Howdy!
This week has been good! Some of you
have been wondering about my diet so let me tell you a little bit about
it. We have to make our own food and are not to by from street vendors or
eat at members houses because of the many missionaries who were becoming
ill. But I am still getting to get a taste of Cambodia; I just get to be a
little more picky:) Some real yummy Cambodian food that I've tried is...these
rice ball things with sesame seeds; this desert called Jake Gatii which is like
banana soup; Bananas are called "jakes" so they have these fried
banana chips with sugar on them-"Frosted Jakes":); good sandwiches
that they make-they call them Numpang Siic or "Bread with Meat",
these coconut waffle things...haha and a whole host of other stuff that I
have yet to try and most I don't think I ever will;) Seems like a lot of
that stuff I listed are sugary...Usually I just make lots of sandwiches,
sometimes pancakes, eggs, fruit, top roman, and we make "chaa's" with
just stir fry vegetables and pork or eggs or something with a bunch of rice.
Welp that just about sums up most of the food I eat everyday! I am
thankful that i am being forced to learn to cook some stuff and experiment even
if it's just some very simple things. Usually we are just way too tired
and lazy to make anything other than easy stuff. But I like it and so that’s
what matters right?
Oh yeah and we had a branch
missionary coordination meeting and at the end they had some food and I ate
this fertilized duck egg-yum. haha I had heard about them and figured I'd never
get to eat one since we don't eat at members homes but hey what do you know I
did and it was actually pretty yummy! Although I decided to stop after......1:)
This week we did a lot of
service. Which was pretty much just helping members move dirt-we helped
like 3 different families with that. So that was fun and I enjoy the
opportunity to serve the members and strive to continue to earn their
trust. We have been doing good with investigators and everything they are
continuing to do good although it would seem that some are struggling to come
to church which is so sad because I just feel bad that they are missing out on
those blessings.. But we will continue to help them and strengthen their faith
so they will have that desire to go!
Probably my favorite investigator
right now is Viilai. She is 19 and is a very bright girl, she goes to
school all week and is very busy so the only time she can meet is on Saturday
and Sunday nights. The reason she is so great is because she just listens
and actually does what we invite her to do! That simple. She prays
sincerely and reads her scriptures consistently and it's just so cool seeing
how fast she is progressing and her testimony is growing. She said she
was praying about Joseph Smith and felt prompted to read the Joseph Smith
pamphlet again and she did and just felt a confirmation of truth as she
did. She says when she prays she actually feels like she is speaking to
someone and you can tell that this is true when she prays. I can't say
enough good things about her and I am just amazed at the power of the
basics. I feel a greater desire to search the scriptures diligently and
to strengthen my testimony and relationship with God in my prayers just from
seeing all of her growth.
Our district president gave us 3 referrals
this past week and we had a good talk with them and am going to start teaching
them this week, what a blessing!
I did a split with Elder Oleson, my
zone leader, in his area this past week and that was great! He is such an
example to me and I really learned so much about missionary work from
him. We went around and did service and taught and I really just learned
about trying to rely on the Spirit and keeping close to the Lord. It was
probably the hottest day so far and there was one point where Elder Oleson just
said that he wasn't feeling so happy and with the Spirit and he just
recommended that we say a prayer. So we just pulled over and did so and just
invited the Spirit to continue to be with us. He is very good at being
organized and doing goals and things and so I learned more about that too and
the importance of setting personal goals. There are so many great Elders
out here, it's humbling and inspiring; I have so much to learn.
In short, I am just learning about
how powerful doing simple things really is: prayer, scripture study, goals,
planning, and just doing your best.
Conference is this week for you; we
have to wait a week because they show it at the church in Cambodian and they have
to translate it first. Although missionaries watch it in their native language
so I'll see it in English but still have to wait. I don't know about you but i
am super stoked! You should send me some names of talks I ought to look out
for! Enjoy.
Thanks again for everything you do
for me. I love you! Have a great week.
Love,
Elder Garlick
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