October 21, 2009

Things are a struggle here. Finding does us nothing. Like nothing. When we try to go finding people just tell us that they are Buddhist and to go away. Referrals are what really work. Everyone who has gotten baptized so far for us is referrals. Only 1 of 4 are getting baptized on Sunday. The mom and the 2 daughters can't because she's been at the hospital for the last week or so because she might need heart surgery. So I don't know what we're going to do with them. But our one baptism is awesome. She's the girlfriend of a returned missionary (he's Khmae) and I can definitely say that I love them so much. Especially him because he knows the language is really hard, especially for newer missionaries, because he's trained people and worked with Americans too. So they are both really patient with me and teach a lot of words as well. They actually live in a different branch but the mission president wants us teaching them. And they want us teaching them too. So it all works out.

I keep trying to work really hard. But things are getting redundant. Transfers are coming up here soon because the new group of missionaries are arriving in a few weeks. So I might be hoping for some sort of shift or change because I really need something different right now. But I really want to see the people we've been working with get baptized first. I keep working hard and praying hard but I always feel like I can pray harder and work harder. It’s just my natural drive of being competitive. It can be frustrating at times.

What I really, really, really miss is sports. I'm about to die here because there is nothing in terms of sports. NOTHING!!! It’s driving me nuts. I want to see some football or baseball or something. I know the Yankees are playing the Angels and Dodgers vs. Phillies. How are the Raiders? And how are the Cardinals? Haha. And did the Suns get anyone good out of the draft or in the offseason or anything?

In terms of food, we don't usually eat chicken. It’s always beef or pig. We eat a lot of rice and a lot of noodles too. There is also this stuff called Babah which is really good. It’s this rice porridge stuff. We also have a lot of Curry and other things. We mostly eat chaa, which is fried stuff. They have sweet and sour chaa that is really good, chaa mnoah, which is fried pineapple with beef, that's amazing, and my favorite is lok lak, but that is a little more expensive. But man it is amazing. They cook it in palm sugar. It’s really, really sweet and really, really tasty. We also eat a lot of fried breads and things like that. They have caik cian which is bananas that are dipped in this batter stuff then deep fried. Those are really, really good. They also have fruit shakes they sell on the road too. Those are good as well. Occasionally we see someone selling cotton candy, and for like 12 cents its definitely worth getting. There is also this coconut stuff that is really good here. It’s like shaved ice with coconut in it. It’s amazing. I know the name in Khmae, but couldn't tell you in English. It doesn't translate very well. There is a different type of coconut here. And it actually has flavor. But you'll just have to come visit in two years to have some Khmae food. because anything in America just won't be even close to as good.

August 25, 2009

Let's see. To be honest you don't want to know what kind of food we eat sometimes. Haha. There is this fish paste stuff that the grind up and let it sit and rot for a long time and they put it in soups and stuff. It’s not bad. But we usually cook at home or go out and eat somewhere. I ate a huge thing of rice and pork and soup for 75 cents on Monday. It was really cool. I favor the baay chaa though which is fried rice. Some of that with some eggs and meat and some veggies is so good. They also have a market called Lucky's that sells American food there. But it’s like 5 bucks for a box of cereal that is 1/4 the size of a normal one. But we bought pancake mix and syrup there and we eat that on occasion. Usually in the mornings I'll eat a peanut butter sandwich with these Vietnamese yogurt stuff they sell at Lucky's which is absolutely amazing. Then for lunch and dinner its usually some sort of rice with some sort of meat and veggies. I haven't eaten fruit or had milk in so long. There is nothing sweet here, unless you want to spend a thousand dollars on something. So we go without. But today we bought a ton of fruit. I got some dragon fruit which is like hot pink and white in the middle. It’s super good. And we're hitting up Lucky's after we ride over to President's house to drop some stuff off. They also have a place that serves these fried chicken burgers and fries here. It’s the greatest thing in the world and its dirt cheap. It keeps me going during the week. But I don't know if it’s good because I never eat American food or if it really is just that good.

I've been sick for a while now, terrible cough and cold. The air here is disgusting. It’s a good thing it rains here or the smog would be overbearing. And we've gotten rained on a few times. At this point I'm just used to being wet and it doesn't bother me at all. And my bike is terrible. It’s about half a size too small and barely works.

As for our living conditions, they're actually not bad. We have a big family room that we never really use, a kitchen, and three bedrooms. One bedroom has the washing machine and the clothes and an iron board and the other we study and sleep in. It is 2 stories but not like American stories. I can't stand fully up right in one of the bathrooms and I've smacked my head on the door frames numerous times because they are really short. Our shower is actually just a spicket thing in one of the bathrooms and the water gets everywhere. But we cook on our own a lot and Elder Sweeten teaches me how to make a lot of Cambodian food. It’s pretty good.

We went on exchanges the other day and I ended up in Takhmom. In that city there are the nicest houses I have ever seen. Ever! Yet all their neighbors live in these little shacks. Go figure.

Language is hard, and really frustrating. But whatever. God will prepare a way.