10/4/99
Dear Family,
Well I was sitting in President White’s office this morning and he had Elder Folsoms and I proof read a letter he is going to send to the Area Presidency requesting 50 more missionaries to be added to the mission compliment. I remember back in the days of 20 when 50 sounded like an amazing jump. 2 more months and 50 will be a reality. But things are going well and there is so much work to be done here that we need more help. Cambodia is one of a few Asian countries who have no religious laws. . . we can do what we want here. Unlimited Religious Freedom. By 2001 there will be a Stake in Phnom Penh and outlying branches in Kompang Cham, Ta Khman and plans being made for Sihanoukville, Buttambong, Siam Reap etc. 100 missionaries in 2001.
Thanks for your thoughts about ponderers and thinkers. Elder Folsom is a ponderer and thinker . I can get a head of him if I am not careful to communicate or explain what I am thinking. If I do get ahead of him we are no longer a companionship and it doesn’t much matter what else the two of us are doing it is less effective. I develop communication, patience, and long suffering when I have been teamed up with a ponderer. When teamed up with another organizer like Elder Hoare we barely had to say anything to each other cause we always knew what the other half was thinking. If I have learned one thing on my mission about companionships it is probably this unity = success and aid of the Spirit. If you are not unified change yourself. Hopefully I can follow this.
We signed the contract on House 83 this week. Then this morning helped Elders move from the Dr. Woolely condemned house to a nice new house. Next week we will send 4 Elders to officially open Ta Khman . Elder Folsom and Elder Rogers are going to go try to meet the Mayor this week and move into house 83 and that should close out the housing seen until Feb 2000.
We also finished up another project this week. When the District first started here there was a focus put on Leadership in the Church and financial and membership records got put on the back burner. This was not necessarily wrong but just needed to be taken care of before it got out of hand. To make a long story short. . . In May Elder Hoare and I started a drive to gather information from proselyting area books of all members who for sure had moved, died, or were lost. We collected all that in about a period of 2 months. Then it took another month to compare the information to both the mission list and the Thailand Records list. ( all our records go to Thailand) Well the hard part is the Thailand and the mission list are not the same. There was 125+ members that we can not confirm that are moved out, lost or dead.
So this week we were visited for the 2nd time by Thailand area people and they saw the work that we had done and then had us draft a letter that explained our circumstances. They are going to take it to a higher level requesting a PBO officer in P.D. to handle records, some translation, etc.
So in summary the District is getting close to being on its feet both temporally and spiritually getting ready to be a stake. We are meeting ( Elder Folsom and I ) with the local District Clerk, newly called, we have almost fixed the mess and now we are going to help train him so we can do it right from here on out too. I trained myself to be a membership clerk too.
Why records? Alma 5:58
58 For the names of the righteous shall be written in the book of life, and unto them will I grant an inheritance at my right hand. And now, my brethren, what have ye to say against this? I say unto you, if ye speak against it, it matters not, for the word of God must be fulfilled.
Well this is my final week as an assistant and the week after that I will be training a MTC missionary probably up in 2nd branch.
I love you all very much and want you to know that I have a testimony of Jesus Christ and that we are fallen and lost without him. 2 Nephi 9.
Love Your Son, Brother and Missionary,
Elder Rogers