Chumprupsua!!

That's supposed to be "hello" in Khmer but I have no idea how to spell it. You can ask my BYU roommate, Sister Snooks. If you want to ask her how it's actually spelled or just want to talk to her in general because she's really cute, email alexa.snooks@myldsmail.net. Her birthday is also coming up in February, so feel free to spam her email with birthday wishes.

One of our investigators, Chi Ngoc, is going through a really hard time right now, and it's something that I personally can't identify with. BUT, I know that no matter what kind of trial we have in our life, there is always someone that understands how we feel: Our older brother, Jesus Christ.
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/strengthened-by-the-atonement-of-jesus-christ?lang=eng
 Chi Man Nghi and I encouraged Chi Ngoc to keep praying, and we promised her that she would receive the strength and hope to overcome this trial. Prayer is something that I know, 100%, works every time. Whenever we feel sad, lonely, or like we can't go on anymore, prayer will help. I know that prayer seems like such an odd thing because we can't physically see Heavenly Father when we talk to Him. But I know that He is always listening, and that He is always trying to talk to us if we just take the time to listen.
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2003/04/sweet-power-of-prayer?lang=eng


I've heard from my family that the weather back in the states is freezing cold, which means that everyone is spending plenty of time inside with the Wifi.. So I know everyone has time to read those two talks :)


Here in Vietnam, we are approaching TET SEASON! This means that literally everyone and their cat are decorating their shops and preparing huge baskets full of chocolate, nuts, fruit, and wine to give to family members and friends. It is so awesome (aside from the wine, because you know, Word of Wisdom: https://history.lds.org/article/doctrine-and-covenants-word-of-wisdom?lang=eng). But, there is a down side to Tet.. Everyone and their cat also goes to their hometown! Right now, my companion and I feel like campus missionaries at BYU during Christmas break: there's no one here. Everyone has started to pack up their things, take time off of school and work, and go on vacation. Pretty soon there will be NO ONE on the streets (one of the elders said that you can literally lay on the street and not get run over, but I wouldn't recommend that because the streets are dirty).


If there was one quote to describe this week, it would be this.. "Madam, Madam.. Campuchia xa quá!" (Madam, Madam, Cambodia is too far!) On Monday, Chi Man Nghi and I flew down to Saigon for our exchange with the sisters there. On Tuesday, Sister Schley and I got bussed out to the Vietnam/Cambodia border to renew our visas. After a 2 hour bus ride, we got dumped off in the middle of no where and were instructed to walk to the border! The most hilarious thing was that as soon as we got off the bus, tons of these guys riding motorbikes rode right next to us, begging us to get on so that they could drive us to the border (they just wanted us for our money, sheesh). They literally were driving so close to us and just talking to us the whole time, it was HILARIOUS. From this experience I really got my poker face down, because if you smile, talk, or even look at them they get egged on even more.

Thanks for all the emails from everyone! I love getting updates and pictures :) Happy almost Lunar New Year!!!