Well
everyone, I made it safely back to the city! And I am also a father!! My new
companion, Sister Thouk, just finished her training, so I am her daddy! She is
from Kampung Cham, one of the provinces here in Cambodia, is 25 years old, and
is a spiritual giant! She is basically training me again haha. So Stungmiancey
(SMC) is my new area and I am over the second branch. It is crazy to be back in
all the traffic and breathing in exhaust 24/7 on the roads but I am happy to be
back in the crazy buzz of city life! Also last week I forgot to mention I hit
my 6 month mark of entering the MTC! Crazy to think I am just about 1/3 of the
way down. The time is seriously flying!
This
last week has been pretty crazy. The first day we had barely any investigators,
but God blesses us for our diligence, and we now how so many investigators I am
having a little anxiety attack! We are so busy but are working hard.
A
cool experience this week was with one of our investigators, Ming Suan. Her
mother and daughter both got baptized and confirmed this week, and she has a
baptismal date for the 16th of December. Before I came into the area, she has
come to church every week the last month or two and has never taken the
sacrament because she always felt an "evil spirit" telling her not to
do it. Yesterday I sat next to her at church and had to keep telling her it
would be ok if she partook of the bread and water, and after about a minute of
fighting her internal battle, she took the sacrament when it was given to her!
We are so excited for her and cant wait for her to finally receive the
blessings of partaking of the sacrament.
Afterwards,
I sat pondering during testimony meeting of the importance of the sacrament.
After baptism, we are all so blessed to be able to receive a remission of our
sins every single week through partaking of the sacrament. Because God loves
all His children and wants us to grow and progress, He has given us a way,
through the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ, to be cleansed from sin fully
every single week so we can live worthily to have His Spirit with us at all
times. I am so grateful for the Gospel, and every aspect of it that has changed
my life for the better, and continually changes the lives of those who are
finding the truth. I love being a missionary!
Love
you all!
Sister
Bashford
Pictures:
Last
district meeting in SR, and my new companion, Sister Thouk!
Email to Mom:
Hi
mom I am pretty sure I am fine. All the sisters lose hair just from the
different nutrients cambodian food lacks. I take a multi-vitamin every single
day (the kirkland brand) and fish oils. I had to buy them myself and it was
like $40. I can take buy some vitamin D and B12 pills if you are worried. Also,
all sisters either gain weight rapidly or lose it rapidly when they first get
here then the last few months they lose it all and lose a ton once they go home
so I am not too worried. I am tired 24/7 and feel like I could fall asleep any
second, and when I hit the pillow at night I am completely out, but I think its
just because we work so hard. And there really is nothing I can do about the
food. We eat rice every meal with a little bit of vegetables, and the only
fruit I eat is pineapple, bananas, dragonfruit, and apples. The food options
are very limited. And the thing I drink to make sure I dont get sick is coke
because it kills all the bad bacteria in uncooked meat or unsanitarily handled
foods. But whenever I am feeling sick i always call the mission presidents
wife.
So
this week has actually been like the hardest week ever. I miss Siem Reap a ton
and its hard coming back to the city. I miss Sister Snooks a ton. She was the
best companion. Having a Khmer companion is really hard too because I have not
spoken to anyone in English for several days and I have a head ache and I cant
say what I want to and I have a hard time understanding everything she says and
we both just sit there like what the heck are we going to do. She knows barely
any english but wants to learn but never wants to practice speaking it with me
so its hard. Weekly planning normally takes 3 hours and it took 6 hours this
week. She also just got out of her training and so I am her "dad". So
we both have no idea what is going on and he trainer did things so differently
than I did so it is really hard for me to convey to her what I am and am not
comfortable with or how I have always done things so we can find a happy
middle. I kind of had a mental breakdown yesterday morning but I feel a lot
better now, I have really had to beg on my knees for God's strength to help me.
It has been hard but I know that everything on my mission is happening for a
reason and God is putting me in certain situations to refine me and help me
grow and learn to rely more on Him. Because up to this point everything has
been pretty easy. I haven't had to really put my whole heart and trust in God
because I didn't have to figure things out on my own, I had a senior companion
that is American. But now I am the senior companion, with a native companion,
and I am coming into a new area yet again. 3rd area, fourth transfer. Crazy.
that hardly ever happens. But don't worry about me because I am feeling way
better now and I am learning so much and growing. My language skills are
getting better, but I am really excited to see some other missionaries today and
speak some English haha. And I am so pumped to Skype! Only three more weeks :)
And I can send another video of me speaking with my comp next week. The
computers we use are awesome and everything is so fast.
Don't
worry if the package makes it on time to me or not. I am happy either way :)
LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!
Sister
Bashford
New Companion:
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