Alison Fabricius still alive and kicking in Cambodia

Dear Family,

    Guess what, I am in Cambodia, I thought you ought to know.  First things first Jennifer, I have a blog you need to look up and get a link for    NomadicTurtleinCambodia.weebly.com   this is the blog of Chi Hoa (Sister Hays) and she has more adventures from the MTC and here in Cambodia, we are in different areas and only see each other once a week, but she is very detail oriented and you might enjoy reading about other adventures.  I apologize for not sending pictures, my computer today is a bit ghetto, but next week.  Second thing, I have received dear elders that were sent Aug 7 and the "package"from Jennifer which I love, it only took 14 days to arrive.  However a senior couple tells me that is not the norm, usually it takes at least a month.  So if by chance anyone is thinking of Christmas yet (I am starting early due to shipping time) think fruit snacks, which don't exist on this side of the planet, and leggings, slips don't breath in the humidity and I feel bad having my skirts whipping all over the place...so just some food for thought.

   My time is short, I still am not used to having a timer count down the last moments I have of communication with home, but I shall still try and share some random things.

  First, I am SSOOOO grateful I started growing our my hair last November, so it is hot and my hair gets big with the humidity, but at least I can put most of it up so I'm not quite so hot and sweaty.

  Next, dear family and who ever else might be reading I would ask you all to read the introduction to the Book of Mormon and the introduction to the Doctrine and Covenants.  Those two documents remind us how blessed we are and what knowledge the Lord wants to bless us with.  Heavenly Father is so good and sometimes I don't think we realize how much he has to share with us.

  Third,  the Lord taught me something this week that rather caught me by surprise.  I have suffered this week from some ""indigestion"" as my body adjusts to the new food, which meant there were a couple days where food really wasn't looking all that great.  Feeling thus enhungered I admit my attitude could have used some work.  But the more I prayed and the more I focused on what the Lord called me to do the more I was able to do the work and feel capable to survive to the end of everyday.  As I talked with my companion about certain challenges we face being Vietnamese missionaries in Cambodia (and believe me there has been a time or two when my comp corrected every word that came out of my mouth or I wanted to say something so badly and literally couldn't or when i was so hungry and just missed string cheese and potato chips, when I asked why am I in Cambodia) we realized something significant.  Each trial we face or each challenge we overcome is simply training wheels for something amazing the Lord is preparing to put in our path.  If I learn about hunger myself I can better relate to the people I teach and have greater empathy as I teach them.  If I face frustration about the language and truly learn how to listen and discern the intent of people I can use that skill in classes, in marriage and at work.  Each thing we face is simply preparation for something awe inspiring the Lord has for us.  I don't know what trials will come to each of us, but I know if we face them with the knowledge the Lord will bless and help us and that he is simply helping prepare us for something greater, which in the end is eternal life with our family, we can and will do hard things.

  Lastly, dear family and those I love, please, please go to the temple.  As a plea from one who is so far away, make the temple apart of your life.  My companion and I talked about the blessings of the temple use them in your life.  I am so proud that Chris is preparing right now to go and I know whether it is the first time or the fiftieth, the Lord has something special for us to learn.

   I am thankful for the miracles the Lord shows me everyday here.  Whether it is thinking we had to give up our best investigator to another area only to realize she is ours to keep, help, teach, love and prepare for baptism (we extend the invitation to be baptized tomorrow) or whether it is a 24 yr old young man who finds us, asks for rice, but when we tell him to pray to God he does and receives ten dollars from his uncle. Because of that one act of faith he met with us everyday last week, is meeting with us this week, came to church, attended a baptism and wants to be baptized.  When I told him the Lord would bless and take care of him, I didn't mean money, but the Lord is providing for him as he needs and Anh Hoang has such a desire to serve and learn.

  I know the Lord knows us and he knows how to help us.  I know the relationship with Heavenly Father is as personally and loving as we want and allow it to be.  I love you all so much, I know this church is true, I am at long last excited, oh so very excited to love and serve his people, dried tofu, full shrimp with heads on, octopus legs or not, this is his Gospel, a Gospel of forever happiness and He is letting me bring special deliveries of joy to the children of God.  

May we each find joy in our journey is my prayer, 

 Sister Dao Fabricius

Still Kicking in Cambodia

Dear Family,
   Despite all my thoughts to the contrary I have actually survived another week in Cambodia, I fear I have felt many a Eustace like thought in my first week here, but I have survived and I think I have come out of the week with a better perspective and more excitement for the work than ever before.  I believe I have come to this conclusion without having to be transformed into a dragon and back again, but you'll have to take that up with my companion to know for sure (for any of you at a complete loss, please watch or read Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S Lewis).
   I was able to find a long sleeve sweater-ish type thing last week and we are heading out this afternoon to find a long sleeve shirt, after the initial burn I got my skin is going a nice brown color, but at least the Kmer still think I have pretty skin.  I fear I have already lost ten pounds here between the biking over hill and dale (as the great Sam Bennion once said I shall have calf muscles like ents) and being afraid of the chicken neck, but thankfully after the MTC I had some weight to spare and I have now found the joys of PB&J sandwiches without the jelly I also found that I quite enjoy squid over fried noodles, in fact it tastes more like chicken then the chicken does here.
   These last two weeks I have found myself missing home more than ever before.  I haven't cried, I can't afford to ruin what complexion I have left :-) but it has taken me some real thought to decide why I am here and what I should be doing.  Yes I did learn my purpose in the MTC, to invite others to come unto Christ.  But this last week I have thought alot about what that really means.  As we left a family's flat, who were so poor that the baby only had underwear and not even a real diaper, the mother kept telling us how poor they were and we knew it because we saw it.  Apparently the last missionaries who had visited them were from another church and left the family money.  When we didn't leave any money they lost interest in our message.  As we left that appointment I was so frustrated, I had tried my best to communicate in the language and bare testimony of our message, I felt the spirit, yet she felt nothing.  I promised her blessings and peace.  But as I rode away I realized I didn't do enough.  I focused on the here and now offering no specifics and little hope.  I am here to share the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, which means without this message this family cannot be together for eternity.  Oh I know they will have another opportunity, but when I enter into someone's home I come with an eternal message of joy, but also very real, specific blessings here.  If these people receive the Spirit they will know how to improve the life of their family, they will have the Spirit to know what training to get and where to go for a job, they have the maker of the Universe promising them He will open the windows of heaven.  Those are the blessings and promises I must extend if I am to do this work.  I'm thankful for that moment of insight (some was thinking of what Pres. Moon has told us about the Spirit) and hope to apply as I visit more people.  Their lives are so much harder than I can imagine, so I owe them patience and love, with the Lord I can do that.
  The Lord has sent so many blessings this week, in so many different forms, I feel your love and support and am so thankful for it.  As for the blessings, whether it was finding a man who could speak English as well as Kmer and wanted to know how Jesus Christ could help him (we gave his number  to the APs) or taking a member home and having a young man stop us on Saigon Bridge and asked for our number telling us he has been searching for the missionaries for about a year or receiving the inspiration to buy a poncho two minutes before the most magnificient rain storm of my entire life, I was drenched, dripping and almost drowned, but my shirt was dry.  The longer I am away from home learning things about budgeting, about relationships, about helping people, about listening to the Spirit, the more I feel God's love for me.  I am so thankful for the time I have to share eternity with other people.   The Lord loves us, he knows us and he blesses us daily, I have felt his Spirit as I stumblingly bare testimony of Christ.  This is His Gospel and as we pray and are obedient, we can be changed to be like him thru the Atonement.
   I wish my parents a happy 30th anniversary and love you all,
  Chi Dao

Cambodia, Here I Am

Dear Family,
   So today I have an hour to email, but between an email to Pres Moon and reading emails my time feels like it is gone already, but I shall do my best.  Here are some pictures to send your way.  I have tons more, but no time or space to send them.  Some are from the MTC, one is from the Hong Kong airport the first time I've ever left the country and landed on another and some are from here in Cambodia, the watch line is from just one day in the sun (yikes, but I'll be getting long sleeves today, I hope as well as leggings so I'm not flashing everything to the world ;-) ).  Mom I'm glad you share the patriarchal blessing and do you trust me experiences, those are the experiences that are currently shaping my world right now, well that and beheaded frogs that still crawl around, but that is another story for another day. 
   I love my companion and I love my apartment mates.  My companion is Chi Loan from Ho Chi Min city, she served six weeks here before being whitewashed into Hanoi and she served there for 10 months.  We have now been whitewashed into the Vietnamese branch number six.  Chi Loan is the only member of her family who is a member, she found the church three years ago in Melbourne Australia where she also learned English.  As part of her learning the language we try to speak Viet outside and English in the apartment, but I'm trying to sneak Vietnamese phrases inside as well...
   I have no idea how to really share about my life here.  Pres and Sister Moon are amazing, I did talk to them about all my medical stuff and Sister Moon (who is over all the medical things) has it all arranged, so I don't need to worry about that.  I did eat raw salmon on the plane, it was Chi Hoa's birthday and I love her.  We have all been split up and Chi Hoa was so excited, she is over branch three far, far away from us.  Chi Hien and I actually ended up sharing an apartment she and her companion Chi Huong who is Northern Vietnamese and doesn't speak English are all one big happy family.  I have found out my stomach handles Vietnamese food much better than Khmer food so I am thankful both of my companions can cook. 
   Having whitewashed into the area Chi Loan and I have no idea who the members are or who the investigators are, we managed to get lost every time we've stepped out our door, but I am getting better at finding out where I am and looking for landmarks.  We have been trying desperately to find people to help, but it is like looking for a needle in a haystack, but I am thankful for a sister who has whitewashed before and who is ever diligent.  We did finally get some help from the elders who dropped us off at a recent converts place of residence ( my idea of home is still adjusting, most places other than our apartment, (which is so nice, clean, it has two fridges, a washing machine and blessing of blessings air conditioning and a water cooler for all our purified water); have a roof and three walls with tile floors and if they are middle income (loose term) they have lawn chairs for furniture).  Chu Nee and Co Sau are so kind and loving, we sat with them for an hour waiting for the elders, I had no idea what questions my companion asked so I didn't want to re-ask a question, but I did manage to ask them why they liked church and what their favorite scriptures were.  It was interesting going to the branch the next day and having Chu Nee be my third party to make sure the branch president knew what I was saying.  I had gone over to Chu Nee and asked him how his day was going, we struggled at first, but as soon as we hit a certain point I could understand him (if he talked slowly) and he could understand me.  Friday and Saturday were hard, just getting thrown into the work and having a behind so not used to a bike seat, plus going over a bridge multiple times in a day, but once I started meeting the actual people the work became fun.  I'm still not sure how I feel about going to the market, let's just say it is so very different from home, but I love the Vietnamese food and I love the Vietnamese people.  There is a work to do here, I have no idea how to do it at this moment, but I know I can.
  I have only been here days, yet I am already learning how much we require the Lord in our lives.  I think part of the reason I had to come was to begin learning what it really means to rely on the Lord, the Vietnamese are a powerful example of that and I shall do well to emulate them.
   Well family I still have a mission president to write and work to do, like buying long sleeves, a smaller bag, water and leggings so I must leave you for now.  I apologize in advance for the complete lack of letters, apparently our mission receives pouch mail and packages, but we don't send things through pouch.  It costs over a dollar to send things and that is if you go through Charlie the secretary at the mission home.  I shall try to spread my time on emails to hit everyone, but for today it is rush rush rush.
     I love you all and I am excited to go find my Vietnamese brothers and sisters.

Love,
Chi Dao

She made it!

Her mission president sent an email letting us know Sister Fabricius made it to Cambodia and is ready to serve. They spent the night at the mission home and will get their assignments today (tomorrow-this 13 hours ahead thing is weird).

The new group of missionaries with Pres. and Sister Moon

Sister Fabricius with Pres. and Sister Moon

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep, that's how it is!!!!!

Dear Family,

   Okay so maybe not, but maybe sort of.  It took me quite awhile to get sleep tonight because I kept thinking of all the things I needed to pack, all the packages I needed to package up, all the last minute details, thinking about my blessings instead of sheep (Irving Berlin lied, it didn't really work) and pondering on where life has been and where it has taken me.  I am still in shock that in about  two hours I will be on a bus to the SLC airport where I will board a plane to LAX where after a lovely layover I will be boarding a plane to a rather foreign country, oh wow... this is little old me who has never left the country before going to such a random crazy place as Cambodia, this could be fun ;-).  I never saw Cambodia coming, I never saw Vietnamese coming, heck I didn't see a mission coming til last year, but here I am with two name tags on my shirt (so I don't lose my Viet one) ready and so excited to serve the Lord.  I am told the Lord qualifies those he calls and I can only believe that is true, because I see me, someone who has never had the opportunity to learn an Asian language be able to bear testimony, pray and say thing what, and really what else does a sister missionary need starting out?

   The Lord has taught me so much here, but now it is time to leave, I feel myself becoming content and that isn't a good thing.  It is interesting how that has changed for me.  When I first got here I longed so much to feel in control of the situation, to be able to coast just for a day or two, to feel content for one moment, but now I fear feeling those things because it means I am ripe for destruction.  I guess that sounds rather serious, and I don't mean to be melodramatic, but for someone who has been called to such a work as this, there cannot be contentment.  If we could just see into the eternities and see what things God has in store for us and our potential, we would never be content again for we would know how much work we still have, but how fulfilling the work is.  I feel a greater peace in my life than I ever have before.  It comes from knowing that I am right where I need to be, right when the Lord needs me.  I have noticed the interesting stories that have brought our zone here together now (21 yr old elders that had so much against them, but came anyway, sisters whose bishops put an expedite on their papers and stories of the Lord saying go now, even when it didn't make sense) even our branch leadership came in with us and left this last Sunday of our stay.  Our Heavenly Father knows us so much, He loves us so much, his planning is so perfect for all of us, down to the smallest detail. Just thinking about it right now makes me so excited.  I can clearly see the missions of my companions and how they will go (I know I don't have stewardship, so I keep my mouth shut) but I don't see anything for myself, I don't know what is in store and that is okay.  Once more my Heavenly Father asks me "do you trust me?" and once more I am saying yes.  It is certainly easy to say that as I sit in a spotless computer lab with air conditioning and not a trouble in sight, but this is where faith begins.  Once we make the decision and pray to the Lord for strength we need never turn back.  Don't turn back, never turn back, never look back, never wonder of what might have been.  A friend once said that repentance is giving up the thought that life could have been different.  At this moment, in this one moment we might think of all the ways our lives could be different or that we made the wrong choice, it doesn't matter, for those are thoughts of the past, today is today, trust the Lord to make it great.

   My greatest desire in this moment, is to remember the advice I just gave and to keep it treasured up in my heart.  Dad always tells me to be optimistic and stick to the positive and I will, but anyone who knows me knows I am just a bit nervous, but if there is anything I have learned in my time here it is that Heavenly Father can do miracles and He can do a miracle in all of us, I am excited for that miracle.

   I thank you all for your love and support for these twelve weeks and for the adventures you have let me share in.  I know the Lord has great things in store for each of us, I hope we each move forward with excitement to see what is coming just as I prepare myself to board a plane and start a brand new exciting, interesting, adventurous, crazy, service-filled and strange new adventure.  I know God lives, He loves me (and you) and His Gospel is once more on the earth (thank you Thay Kiet).  

                              

                May that Love go with cac anh chi em      
                                    Chi D`ao