It's so easy to do and it makes me happy and the people I smile at happy. So why not? I think if everyone would smile just a little bit more the world would be even awesomer than it already is.
I love Cambodia. Have I told you that already? We'll just in case you haven't figured it out already I'll say it again. I LOVE CAMBODIA!!
This week was a fun one. It's hard to pick out things to tell you all because so much happens in a single week.
First off, its mango season. and that means we buy a kilo of mangoes pretty much every single day. For $1. I'm drowning in mangoes. They also help with the digestive problems inherent in every Cambodian missionary's life, so that's an added bonus.
They also have this sugar cane juice stuff that they make right on the spot and it costs 25 cents for a whole bag of it. I was super excited at first to try it because Elder Neuberger was going off about how good it is. But then I actually tried it. And it tastes like nasty sugary toe jam sauce. My heart broke.
Most mornings for breakfast we go across the street to a little old lady that has some pots set up outside her house with rice and meat and stuff and we order "rice pork". Its $1 and it is the most MSG filled deliciousness you could ever think of.
One of our recent converts is a 17 year old kid named Vitchigaa.
He's a major homie. He is learning English and so every time we go over there we teach him something new. The other day I taught him what swag was. I'm trying to spread the word around this side of the world. If you are in Asia, please help me with this noble cause. Anyway, I asked him how his day was yesterday and he told me "same old". I died. My older brother (the person Elder Neuberger trained before) Elder Uhi apparently taught him that. The Americans in Cambodia can pretty much teach the Cambodians whatever they want and they have to accept it because nobody else speaks English. I taught my English class "swag" this week. btw, we teach an English class every week and it's super fun.
You know that feeling that you sometimes get when you're just chillin' in bed and you think ants are crawling all over you but there actually aren't any ants? yeah, well it's like that in Cambodia, but there are ants. so that's fun.
We named our mouse Vermin. He usually only comes out at night and then he runs away. We really need to buy rat traps.
We started teaching a new investigator last week. His name is Om Ai. He is about 60-65 years old and he doesn't have a job. We asked him what he used to do for work and he says he's never worked before. We taught him the first lesson and went back to teach the second lesson but he had forgotten it all. So we taught him the first lesson again. Sometimes I take for granted how lucky I am to have been born in a good country with good schooling. My life and Om Ai's life are so different. But it all works out in the end because the gospel can be understood by anyone who wants to understand it. Om Ai has a sincere heart and wants to learn and he came to conference on Sunday. I know he will be blessed to understand the gospel and find happiness in it.
Every morning during personal study we hear 4 or 5 of the loudest sneezes ever. Like a lightning bolt coming out of the nostrils of Zeus. I'm still not sure where they come from. It might be a crazy lady from across the street or it might be the ghosts in the haunted hallway of our house.
Every morning during companionship study we hear the birds that have nested in our bathroom have an all out brawl for 5 minutes straight. It's actually pretty funny when you think about it.
We had a ward party this week. They were playing Katy Perry and Turn Down for What. I almost died. I miss music.
Cambodia is awesome. General conference was awesome. I don't even have anything to say about it. It's the super bowl for missionaries. Just go watch it.
SPIRITUAL SHPEEL: Elder Meyers, our zone leader, came on an exchange with us this week. He had served in this ward about 7 months ago. He kept asking about this one old lady, Ma, because she was one of the people he taught here. I didn't understand why he was talking about her so much because it had been a long time since he had been here and he has taught lots of other people since then. I didn't understand until they met again. You should have seen the way her eyes lit up when she saw him. It was like he was her long lost grandson or someone who had saved her from drowning. They didn't really say much. They just visited for a couple minutes. She didn't praise him in her words, I could see it all in her eyes. This missionary meant the world to her. He helped change her life. It was amazing.
I hope I can become a missionary like that. I want to help these amazing people change their lives for the better. I know that this gospel changes lives. It can change yours too if you let it.
I love you all!
Love,
Elder Osborne