nephi 9: 19-20).
With much love,
Sister Sok
Hello,
Life in Cambodia has taught me much, every single day. I get to see new faces and work with different types of people, of different types of life backgrounds, and it is interesting to see how their upbringings have made them the person they are today. Traditions and religious backgrounds have such an influence on a person. It influences their choices in life and each facet on how they want to live their lives.
I got in contact with and taught this woman. She has been raised as a Buddhist for all of her life. Different forms/ branches of religious practices from Buddhist traditions have had such an influence in her perspective of respect and change. If that makes sense. Her past traditions has been instilled in her mind for so long that it becomes really difficult for her to have that change of heart to feel free. She had told us how afraid she is for change and that she is too old to change her life. It is so sad. However, what I have noticed here is that though the older generation of people ( back from the Khmer Rouge era), have a difficult time to change their beliefs, they still want their children to learn about the Gospel so their lives can be better than what their ancestors had gone through. It is quite interesting.
Sunday was so amazing. Cambodia has just dedicated a new stake. We now have 4 stakes in the country!
Also on Sunday, we planned to teach an investigator whose sister had just been baptized. We had planned to meet her at the church, but got a phone call saying that they are trying their best to get ready for the lesson and church but could not get everything ready on time. We offered to come to their house and help them prepare. Oh man, it was the cutest. Just the 2 sisters living together. Makes me think of Mary and Martha. Well anyway, we helped them build a rat trap and cleaned up a bit before we taught the younger sister a lesson. I felt really happy helping them getting ready. It was just really neat.
Also, we recently visited family who used to learn about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Some of the children in the family got separated and only one of the children is a member and she had moved away. We tried to find their house, but found out that they have moved to another area. The neighbor directed us to their new house. Turns out, the wife ( who is a member of the church) in the family had recently passed away due to an illness. We were invited in and the father has just walked in (from work). He is so humble. He sat in with us and for the first time in a while, he prayed with us. He even invited his children to pray with us. We met up with his daughter the next day. I remember asking her a question and I remember how her response had touched my heart deeply. All that that young woman wanted was to feel of her mother's love ,again. That was it. That was all of her desire. oh my, I remember how the light of Christ starts to shine out as she prayed with us. She walked away, and by the corner of my eyes, we saw an old woman sitting at the edge of a wooden bed. She had told us how hopeless the family is ever since her mother of the family passed away. I remember the old woman telling us how hopeless they are. Man, we are going to give it our all to help this family. I love that the start of a conversion is absolutely through the brokenness of one's life, from a state of hopelessness to hope again. To ask the Lord : What is it that I can offer to mend the shattered past so I can start a new life?
“And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart …, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost"(3 Nephi 9: 19-20).
With much love,
Sister Sok
Ring the bells that still can ring, Forget your perfect offering, There is a crack in everything, That’s how the light gets in.
Sunday August 6, 2017 at 9:41PM
Hello Hello Hello,
It just gets better everyday. I love it here! My comp, Sister Smith is wonderful. So willing to improve, so humble and to change! That is our goal! This week has been so amazing, it was rough but the relief from the exhaustion makes the pain and the trying all worth it. Just miracles after miracles as we strive to consecrate ourselves to our potential and how other's lives are affected by the light of Christ. I love the members are our new area. Last P-Day was filled with a breath of love. My bike broke, because I kept riding it through mud. No wonder. The chains kept breaking down. My comp and I were just riding the struggle bus in trying to find a place to fix it. No one could fix bikes in the area. The miracle of it is that two of the member of the church, sacrificed so much of their day to help us find somewhere I could get it fixed. They are such angels. As hard as we tried, we could not find a place to fix it at a normal price range. We were a bit exhausted going back and forth and getting no result. We then went to this little alley way and prayed. Right after that, we still could not find anyone. I remember my comp and I praying in our heart to just let it be good enough (the bike) to make it through proselyting hours that night! Miraculously as we parked out bikes at the apartment right before going out to proselyte, I started noticing that my bike stopped making the weird noises and the things that seemed to be broken showed no signs. I was able to ride it just fine! There wasn't any that we really did to fix it physically! We were both so amazed. Man, the Good Lord has given us much.
I have seen many miracles and many lives have been changed because of Christ. I get to see their lives changed. I get to see how hopeless people were to how hopeful they are now, all because they know that they can receive help from God and change to become better. We meet with people whose lives are in the state of despair some due to loss of family. We were teaching a potential investigator, and one of the members in the lesson invited the woman in. I mean we have this elderly woman who does not have anyone in her life at all, her immediate family have all died. She is the lone survivor in the family! The member help straight up asked her to sit down with us. She listened intently. Then tears from her eyes started to pour down and she poured her heart to us, to God. Later that week, we sat down with her one night and told her of what she needed to hear about the Plan of Salvation. As soon as we shared to her that she can meet with her family again and that we can return back to God, there is this hope, Man! the hope that radiated from her that just made me want to to cry because I saw how happy she was. Her life is now filled with light. I know with my heart that there is actual power that comes from God to heal a person if we allow ourselves to choose righteously, to have hope and faith as anchor to the soul, to live for tomorrow to allow the light to shine forth from the cracks from the past, and God will take care of it. I am happy. I am happy to serve those around me.One of the neatest sights to see was when as were going to that area where most of our investigators and the woman live to prepare them and help them get to church, they were already getting ready to go. We owe our thanks to our members who helped our investigators be prepared. It was so beautiful to see her and her grand daughter locking up the house and putting on her flower hat on, getting ready to get on the moto to go to church!
On the way we were so amazed by this member ( the same who introduced us to the elderly woman) she is handicapped and on every Sunday, she would wheelchair herself to church), which is pretty far from where she lives. She would stop every now and then under the shades to rest, but would be so determined to keep going to make it to church on time. It was a miracle for her on that day, because she was so sick the night before, but she felt better that morning and was able to find enough strength to lift herself up onto the wheelchair and to go forth!
Funny Side Story: We have this grandpa who is a member of the church. He would hang out at the stake center all the time and would take baths in the baptismal font. I don't even know where he got the keys to get in! One day, he walked passed us and he was just sooo soaking wet. Haha he always shook our hands and demanded (nicely) that we have to print the pictures he asked us to take with him. It is a little weird!
But anyways, that is all that I have for now!
With much love and gratitude,
Sister Sok
Hello Hello Hello,
It just gets better everyday. I love it here! My comp, Sister Smith is wonderful. So willing to improve, so humble and to change! That is our goal! This week has been so amazing, it was rough but the relief from the exhaustion makes the pain and the trying all worth it. Just miracles after miracles as we strive to consecrate ourselves to our potential and how other's lives are affected by the light of Christ. I love the members are our new area. Last P-Day was filled with a breath of love. My bike broke, because I kept riding it through mud. No wonder. The chains kept breaking down. My comp and I were just riding the struggle bus in trying to find a place to fix it. No one could fix bikes in the area. The miracle of it is that two of the member of the church, sacrificed so much of their day to help us find somewhere I could get it fixed. They are such angels. As hard as we tried, we could not find a place to fix it at a normal price range. We were a bit exhausted going back and forth and getting no result. We then went to this little alley way and prayed. Right after that, we still could not find anyone. I remember my comp and I praying in our heart to just let it be good enough (the bike) to make it through proselyting hours that night! Miraculously as we parked out bikes at the apartment right before going out to proselyte, I started noticing that my bike stopped making the weird noises and the things that seemed to be broken showed no signs. I was able to ride it just fine! There wasn't any that we really did to fix it physically! We were both so amazed. Man, the Good Lord has given us much.
I have seen many miracles and many lives have been changed because of Christ. I get to see their lives changed. I get to see how hopeless people were to how hopeful they are now, all because they know that they can receive help from God and change to become better. We meet with people whose lives are in the state of despair some due to loss of family. We were teaching a potential investigator, and one of the members in the lesson invited the woman in. I mean we have this elderly woman who does not have anyone in her life at all, her immediate family have all died. She is the lone survivor in the family! The member help straight up asked her to sit down with us. She listened intently. Then tears from her eyes started to pour down and she poured her heart to us, to God. Later that week, we sat down with her one night and told her of what she needed to hear about the Plan of Salvation. As soon as we shared to her that she can meet with her family again and that we can return back to God, there is this hope, Man! the hope that radiated from her that just made me want to to cry because I saw how happy she was. Her life is now filled with light. I know with my heart that there is actual power that comes from God to heal a person if we allow ourselves to choose righteously, to have hope and faith as anchor to the soul, to live for tomorrow to allow the light to shine forth from the cracks from the past, and God will take care of it. I am happy. I am happy to serve those around me.One of the neatest sights to see was when as were going to that area where most of our investigators and the woman live to prepare them and help them get to church, they were already getting ready to go. We owe our thanks to our members who helped our investigators be prepared. It was so beautiful to see her and her grand daughter locking up the house and putting on her flower hat on, getting ready to get on the moto to go to church!
On the way we were so amazed by this member ( the same who introduced us to the elderly woman) she is handicapped and on every Sunday, she would wheelchair herself to church), which is pretty far from where she lives. She would stop every now and then under the shades to rest, but would be so determined to keep going to make it to church on time. It was a miracle for her on that day, because she was so sick the night before, but she felt better that morning and was able to find enough strength to lift herself up onto the wheelchair and to go forth!
Funny Side Story: We have this grandpa who is a member of the church. He would hang out at the stake center all the time and would take baths in the baptismal font. I don't even know where he got the keys to get in! One day, he walked passed us and he was just sooo soaking wet. Haha he always shook our hands and demanded (nicely) that we have to print the pictures he asked us to take with him. It is a little weird!
But anyways, that is all that I have for now!
With much love and gratitude,
Sister Sok
Oh man I am falling in love with Cambodia!
Sunday July 30, 2017 at 10:22PM
Hi oh my hi!
Things are going really well here!
Cambodia is so great! I love it so much. The people here are wonderful! Each day in this country makes me think of how blessed I am. Each night that I'd kneel down to pray, I can see the growth of love the people we teach have for the Lord. It is so great! My comp and I have been going in houses where we rarely don't even have enough room to sit together on the floor. We went to this cute grandma house,Mak Yey. Oh man,she's the cutest. She has a cat who has the same name as my last name. So it gets a little confusing in the lessons to differentiate if she is yelling at me or the cat. The room is as small as my closet back home. Yet,I am blessed to see the smile she has every time as she sees us entering her refuge!
The ward and its members are very helpful in assisting us in missionary work. The BM member/group are wonderful. They are full of light and are so eager to assist us in whitewashing the area. One of the return missionaries in the area took us to the bishop's house and we introduced ourselves to the family. We plan and hope to have a family home evening with one of the BM's family members (who are promising potential investigators).
The first time we arrived in the new house, we decided to go through the CBR and teaching records that the previous missionaries prepare for us. We were both so amazed at how much preparation the previous missionaries had put in to help us get more acquainted with the members, the investigators,and less-actives. There were updated information that helped ease us in the work. So for that,we are very grateful! For the first hour of being at the house, we decided to start calling the BM members and the bishop to introduce ourselves and what we look forward to in the work in which we both needed help with and the plans we hope to achieve to help establish the church in Toul Tom Pong. The whitewashing is going great!
We have been shown to many members' houses and as well as the roads to potential investigators by wonderful ward members. Some of the challenges that we face, well at least for me is that, I am no longer in the khets areas, where people are always home and the time and places to meet the people we teach our very convenient. The city area is quite different in terms of their availability/schedules. The people here work, go to school, and try their very best to juggle their lives in a balance manner. Thus, their opportunity to attend church lessens. We have been trying our best to figure out ways to improve our teachings to better attend to their needs,in helping them attend church. We were so blessed with the Spirit inspiring us to perhaps have our investigators attend the sacrament room and sit in to feel the Spirit of the Lord there. We sat there for a few minutes silently listened and tuned in to the serene atmosphere. We sat there and had her close her eyes on the things she wanted to improve on and to repent. I felt the prompting to ask her: " Bong, how do you think you can prepare yourself to feel these sacred feelings more abundantly and what is keeping you back from receiving the baptismal ordinance? It was right then and there where she immediately and without us having to say anything, that she realized she needed to sacrifice to attend church. I believe and hope that her conversion was during the process in which she prays mightily to get some time off from her boss to attend church. Moments before the church,she had given us a call to say that her manager rejected her request. However, at her last remark with the phone call with us, she decided to ask again and to pray that her manager will soften his heart and he absolutely did.
The effort in planning to help our investigators attend church paid off. Moreover, for this young woman, she was able to see and treasure the blessings that come from the power of prayers in strive to sacrifice for the Lord.
With love and gratitude,
Sister Sok
Pictures of a traditional Khmer dance,for Pioneer Day in Toul Tom Pong !
Pictures of past area in Tahkmao!
Hi oh my hi!
Things are going really well here!
Cambodia is so great! I love it so much. The people here are wonderful! Each day in this country makes me think of how blessed I am. Each night that I'd kneel down to pray, I can see the growth of love the people we teach have for the Lord. It is so great! My comp and I have been going in houses where we rarely don't even have enough room to sit together on the floor. We went to this cute grandma house,Mak Yey. Oh man,she's the cutest. She has a cat who has the same name as my last name. So it gets a little confusing in the lessons to differentiate if she is yelling at me or the cat. The room is as small as my closet back home. Yet,I am blessed to see the smile she has every time as she sees us entering her refuge!
The ward and its members are very helpful in assisting us in missionary work. The BM member/group are wonderful. They are full of light and are so eager to assist us in whitewashing the area. One of the return missionaries in the area took us to the bishop's house and we introduced ourselves to the family. We plan and hope to have a family home evening with one of the BM's family members (who are promising potential investigators).
The first time we arrived in the new house, we decided to go through the CBR and teaching records that the previous missionaries prepare for us. We were both so amazed at how much preparation the previous missionaries had put in to help us get more acquainted with the members, the investigators,and less-actives. There were updated information that helped ease us in the work. So for that,we are very grateful! For the first hour of being at the house, we decided to start calling the BM members and the bishop to introduce ourselves and what we look forward to in the work in which we both needed help with and the plans we hope to achieve to help establish the church in Toul Tom Pong. The whitewashing is going great!
We have been shown to many members' houses and as well as the roads to potential investigators by wonderful ward members. Some of the challenges that we face, well at least for me is that, I am no longer in the khets areas, where people are always home and the time and places to meet the people we teach our very convenient. The city area is quite different in terms of their availability/schedules. The people here work, go to school, and try their very best to juggle their lives in a balance manner. Thus, their opportunity to attend church lessens. We have been trying our best to figure out ways to improve our teachings to better attend to their needs,in helping them attend church. We were so blessed with the Spirit inspiring us to perhaps have our investigators attend the sacrament room and sit in to feel the Spirit of the Lord there. We sat there for a few minutes silently listened and tuned in to the serene atmosphere. We sat there and had her close her eyes on the things she wanted to improve on and to repent. I felt the prompting to ask her: " Bong, how do you think you can prepare yourself to feel these sacred feelings more abundantly and what is keeping you back from receiving the baptismal ordinance? It was right then and there where she immediately and without us having to say anything, that she realized she needed to sacrifice to attend church. I believe and hope that her conversion was during the process in which she prays mightily to get some time off from her boss to attend church. Moments before the church,she had given us a call to say that her manager rejected her request. However, at her last remark with the phone call with us, she decided to ask again and to pray that her manager will soften his heart and he absolutely did.
The effort in planning to help our investigators attend church paid off. Moreover, for this young woman, she was able to see and treasure the blessings that come from the power of prayers in strive to sacrifice for the Lord.
With love and gratitude,
Sister Sok
Pictures of a traditional Khmer dance,for Pioneer Day in Toul Tom Pong !
Pictures of past area in Tahkmao!
Friday, July 28, 2017
"Sisters, Please tell me more"
Sunday July 23, 2017 at 8:37PM
Hello Hello
This week has touched me in a level which really brought me closer to my Savior. We met this wonderful woman in her early 30s and my companion and I are amazed at how God has been preparing her to meet Him. Her story is such an inspiration for me. Her conversion is a result of her sacrifice and utmost diligence in trying to give her life to the Lord, Jesus Christ. We first met the woman at church in a different branch in Tahkmao. We contacted her, but I believe she stopped using her phone. She worked in a place where she only makes about 5 dollars a day and she is not permitted to go to church or to meet with the missionaries. Before the job, she had to runaway from her husband because he was so abusive to her. She has a little baby girl who is the heart of her life and is trying to make ends meet to take care of her. We have been praying that God would allow us to meet this woman again. This week, we got a call from her saying that" Sisters, I have given up my job, so I could seek to find my own refuge in what I believe to be most in important in my life, to follow God, I wanted so bad to go to church. She further told us that she could not take care of her child because she wouldn't have enough money. She had prayed to God to find someone who could help her find God. A few weeks later, she met a family, who is a total stranger to her and they had offered her a place to stay. It was such a miracle for her. She prayed again to be able to know which church to attend. She then decided to call us missionaries and asked if we could meet with her.
The moments of teaching this woman helped me draw closer to my Savior. Just listening to her sacrifice and devotion for God. She loves her family so much. We told her about the Plan of Salvation. It was then and there I got a further witness of the truthfulness of God's plan for my life and that woman's life. There was this sweet moment that I wish I could capture forever. The woman had longed to be with her mother who passed away years ago. She has had this burdening guilt that has been dragging her spiritual frame for years and to have known this sweet message, that she could see her mother again. That she could fix her relationship with her mother through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was such a tender experience to know that what God had prepared in our hearts answered the question she longed to be answered for years. I felt like this shadow that had followed her for her whole life up until now, had been swept by the sweet serene light of Christ. I couldn't hold my tears, neither of us could. The next day, we met her she had asked us to teach her again. Our branch president and one of our recent converts had joined in. The spirit was so powerful in the lesson.
I am so grateful to have served in Tahkmao. The good Lord has given me much, much much more than I could ever fathom. Brothers and Sisters, I know Christ lives. I know He does. I get to see his living divinity each and everyday of my life. Nothing is as sweet as knowing that I can live with my family forever. I know He lives and I am even much more closer to Him as I surrender and follow His will to love the people around me. I see that He lives through the beauty of this land, through the beauty of those I meet and the trees and rawness of everything around me. I know He lives, because I am able to give: my talents, my love, my all, and through the Grace of God; other's lives are changing.
Training and serving in this area has been a memory of a lifetime. I have absolutely learned and was able to improve much during this journey. I am evermore closer to my savior.It's crazy how time flies, almost a year in the mission now. I am being transferred to white wash this area called Tul Tompung with my new companion, Sister Smith.
With love and gratitude,
Sister Sok
Pumping water at this lady's house. She got really sick, so we had to help carry buckets of water.
Pioneer Day!
Hello Hello
This week has touched me in a level which really brought me closer to my Savior. We met this wonderful woman in her early 30s and my companion and I are amazed at how God has been preparing her to meet Him. Her story is such an inspiration for me. Her conversion is a result of her sacrifice and utmost diligence in trying to give her life to the Lord, Jesus Christ. We first met the woman at church in a different branch in Tahkmao. We contacted her, but I believe she stopped using her phone. She worked in a place where she only makes about 5 dollars a day and she is not permitted to go to church or to meet with the missionaries. Before the job, she had to runaway from her husband because he was so abusive to her. She has a little baby girl who is the heart of her life and is trying to make ends meet to take care of her. We have been praying that God would allow us to meet this woman again. This week, we got a call from her saying that" Sisters, I have given up my job, so I could seek to find my own refuge in what I believe to be most in important in my life, to follow God, I wanted so bad to go to church. She further told us that she could not take care of her child because she wouldn't have enough money. She had prayed to God to find someone who could help her find God. A few weeks later, she met a family, who is a total stranger to her and they had offered her a place to stay. It was such a miracle for her. She prayed again to be able to know which church to attend. She then decided to call us missionaries and asked if we could meet with her.
The moments of teaching this woman helped me draw closer to my Savior. Just listening to her sacrifice and devotion for God. She loves her family so much. We told her about the Plan of Salvation. It was then and there I got a further witness of the truthfulness of God's plan for my life and that woman's life. There was this sweet moment that I wish I could capture forever. The woman had longed to be with her mother who passed away years ago. She has had this burdening guilt that has been dragging her spiritual frame for years and to have known this sweet message, that she could see her mother again. That she could fix her relationship with her mother through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was such a tender experience to know that what God had prepared in our hearts answered the question she longed to be answered for years. I felt like this shadow that had followed her for her whole life up until now, had been swept by the sweet serene light of Christ. I couldn't hold my tears, neither of us could. The next day, we met her she had asked us to teach her again. Our branch president and one of our recent converts had joined in. The spirit was so powerful in the lesson.
I am so grateful to have served in Tahkmao. The good Lord has given me much, much much more than I could ever fathom. Brothers and Sisters, I know Christ lives. I know He does. I get to see his living divinity each and everyday of my life. Nothing is as sweet as knowing that I can live with my family forever. I know He lives and I am even much more closer to Him as I surrender and follow His will to love the people around me. I see that He lives through the beauty of this land, through the beauty of those I meet and the trees and rawness of everything around me. I know He lives, because I am able to give: my talents, my love, my all, and through the Grace of God; other's lives are changing.
Training and serving in this area has been a memory of a lifetime. I have absolutely learned and was able to improve much during this journey. I am evermore closer to my savior.It's crazy how time flies, almost a year in the mission now. I am being transferred to white wash this area called Tul Tompung with my new companion, Sister Smith.
With love and gratitude,
Sister Sok
Pumping water at this lady's house. She got really sick, so we had to help carry buckets of water.
Pioneer Day!
Oh my hello!
Sunday July 16, 2017 at 10:53PM
A few pics of Cambodia. My comp and I would stop to eat our meal and rest at this riverside in Tahkmao. It's so beautiful!
A few pics of Cambodia. My comp and I would stop to eat our meal and rest at this riverside in Tahkmao. It's so beautiful!
To love them from a different place
Sunday July 9, 2017 at 10:55PM
Hello,
Thank you for your love and letters. I'm not quite sure on what to type out, since there are so many thoughts running around like squirrels on steroids right now. However, I'm standing firm to say that I am absolutely grateful to be serving in a place so far off the distance from where my parents are, yet so close to my heart and blood. In this journey, one of the most difficult of challenges is not from physical pain nor exhaustion, but in the emotional inadequacies in watching someone else suffer. But nevertheless, in this journey, one of the most joyous of experiences is to see Christ lifting them up through it all at the same time. The Grace of God is immeasurable. The Good Lord has given me much and I've never felt so so privileged in my life to share others how I feel of the Gospel, how much it has changed me. I stand in awe to witness how much God has changed the lives of those around me. All in all, He lives, the Book of Mormon changed my life, and the Gospel has helped me become a much better person. I came from a small farming, agricultural town in Arizona, not knowing much of God, but the mission has helped me understand so much more of the Nature of God and what He has done in my life and lives of many around me, and what I know to be true. One of the greatest treasures I've witnessed is to love and minister to those from a different place, those of different lives, who walked of different paths in the united purpose of trying to find the living well, of eternal life.
With much love and gratitude,
Sister Sophia Sok
Hello,
Thank you for your love and letters. I'm not quite sure on what to type out, since there are so many thoughts running around like squirrels on steroids right now. However, I'm standing firm to say that I am absolutely grateful to be serving in a place so far off the distance from where my parents are, yet so close to my heart and blood. In this journey, one of the most difficult of challenges is not from physical pain nor exhaustion, but in the emotional inadequacies in watching someone else suffer. But nevertheless, in this journey, one of the most joyous of experiences is to see Christ lifting them up through it all at the same time. The Grace of God is immeasurable. The Good Lord has given me much and I've never felt so so privileged in my life to share others how I feel of the Gospel, how much it has changed me. I stand in awe to witness how much God has changed the lives of those around me. All in all, He lives, the Book of Mormon changed my life, and the Gospel has helped me become a much better person. I came from a small farming, agricultural town in Arizona, not knowing much of God, but the mission has helped me understand so much more of the Nature of God and what He has done in my life and lives of many around me, and what I know to be true. One of the greatest treasures I've witnessed is to love and minister to those from a different place, those of different lives, who walked of different paths in the united purpose of trying to find the living well, of eternal life.
With much love and gratitude,
Sister Sophia Sok
Monday, July 3, 2017
The love she has been searching for: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Sunday July 2, 2017 at 11:09PM
Hello Brothers and Sisters,
This week has been good with Sister Jex and I. I am feeling better and recovering pretty quickly from the accident, I owe it up to God's love and miracle. We went to the city to receive some medical treatment right after. I felt a little uncomfortable to see how modernized everything is. We ate at this pretty modern restaurant and I just had the urge to leave it, because I was just not used to the environment. Having been here for close to a year now and serving in the more rural areas have been making me feel so strange to the city, modern lifestyle. We were eating at this restaurant and the whole time, I kept having this feeling that I shouldn't be there, like I don't deserve this. Many of the people we teach couldn't even afford to buy rice. The whole time, I wanted to go back and eat food in the village with our members and investigators. It sounds corny, but really!
We received a baptism and confirmation last weekend. She is a wonderful recent convert, full of fire in following the Gospel. She is very committed and her actions show so. The moment leading up and during the baptism was spiritually uplifting. Her heart was so filled with the Spirit that she couldn't even find the words to voice out her testimonies verbally. However, I know without a doubt that he spirit testified through her heart. The members in the Sacrament room were filled with tears as they saw her coming back down and immediately collapsed and was just kneeling down on the floor, without being seated at first. My companion and I went to comfort her. She whispered to me "Sister I felt a love I have not felt in a while, I felt of my father's love for me" . It was the love that left her ever since her birth dad left her. The young woman has been looking for her father ever since she was a little girl. She had been separated from him. He had left her and she doesn't even know of his name. Her trials and experiences leading up to her conversion process and knowing of the Church has helped fuel her to seek the Love she has lost both from her birth dad and the LOVE that's from her Father in Heaven. The senior missionaries, members, and our branch president started crying as they gave her a welcome hug. At that moment, she knew that she does have a family who loves her. Before coming to know the church, she had told us of a vision she had as a young girl, of a man dressed in white, standing beside her. He had told her that one day later in her life, she will have the opportunity to join the true church of God. I am blessed to know of how one woman can have such an experience in her life, for such a time as this, to come closer to her Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ. In Romans 8, " Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the daylong; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
For this week, our plan is to help one of the families we are teaching understand the importance of repentance and their sacred steps in coming closer to understanding how baptism is a covenant, continual offering of love between God and His children. I've never had to fight so hard for the salvation of the people we are teaching, especially for this family. I've never had to be so emotionally invested so that they can become a part of God's fold. I feel so much for the love the Savior has for them. I can feel the member's love and support for them! For them to hold on as tight as they can for a better world, for their future families, I can feel the shouts and cheers of God's spirit children, pleading for the family to keep going. The father and his family faced many trials. We went to see how they were doing, but received a note that they had to go and get help from one of their family members in order to receive enough food to eat.
Lately, I have been studying on God's Nature, the influence of light He can have in the lives of his children in Cambodia. Some of the challenges we have faced are in regards to the idea of change from one's comfort zones of traditions and the process of moving away from them. It is soooo uncomfortable for them. My companion and I would always have to remind ourselves to take it slow, change for someone may be slow and gradual according to their circumstances. I feel that the family we are teaching has such a strong desire to be baptized and we are all on their side, combating with them to overcome their challenges in preparing to enter into a covenant with Heavenly Father.
Miracles:
A HUGE Khmer tree fell 2 seconds a head of us, where we could have been seriously injured. But, we stopped right before. So things are good. God is good!
Love,
Sister Sok
Hello Brothers and Sisters,
This week has been good with Sister Jex and I. I am feeling better and recovering pretty quickly from the accident, I owe it up to God's love and miracle. We went to the city to receive some medical treatment right after. I felt a little uncomfortable to see how modernized everything is. We ate at this pretty modern restaurant and I just had the urge to leave it, because I was just not used to the environment. Having been here for close to a year now and serving in the more rural areas have been making me feel so strange to the city, modern lifestyle. We were eating at this restaurant and the whole time, I kept having this feeling that I shouldn't be there, like I don't deserve this. Many of the people we teach couldn't even afford to buy rice. The whole time, I wanted to go back and eat food in the village with our members and investigators. It sounds corny, but really!
We received a baptism and confirmation last weekend. She is a wonderful recent convert, full of fire in following the Gospel. She is very committed and her actions show so. The moment leading up and during the baptism was spiritually uplifting. Her heart was so filled with the Spirit that she couldn't even find the words to voice out her testimonies verbally. However, I know without a doubt that he spirit testified through her heart. The members in the Sacrament room were filled with tears as they saw her coming back down and immediately collapsed and was just kneeling down on the floor, without being seated at first. My companion and I went to comfort her. She whispered to me "Sister I felt a love I have not felt in a while, I felt of my father's love for me" . It was the love that left her ever since her birth dad left her. The young woman has been looking for her father ever since she was a little girl. She had been separated from him. He had left her and she doesn't even know of his name. Her trials and experiences leading up to her conversion process and knowing of the Church has helped fuel her to seek the Love she has lost both from her birth dad and the LOVE that's from her Father in Heaven. The senior missionaries, members, and our branch president started crying as they gave her a welcome hug. At that moment, she knew that she does have a family who loves her. Before coming to know the church, she had told us of a vision she had as a young girl, of a man dressed in white, standing beside her. He had told her that one day later in her life, she will have the opportunity to join the true church of God. I am blessed to know of how one woman can have such an experience in her life, for such a time as this, to come closer to her Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ. In Romans 8, " Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the daylong; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
For this week, our plan is to help one of the families we are teaching understand the importance of repentance and their sacred steps in coming closer to understanding how baptism is a covenant, continual offering of love between God and His children. I've never had to fight so hard for the salvation of the people we are teaching, especially for this family. I've never had to be so emotionally invested so that they can become a part of God's fold. I feel so much for the love the Savior has for them. I can feel the member's love and support for them! For them to hold on as tight as they can for a better world, for their future families, I can feel the shouts and cheers of God's spirit children, pleading for the family to keep going. The father and his family faced many trials. We went to see how they were doing, but received a note that they had to go and get help from one of their family members in order to receive enough food to eat.
Lately, I have been studying on God's Nature, the influence of light He can have in the lives of his children in Cambodia. Some of the challenges we have faced are in regards to the idea of change from one's comfort zones of traditions and the process of moving away from them. It is soooo uncomfortable for them. My companion and I would always have to remind ourselves to take it slow, change for someone may be slow and gradual according to their circumstances. I feel that the family we are teaching has such a strong desire to be baptized and we are all on their side, combating with them to overcome their challenges in preparing to enter into a covenant with Heavenly Father.
Miracles:
A HUGE Khmer tree fell 2 seconds a head of us, where we could have been seriously injured. But, we stopped right before. So things are good. God is good!
Love,
Sister Sok
Could you imagine the way the Savior would look at her?
Sunday June 25, 2017 at 11:48PM
Hello Brothers and Sisters,
Not much time, however I want to bear a sweet testimony that Christ lives. I know this even more so because of the experiences I am going through in this labor of love.
The Khmer people here are beautiful, they are such angels. At times, one lady comes to my mind as lay my head to sleep at night. She has been a member for 15 years. She is in her late 70s and one of the strongest disciples of Christ that I have ever met. Her husband passed away a few years ago. She had endured through many hard times, trials and tribulations of abuse from her children, but what has been keeping this woman going is the love that she had for our Savior and sharing the Gospel. This elderly woman would get up in the morning on every Sunday and walk all around her village to share everyone the Gospel, and inviting them to church. This is the same woman had nothing, but just a povertous house to live and an unbearable income to sustain. Not even having enough for food, but to only share others what she knows makes her happy. Because of her, many people of the village got to meet the missionaries and hear of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I got to be one of those missionaries to blessed to meet her!
I know God lives. I know much more of his power as I serve here, as I wear my heart on my sleeves to give what I know is true and to share the Light of Christ. I found that doing so, makes me realize more of how our Savior would look at those who are penitent, those whose lives have been touched, those around me who would give all that they have! I know this to be true. I am blessed to be apart of seeing, even at the tip of an iceberg, the way the Savior looks at us all, with charity, mercy, and love.
Another miracle that happened this week.
I got into an accident last night. I am OK. The miracle of it is that the guy who had hit me bled and got road rashes, but I did not receive any rashes and no blood! It is a miracle. The guy rode his moto really fast and swerved past my companion, but hit me while trying to correct himself. My bike is broken, but it is being fixed right now. It flipped over and so did I. I rolled over a bit, but I am just sore from knocking my head really hard on the ground and the lower part of my back. We are going to see a chiropractor today to re-align I guess ...my bones, but all is well!
I hope you have a wonderful week and please keep sharing your love to others!
With Love and Gratitude,
Sister Sok
Hello Brothers and Sisters,
Not much time, however I want to bear a sweet testimony that Christ lives. I know this even more so because of the experiences I am going through in this labor of love.
The Khmer people here are beautiful, they are such angels. At times, one lady comes to my mind as lay my head to sleep at night. She has been a member for 15 years. She is in her late 70s and one of the strongest disciples of Christ that I have ever met. Her husband passed away a few years ago. She had endured through many hard times, trials and tribulations of abuse from her children, but what has been keeping this woman going is the love that she had for our Savior and sharing the Gospel. This elderly woman would get up in the morning on every Sunday and walk all around her village to share everyone the Gospel, and inviting them to church. This is the same woman had nothing, but just a povertous house to live and an unbearable income to sustain. Not even having enough for food, but to only share others what she knows makes her happy. Because of her, many people of the village got to meet the missionaries and hear of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I got to be one of those missionaries to blessed to meet her!
I know God lives. I know much more of his power as I serve here, as I wear my heart on my sleeves to give what I know is true and to share the Light of Christ. I found that doing so, makes me realize more of how our Savior would look at those who are penitent, those whose lives have been touched, those around me who would give all that they have! I know this to be true. I am blessed to be apart of seeing, even at the tip of an iceberg, the way the Savior looks at us all, with charity, mercy, and love.
Another miracle that happened this week.
I got into an accident last night. I am OK. The miracle of it is that the guy who had hit me bled and got road rashes, but I did not receive any rashes and no blood! It is a miracle. The guy rode his moto really fast and swerved past my companion, but hit me while trying to correct himself. My bike is broken, but it is being fixed right now. It flipped over and so did I. I rolled over a bit, but I am just sore from knocking my head really hard on the ground and the lower part of my back. We are going to see a chiropractor today to re-align I guess ...my bones, but all is well!
I hope you have a wonderful week and please keep sharing your love to others!
With Love and Gratitude,
Sister Sok
20 Plus Years Ago
Sunday June 18, 2017 at 9:33PM
Hello Brothers and Sisters,
It has been good this week. Life is good here in Cambodia. I am really happy here and there much that goes on in the missionary work in this country.
While attending a Gospel Principles class, a senior sister missionary mentioned something that made me realize how much Christianity has such an impact in the lives of the Khmer people, the culture, and their lifestyles here. It's incredible. She mentioned how if we were to go back twenty years plus ago and ask people who Jesus Christ is, most would not be so familiar with His name, in just hearing the name. However, NOW not only that most have heard of the name Jesus Christ, the Khmer people here have taken upon themselves His sacred name as a covenant for a brighter and better life. His name does not only enter in their ears for a moment, but His name is even more so engraved in their hearts for eternity.
A couple weeks a go I got to visit the genocide museum a little way far off the city of Tahkmao. It took a lot of emotional investment to see the unfathomable cruel acts of humanity. One man, one leader and his corrupted, atrocious mind had killed nearly 3 million people. The persuasion of an evil mind has scarred such a negative impact in so many lives. If we were just to think if this man has been shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to have accepted it, to see how much of an impact would it have made in the country, of years of anguish, of bitterness, of despair, of potentials of many souls who could have made more difference in the lives of people around the world.
In a smaller, yet utmost beautiful scale, I am blessed to see how anguish to turns to care, resentment turns to forgiveness, hatred turns to love, selfishness turns to charity, despair turns to hopes and dreams for a better life. I am so much more blessed to see that in the people I get to share the Gospel with. There are many times as we arrive at our family investigator's house, their little girl would run far off a distance, as far as she could see us, calls our names "Sisters, Sisters..Mom , Dad the sisters are here!". As my companion see the light in that little girl's face and how it shines unto her parents, we get to see how great the Lord has been for us. It truly is amazing. I remember a time when we were helping them move in and getting their lights in their little shack house, there came this sense of empathy that entered my heart. My companion and I were holding our flashlights to shine on the father's work to connect together the wires that were attached miles away from their house. They tried again and again, but it didn't work out so well. The family did not even have light for cooking and seeing really anything in their house. I remembered praying in my heart to God to help them have light in their house. I've never prayed so hard to receive light in a house before. My life up until this point was not even opened to realize how much I have been blessed. Up until that point, I learned a greater lesson of empathy and of love, of gratitude, and pleading for help to my Father in Heaven.
The work is hard. It drives my comp and I to our knees, but at the end as we place our heads on our pillows, there is no greater satisfaction than to see the good we've done that day.
With Love and Gratitude,
Sister Sok
Hello Brothers and Sisters,
It has been good this week. Life is good here in Cambodia. I am really happy here and there much that goes on in the missionary work in this country.
While attending a Gospel Principles class, a senior sister missionary mentioned something that made me realize how much Christianity has such an impact in the lives of the Khmer people, the culture, and their lifestyles here. It's incredible. She mentioned how if we were to go back twenty years plus ago and ask people who Jesus Christ is, most would not be so familiar with His name, in just hearing the name. However, NOW not only that most have heard of the name Jesus Christ, the Khmer people here have taken upon themselves His sacred name as a covenant for a brighter and better life. His name does not only enter in their ears for a moment, but His name is even more so engraved in their hearts for eternity.
A couple weeks a go I got to visit the genocide museum a little way far off the city of Tahkmao. It took a lot of emotional investment to see the unfathomable cruel acts of humanity. One man, one leader and his corrupted, atrocious mind had killed nearly 3 million people. The persuasion of an evil mind has scarred such a negative impact in so many lives. If we were just to think if this man has been shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to have accepted it, to see how much of an impact would it have made in the country, of years of anguish, of bitterness, of despair, of potentials of many souls who could have made more difference in the lives of people around the world.
In a smaller, yet utmost beautiful scale, I am blessed to see how anguish to turns to care, resentment turns to forgiveness, hatred turns to love, selfishness turns to charity, despair turns to hopes and dreams for a better life. I am so much more blessed to see that in the people I get to share the Gospel with. There are many times as we arrive at our family investigator's house, their little girl would run far off a distance, as far as she could see us, calls our names "Sisters, Sisters..Mom , Dad the sisters are here!". As my companion see the light in that little girl's face and how it shines unto her parents, we get to see how great the Lord has been for us. It truly is amazing. I remember a time when we were helping them move in and getting their lights in their little shack house, there came this sense of empathy that entered my heart. My companion and I were holding our flashlights to shine on the father's work to connect together the wires that were attached miles away from their house. They tried again and again, but it didn't work out so well. The family did not even have light for cooking and seeing really anything in their house. I remembered praying in my heart to God to help them have light in their house. I've never prayed so hard to receive light in a house before. My life up until this point was not even opened to realize how much I have been blessed. Up until that point, I learned a greater lesson of empathy and of love, of gratitude, and pleading for help to my Father in Heaven.
The work is hard. It drives my comp and I to our knees, but at the end as we place our heads on our pillows, there is no greater satisfaction than to see the good we've done that day.
With Love and Gratitude,
Sister Sok
Monday, June 12, 2017
Even Before the Sun Rises- What I know to be true
Monday June 12, 2017 at 12:21AM
Hello brothers and sisters, families, and dear friends,
I hope that life is going well back in the United States. It is crazy to feel that I am half way through the journey. Man. There many things I am needed to improve on in my journey thus far. The journey of striving to be a brighter light to others. To continually change and become more consecrated through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe that I have gotten closer and closer to understanding the Nature of God in my life and still much more to learn.
The work here has been hard and a blessing in my life. It has been life changing. One of the most beautiful moments was to see someone's conversion, their state of sanctification draws a bit nearer to that of God. For them to live a better life in harmony with God's will. One of the most beautiful moments is to share what I know is true in my life and with my utmost conviction bear it to those who God has put in my path. It's been a beautiful, well defined journey, thus far. One of the most beautiful moments is to see how a man whose desire to change his life impacts his loved ones. His wife, his daughter, and his son, and those all around him. Our willingness to accept the Gospel and to live it has an absolute impact to those around us. One of the most beautiful moments was to be teaching a family on an old shack, which happens to be on a full moon night and we simply asked how the husband sees faith as. He replies "Well sister, I don't know much,( as he points to the sky) but I believe and know that it's knowing for a certainty that the sun will rise tomorrow and that I will see its light so I can live my life, even if we are sitting here in the darkest of night".
I know that as I strive to pour every ounce of my sweat, tears, and love into this work, it's even much more sacred. It's even much more life changing for me and those around me. I know that Jesus Christ lives with all of my heart. I know this to be true.
In one of my most favorite songs:
The only way you can know
You give it all you have
And I hope that you don't suffer
But take the pain...
Hope when the moment comes
You'll say I...I did it all
With Love and Gratitude,
Sister Sok
Hello brothers and sisters, families, and dear friends,
I hope that life is going well back in the United States. It is crazy to feel that I am half way through the journey. Man. There many things I am needed to improve on in my journey thus far. The journey of striving to be a brighter light to others. To continually change and become more consecrated through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe that I have gotten closer and closer to understanding the Nature of God in my life and still much more to learn.
The work here has been hard and a blessing in my life. It has been life changing. One of the most beautiful moments was to see someone's conversion, their state of sanctification draws a bit nearer to that of God. For them to live a better life in harmony with God's will. One of the most beautiful moments is to share what I know is true in my life and with my utmost conviction bear it to those who God has put in my path. It's been a beautiful, well defined journey, thus far. One of the most beautiful moments is to see how a man whose desire to change his life impacts his loved ones. His wife, his daughter, and his son, and those all around him. Our willingness to accept the Gospel and to live it has an absolute impact to those around us. One of the most beautiful moments was to be teaching a family on an old shack, which happens to be on a full moon night and we simply asked how the husband sees faith as. He replies "Well sister, I don't know much,( as he points to the sky) but I believe and know that it's knowing for a certainty that the sun will rise tomorrow and that I will see its light so I can live my life, even if we are sitting here in the darkest of night".
I know that as I strive to pour every ounce of my sweat, tears, and love into this work, it's even much more sacred. It's even much more life changing for me and those around me. I know that Jesus Christ lives with all of my heart. I know this to be true.
In one of my most favorite songs:
The only way you can know
You give it all you have
And I hope that you don't suffer
But take the pain...
Hope when the moment comes
You'll say I...I did it all
With Love and Gratitude,
Sister Sok
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Hello
Sunday June 4, 2017 at 11:23PM
Hello!
Some are pictures and a video of my mission experience! Enjoy. Thank you so much for the support!
Sister Sok
Hello!
Some are pictures and a video of my mission experience! Enjoy. Thank you so much for the support!
Sister Sok
A Headlight to Hunt Frogs
Monday May 29, 2017 at 2:28AM
Hello Hello!
I hope all is swell in America! Things are good here in Cambodia!
I am doing well here. I am getting to know the Khmer people much on a personal level and I have gotten to truly know and sense my own cultural and national blood through being with my own people. I've learned to come to appreciate the love the people here have for me and how much of a difference their lives and hearts have changed in believing in Jesus Christ. We are teaching a family right now about the way they can find happiness through Jesus Christ and His Gospel: the Good News. The husband is struggling to stop smoking, so we have been helping strengthen him and his wife to stop smoking and create a healthier lifestyle for their family now and the eternal life.
Yesterday, we were riding our bikes to try to visit a member's house, the other pair of missionaries had to show us her house, because we were still a bit lost in the areas. On the way, my companion, Sister Jex had this feeling to stop by this lady's house, because it was flooding and she was trying to get the water out. We biked passed her house, but decided to bike back and help her get water out of her house. Inside her dark gloomy house, there was an old fragile woman who was hopelessly laying down on her bed. I asked the lady if I could go in and say Hello to her mother. The lady responded back that her mother is nearly on her death bed and is burdened with this illness. The lady told us that her mother is paralyzed from the waste down and could not move much. She basically lays there all day long. The lady welcomed me in and asked if I could take a blanket to cover her freezing body.Man, I felt so much of God's love for that woman as I sense the warmth of the blanket over her emaciated body. I gave her a hug and sang "I am a child of God" to her in Khmer. She smiled at me and asked what my name is. She could not speak or hear very well. But I could sense and guess what she was saying. My companion came in the house a few minutes later and told her who we are and our names. We then opened the hymn book to sing"I know that my Redeemer Lives". The day was cool and super gloomy, but as we were singing to her she miraculously lifted herself up and sat up and looked at us. She started smiling endlessly and I know she could feel God's love for her. Despite the physical signals and form of communication, the sense of silence and the gloomy ambiance in the room strikingly whispers the love and hope that woman was holding onto . We shared her a simple message of God's love for her and spoke with her family. My companion and I felt really good that day.
On another day, we went out to teach a family who God absolutely placed in our paths to cross. The man had been fighting to make ends meet for his family. Their house was nothing but a little cell looking place. I mean 2 feet from the bed was their little kitchen that consisted of a pot, a bag of rice, a bag of salt, sugar, and fish sauce. That was pretty much it. The little house was consumed with mosquitoes. Since it was really small for us to teach, we would always share our message at member's shack in front of the family's house. I could the working miracle of the Gospel in this family's lives. As we were teaching the husband, he stopped us politely and asked sister, what exactly is a "tee bontul" testimony? Haha, then right away our member help just started bearing her testimony in the hope of explaining the word testimony of Jesus Christ. The man then started telling us how his life has started changing ever since he started learning about Jesus Christ. He then told us that he prayed to know the truth of the Gospel and that very night, he had received this dream that He saw a fair man and of perfectly white stature far above his head. The brightness of his glory consumed the his eyes that he couldn't distinguish the man's features exactly. Well, I decided to pull out a picture of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ picture to him. Oh my, he was like: Yeah, Sisters exactly like that! That's it. I dreamed of that GUY! hah oh my.
On the way back after the lesson with the family, I had this feeling to just see if our other investigator would be at her home from work. However,on the way, well all of the way the whole village and forest is filled with flooded rain and mud. There was no way we could bike through. We got off our bikes and prayed to Heavenly Father if we should pursue the course knowing that I have no light and my companion's bike light was not so sufficient to see clearly. Right after the prayer, we saw this guy, like in the middle of a foresty area, came out of nowhere, who was wearing a headlight, hunting out some frogs. We asked if we could walk with him, and he was going the exact same way as us. OH MY. I was about to drop to my knees and thank God. Than, the man asked if we wanted to talk with his wife. We didn't have much time, but we spoke to her. It was so nice to see God's hands and work of miracles in our lives. You just never know. You just never know!
Well, I pray with hope that your week will full of joy and experiences.
I love you all,
Sister Sok
Hello Hello!
I hope all is swell in America! Things are good here in Cambodia!
I am doing well here. I am getting to know the Khmer people much on a personal level and I have gotten to truly know and sense my own cultural and national blood through being with my own people. I've learned to come to appreciate the love the people here have for me and how much of a difference their lives and hearts have changed in believing in Jesus Christ. We are teaching a family right now about the way they can find happiness through Jesus Christ and His Gospel: the Good News. The husband is struggling to stop smoking, so we have been helping strengthen him and his wife to stop smoking and create a healthier lifestyle for their family now and the eternal life.
Yesterday, we were riding our bikes to try to visit a member's house, the other pair of missionaries had to show us her house, because we were still a bit lost in the areas. On the way, my companion, Sister Jex had this feeling to stop by this lady's house, because it was flooding and she was trying to get the water out. We biked passed her house, but decided to bike back and help her get water out of her house. Inside her dark gloomy house, there was an old fragile woman who was hopelessly laying down on her bed. I asked the lady if I could go in and say Hello to her mother. The lady responded back that her mother is nearly on her death bed and is burdened with this illness. The lady told us that her mother is paralyzed from the waste down and could not move much. She basically lays there all day long. The lady welcomed me in and asked if I could take a blanket to cover her freezing body.Man, I felt so much of God's love for that woman as I sense the warmth of the blanket over her emaciated body. I gave her a hug and sang "I am a child of God" to her in Khmer. She smiled at me and asked what my name is. She could not speak or hear very well. But I could sense and guess what she was saying. My companion came in the house a few minutes later and told her who we are and our names. We then opened the hymn book to sing"I know that my Redeemer Lives". The day was cool and super gloomy, but as we were singing to her she miraculously lifted herself up and sat up and looked at us. She started smiling endlessly and I know she could feel God's love for her. Despite the physical signals and form of communication, the sense of silence and the gloomy ambiance in the room strikingly whispers the love and hope that woman was holding onto . We shared her a simple message of God's love for her and spoke with her family. My companion and I felt really good that day.
On another day, we went out to teach a family who God absolutely placed in our paths to cross. The man had been fighting to make ends meet for his family. Their house was nothing but a little cell looking place. I mean 2 feet from the bed was their little kitchen that consisted of a pot, a bag of rice, a bag of salt, sugar, and fish sauce. That was pretty much it. The little house was consumed with mosquitoes. Since it was really small for us to teach, we would always share our message at member's shack in front of the family's house. I could the working miracle of the Gospel in this family's lives. As we were teaching the husband, he stopped us politely and asked sister, what exactly is a "tee bontul" testimony? Haha, then right away our member help just started bearing her testimony in the hope of explaining the word testimony of Jesus Christ. The man then started telling us how his life has started changing ever since he started learning about Jesus Christ. He then told us that he prayed to know the truth of the Gospel and that very night, he had received this dream that He saw a fair man and of perfectly white stature far above his head. The brightness of his glory consumed the his eyes that he couldn't distinguish the man's features exactly. Well, I decided to pull out a picture of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ picture to him. Oh my, he was like: Yeah, Sisters exactly like that! That's it. I dreamed of that GUY! hah oh my.
On the way back after the lesson with the family, I had this feeling to just see if our other investigator would be at her home from work. However,on the way, well all of the way the whole village and forest is filled with flooded rain and mud. There was no way we could bike through. We got off our bikes and prayed to Heavenly Father if we should pursue the course knowing that I have no light and my companion's bike light was not so sufficient to see clearly. Right after the prayer, we saw this guy, like in the middle of a foresty area, came out of nowhere, who was wearing a headlight, hunting out some frogs. We asked if we could walk with him, and he was going the exact same way as us. OH MY. I was about to drop to my knees and thank God. Than, the man asked if we wanted to talk with his wife. We didn't have much time, but we spoke to her. It was so nice to see God's hands and work of miracles in our lives. You just never know. You just never know!
Well, I pray with hope that your week will full of joy and experiences.
I love you all,
Sister Sok
39 Years of Her Life
Sunday May 14, 2017 at 9:01PM
Hello Families and Friends!
Many things have happened this week and they have been amazing and a blessing in my life. The areas we are serving in are teaching us much about patience, but I am learning day by day. There are many young adults here and Takhmau is populated with people of all age.
My companion is doing great! My companion and I have experienced many tender mercies and the Love of God in our lives. One of the most memorable experiences I have felt was during one of the most exhausting days ( I got lost quite a few times) we had together, but the miracle that happened at the end of the day has absolutely made us feel our Savior’s love. At the end of the day, we did English contacting by the riverside and handed out crazy amount flyers. Afterwords, I had this prompting to speak with a grandma by the side of the road, I got to speak with her and found out a little bit about her life. She was so cute, but all in all it wasn’t the time for her to accept the Gospel, yet. I wasn’t disappointed; I just knew that I did what I was inspired to do. We had also planned to teach 2 of our investigators, but both of them did not answer their phones. (It rained pretty hard that day, and we were both filled dirt and mud.) My companion and I decided to right away get off our bikes and prayed for Heavenly Father’s guidance, to fervently ask if there’s someone out there that He has placed in our path and who is prepared to receive the Gospel, please help us see him/her as we cross paths. We then got back on our bikes and rode to who we had planned for a backup. The rode was completely dark and it’s about 7:30 (which is the time most Khmer are home) so there is no one on the streets. Out of nowhere, to right of us, there was this woman carrying suitcases and plastic bags of food, and miscellaneous . It looked like she was lost and that she is a tourist. I had this immediate prompting to get off my bike and speak with her. We asked her where she is from and where she was heading. She was so friendly to us. Later in the conversation, we found that she has been looking for a church to attend and a God who loves her. She was looking for an English school that teaches for free lessons as well.
We also found out that she has endured much pain and suffering in her life and is striving to make a living. We found out she is an orphan and is in need of someone’s love and comfort. We were like, this is such a miracle. I almost fainted, because there was no way in heck.... in this dark rugged way that a woman with a bag full of her belongings is walking alone by the side of the streets seeking God's love for her. (We then met up with her a week a later and she is so amazing! We sat in with her in the Sacrament room and had her feel of God’s love for her. She told us was 39 years old. We knelt down and prayed together at the end of the lesson and We just felt so at peace in the room).
On our way home, my companion and I had this craving for ice-cream, but we knew that in no way Takhmau would have an ice cream shop and I don’t know the new area very well. I just prayed in mind, and out of nowhere there is an ice-cream shop, to the right of us. When we got home that night, we threw off our bags and immediately knelt down to thank our Father in Heaven. I felt such a strong bond of God’s spirit within us both in that prayer.
I have come to learn that the things I am experiencing in my life are OF GOD’S hands. I have come to learn that communication with God can change a person’s life. I have come to learn of obeying the simple things even through the rugged circumstances. To obey and listen in every moment even if the time and place is dark. My heart is touched when God has allowed my companion and I to have crossed that woman’s path, just knowing that she was at a time in her life where she needed God most. To know it has been 39 years for her, 39 years for her to open her heart to God and to talk to Him for the very 1st time in her life. I am deeply touched. God truly is good.
This is the email, I planned to send out a couple weeks ago, but ran out of time to finish.
Things are going pretty good here. I hope you are all doing well back home in America and wherever you are at this time in place. Things are pretty good here.
We got our transfers call last week and a new group of missionaries just came in. We got the opportunity to meet our new companion. Our mission President had us ride in the Tuk and Tuk AND had us meet them at the airport. They were all so happy and their sparks for what about to embark on were so present at the time. Haha, they got to experience the missionary life that day, because that very same day, we were told to ride in the car and have our new companions ride their new bikes ( it was also raining) back to the mission office. My heart dropped, because they have no idea how to ride their bikes in like a sardine packed full motorcycles, cars, tuks tuks, cycles, tractors, and trucks. They literally just got out of a plane from America and now, they are going to get hit!!! BUT they made it safe! We are in Ta Khmau and it is pretty great. It is one of the hottest seasons in Cambodia right now. My companion and I are trying to get to know the new area better. I am kinda white washing the area right now, so it is quite an experience trying to get to people’s houses and looking at maps and such which takes so much patience out of me and bike riding. We recently got a referral of a member’s house who lives on this small Island. So maybe we could get to ride a boat there. It is really fun out here, though.
Today is the first preparation day for my companion. We got to take them to experience the Cambodian street market. They handled it pretty well. There are so many things you could experience at the Khmer market. From the lingering smell of fermented fish paste to fresh veggies to pigs squealing to people yelling around and trying to bargain prices to fish hopping out of the tray right into my skirt and trying to pick it up (the fish hopped at me twice). Haha I literally spent a few minutes chasing the fish around and trying to catch it while my companion stood in all amaze. It was quite an experience. Then in front of another market, there was this kid, with his pet monkey. My companion asked if she could get near it, it grabbed onto her skirt and started cuddling her leg, but then climbed up to scratch her a little bit. It was so crazy. We also went on this scavenger hunt to find a rat trap and something to block rats coming into our house. That was exhausting. We also street contacted of the Gospel and of English class at the market. Street contacting at the market is one of the most interesting experiences. We then, finally went to this river side and ate lunch there, while standing all amaze at the slowly collapsing bridge.
Thus far in the mission, I have been through many experiences that absolutely took me out of my comfort zone and I am not just talking about the monkey and the fish, but many experiences that helped me see Cambodia from different lenses. To really see the diversity in the lives of many and how some have survived through it. Every moment and every experience in this country makes me realize how much of an impact you can really make in someone’s life. People here are a part of my blood and it is just much more personal. To see the diverse faces of everyone, even just in the face of the beggars that we see. To feel of what is that substance that I should impart to them. To realize that they truly need hope in their lives. I have come to learn we as disciples, we are asking people to change their lives, it takes so much patience and it is difficult here but all is good.
With Much Love and Gratitude,
Sister Sok
Below are a few pics of English class, my ex-comp when went up to the mountains, my companion when I picked at her up.
Hello Families and Friends!
Many things have happened this week and they have been amazing and a blessing in my life. The areas we are serving in are teaching us much about patience, but I am learning day by day. There are many young adults here and Takhmau is populated with people of all age.
My companion is doing great! My companion and I have experienced many tender mercies and the Love of God in our lives. One of the most memorable experiences I have felt was during one of the most exhausting days ( I got lost quite a few times) we had together, but the miracle that happened at the end of the day has absolutely made us feel our Savior’s love. At the end of the day, we did English contacting by the riverside and handed out crazy amount flyers. Afterwords, I had this prompting to speak with a grandma by the side of the road, I got to speak with her and found out a little bit about her life. She was so cute, but all in all it wasn’t the time for her to accept the Gospel, yet. I wasn’t disappointed; I just knew that I did what I was inspired to do. We had also planned to teach 2 of our investigators, but both of them did not answer their phones. (It rained pretty hard that day, and we were both filled dirt and mud.) My companion and I decided to right away get off our bikes and prayed for Heavenly Father’s guidance, to fervently ask if there’s someone out there that He has placed in our path and who is prepared to receive the Gospel, please help us see him/her as we cross paths. We then got back on our bikes and rode to who we had planned for a backup. The rode was completely dark and it’s about 7:30 (which is the time most Khmer are home) so there is no one on the streets. Out of nowhere, to right of us, there was this woman carrying suitcases and plastic bags of food, and miscellaneous . It looked like she was lost and that she is a tourist. I had this immediate prompting to get off my bike and speak with her. We asked her where she is from and where she was heading. She was so friendly to us. Later in the conversation, we found that she has been looking for a church to attend and a God who loves her. She was looking for an English school that teaches for free lessons as well.
We also found out that she has endured much pain and suffering in her life and is striving to make a living. We found out she is an orphan and is in need of someone’s love and comfort. We were like, this is such a miracle. I almost fainted, because there was no way in heck.... in this dark rugged way that a woman with a bag full of her belongings is walking alone by the side of the streets seeking God's love for her. (We then met up with her a week a later and she is so amazing! We sat in with her in the Sacrament room and had her feel of God’s love for her. She told us was 39 years old. We knelt down and prayed together at the end of the lesson and We just felt so at peace in the room).
On our way home, my companion and I had this craving for ice-cream, but we knew that in no way Takhmau would have an ice cream shop and I don’t know the new area very well. I just prayed in mind, and out of nowhere there is an ice-cream shop, to the right of us. When we got home that night, we threw off our bags and immediately knelt down to thank our Father in Heaven. I felt such a strong bond of God’s spirit within us both in that prayer.
I have come to learn that the things I am experiencing in my life are OF GOD’S hands. I have come to learn that communication with God can change a person’s life. I have come to learn of obeying the simple things even through the rugged circumstances. To obey and listen in every moment even if the time and place is dark. My heart is touched when God has allowed my companion and I to have crossed that woman’s path, just knowing that she was at a time in her life where she needed God most. To know it has been 39 years for her, 39 years for her to open her heart to God and to talk to Him for the very 1st time in her life. I am deeply touched. God truly is good.
This is the email, I planned to send out a couple weeks ago, but ran out of time to finish.
Things are going pretty good here. I hope you are all doing well back home in America and wherever you are at this time in place. Things are pretty good here.
We got our transfers call last week and a new group of missionaries just came in. We got the opportunity to meet our new companion. Our mission President had us ride in the Tuk and Tuk AND had us meet them at the airport. They were all so happy and their sparks for what about to embark on were so present at the time. Haha, they got to experience the missionary life that day, because that very same day, we were told to ride in the car and have our new companions ride their new bikes ( it was also raining) back to the mission office. My heart dropped, because they have no idea how to ride their bikes in like a sardine packed full motorcycles, cars, tuks tuks, cycles, tractors, and trucks. They literally just got out of a plane from America and now, they are going to get hit!!! BUT they made it safe! We are in Ta Khmau and it is pretty great. It is one of the hottest seasons in Cambodia right now. My companion and I are trying to get to know the new area better. I am kinda white washing the area right now, so it is quite an experience trying to get to people’s houses and looking at maps and such which takes so much patience out of me and bike riding. We recently got a referral of a member’s house who lives on this small Island. So maybe we could get to ride a boat there. It is really fun out here, though.
Today is the first preparation day for my companion. We got to take them to experience the Cambodian street market. They handled it pretty well. There are so many things you could experience at the Khmer market. From the lingering smell of fermented fish paste to fresh veggies to pigs squealing to people yelling around and trying to bargain prices to fish hopping out of the tray right into my skirt and trying to pick it up (the fish hopped at me twice). Haha I literally spent a few minutes chasing the fish around and trying to catch it while my companion stood in all amaze. It was quite an experience. Then in front of another market, there was this kid, with his pet monkey. My companion asked if she could get near it, it grabbed onto her skirt and started cuddling her leg, but then climbed up to scratch her a little bit. It was so crazy. We also went on this scavenger hunt to find a rat trap and something to block rats coming into our house. That was exhausting. We also street contacted of the Gospel and of English class at the market. Street contacting at the market is one of the most interesting experiences. We then, finally went to this river side and ate lunch there, while standing all amaze at the slowly collapsing bridge.
Thus far in the mission, I have been through many experiences that absolutely took me out of my comfort zone and I am not just talking about the monkey and the fish, but many experiences that helped me see Cambodia from different lenses. To really see the diversity in the lives of many and how some have survived through it. Every moment and every experience in this country makes me realize how much of an impact you can really make in someone’s life. People here are a part of my blood and it is just much more personal. To see the diverse faces of everyone, even just in the face of the beggars that we see. To feel of what is that substance that I should impart to them. To realize that they truly need hope in their lives. I have come to learn we as disciples, we are asking people to change their lives, it takes so much patience and it is difficult here but all is good.
With Much Love and Gratitude,
Sister Sok
Below are a few pics of English class, my ex-comp when went up to the mountains, my companion when I picked at her up.
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