Letter Sent on May 28, 2012

 

Dear Family,

Things are going good here in Battambang! This week was really cool as our Elders Quorum President, Puu Salmon, gave us a referral of his little brother and his wife, we were by his house and then he came home and told us his brother wanted to learn! It was great, then when we were going off his brother, Viisnaa, and his wife, Daavii, showed up and we were able to meet them right then at his house! They are great, they came to church this past Sunday too.  They ask good questions and yesterday asked us for a Book of Mormon(which we were more than happy to give). They are pretty funny! We are very excited to be teaching them.

We have an investigator named Puu Sociat whose wife is Srei Doic.  We are working with him with the Word of Wisdom and he missed church last week cause he was sick and this week again because he was helping a friend with his Moto.. Which is hard because the only day he can meet us is Sunday as he works from 6:30am to 9pm Monday through Saturday..we feel that he maybe is losing hope that he can conquer his addiction but we will strive to contact him more throughout the week to strengthen and encourage him.  He can do it. But we just need to help him be committed and understand and rely on the Atonement for strength beyond his own.

I know that the Holy Spirit helps guide the work.  There will be many times when I will just feel an impression to go talk to someone or just to do something and I know that it comes from the Lord and even if they are not super interested. I have also noticed it just with little things to help me get along better with others and my companion.  Makes me want to do all that I can to always be clean and worthy of His guidance and also to listen. 

This week I also had the opportunity to go on an exchange with Elder Gerrard in my area, since Elder Oleson took Elder Jensen on an exchange in his area.  Yeah, I was a little apprehensive for this exchange judging the fact that he had been here for a week and me, 3 months.  But things went really well and the Lord blessed us with a great day.  I was surprised by my Khmer and realized that I knew more than I thought I did! It was good having to be forced to talk a lot more and to be more confident.  I feel like the language has gotten a lot better within the past few weeks.  I felt pretty good about myself and probably, a little prideful, so I am thankful that-at the end of the exchange- when we were waiting at a street corner for the other Elders to switch back that a man that we contacted was having a hard time understanding a whole of what I was saying, sometimes I would try and explain something or ask him something and he would say he couldn't understand.  The Lord will not have prideful missionaries.  So I was grateful for that slice of humble pie to remind me of my reliance on the Lord!:)

We are seeing a lot of new investigators coming out of the woodwork, and we had a lot of LA's and Recent Converts at church on Sunday which was great to see! One less active named Piiro we found when we were coming back from meeting a new investigator who lived really far away and as we were biking back in the dark and it was on a road that we had never been on before and we hear someone yell, "Elder!" so we stopped and it was Piiro who has been a member for a real long time but also very inactive-so we got his phone number and all and we ended up meeting him again another time when we were meeting that same investigator and we went and taught him how to pray again.  And he came to church this Sunday for the full 3 hours!  Just another simple yet amazing miracle of how the Lord will put people in the our path, how blessed we are! Missionary work is definitely work; but, I love the people here and I love the Savior and I know that this is indeed His work and his glory, the gospel blesses my life so much and I am grateful for the opportunity to share it.  I love the Book of Mormon and my testimony of it continues to grow the more I study it.  I just feel the Spirit and a desire to be better, every time I read it. It testifies of Christ and I know that it is a gift from God.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is our Heavenly Father's church restored to the earth and I know that He leads it through his prophet, President Monson.  Just hope you know that I know these things are true.
Things are going good and we will continue to work our hardest!  Thanks for all you do, I love you.  Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Garlick

Letter Sent on May 21, 2012

 

Dear Dear Family:),

Things are going good here in Battambang! This week has been an exciting one for me with having a new companion and all and sending Elder Nebeker off. I love Elder Nebeker so much and am thankful for all that he did for me and all he taught me.

It was weird and sad saying bye and sending him off to Phnom Penh on Wednesday.  I went down to the city on Friday with Elder Sin and Elder Khlot who are both going to new areas.  I will sure miss them!  But yeah anywho, we rode the bus for like 6 hours there and then went to the mission home to meet our new companions.  My new companion's name is, Elder Jensen! He is from Fort Collins, Colorado; and he has been out for just over a year now.  He is our new District leader.  He is very organized, and he's a nice guy!  

There were 23 missionaries that came in which is a TON.  Twelve of them are Sister Missionaries and before that we had...8. hah:) The work here is definitely growing and it's really exciting.  We actually got another set of Sister Missionaries in Battambang and they are in our branch which is really exciting as well!  

One of the best parts of going to the city was that I got to meet up with most of my group from the MTC which was so great!  I haven't seen pretty much all of them for 3 months since I haven't been to Phnom Penh since I first got here.  It was really great talking with them and especially Elder Barney and just seeing them and how they are doing.  You definitely have a special connection with the group of missionaries were your district in the MTC, cause we are all in the same place going through similar things.

Elder Nebeker and I had a really cool experience last week; We had a referral that we had contacted and had set an appointment to meet...and was pouring rain really really strong. We were soaked. And so we met our member help under this big gas station canopy where she was waiting for us to go and help teach.  And when we got there this guy, Croy, came up to us and asked, "Are you Mormons?" and we told him that, "As a matter of fact we are!" and he then told us that his mom is a member in Phnom Penh and had told him about the church and encouraged him to look into it.  However, he didn't know where it was and he said he had been looking around for us and he found us! It was a really cool experience being led to him-as he was seeking shelter from the rainstorm at the gas station too-and it just strengthens my testimony that we may not know where all of God's children are; but, I know that He does and that He love us all one by one.

He came to church with his wife and son this Sunday and we met him and his wife that night and he is going to continue to keep learning, another incredible miracle.

Things are going well, it's a change being the one who knows the area and having to take charge a lot of the time until Elder Jensen becomes more used to it.  It's stretching and humbling.  Plus we have 2 new American Elders in our zone-it's really weird not being the youngest one anymore...there's actually a group under me-crazy! It makes me feel even more of a need to work hard and to be a good example! Things are going well.

As always, thank you so much for your love and prayers.  I am so thankful for you.  And I cannot express that enough.

Okay I'd better get going-I love you!

Love,

Elder Garlick

Pics; The District President's fam! Elder Nebeker and I love them so much, they were the last members we met with before he left. Incredible family.  Elder Sin bought this yummy treat for at a bus stop.. They made me try some.. haha:) They actually were pretty yummy! haha, only in Cambodia.. They had a mothers day program yesterday! Real neat. Don't know why it wasn't last week? haha, but here is a picture we took afterwards of all the women in the branch!  Another picture of our house.  Me and Elder Jensen! A picture from mine and Elder Khlot's photo shoot a few weeks back.  Probably my favorite missionary yet, Elder Monkey!:)

Letter Sent on May 14, 2012

Dear Family,

Things are going good here in Battambang!  We had a baptism this past week and that was really great; the investigator's name was Viilai and she is awesome.  Elder Nebeker baptized her and afterwards she bore a very powerful testimony.  It is so great to see her now as a full fledged member, she has such a sincere desire, is so strong, and is just the epitemy of a "golden investigator".  She is going to do some great things in the Church and in her life!  I am so grateful to be able to see the change in her life and her desire to share this with her family.

We seem to have a smaller pool of investigators right now but we have a lot of really great potential investigators that we are going to start meeting and I am excited as I feel that we will continue to see some exciting things here in Battambang!

When I was with Elder Oleson on an exchange in his area on Friday we witnessed a couple of miracles.  One thing that we had decided to do was strive to pray periodically throughout the day together and keep the Lord involved. We had taught a lesson and then another lesson had fallen through and we went just a little ways down this dirt path where it was nice and quiet to say a prayer together.  And after we did we just went riding down the path to maybe contact some people and see what was down the road and when we got to the end a short ways down it ended at this house and there was a guy laying in a hammock and he came and talked to us and it turns out it was a less-active member! Elder Oleson had been looking for him but didn't have any info but his name, baptism date, and a very vague address.  He had asked members too but couldn't find him..till that day!  We got his phone number and had a good little chat with him. We were definitely led to him.   It was pretty incredible.  And we were sure to say another prayer of gratitude afterwards!

We later were contacting and coming out of a contacting slump for the day and we just felt like we should contact this older man and nothing too special happened-but it seems like the first contact of the day is always the hardest; after that we were in the contacting mode and started going down the street and felt like we should talk to another man who was interested and scheduled an appointment with him, then we continued contacting and the next three people we contacted seemed prepared, ready, and had an interest in learning more, we scheduled appointments with them all as well.  All of these people were within like 50 feet of each other and it was so cool seeing how we were led to them.  2 of them even came to church a few days later.  It was very neat to see how the Lord led us to those who were ready and prepared.  This just strengthened my testimony of the simple power of prayer and also that the Lord truly does know where each of his children are-we don't, but if we will listen, He will guide us to them.

Elder Nebeker will be going home this week.. I will miss him!  We have grown to be good friends. And I am so appreciative of all that he has done for me and for all of his love and teachings.  He is very patient to put up with me!  I have learned so much from him and he has got me off to a great start here in Cambodia.  I love him and will miss him.

I love this scripture in Alma 56:45-48; "Therefore what say ye, my sons, will ye go against them to battle?..even so they said unto me:  Father, behold our God is with us, and he will not suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth..they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them. And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it."  I love this story and the incredible example of these Stripling Warriors and most of all I love and am grateful for my moms who have taught me and helped make me who I am today.

Well know that I am doing well and that it was super sweet being able to talk to you all, I am glad that all is going well!:)  I love you. a. lot. And I guess I'll talk to you later! haha, Have another great week! And Happy Mothers Day! Personally, probably the best one I've had yet, hah:)

Love,

Elder Garlick

Pics; Our investigator named Cet who is actually just moved to a place called Kambung Cam, we'll be giving his number to the missionaries there so he can continue learning; Viilai, she's pretty short huh? She's great!; A bunch of our friends!; Our investigator Bong Da had a baby!; Elder Khlot will be leaving to another area this week-I love this Elder!; Elder Nebeker-Ditto; Puu Sokciat(investigator) and Srei Doic's(recent convert) family; Puu Sarin and Ming Siinaa's (investigator)family. 

Letter Sent on May 7, 2012

 

Things are going good here in Battambang! This past I was on an exchange with Elder Sin and Elder Khlot for a few days while our companions were away learning how to become better leaders at a Leadership Conference in Phnom Penh.  It was a good exchange and I love these two elders very much.  It was humbling and good for me when we were in my area and taking the lead and be the senior companion for a bit.  I feel like exchanges really help me grow.  Elder Sin became really sick on Thursday and we ended up taking him to the hospital and he got some help with really bad stomach cramps he came home and rested the rest of the day.  But he was still in a lot of pain and so he went back to the hospital and it turns out he has salmonella poisoning and kidney stones...yeah not fun I felt really bad for him! But it was a good exchange and we had a lot of fun together, we went and supported the family of an incredible member who passed away this past week at the funeral. I mentioned her in my last email I believe.  It was one of the best funerals I've been to and I am so thankful for the Plan of Salvation. One of you was telling me about how precious life is and how blessed we are to have the gospel and the knowledge that we have, I couldn't agree more and that is something that has become so much more clear to me and my testimony has been strengthened a lot. Thanks pal:)

This week has been good with Viilai, we were able to finish teaching all the lessons for her and go through the baptismal questions and she is having her interview for baptism this Wednesday and her baptism is on Saturday. She is super prepared and truly is a "golden investigator" she just listens so intently and she does the simple things that we ask her to do. Pray, read the Book of Mormon every day, and go to church.  It just is so cool how as she does those things she grows so much and she has spiritual experiences.  I feel like I need to help my investigators feel the Spirit and as they do they will hopefully develop a desire to have more experiences like that. I think I remember hearing from Elder Scott in conference that desire opens the door to revelation and I feel that helping the investigators really desire to know and keep commitments will truly help them progress. She also told us that her teacher just isn't teaching on Sundays anymore because he doesn't have enough students which she figured out soon after she prayed and felt that she could keep this commandment.  Such a miracle.  There are so many simple miracles in our lives every day.
It seems like every day is a battle and so many people need to be strengthened it seems like all the members and investigators need help and sometimes it can seem overwhelming.  It is crazy going from a ward in Utah that has members that have been members for generations coming here where the church is so new.  There is a lot to be taught but the members here are incredible and I know that with the Lord all things will work out:)  I have much to learn and need to lean on Him more.  I feel like I need to do better at achieving personal goals, not just making the goals but mastering the principles of achieving goals.  I just need to learn to focus better on goals and be more committed which is what I plan to do.
The language has really taken a big click this week and I have noticed the hand of the Lord in helping me read, speak, and understand so much better,(however, I still have a long way to go!!:) I have some people that tell me I really know Khmer well and others will tell me straight up that I don't know it good at all.  So I'm not sure what to think:) The Khmer people are really super blunt which I kinda like..sometimes:)  Maybe being with 2 Cambodian companions for a few days helped a lot.  I feel so blessed and I know that the Lord has helped me so much and I can testify that I have had divine help in learning all that I have.  I still have so much to learn though..which is good though I don't want to become too "comfortable".
An amazing talk that is definitely worth checking out is "Faith-the Choice Is Yours" by Bishop Richard C. Edgley.  It is one of my favorite talks on faith.  He talks about how we have the choice to choose faith always and it is up to us.  He says, "I wish to suggest a single choice-a choice of peace and protection and a choice that is appropriate for all.  That choice is faith.  Be aware that faith is not a free gift given without thought, desire, or effort..So I say, choose faith.  Choose faith over doubt, choose faith over fear, choose faith over the unknown and the unseen, and choose faith over pessimism..Yes, faith is a choice, and it must be sought after and developed. Thus, we are responsible for our own faith.  We are also responsible for our lack of faith.  The choice is yours." I love this so much and I want to strengthen my faith even further.  I feel like I used to think, "Well I don't have a choice in my faith or I can't help it if I have a doubt.."but those thoughts are from the adversary and we can always choose faith and choose to strengthen our faith.  Something cool I have learned and am still working to apply I hope that that maybe means something to you too.
Anywho, know that I am doing great! Probably the happiest I've been so far since I've been here.  I feel that this week has been a big turn in my mission and my attitude and as I continue to move forward I know that things will keep getting better.  I love you so much and thanks for all of your love, support, emails, and most of all prayers.  It means a lot.
Love,
Elder Garlick

Pics: A monkey!! I was scared to get to close because Elder Sin was telling me that it bites...haha! When it opens it's mouth like that it means it wants to bite.. serious.  Elder Khlot, Elder Sin, and Me on a tuk tuk (pretty much a trailer welded to the back of a moto) We got poured on.  The sisters.  A picture of right now, I went and stood in the rain right outside the internet shop, in case you were wondering what it looks like right now.