HEADIN TO SIEM RIEP

Sadie Stratford	8:02 PM (31 minutes ago)
to me, Josh, Rick, Katie, Abby

Hello Family,

Khmer New Year is finally over and things are picking back up this week. We had a couple rainy days which was SO NICE! I love when it rains, cools down quite a bit. So that was a nice change from this heat. I hope we get more rainy days this next week because its too hot. This week we did some exchanges with the other Sisters serving in Battambang which was fun to work with them for a day. I went with a new girl fresh out of the mtc.

I had a Ming ask me to marry her son this week. She asked me 4 or 5 times and then when I said no she went inside and pulled out a packet full of pictures of him to see if I would be more interested it was pretty funny. We also had interview with President this week and we talked a lot about covenants and how these bind us to God and how important it is to work through covenants. There are so powerful and important!

We had a good week for church attendance 8 of our investigators came which we were pumped about. Ming Hout and her family showed up at 1 because if they waited to come at 3 (which is when church starts) they would have nothing to ride and they still stayed all 3 hours. They are so faithful and prepared. Bong Napah, Kim Ian and Sopoan all came to church with their little kids for the first time. They are slowing growing their desire and we are super hopeful about them too. Sombat and Lisa are the children of a recent convert who are super close to baptism probably within these next few weeks which will be super good for their family. We also picked up a new investigator this week while contacting. Her name is Rina and she seems so prepared to receive the gospel. She has 2 kids and her husband seemed interested too and so hopefully we can start teaching their whole family! The work is really starting to pick up this week.

I was also given a khmer name this week by my english class - Bopa which means flower. We are heading to Siem Riep in a couple hours for zone conference tomorrowwith Elder Meurs! I am getting really excited 

I love this scripture in Doctrine and Covenants section 81:5
"Wherefore, be faithful; stand in the office which I have appointed unto you; succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees."

We all have people in our sphere of influence who we can bless and who need us to strengthen them. I feel like so often we miss out on the people opportunities given to us. But I know as we pray to have eyes to see and ears to hear, we can help Heavenly Father in reaching out to His other children who's hands hang down.

Love you!!!!

Sister Stratford
សីុស្ទើរ​​​​​​​ស្រ្តាតហ្វឺត

KHMER NEW YEAR

Hellooo

This week was crazy with Khmer New year. Lots of crazy parties and drunk people everywhere. This week we went to wat ek phnom which was cool, I will send pictures. Because of the Khmer New Year president had all of the sisters come home and be in by 6:30 because it is not safe to be out with all the parties and crazy people out. WE got sprayed with a lot of water and flour this week from the New Year. They closed the road to our house off because of the party down the street it was wild.

Ming Hout and her 3 children Hing Hong and Hon all committed to a baptismal date this week! We just finished the first lesson with them and are getting really excited. They have so much faith and are so prepared to hear the gospel. They live out in the jungle and its so fun biking over to their place. My tire popped this week during the new year and there hasn't been any places to fix it because nobody is open for the New year and so I am hoping I can get it fixed today or tomorrow. I have been borrowing a little japenese bike that is sketchy to ride so its been an adventure these past couple days. Literally everyone is so busy with celebrating the new year we did a lot of contacting but we found quite a few potentials we are hopeful for.

We only had 20 people at church on sunday so the missionaries were the whole program and I spoke which was fun. I am hoping to meet more of the members next week after the new year is over.

I loved Romans 8:37-39 this week 

37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I also loved John 15:7" If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you."

Have a good week!!

សីុស្ទើរ​​​​​​​ស្រ្តាតហ្វឺត 

Comments from personal letters - 

The bus had air conditioning which was a miracle it wasn't too bad. We just threw our luggage under the bus and headed out. My new companion is good, she is from wyoming  I am just super depended on for the language and teaching and really everything coming up with what to teach. I will ask her to testify and share parts of the lesson but she gets scared so hopefully we can get her more confident so she can teach more instead of just me. The other sisters are good, we have a new girl from pennsylvania who apparently roomed with morgan keller and got my emails before she came and then a khmer sister and we all get along. 

The sad thing is I haven't really met the branch because we had general conference and then it is khmer new year and so only 20 people were at church but we have been visiting a few of the members so i am excited to get to know them better. The english class here is SO SMALL. We only had 11 students last week on wednesday and nobody showed up for saturday becasue of khmer new year. So its a lot smaller than getting an average of 90 a week in the city. Our area here is huge!!! We have a lot of jungle and the middle of nowhere which takes 45- and hour to bike there but its beautiful. Our house is on the edge of the "city"part which really isnt a city. WE live right across from the church. It is a lot safer riding out here its crazy how you dont have to avoid getting hit all the time because there isnt much traffic its great.

We have mostly the same things to eat here. The american store out here is actually bigger than in the city so we just eat lots of mangos and we can still buy milk so no problems. I have been doing a lot of the cooking here me and the khmer sister will cook together for everyone because these other two dont know how to cook so we eat khmer food every day pretty good lots of rice. WE HAVE GOTTEN SO MANY FREE MANGOS this week. When we visit members they just cut up mangos for us and send us home with more too its great and everything out here is so cheap I bought 3 kilos of mangos this morning for myself this week should be tasty. 

Sister Training leader is fun it is like a zone leader for elders. So we are over the other set of sisters in Battambang and the sisters in Siem Riep. They come to our area for a day and we do an exchange with them and then we get to go to leadership trainings once a month. In the mission there are 4 companionships that are sister training leaders. 3 of the companionships for the zones and then there is one more that are like the ap's to president who are in the city. Right now we are only over 4 sisters, we hardly have any sisters out here in the khites. The language is coming a lot better mostly because I do almost all the teaching and listening. My comp is struggling with the language right now so I have to be the one trying to understand and teach which has been really fun. BATTAMBANG IS SO BEAUTIFUL I love it out here, no traffic and lots of beautiful jungles we get to go through. I am not sure how many members we had but this last sunday only 20 people showed up. We live in a little 3 story house that is super hot and humid. There is just a little showerhead on the wall of the bathroom pretty small but the air conditioning isnt very good in this house so we all sleep with fans blowing on us. But we still have clean water so its okay. From the moment you turn off the shower you just sweat until you shower again its crazy. I love you!

 

WELCOME TO BATTAMBANG

Hello HELLO

This week was amazing as always :))) We had transfers on Wednesday morning and Sister Eckman and I found out that we are apparently english class leaders too so we will be in charge of the english classes out here in Battambang. We took and 8 hour bus ride up here and IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL I CANT EVEN EXPLAIN!!! I love it here. 

We have an investigator Ming Huot who brought 3 of her kids to general conference, she is a really new investigator and we are really excited about her. We are also teaching Sombat, the son of a recent convert, and another couple that I have not met yet. We also got a lot of new potentials this week it was amazing I feel like the Lord was just putting people in our path all day long that are prepared to receive the gospel. Also I met Sister Dy's parents at general conference which was way fun. 

When we went to visit some recent converts this week we biked out to the middle of nowhere about 40 minutes away until we got to this little village. It really is just fields of trees and rice fields for miles on end with nothing until the little village at the end. BUT it was the most beautiful bike ride. I feel very blessed to be serving in this beautiful area with these amazing people. 

AND WE HAD GENERAL CONFERENCE!!! I loved all of general conference but especially the messages from the first Presidency. I felt very blessed to be a part of the solemn assembly and the spirit reassured me that we have a living prophet today who leads and guides the church with The Savior. I know that he loves us and is inspired of God. I love the new concept of ministering and truly trying to reach out to everyone one by one because that is what the Savior would do. 

I loved President Nelson's remarks about personal revelation and how God is willing to reveal His mind and will but we need to come seeking. We can receive a personal witness of all things through personal revelation and we don't have to be stuck wondering. But we need to come seeking. We need to put in the work and pay the price because God wants to speak to all of us. I also loved President Oaks remarks on the small and simple things. It really is all about the daily decisions and small and simple truths we learn in primary that are going to get us through hard times and this wicked world. As we do so our spirituality will increase and this is something we all need in todays world. I also loved President Eyring's talk and how we need to pray to know the needs and hearts of others and how to help them.'And how to increase our ability to receive the spirit. We all need to be unified in this work and help everyone in our path along the way.

When we receive any revelation or promptings from God we need to ACT immediately and I know we will be blessed. This has happened countless times on my mission as I have heeded the promptings of the spirit I am able to help bless the lives of others and Heavenly Father blesses me. The work is hastening. I love the work and am thankful for a Heavenly Father who knows us individually and has a plan for each and every one of us.

Love,

សីុស្ទើរ​​​​​​​ស្រ្តាតហ្វឺត

TRANSFER CALLLLLS

HELLO

This week was so good! We got transfer calls last night and I will be going to BATTAMBONG :)))) I am super stoked to go out to the ខេត្ត (khites) and see what its like because I have been in the city my whole mission. I am going to be companions with Sister Eckman and will be Sister Training Leader. I can't wait!!! I will miss TTP and CTM though. Sister Eckman is just getting out of her training so we will hit it hard! Also Sister Dy is from Battambong 2 and so I will get to meet her family and all of these people she has been talking about these last 2 transfers which will be super cool. I AM PUMPED!!!!!!!!! Also can hardly wait for general conference next week! 

Other than transfer calls this week was a slower week. Most of our investigators have already headed back to the khites for Khmer New Year. Srei Lek is such a miracle investigator we continue to see miracles with her everyday and I will miss her, she makes us laugh. She asks the most bizzare questions and always asks me who my husband is and if she can meet him... Super funny. But she is so good! 

This week one of our recent converts shared with us a little bit about her past. When she was 2 years old her parents got divorced and they didn't want to keep her and so she was sent to live with her grandparents. She has grown up not really knowing her parents, and having to do everything on her own because her grandparents don't care much for her either. She said she has never know what it feels like to have love at home and people that really care for her. She said she has felt more love from strangers than from her family. It was super heartbreaking to hear. But she said that every time that she reads the book of mormon she just feels so warm and she said she knows that because of this Heavenly Father really loves her and has a plan for her. She has felt so much warmth from this church and she is so happy that she found it and that it fills her life with love. This gospel truly can heal us!  

The Book of Mormon is so powerful!!! I was really loving studying Alma 58:10-12 this week

10 Therefore we did pour out our souls in prayer to God, that he would strengthen us and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, yea, and also give us strength that we might retain our cities, and our lands, and our possessions, for the support of our people. 11 Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope for our deliverance in him. 12 And we did take courage...

I know that the Lord hears our prayers and will strengthen us and deliver us out of our afflictions and tribulations. We have assurance from Him that as we trust Him, He will help us. There is so much hope and strength that comes from the gospel and from reading the book of mormon. I know that the Lord is truly involved in the details of our lives and has a plan for each of us. 

LOVE YOU! 

Sister Stratford

សីុស្ទើរ​​​​​​​ស្រ្តាតហ្វឺត

A member has some mango trees and let us pick some mangos to take home! SUPER DELICIOUS

I LOVE RICE

HEY FAMILY

This week was a good one! Things are really picking up we got 3 new investigators this week who all came to church and so we are excited to start teaching more about the gospel. We keep seeing more and more miracles with our investigators but the best part is seeing the way their lives change and how their happiness increases as they come close to their Savior. I think one of my favorite parts of Cambodia is watching Khmer people exercise. We went and visited a widow in our ward this week who just got out of the hospital and she was demonstrating to us her exercise routine,I haven't stopped laughing since. I really wish I could show you a video or get a picture its so funny and makes the work better. We had interviews with President this week but he was in a big rush so we didn't really have any time to talk so I don't have any cool insights to share from that this week.

I don't know what happened or switched for me this week but I LOVE RICE. I used to not eat it too much because it always made me feel sick but now I can't go a day without it - super strange. 

I was studying this week about centering our lives on Christ and truly this is what brings us the most joy and happiness.

I love this verse in Isaiah 64:8 `But now, O lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.`

``If our lives are centered in Jesus Christ, He can successfully mold us into who we need to be in order to return to His and Heavenly Fathers presence in the celestial kingdom. The joy we experience in this life will be in direct proportion to how well our lives are centered on the teachings, example, and atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.` (Elder Maynes)

As we read the Book of Mormon everyday and apply its teachings and try our best to center our lives in Jesus Christ we will see immeasurable blessings!!! There is so much joy in living the gospel and truly the only real way to happiness is found in the gospel teachings. I am so thankful for the Savior and the immense joy He has given me in this life. 

Love Sister Stratford :))) e

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