Dear Family,
How are you? TaKhmao is going great. I realized I never really told you about this area and Elder Sem and I've been here for like a month now, sorry my bad:) Welp, I love it here! Ta Khmao is just outside of Phnom Penh and is very much a city area. It takes like probably 30 to 40 minutes to bike to the mission home. I love it because we have a part of our area called Bakuu that is a good solid hour bike ride away if you're going fast. Out there it is all rice patties and beautiful farmland! I love it. So we get the city life and the farm life as well.
Elder Sem is 23 years old and is from Phnom Penh. He has been a member for 8 years. He has 2 brothers and 2 sisters and is the 4th oldest in his family. He has been serving for 6 or 7 months now and is an amazing missionary. He is super funny and just really layed back and easy to get along with. I am learning tons from him!; and am actually the senior companion for the first time, which is a little more stressful but honestly it's pretty much just the same.
All of us Elders went and did some service on Thursday out in Bakuu with the Young Men and Young Women from both branches. We helped an awesome member named Canraa, harvest his rice. It is amazing how much the youth enjoy service and I am impressed with their faith and effort to bike all the way out there and do service with us. A lot of them were sitting two to a bike. And I'm serious, it's a long ride!:) The members here in Ta Khmao are so amazing.
Yesterday there was a cool experience with one of our members fellow shipping an investigator of ours. This investigator's name is Ming Cantaa; she is the mom of a contact we met with and we started teaching her, we only met her a couple of times and then this last couple of weeks she has been busy and we weren't able to meet her. The other day we called her and invited her to come to church and then on Sunday she came! She stayed for 2 hours and sat with one of our Recent Converts, Ming Lekana, in Sunday School; after Sunday School we asked if she could stay for 3rd hour-she told us that she was feeling sick and wanted to go home; however, after 2nd hour Lekana walked out with her and just ended up talking with her and shared how the Gospel has blessed her life for like 20 minutes, just being an instant friend, and then Ming Cantaa went to Relief Society with her and then afterwards went and practiced with the branch choir for this big interfaith Christmas celebration(which she wants to go sing at now). It was amazing to me how the power of members doing missionary work and befriending our investigator really helped our investigator feel the Spirit and their love and kindness. It really had a big impact on Ming Cantaa and I think she is going to really start progressing now because of how welcome she feels with her new amazing member friends at church!
I feel so blessed to be serving here in Cambodia. The people here are just full of love and are just so kind and happy. It is seriously amazing considering how little many of them have, however, they still choose to be happy and instead of being worried about what they have they give and love others. They are so Christlike and you can't help but feel like you are around Him when you are around them. I am inspired and want to be a more loving person and am so grateful to be able to serve here. I pray that we can all be more loving and just smile and love others as Christ would. May we be like Ming Lekana and lovingly reach out and share the gospel.
Welp, it's pretty crazy, this week week is my one year mark! It's pretty crazy, exciting, and scary all at the same time. I still feel like I am a new missionary. I am excited for the privilege to serve for another full year! I love you and hope that you have a great week!
Love,
Elder Garlick
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