7/12/99
Clint Mission 99 #28
Dear Family,
Live from Phnom Penh Kampuchea it is time for the weekly report. I’, glad that all of you tuned in. . . . I can’t believe it is Monday again already. Pres. and Sister White are gone to Laos so I have not seen your letters.
I am including my journal pages again.
Elder Hoare and I are working on the 4 new apartments that we need by August. We should hopefully sign the contract on 2 of them this week. We saw another one that we liked today so maybe we can get that one signed too. Playing real estate agent is not satisfying and enjoyable like teaching a family. Yet we are trying to get set up so that the missionaries can move into a nice little house in or close to their area and not have to worry about housing but focus on the work. By the time we get to August, with the downsizing from mansions to small housing ND AN INCREASE OF Elders, Elder Hoare and I will have been responsible for the locating, negotiating of 9 out of 10 missionary houses. It has been a major project and a big responsibility for Elder Hoare and I. It has fallen on us pretty much because the office couple and President are busy, and we know the language and the locations needed.
I don’t know if you caught it from my last letter but , we no longer have our own proselyting area. In my journal entries I have given an account of where our time has been spent this past week. The best part was going out with the Elders on splits. We spent Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons out on splits with the Elders. We do it two ways.
AP is an observer/helper with both companions or AP with split companionship
This week was very educational as we got out and worked with the Elders and found out and saw lots of things. We have great Elders and they work hard and yet we saw areas where we could improve.
I also learned things from working with them. Before all the time we worked as assistants we never got out and worked one on one and one on two like this before, there is a real need for us to be doing this kind of thing more often to help our Elder’s improve their effectiveness in order to bring more souls unto Christ. Especially now as our mission gets bigger. As President White says we have to ”decentralize”. He has really put his trust in Elder Hoare and I as we have made so many major changes to the mission and also given the role of assistant to President in the CPP Mission a whole new job description. District and Zone leaders all have to step up and take more responsibility. When Elders Hoare, Williams and I first came our addition made 20 Elders. Right now we have 32 and many months from now we will have 52 missionaries here. Our theme for Zone Conference on Friday is Jacob 5: 61-62 “ Prepare the way”
Jacob 5:61
61 Wherefore, go to, and call servants, that we may labor diligently with our might in the vineyard, that we may prepare the way, that I may bring forth again the natural fruit, which natural fruit is good and the most precious above all other fruit.
Jacob 5:62
62 Wherefore, let us go to and labor with our might this last time, for behold the end draweth nigh, and this is for the last time that I shall prune my vineyard.
Love your Son , Brother and Missionary,
Elder Rogers
Journal Entries:
After the Killing Fields, we went to the Royal Palace and Sam Saphorn was our tour guide. Saphorn is a great member who serves as counselor in the District Presidency and also as a side note he was just recently married. We toured the palace for an hour. There are many nice buildings and lots of gardens. It is very beautiful. I have been before but last time I went to the Coronation Hall it was closed.
It is very interesting to see where they crown the Kings of Cambodia.
Following the Royal Palace we went to the Hotel Sofitel Cambodiana and held a devotional out on the back lawn. We stood in a circle around the spot where President and Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley stood on May 29, 1996 to give the dedicatory prayer for the missionary work to begin in the nation of Cambodia.
We sang “ We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet.” President White then talked about a few of the highlights in the dedicatory prayer. Elder Folsom then gave a special prayer to help us all be more dedicated to the cause here in Cambodia. To end the half-day excursion we went up to a room where we a light buffet was prepared for us. It was a great activity. I think my favorite part was Elder Badger’s performance of Alma.
This week Elder Hoare and I have been doing only Assistant work. We no longer have an area.
Tuesday: In the morning we had a Zone Leader Training meeting where we went with the Zone Leaders and President White. We talked about building bridges to the future, some of our ideas about expansion. We tried to expose the Zone leaders to a little of what is happening.
The rest of the morning we spent translating for Sopia and his Uncle from my old proselyting area in Stung Mean Chey, they had their moto stolen from 2nd branch and had come to demand reimbursement from the church. Obviously we can’t reimburse him, and the meeting lasted almost 2 hours as they tried to talk President White into helping them. Elder Hoare and I were taught a great lesson as President White patiently took time to listen to them.
That afternoon we went out with our real estate agent to look at some houses. This is probably our hardest assignment right now, trying to replace one more big house that we are still using house # 19 and at least 2 new four man houses are needed for the new Elders coming in. A total of 3 to 4 new houses that need to be rented by August.
Wednesday morning we helped move Elders Sorber and Crookston and Elders Heng and Richardson into their new house #165p near the American Embassy.
Afternoon was spent working in the office some and also going out to look at the houses that we had seen with Elder Seare, to have him judge whether or not it was appropriate housing.
Thursday morning we did some foot work by ourselves out looking for houses. We were on our bikes going to a few houses which we remembered from our travels. We talked to a few people who had no intention of renting their house minutes before, but then see the white guys come and get excited about an opportunity to get some money and say yes I’ll rent you my house how much will you give me for a month.
Later in the afternoon I worked with Phanith on our “small project”. He is the branch clerk and we have been helping him fulfill his calling by getting the membership records sorted out.
Friday today we went out with our agent, Bonna again. We first went out and talked with the Land Lord of a 3 story pink house near the Chbar Ampov Bridge. We want to rent the 3rd story. We talked about some of the changes that need to be made before we can talk about a contract. We also went looking for a house in my old Kampuchea Krom Area.
In the afternoon we went for a split. Elder Hoare went with Elders Miller and Hodson. Elders Lowman and Sea were my companions. This is one of our first splits as Assistants going out with the missionaries in their area.
Elder Lowman’s planner said “finding with Elder Rogers 3:00- 6:00 p.m. They had no plans. I ask them if I could show them some former investigators. I had thought and prayer earlier about who we could go see.
I felt best about a man I met on his bike. He invited me to his house and we gave him a book of Mormon. We met him once or twice but he then got a job at a hotel. So that was my idea to go and see him again. We crossed the Chbar Ampov bridge. I noticed the water was high, the river was full. coming into Chbar Ampov the road from the market to the wood factories were paved. I couldn’t believe it, that used to be the muddiest and worst road in Phnom Phen.
We found the man who remembered at his house. They welcomed us with smiles and invited us to sit down. They looked at me and kept saying “he is the one, he is the one in the picture.” We talked to him, and his wife brought down his book of Mormon. His name was Phery. The wife started again to say something about a picture. Phery opened up his book and in the front cover the was our family picture and a message from dad that the book of Mormon is true and to please read it. they remembered me as the one who gave them the book and remembered what I looked like from the picture At that point, he told us that he was no longer working at the hotel and that he had some free time. Elder Sea shared a verse with him from the Book Of Mormon and then Elder Lawman and Elder Sea worked together to schedule him for Sunday. I showed them a few more past investigators and also were able to contact and schedule with a young father.
The last intro. of the day, we talked to a man who was washing his moto, he stopped and invited us in but he was not interested. Elder Sea said to him 2 or 3 times on the way out, “I’m sorry to bother you; I’m sorry we took you away from washing you moto.” I didn’t correct him right at that moment, instead I gave Elder Lowman and Sea to study together for the missionary guide the Present with Faith Chapter.
There is no reason to be sorry about telling others about the message from the Savior Jesus Christ.
Yesterday we went out with Bonna our housing man, but didn’t see much. We split in the afternoon and went into the South Lake Area with Elders Walker and Chhean. I had the great privilege of going with Elder Chhean. He is one of our National Elders. He has such a likable personality and also a strong testimony of the gospel.
We, Elder Chhean and I met with an inactive lady that I met a year or so ago with Elder Harmon. The sad part of the appointment is that she hasn’t changed in a year, She is happy to read and talk with us but says she is unable to go to church because of her job. While with Elder Chhean we also were accompanied by Sin Tong a District Missionary who interviewed for baptism a few months ago. He was our fellowshipper and helper. As we pedaled along there I realized that there I was again like many times on my mission the only white guy, heading out with my companion who is one of my Cambodian brothers, and very comfortable. Heading out to do the work!