Harmonizing in the hospital with Elder Faught

Letter from March 18, 2012

Another solid week.

It's the hot season. Man, they weren't kidding when they told us it would be hot here.  I guess its hovering around 45 degrees Celsius and last week it got up to 47. I had to dope my companion all day yesterday. And by the end of the day I was absolutely covered in sweat. All my clothes were heavy and soaked.   

The Lord is testing me by sending me to a place like this.  Remember how sensitive I am to heat and the sun?  Every day by 2 o clock I hit a wall and feel totally exhausted. Just like that day in Moab Utah when I

had an allergic reaction to the heat. But, I'm finding little tricks to get me through. For example:


1.  On super hot days I wear a long sleeved shirt.  It protects me from the sun and when the long sleeves get wet, it keeps me cooled off.

2. I freeze water bottles in the morning to have an ice pack later in the day,

3.  I use the hose to cool me off a bit and soak my long sleeve shirts,

 4.  I tilt my head down when I ride my bike to have shade cover my face 

I went on an exchange with the ZL, Elder Faught (a buddy from Siem Reap.)It was super fun. The spirit was strong the whole day. I am much more sensitive to the spirit now compared to before my mission. I think before my mission, a tear filled testimony was a big spiritual moment. But now, I feel like I've come to a place in my life where I'm able to notice the Spirit in smaller, quiet ways. For example:

1.  Hearing someone's first prayer to their Heavenly Father ever,

2.  Testifying of Jesus Christ to someone who's never heard His name before.

3.  Hearing my companion try his very best to give a Priesthood blessing in Khmer, 

4.  Taking he Sacrament,
5.  Every single time I read the B.O.M

I guess what I'm saying is, at this moment in time, I feel like I know exactly when the Spirit is telling me to do

something, or if something is true.

On the exchange with Elder Faught we had the opportunity to visit a member in the hospital suffering from intestinal cancer. There's a strong chance she will die soon. She looked very weak in her hospital bed,

her head was bald and she was hardly able to speak. We were there to talk to her for a while and sing to her. After our talking, we sang her 2 songs. First, we sang "Nearer my God to Thee." Her daughter was there too and she knew it in Khmer and sang along.  Then we sang "I Need Thee Every Hour" in Khmer and the husband started humming along. Then in the 2nd verse he started singing with us so Elder Faught and I were able to sing different parts. When we got to the 3rd verse a Vietnamese man (who turns out to be the 6th Branch, Vietnamese Branch President, who's daughter has terminal cancer on the other side of the room) came over and sang the last 2 verses with us in Vietnamese. By the end of the song the woman was in tears holding her daughters hand.  It was so spiritual it felt like the veil may have been lifted for a few moments while we sang.  It was one of my favorite experiences of my mission thus far. I'm getting a lot of those.

When we ended she talked to us about a reference to a scripture in Alma. It was about how we shouldn't procrastinate the day of our repentance. She said she knows that she will be ready to meet her Heavenly Father when the time comes. The combination of events made her comments so real for me and gave me a crystal clear understanding of eternal perspective.

I am blessed to have the opportunity to serve a mission. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I love you

Elder Nelson

P.S. We're teaching the KFC delivery guy. Super pumped.

Happy Khmer New Year!

 We didn't proselyte Friday OR Saturday because of the Khmer New Year celebrations. I thought it was odd when we were told we weren't able to proselyte because of a holiday.  My thoughts were, there's no way it could be "that bad". Well it is. 


Everyone goes to their "home country" which is usually anywhere but the city. And when I say everyone, I mean everyone! It was eerie to walk down a usually bustling street and find it completely abandoned. And there were only random cattle roaming around. We did proselyte on Sunday though. It was still technically Khmer New year. (Feeling like America needs to catch up. Why do we celebrate our New Year for only a day?) 

Sunday's church attendance was pretty pathetic. We only had 30 people there. 5 of which were investigators though.  The night before I had got a text from the Branch President asking me to speak on how the gospel blesses families. I didn't see the whole text message that said my companion and I would BOTH be speaking.  When we got there we were reminded that both of us needed to fill the 35 minutes of speaking time. I had only prepared for an 8 minute talk. Like a champ, Elder Blocker went up first. He gave it all he had for a solid 3 or 4 minutes, and then it was my turn. I looked at the clock, took a deep breath and went for it. I started by stating how this life is a life to prepare to meet God. In the eternities we will be living as families. I felt like the spirit guided me for the rest of the talk. I think those 30 people were glad they came. It was a neat experience. I can't fully expelling how great it is to be able to get up and say things correctly. It takes a long time in this mission

Other news...

We had a sports day on one of the days we couldn't proselyte. It was fun! It was the first time I've tossed around the football in over a year. It was pretty sweet. We played basketball for hours. There's some pretty athletic kids in the mission and it got pretty fun (intense.) The last 2 days I've loved waking up soooo sore. 




The other day we had this huge red spotted lizard in our house. By huge, I mean the size of my forearm. My companion and I chased it all around the house for 30 minutes. It went under couches over dressers, into the kitchen, climbed up on the ceiling.  I would throw socks at it and it would bite at the socks and start hissing. It reminded me of the You Tube that mom and I used to watch over and over of the lizard that jumped on the TV show host. We finally chased it outside and it started climbing up our landlord's front window.  We followed it and it was in the perfect position to catch. I had my broom cocked back and a big orange basket to catch it in. Then out of nowhere a nice older woman came out and was very surprised to see us there. She asked what we were doing and I tried to explain that an extremely large lizard was climbing up the window and we thought we'd do you a favor and catch it. So, if you wait one more second we will take care of it. She told us, "Oh don't worry, where you boys scared? let it come into my house, no problem...." It made us feel really dumb. Then she walked us back to our house and said. I hope you have sweet dreams, don't worry about lizards in your house now, you have nothing to worry about. We went back in our house and it looked like a tornado had hit. Couches crooked, chairs turned over, dressers out of place. It was pretty funny. We got so close to conquering the lizard.

We have a baptism set for next week, I'm really excited, its the 77 year old man that we've been teaching for a while now. He's awesome. I feel like he was the reason I was sent to Pochentong. 

Clowns and Group Hugs on my Mind.

Half way done and I'm feeling great. 

We were able to watch General Conference yesterday. It was amazing and I loved it. I enjoyed every speaker. Its
interesting, no matter how long we are members of the church, how much we know, or how much it gets repeated, through the Spirit, each Conference impresses us and inspires us to change things in our lives.  I felt like I learned so much and there were things said that I felt were especially for me.

Two stories today:

1)  I went on an exchange with Elder Gibson. He is from Connecticut. It was fairly late in the evening and raining super hard.  In fact, it was chaos for a while. The flooding patrol was flying by in Land Cruisers drenching us in muddy water among other uncomfortable results of still being out at on that kind of night.  Anyway, we were on our way to a less active member's house to discuss the Book of Mormon. He lives off a main road in a pretty sketchy area known as the slums. We ride our bikes down an alley to the turnoff for his road and suddenly the rain slowed, almost to a stop and there was an eerie silence. We turned down another narrow flooded road with rickety houses and there was a thick fog. It had been raining so hard, no one was out.  I started feeling really creeped out. I turned to my companion and he agreed that he felt the same way. Then, all of a a sudden, a loud speaker started playing, what I would describe as "happy carnival music." Children singing really loud in high pitched voices, kind of like chanting. And given the circumstances I assumed we were about to be ambushed by a mob of blood thirsty clowns. Elder Gibson recalled that I turned to him and said with a very serious look on my face, "'If a clown jumps out right now I will seriously knock him out cold!" We kept trying to joke around but neither of us were laughing.  

Unfortunately, our route took us closer and closer to the music until it was echoing off of the houses around us and
seemed like it was coming from all directions. Then, suddenly...we came to a house which was clearly the source, and...   there was a jolly, middle aged man with a pot belly, shirt off, drinking a can of beer. Four little children were smiling and dancing around in a circle without shirts, wearing colorful, sparkly party hats. We stood there and stared in silence and my companion stated in a dead serious voice, "Now, that's just pure."

I found the response extremely funny. This use of the word "Pure" will now be a permanent addition to my vocabulary. But don't ask me to define it.
One more story.

So, I got a call from a recently less active, single mother of 5 children who wanted to meet with us.  It was getting close to the time we should be home for the day.  (I like to call her my mom. She said it makes her feel special.)  She said she was super sick and needed a blessing. So Elder Blocker and I got on our bikes and hurried over. She was sitting on the ground level (which is open air)  her head was in her hands and was yelling bad words at one of her daughters... telling them to eat their rice. (yes, there are bad words for "eat rice" in Cambodian)

We went up to her and started talking to her and she told us about having migraine headaches and she needed a blessing fast. So we gave her one right away. It was very spiritual. Afterwards, she thanked us and apologized for interrupting us. We sat down and decided to take some time to talk to her. She said she was depressed and that her kids were disobedient, she felt lonely, etc etc. We asked if we could share a scripture and she agreed. We shared 1 Nephi 1:1. And talked to the family about the first sentence of the Book of Mormon. We taught that the first sentence of the Book of Mormon was well thought out, it was inspired, important, and it was what the world in the latter days would need to hear first.  It says,  "I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents...". We then taught about the importance of parenting and motherhood. I felt a little awkward because I've never been a parent, and never will be a mother.... But I talked about how this is what Nephi, looking back, found most important to him. When he was a child, he probably didn't have the same appreciation for his parents that he did when he wrote the book of Nephi. I then related to the family how there were times in my life when I was less respectful than I should have been. But now, looking back I realize I have been so blessed to come from the mother that I have. I talked about how in short term, while children are young, its hard to see the eternal perspective.

I loved the lesson, It just came into my mind. I had never taught or heard a lesson based on that
sentence before but I felt like the spirit truly guided what I was saying.


Best part if the story-  

Afterwards, I gathered all the kids together. It felt like one of those forced family nights or family councils when there's some awkward tension. We shared number 5 of the 10 commandments with them and committed them all to show more respect and love to their mother.  Then, I asked if she would be willing to kneel in prayer with her family. You can NEVER underestimate the power of a kneeling prayer as a family. The mood was still a little off at the end. Then I remembered the end our tense family council nights and Dad would say, "Ok, c'mon you guys... group hug!"  So, I "firmly suggested" this family give each other a group hug when nobody wanted to. And guess what? It totally worked! Just like at home... thanks Dad!

The feeling in the house completely changed.

I love being a servant of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ with all of my heart. I don't see it as a sacrifice in the slightest.


I love you all.

Elder Nelson

A Birthday Surprise and the Cambodian Garden of Eden

So first off, I forgot to tell you about my awesome birthday party... The branch threw me a birthday party! After church ended, we were leaving and one of the members called me back to the church. She asked if I could carry some chairs up the stairs for her. Then when I went to leave again, another member called me back and I helped them with something else. Anyway, the pattern continued for a while. I just couldn't seem to get out of the church. Well, when I started to show small signs of confusion and frustration, the members came in with a cake and they all started cheering! Then, the branch president yelled in Cambodian, "OK, sing it one time quiet and the 2nd time wild!" It was funny. I really, really appreciated it.  I don't know how they got the money for the cake but it meant the world to me. 

Last night I went in the bathroom after planning, turned on the light and to my surprise there was this HUGE cockroach on the ground. I said to myself, wow, now that's a big cockroach! Then one fell off the shower and then one was on the toilet seat. Before I knew it there were 6 very large cockroaches in our bathroom. Elder Blocker and I actually enjoy this because we can take the hose from the bathroom and spray them until they flip on their backs. Its my Cambodian video game. 

OK, story. So we have this investigator. Her name is Janta. She's been taught by the Elders for about 7 months in another branch and we got her as a referral. Its a long story but she keeps putting off baptism. We finally asked her why? She said that her parents say she can, but they don't support her. So Elder Blocker and I decided that we needed to go to her house and have her parents become familiar with the church. Janta kept telling us that it was too far away and that it wasn't possible. I assured her it was no problem.  We were pretty confident we were strong enough to go. 

But, she was right. It was too far away.

The next day we met with our Branch Mission leader. He said he wanted to go too.  He asked if he could catch a ride. I said, sure!  "Catching a ride" means riding on the back of my bike.  Still not realizing how far away it was, we went to the church and picked up the Branch Mission leader and took off. In my mind I estimated this ride to be 6 maybe 7 kilos away. Not too bad. Sure having a Cambodian on the back of my bike made it hard but I could do 6 or 7. Well it turns out her parents really do live in the middle of nowhere! At least 15 kilos from the church! I was completely exhausted. At about the 10 kilo mark I looked over to Janta and asked her if we were almost there. She started laughing and said, "Oh no, we still have a long way to go." 

Miserable ride.


We finally got there. It turns out her dad is a farmer. He owns a ton of land out there. When it saw it, I was reminded of what the Garden of Eden would look like. He had a fruit vineyard where he grows Mangoes, Papayas, pumpkins, zucchini etc. etc.  It felt like I stepped into a picture book. The coolest part was that the father said he wanted to treat us to some palm juice. (There's two kinds of Palm juice, one that makes you drunk and one that tastes really really good) Anyway all the sudden this 70 year old man tucks a huge knife in his waistband and starts climbing a palm tree. I guess they cut open roots at the top of the tree and it drips into a container and it takes like 12 hours for one cup of juice. Unfortunately we can't eat at member's houses.

Janta's father retrieving palm juice.

Janta's father's Garden of Eden

After a good meeting, we had to leave. I have to confess, biking back was miserable. I remember seeing the 11 kilo marker to Pochentong and saying a prayer in my head to help me not realize how much pain I was in. 

Then, at that exact moment I got a thought to call a member that we didn't plan on meeting. The BM president held the phone up to my ear and we said we'd be at her house in 40 minutes. When we got there she completely broke down and told us about a problem she had and how she was planning to go inactive. We ended up teaching about forgiveness and at the end I gave her a blessing. She had a new light in her eyes when we left and the next day she was sitting at church. A miracle. Although I was in a ton of physical pain, and I was extremely frustrated, Heavenly Father made my burdens seem light. The whole trip was worth it. 

The next morning I checked my bike and realized my tires were almost flat! No wonder it was so hard..

I love you all. I know the church is true. The power of the Atonement is real. It is open to all of us. I love teaching Jesus Christ's doctrine. 

Elder Nelson 

We Went to the Killing Fields.

On Monday we went to the Killing Fields.  Look it up.  You won't believe it. 


I was not completely aware of the magnitude of cruelty and brutality that occurred among the people I love so much.  As much as I dreaded it, I knew it was something I needed to know and understand .  As I learned, I experienced some powerful emotions: 

1) Extreme anger 


2) An intensified love and compassion for the Cambodian people. I saw the death toll not as numbers but as the faces of our investigators and the members enduring something so horrific. It made my physically sick.

3) Then I felt surprisingly peaceful. I knew all of those that were lost, were taken back to a loving Father in Heaven.  He has a plan for them. I feel grateful to serve here among such humble people who have suffered so much.

It is confusing to contemplate that what happened here was even possible.  Especially that so many children were killed.  It was eye opening in every way and made me realize how precious and tender human life is. Words don't do any good when I try to express what I saw and felt here.  I hope you will look up the Pol Pot regime to honor those that senselessly lost their lives and those left behind.

We had incredible experiences this week. I love my mission so much. I wouldn't rather be anywhere else. I feel like I'm truly coming into my own and beginning to understand who the Lord wants me to be.

I love you guys. Thanks for the Emails!

Elder Nelson

I'm a father of a new baby boy! I'm training!

This week was crazy. No, there was no bugs in my stomach or near deathaccidents, but I've finally become a father! Its super fun, I absolutely love it. I remember the first week in the country thinking to myself "I cant wait to train" So here I am!

My new companion: He reigns from the suburbs of Dallas Texas. He's about 5'2". Black hair and the Cambodians say he has "Indian features" He is an absolute genius! He got a 5 on the AP calculus and physics B and C tests. He also got a 5 on the computer engineering test... He didn't study for it he just figured he'd try it. He got a 5 on a few

other AP tests but I'm drawing a blank. haha He's super intelligent. He wants to be an electrical engineer. He said, "I don't know if you are familiar with people that want to become Electrical Engineers, but I fit the profile. You know, real quiet and make friends by looking at my shoes." He's super funny I love him. He's invented some

of the coolest things I've ever heard of... such a stud.

I had him put one of our investigators on date for baptism... it was awesome! It was the only thing he was able to say that lesson, but he got it out and they accepted! so sweet.

The picky eating will change eventually, I just want his first week of transition to be easy.

He left some candy out and there was literally thousands of ants on his desk when we got home.

He is a stud. I love him. Whenever someone makes fun of his language or says something to him I get super protective. I love thekid so much.

The new church building is almost finished! So this week we'll be meeting in a new building. I'm really excited for it because we haven't had a church to meet in for a while.

Other exciting news.

The area authority Elder Kong is doing interviews by special request and I was one of 3 from our zone that were chosen. One on one with the General Authority... pretty cool opportunity.

I'm the youngest Elder thats training an American right now, the other 2 in my group that are training are with Khmers. I feel honored.

Thats all I've got. I love you all so much!

Elder Nelson

Christian congregation wants us to teach them!

February 12, 2012 letter

I'll start by saying I'm pretty sure I'm typing on a computer from the 60's. The keys all stick and it makes a squeaky noise every time I click a key. 

This was another good week. It was action packed, and we saw good things happen. First off, Elder Nielsen got in another bike accident so we spent some more quality time in the hospital. I was in front of him so I didn't see it happen but I remember stopping my bike and him coming up to me with a big rip in his pants and blood everywhere. I guess someone cut in front of him and swerved to avoid him and ate some pavement. He's doin ok. His hand got pretty torn up and his knee was scratched but he's gonna be alright. I feel like every missionary that comes here eventually gets in a couple moto accidents. I remember in Siem Reap my bike got tied up with a moto and I flew over the handlebars and busted my helmet in half. Its something we get mentally prepared for. and whenever we're at the mission home and somebody is telling a bike crash story.. there's always someone with a story to top it.... Coolest mission in the whole world. 

So the other day we were going to the store to grab a few things for lunch. There was a lady sitting in the front and I said hello to her and she replied "jeh khmer chbah mec" Meaning: "know cambodian clear, why?" (very informal)  Before I could reply this lady comes up and goes off about how we're christian missionaries and we know good Khmer to help us proselyte. She turns to us and says she wants to go to church with us on Sunday and asks if that is ok. I laughed and said of course! 

We sit down with this lady and within minutes, 4 or 5 more adults sit down and it starts feeling like I was making a business deal. I guess this group started their own Christian church and they wanted us to come and teach. They concluded we knew more than them. We agree, on the conditions that they come to church with us. They said once we know each other better and trust us then they will go. They set up an appointment for us to go teach their church at 3 o clock next Sunday.  So they show us to their church. We had to walk through a dump, climb a ladder over a brick wall, down a ladder on the other side of the brick wall. Then walk through a little village and to a small house where they worship. We all sat down in a circle and I led a discussion about the gospel. We went around and had everyone bear their testimony. It was great. People were telling amazing stories about their lifes changing and what Jesus meant to them.

I then asked so when you teach the word of God, what do you teach from. They replied that they use the bible. I said, Oh, thats awesome! That probably means you use the Book of Mormon too right?  They all got quiet, looked at each other and were like Book of Mormon? I haven't heard of that. Do we use the Book of Mormon?. Then one of them turned to me and was sorry they didn't know what the Book of Mormon was. I replied really?! Oh boy! Ok, next week at 3 we'll come and teach you all about the Book of Mormon. They all got super excited and started saying Hallelujah! but in Khmer its AAALLEEELLUUUUYYYAAA.  I was able to give a brief explanation about what the Book of Mormon is. So now we have an arranged appointment to go teach a church the gospel. They said they all want to go to church with us and worship with us. They are very prepared for the truth. They are definitely honest seekers of truth who know not where to find it. 

Then they asked me to say the closing prayer and I was honored and said of course. They all took a deep breath with each other and then starting praying in really low tones of voice really fast. So I bowed my head and prayed too. I assumed when I stopped they would stop too but they kept going. So I looked at my companion he was laughing, and I just put my head back down and said another prayer. I figured I just had to outlast them so I said a pretty long prayer. As each person finished I would thank Heavenly Father for them and by the end I was the last one to pray so I expressed my gratitude for the Book of Mormon and ended my prayer. They all gave a big AMEN and then started clapping and saying alleluyaaa again. It was one of the most interesting experiences of my life. 

They have such strong faith, next week were going over with the senior couple and the Branch President. Lots of potential there. Man I love the people here so much. 

I love you guys 

Elder Nelson

Interesting side notes

-I drink 3 gallons of chocolate soy milk in a week 

-I found a pull up bar!

-I still teach second hour

-We broke the time record to the city from our house.. 26 minutes. 

-I got a new bike.. super nice. It has gears! and both brakes work! 

-Almost finished with the new testament 

Strong Faith of Sovann

Letter from Feb 5, 2012

It feels good to be healthy and hitting the pavement again. My companion still had to come in and rest sometimes but we were still able to get some work done. 

We're starting to earn the trust of the members. When they can trust us we see so much more success. 

We are continuing to teach this man named Sovann. I think I mentioned him before. He's awesome. A moto hit him in an accident 12 years ago and was in a coma for 3 months. During the 3 months people took everything he had, his wife left him and he woke up in a hospital room all alone. He's blind in one eye and almost completely blind in the other. He can't use the right half of his body, and has a big dent in his forehead. He's amazing though. He says that after the accident he started going to a christian church because he knows that God saved his life. He said in 12 years he has only missed 4 Sundays of church. He has such amazing faith. 

So a couple weeks ago we picked him up on Sunday morning and he rode on the back of my bike. We had to stop a few times to readjust but we eventually got to church. The whole time he was there he said that it was so peaceful and that it just felt different from other churches that he had been to.  

He accepted the invitation to be baptized. he needs to have a ride to church first so he's working on that. But he is one of my favorite people I have ever met. He LOVES Jesus Christ. 

I have never met someone with such strong faith in my entire life. He has the whole branch rallying around him. He is exactly what the members here need. 

I love my mission so much. Everyday is an adventure that I wouldn't trade for the world.

Im safe healthy, skinny, sunburned and happy

Much Love

Elder Nelson 

Spent some time in a Cambodian hospital bed.

Letter from January 29, 2012

I hear you heard the hospital story from Sister Smedley.  I bet Mom didn't like it.

Here's the play by play.

Monday comes around and lie normal we go to the mission home to check for mail. It was the week of weeks for teaching and appointments. We were set up for a big week. We go to the mission home and my companion starts complaining about feeling sick. Its kind of been a common occurrence among us over the last 2 months so we didn't think much of it. He starts talking to sister Smedley about it and she tells him to go directly to the hospital.

So, we go to the hospital and it was pretty fun. I spent the night on the couch in the hospital room while my companion was hooked up to the I.V. for an amoebic infection.

When I woke up the next morning I found myself running to the bathroom over and over. They did some tests on me and found out I have the same thing. So they roll another bed in and hook me up to an I.V.  I felt bad for my companion because it was another addition to a long string of unpleasant events over the last few weeks. We were in the hospital for 3 days. He was having a really hard time making sense of it all.  So I ended up being a pep talker for 3 days.  It was a good learning experience for me. 

While I'm in the hosptial, hooked up to an I.V. the nurses check on us all night to make sure that we''re doing ok. So it gets to around 11:30 and I'm exaushted from the day. Im half asleep when all the sudden this beeping noise starts going off. I thought it was my companions I.V. so I ignored it. Finally Elder Nielsen tells me its my I.V.  We realize I forgot to plug the charger back into it after I used the restroom.  So in the dark, I reach down to plug it in and I heard a pop.  Suddenly a lot of liquid began spilling all over the sheets and my arm. I thought it was the liquid from the I.V. so I quickly kept trying to plug my I.V. back in. My companion got up to turn the lights on. When the lights came on I found myself literally in a puddle of my own blood! Me and Iv's don't get along. The nurse came in and took care of me. 

We are ok now. After we were released, we spent the rest of the week at the mission home. Ate dinner with president and his wife last night. I love them both so much.

There wasn't a ton of proselyting this week, but we did get a few lessons in. 

I love you all

Elder Nelson

The few of the older generation are a pleasure to teach.

January 22, 2012 leter

The weeks are starting to go faster, but then again, they're not...

Whenever things start feeling easy or comfortable I start to fear that I'm plateauing. I strive to keep myself uncomfortable. This week I've been on a big cleaning binge. My companion keeps making fun of me because he said that I woke up last Wednesday, said my prayer, and sat up in my bed with a "serious yet angry" look on my face. I jumped out of bed and left the room. He said he was confused and a little scared. He thought ti was mad at him or something. He found me sweeping the doorway with a  serious look on my face. He has told that story everyday this week. But yeah, I've been focused on overall cleanliness, my companion likes the new goal. My mom's dream has come true.

So My companion and I have started to find some good success among the older people. Apparently this is rare because they tend to be set in their ways after surviving the Pol Pot nightmare. I don't know what it is, but they just really like us for some reason. I love talking to them. They have such interesting stories and insights on life. I always take the approach that I want to learn from their wisdom, and in turn, I can share about Jesus Christ. I ask them what the most important thing to have in this life, and the majority of the time they say "Good Health". They explain that if you are healthy, it doesn''t matter if you''re poor, lonely, out of work, beaten down, or having problems. If you have good health, you are still able to have a good life. Its so true. The more I think about that the more I agree.

A couple days ago I was talking to one of the older people and they gave me the good health routine. And I was totally in agreement. Good health is so important. And then I started to relate the concept of the health of our spirit. They LOVED the thought. The idea that we can have good health spiritually and that it is equally as important as good health physically interested them.  I then introduced Jesus Christ and talked about how he is the doctor of our spirits. And that through him we can be cleansed from guilt and sadness, and enjoy good spiritual health. One man agreed that it makes sense... And then I said. Sokh, do you think we could come back and teach you about our Savior Jesus Christ? He looked up with a smile and said ''at mian ei'' which means, "don''t have thing." In English: No problem!. I love the inspiration I have been entitled to receive. 

I love my mission. I go home every night exhausted and wake up every morning with a revived motivation to "seize the day". This life is amazing. I love it. I love the gospel, I love my Savior Jesus Christ. This morning we sang "How Great Thou Art" in our companionship study. We finished the second verse and I was able to feel the spirit so strong, it was overwhelming. It is by far my favorite hymn. I can picture that day so clearly in my head. To kneel at the feet of my Savior and exclaim, How great thou art! 

Everyone on earth is so lucky, whether the know it or not they have a loving Heavenly Father that blesses them so much everyday. 

I love you

Elder Nelson

There are sad times too.

This week was kind of a downer. We were getting this family ready for baptism (Janton) I talked about him earlier. I honestly think he will be one of the first stake presidents in Cambodia. But his work told him that he had to go to Kampong Cham for work. So we showed up to his house yesterday after church to finish reviewing the baptismal interview questions and to get him ready for baptism.. and he just wasn't there. His wife was just like. Oh he just had to go to Kampong Cham for a while.. he'll be back in like 3 months... super super frustrating. (Kampong cham is like 3 hours bus ride away. 

And then we heard that another family had to stop learning because her husband didn't want him them to learn anymore. We go over and visit them on the train tracks. When we get there she was sitting on the train tracks shaving Chayas head with an old exacto blade because his head was bleeding from lice. We start talking to her and she says that her husband says that she needs to worship her ancestors. and if she doesn't it means she doesn't love him. So she said she could learn but couldn't get baptized. I was frustrated but I canwork through it. And then all the sudden her drunk neighbor comes out of his house and starts yelling at her about how Jesus Christ wasn't true and started cussing her out. And she was all calm and then all the sudden she just started shaking and lost it. She stood up and started yelling at him. They were really mad at each other. And then the guy went up and tried to steal her husbands cart to push around and collect garbage for money. And she tried to stop him and he just dragged it down this ledge and slams it in the middle of the road. And THEN this guy on a moto came up and started yelling at the drunk guy. He gets off his moto and throws the cart off to the side. And then they start swearing at each other. And then our investigator got involved, it was chaos. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a big fight. But I just looked at Elder Nielsen and said. Dude. we gotta get outta here. And we left. Its really depressing because she has so much faith. She used to walk 40 minutes to church while stopping along the way to throw up blood because she was so sick. Such a trooper. I have faith that at a later day she'll be baptized. 

And then the other day we're riding down the train tracks and there's all these people in blue boy scout suits and army uniforms walking around with big AK 47's and other guns with really ticked off looks on their faces.. Looks like the cock fighting arena got busted. 

We were riding our bikes through them and then all the sudden one just stands in front of me holding his gun up and pointing. I came to a stop and was pretty nervous but surprisingly calm and just smiled and said, "Hey whats up?"  In Cambodian. He started laughing and yelled to his buddies, "This french guy knows khmer!" And then they all started gathering around and I started totally joking around with them. And then I said, "Well, looks like I gotta go, I'm late for an appointment."  The original guy with the gun says...forgot to tell you...your kick stand is down. Whew!. 

I have to say, I'm glad the cock fighting arena was shut down.

Cock fighting arena.

We're teaching a family with two people over 70 years old. They're super nice and so cute!  It's sad though because they introduced us to their son, who I guess was a very succesful tour guide until 3 months ago. He got in a moto accident and now he's blind, his wife left him, he has a 2 inch deep dent in his forehead, and he can't use his left arm. He speaks suprisingly good english but I don't think he's all there. He laughs like the big guy from the Goonies. And, everytime I say something He says, "That's all right" In an encouraging voice. Its hard to explain.  I love him. I shared my testimony about the importance of prophets on the earth today. And the spirit was strong and I left it quiet for a second. Then he suddenly interrupts, chuckles for a second and says, "thats all right man" Everybody started laughing and it was great. 

I absolutely love my mission. Its insanely hard, physically, mentally, and emotionally. But the people here are amazing and you wouldn't believe the kinds of experiences I'm having. This gospel is true. It changes lives eternally. I know it without out a doubt. I have literally seen lives saved because of it.  

Much love

Elder Nelson 

Outrunning Ninjas.

Letter from January 8, 2012

Thanks for the packages! I got the second one with the Captain America action figure... thanks! It was awesome. I also got one from grandma and grandpa that was really cool to get.

I have a crazy story to tell. I've debated whether to tell it now or wait until later so mom doesn't freak out.  But I can't wait so here it is.

 Every P-Day we go to the mission home which is more than 10 miles away from where we live. It requires us to go on a very busy road and every time we ride it we have funny experiences.  

So last week, we were riding from the mission home back to our house. We were riding along, having a normal, missionary conversation when all the sudden a crazed Cambodian man cuts right in front of us and starts sprinting across the street. He wasn't paying attention to oncoming traffic and motos were swerving out of his way and honking their horns. I turn to Elder Nielsen and said, "Wow. That guy must really be in a hurry. Look at him go! I think he's going to get hit!" So, he gets to the other side or the busy road and we noticed he was calling for someone. Then, he starts running down the other side of the street into oncoming traffic waving at everyone. After a few seconds he makes a sharp turn and comes sprinting back to where we were. By this time me and Elder Nielsen are busting up laughing because we could not figure out what he was trying to do. Then when he was 20 meters behind us, we hear him yelling, "BONG! BONG!" Which is just how you call for people that are older than you. It literally means "older sibling" When I turn around, I see him waving at US trying to flag us down! I look at my companion and just say, "Um, I think he's trying to talk to us? He replied, "So should we stop?"  I told him no, too risky. He eventually comes running up to us. We looked at each other and thought, maybe he REALLY wants to be a Mormon?. 

Then, in a moment of confusion he jumps on the back of my companions bike and starts yelling Faster! Faster! (In khmer of course) Khmers are really touchy feely and he was pretty much bear hugging my companion so it was super funny and we're both just looking at each other laughing really hard. He was completely out of breath and didn't say anything but kept looking back really worried.

So to break the ice I ask him, "Sokh Sbaay tee?" (How are you... or literally translated is "are you happy and healthy yes/no? ) He starts saying, "They're after me! Ride faster! ride faster!" My companion gives me a strange look of wanting to laugh,  worried, and very confused. We keep riding. Then, in a panicked voice he proceeds to explain how he had just been beaten up... he was running away from bad people he was "tangled up with" and owed money. He kept using a word that we didn't know but what we soon realized was, we were suddenly in a "high speed" bike/moto chase down Rosi Blvd in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. My companion was worried sick.  I didn't know what to think so I just started laughing. He looks at me and in a very dramatic voice yells, "Elder, what do we do!" (Its impossible to truly put into words the chaos of the situation.)

I look at him and said. "Listen to him. Elder get on your horse and lets get outta here!" Then we kicked our bikes into high gear and started flying down this busy road. He kept saying to get him to the police station! He kept smacking my companion in the kidney yelling faster! faster! We had about 2 kilos until the mission home and it was honestly one of the scariest moments of our lives.

By this time in our mission we both know how to work traffic in Cambodia. Bikes are the bottom of the food chain, but they're the easiest to maneuver when there's heavy traffic. So we're weaving through traffic and he starts yelling that they have swords! they have swords! (I know that word because of Nephi's experience with Laban in Khmer) Not what we wanted to hear. We later learned that gangs carry big samari swords. Guns are too hard to get so swords are the weapon of choice. So ninjas really do exist.  

We quickly realized it wasn't a joke and I immediately felt like a character on a video game. We got this huge rush of addrenaline and made incredibly good of time in a traffic jam. I need to stress that my companion was really freaked out. The guy holding on to him for dear life was all bruised up and had a cut on his face that was bleeding. 

We finally get to the police station, drop him off and hurry home. We go inside, lock the door, look at each other, and just started busting up laughing. It really was a funny experience. We are convinced we saved his life. 

Interesting side notes:

-We asked the guard at the church about the word we didn't understand... Definition : Mafia

-Apparently were chased by the mafia

-Elder Nielsen is still in shock. 

-Elder Nielsen said when he was a young boy in primary singing "I hope they call me on a mission, he pictured something completely different" 

-We talked about the experience at DM and one of the locals in a really serious voice asked where it happened. We told him which street. He said in a very matter of fact voice that there's a large mafia population there. 

SO Mom, all is well. Don't worry. I am much bigger than any gangsters (ninjas) here. They're all built like Joseph... but shorter. 

Me and Elder Nielson 

We have a new branch president and nobody really knows whats going on. I had to do almost everything last week. Play the piano for sacrament meeting, teach the second hour, teach the 3rd hour, gave someone the holy ghost, the priesthood, Play the piano for priesthood and talk in church next sunday laying out a vision for the future of the branch. 

I love it. But we are good and tired. We raised our church attenedance from 42 to 62  

I love you all. LIfe is good. I love the gospel. I love my Savior. 

Elder Nelson