Sister Jessalyn Homer: From me to you

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