If you have to follow a food item with rice and spice, it isn't meant for the belly

Dear Family,
   I apologize from the get go for not having much to say today, it isn't that this week hasn't been full or busy, I am just so tired my brain isn't focusing on what I want it too.
   So first things first, I survived my first transfer...WWWOOOHHHHHHOOOOOO!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yep and I loved.  I can't say I loved every minute of it, but I loved most of it and am learning to love the rest of it!  I am with Chi Pham for another six weeks so we can finish the rest of our 12 week in-field training and I am so thankful she is my trainer, she is so fabulous. Our district leader told us to expect to stay in branch 6 for a while because of all the people we are finding and helping (and I really hope we do, even with a struggling branch I love it here) but I have learned and continue to learn that my life goes so much smoother when I trust the Lord and I follow his plan for my life.
   Second things second, I can't believe it will be my half birthday on Thursday, I am so not old enough to be 21 and a half, but there you have it, no one asked me how old I should be.  Now if we based my age on how I act, which between you and Chi Pham it can be quite a riot sometimes, I most definitly be 21, but I won't dwell on that right now.
   Third thing third,  life is amazing, anyone who disagrees isn't paying attention to all the many blessings Heavenly Father gives to us daily.  The very fact we have air to breath tells us our Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to succeed.  I would encourage everyone to pull out your patriarchal blessings (and if you don't have one prepare to get one) and see the gifts and blessings God has promised you, then think about how you are using them.  I did that this morning and was amazed by all the things the Lord has given me and all the amazing things he has planned for me, if I will be obedient and strive to do his work.  Also make time to read "The Holy temple, a beacon to the World" from May 2011 conference.  It is such an amazing talks and tells us about the wonderful blessings God has for his children, it also reminds us we have not accomplished the purpose of the Church if we do not enter into God's holy house.
  Last thing last, I had my first baptism yesterday-which put to rest the fear I wouldn't have any baptisms in Cambodia-and as I watched Co Kim Ly enter the waters of baptism I was reminded how much she wasn't mine.  I did help perhaps by explaining Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden and the Fall and perhaps I helped her as I testified about Christ and our loving Heavenly Father's plan for us, but all along she came pre-prepared.  She had a desire to believe before we even started teaching her.  As I struggle with the language (which I'm incorporating more and more into my everyday, I even now know the word for finger nail and almost) and can't communicate with people I realize how special the lessons I teach are.  Lessons are the only place where I can communicate freely in another language and I am understood.  I am so thankful for the Spirit of the Lord, for His helping me as I try to do his work and for the enabling power of the Atonement.  this is His Gospel and it is true.  
   May the Lord bless you all, Chi Dao Fabricius
P.S I look forward to reading all the letters about priesthood I'll be receiving soon :-)

She told me they eat KFC for lunch just about everyday. I'm not sure if this is KFC, but the round container in the background has that familiar red ring around it.

I plan on asking her why there is a "Merry Christmas" sign hanging on their wall

Her first baptism! Chi Dao with her companion (Chi Pham) and the new member Co Kim Ly

HHHMMM Cambodia Hunh

Hello Family!
   I have actually made or attempted to make western food for the sisters in the apartment, let's just say taco salad doesn't work with out chips, cheese and salsa and we don't have sour cream so most of the other things don't work.  But I am adapting to cooking with the ingredients here, I make a mean sweet n sour chicken now and can make chicken noodles really well.  For my weekly mail update, sadly not much this week.  But I was grateful to get a letter from Krystal from last week (the fair and rodeo sounded like great fun) and from Amanda Siler, yes I remember who you are :-).  It is interesting hearing from home in real physical letters, sometimes I think this is all one big dream and I'm going to wake up and realized everything was just imagined in my own head, but then I receive a letter (which considering the letters that arrived for Chi Pham and Chi Hien took 3 months and 1 month respectively, wow, am I really that far away from home?) and I am reminded that my mind might be good at fiction, but not this good :-).
  I am truly coming to love it here in this country.  After getting over the initial shock you realize how beautiful the sunrises, the flowers, the rain-storms, the sun sets and everything in between is.  There has been many nights when I have come home simply saying thank you to my Heavenly Father for sending me to this country.  I love the people, even Anh Hoang who has disappeared on us and we can't seem to meet with him anymore.  But that is okay, Co Kim Ly is doing so well, I am so excited her baptism is this Sunday.  Her faith is amazing, she has received so many miracles since meeting with us and she knows right where they are coming from.  I love my companion, Chi Pham is eternally patient with me and she laughs at all my jokes, which is a wonderful blessing.  I have come to love a quote from Pres Monson in last conference:

I slept and dreamt

That life was joy

I awoke and saw

That life was duty

I acted and behold

Duty was joy.  Now don't think that everything is perfect, because my heart still aches over people we could help, but they won't let us or all the ants that still give me a bit of the willies or etc. etc, but with a grateful heart all of those things really do fade away.  Even on the hard days like Saturday morning when I had a bit of a break down about the language ( our district leader had called the night before telling Chi Pham she needed to help me with my Vietnamese.  I was devastated, yes I know I'm not perfect, yes I know my use of the language has so far to go, but Friday I felt like I was getting the hang of just opening my mouth and saying what I needed to say.  Also I was feeling discouraged about various other stuff, but the two of us talked it out and I felt I could cope with the day.  That night was District Conference for the Vietnamese branches, Elder Wong (of the Asia Area 70 I believe) came for the conference.  And as a very dear, wonderful friend of mine once said "Heavenly Father sent me a special delivery Alison Fabricius", and indeed Heavenly Father did.  Elder Wong took a moment and had all the missionaries stand, he told us we were individually called by an Apostle of the Lord and we were in Cambodia for a reason.  He told us we had already made the choice to be on the path to eternity and we should make no other choices which would divert us from that path.  Finally after we sat down he told his own conversion story and how even though he didn't understand what the missionary was saying he knew because of the Spirit that the message was true.  The Spirit came into my heart and I knew the Lord was speaking just to me in that moment "don't give up, don't get down, I know you, my daughter and I love you and you are doing just the work I have called you to do' that is the power of the Spirit, that is the power of asking for help.  In the New Mission President training seminar Pres. Eyring told mission presidents to teach their missionaries that the only sure source of true accolade comes from the Lord.  I know I am not a perfect missionary, I still have distractions or discouragements I am trying to overcome (we all have them), but as we strive to do the Lord's will and strive to become what he needs us to be, when we pray to him for direction or just the knowledge we are doing the right things, the Lord will always answer.  On Saturday Heavenly Father gave me new vigor for the work and helped me see the joy in the work.
   We are working with a family right now who is struggling to come back into full activity in the church.  The father has the Aaronic Priesthood as does the sons, but they don't see the power of that priesthood or the blessings that come from the Melchezidek priesthood.  We all have had blessings or helps from the priesthood, could some who feel so directed send me their testimony of the priesthood or some insight about the priesthood that they could share with me that I might understand it more fully and share with this family.  They are so precious to the Lord, as are we all, and Chi Pham and I are trying to find the best way to help them. 
   As I ponder of my adventure here I have sometimes wondered, how did I get here?  What strange twist of fate brought me here to a country where it rains A LOT, the families are starving, where they don't have an F in the alphabet and the church is so young ( apparently part of my calling is to help the branches here, I'm only 21) but the more I ponder the more I know what brought me here.  The Spirit directed me to go on a mission and so I put in my papers.  The Lord has a plan for us and has things that only we can do.  I hope that we can all follow that Spirit (and gain strength from it) so that when we come to a bend in the road we look back and know we made the right choice, in fact we will know, we couldn't have made any other choice.  The Lord loves us SO MUCH, he has so much for us to do and is delighted when we help Him in his work.  Know the Spirit will always guide us if we will ask and obey.
    I love you all so much and hope you are blessed beyond measure this week.  Love Sister Fabricius
P.S I apologize if any of you feel I harp or dwell on letters too much, even with being so busy and having a good work to do, all missionaries need a link to home and country, if any of you have a missionary out there (me or someone else) write them, and tell them you know they are doing good work.  I never realized how much missionaries love to hear from home. 
P.PS You can always write to my companion, she is pretty awesome! Sister Loan Pham, Cambodia Phnom Pehn          
                         I love you all!!!!!!!!
P.P.PS I forgot to mention Silent Sundays, well actually not so silent.  Now every Sunday Sis Pham and I can only speak in Vietnamese, I have already seen the blessings!

Hmmmm, Oreos anyone?

Dear Family,
   First I need to apologize for my somewhat bitter tirade of last week.  I learned exactly what I needed to in the MTC, except for how to make myself more diligence.  My struggle with the language comes in two areas, my lack of constant diligence in striving to learn and acquire to words and or lack of obedience.  Oh I wish that my tones were better or I knew the Vietnamese alphabet better, but as I look at life now and the things I learned, Heavenly Father prepared me with all the experiences I needed to succeed here, now I just need to use them to complete his work!
  Second, dear everyone, thank you so much for the dear elders and pouch mail I'm receiving, they are such a lift to my spirit and a joy to read.  Sadly other than Jennifer's letter/package I haven't received any other letters I've been told were coming my way, but the Lord has told me many times he would teach me patience and this is just another way to learn it.  As I have seen the trials of other missionaries and wondered why Heavenly Father has given each of us our specific ones I have come to the conclusion, we receive specific trials because he knows us.  What is a trial to one is not a trial to another or what is a struggle for one is not for someone else.  This life is the time to prepare to meet God and He will prepare us in the ways in which we most need the help.
  Third, meet Chi Pham, she is so amazing!!!! Also we are perfect for each other, she eats more ketchup than I do, I know none of you think that this is possible, but it is, she even eats ketchup with her rice!!  She is so patient with me as I struggle to adapt to the schedule and the language.  She calls me her daughter and reminds me she is preparing me for the time when she dies (she goes home in four months).  Believe me she is preparing me in a myriad of ways, she has me cooking and praying and helping the branch even though I still can't speak the language.  I want you to know I have now mastered sweet n sour chicken with out a recipe and make a mean chicken helper with onions, macaroni and boiled chicken.  There are so many ways we learn to adapt when things are not what we are used to.  Chi Huong (apartment mate) gave me half and chicken and told me to make something with it, I had no idea what I was doing, so I boiled it, created a beautiful chicken stock for the next days dinner and then made chicken, who would of thought, me Chi Dao could do such things, oh wait, it;s in my name :-)
   Fourth, I have found my new addiction in this life, oreos!!!! Oreos are everywhere here.  I buy two packs a week (each pack has like ten oreos), they come in strawberry, chocolate, peanut butter, regular and blue berry, I've tried them all, but love strawberry the most.  Like Dad buying his icecream for weekly planning I buy my oreos.  Chi Pham just laughs, but she buys them too :-).
   Lastly,  this work is amazing, whether it is standing outside in the pouring rain arguing with a fruit seller on a better price for pineapple so you can make sweet and sour pork for your district or trying to teach in a different language, it is fun, exhilarating and amazing!  This week we began working with a family who we want to help get to the temple.  We prepared a lesson, went to give it and then felt we shouldn't give that lesson.  So I listened to my companion teach, not knowing the words she was saying, but as I listened and prayed for the Spirit I knew just what this family needed to hear.  This happened three times and when we left the lesson Chi Pham looked at me and told me I said all the things she wanted to say and that the Spirit was guiding both of us.  I know it was the Spirit.  I know it because I can only ever speak inside of lessons.  In the branch or talking to people (which other than the branch and people down by the river there isn't any Vietnamese, I spend my time in a country where I can't communicate with anyone, other than the blessed few who speak english) they can't understand me and they look to my companion to translate, but in lessons, they understand and they respond to what I ask or what I say.  It hurts to not be able to talk with the people, but it will come and in the mean time I am so thankful I am called to share this Gospel and to share my testimony that the Atonement of Jesus Christ covers all sins and makes us new again, I have felt it in my life and seen it in the lives of those I love. 
May God bless you all and know I love you,
Chi Dao

In Chi Dao's email to me she told me that they are working with a new family that are less active. She also told me that there are only 10 Vietnamese speaking sister missionaries in the whole world. Pretty cool that she is one of them!

Ice Cream in Cambodia!

Dear Family,
   Yes ice cream does exist in Cambodia and it tastes really, really good, but it can also be expensive so it is a once a month thing.  I enclose pictures of ice cream, our first excited investigator Anh Hoang and what houses look like in Cambodia, I'm not sure how to explain what Cambodia feels like, but this is something of what it looks like.
  Well I guess I only have two things to share today, I apologize for the shortness of this epistle, but ask my parents and Jennifer about rainy stuff or anything else.
   First, missionary work really is hard.  There have been some days that other than the biking life seemed pretty straight forward, you bike from lesson to lesson, you share your testimony according to the Spirit and what language you know, and then you leave.  Life is fabulous, sure you eat whole chicken instead of chicken breast and sometimes the ant in your sink aren't the greatest, but you enjoy the puddles and going fast down hill sides and you love sharing the Spirit.  Then reality hits.  You realize people have their agency and they may choose to work on Sunday instead of going to church and your heart is broken.  Because just earlier that week they told you they wouldn't work on Sunday and if their boss asked them to they would quit.  You don't blame them for wanting to keep their job, you see the poverty and know they desire to survive, your heart hurts because the Spirit had taught them the importance of the Sabbath before you even taught that commandment, and you hurt because your investigator forgot so quickly (oh Anh Hoang).  Or a branch presidents house burns down and you see the faith of the missionaries and the members wonder how the Lord could let that happen to someone so faithful.  Or you leave a lesson and realize you had no idea what went on and you see people on the street and want so much to talk to them and you can't, because even when you open your mouth to say something nice or funny they won't understand you.  This week I found out really how much I didn't know upon leaving the MTC.  My teachers didn't correct me much the last month we were there so even if I knew I still had work to do I felt like I could at least communicate.  But when I got here and having my companion fix everything from tones, to words that I worked so hard to memorize only to find out now I learned the word incorrectly, it hurts, a lot.  Every time I have language study with my companion she tells me how much we need a native Vietnamese speaker teaching at the MTC, I shudder to think how un-ineligible I am when i talk to people.
   But regardless of all of this we continue on.  Yesterday I bore my testimony in sacrament meeting.  This is the first time I have ever been nervous to share it in fast and testimony meeting.  I began my testimony by saying that sometimes the Lord asks us to do hard things.  But as I have been taught since I was very young, when the Spirit directs, do it.  That will be the motto for the rest of my mission and I hope the rest of my life.  Sometimes bad things happen, a home burns down, or you can't communicate even when you really want to and you really try or you are just so tired.  But the Lord always, always makes up the difference.  With the Spirit we truly can do all things.  Like in a lesson where you think there is a mis communication about doctrine and you want to fix it.  In that moment the Spirit speaks and says ""fix it" and you can.  You stumble out your explanation and give a scripture you couldn't remember on your own.  And somehow it just works.
  Those are the moments that make this work worth it and this is why I am so excited to serve the Lord.  I love you all...you can do hard things.  When the Spirit speaks, do it.
                      Love Chi Dao,
enjoy the pictures.

She told other sources that it has rained everyday in the last week. The rain gets deep (half way up the tires on her bike).