December 9th, 2018: The End

Well, this is the end. My last email before I end my full-time missionary service. I don't have a lot to say, but I would like to share my testimony of the experiences I have had and the change that I have seen in myself and others. None of this could have come to pass without my Savior. He is everything to me and I love Him. I have had many high points and many low points on my mission, but He has carried me through all of it. I have seen how His Atonement has changed me, has allowed me to repent, has picked up the pieces of my broken heart, and has helped me endure to the end of my mission with joy. I have seen how His Atonement has helped the Khmer people find happiness in their sad, poor, lonely lives. He has changed them. He will continue to change them. He is establishing His kingdom here in this land. He has prepared this since the foundation of the world. Our Heavenly Father knew that the saints in this land would become strong enough to have the gospel preached to them and to have a temple. He has been preparing their hearts to receive the good message for decades. These people have been through so much heartache and sorrow, but God never leaves His people alone. His arm is outstretched still. I know that my Father in Heaven has been mindful of me and the people I have come in contact with every single day. He numbereth every one of His children, and wants all of them to return to live with Him again. Our Savior pleads for us to follow Him because He knows He is the only way we can receive eternal salvation and joy in heaven with our Father, and our families. The best scripture that truly represents how I feel about all of this is Alma 26: 35-37:

35 Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name.

36 Now if this is boasting, even so will I boast; for this is my life and my light, my joy and my salvation, and my redemption from everlasting wo. Yea, blessed is the name of my God, who has been mindful of this people, who are a branch of the tree of Israel, and has been lost from its body in a strange land; yea, I say, blessed be the name of my God, who has been mindful of us, wanderers in a strange land.

37 Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen.

I have loved this scripture so much my entire mission. Whenever I felt saddened or inadequate about my missionary work, I have come back to this scripture to remind me of my purpose and reason for serving a mission.
I know that the restoration of the gospel took place through direction from our Savior given to Joseph Smith. I know he was called as a prophet of God, and that he translated the Book of Mormon. I know the Book of Mormon is a holy record of God's people in the Americas, and that His prophets wrote it for our day. I know that Russell M. Nelson is God's prophet on the earth today, and that He receives revelation directly from God to direct Christ's church on the earth. I know these things to be true because I have prayed, studied, pondered, and experienced each part of my testimony in many different ways. My testimony is mine, and mine alone. I cannot give it to anyone else, but I can share it to help strengthen others. Each one of us can gain a testimony of these things through honest searching as well. I have seen this happen with so many people, and I can truly say that they were converted.
I am so grateful that God gave me the opportunity to serve my mission in Cambodia. I am so grateful that He esteemed me worthy to be an instrument in His hands, no matter how useless of an instrument I may feel that I am. He has found a way and will continue to find a way to use me to build His kingdom in small and simple ways. My full-time missionary service is over, but I will continue to be a missionary all my life. I love this gospel, and I want the whole world to know about it, and receive the same joy I have received. I love my Heavenly Father, I love my Savior Jesus Christ. I know that all those who will come unto Him will receive eternal salvation. I do and say all these things in the Name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Sister Bashford


From Mom:
 Mai Mai:
I can’t believe this is the last email I’m sending you. The day is upon us. I’m sure you have crazy mixed emotions. I LOVE that you have mixed emotions, that means you have LOVED your mission. I could not be more proud of you. I am so ready to get my baby girl back. I can’t wait to hear all your stories and see your pictures!

We have your travel itinerary, so we will watch and track if any of your flights are delayed.

I forgot to ask you...did you like the t-shirt I sent for Kanika. I know it will drown her. She can wear it as a pajama top. :)

What size garments did I send you? Do they fit? I want to have a few new sets for you when you get home. I think I bought you XS in the new style of garments. We will go clothes shopping when we get home from CA.

I’ll stop now so you can spend time on your final group email. I cannot wait to hug you and just hold your hand. Love, love, love you!!!


Mom:

sorry my email cut short. It has been so hard saying goodbye to everyone. i went this morning to say goodbye to my amazing investigator who is getting baptized in a few weeks and we both just cried and it was horrible but a good feeling. i spoke in sacrament meeting yesterday and it went super well, and all the branch members were really sad to see me go. i am so excited to tell youall about them mom. these people are seriously the best and i have loved them so much and i have so many stories to tell and its going to be so great. AHHHHHHH MOM I AM SO EXCITED TO GO TO THE TEMPLE i have been personal studying about it every morning the last week because i want tobe fully prepared to go back. it is by far the thing  am trunkiest for besides the family. AHHH MOM I love youso much and i cant wait to see you in 4 DAYS!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHH 

December 2nd, 2018: No group email

Email from Derek:

Hi Maile! Sorry I have not emailed you in a long time, I have just been totally busy. I am so excited for you to come home only 11 days left, and yes I made a ring count down too. I have so many Christmas presents in mind for you. I can't wait for u to come home because then we can watch all of he non-church related movies we want, and also, we need to have a lot of Maile-Derek-Dates. Just so you know, I really think that Sister Fa'atamali'i's name is really not funny (not). Also, there is this really cool typing game on the computer called Nitro Type, it is so cool and my highest words per minute is 75. Also just out of curiosity, what is your favorite candy (American Candy)? I can't wait until you meet Tommy (Your new dog), he is sssssssssssssssssssssooooooooooooooooooo cute. Sorry about the subject changing every second/sentence I just really don't enjoy school. Well that is all I have to say .

                             

                                                                Love/your one and only Buggy Wuggy

 

 

November 26th, 2018 Email from Mom and Pictures from tourists

Maile:
What a great surprise I received today from the lady you translated for. She told me you gave directions to their tuktuk driver and translated for them. She said your language skills were amazing. I know I say this al the time, but I cannot believe you can speak and read Khmer. I still remember laying in my bed with you watching YouTube videos of a guy teaching the basic structure of Khmer and all of us being very overwhelmed with it all. :)

How was seeing Alli? I bet it was awesome! I hope you got the letter and card/t-shirt for Kanika.

I hope you had a great time today at Ankor Wat? I’m not sure how to spell it. Well, I love you and can’t wait to see you in a few weeks!!! 18 days. 18 more days to authentic Mexican food. Lol

Love,
Mom

 Ya translating for her was so awesome. we have white people here every week but it was so nice that she talked to you. also the melchers were here and sister snooks and it was just a party week. Speaking khmer is actually one of the things i am going to miss so much. i love khmer and want to speak it every day the rest of my life.

Seeing sister snooks was so fun. We werent able to talk for too long because she was so busy but it was so much fun.

Now i only have 13 days left of proseylting........ it makes me want to vomit thinking about the fact that i will never be able to sit in another investigators dirt shack and teach them about the gospel of Jesus Christ and see miracles happen like this ever again. so im trying to soak it in while i can. but im also just way sad about it. But seeing all of you is making up for that grief. I love you and i hope you guys had the best thanksgiving Love, Sister Bashford

Pictures taken from above members from their tour bus. :)

November 18th, 2018: No Group Email

From MOM
Mai Mai:
25 days! ...not that I’m counting. :) Sister Lewis sent me these pictures yesterday, what a fun surprise. The Lewis’ nephew lives in our home ward and we talked about them today.
I’m so excited for you to see Alli this week, she will be the perfect Thanksgiving gift.
We are having dinner at our house with grandma, grandpa, uncle Benson’s family, and Justin.
I’m sure you heard, Hannah started her mission papers today. I’m so happy for her, you two will have the best 6 months before she leaves.
I talked with President Hansen today. He said for us to text him on our way home from the airport. We’ll meet him at his office to be released. He is excited to see you. Three of you will be released the same day. You, Quinn, and a new girl who moved into our stake.
I am very thankful for you. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Thinking about all that we have and are blessed with is a great thing. I love our family and so grateful for each person. I’m also so grateful for the gospel. :)

I love you! I hope you have a great week. I hope you’re finding your way with your companion.

Love, love, love you!

Mom

Hi Mom :) Its ok, im counting too :) or other missionaries like to remind me every day of how much longer i have so i dont really need to ever keep count.

Haha Sister Lewis is my favorite. she always tells me, now i dont really see your mom a whole lot on facebook, literally every single time i see her and i always say ya well i dont really know either haha. She was way excited to send you pictures though. this was from my very last zone conference. i bore my dying testimony and cried the entire time. im surprised i actually look decent in the picture of all of us together because that was taken right after testimonies. and the dessert was the most delicious pumpkin cake stuff i have ever eaten and sister Bao-Yen (vietnamese) and i are kneeling to sister lewis and her amazing dessert and asking for the recipe haha. 

I am super excited to see Alli this week. Its going to be so much fun and im excited for the letter. I also cant believe hannah is already starting her papers. SO CRAZY. also kyle vance emails me and told me his brother spencer is expecting a baby... what in the world that kid just got off his mission. 

You guys are already talking about my release?? oh gosh its still so far away. im having major denial over here. there are two other elders in my district that are going home with me and we are all in huge denial and also getting sick. everyone says its because our bodies are starting to decay from how old we are on the missions haha.

Im thankful for you too :) Im really sad im missing thanksgiving again but it makes me that much more grateful that i get to be home for christmas :) It will be so good. im so excited. 

 

Do we have a lock for the bike i am going to take to school? because people are wanting to buy my bike lock from me and i dont want to sell it if i dont have a lock at home. if i do then i will sell it.

I love you mom! I am so grateful for you and everything that you do for me. I love you more than anything and i cant wait to be with you guys in a little over three weeks :)

Sister Bashford

 

From Dad:

 Hi Maile,

Yep, we had a boys trip to San Diego and we had so much fun. You will get to ride in the surf van the day after you get home if you decide to go to Carson’s vball tournament in Anaheim. Mom told me about your comp and the language issue. That’s hard, I’m sorry. Only one more month to go though and those struggles will be over. Take advantage of these last few weeks. Try your hardest to enjoy the atmosphere in Cambodia and the life of a missionary. Both represent simple living to me. Life in the US is very complicated. It is getting harder and harder to slow down, grow personal relationships and enjoy our surroundings. I know, that sounds sappy, but the older I get the less value money and stuff has to me. Personal relationships, health, and happiness are becoming more important. I love you so much and can’t wait to see you. 

Hi Dad :)

I am definitely going to his tournament. ive been so trunky to watch him play. and mom says she wants some mommy-maile time before i am taken away to college and live with hannah lol. would it just be me, mom, and carson? i dont really know what she is planning.

Things are still hard with the companion. We had a nice long comp inventory about it and she was crying the whole time and i felt really bad because i dont know what else to do to help her anymore but we are pushing through it and i hope that i  can keep a smile on my face these next few weeks :)

Also that place you are eating breakfast at, i remember eating there with all my high school friends when we went to cali after we graduated. is it called Jack's or something? way good food. i cant wait to not eat rice every meal when i am home and have a variety of foods to choose from :) hopefully i will be able to lose my rice cheeks and hips :)

im actually having major anxiety about going home and having to worry about life and a job and school and dating and bills and i wish i could be a missionary forever because all that stuff sounds horrible. 

I love you and cant wait to see you in less than three weeks!

Sister Bashford

 

Sister Lewis sent Mom these pictures on facebook :) 

 

 

November 11th, 2018: One Month!

 AHHH I only have one month left from today!! I have no idea where the time is going and its scaring me!!

This week started with a very long bus ride to the city for MLC (Missionary Leadership Council) on P-day, our MLC meeting Tuesday morning, and a long bus ride back Tuesday night. It was pretty exhausting and lets just say that riding a bike every day your entire mission makes your stomach a little unsettled when riding a hot smelly bus. 

On Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, we biked past Angkor Wot to meet some members and investigators. The bike ride out there is about 40 minutes depending on how fast you go, and my skin may or may not have gotten a little cooked. its ok though because now its a tan :) 

On Thursday night, we were companion studying outside at the main park in Siem Reap, when all of a sudden a hundred bats start filling the sky and one pooped on Sister Fa'atamali'i's arm. I was laughing then I felt poop land right on my head and drip down behind my ear. Its probably one of the grossest things that I have ever experienced.

 On Saturday night, I was unpleasantly surprised to see a wedding tent being set up at our next door neighbors house, and the last two nights we have tried to fall asleep to awful Khmer karaoke, and be woken up at 4 am to terrible shrilling Buddhist "singing"/chanting/screaming. I still don't understand wedding culture here :) 

We were able to teach a lot of investigators and get three confirmations on Sunday! They are all investigators of the Sisters before I got here, but I was still so happy to see them choose to receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost and become members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! I love seeing how much the church is growing and is continuing to grow! I love being a missionary! I love you all and will talk to you next week!!

Sister Bashford

ជំរាបសួរពីម៉ាក់
That’s supposed to say hello from mom. :) I still can’t believe you can read that. 

I sent my letter for you and t-shirt for Kanika to Sister Snooks, I’m excited for you to see Alli, she’s super excited to see you too. 

We were all going to go to CA this past weekend for Veteran’s Day, but only dad, Carson, Carson’s friend Christian, and Derek went. Hannah came home Saturday morning and we’ve been hanging out watching Hallmark Christmas movies. Me and Taryn like the movies and Hannah cracks very witty  jokes about them the whole time, she says we get less and less intelligent every hallmark movie we watch. Lol 

Nothing too exciting going on this this week. I hope you are doing great in Siem Reap and are able to communicate better with your companion. Soak it up! 

Love mom <3

Hi mom :)

Yes I can read that hahaha i actually read it before i saw what you said in english and i was impressed with the google translation :) 

Yesterday i said the closing prayer in our gospel doctirne class and afterwards all the members were like WOAH sister you know so much khmer youre khmer is so clear and sounds beautiful and its so nice to listen to. hahaha i think they may just be comparing me from a year ago when i didnt know any khmer to now lol. its just the faster you speak and the more nasally you sound, the clearer it is for them to hear and they think you are amazing at the language.

I am way excited to see Alli. All the members are way excited too. im kinda intimidated by her husband, hes way hot haha. But im excited to get your letter. let me know when/if you guys get my letter i sent. 

MOM i literally have only one month from today until i finish proselyting. Its the 12th over here. technically the 11th is my last day because we will be on a bus that whole day driving to the city. Im getting way freaked out about ending my mission again. my coimpanion and i dont talk about home or boys or music because she doesnt even know who justin bieber is so shes way out of the loop of anything outside of our mission so we just talk about that stuff if we ever talk at all. this week has been so rough mom. i have never had a harder time getting along with a companion in my entire mission. i would ask for sister Um back in a heartbeat. but im also just trying to be super patient because i only have a month left and i dont want it to be ruined by a difficult companion. 

kanika came up to siem reap this week and we went to lunch with her, sister luke, and ed. it was fun and its way weird being at church with her and ed too. shes literally a member in my branch and i feel like it was yesterday that she was my companion lol.

Aw im excited to watch hallmark movies with you guys. those were always my favorite. also hannah seemed to have a pretty awesome week with work and her patriarchal blessing. im so excited for her. shes pretty much the coolest person i know and i talk about her all the time to other missionaries here. a lot of the elders want to email her hahaha. 

Thursday we take a bus to Battambang for my last Zone conference ever. i have a lot of things i have to present and i am giving my dying testimony. its so weird. ive watched dying missionaries give their final testimony my whole mission and never thought the day would come when i would give mine. im way scared that its actually happeneing lol. you are really going to have to help me adjust to not being a missionary any more. im not afraid of going home but im just sad that my mission is ending. but ill talk to you about it more when i get home i guess :)

Love you so much mom!!

Sister Bashford

Darn it, I’m sorry to hear about your difficult companion. Try not to let her get under your skin. Nothing that happens will taint your mission, you’ll end on a great note no matter what! It’s great to hear your Khmer is do amazing. I still want a video clip of you talking!

Yes, Hannah’s blessing was a very spiritual experience, I’m sure she told you all about it. It was crazy how specific it was. Hannah is amazing, just like her big sister. It makes my mom heart so happy that you guys get along and love each other so much. You’re going to die when you see Taryn. She was a little girl when you left, you’re going to come home to a beautiful young woman. 

Mom

Ya its crazy she said it was so specific about certain things. its kinda funny because mine is the exact opposite. so vague. sometimes i wish mine was more specific because i have no idea what to do with my life. I also cant sen you one because my SD card is jacked and i am not about to buy my 9th SD card right before i go home. i can still take photos and videos but they dont show up on my computer, so i have to wait until i get home to show them to you and upload them to my laptop. do i still have a laptop? or is someone else using it? also i just logged onto myasu and school looks hard haha. I literally get freaked out every time i see a picture of taryn now. the only pic ive been looking at the last year and a half is the one of us before i left at the temple. she still was a good 4 inches shorter than me and had braces. im scared to come home to completely different people lol.

Kanika visited Maile in Siem Reap:

 

November 4th, 2018: I feel at home!!

Hey everyone!! This week was seriously the best. Saying goodbye to some of my favorite people in CKM was super hard but being able to see all of the people I love in Siem Reap again made up for it! I am so happy to be back in Siem Reap! I feel like Im back at home! I dont even need to go back to Arizona when I can stay in Siem Reap forever! Jk, but I really do love it here.

We had transfers at the mission home on Wednesday, and after our leadership training meetings, we had our Sisters Conference! It was Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. We talked about things such as dating, marriage, cleaning, healthy eating, exercising, communication, effective gospel teaching, and so much more. We watched the new Emma Smith movie which was so good, and we ate delicious food. Super fun way to start off my last transfer! The bus ride here was awful and one of the Elders may or may not have mixed my bag up with his and took all of my newly bought books and bus tickets to Battambang so i had to buy new tickets last minute and it was a little stressful. Since being in Siem Reap, I have been able to go see all of my recent converts and help one of them come back to church! We reminded her of how amazing her baptism was a year ago and how God wants her back on His side. She promised to come back to church, and I am so happy for her! We had our District Conference (i was here for it last year too) and President Lewis had me stand up in front of everyone and he announced that i was the lucky sister who got to come back and end my mission in Siem Reap. The members from branch 1 were so happy to see me, and it made me feel like i never want to go home! We are so busy with covering two branches, and with all of our investigators! This should be a wonderful last transfer for sure!! Love you all and I will talk to you next week!

Sister Bashford

Sorry I probably will not be able to send any photos until I end my mission because my SD card is broken and i am too lazy to buy a new one :) 

October 28th, 2018: IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

I've been waiting to say that my whole mission!!!

Haha well as you can see, my mission is starting to wind down a bit, LAST TRANSFER! And my transfer call is.... IM GOING BACK TO SIEM REAP!!!!! The SSTLs called me last night and told me and I thought it was a joke. Nope, I'm going back to one of my all-time favorite areas for my very last transfer! I will be an STL (Sister Training Leader) covering both Siem Reap 1 and 2 Branches, and my new companion will be Sister Fa'atamali'i! She is from Samoa and I am so excited for her to be my last companion! I have loved serving in Comkamon but I am more than pumped to go back to Siem Reap. If any of you remember (you probably dont) I served in Siem Reap my third transfer right out of my training. my companion was Sister Snooks and it was her last transfer. Since she was ending, I thought I would stay in SR and lead out the area, but instead I got transferred and our area was white-washed (two new missionaries who dont know the area start off fresh in that area). I was so sad to leave and felt I had unfinished business there. BUT NOW IM GOING BACK WOOHOO.

So I'm sorry I havent been a good missionary and sent mass emails int he last few weeks, but let me repent and recap on my last three weeks.

1. General Conference was amazing. If you have not watched it or rewatched/read the talks, please do it. I received so much personal revelation from this conference and I know each one of us can if we earnestly seek to follow God's will for us and follow His Prophet.

2. The temple being built in Cambodia has been the rage for the last few weeks and members are so excited, they can hardly believe it. It makes my heart so happy.

3. Phallin was baptized on the 20th!! She is so amazing and comes to church every week and soaks up all the information. I am so lucky I was able to be the Sister to finish teaching her and see her baptized!

4. The 20th was also Sister Chan-tung's golden birthday! It was such a fun day including a party popper exploding in Sister Ban's face, and cake being smashed in Sister CT's face. We also had a Zone activity and bowling on P-day to celebrate with her :)

5. I went on an exchange to Stungmiancey this week and it was so much fun! Sister Reyes is from the Philippines and is the cutest thing ever! I also got to see Trash Mountain for the first time in my mission, and it really is just piles of trash everywhere! Most of the Sisters' investigators live and work there so it was cool to see the way that those people live and embrace the gospel because of how humble they are. 

6. Tad R. Callister (Sunday School General President) and Elder Meurs (first councilor of the Asia Area Presidency) came and spoke to all the missionaries this last Saturday, and it was so cool to see how much knowledge President Callister has. He taught us on different ways to teach the Plan of Salvation and the importance of prayer in lessons with our investigators. It was very inspiring and I hope I can apply it these last few weeks!

Sorry that was so much information haha. But I am so grateful for the experinces I have had here in CKM and will continue to have in SR. Love you all and talk to you next week!!

Sister Bashford

For some reason my SD card is not able to find my photos on the computer, so sorry! Maybe photos will come next week!

October 21st, 2018: No Group Email

From Mom:
Hi Mai! Hannah will email you all the info you need for ASU, she has been working on it. You cannot register until December 11th, but she is trying to figure out if there is a way to register early. You’ll be taking fluff classes bc the good ones might be full. Hannah is working hard in your behalf; she is taking care of you, you just worry about finishing strong! <3

We started school again this week, nothing special, then carson had a volleyball tournament yesterday.

We are making a countdown chain for when you get home...53 days. I’m not sure if that will make the time go by slower, probably, but I’m still doing it. :)

We are about to leave to a fireside Glenn Clouse is speaking at on mental health...eye roll. Should be interesting.

I keep forgetting to ask you, the missionaries in the MTC with you that were a couple, are they still together? Sister Pratt???

Love you!

 Hi mommy! aw hannah is literally the best i love and miss her so freaking much. yo that picture of carson is way sick. Is he getting crazy good at volleyball or what? Also, what days are his tournament in anaheim? Im so pumped about it ive told everyone that ill be going to cali my first weekend back and everyone is pretty jealous. that was always one of my favorite weekends of the year, going to carsons tournaments in anaheim :) mom youll never believe it hahaha this week i also made a countdown chain HAHAHA i attached the picture below. i made it out of stickynote strips because thats all i have haha. i was thinking about how its going to make the time go by slower but i really dont care haha. 7 weeks is actually so fast so im not worried about it. the only thing is everyone keeps telling me im trunky and jit slap which means close to death and so its making me feel like im pretty much already done with th emission but i still have a solid month and a half left so i need to stay focused haha. i had my interview with president and told him i want a new companion who works really hard and can help me stay focused my last transfer of my mission because all my companions for the last 5 transfers have made doing missionary work very difficult.

Also ryan emailed me back and it was a really good repsonse. ill forward it to you. we had a mental health devotional for members here in cambodia and it was actually really good because its a huge problem here because people wont acknowledge the fact that they have depression or anxiety even though pretty much everyone here in this country has it because their lives suck, and they are treated like they are actually retarded if people find out they are taking medication for depression. that was sister Um's problem and it was so horrible. she started taking depression and anxiety pills from the mission and she stopped throwing up for a few days and was way happier and then she found out what the medication was and FREAKED OUT big time and refused to take it and cried all the time because she thought she was mentally disabled or something and we had a lot of long talks with the mission therapist that i had to translate for and it was the worst. anyways...

lol Sister Pratt was on an exchange at my house this week and they are still very much a thing but now that she is ending her mission and he doesnt end until May, she said she is trying to decide if she wants to date while she is waiting for Elder Tuft. She always calls him Daniel and it bothers me a lot. also we are friends or whatever but she is one of the rudest brats i have ever met and i do not want to be her friend after the mission. Sister Clark is way better. also im just really close with Sister Jennings, Sister Stewart and Sister Chan-tung so i will just stick with them :) next week i will have the news of my final transfer call..... seriously so weird that its my last one. also do you remember Elder Grover from when i was in keansvay? i served with him for three transfers and i lowkey think i like him but i cant show it because im on the mission. he ends next summer. i have heard a few things from people that he may or may not be a little into me too but we will have to see. keep it on the down-low though i have only told hannah about it a while ago but dont tell anyone else. 

I spoke in sacrament meeting yesterday and had to completely change my talk on the spot because one of the elders literally took my entire thing and my talk ended up being twelve minutes long and i was like, whats up, i know khmer and can speak about whatever i want whenever i want, this is awesome. Gift of tongues is real. ok i dont have anything else :) LOVE YOU SO MUCH MOM!!!!!

Love sister Bashford

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 14th, 2018: No Group Email

From Mom:
Hi! I have such a great story for you. My nails were done by my former Khmer student's mom. She told me the saddest stories from the Khmer Rouge. She is so excited for you to come home so she can make you Cambodian food.



Lexi, her America name, told me no one talks about it for fear they’ll be killed. I guess no one was allowed to tell their stories, so no one has. She told me her dad watched his first wife and two kids be murdered in front of him. They didn’t kill him bc he could repair radios and walkie-talkies. He remarried her mom in an arranged marriage and never talked about his first family or what happened to them. So sad!

I watched all of conference. My favorite talk was by Elder Gay. I LOVED conference. I felt the Lord speaking directly to me.


I still want a video of you speaking Khmer.

 hi mom. Wow i am way excited to meet her and speak khmer with her and eat her khmer food. she also needs to show me the places to buy all the khmer ingredients because i will make a lot of khmer food when i come home too. You can tell her all i really know how to make is cha and sngow  so she can teach me everything else (especially khmer spring roll)! You also probably know more about the khmer rouge than i do becasue no one talks about it here. I occasionally contact a matyay (an old woman) who will tell some very vague stories but you dont get information out of them. we are currently vising a woman whos name is Om Tom and she shared that when she was 17 she got married and one night at 2 am some soldiers came and took her husband in the middle of the night and she never saw him again and then she kind of mumbled some things and the only other thing i could understand her say was that she had her hands behind her back and her head down and soldiers were screaming at her to walk quickly and then she kind of stopped talking. she also has a bad memory so it was really cool we got that out of her because no one talks about the khmer rouge ever. they call it Red Khmer or Puol Phot here. super sad.

Yay i am so excited!!! There is an elder that is ending his mission with me that went to heritage high school. His name is Eric Lancelot Orton (i know weird name) but maybe you could find his family and meet up together at the airport to pick us up or you definitely dont have to if you dont want to. we split up from the whole group in california and ride back to skyharbor together. also have you gotten my flight plans yet? We want to go to each others homecoming talks. also he is not good looking at all so dont worry hahaha. 

I am so excited to see you guys in less than two months!!!!! seriously so pumped i cvant even handle it. sometimes i get way sad that i am leaving like the last few emails i have sent you, but i lowke am way trunky now from conference. it was SO GOOD. have you watched it?? please do. i wrote down about 10 talks that i felt like applied to you which means that almost the whole conference applied to you. please keep studying the talks all the time because they were straight from God and i received so much personal revelation from it. IT WAS JUST THE BEST MOM it makes me excited to go home and build up our family. how do you think our family is going to respond to the family curriculum? i told hannah that her and I should try to come home sundays as much as possible to do the family teaching with you guys. No matter who doesnt want to do it, we are going to do it;) I LOVE YOU SO MUCH MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!! have the best week and have fun with carson for his birthday ;)

October 8th, 2018: TEMPLE IN CAMBODIA

WE ARE GETTING A TEMPLE IN CAMBODIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I REPEAT, A TEMPLE IS GOING TO BE BUILT IN CAMBODIA!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't even know where to start to share my extreme feelings of joy and gratitude in my heart for how amazing God is and His work on the earth and how blessed the people of Cambodia are. These last few days have been full of emotions and many good tears shed! None of us have been able to watch General Conference yet, but we all got a text from President Lewis at around 6:30am Monday morning, saying that at around 2:49am Cambodia time President Nelson announced that a temple will be built in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We had all the Sisters serving in our zone (10 Sisters) sleeping over at our house because we all had a city Zone Conference yesterday. The topic of our zone conference was ancestors and family history work because of the special Khmer holiday this whole week. So we were all personal studying about temple and family history work and it was silent in our house, then one of the Sisters picks up her phone and whispers, We are getting a temple... and we were all like What?? and then she said a little louder, We are getting a temple in Cambodia... We all check our phones and read the text, and our whole house starts bawling and jumping up and down hugging each other. It was one of the happiest moments I have ever experienced. We had no idea that we would EVER be getting a temple this soon in Cambodia, but it is just a testament that the Lord is hastening his work on the earth. and the other 11 temples announced! and the 2 hour block for church! The world is changing, church policies are changing, but God's purpose is constant: "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" on both sides of the veil (Moses 1:39). So our special city zone conference on temple and family history work was made so much sweeter when half the mission got to be together after the announcement. President Lewis called on me and another Elder to share our feelings with everyone about that morning and what happened. Its amazing that I have been in Cambodia for almost 18 months, and near the end of my service, the prophet of God announces a temple to be built in the land that I love and for the people I cherish so much. It makes all the hard exhausting times of my mission so worth it. God is so good. The church is SO TRUE. My testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ grows more and more every single day even when I feel like it cant grow anymore :) I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY and I LOVE CAMBODIA and I LOVE THIS GOSPEL. My heart is so full of love for my Heavenly Father, my Savior, my eternal family, and my people here in Cambodia.

Please watch General Conference if you haven't!!!

I promise it will be worth your while.

Sister Bashford

Pictures:

1. Just a little over 6 acres of heaven! (still to be determined where the temple will be built but we are pretty dang sure this is the place)

2. All of the city missionaries in front of the "unofficial" spot for the new temple!!

3. Me, Sister Clark, and Sister Pratt together for the last time before Sister Clark goes home this month!

 

 

From Mom:

I still can hardly believe the announcement. I get choked up every time I think about it. All the work you’ve been doing has paved a way for the amazing members in Cambodia and other SE Asian countries. I saw the pictures President Lewis took of you guys celebrating at the site where the temple will be built. Best blessing ever! You will have to go back in several years when the temple is dedicated.

We had a fun time in CA. Kanika said she showed you all of the pictures of us on the beach, so I’ll just include a few pictures, I don’t want to rub it in. :) Kanika said it was making you miss us, so that’s good because I want you to come home. Your last few emails have me a little nervous; I’m afraid you’re going to stay in Cambodia. Lol

I’m looking forward to this week off with no vacations. I want to organize closets and make plans for the group home. We should find out this week if the county approved our land variance application. If it’s approved, then we will move forward in the next couple weeks.

URGENT: Okay I need your response tonight or very soon about your homecoming. When I agreed to have your homecoming on the 16th, I didn’t realize that carson will be in Anaheim at a volleyball tournament that weekend. The following week is Christmas, so you would have to wait two weeks until the 30th of December to give your homecoming talk if you want Carson there. I think it would be worth the wait, plus you can go watch him play volleyball with me, but it’s totally up to you. If you decide to give your talk on the 16th, I can send carson to his tournament with a teammate so all the rest of us would be there. The 30th is the weekend Kenzie gets married, so I’m not sure if that’s a good/bad/indifferent thing.

K, let me know your thoughts. If you want me to make the decision for you I will. :)

I love you so much. Our sweet little eternal family is all I care about. As you kids grow up and leave me, I realize more and more how Heavenly Father feels about his children. HF had to let us all go. He taught us, then pushed us out of the nest. I’m in that stage right now, and all I care about is making sure my babies are prepared as much as possible to be able to fly. I just hope you’ll always fly home to hug your mom. <3

Have the best week ever. I’m sure you’ll be on a huge high with the temple announcement for the rest of your mission. I’m so glad you got to be there when it was announced. The church is true. I love the gospel of Jesus Christ so much, my testimony is stronger than ever. I can’t wait for you to be my temple buddy. I Love you sweet daughter!

 Hi mom :) ok yes the 30th is fine i want carson to be there and i would love to watch him play. when is the last day of school for you guys? is christmas on a sunday? or are they doing some special program? I wouldnt mind doing it the week or two after. and the wedding shouldnt interfere with anything hopefully. 

Mom literally i have been so emotional the last few days its been amazing. These people need a temple so desperately and we really did not think that a temple would be announced for at least another 15 years or so. President and Sister Lewis had this mission plan for the next 25 years and a temple announcement was hopefully in there somewhere but we had NO IDEA it would ever be this soon. Its a serious miracle and the new church block change and our mission schedule change (it was pretty drastic - additional 5,000 proselyting hours a year for our mission) just make me feel like the end is near. the revelation we are receiving now with President Nelson is preparing us for the Second Coming of Christ. ITS UPON US. haha i feel like one of those crazy people with the signs in new york city that say REPENT! THE END IS NEAR! REPENT! hahaha. But i am definitely coming back here for the dedication in a few years. THIS IS SO EXCITING MOM I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO HAPPY BEFORE EVER.

I actually commented that on your instagram but didnt want to make it sound like it came from me hahahaha. also hearing your voices in the video of carson doing the backflip made me excited to come home :) dont worry mom, i will come home when my time comes but for now i am grinding. I am interviewing with President next week and i think i am going to request to be with Sister Stewart or Sister Chan-tung for my last transfer. all my companions have been way lame the last 5 transfers and i just want to finish strong with a companion who wants to work hard.

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH MOM literally cant wait to go to the temple with you and possibly Hannah soon?? have you talked to her at all recently about anything like that? if not you should ;) im also way ecxited for her to get her blessing next month. even with carson being a turd everything else is going amazing and we have so many blessings to count in our family every day. LOVE YOU!!!!!!

Maalee Bahhvuud

 

October 1st, 2018

Im sorry I am literally the worst with emailing lately!

We went to the killing fields today, way sad but very inspiring and eye opening.

Last week I went to lunch with my trainer and her husband! So fun to see her!

We have a baptism on Saturday and I will tell you all about it next week!!

Sorry for the short email, I hope you all have an awesome week!!

Sister Bashford

 

From Mom:

 Maile, it’s happening, your mission is winding down. Brother Embley finalized your homecoming date today. You’ll be speaking on Sunday, December 16th. :):):) I don’t want to make you trunkie or anything, but I had to tell you! Okay, I’m going to make a decision for you, this Spring let’s go to Europe...unless you’ve already decided you want to come back to Cambodia. I’ll love it either way, I just don’t want to stress you out over having to make any decisions.

You are on the home stretch; stay focused, love every second of it, you’ll never be single on a mission ever again. Soak it up like a sponge, but most of all have so much fun!

We just finished up quarter one and are heading for CA Tuesday morning. We will be in Newport Beach for three nights, and San Clemente for two. We are camping, so it won’t be glamorous.

Taryn sang in sacrament today with three other girls, she is so sweet. :) I went with her and the other YW Friday night to do baptisms, she wanted to go back on Saturday but Carson had a volleyball tournament and I couldn’t take her.

Dad and I are driving home right now from the sketchiest neighborhood in Glendale, right by GCU’s campus. We picked up two more beach cruisers for our trip. We now have 5 Electra beach cruisers, so you can have one when you get home. :) Guaranteed, they were stolen from GCU’s campus. Lol

I love you and miss you lots!

Love, mom 

Tommy got a hair cut. Btw, dad loves Tommy. Dad had him in bed with him, under the covers, with his head on dad’s pillow this morning. Miracle! That is a sight I never thought I’d see. Lol

 

 Hi mom :)

I was actually wanting to go to europe for spring break so I am happy with that!!! We can definitely come to cambodia over the summer or another break later in the year. 

Ahhhh wait he already scheduled it??? ahhhh my anxiety is starting to creep in little by little every day hahaha I literally never thought i would ever say this but i really never want to come home hahahaha if i could bring all of you guys over here to cambodia and live as a missionary the rest of my life i would do it. some days i am way excited to do all the things i have missed so much but other days i freak out because i realize how much i am going to miss being a missionary and the joy i feel while doing missionary work. AHHHH MOM WHY IS THIS SO HARD I am so torn but i know that my 13th transfer is going to Arizona and starting school and just continuing doing ministering and fulfilling my callings and trying to help others every way i can, just without a name tag. The day i have to take this nametag off is going to be the hardest day of my life. I literally sleep with it on every single night and only take it off to shower. I seriously love being a missionary, even on the hard days. But these feelings arent making me sad to go home, they are motivating me to do my best with what little time i have left. :)

Today for pday we went to the killing fields (why i wasnt on earlier) and it was a very cool experience. we actually raninto a guy from New Zealnd who has been inactive for several years and said that seeing us made him want to go to church again. Way cool. the only thing was he asked to get a picture with us and the rest of the group was a little ahead and they had headphones on for the guided tour and so the guy got a picture of me with just one other elder and it was way against the mission rules but he took the pic so fast we didnt know what to do then we had him take a picture with the AP (Assistants to the President) elders so it was alright hahaha. The elder is actually from Mesa and his trainer is from mesa so we all have a party talking about Arizona things. 

YO mom i want a bike so bad when i go home! i am so down to take one of the stolen ones from GCU haha :) how did you get them?? 

HAHAHA dad has become a softy with Tommy thats awesome :) 

Hey also dont put too many things in the "trunky package" if you were still planning on sending it. I dont need anything before i end my mission. Send the things for Kanika and anything else you think is necessary but if its something i would have to bring home that would take up space in my suitcase, i would rather wait until i get home to have it so that i can have more room in my suitcase on the way home for souvenirs for you guys :) 

LOVE YOU SO MUCH MOM!!!!! only ten more weeks! have you gotten my flight plans yet? HAVE THE BEST VACATION!!

September 23rd, 2018: No group Email

Hi. How are you? How is your new companion? How are you feeling about how the last 2.5 months of your mission is going to play out? Do you even know how it will play out? You seemed a bit disappointed with your current transfer. I hope you’re not too disappointed. I want your last few months to be awesome!!! No matter what your circumstances, you can make them the best.

Dad and I received an email on Thursday from the mission office. You are leaving the 12th and arriving home the 13th!!!!!! I can’t act too excited because I don’t want you to get too trunky. The email asked us what airport you need to fly home to, and if we were coming to pick you up.

Hannah came over for dinner and brought Justin. They are pretty cute together, I think they’re a thing. We were at Carson’s volleyball tournament yesterday in Tempe, so we texted Hannah to meet up for lunch and she and Justin were together, so we met him for the first time at Cafe Rio, then dinner with him tonight at our house...I think it’s getting serious.  Dad told the story tonight at dinner of you kids throwing up all night in the hotel in St. George, it was pretty funny.

Carson’s team did well yesterday. They won all their matches, so now they will play in division 1 this upcoming Saturday. Carson seems to be the number two setter on his team. The back up setter from last year has worked his butt off and is passing carson up. Carson thinks he is the shiz and doesn’t work hard, so hopefully this will be a wake up call for him and he can get volleyball and other things in his life in order.

This is our last week of quarter 1. Fall break starts this Friday. We are leaving after Carson’s tournament on Saturday for Newport Beach and San Clemente, we’ll be there for a week.

So this week has been hard one for me, I’ve been on my knees a lot. Today I needed some extra strength so I decided to read my patriarchal blessing. I took out three pieces of paper and categorized them into blessings promised, advice from the Lord, and declarations made by the Lord. I then went through my blessing and wrote down everything in my blessing in the category it fell in to. It was a very powerful experience. Annotating it that way gave me an entirely different perspective. I noticed things I had never noticed before. If you haven’t done something like this before, I would recommend doing it.  :)

You are just awesome! I love you so much and am so proud of you. I feel like the luckiest mom alive to have been sent such an amazing daughter. Seriously, what did I do to deserve you? I admire you so much; you’re such a great example to me! I just love you so much!!!

Have an amazing week.

Love,
Mom

 hi mom!

Im doing great, my companion is great, our best investigators are too busy to meet but we picked up some new ones and they are WAY awesome. i am super excited for how this trnasfer is going to go. sorry i am running out of time but i will try to say as much as i can. Wow! i cant believe they are already putting together my flight plans. makes me kinda want to throw up but ill be fine dont worry haha. yesterday i got my period and it was the most pain i have ever been in my entire life so i went home during church and i threw up on the rode and then layed on my bed for three hours with a pillowcase full of hot rice on my lower abdomen and it was miserable. but now i am fine :) we have a baptism in two weeks and i am way pumped. her name is Phallin (pronounces pauleen) and she has so much faith. also my RC brought her boyfriend from england to church yesterday and i trnslated everything for him and i even had to translate the sacrament prayer and i couldnt even rememebr it in english so it was way hard but he is a catholic guy so he took the sacrament and did the cross thing before he took the bread then after sacrament meeting asked me to put my hands on his and my RC's shoulders and bless their engagement and i literally had no idea what to do so i just folded my arms and said a prayer for them hahahahahahaha one of the funniest moments ever. 

yo hannah has been updating me on Justin for a while and ive only seen one picture of him and i want to know if hes cute or not. do you think they work well together??? its killing me that she is getting a boyfriend while im gone. oh my gosh i completely forgot about that story. that was SO funny hahahahahahaha. 

I actually have done that a lot with my patriarchal blessing and it has helped me to understand it better and pick it apart. another thing i do is i find scriptures that go along with certain lines of my blessing so i have more personal connection to the scriptures and my blessing. dont get discouraged mom. you have done everything you can to be the best mom, wife, and person you can be. if you ever feel like you arent doing enough, just remember that I love you more than anything and i am your biggest fan. i think you are the greatest mom ever and i am so lucky to have been raised and loved by you :) I love you so so so so so so much Mom!!!!

Love, Maile