Of two Cambodian young women who serve as missionaries in Cambodia, spreading the teaching of the LDS church, one is the only Mormon member in her family, and the other has a whole family who joined Cambodia’s LDS church. Each has an interesting story.

Sister Malay Kan, 29, of Kandal Province, born in 1983 first had a Mormon Church pamphlet from a friend of hers. She called the number and asked if they teach about Jesus. Two boys came to her home on bicycles.

The boys only stayed 20 minutes, but they were friendly. Malay Kan was already a Christian and the Mormon boys were happy to know it when they talked to her.

Earlier she had prayed for a job at an international school in Phnom Penh and had got the job, even though she couldn’t speak English. She was amazed and believed that Jesus Christ had answered her prayers.

Sister Malay Kan is now 14 months into her 18 month mission for the Mormon Church.

She hopes later to find the right man, get married and have three children.

At first, after she joined the LDS church, her family said she was different.

“But I set a good example for them, and they saw change. I knew I must obey my parents otherwise God would not bless me,” she said.

She admitted that previously she had not listened to her parents and spoke loudly to them, going with her friends wherever she wanted.

“In the future I think I will be a good mother, be a good member of the church and I can help other people,” she said.

Sister Malay Kan’s “companion” as they are called, is Sister Kakada Rin,23, who joined the LDS church following in the footsteps of her mother. She’s the youngest with two older brothers and one sister.

When the family lived near the Independence Monument, her mother had seen the Mormon missionaries riding by on the bicycles and they stopped to talk to her.

At the time, Kakada Rin was living in Takeo province with her sister in law. The rest of her family lived in Phnom Penh.

“At first when my mother learned with missionaries, my father didn’t like it, and didn’t want missionaries to come to house and teach my mother,” she said. “But the missionaries were very friendly and they helped us feel good and feel peace and mother loved them so much,” she said.

Her father had a girlfriend on the side and he was giving money to her, money that could have been spent his family, she said.

“My mother felt so bad because her husband did that. The missionary said we should pray for my father. My mother still loved him and said we should support him.”

By and by, her father’s girlfriend left him because he didn’t have any more money.

“He remembered that my mother loved him and my mother forgave him,” she said.

Eventually, Kakada Rin’s father started to learn about Jesus Christ and he agreed that he had been wrong, she said. Her father has since become a member of the LDS church.

“Now he is the best church member, better than us, very obedient, no girlfriend, doesn’t drink or smoke. This is a miracle of God,” she said.

Kakada Rin said anybody could repent in the principles of Jesus at any time.

That’s how she and Malay Kan encourage other Cambodians to look into Jesus Christ by testifying about their own backgrounds and telling their stories.

Kakada Rin is three months into her 18 month mission. She has a Cambodian boyfriend, also an LDS church member, who is also on a mission.

“We need to marry first and have a family, study and find a job,” she said.