This week I baptized a human:
The younger one is 9 and his name is Sovena. The older boy is 14, and named Sopetra. Yeah, he's actually 14. Their mom is a recent convert in our ward. She only has one arm so she wears that shawl all the time and she's the coolest. They all walk 20 minutes to church every Sunday.
I baptized the younger brother, Sovena. He's super funny. For every single question we ask him during lessons he always answers "Thoma ethss Monthon!". He was so stoked to get baptized for the longest time but on the day of the baptism he ran away as they were walking to church because he was scared. We were bummed so as a last resort we sent Sopetra on a mission to go find him and bring him back to the church. A miracle happened and they both showed up 15 minutes before the baptism started!!! It was great and everything went smoothly. Then afterwards they both got up in the front and shared their testimonies and it was super cute. They were nervous but they just said what they knew. It was great.
Food in Cambodia is way good.
This is what I make for breakfast everyday:
And then for lunch we go get something like this for a buck fifty everyday:
I don't eat dinner because I'm too tired.
Life is easy.
They say New York is a concrete jungle. Pshhh.
This week I went on an exchange with Elder Hall. It was super fun. This exchange was different though because he is new to my area so I got to lead out all day! I planned all the lessons, called all the people, rode my bike in front, started and taught most of the lessons, and gave the commitments. It was definitely a new experience for me. I think I learned more about missionary work in that one day than any other day so far. Every missionary is different and has a different pace and teaching style. It was good to see how Elder Hall does his missionary work and learn from his strengths.
It was also way cool because I had so much energy all day. I had to stay focused and think about my investigators and who we were going to meet next during the whole day. I didn't have any time to wonder about how Jay-Z and Beyoncé are doing nowadays or when Kanye's new album is dropping. I think because of that, the Lord strengthened me and gave me the energy to do what he needed me to do. It was really awesome.
I started a segment in English class called "Rhyme Time":
It took a couple minutes of explaining but they caught on eventually.
Om Ai: He came back this week so we got to teach him twice. A weird thing happened though. When we saw him the first time this week he seemed a little bit different. He got mad at his kid during the lesson and didn't really understand what we were trying to explain to him. We asked him about his trip and he told us that he hadn't been reading or praying while he was gone. Then we went back 5 days later to meet with him again. As soon as we walked in we knew something was different, but for the better this time. He was smiling and happy to meet with us. We shared our lesson and asked him questions to which he responded with great answers. Then at the end of the lesson after we said the prayer the cutest thing happened. His 5 year old step son came in crying. Om Ai went over to him, bent down and picked him up, hushed his crying, and gently laid him down in a pile of clothes to go to sleep.
Shpeel: Reading and praying daily are the essentials for a reason. They really do have an impact on our lives. Just like with Om Ai, even one week off can make such a big difference. Sometimes we think of them as so basic and then neglect to even do them. I know that when we put effort into doing the small things the rest falls into place. Heavenly Father gave us the scriptures for a reason. He asks us to pray to Him every day for a reason. He knows best. I am so glad to be in this country helping people to find the happiness that comes from this gospel. I know it is true.
Love,
Elder Osborne