Happy New Year to all

Dear Family,
 I know I've been gone for quite awhile, but still.  Speaking of such in two days I will have been in the country since August 9 which is a month anniversary, will someone please do the math, my brain hurts trying to figure it out.
  Now I regret to inform you that I still don't know much about the branch here, other than the members are full of love and that the single adults love my hiccups, and that we lost our eternal investigator.  We haven't dropped him completely, but the Spirit told all three of us that Chu Hai has some decisions to make about whether he truly wants to change or if he wants to keep his pride and never accept that the Atonement can truly work for him.  I have never prayed about one thing so frequently in my life until meeting him and praying that he will accept the Atonement in his life.  Well I guess I also pray that the work in Vietnam will progress and we here in Cambodia welcome more prayers for that cause.  Thank you to all for praying for missionaries here in Cambodia and the many prayers on my behalf, I feel their power daily and find myself thanking Heavenly Father daily for your love and support in my life.
  Well as I have already alluded to, I haven't been out much the past week, but Heavenly Father hasn't forgotten me and continues sending His tender mercies on my behalf.  Have any of us ever felt like a trial was just too long or just too hard? Have we ever felt like we pray and pray and pray, yet we don't feel the Spirit?  We feel as if the Heavens have forgotten us and we are simply the butt of a cruel joke.  Perhaps selfish me is the only one to feel that way, but I'm working to overcome that and the Lord is helping me.  In a time and place where all I want is to do God's will and serve His children it seems cruel to spend so much time sick with something I don't understand.  But these last two weeks have given me the opportunity to realize that God's will is not my own and I need to change my will to meet His.  Prayer doesn't mean getting what WE want, it means coming to understand what God wants for us.  It means staying on our knees til we have exhausted our fears and frustrations and give ourselves to God, only then do we find peace.  Of course peace doesn't guarantee answers, but it allows us to find perspective.  I invite you all to review Pres Eyring's talk from conference about pavilions, he does a much better job than I at addressing doing God's will.  But if I may I would like to share some scriptures Heavenly Father sent my way when I felt not too great.
   D&C 98: 1-3, 8, 11-13, 14
1 Verily I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks;  2 Waiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and are recorded with this seal and testament—the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted.
 3 Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my name’s glory, saith the Lord.    8 I, the Lord God, make you free, therefore ye are free indeed; and the law also maketh you free.
 11 And I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall forsake all evil and cleave unto all good, that ye shall live by every word which proceedeth forth out of the mouth of God.
 12 For he will give unto the faithful line upon line, precept upon precept; and I will try you and prove you herewith.
 13 And whoso layeth down his life in my cause, for my name’s sake, shall find it again, even life eternal.
 14 Therefore, be not afraid of your enemies, for I have decreed in my heart, saith the Lord, that I will prove you in all things, whether you will abide in my covenant, even unto death, that you may be found worthy.
  I know that God loves us, He answers all of our prayers, just like He promised, I mean look I prayed for meekness and he sent me a forever long illness.  Sometimes we pray so hard and so long we forget to listen, we forget that the Spirit offers peace.  It is my hope and prayer for all of us that we will find peace as we serve others in acts great or small and as we seek to do God's will whether it seems logical or not. Being sick for weeks, doesn't make sense to me, but God has a purpose.
  I know my Father lives and loves me.  I know His son is my Savior and that as I use the Atonement I can change to become like them.  I don't wish for trials to be removed, for any of us, but I shall pray that we receive the strength and wisdom to bear them well.
This is my hope and prayer, Love Chi Dao