Letter Sent on July 8, 2013

Dear Family,

 

How are you guys? Things are going pretty swell in Teuk Thla! This past week I got really quite sick with a bad cold and fever and all that fun stuff but I am feeling a lot better now:) It was kinda hard because I was to go and get to know the area with Elder Vore but I was so sick one of the days that I wasn't able to go out.  Right now my health is much better and Elder Khem and me are getting to know the other part of our area better some. Lucky for us we have a recent convert named Saoly and he helps us ALL the time, as soon as he has free time he likes to go around with us all the way until it is time to call it a day and he knows the majority of the people that Elder Edmunds and Elder Vore would meet with so he is a huge help to us! He is always calling us to ask when he we can meet up with him to go out proselyting together:)

So yeah I am with my new companion Elder Khem and he is a great guy. He has been in the country for 2 transfers now and he just came down from Siem Reap.  He is from Weatherford Texas and is full Cambodian.  His parents went to America during the Polpot Regime and he was born and raised in Cambodia his whole life. He is a really kind and gentle guy and is funny and goofy too, we are getting along good!
There was one really cool miracle that happened on Sunday. There is a less active returned missionary named Sanna that the Elders were working with before and we met with him on Saturday night and we talked and got to know him a bit and we talked about the Resurrection because his father had passed away about a year ago, our wonderful member help Saoly invited him to church and he said that on Sunday he would come to church and sure enough he did in his white shirt and everything! It was so good to see him there. What a happy day when a less active comes back cause he has!:)
It is great having the sisters here and we have given them some of our investigators that are girls for them to teach. One of them told the sisters that she wanted to serve a mission and another one of our investigators came to church for the first time because the sisters helped give her a ride on the back of their bikes! Also there was a less active lady who I have never seen come to church who came to church with her children yesterday! Its amazing to see all those that the Lord has prepared for the sisters to teach and how they can connect better with people and help them far better than us Elders can. They are a huge blessing to the branch!

We watched the Work of Salvation Broadcast yesterday and it is amazing how the work of the Lord is hastening and how all of us are called to be a part of it whether we wear a name tag or not. I love the members here in Cambodia and am so grateful for the service and love they show in doing missionary work as well. I hope that you have a fantastic week and continue to find opportunities to serve and share the light!

 

With love,

Elder Garlick

Letter Sent on July 1, 2013

Dear Family,

Hey how are ya?:) This week has been really great and really crazy all at once! It sounds like you have all been experiencing some warm temperatures, pretty similar to Cambodia! The past few days have been really hot here as well, but it's pretty normal to be constantly sweaty by now :)

So, guess what? I have some great news! This past week Elder Fisher and I went to go and meet with that family we are teaching who are actually not a family yet-Vantha and Chanta- remember them? They are a really young couple and are not married yet but were living together so they could not be baptized.  We were kind of at a wall because they said that they could not move to different houses but that they also could not get married at the time because of their school situation and how  if they got married they couldn't finish learning.. But they said that they really wanted to keep the Lord's commandments... nothing was really changing and they were just at this wall and then last week we went to go meet with them and Chanta was home and was like, "Hey Elders this week we are going to get baptized on the 30th?" and we were like, "What??" and then she proceeded to tell us how Vantha was no longer living there but had rented another place across the street! We were so happy.

Soon after Vantha came from work to meet with us and he told us that he really wanted to keep the Lord's commandments and so had rented a different place to live in and that after he had moved there he was like, "Wow...I can be baptized now!" So this was a super cool miracle that we saw this past week and a big step of faith on their part. I really feel that the Lord really touched their hearts and blessed them with the desire and the means to follow His commandments and to be baptized! We actually still have a little more to teach but the plan is for them to be baptized this Sunday the 7th of July! :)  That was a definite highlight of the week and they are both doing wonderful!

Also, transfer calls were last night...and guess who is the new Assistant to the President?... Elder Fisher! I am really excited for him and am going to miss him a lot I am sure. He is one of my favorite companions. He is going to do really good and a lot of people really respect him, myself included! I am pretty stoked though because I really didn't want to leave the area and now I get the privilege of serving here for one more transfer! There are going to be some changes though-they are temporarily splitting the North Zone of Phnom Penh and I am going to be a zone leader over 2 districts and then Elder Lyman will be a zone leader over the other district. So the workload will be a little more because now  I will not be with a co-zoneleader companion but I am still super excited. My new companion will be Elder Khem who is Cambodian but is from America, he has been in the country for almost 2 transfers now  and I am looking forward to serving with him. Also, they are taking the other set of Elders out of Teuk Thla and they are putting a set of sister missonaries in. We will probably just cover the whole branch and share investigators and so now I need to get to know all of Elder Edmunds and Elder Vore's area! So I don't know if any of this makes sense but time keeps moving forward rapidly-it seems like not so long ago that Elder Fisher and I were just assigned to be companions and already we are on to new things!

So for the next few days I will be with Elder Edmunds and with Elder Vore; Elder Edmunds lives in the same cul-de-sac as Grandpa Busenbark! He ends his mission this week. His family is actually come here to pick him up and they got permission to come to our branch yesterday and then this morning they took us all out to this SUPER nice breakfast buffet at the hotel they are staying at. They are all so nice and it was really fun to get to know them a little. If you get the chance you should go to Elder Edmunds homecoming! I don't know when it is but you could ask Grandpa :) Elder Edmunds is a great friend and one of the best missionaries that I know.

Things are going great here in Teuk Thla and I pray that things continue to go great for you all back home, have a good week!

 

With Love,

Elder Garlick

Letter Sent on June 24, 2013

Dear Familia,

 

How are you? I am superb~and the work is going great here in Teuk Thla!

This past week we saw off Pu Mony and Ming Srey as they went to their home provinces to go and get their whole marriage certificate worked out so that they can be baptized which they desire with all of their hearts. Sadly, they came back empty handed because the people that were to make the certificate were being "crazy" and there were some issues that were brought up-because Pu's former wife had passed away 20 years ago, Ming had a former husband as well, money and stuff-honestly we were confused on exactly the issue was and weren't sure but the branch president had a talk with him in his office yesterday at church and we are going to talk to him about it since he knows a lot more than we do about Khmae marriages and whatnot. They were pretty sad and felt out of hope they said but we encouraged them and talked about the Atonement and how the Lord would provide a way for them and has not fogotten them. They are really such a special family and their faith in Christ is incredible. They have changed so much! I remember Pu Mony had issues with drinking and smoking and would sleep under their house in the mud when he was drunk and I met him a couple of times when he was drunk-but 3 days after we taught the Word of Wisdom he stopped drinking beer and has been sober ever since, and the smoking was more gradual but from what I understand he's stopped that as well. They say that many of their neighbors have really noticed his repentance and the change in him as well and they brought 2 of their neighbor friends to church with them on Sunday! I love them so much and all will work out. With the Lord on our side what need we to fear?

We have gotten some new investigators this past week from contacting, one time when I was riding my bike on the way to the church I was next to this young man and I felt impressed that I ought to talk and contact him so I started talking with him and he was really impressed that I spoke Cambodian and we stopped in front of the church to give him a flyer for English which he had a very strong desire to come to; we have since gotten in contact with him-his name is Renksay and he is studying philosophy and is 21 years old-and started teaching him and he's great! The sisters also gave us a referral that they contacted and when we met her one of the very first things she asked was how to become a member of our church :) Her name is Sophanny, she is 21 and studying accounting, she is very sincere, loved church yesterday, and we see her getting in the water real quick :)

Also one more great experience with our investigators Bong Narack and his wife Vanna-the one that flagged us down as we were biking and told us she'd been praying to meet us. Well for Bong Narack he has been really studying the Book of Mormon diligently and he was so excited to tell us at church about a dream that he had; in his dream he and his wife were dressed in the white robes of the Lord with a hood and how he had his hands raised up in the air but then felt that it wasn't appropriate and then put his arm to the square. Then he saw a war happening and tried to tell his friends but they couldn't see what he was seeing until he told them again and then they could see what he was pointing at. He was so happy and said that he just had been so happy since he had this dream and that he really felt that it was from the Lord and that it was his testimony. I have heard a lot about people here sharing their dreams and they take their dreams very seriously here; the Cambodian people are definitely a dreaming people. Cause for me I do not remember my dreams too well at all!

Elder Fisher and I like to joke around that we are being "too blessed" because we have so many great people to teach that when we are scheduling them all during Weekly Planning it seems a little tight-but miraculously seems to work out. I absolutely am love being a missionary and yesterday was one of the best Sundays of my whole mission.  We just had some great lessons and had an amazing RM father come help us teach Narack and Vanna and it was perhaps the most powerful Plan of Salvation lesson I have ever taught. Sorry this is really long but I just want to share a tad of the many blessings that the Lord is pouring out. The work is hastening and what an exciting time to be a missionary and indeed a member in His church! We have the most precious thing in the whole world, how blessed we are.  Everyone needs this gospel, Christ's Atonement and His Church can solve ALL problems answer ALL questions and make EVERYTHING right. I know He is our Savior and that He lives, it is true! Again how blessed we are to have this pearl of great price! It is the greatest thing that we could possibly share with others. May we not take it for granted and treasure it, live it, love it with all our heart, and share it with others. I love you all dearly, until next week!

 

Elder Garlick

 

PS. Here is your Khmae lesson of the week; Perhaps you wonder why does everyone in Cambodia have the name of Pu or Ming or Bong? If I was in your shoes, I would be wondering that too, but wonder no more because I will tell you the reason :) Ba-oon means younger brother or sister, Bong means older brother or sister, Pu means uncle, ming means aunt, om means older uncle and aunt, ta means grandpa, and yay means grandma. So yeah pretty much we call everyone brother, sister, aunt, uncle, etc and then their name. We're all one big happy family!

Pics; I really wanted to send some pictures but the internet is being to slow or something...

Letter Sent on June 17, 2013

Dear Family,

 

Welp, the rainy season is definitely here in full force; It's a love hate relationship.  I love biking when it's raining and it is just pouring buckets on you, so fun!, but the not so fun part is when you are soaking wet and walking around in soggy socks for the rest of the day:) But its so great and it mixes things up a little bit cause sometimes it can be a little chilly! What an exciting time to be a missionary!

This past week was really good-there were something that were frustrating but a lot of really great things that are continue to happen here in Clear Water!

We have this family that we are teaching and they are actually not a family quite yet, Vantha and Chantha,
They are living together and they are not married. They are a young couple and they are super great investigators and love learning about the gospel. We taught about the Law of Chastity and how they either need to live separately or be married in order to be baptized. They are kinda at a wall on what to do because they say they can't live in a separate place and that they can't get married or else the organization that they are learning through won't let them learn there if they are married. We encouraged them to pray about what they need to do and we promised them blessings that they will receive by keeping this law.
We are going to keep working with them.
We were able to visit with our BM leader and he shows some great potential to come back to church he said that he for sure will be there this week. But that yesterday he had a field trip for his school. Having an active Branch Mission Leader will be a real nice perk!:)
We have another investigator that started to learn with us who has learned about Christ before who a member referral and a good friend and neighbor of a member. Things are continuing to grow and are just going wonderful. We have a lot of investigators and we should hopefully be getting them in the water real soon!

Welp, I need to get going but know that I love you and pray for you. Have a terrific week!

Love,
Elder Garlick

Letter Sent on June 10, 2013

Dear Family,

This week was just dandy! I hope that yours was the same and from the sounds of it all is well back home.

This past week I had the opportunity to go on an exchange with a new missionary named Elder Garrow and it was a real treat! I loved his humility and just his great and willing attitude.  I really liked getting to know him better and it turns out he is from Palmyra just like Joseph Smith.  We had a good time and he said that he learned some new stuff that he wanted to apply to his own area.  I just remember how much I learned from Elder Oleson back in the Battambang days and I really know what a difference a good leader can make.  I really want to try and follow his fantastic example and pass it on.  It really just feels so good trying to help others out.

I have noticed that during my mission the times that I am the happiest are the times that I am thinking of others and not myself. Also, that the hardest times or the times that I am the most unhappy are when I am thinking of myself and not others. Really, service and turning out to others as Christ would is the greatest source of happiness.  Really happiness is a choice and it is all about our attitude and what we focus on.  I believe that Christ was the happiest person to have ever lived on the earth and I am sure that was because He never thought of Himself but always turned outwards and thought of others.

I have been studying charity and really want to be more charitable and become more like Christ.  I love 1 Corinthians 13, "Charity suffereth long and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemingly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth." 

I am so grateful to have a mission, 2 full years, to focus purely on loving and serving others and sharing the gospel.  What a privilege it is. I can feel my testimony growing deeper and deeper.  I know that Christ lives and that this work is true.  I know that Joseph Smith is a true prophet and that is continually being confirmed to me.

I know that we can all be happy if we choose to be and I really hope that we can all try and pray for opportunities to turn out and love and serve others during the week.  I remember Elder Ballard encouraged us to pray for a meaningful way to serve each morning and then go and do it!

I love you very much and I hope that you have a happy week and find ways to serve others and show forth the charity and love you always give to me. Thanks and again, I sure do love you:)

Love,
Elder Garlick

Letter Sent on June 3, 2013

Dear Family

How are things back home? Is summer there in full swing? Looks like Vegas was a blast, Kudos and Congratulations to Ben and Lea! Things are going really great here in Teuk Thla!
This past week was super; we had a great visit with the family of Pu Mony and Ming Srey with the Branch President and it was a great visit indeed. Pu Mony has been working on figuring everything out with their homeland about the marriage certificate and they are actually are...on their way right now to go get it! Yay!!
We were thinking it might be quite a while until they would be able to go and
We had a great visit with them and the Branch President was so good and talked to them a lot about going to the temple and how that is their ultimate goal.  All of us were so happy about their being so close to baptism! The Branch President made everything just really clear for them and cleared things up for us Elders and it was just a very happy meeting and there was a lot of trust established and they should be good to go this month to get baptized.
Things are going so great here and it seems like the new investigators just keep coming-we had 3 member referrals come to church yesterday and they are potential investigators in our area.  2 of them came from an active member named Ming Tevy. We had met with her and her husband, Pu Chan, a while back and talked about missionary work and what they could do to do missionary work.  The Pu was like, "Elders, no one wants to learn around here. None of our neighbors like our church, and they are all Buddhist, there is no one who wants to learn....." He was saying stuff like that but we asked them to just pray for missionary opportunities and gave them a pamphlet to give with our number on it.  On Saturday Pu Chan told us that there were a couple of their neighbors coming to church the next day and he said that he had been praying for missionary opportunities. The next day 2 of their neighbors came and they are women that recently moved INTO their neighborhood. Really cool experience seeing how things changed as they prayed for missionary opportunities. Shows that the Lord will lead His children where they need to go if we ask for those opportunities to share the gospel and prepare ourselves to do so.
Things are just dandy here in Teuk Thla and the work goes on.  I can see and feel the hastening of the Lord's work and it is a great honor to be a part of it!
I love you, have a terrific week!

Sincerely,
Elder Garlick

Letter Sent on May 27, 2013

Dear Family, 

 

Hey hey! This week was fantastic for me, How was your week?? Sorry to hear that you aren't feeling so great Brynn Bear, and Mom.  Get well soon! I pray for you and hope that all is going well.

This week we saw miracles and the work here in the promised land of Teuk Thla continues to go forward.

This past week Elder Clayton from the Presidency of the Seventy came to Cambodia along with Elder Wilson who is a member of the Seventy.  They came and met with all of us missionaries and we had a great meeting for an hour and a half and Elder Clayton just opened it up for a questions and answer session and it was amazing hearing the general authorities and President and Sister Moon all come up and share their testimonies with us and answer our questions.  There were only a few questions asked but they gave some very thorough counsel and teachings for each one.  One thing that was asked was something about life after the mission(I honestly couldn't really hear the question) but afterwards Elder Clayton talked a lot about conversion and how we need to become so converted to the gospel that it is "a part of our DNA", about how we need to seek to become so truly converted that no matter what happens, no matter what is said, that we will be here to stay and that we will stay true to the Lord. They also talked a lot about preparing for stakes here(we are so close!) and about recognizing the voice of the Lord, the promptings of the Spirit.  I learned a lot and I was really strengthened in my testimony that I am supposed to be hear and to boldly share my testimony with the wonderful people in Cambodia.

On Friday, we had an appointment that we were going to and it fell through because our male investigator wasn't there and so it was just our investigator Chanta who is a girl... and so we weren't able to teach and so we left and started biking down the street and we were just going down the street kinda just minding our own business looking for people we could contact and then this lady looks at us with a kinda surprised look and flags us down  saying, "Elder!"

She told us that she was an inactive member and asked if we could meet with her-Yes- She welcomed us to her house and we met her husband! We sat down on the floor and got talking with them and got to know them better. They have 2 children(a 4 year old and a 7 year old) the lady's name is Vanna and the husband, Narack.  As we got talking Vanna told us that she learned with the Elders before and that she was 20 days away from being baptized when she got caught up with work and went far away where there was no church.  She had felt that she had grown far from the Lord and that she had been caught up in the world and that she wanted to learn with the Elders again!

10 days before this she had seen us biking down the street and had followed us down the street on her moto wondering if she should have us pull over to talk to her; but, she was in a hurry to go to work and ended up choosing to not talk with us and turned around to go to work. Afterwards, she prayed that she would be able to meet with us again.

Her prayer was answered and we have started teaching them both.  We were talking afterwards and Elder Fisher and I had received a couple of very small promptings that morning that had kinda helped lead us to that situation.  I know that they are very much prepared by the Lord and that he led us to meet them and answered Vanna's prayer.  What are the odds that we would have our other lesson fall through and be biking down that street right at the time that Vanna was walking to go and buy something to eat and "just happen" to cross paths? This was a tender mercy from the Lord, that has further strengthened my testimony that He hears and answers prayers and that He is preparing His children to accept His gospel. I know that He led us to this family and I am so grateful for how very much apart of each of our individual lives He is.

Things are going fantastic and we have been blessed with many investigators whom we are teaching right now. Hope all is going great back at home and know that all is going well here in the Kingdom of Cambodia! It is great to hear about the blessings and tender mercies that you experience everyday too.

Welp, I had best be getting on, I love you! Keep on keeping on!

Love,
Elder Garlick

 

Pics; Lighting!:) 

Pu Broh a guard at the church and Mr. Toad!

 

Elder Fisher:)

 

Letter Sent on May 20, 2013

Dear beloved family...

            How are you?? It was so great talking to you all last week, looks like you are doing swell and Ethan now has a superstar smile!:) I love you mom and it was a great Mother's Day! I am doing great here in Teuk Thla, and things are going well here as well.
We have a lot of investigators with baptismal dates and many that are past their original baptismal date or are not going to make it for one reason or another.  So we are going to try and get everyone really focused on their baptismal date goals.
Pu Mony and Ming Srey are really so very poor and it turns out that they are not married, but we were able to sit down with them and set a new goal for their baptismal date. They said that they think given a month they could save enough money to go to the province and get a marriage certificate and so they now have a baptismal date for June 30th!:)
They didn't come to church on Sunday and we felt we should go to visit them. When we got their we learned that Pu was really sick with terrible stomach cramps, diarrhea, and other and he looked really sick and that he was suffering.  We offered to give him a blessing and taught briefly about the blessing and priesthood.  We then gave him a blessing and the Spirit was there.  Seeing how terrible Pu was feeling and how humble of settings they live in was really humbling and I felt very blessed to have had the opportunity to go there and be apart of giving a blessing.  It really hit me how great a privilege it is to be a Priesthood holder and to be in the Lord's service, administering to those that need it.
I woke up earlier this week feeling really sick and I felt that I needed to ask Elder Fisher for a priesthood blessing during which he blessed me with some things that I really needed to hear and told me that the work would not be hindered because of my being ill.  I felt a bit better right away, and later on we were going to get some lunch with Elder Khan who we were on an exchange with and I felt a specific prompting that I needed to take some Plan of Salvation pamphlets with us and we went to this place to get some fried rice by our house and as we were leaving I just felt like I needed to give the pamphlet away and so I just asked one of the workers if I could share it with him and I told them where our church is and that we have an English class and this older Ming was really excited and seemed interested in coming to learn English. Just another testimony strengthener of the promptings of the Spirit.

I am feeling like a million bucks right now and life as a missionary is amazing! I was feeling a little ruffled the other day and I was in a lesson or just before we started it and I felt the prompting that I "just need to try my best to be like Jesus"(which is something a great friend had written me encouraging me to do a while back) and I really feel that that is really all we all need to do.  When things are stressful, when there seems like there is so many things to prioritize-we can just try our best to be like Jesus, and focus on our relationships with others.  For showing love to others and lifting our loved ones is really the most important thing to do.
I am grateful for the Holy Ghost and the many promptings, gifts, comfort love, and guidance that He brings to me daily. I am grateful for great family and friends, the best I could ask for.  I am grateful for my mission, the Cambodian people, and most especially for our Savior and Great Exemplar, Jesus Christ. May we all try and do our best "to be like Jesus" and to love and serve others. What would Jesus Do?

I love you!
Love,
Elder Garlick

Letter Sent on May 6, 2013

Dear Family

Things still are going great here in the blessed land of Teuk Thla! And what a blessed land it is!
I had the opportunity to go on an exchange with Elder Lyman and we had a great day exchanging my area.  Our focus was to try, in faith, to feel the love of God for each person we taught and obedience.  It was a great exchange and we had a cool little miracle happen, our morning plans fell through and so we went contacting and I was trying to follow the Spirit on where we should go to contact and we contacted a couple of people that really didn't respond much at all to us and didn't have much of an interest at all..but we were trying to go where we felt we should and we went by some guys shoveling a big pile of sand and putting it in the back of a truck and we asked if we could help and the two sweaty guys were happy to take a little break and let us help. Afterwards we talked to the guys and the guy I was talking to is married and has one kid. He had an interest in learning English and said that we could come back to his house and he is free at night time we set an appointment with him and it's a potential family! It strengthened my testimony of being patient and how sometimes when we follow the promptings of the Spirit we don't see all of the blessings right away or understand why but the Lord knows what He is doing and where He needs us. Elder Lyman is doing great; he knows a lot about missionary work and just really is full of love and has his head screwed on straight.  He's doing super good President. We committed him to try to have prayer in heart for love of God before each lesson and to pray for those taught and for charity at night for this week.
While Elder Fisher was on the exchange he was going down the street and this guy just pulled up next to him and asked him where our church is and if he could learn! He said that he has some family issues and that he really wants to learn and he came to church on Sunday and brought a couple of his friends with him to learn as well! We are going to be meeting with them on Wednesday.
The Lord is leading us to those whom He has prepared for the Gospel or he will lead them to us! We are so blessed!

I have been really thinking a lot about this scripture in D&C 88:63 "Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you" This is something I know was brought up in conference and I love this scripture.  I have really felt closer to the Savior and so happy this past week as I have been trying to do the "little things" and to try and find ways to be better and more obedient. I know that this scripture is true and that as we seek Him we come to find that He is right here helping us and has been the whole time! I hope that we will all seek to draw near unto Him and seek Him this next week! Sometimes all it takes is the faith to ask for things! I love you all so much and I am stoked to talk to you next week! Have a terrific week!

Love,

Elder Garlick

Letter Sent on April 29, 2013

Dear Family,

 

Hey, how are ya doing? How's the weather there in UT?

This past week was just dandy! Things are going great in the area.
We have been working really hard and being very diligent and we are seeing lots of blessings being poured out by the Lord.
Pu Mony and Ming Srey are doing great and progressing great. We met them a few days after we taught about the Word of Wisdom and after conference.  Mony had a smoking and drinking problem.  He told us that he had immediately stopped drinking! Since then he has since been continuing to keep his commitment and his wife loves it that he has not been drinking. She told us that he would used to go get drunk with his neighbors and fall asleep under the house, which is pretty much a ditch full of garbage, and now he won't even drink a glass even when offered! She prays for him and he prays as well, he says that he doesn't have a desire to drink anymore and doesn't feel hungry for it. 
They had another cool miracle, they went to conference and they didn't have any food and knew that when they came home there would be no food but still decided to put the Lord first and walk for an hour to get to the church; when they came home there was a family member who was waiting at their house and gave them 5 dollars and they were able to get some food!  The Ming said something like, "If the Lord wants me to eat, then I will eat, if He doesn't want me to eat for a day, then I won't, If He wants me to die then I will die" she just has great love and faith. They have super faith and are a super family. They have a baptismal date for May 19.
We had a cool experience reading the Book of Mormon with another investigator who is named Borith.  He is 28 years old and a little bit slower but a great guy, and he is a part member family and his sister is a recent convert.  We went over to meet him and he was watching TV and seemed kinda upset and like he didn't want to meet with us and his parents kinda teased him which didn't help his spirits.. we asked him if he would be cool to meet with us and just read a bit in the Book of Mormon together and he agreed to do so; we read in 2nd Nephi 9:1-13 with him a bit and had a good talk about the Atonement and his mood just totally changed and he was smiling by the end and I think we are gaining a lot more trust with us.  He mostly stays at home and doesn't have a lot of friends and I think he is really starting to trust us and feel more happy to meet with us. Great seeing how the Book of Mormon can change our moods when we are feeling down.
Borith shared a scripture a while back from his reading that he loved and wrote it down on a bookmark we gave him. 2 Nephi 6:10 Made me laugh :)
Things are going fantastic with Elder Fisher! I love serving with him and we are getting a lot of great work done together.  We have great unity and love in our companionship. I really like how we do things well together and really both try and give our all. We are very open with each other and it really does help a lot. It is a lot of fun serving with him, we have gotten a lot of good things done this past week and we are really want to focus on things to strengthen the branches here in north zone to prepare for a stake.

Things are going good! Have a great week!

Love,
Elder Garlick

Sorry the computer won't recognize my memory card, but the camera does, maybe I just need to buy a different one. Pictures hopefully next week!

Letter Sent on April 22, 2013

Dear Family,

Hey hey, How are you? I'm doing pretty great here in Tuek Thla and things are going great with the work.
This past week, we saw many cool things happen. We met with our investigator family-Pu Mony and Ming Srey.  We met with them and had a good lesson teaching about the word of wisdom and they both agreed to try and keep it.  It is great because we have already talked about the word of wisdom, and the law of chastity plus the law of fasting a bit and they are doing great and growing in their faith.  The wife especially has very good questions and is just very genuine.  They both came to conference and seemed really excited about it.  The wife shared a miracle and blessing she had that as she prayed to be able to go to conference that the construction place they work at said that the women all had the day off for Saturday and Sunday and would start up again on Monday.  So on Saturday we saw the two of them come to the north district center bright and early right before we left to go to the south district center.  It is great to be working with them and to see their progression.
Another cool miracle in relation to conference deals with this less active man named Pu Saret who has been a member since 1996! Longer than me! We went and visited with him on Friday and got to know him and shared about our families and all and we had a good visit with him and he talked a lot about how we can't just say things but how we need to apply and do as well. We agreed. We invited him to conference and testified of the blessings that he would receive and then we were very happy to see him on both Saturday and Sunday there at the church bright and early talking with the members as well.  It was the first time since I've been here that he's come and I feel that this is the start of him becoming fully active again.
Conference was a treat right!?I learned a lot and I really noticed how they really seemed to focus on the basics and on strengthening our personal relationship with the Savior and opening the door of our hearts to Him and drawing near to Him so that He will draw near unto us, and also especially talking about obedience, loved President Monson's talk. I also like how they talked a lot of applying the things that we learn- let's not be like the foolish man who heard but did not do; let's be wise and apply the things we learned, let's be doers of the word not just hearers. I think a lot of times we look beyond the mark and overcomplicate things seeking deep or complex answers.  I am grateful for the prophet and apostles and for their teachings about love, obedience, family, and most of all Jesus Christ. Because those really are the only things that matter in our lives and the more we focus on obeying with a willing heart and loving others with a sincere heart the happier we will be. I know with all my heart that President Monson is a true prophet and I am so grateful for that testimony.  I pray that all of us will prayerfully study, live and apply the things which we have been taught so that we can come unto Him.  It was so cool to hear of the Lord's hastening of His work and the great missionary spirit in the Church.  "I'd do nothing else!"

I love you and have a fantastic week!
Love,
Elder Garlick

 

Letter Sent on April 15, 2013

 

Dear Family,

Hey! "Suasdei Chnam Tmey!" Happy New Year! Right now it is the middle of the 3 day Khmer New Year which started yesterday at exactly 2:12am. The city is so quiet and it seems as though just about all the stores and homes are locked up.  It's empty! But we met with some of the remaining members here and have eaten some great food as a part of the celebration :) I love rice! Even with most of our investigators and recent converts gone we've still seen some great things happen this past week.
One great miracle that we saw was a week or two ago we were going down the street and we went past this guy on a motto and he said like, "Hey Elder." We stopped and talked with him and it turns out that his name is Pu Chay and is a member from Ta Khmao that is living here in Tuek Thla because his wife and son sell food here and he is a moto dope. He has a phone but didn't know what his number was, however he told us the area that his house was in. We had looked for his home and didn't have any luck, but then we were over in that area again doing some finding and as we were biking we went past this house and he was out front and said hi to us. Miracle! We talked with him and met his wife and his 17 year old son and his 18 year old niece who sells food with them. Turns out they are preparing to go to the temple in Ta Khmao and pay tithing and everything out there. However, their son is not a member yet! So we were able to meet with them and their son and he is going to start learning with us now, which is really exciting! And hopefully their niece will as well. I am really grateful that we were able to meet with them and that their family will be closer to being all members!
This week we had the opportunity for doing service for a less active member who didn't go anywhere for the holiday.  We had an appointment to come and meet with him and when we showed up he was busy deep cleaning his house; it definitely needed it.  We asked him if we could help him and he kept saying, "No it's fine" "Maybe another time when I have a lot for you to help with" " No worries Elders" But we wouldn't take no for an answer and started helping him clean up his home.  It was a very humbling experience wiping away dust and piles of rat poop and seeing a plethora of cockroaches crawling out of boxes as we helped clean and tidy up the house.  It was just another big reminder to me of how blessed we are in America.  So blessed.  We have so much to be grateful for.  I sometimes It was also great seeing how as we served him he started telling where to put things and we could tell he was happy to have us over.  I love service and it really does soften hearts.
Yesterday was transfer calls; this transfer has gone by so fast! And Elder Pettit will be leaving and going to my "birth" area in Battambang! I am so jealous.  As I was telling him about the members there and as I just was thinking about them last night I just felt this great feeling of love and great gratitude for the privilege that I had to serve among them there.  I really love my friends there and I miss them so much. But, I am excited for Elder Pettit! We've gotten along really well and it's been a great experience serving with him.  He is a stud, great at the language, loves the people, hard working, and just has a great desire to leave things better than how he found it. I am grateful for him and for the great friend that he is to me.  I'm sure I'll miss him. Also, I was called to serve as a co-Zone Leader with my very good friend Elder Fisher! He and I were in the MTC together and are great friends. We are going to be serving here in Tuek Thla.  I am very humbled and excited to serve as a Zone Leader.
Conference for me is this week and I am very excited for it.  As more time goes on in my mission the more I love and look forward to hearing from our leaders.
Thanks for your emails, you always tell me what I need to hear and you lift me up an inspire me.  Thank you for your Christ like examples.  I love this work and what an exciting time it is to be a missionary.  What an exciting time it is to be a member of the Lord's restored Church.  I know with all my heart that this is the Lord's work and that He is very much a part of it.  I don't want to miss out. I love Jesus Christ and I know that He lives.

I love you! Have a great week.
With love,
Elder Garlick

Pics; Frog at members house
Another recent convert Nary
Our investigator Sam On
Elder Pettit and I with a recent convert, Leaksmee, and her formerly less active sister Davy.
Sorry I'll try to send more pics the computer isn't reading my card.

 

Letter Sent on April 8, 2013

Dear Family,

Hey how's it going? It sounds like you had a great conference weekend! I'm always jealous that I have to wait, for us in Cambodia we'll be watching it a couple of weeks later on the 20th and 21st and I'm really looking forward to it.  It seems that after 6 months you just feel that need for another spiritual boost you know?
The weather here in Cambodia has been lovely :) It just barely started pouring rain out of nowhere. Love it!!! We are in the hot season right now and when you are in the sun it feels like your skin is sizzling like bacon, haha just kidding! Kinda.  Builds character. This next coming weekend is the Khmer New Year which is the biggest holiday of the year here in Cambodia and is a time that many people go back home to spend time with their family, which is so great! Therefore, a lot of members and a lot of the investigators we are working with right now are leaving or have left to go to their provinces for a time.  So these next couple of weeks should be interesting.
This past week we met with that family I was telling you about, their names are Pu Mony and Ming Srey.  Ming Srey has learned about Christ before and actually was baptized into a different Christian church. They have 5 or 6 kids(can't remember) but they are here on their own and they work as construction workers.  They are both very kind and so humble and have some very strenuous work I am sure especially with the hot sun.  Their house is with all of these other construction workers and the door is just a little square in the sheet metal that they crawl in to enter their small room, very humbling.  They came to church again on Sunday and the Ming learned about tithing in Relief Society-she told us that she understands that if we don't pay our tithing it is like we are robbing the Lord.  She expressed concern that she doesn't think she can do it to the Relief Society teacher, her faith will grow and as she sees the blessings in her life she will be able to do it.  I am so happy to have the opportunity to be teaching them and I know that they are going to be blessed with miracles and increased happiness as they come unto Christ.
Lately I have been feeling kinda down and that I am falling short of the missionary who I ought to be, but I am so grateful for the knowledge that our Heavenly Father loves me and that through the Atonement all can be made right.  As I study the scriptures and the words of the prophets, I feel the Spirit strengthen my desire to be whom the Lord wants me to be and I can feel my testimony grow deeper.  I know that it is true for all of us and the Lord loves us and is more pleased with us than we really think He is.  Thanks for your prayers and emails I really appreciate it.  I hope that you know that I love you!

With love,
Elder Garlick
Pics; sorry I'll try and send some soon!

 

Letter Sent on April 1, 2013

Dearest Family,

Happy Easter!! I hope that it is a special day for you and that you feel closer to the Savior.  I am so grateful for this time of year and for all the reminders that we are blessed with that testify of Him and His Resurrection and Atonement.  Helps me to "always remember him". How are you?? I am doing swell and things here in Tuek Thla are going great as well. Happy Easter!
This past week we had some really cool things and some neat experiences.
We have a less active man that we are working with named Bong Pov and we usually meet him a couple of times a week, this week we went to meet with him a couple of times and asked his home teacher, Channa, to come and help fellowship him and help us teach. We had a great lesson about families and how the gospel helps our families. The most powerful part was when Channa(who is a sealed in the temple RM) shared his testimony with Bong Pov about his family and just expressed sincere love for Bong Pov. It was really neat to be there and see the pure love and sincerity that he had for Bong Pov and for the Savior Jesus Christ. He also invited him and his family to come to a family home evening this month at his house. His testimony is so strong and really is a great example to me and showed me the power of a dedicated home teacher and of how much of a difference that a loving home teacher can make.  It is so great seeing members doing missionary work!
There was a very nice man and his wife that are not members yet but came to church yesterday and seemed to be loving it, they said it was their second or third time going. They have tons of potential!! And, we are going to meet them today and we are way pumped because it is a FAMILY!!!! I'll tell you more about them and their story.. The Lord is constantly leading those whom He has prepared all around the world.
Easter is such a special time of year and I just want to share my testimony that I know that Jesus Christ lives.  I know that He has suffered, died, and been resurrected for each one of us individually because he loves us, each one of us individually.  I know that is true no matter where we are or no matter how alone or lost we feel.  I know that through Christ's Atonement everything can be made right and I am so grateful for that and for the hope it blesses me with.  I have just seen a lot of powerful examples of sincere testimony the past week and I really want to strengthen mine and be really sincere and as "bold as a lion".  Something that Bong Channa invited a couple of families that we visited with, and that I want to apply and invite you to do as well is to pray and ask God if Christ really is our Savior and if He really was resurrected does live for us today. (1 Nephi 15:11)  He lives! And what a blessing it is to share that with our brothers and sisters!

With love,
Elder Tanner Garlick

Letter Sent on March 25, 2013

Dear Family,

Hey how are ya? Wow, right now it is sure hot in this internet cafe although it's nice when the fan hits every few seconds for a few seconds!  The heat just adds to the fun of being a missionary:)
Welp I had more written but I accidently deleted it and I have to go soon....
Sorry this is super short but I'm actually in a really big hurry today!

With love,
Elder Garlick

Letter Sent on March 18, 2013

Dear Family,

How are you doing? I am doing pretty swell her in Cambodia!
Can I just start off by saying that I love my mission here in Cambodia? I really do so much.  I feel so grateful to be serving here and for the privilege to be serving our Christ like brothers and sisters here. Like this random little boy named Nov Visal that just barely came and said hi to me:)
This week has been good.  Right now we have a few investigators but not a ton and it's been kinda hard to meet with some of them so when we have time we have been doing a lot of contacting! We have been really trying to open our mouths and talk with everyone around us.  We are going to keep talking with as many people as we can about the gospel and I have faith that the Lord will lead us to those whom He has prepared or lead them to us.
I have been getting to know the area a lot better and I am really happy to be serving here in Tuek Thla.  One of my favorite members here is a man named Pu Sarom.  He was a less active man who has just recently been reactivated.  He is a shoemaker and he makes shoes for a living.  He was not so active and was not really getting a lot of orders of shoes, however, the Elders would visit him and he started coming back to church and then not to long afterwards became very busy with lots of work and lots of shoe orders.  He has a great wife and 2 children.  Yesterday he received the Melchizedek Priesthood and a calling as like the assistant branch clerk.  Super cool to see! Nothing like a less active member coming back to the fold.
Last night we went and visited a member who has been making progress with coming back to church.  Her name is Ming Hol. She wasn't able to make it to church this week because she stayed home to take care of her husband.  He is older and he is drunk a lot and just really frail and tiny.  She doesn't want to leave him at home by himself because she was afraid of him falling down and getting hurt.  Her husband was sleeping when we came over and she said that he had fallen down and that he hadn't been able to eat all day long and he's just been really out of strength.  We gave him a blessing and I had the privilege of being voice and it was just a really special experience-to be able to bless that frail little man with strength and with love from above.
I am forever grateful for Christ and for His priesthood.  I am sometimes just filled with this great love for the Cambodian people that just fills my heart and I know that it comes from Christ.  I know that He loves us all and that we can feel of His love and show our love for Him when we serve others. Let's all try and look for the many opportunities we have each day to serve those around us that stand in need and to love as Christ would.  I promise that as we do we will be happy and feel of His love and appreciation.
Have a super week!
Love,
Elder Garlick
Pics. Card reader is being weird..

Letter Sent on March 11, 2013

Dear Family,

Hey hey how are you guys? It's great to hear that things are warming up back home and all, spring is on its way! It's been a kinda crazy week a lot has happened since last P Day.  There was Zone Conferences and a bunch of busy stuff happening-great news! in the Battambang province(my first area) they finally had the branch split and now there are 3 Branches there apparently the work is just exploding and there is just a lot of great growth and success there.  I miss it a lot. But feel so blessed that I got to serve there for 6 months. So yeah, transfer stuff got figured out a little bit later than usual, so we got told on Tuesday night instead of the usual Sunday night… and guess what? I got transferred! I am no longer in Ta Khmao but am now in an area of Phnom Penh called Tuek Thla. It is probably the most city like area that I have been in and is kinda different from Ta Khmao but I really like it a lot here.
My companion's name is Elder Robert Mitchell Pettit from Taylorsville Utah! He is in the same group as Elder Jensen and has been in the country for a solid 7 months now. He is a hard worker, good at the language, and great at missionary work-I am excited to be serving with him.  On top of that is he is really into running and so we are probably going to start going running with each other, I'm really excited about that!
I miss Ta Khmao, Elder Jensen, and the members there.  It was a great final few days there, we had a really great lesson with Om Gum Ly and Bong Na about the Plan of Salvation and they both seem to be progressing well and especially Bong Na is growing in faith.  Bong Na's 6year old daughter actually has been coming to church with Om Gum Ly and absolutely loves it, has learned to pray in Primary, and helps push her mom and grandmother because she likes it so much.  One family had us over and made us a really yummy meal and gave me a parting gift, this Chinese shirt with a sweet dragon stitched into it. I love it! I love the members and everyone in Ta Khmao and will miss them.
But I really like things here in Tuek Thla, I am still trying to get used to everything and get to know the area but from what I've seen the past days the area is great! Good members, nice house, good companion, I can't complain:)
We don't really have many investigators right now, so Elder Pettit and I are going to try and do a lot of finding and contacting potential investigators.  We have an appointment tonight with a referral we just got so we hope that all will go great with that! The other day we read a chapter in the Book of Mormon with one of our Recent Converts and her 19 year old brother joined in as well and read with us, his name is Sam Onn and has sat in on a few lessons before and he came to church on Sunday too! We are going to try and start teaching him more this week!
I feel so blessed to be serving here.  I know that the Lord is truly preparing His children all around the world for the gospel and I have really been seeing it the past few days here seeing referrals being given out by members and people being led to the church.  I  love you and hope that you have a great week!

Love,
Elder Garlick

Khmer Language Lesson of the Week-Battambong translated means "lost stick", Sen Sok means like "eternal peace", Ta Khmao means "black grandpa", and Tuek Thla means "clear water"

Letter Sent on March 4, 2013

Dear Family,

How are you doing? Things here in Cambodia are heating up.  Definitely can tell that the hot season is coming in full swing! Wow it's gonna be super hot like it was last year.
This past week we had a Zone Conference and had Elder Wilson of the 70 and his wife come and help teach us.  It was super great and I learned a lot, we learned especially about repentance and about using the Book of Mormon in conversion.  I am really grateful for great leaders and for opportunities to learn.  I want to strive and use the Book of Mormon more and I have a desire to study it more sincerely.
We had a great lesson this past week with a couple of our investigators, Om Gumly and her daughter Bong Na. We finished the first lesson with them and gave them baptismal dates for the 24th of March. Then we met with them again and felt impressed as we followed up with their reading and stuff to talk again about the Book of Mormon and about praying to receive a witness. I just remember us asking Bong Na to start reading Moroni 10: 3-5 for us and as she started reading those words I felt the Spirit fill the room. It was a testimony builder for me and helped me recognize the power that the Book of Mormon really has! Just reading the words has such a powerful effect. I love the Book of Mormon and as I've been reading it personally I am strengthened and inspired to be better, the prophets words seem to ring through the pages! Om Gumly and Bong Na are doing really good, Gumly says that she believes! Bong Na isn't so sure yet but really wants to know and says that if she does come to know it is true that she's going to join and get her family to do so as well.
Things are going good here. Thanks for everything and have a great week!

Love,
Elder Garlick

 

Pics; Last P-day I was in the mission home and a couple of my friends from my old area in Sen Sok came to pick up their mission calls! Chenda and Sarat! They both are going to be serving here in Cambodia and start their missions on May 10; I was so happy to see these great guys.  Plus there are 2 Sen Sok sisters that are serving here that just got back from the MTC in the Philippines. So come May there will be 5 missionaries serving from that small branch in Sen Sok. Tubeular!!

 

 

Letter Sent on February 25, 2013

 

Dear Family,

This week has been good!  It seemed like it was a little hard because we got ditched a lot and a lot of our plans fell through.  But, that is a part of missionary work and we still worked hard and saw some great things happen.
We had a cool experience with going to visit a less active man who is the father of a couple really great strong members-one of which sed to be our Branch Mission Leader, Seiha, who will hopefully go on a mission sometime in the near future.  Anywho, We were biking down the road and felt a prompting to go and visit this less active man(Seiha's dad).  We had never really sat down and talked with him before and a lot of times he is not home but we followed the prompting and he just so happened to be home-miracle! We sat down and visited with him and had a good talk with him and developed a lot more trust, we were able to develop some trust with him and we were able to understand what he is struggling with more.  He talked a lot about how he loves his kids, he really works hard to support them so that they can go to school and learn, and he wants them to be strong and active in the church and not make the same mistakes as he has. It was great and a big step in our developing trust with him and helping him come back.
We also had a cool experience with one of our recent converts, Ming Leak, and her new home teacher, Kaem Chheun.  He asked us to come with him because his companion was taking care of his sick wife at the hospital.  So we went hometeaching with him and showed him where our Ming Leak lives.  It was a great visit and it was really cool to see the trust and the bond being established between our recent convert, Ming Leak, and her hometeacher.  It just really assures me that she is in good hands and will be taken care of and supported by the Priesthood in the branch.  Super cool!
Elder Jensen and I have been getting along really good and have some great love and unity in our companionship. We have been really trying to be prayerful and receive revelation-when we disagree about something-we take it to the Lord and pray to know what he would have us do.  This is something that we have been doing and it really helps strengthen my testimony of revelation and that the Lord is at the head of this work.
Things are going good and I know that this really is the work of the Lord. Sorry this is kinda short but that is all I've got today! Have a great day and I'll talk to you next week!

Love,
Elder Garlick

Letter Sent on February 18, 2013

Dear Family,

 

Hi how are you doing?? Long time no see :) For me,

This week has been pretty good.  I had the opportunity of going on an exchange with Elder Jongsma! We went into my area and it really was a good exchange and we had some cool things happen. The focus for the exchange was to have every lesson that we taught focused on and tied into Jesus Christ. Which of course we should always do, but we wanted to set a special goal to do that in every lesson.  We wanted to come out of each lesson having lifted up and helped inspire those who we taught to stand taller and have a commitment to be a little better. 

We did a great job with accomplishing this goal and we had a cool experience visiting with a less active man named Kosal! He is 72 years old and has been a member since 1999-a long time.  He has been having some heart problems and we had a really good visit with him and he shared about himself and about his family some.  He is a super polite guy and very kind and welcoming. He talked about how he has made mistakes and so he stopped going to church.  We shared about how Christ still loves us even when we make mistakes and that His arms are always outstretched and that through His Atonement we can change.  It was a good lesson and I hope he felt the Spirit and was lifted by what we shared.  He prayed for us at the end which was also really great to hear.  When we asked him if we could come visit him again he said that yeah we could come anytime and that he is always home!  So that was great and hopefully we will be able to keep meeting with him and build up that trust again and help him come back to the church and use his Priesthood worthily. 

We have a couple of investigators that are newer; Srey Pov, Ming Sophat, and Bong Daen, that are doing good and I believe they will really keep progressing a lot this coming week.

We had a good PEC meeting a couple of weeks ago and the branch president kinda took the ropes a little with home teaching and did some assigning of home teaching companionships- and so now there are officially 8 great companionships and each has two families to teach.  So yeah super cool stuff-when home teaching becomes more and more established the branch will become more and more stronger and the members will be blessed a lot.

Something I have been thinking of lately and something that I read about is the importance of relationships.  Really in our lives relationships are the most important things that we have!  I remember Pres. Moon teaching about this a lot at a specialized training meeting we had, that when wondering where to prioritize that we ought to focus on relationships.  We really are so blessed to have all the relationships that we have, with our families, friends, and most of all with the Lord.  I read a talk by Pres. Uchtdorf called, "Of Things That Matter Most" recently.  He talks of how we need to focus on the the most important things-the basics-which he states are our relationships; 1.With our God, 2, With our families, 3. With our fellow men, and 4. With ourselves.  I am grateful for his talk and I love what he said,

 "Brothers and sisters, diligently doing the things that matter most will lead us to the Savior of the world...Let us be wise. Let us turn to the pure doctrinal waters of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ" I am grateful for all the relationships that I am blessed to have in my life and for those I am developing here in Cambodia.  The Cambodian people are so Christ like and it is an honor to be able to serve them.  I love you and I hope that we can all take a step back and consider where we are in our relationships.  Have a super week!

 

Love,
Elder Garlick

Pics; 1.Elders @ The Branch Valentines Party! Elder Price, Kaev, Garlick, Jensen, Scott, Jongma

2. The Preach my Class.  They were super pumped about the class and brought in a cake and we blew out the candle together to celebrate the birth of the class:) I love these guys!

3. Khemrin-an awesome member here in Ta Khmao.  He just barely got set apart as a missionary and is now in the Philippines MTC and will be serving here in Cambodia shortly!