Dear family,
I'm sorry about the late email this week. As Dad guessed, we did have a zone conference
on Monday so they moved our P-day to
Tuesday.
Mom and Dad both asked a lot of good questions so I will start by answering those.
Sister Davis is AWESOME!!!!!! I literally can't tell you how
just perfect this companionship is. We are like the same person, but we
are different, but our perspectives and our likes are like the same.
It's crazy and SO MUCH FUN! We are talking all the time about who even
knows what, and it's so fun! I think she is just starting to get over
her jet-lag! Woohoo! She probably does feel like a dear in the
headlights, I don't know how you couldn't. I wish I could bring you all
here for just a week so that you would know what it is like here. It
literally is insane! There is no way you can understand without coming
here. So yeah, she just is getting used to all that. :)
Her personality is like... chill I guess. She isn't quiet, but not
crazy outgoing either. Probably kinda like me. If she has something to
say she will totally say it though. I don't know, she is just super
cool! (Though this just in, I'm pretty certain this place has driven me
just a touch crazy. I've lost it! I'm like crazy now, kind of in an
outgoing way, but mostly I just feel crazy! What is happening to me?!?)
Anyway, Sister Davis is a political science major at BYU and eventually
wants to go into Law. Did I tell you she is 19 years old? So she has
just done one year at BYU. Her family is actually all converts of 6
years, way cool! As far as the language I'm sure she feels so
overwhelmed, but from my perspective she is doing great! I have her
teaching like half the lessons already! Haha, so that's awesome!
Mom asked about my first area. I was only there for 1
transfer, so six weeks. So short. And now I have been here in KC for 5
months, going on 6! I love this place! Seeing Sister Hartley was the
best thing ever. I think she is doing well, but she has had a very
different experience than I have, it sound like. A lot of hard
companions and stuff. :( But she is still as funny as ever! She is so
solid! I think sister Davis liked the monkeys, but it was actually
really disappointing, there were only a couple of monkeys there this
time.
No she doesn't bit me. I tend to do a lot of the
cooking. I've been making a lot of the Khmer stuff I learned from Sister
Kuoch that is yummy and simple. We also eat a lot of ramen type
stuff... haha, healthy... Dad, it's not really much like Butter-Yaki. It
is similar in the fact that it is family-style, but it's not quite the
same. Though, there are things that are similar. Haha, I don't know!
Our teaching pool is good right
now. We have a lot of investigators in 2nd branch, they are all actually
like in the same neighborhood, which is super cool! 1 will be getting
baptized this week, a few more in the upcoming weeks. There is
especially one who I love teaching, her name is Bong Baa. We have only
taught her twice, but she is awesome! She is a referral from a member,
and at first she had a really hard time understanding us, haha, and so
she was really nervous. I was wondering how this would work out. But we
went to her house the other day to teach her and she wasn't home,
someone went to tell her we were there, and the next thing we know she
is like running down the street with a big smiling on her face so
excited to meet us! Haha, it made me day!!
Srei Label, the girl who got baptized last week, is
actually the daughter of a long time member who never got baptized. She
was learning for a long time, but the issue was that she doesn't really
remember a lot and she gets nervous to learn and speak because her
tongue is a little too big for her mouth, so she is hard to understand.
But, I have loved teaching her so much! She is kinda like a sassy little
teenager, but super sweet too. And her baptism was especially sweet
because you could tell how happy she was.
I really love love love the members here! And
part of that is because the members just love the missionaries.
Especially because I have been here for so long I feel like the members
really know me and I know a lot about them. I am more confident in my
relationships with them, and I feel like they do accept me! There are
definitely some members I have closer bonds with than others, but in
general I feel really loved in these two branches, especially branch
one! What a blessing! The members do help us find people to teach. I
actually just realized this yesterday that I think every single
investigator I have had here in Kampong Cham has come from a referral.
Every single one!! That is crazy!! It's not like that all over Cambodia,
so I am so blessed! Also, there is a member here who is trying to
commit me to marry her son. She's joking, but really she's not joking.
Haha, it's stinkin' hilarious! And I think that is a good sign that she
likes me! But don't worry, I have declined the offer.
We do teach English class every Wednesday. I am actually
the English Class Leader right now, but mostly that doesn't mean much
because I have every one of us as English teachers. We split the class
into tables according to their levels so that we can give them a more
1-on-1 experience. English class is one of the funnest, but least-fun
things I do here. Haha, it's crazy! I love it but also hate it! I wish I
could explain. Haha, so funny. The weather I think is generally getting
drier, but we did have some rain a couple days this last week.
There are 10 Elders in my District and then also the Senior couple
and me and sister Davis. We are also a zone. Right now there are 3
people being trained here in KC: Sister Davis, Elder Jones, Elder
McGavin. They are 19,18, 18 respectively. It's kinda fun having people
straight from the MTC, but also so weird. The other missionaries are
Elder Sorenson (trainer), Elder Barnery, And then Khmers: Elder Chan,
Heng, Ti, and Sam (trainer). It's kinda a funny mix of missionaries
right now, but we all have fun together. I especially get along with
Elder Barney. This is actually his last transfer of his mission, but we
have been serving in the same branch together for the past 5 months. He
came to KC when I did. It's fun have him as a friend here. I'm actually
not the oldest missionary in my district. I think the Khmers are mostly
all older than me, and Elder Barney is too. Pretty much the name "sister
Grandma" has long died. :)
Wow, this email is already so long, but I have more to
say! Sister Davis and I did do A LOT of teaching this week, which was
awesome! Tuesday
was kinda our first day to really go out and do a lot of teaching, I
was kinda super nervous about it especially because we had planned to go
to 2nd branch which I'm just not quite as comfortable in. I was praying
so much for Heavenly Father to help us have a successful day and to
help people want to meet with us and to help them understand us. I can't
even tell you how much my prayers were answered! We met with everyone
we wanted to, and more! It was probably the smoothest day I have had on
my mission! I was so grateful that Heavenly Father was mindful of my
needs and concerns.
I have seen so many blessings from Heavenly Father
lately, actually, one of which is definitely the gift of tongues but
more the gift of interpretation of tongues. I never before could figure
out really the difference of how those are different, until I came on my
mission, and now I totally understand. Just because I can talk to you,
doesn't mean I know what you are saying back. I especially feel most my
mission I have been blessed with the ability to speak but have really
struggled to understand what people were saying. This made me especially
nervous when I found out I would be training. I can't tell you how
different things have been since I have been with Sister Davis. I know
without a doubt that Heavenly Father has blessed me with the gift of the
interpretation of tongues. I finally understand like 90% of what
everyone is saying, and I understand clearly! What a blessing!
Especially on the phone, before I literally couldn't talk on the phone
and I had no idea how that would work with Sister Davis and I, but
suddenly I can have conversations and for the most part I know what they
are saying to me! It's a miracle!!!!!!
I guess that is all for this week! Life is great! I love you all!
Love,
Sister Homer
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massive sleeping buddha? |
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monkey with cool building in background |
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Lily pond thing |
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dragon fruit - delicious! Kinda like Kiwi |
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Service |
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pretty field! |
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Candid - I was really happy... |
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Christmas package! |
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oh Christmas Tree! |
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This has baffled me all week. How can this package be from Chile or the United States? |