Elder Olson is my companion. He is a champion in many ways. He eats tomatoes. Just straight up tomatoes. He has lost 40 pounds so far on his mission and counting. He likes children. He is the one and only. I believe in him.
We have an investigator. His name is David. He's Khmae but he speaks good English because he's studying to be an English teacher. He says he is 25, which in American years could mean anything from 20 to 30 as time moves differently here. He is super nice and loves the missionaries. He is on the grind. Meaning he is all about that career and money game. And he’s been killin’ it lately. He talks to us about his job and new interviews all the time. It’s weird because we're missionaries and we know nothing about any of that. We're not on that grind. We're on the Lords grind. And it’s way nicer. I'm happy to be here.
David is good though. He came to church and hopefully is starting to get it a little bit more.
Glamour shot.
Sometimes my Khmae fails me. One night we were riding around trying to find a member’s house and contacting on the way. We stopped to ask a lady if she knew our member. She didn't know of course but she really wanted to talk to us. She was talking about church and children and her house and her husband’s house. I didn't really understand. She kept saying the word "Jual". I didn’t know that word. Then she asked us if we wanted to go see her other house around the corner so we said yes. She showed us in and around her house (her husband was there, don’t worry) and kept saying the word "jual". I thought it was weird but we were talking about Jesus and stuff so we kept going for it. We do weird stuff all the time, nothing new. And then she started throwing out numbers. And then it hit me. Her house was totally clean. No furniture, no nothing. She wanted us to make her house our church. "Jual" means to rent, as confirmed by my dictionary later that night. Freak. I love Cambodia.
Cute.
Some people are nice here. I went to an old guy on the side of the road to get my bike tire pumped up. Usually they charge 300 for it but the guy just told me to get out of there and wouldn’t take my money. He oiled my chain too. In retrospect, he might have just been racist. Naw, he was probably just a nice guy.
In zone meetings every month someone gets chosen to lead the zone in stretches. Last month it was my turn. I made everyone do some arm stretches and then made them put their hands up by their armpits and raise their arms up and down. Then I led in squatting a little and sticking out my neck back and forth. Eventually I had the whole zone doing the chicken dance in front of President Moon. Fools.
This month I got chosen again and I subtly led them in a yoga version of the Macarena. When will they learn...
Spiritual thought: Prayer is everything. Missionary work is so dependent on prayer. I have learned that this is especially true in contacting. When I pray as I ride my bike around I always have more courage to talk to people, and often we are led to people who want to learn. This week we found a family that wants to learn because of prayer. Prayer is way cool.
I love Cambodia.
Love,
Elder Osborne