Holy freak its already Monday again. that week went by so fast. what is life.
I'm in Cambodia. this is all still so surreal but it all feels so good at the same time. i feel like I'm home again. it's probably because i think of China as home and this is exactly like China. (note to any future wife candidates: you have to be willing to live in Asia if you want a piece of this). but really i love it here. i love the people, i love the food, i love the traffic, i love the dust, i love the sun, i love the church. ahhh i just love it all.
Okay so on Monday a bunch of missionaries went out to an Indian place for some sweet curry and masala. it was all good until about 5 hours later when it hit Elder Berger's bowels. we were in a lesson and i think he had to leave like 7 times because of the spicy surprise cuisine. it was awesome. And thus our collective diarrhea count for one day hit an all time high of 14. it was a marvelous occasion.
Instead of deviled egg parties we now have UNO parties. it's a meager substitute but i guess it will suffice. every night before bed we gather around the most air conditioned room (if the power is on) and try to outdo each other in the epic card came battle of UNO. we have a running scoreboard and currently I'm sitting at second with 13 points. you get 3 pts for winning 2 for second and 1 for third. the loser gets nothing. and that's usually Elder Sok because he doesn't speak English. lol. love you elder Sok!
This week i met one of our investigators that lives about 25 minutes away. we biked all the way over there in the dead heat but even though i got a sunburn it was worth it all. he's suuuper cool. his name is Bong Sok and he is a fried chicken cart owner. everyday he gets a bunch of chicken and sauces them up and then goes out to the market and sells chicken from his little cart. he's super humble and is super receptive and nice to us when we go over there. it's really awesome to see that most people in this world are good and nice people. pretty much everyone we talk to is nice and friendly. I'm so thankful to be with the Cambodian people, and their fried chicken.
It rained. and it was epic. Like an action movie car (bike) chase in the rain. we were on our way to an appointment and it just started dumping on us. like huuuge rain drops, i thought it was hailing for a second but it was 90 degrees. the roads are hard enough to navigate in the day with no rain, but when the sun is going down and it's raining and firebolt (my bike) is on her last legs it becomes an action movie. it was probably the funnest/most life threatening thing I've done. we're never too far from death here in Cambodia. when we got to the appointment our recent converts Tol and Vin laughed at us because we were so soaked. it's alright though because they love us.
Tol and Vin:
Vin is next to me and Tol is on the far side. they are 22 and 27. they were baptized about a month ago and Tol is the Young Men's president and Vin comes with us for most of our lessons. they are so awesome. it's crazy how they are such recent converts but they are so dedicated. they live in a 10' x 10' concrete house with 5+ people. and Tol has THE FATTEST baby in the world. she is like a monster but he and his wife are so small. it defies logic:
Khmer New Year is coming up next week and so EVERYONE is leaving town. everyone we talk to is going to be gone. all the missionaries say that it will be a ghost town in the whole city. people are already starting to celebrate with these little balloon things that pop super loud. everyone comes up to us and pops them on our backs and it freaks the bajeebus out of me every time. i love it. 2 nights ago after we were leaving an appointment everyone in the alley was having a water fight... and we got caught in the crossfire. it was so awesome. in a matter of 5 seconds i had 10 water balloons thrown at me and a whole 5 gallon bucket dumped on my head. it was a nice way to cool off at the end of a hot day.
My bike. it's a tragic story really. she was so trustworthy. but it wasn't meant to be. today we are exchanging her. it's a miracle that I'm even alive actually. her back wheel is so bent and there are at least 7 broken spokes. it's a bittersweet day.
Moral of the story: Cambodia is awesome and I don't want to be anywhere else.
Spiritual thought: A TEMPLE IS COMING TO THAILAND!! Holy Moly this is so freaking cool. getting from Phnom Penh to Bangkok takes the same amount of time as it does just to get to Siem Riep or Batembong which means it will be so much easier for everyone in Cambodia to get to the temple! I'm so excited. i love the temple so much. my testimony of the temple has grown steadily for the past 2 years of going once a week and it's growing even more now that I'm unable to go for 2 years. i know the temple will bless all the lives of the people in southeast Asia. I'm so stoked for that.
I love you all
Love, Elder Osborne