The Lord will prepare the People

HEY FAMILY! It's that time of the week again. This week went by really fast. I don't even know why but it did. It doesn't feel like December here at all. It has gotten kind of cool here though. Mornings are almost borderline cold. The funny part is it's only like the low 70's probably but I want to go get a sweatshirt because it's cold. It just made me think of how tough it's going to be when I go back to college and go through a Utah winter again. For Christmas we get to go to the Branch 5 conference building and watch the conference Christmas special thing. On Christmas we open up our Christmas present packages. Anyone who doesn't get one the Smedley's put something together so everybody has something to open up. Besides that everything is all normal in Cambodia. It hasn't been raining really the rain is basically done, it looks like. Sometimes tons of lcouds come in but doesn't end up raining at all.

Here they take "ice cream sandwich" a little too seriously, haha.

This past week has been really good. I've learned so much I feel like this past week. I'm finally starting to be able to understand what they are saying and it is making it so much easier and so much more fun. Every now and then you have a lookpuu come up to you and start talking to you. Usualy when they have a little bit too much to drink. By a little bit I mean tons. And they get super talkative. For some reason this past week it happened twice. The first one we talked to was super funny. We were talking to him and then all of a sudden under his breath he asked what did we do to get such white skin. The second one asked us if we were French or Japanese. Elder Jorgensen told him we were Japanese, and lookpuu is like what? No way?! I don't believe you! So funny sometimes. But it's fun now to at least be able to understand what they are saying to me. It also makes me feel more connected to my investigators and what not. Now I feel I can teach more according to his needs.

This last week we met a Lookyiay. A grandma basically and her husband. We met them because they were the parents of these possibly investigators we have sent us to their house so we could teach them there since we were super busy but they never showed up beacuse they have a whole bunch of people at their restaurant. But we talked to them and basically were talking about how the lookyiay is curious as to why there are so many churches. So we are planning to meet with them today. It's just crazy how the Lord wil always be guiding you to people. Being in the country really shows me how the people have th be prepared by the Lord, they have to be ready. You can say whatever you want, you can have the room full of the spirit, where the spirit is just so strong, but if they don't have an open heart, if they aren't ready, it won't change them at all. And when you see them let that spirit in and start to change, they almost become all new people. Something I learned this week as I was geting down on myself as to why we weren't getting any investigators. Another funny story I just thought of. Teaching a new possible investigator Pheak. We taught him about God and how to pray. He's about 18 years old. We explained prayer and he understood it pretty well. We asked him if he'd pray and before he even said yes he bowed his head and started praying. Haha it was so funny, he just went for it.

So thanks again for all the emails and all the love, it makes weeks so much more fun when you open the mailbox to a dearelder, your email inbox is full, or show up at the mission home a see a package with your name on it. Glad to hear you are all having fun too.

So what's going to go on for me this week. Friday we are doing a little Christmas party, with a talent show, white elephant gift exchange, a slideshow, and on Saturday is zone conference, and all the missionaries from everywhere are coming down for it. Going to be so fun. We will also watch the general conference Christmas program thing too.

This last week was super good. We have a new family, don’t know how they are going to do so far or where their motives are but they still want to learn with us so can’t really ask for much more than that. They have 3 kids but 2 of them are mute. They say they can understand but can’t talk, but I think it’s something mental for sure. Either way they are super cute and awesome kids. They are quiet and just sit there and listen. When we show up it’s a non-stop waving fest too. Also, miing puo and chandii both came to church! Only 2 weeks until Chandii's baptism. He's super awesome. This last week he told 2 stories. 1, how he originally started learning with us so he could learn some English, but know he wants to learn the gospel. Like before he would read when he had time. But now he makes time to read because it’s so important. He hasn't turned on the TV in weeks because he uses that time to read the book of Mormon. Then for yesterday when we were teaching enduring to the end, he just went off on how we have to keep doing what we need to do, like go to church read and pray, or we will go away from God and to stay close and have the Holy Ghost we need to follow the commandments. That’s what he is the most excited about, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Every time he tells us it’s like he can feel it on the outside of him, but once he gets baptized it will be in him to help him learn faster and follow the commandments.



That is me, Elder Nico, and chandii. So now you can put a picture to his face. This last week he came to church so he is still on track to be baptized on the 1st. Miing puo did not go so she will have to be postponed. But today we teach Sabbath day holy in lesson 4 so hopefully she will get back on track, keep them in your prayers.

Another cool thing that happened was yesterday we were stopping place after place to find this water bottle, and the 3rd place we almost didn't stop but we thought what the heck why not. 1st, they had the water bottle, 2nd an older man who lives there is just like "hey... I want to join your church, can I join your church?". We told him he can but needs to learn some before he can be a member. He told us "ok well I’m not that free because I work a lot and I’m only here sometimes, but my wife is here all the time, she never goes anywhere, so teach her". It was super funny. It’s really cool when God blesses you and helps you find the right people.

Well that’s about it for this week. I love you all so much, keep up the good work. I know that this church is true and it this is the work of the Lord. It's the most important responsibility we all have as members, missionary work. It’s why we were born in these days.

Love always, Elder Rucker

Transfers and Investigators

So awesome news for this week. Neak Miin puo is a lady we are teaching. She learned before with the elders and learned all the lessons for months but never went to church. That is the only thing keeping her from progressing. She is super poor and works at one of the factories here, they make 2$ a day btw an if they don’t go to work one day even if they are sick or hurt or something they get their pay cut 10$ super corrupt, but anyways she came to church this last sunay with her little boy, it was so awesome. She is so nice and prays everyday and reads. She gets everything pretty well, an what’s super awesome is as soon as she doesn’t understand something, she asks right away, doesn’t wait, but wants to understand. She told us about a dream she had before we started teaching her again about how she didn’t see a god or anything but she saw the Elders.


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lookpuu lii's house sawing this wood in half for him,

super fun I've never sawed anything like that, where it's

two people pulling back and forth, nor have I ever

sawed with a homemade saw

We did the apostasy and resotration part of Lesson 1 for Chaandi. When we finished he told us, now I understand, we had them read the 1st vision in the pamphlet, and he said he read it before in the Liahona and didn't understand what they were talking about, and he said now he gets it. We even were able to establish dispensations with him. It was super awesome. He got it all. When we were done we committed him to pray about what we taught him, whether or not it's true, specifically whether or not it's true, specifically whether or not Joseph Smith is a prophet or not. He said yes, then he said I already bleive he saw God and Jesus, and I think in order to know I'll have to pray more than once and I'll have to keep reading, studying, and learning. He is such an awesome investigator. We told he's totally right and how we even still pray to know to strengthen our faith every day.


So transfer calls came in last night. I will be staying in Kian Svay. Elder Nico is leaving though. He's headed to serve in the city to be with Elder Stokes who was in my group from the MTC. Elder Ballard and Elder ann are staying. I am getting a new companion. He is coming from Batnambong, which is way north a little to the east of Siem Riep. The crazy part is, he is only 1 group ahead of me! I don't know anything about him other than he is a red head. It's gonna be crazy to have two rookies together like that. Usually doesn't happen because both would be too young to know Khmae well, so its gonna be fun. I guess I'm just gonna have to learn real fast :-p. So I'm excited to have Elder Jorgensen come, but sad to see Elder Nico go, he was definitely one of those really good companions that you don't forget. I make fun of him because now he's gonna go to the city and not be biking a million miles a day and get fat. Besides that nothing too big, other than December starts tomorrow! CRAZY! So excited for Christmas.


Anways, new companion, Elder Jorgensen. He is super awesome. He is from Idaho and has 1 younger sister who is like 2. Funniest thing is he is super good with the yo-yo. This last week was a little tougher, 1st time I've had a companion switch while in the country. Went through the new companion blues a little bit just because everything is new and you no longer are best friends with your companion blues a little bit just because everything is new and you no longer are best friends with your companions and all that fun stuff. But so far it's gotten really good though. Our contacting is better than ever, which is ironic because we are like the youngest companionship in the mission. It's actually better, because now that I know I don't have anyone to really translate or talk its forcing me to do a lot more. I'm learning a ton with the language and with missionary work.


It's wedding season here in Cambodia and there are weddings everywhere. Weddings here are super expensive, just as expensive as American weddings, like at least 5k usually 10k dollars. Granted most of that is buying the wife, 2k for poor 3k for average and 5k if you are rich. That's what you pay. But how weddings work is they set up tables and this cover thing and they all eat rice all day, for as many days as how rich you are. Live bands and Buddhist ceremonies. They all erect these little megaphone speaker towers that blast music throughout the neighborhood they are in. It's so loud sometimes you can't even talk to your companion walking by one of them.


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Me and Elder Nico with neak miing puo's 2 kids: Hang and Bannaa.

They are so funny. They are classic little boys. They will like

fart on each other and cough in each other's faces, they always

Go biking together and everything. They aso funny. You probably

wouldn't notice but what bannaa is doing is showing the bottom

of his foot to the camera which is super rude. Like the rudest thing

you can do. When his mom found out she yelled at him ""why did

you do that!". so funny.

The most fun thing is teaching progressing investigators. This alst week was good and bad. It was super good because Chaandii has a baptismal date now! January 1st. He came to church last Sunday and he brought his Dad! He was telling us how much he love sand wants to share the gospel. He wants to be a missionary and don't have the heart to tell him he can't because he has a baby. But he also said he wants his little baby to be a missionaryand someday, which is SUPER awesome because he is already planning on converting everybody in his family. I love teaching progressing investigator and watching them grow as they learn and apply the Gospel in their lives. Recently I've really realized the power of this gospel in helping the lives of people. You can literally see them become better off money wise as well. They aren't rich and still have problems, it's just their lives are 100% better in so many ways.

Elder Nico and I in front of the house waiting at a member's

house for her to come back so we can go teach an

investigator. Her house is so small it's crazy

Another really fun thing to do here is contacting. It is not like America, which is good and bad. More often than not they will always invite you to sit down with them and hang out, they will pull you up a little plastic chair or you will sit on one of their bamboo table/bed things. It's against their culture to not. They reason why it's bad beacuse it's different is because they usually think you are there to give them money or rice or something. And when you mention Jesus Christ some of them get real awkward and shut up, sometimes just walk around somewhere so you can't talk to them. But honestly, they are the friendliest and nicest people in the entire world and they are so easy to love. Even the super Buddhist ones that get awkward will still try to give you water or something.


 Everything is going good here and I'm feeling more and more like a missionary every day. I know that this is hte Lord's work, it is the stone cut out of the mountain. Nothing can stop it. One way or another everyone will know Christ. Every tongue will confess that Jesus is the Christ. I know that Jesus is the Christ our King and our Redeemer.

I love you all family keep up the good work.

Love, Elder Rucker



A huge group of people from a family home evening with
a lady and her friends and family who just got baptized.
Everyone in that picture is a member or an investigator.
 It was the most fun night ever. We explained to them what
Christmas was and about hte birth of Jesus and how he
was born and all that Then we took pictures, played a game
 where if you lose you get white powder rubbed on your face,
 and ate a bunch of fruit and a little Khmae dessert
 fruit thing. It wasn't that good.