Turkey Day

Dear Family,
  So Thanksgiving Day for me consisted of planning for four hours, eating for an hour and a half and then visiting members, but it was still a good day.  My favorite part of the day was playing Uno slap when you hit the ground for green, hit your heart for read, hit head for yellow and touch the sky for blue.  Okay so that was my second favorite, my first favorite was helping do the dishes while listening to Christmas music after we were done eating.
  When we arrived at Elder and Sister Westover's we played Uno and laughed together.  After we dished up we listened as Sister Westover shared the story of the Five Kernels of corn and the First Thanksgiving.  I loved that she shared from 1 Ne 13 and she shared her testimony of why we are grateful.  After we went around the table(s) and shared what we are grateful for.  I definitely thought of my family and loved ones and of all I have been given.  I thought about the support I receive from home and the love I feel a half a world away.  But the one that I shared was a heart full of gratitude for my Heavenly Father who is so very patient with me.  Of a love so special that Heavenly Father has my life prepared for me and now he is preparing me for my life.  I am thankful for a God who truly is in the details of my life.  We were blessed to have all the comforts and foods of home, except for turkey, the oven wasn't big enough, but the chicken was SSSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOO delicious, I didn't mind.  We even had cranberry sauce and I was so very thankful because Sis Westover had it shipped from the states, apparently they don't have cranberry sauce here.  We all enjoyed square pumpkin pie with fresh whipped cream on top, the Lord truly provided a wonderful Thanksgiving for us.  I admit however that my favorite part of the day was coming home to listen to Christmas music as I pondered about the holiday ahead and how I am actually excited to have a Christmas here, I will miss home, but Heavenly Father has something beautiful in store.
  Speaking of instore, I so didn't see what was coming this week. We helped Co Nuong move houses, the service opportunity was awesome and it even helped her come to church on Sunday, I'm thankful it is easier to move in than it is to move out, I am grateful for the help of the elders and another member trying to begin coming to church again, it sped the process up quite a bit.  On Sunday it was brought to my attention that rash acts don't work out in the mission field and we must, must, must make sure we are in full understanding in our companionship.  I literally can't go into details, but I am thankful that Heavenly Father is kind and aware of us.  I am so very grateful that éveryday we can make our today beat our yesterday and make our tomorrow beat our today (quote courtesy of Anh Ca Hoa Minh and the Spirit).  I am thankful that we can learn from our mistakes, that every goof can be evaluated and improved.  I am thankful that Heavenly Father's work can't get messed up, He won't allow.  The Standard of Truth has been erected and not UnHallowed hand can stop the work from progressing.  I know that this is true, I know that no matter what we do or think we've done, no matter how far we have strayed or how long we've been gone we can always, always come back and Heavenly Father will accept us with open arms.
  I am thankful for Chi Ly for all the times we don't agree and for all the times we know exactly how we agree.  I'm thankful for the opportunity I have to be with someone 24 hours a day and work to improve my communications skills daily, what an interesting blessing that is.
  I know that are lives are about improving, learning, growing and trying.  You are never too old or too set in your ways to try something new, even when you're dead Heavenly Father sends more opportunities, it is just easier to take those opportunities here.  I love you all so much, Congrats Weyland, Celeste and soon to be to McKenzie I know you will do amazing work, may God bless and help you.
Chi Dao

 P.S. The language is a beast, it seems like as soon as I feel a bit more confident something else makes me feel like I want to give up.  But I can at least bear my testimony and extend commitments, what else do I need? Other than to understand PPC, branch meetings, life in Vietnamese, oh well I shall continue.
P.P.S Mom do you have your passport yet?

Thanksgiving meal

I'm guessing this is her helping to move Co Nuong

Spiciness

Dear Family,
 Happy Thanksgiving :-) I can't believe I have been on my mission for six months...wow!!
  I have pondered much this morning about what I wanted to share with those I love and the thing that has come to mind the most is Heavenly Father's perfect planning in our lives.  Oh also, anyone who wants to be reminded of the truthfulness of the Gospel and what faith can do please read Moroni 7-10, oh how I enjoyed reading that this last week.  I know that the Book of Mormon is true and we shall get closer to God by reading it than by any other book.  I am thankful for the Spirit confirming that to me this last week.
  Now for Heavenly Father the one who is truly in the details of our lives, he knows when we shall face ups and he knows when we shall face downs and he provides comforts for the extremes as well as when everything is normal.  Last week I felt overwhelmed by how much I couldn't do, having a mother sell her daughter off and I could only teach about how family is sacred to Heavenly Father or watching a mother treat her dogs better than her children, mothers seem to struggle in this country.  But as I sought the Lord's council and strived to say the things He would say if He were here I felt peace in my heart that I was doing enough.  But it is even more than that.  For all those who know me I love to sing and I quite enjoy Christmas, I love the count down as much as the actual day, so I continue buying different flavors of candy canes and eat one every day...anyway.  Well last Wednesday after a stressful day of feeling inadequate and not knowing if I was really doing any good I found myself at choir practice.  As I sang hymns of peace on earth and good will to all I thought how blessed I was to have the opportunity to preach the beautiful news of Christ's birth to the people of Cambodia.  I looked at the young single adults I have grown to love and I knew for whatever reason I truly am where God needs me to be.  Maybe because Heavenly Father needs a strong soprano in a Kmer choir or maybe because he needs a sister missionary who laughs at just about anything, blocked roads because of a ASEAN conference in Phnom Pehn, or crashing my bike on slippery roads or maybe because I have much to learn here, whatever the case I am thankful my Heavenly Father loves and knows me.
  I am constantly amazed by Heavenly Father's perfect planning.  Last night I realized how far reaching the choices we make in this life are.  Heavenly Father has prepared me for this mission my entire life.  Whether it was having a father in multiple bishoprics so I could have an understanding of ward structure and welfare or in choosing to go to USU and being on the institute council so I could have an understanding on how to create large group activities (the first aid night was a blast.  The elders had so much fun teaching first aid and practicing with the kids, Chi Hoa also enjoyed teaching about shock, I don't know if we'll have another, but I know that night was what Heavenly Father wanted us to do) or going to the DI and having it change my life completely.  Last night I stood before a room of branch council members (with the three other missionaries in branch 10) in order to explain the basics of the welfare system of the church.  We faced a hostile crowd of people who didn't understand and didn't want to understand.  But as I faced the chaos of people talking and arguing I felt the Spirit tell me I must say something, I know how the Lord intends his house to function.  So I faced that hostility with a testimony, that the Lord wants to help His children become independent and feel the joy of giving of themselves.  I could face them and tell them I had benefited from the Lord's storehouse and I know that it could change lives because it had changed mine.  By going to DI I learned communication skills I use everyday here, I learned about the career path Heavenly Father would have me choose and I met people who changed my life.  Deseret Industries has brought so much good into my life and because I followed a prompting two years ago to visit the career center at the institute and talk with a woman who happened to have DI's number my life is amazing. And as I bore my humble testimony (in english and Vietnamese) about God's desire to bless all of his children, the hostility left and hearts began to change.  I know that Heavenly Father knows the path we will chose, he knows how to bring blessings into our lives and how to use our lives to bless others.  If you are struggling (like I do everyday to trust Heavenly Father that he wants my happiness) remember He knew you before you came to this earth and He knows what will bring you eternal joy, He will help you find it.  Your life is a tapestry interwoven with so many and as we let our Heavenly Father do the weaving we receive a truly beautiful picture.
                        All my love
                         Chi Dao

My New Area

Dear Family,
  In Jennifer's last letter she told me I was bereft of my duties as a missionary and was not introducing you to the people in my life.  so I thought perhaps I would share with you some of the most memorable people in my area.
  First person.  Anh Khoa.  He is 26 yrs old, a recovering drug addict who wants the priesthood so he can baptize his mother.  Three things aren't in his favor.  One he doesn't like to listen to the missionaries, he spends the whole lesson saying Yeah, yeah yeah and not hearing what we say.  second he doesn't work with men in positions of authority which makes interviewing and going to priesthood meeting almost impossible and third, he is in love with my companion, which means he is getting shipped to the elders.  this is the second time one of the people we work with falls in love with my companion, thank goodness never with me, apparently I have a big sign on my forehead that reads "stay away" in Vietnamese :-)
  Next person, is strong like an ox girl.  I don't know what her real name is, but ever since we met and I said khoe lam (very good) she always tells me she is feeling strong like an ox.  I love her and look forward to seeing her every week at the YSA activity, she always gives me a smile and a hug and I love singing by her for the Christmas choir practices.  Yes we are having a Christmas choir, it is an inter faith choir and we perform Dec 15, I am so grateful for the opportunity to sing and that I can still play the piano here.
  Next person, Co Nuong, she is our neighborhood gambling mother, I am thankful that Heavenly Father is helping me feel His love for her, because mostly I just want to give her a kick in the pants, who considers selling their daughter and grand-daughter to pimps?  It just mean she has lost truth in her life and she needs to feel it again.  I am excited to help her feel that love and truth again, in fact Chi Ly and I have already started.  Yesterday we visited her and invited her to come to church, she had a whole list of excuses, about things people had said or had done to her.   But she didn't have a response when I told her Heavenly Father had something I needed to share with her.  I love Ether 6:5-11, it tells all about how Heavenly Father sent a fierce wind to the people of Jared so their barges would arrive at the promised land. Tthis wind caused all sorts of waves and scariness, yet the barges needed it to arrive in the promised land.  As I read that scripture the spirit told me those verses were for Co Nuong and when I shared those verses and the knowledge I have that sometimes Heavenly Father allows storms to come and sometimes he sends in others to help us.  Those winds (trials, gossip, addictions) can feel overwhelming and scary, but those winds are the things that will ultimately lead us back home and help us be what Heavenly Father would have us be.  When I promised her Heavenly Father's help  and promised her that those words were from her loving Father in Heaven it was amazing to see her face change and the hope in her face.  I know Heavenly Father loves us and he will help us.
  Last person for today, Co Va.  she is a scary one, she has seven vicious dogs, made vicious from years of confusion at her moods and abuse.  Co Va is bi-polar and is quite the character.  We survived the visit and were excited to see her at church yesterday we also determined we would invite her to drink orange juice with us downstairs before we ever go to that apartment again.  In that apartment I learned two things.  I learned that I must have the spirit to do this work and that the spirit can not be where filth and contention are.  Second I learned that I always want to be a good mother, I always want to reach out in love to my children, provide a place where they can feel the spirit  and to cuddle them when they become scared or hurt.  My heart determined these things as I listened to a new born baby cry for its mother and no one moved to do a thing, all I could do was hold its hand and rub its head as I made soothing noises.  God's children are so precious and we must be careful in our stewardship of them.

 I am thankful for the stewardship God has given me for his children.  sometimes it feels so very overwhelming.  But our God is one who glories in the details, He knows us and loves us and sometimes even allows us to be the answer to another persons prayer. 
May we always be that answer.
Love Chi Dao

Yay, no day light savings time

Dear Family,
   I am alive and well here in Cambodia and guess what Cambodia actually has an autumn.  I love that all the trees have half their leaves falling and the other half are just beginning to grow.  I love that we have a thunder storm almost every night and that the clouds are sticking around for most of the day, it lessens my need for long sleeves which means I can sweat less.  I love my new area, although I was surprised to realize I miss the challenge of going over the bridge everyday, oh well new challenges and ways to grow usually present themselves.  I am so very thankful for having already white washed once, white washing well truly is a skill, now I'm not saying I've mastered it, but learning how important it is to remember streets after only going down them once, serving people so they trust you and sharing love openly are all important skills I learned the importance of last time so now I know to use them from the first day.  I am thankful for the Spirit in this work.  I am thankful that as we apply the Spirit everyday we can and are guided by that Spirit in order to help the people we need to be helped at specific times.  Take for example Chi Ly and I going contacting, having applied to the Lord to find those people who need Him.  The first time was seeing a man that looked Cambodian, but we both felt like we needed to talk to him, so we did.  We found out he is Vietnamese and travels all over the city fixing shoes.  I was surprised that I actually understood what he was saying.  In talking to him we were able to talk with a client of his as well and give a Kmer pamplet to her daughter.  I don't know how it will all turn out, but I'm thankful for the Spirit who can give us confidence to act.

I am thankful for the new opportunities that transferring brings.  Even though I didn't change apartments, only rooms and to a new bathroom (even though it only has a shower head on the wall, I actually like it more than the tub, even if it makes shaving my legs more complicated) having a new companion and new area are quite the change.  Transferring brings an opportunity to evaluate progress and find things that we want to improve on.  It brings an opportunity to set new goals and to work with the Lord in trying to progress. After being in one area and with one companion for 12 weeks I had become complacent and even realized I wasn't becoming the missionary Heavenly Father wanted me to be.  Even before transferring I was setting goals and striving to improve, but having a new companion helped me have a fresh start.  Because Chi Ly didn't know me before I could start fresh and be something completey new, what a beautiful opportunity.  If we think about it, renewing our covenants each Sunday gives us that same opportunity to evaluate and ask God's help to change.

Chi Ly is a 22 yr old from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh who has lived with her grandma for the last two years.  She is fabulous, she is a bit bolder than Chi Pham which makes talking with gossipers more fun. We are always kind and loving, but we don't mince words.  She has wanted to serve a mission for four years and has amazing understanding of the Bible, which considering one of our members teaches institute and we are helping her create lessons, I need to brush up on my new testament and my Bible Vietnamese (if I ever had it).  It is interesting not having a companion as strictly obedient as my last one, but it is giving me an opportunity to police myself and cause me to be more aware of my desires to be worthy of the Lord's blessings through obedience.

 As I close my email  I want to express my gratitude to Heavenly Father for sending the Spirit and bringing me peace, so that even when I can't do something large, if I do what the Lord wants I can know it is enough. I am thankful for the peace the Spirit brings and the comfort which comes when we know we did what the Lord wanted us to do.  This came to me full force as I sat listening to two sisters cry because their mother wants to sell them into prostitution to pay off her gambling debts.  I didn't know what to say and I knew there wasn't anything I could do.  But the Spirit came and did so much more than I could have as I testified of God's love for them and that they were not alone.  I am thankful for the priesthood and for elders who are worthy of their priesthood and could give a blessing of such power.  As we left that sad little apartment I felt the Spirit and I knew even if I couldn't do anything, the Spirit and the Lord could, all we had to do was invite the Spirit in.
   I know my Heavenly Father lives, I know he loves us.  I know Heavenly Father is a God of second chances and third chances, that as we have desires to change things, big or little, he will always help us.  We are never alone, we each of us, have a special place in His heart.  May God's love go with you this week. 

All my love Chi Dao