Despite
it being December, the heat here is slowly climbing the thermostat.
We're coming out of the rainy season I think. It's nice to have the sun
shine all day now instead of getting stormy at 3pm. Heat has been
building in more than one way though. As some of you might have seen, I
nearly burnt the house down on Saturday. :) I was making bone broth (a
superfood for the digestive system I've been learning) and I had to go
to dance for 3 hours. So, I left the pot simmering on the lowest setting
thinking it would be fine (I did the same thing on Thursday). Well,
unfortunately it wasn't fine. I came home from dance and the entire
mission home/office was filled with thick, thick, smelly smoke. I ran
upstairs and thankfully the office elders had turned off the burner. I
didn't know what to do besides open basically the one and only window in
the kitchen, set some fans up, and then quarantine myself in the only
non-smoky room: the living room/parents room. I was very embarrassed
that it happened in front of missionaries and when Pres. and Sis. Gong
were coming, but oh well. I'm starting to laugh at it now!
I had the week off of school because of the Water
Festival, so that was fun. On Tuesday I went with mom and dad to a
church open house, organized by the missionaries, at one of the district
centers. They had a talent show that went for quite a long time. Of
course they had dinner and drinks for everyone too. Then they did tours
of the church where missionaries were in each room explaining about what
happens in our church. It was a really successful event with around 500
people, mostly non-members.
On Wednesday the missionaries had sports day because
of the Festival. We played speed with some elders and sisters. I could
tell the elders didn't like when the sisters played because they had to
go "soft or easy" on us. I showed 'em up though by being one of the last
four standing in one speed game. :) It was a lot of fun to be out there
playing with them all. Mom and I also set up Christmas decorations in
the office and then up in our home. It was really funny though because
the only mission decorations they have are Santas and tinsel, etc. Not
very Christian decorations, but the only ones available here. Then as
mom and I were pulling out the decorations we brought from home we
realized the only things we brought were two nativities. There is a
Christmas tree though. That is important! It was kind of a bummer and
there's not a lot of Christmasy feel, but I guess it's not about the
decorations anyway, right?
On Thursday mom, dad, and I were going to go to some
pretty waterfalls, but then we found out that they were 3 hours away so
we changed our minds. We still spent the day together which was really
nice. We went to the market in the morning and bought lots of beads and
buttons and other crafty things. Then we went home and decided to make
our own little nativities out of the stuff. It was a little frustrating
at first when we were trying to figure out how to do it, but eventually
we each came up with a very different way of doing it, and they all
turned out really good! Who knows, we may have just started a new
tradition (or at least one I'll do with my family)! They weren't perfect
by any means, but that's what makes them and the memories so special.
Friday was a really neat day for me. I went out with
some sisters in the afternoon. One of the sisters, Sis. Johnson, is
leaving in 3 weeks, so I'm glad I got a chance to go with her. Both of
the sisters are really great! The first investigator we went to was a
young woman, about 21, named Tida. Her whole family's members except
her. We were teaching her the first lesson about the Godhead. She
already knows everything about baptism and whatnot. The sisters asked
her if she would be baptized and she said yes! That was really exciting.
I hope she continues learning with faith. She is such a vibrant,
energetic young woman. We tried to go to another investigator who's
husband is an Elder's Quorum President, but less active. She wouldn't
let us in though because she was too busy. So, we went to her neighbor
who they had just seen and talked to once. I guess her husband's family
are all non-active members. We taught her how to pray. There was a
really special spirit there. At one point I shared my testimony of
prayer and the Holy Ghost and how Heavenly Father does hear and answer
our prayers. After it looked like she had some baby tears in her eyes as
she said, "I felt something so warm inside while you were talking." It
made me want to cry and shout for joy at the same time! I hope she
becomes a good investigator. She needs that joy in her life. We then
went to an elderly woman the sisters called, "Look yay" or "grandma".
She's been a member for about 4 months. We sang, shared some scriptures,
and bore testimony. She said she was trying to earn money so she could
pay tithing on Sunday. She was really sweet. At the end she said, "I
will pray for you to be able to speak Khmer and you pray that I will be
able to speak English!" So great! The last investigator we went to was
the daughter of that women. The sisters were really excited to see her
because it's been a month since she's been there. We talked to her and
her three kids running around about families and the blessing of joy
that comes from the Gospel. The area that this all took place in was a
very, very poor town called Stung Mun Jay. We passed one person's home
where all they had was some wooden table bed things and a little tarp
covering them. It made me so sad. I am continually amazed with the
humility and strength of these people.
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