Sam sent us the following email & photos on Sunday, November 1, 2015:

November 1, 2015 at 10:14 PM

Subject:  Yaya

What's up Guys,

Hey it was a bit of a tough missionary week for us overall this week. Nothing came easily for us. There was still some bright spots and some good people. Our weekly planning was brightened up (and in the spirit of this being the Jazz's year to go all the way (while I'm home for it)), by us organizing our investigators into Power Rankings on our Big Board. It makes it way more fun to plan that way. Also lets us see how legitimate or not people are. We're struggling to have people with pure desire who really want it. It's tough, it's a trial everyday. But we're going to keep going. And keeping the faith!

One of the highlights of my week was looking for a CBR down in one area. We'd looked for this guy for probably 20 minutes going around asking people in the area but no one was helping us. Well a tip off from the last update on the CBR about 2 years ago from my man Elder Myers said that he likes to hang out in his tuk tuk at the gas station across the street. So as a last gasp thing we went over there and he had just pulled up. I recognized his face and some of the other tip-offs from the CBR so was able to go straight up to him and say "Hello, Hen, how are you doing?" It's kind of like when the FBI shows up on your doorstep and you've been trying to dodge them for years, but... they always find you! So we beat him and it felt good to see his face.

Keep hoping and praying for our area. We are and we're hoping there's going to be someone who wants to progress and can see the importance of the gospel. It's a hard work, man, but a good one.

Love you guys

Sam sent the following email, photos, & video clips on Sunday, October 25, 2015.  Our questions/comments are in italics.

October 25, 2015 at 11:43 pm

Subject:  Doing Good

Hey Guys,

I'm kind of out of time a little bit because I wasted my time and now we're going to play basketball. But I'll tell you that we're doing good. We were wondering if it’s coming up on another mission transfer time.  But we are pretty sure you and Elder Riches will be staying together regardless.  Don’t greenies stay with their trainers 12 weeks minimum? We just started the transfer last Thursday, and we're looking to make this one better than last. I'm still with Elder Riches, as expected, and we're doing good. He's great to be with and we're working really hard to try and help the area. We had some ups and some downs with our investigators, as always, but trying to stay positive. We figured we got the phone numbers of about 25% of the people we contact, which is pretty solid odds. We're happy to be out here. I sent you guys some videos that can make up for the lack of writing. Someone please remix Om Leang singing all I do is win, everytime I step into the building everybody's hands go up. That'll blow up YouTube.  Is that cute man that you taught to say the phrase, “All I do is win every day!” a member of the church? Yes, he's a Mormon and is off the wall. Have a good week!

Heidi's Note:  After clicking on the Video Link below, the clip will open in Dropbox.  Do not click the large "Play" triangle in the center of the video because the video quality here is poor.  Instead, click the blue "Download" button at the top of the screen, and then click "Direct Download."  This will download the clip to your computer where you can view it on a QuickTime or other video player where the video quality will be better.  
Video Link:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/057zxu6xnbtd55z/Oct%2025%2C%202015%20Om%20Leang%20.mov?dl=0

Outhouses....perhaps?

Sam sent the following email & photos on Sunday, October 18, 2015:

Subject:  The Cubs, Really? The CUBS!!

Hey guys, what's up

We did the best we could this week. We have a few good people, then also some others. Sometimes it's frustrating because we want to help all the people that we can. Like we want to help everyone, but darn for that agency thing that makes it hard for people to follow through and meet with us. It's hard because when they exercise it to not learn with us you're prone to feeling like you're failing. But we're trying to push through and sift out the bad ones. The chaff, if you will.

Had a good ponderize on "salt of the earth" this last week.

We got Monday and Tuesday to clean our apartments cause of the holiday, then all of us in the city got together and watched the Restoration the long version. That's a boss movie.

We talked to a white guy who was preaching the gospel down at one area we were at. Well actually we tried to talk to him but he was like "no, you're different" and he wouldn't talk to us. He wouldn't even speak in English to us. Really rude. We were just going to know his name and talk to him but he's like naa naa. 

One lady dropped a bag as she was riding on her moto, so I stopped and picked it up for her. As I was handing it back to her it sounded like people were laughing at me. But then I realized that was just the chickens going crazy inside her bag.

People don't have great lesson etiquette. Like the one guy who decided to pluck nose hairs in the middle of the lesson.

Even though the work sometimes feels a little disappointing in this area because it's not super fast, we're still doing good things and I think we're doing it to the best of our ability. I'm going to go so hard on missionary work when I get home. You know, it's not so hard to talk to people about religion, they've just got to know that you really care about them first.

It is pretty warm here but by now I'm totally used to it and we're out in it all day, everyday.

Peace and Love you guys!

Also, remember that friendly waves and confidence will get you wherever you want to go, even if you're probably not supposed to be there.

Sam sent the following email, video clips, & photos on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2015.

Subject:  Pchum Hauy

October 11, 2015 at 11:34 pm 

Glad to know you all liked my poem.

Well the work was hurt a little bit by various activities like zone training, general conference, and everyone leaving to go to their srok for Pchum Ben. The stone cut out of the mountain without hands will roll forth, unless a Cambodian holiday comes through, in which case the stone breaks into a million little pieces and goes to hibernate for a few days before reassembling itself and rolling forth until the great Jehovah will come and say the work is done. Thanks Daniel.

But seriously, everyone is vacated out of the city right now and the mission is mandating us to clean our houses thoroughly tonight and tomorrow because they think it's better than just driving around and not having anywhere to go. 

Conference was good. I liked a lot of what was said. I thought it was interesting in somebody's talk how they said that Laman and Lemuel had many faith-building opportunities, but didn't really put themselves into trying to want to believe.

We are trying to keep reigns on our investigators and I'm feeling a little better about some of them. They are really busy, but we are still going to help them to progress.

Note for next time: lock the door that you watched the english session of general conference in before the next session, because if you don't, the first counselor and his wife and their baby will go in there and take a nap on the floor and use the tablecloth as a blanket and he will also have his shirt off for some reason. Also, knock before reentering any rooms you may have previously inhabited. Just a word to the wise.

I got some videos for you on dropbox. Picture-wise, we see that English is still a very difficult language to learn.

Heidi's Note:  The video link is below.  When you click on it, the video will open in Dropbox.  Once there, I noticed that if you click on the center triangle to play the video, the quality is a little choppy.   So, instead of clicking on this triangle, find the box labeled "Open" in the top right corner of your screen, and click on it.  This should open the video with the QuickTime player, and the quality will be better.  

https://www.dropbox.com/s/udaksukrzfsv7g0/Oct%2011%2C%202015%20.mov?dl=0

I think my personal favorite is, "Semianal."

Sam is on the far left.  His companion, Elder Riches, is third from the left.
I don't know the names of the other two elders.

Sam sent the following email, photos, and video clips on Sunday, October 4, 2015.  I'm sorry it has taken me all week to get it posted.  We upgraded our computer's operating system, and it really threw me off my groove!  Painful!

October 4, 2015 at 10:59 pm

I've got some old videos I put on dropbox for you guys,

We worked hard and had a good week last week. We were loving mixing adages this week at home. I also got a "new" bike this week so we're a lot more mobile than before. Much like in Remember the Titans we are "mobile, agile, hostile." Naw I'm just kidding, but it's nice to have gears that work. We'll watch conference this week. We got 5 more new investigators this week. Still trying to have patience to wait for these guys to progress. But Elder Riches and I at least feel like we're doing our part.

We took our trash out once this week and that was something that I never want to do in my life again. Pretty nasty stuff.

We're doing good, we're seeing miracles. I wrote a poem earlier today:

Compensation

I'd like to think when life is done

That I had filled a needed post,

That here and there I'd paid my fare

With more than idle talk and boast;

That I had taken gifts divine,

The breath of life and manhood fine,

And tried to use them now and then

In service for my fellow men.

I'd hate to think when life is through

That I had lived my round of years

A useless kind, that leaves behind

No record in this vale of tears;

That I had wasted all my days

By treading only selfish ways,

And that this world would be the same

If it had never known my name.

I'd like to think that here and there,

When I am gone, there shall remain

A happier spot that might have not

Existed had I toiled for gain;

That some one's cheery voice and smile

Shall prove that I had been worth while;

That I had paid with something find

My debt to God for life divine.

Just something that just came to me. Actually, I didn't write it, but I did find it in my desk and thought it was apt and very good. Well done, Edgar A. Guest. I think it rings true on several levels, but I'm not feeling like breaking it down. We're trying to bring smiles to everyone's faces, and then invite them to change their lives and learn about Jesus Christ. How great is our calling!

I miss you guys and love you. Peace!

Video Clip: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ijtreztfdr1kdr1/Oct%204%202015%20%20copy.mov?dl=0

Hey, this is 4 of us from our group of 6. They came over and did an exchange with us 

and it was really fun. Good guys

Youths can change the world.............with the guidance from adults. 

What an almost inspirational quote

Sam sent the following email & photos on Sunday, September 27, 2015.  Our questions are in italics.:

From: Samuel Christensen <samuel.christensen@myldsmail.net>

Subject: NO ONE CAN KNOW OF SPIRITUAL TRUTHS WITHOUT PRAYER!

Date: September 27, 2015 10:55:06 PM MDT

Hey what's up guys,

We're looking to turn the corner on some of our investigators. So luckily we were able to get to meet a few of those contacts from before. Now we're looking to take the next step and get them to be legit and progress. The subject bar is one of my favorite lines in PMG. For some reason it just sounds awesome and I like to scream it out randomly if there seems to be a lull in conversations. Gets me pumped! But seriously, we've got to get some of these new people to actually try what we've told them and pray so that they actually can feel the Spirit and then have a desire to progress. So that's where we're at right now. So I guess we have seen success this past week, but it's still a grind most of the time.

I’m curious to know if you feel like the Cambodian people are religious people in general?  I assume most of the population would identify themselves as Buddhists, right?  But are most of them actively practicing religion in their lives?  I think the hardest people to teach would be those who are just apathetic about religion in general.  This reminds me of a little story/fable: “There was a large field with a fence dividing it.  Christ owned the field on one side of the fence, and Satan owned the field on the other side.  A guy came along, and he had to decide whose side of the fence he wanted to be on.  He was left alone to decide.  A while later, Satan came back to the field and found the guy sitting on the fence.  The guy said, “I couldn’t decide which side to choose, so I sat on the fence.  I chose neither you nor him.”  To that, Satan said, “Well, didn’t you know?  I own the fence.”  I like that "don't you know I own the fence" Satan quote. On the drive here I was actually thinking about how it's hard here not because people are Buddhist, but because of what Elder Holland said that "apathy is more dangerous than apostasy" and yes, most people would identify with Buddhism, but few actually follow the precepts of Buddhism. They won't even care enough to look at what they say they believe, nor will they consider what we believe. The most common thing I hear is that all churches are good, all religions teach people to do good things. Buddhism and Christianity are good, the same. To which you have to just say ok yeah, but what about authority and power of a God of creation. What about ETERNAL LIFE?? One guy a little bit ago told us that he lived to die. What's the purpose of this life, I asked. To "receive help from charitable organizations" he replied. I'm hoping he misunderstood the question and doesn't really think that. But I'm afraid he does...

We sent over a referral to the Philadelphia Elders of a guy we talked to here who was from Cambodia, but he is really American cause he's lived there for like 40 years. We didn't get the chance to meet him even though he really wanted to meet us. He had to go back but he offered his American phone number and we got that sent over through the office elders. He'll be shocked at how fast information goes in the church. See you on the other side, Peter.

I can't wait til you guys come here and see how it is and meet the people I've met. Be prepared to come for the experience of a lifetime and come wanting to take lots of pictures and videos. Most of the guys in my group's parents are coming so maybe you guys can get in contact with them in the future. I'll let you know.

I was looking Chbar Ampov up on the Internet.  It looks like it’s on the eastern edge of Phnom Penh, across a branch of the Mekong River.  Mom, Chbar Ampov where we proselyte starts quite a ways after the bridge near Chbar Ampov high school up until road Prek Aeng pagoda. It's a fairly smallish area of people compared to other areas.  You told us last week that you had ridden on the road from Kean Svay to Phnom Penh a few times and it was full of pot holes.  Is that road “National Hwy 1”?  If so, it sounds like they need to get the Department of Highways busy on it.  That ride on National Road 1 is crazy.... This is a NATIONAL road, people. They're pretty good at tearing it up, putting it back down is the trick.

We had zone conference last week and president wants us to focus more on becoming "deliberate disciples" instead of "accidental disciples" which I think is very insightful. We're going to go play football today for P-day which is the first time I'll play since I've been here.

Peace out guys. Love you and miss you!

Sam sent the following email on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015.  Our questions/comments are in italics.:

From: Samuel Christensen <samuel.christensen@myldsmail.net>

Subject: 

Date: September 21, 2015 12:56:35 AM MDT

Hey what's up guys!

Well, we're doing the best we can out here in Chbar Ampov. We've braved the moguls on the road from Kean Svay to Phnom Penh several times this past week. By moguls I mean that the road is one giant pothole. We can't get anywhere without getting our shoes and pants completely covered in mud!

We get to do a lot of contacting here. Since we've been here for about 11 days I have written down 22 phone numbers of people that we've contacted. The next part is actually getting them to meet with you. But we're going to keep contacting and keep up the faith that there's people here to teach. Because we don't believe that there is such thing as a "bad" area, just that each area is different and maybe this is a little bit more difficult of an area than others. But we believe if we do the things we're supposed to be doing and working hard every day then we will have people to teach. I always have liked the sentence in PMG that says your success as a missionary is measured primarily by your commitment to finding and teaching people. And if that's the case, then we're very successful missionaries.

How has the training been going with Elder Riches?  Elder Riches is doing really well. He speaks the language very well already and is up to do anything.

The electricity in our apartment can't handle too much, so with two ACs and two refrigerators our power is always flipping off. Like a ton, but I guess that's going to get fixed soon.

I think I'm basically just numb to crazy stuff that happens now because if I was writing this email a year ago I would probably have a ton to say, but now it feels completely normal and like not much has happened. I'm glad to be out here and I wouldn't rather be anywhere else right now. I've heard through the grapevine that Somuen, from TT, is seriously considering serving a mission. That would make me so happy and it would be great preparation for his life. 

I guess that's all I've got. Have a good week!

Note:  Peter stumbled across the following on the web.  It was written by a missionary named Elder Epply, and is an account of the day he spent on a split with Sam:

"... I was able to go on a pretty great exchange this week too!  I went with one of our South Zone Leaders named Elder Christensen.  I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture with him, but he's a real great guy.  He's been serving for about a year now, and I can't believe how great of a missionary and leader he is!  Right now him and his companion, Elder Myers, ANOTHER outstanding Elder, are serving in an area called Tuol Tum Pong, which is one of the oldest areas in the mission.  That being said, there are also a TON of less-active members in that area.  The work is pretty hard there, plus the area is literally a maze.  We got lost a couple times, but I learned a lot from him that day.  During the day, we went and visited a less-active that we both knew from serving in Teuk Thla (my first area) and had a super great lesson with her, and we left notes of love and encouragement for her husband, who is a dear friend of ours.  It's really hard to see someone you love and that you've worked so hard with fall away and deny their beliefs.  We also went to the house of a very sick member who had a stroke and lost the ability to move his body.  His right leg and arm work, but his left side doesn't respond very well and provides considerable pain.  The man needs physical therapy, but his family doesn't have the time nor resources to provide that assistance.  Well, turns out there is a member in their ward who is studying that very science who went and visited this member with the missionaries before and he taught them some exercises to do to help him recuperate.  So, everyday the Elders there go to his house and one will read the scriptures to him while the other massages and works the man's legs to help him gain strength back.  It was a marvelous experience to participate in that, and to feel of the love Elder Christensen has for the members in his area.  Also, considering there aren't many prospective investigators in their area, they've started a new campaign where they go Amateur Johnny Appleseed and plant seeds in every single person they can.  Let me define what planting a seed means:  It's anything that brightens another person's day.  So a smile given and returned is a seed.  A "Hello!" given and received.  They're trying help people feel happy and Christ's love through small and simple means, and it's something I find is praiseworthy!  It was a fantastic exchange, that's for certain."