July 22nd, 2018: No mass email

Hi my sweet Mai.  Did you find your debit card; I've been worried.   I hope it didn't get stolen out of your water bottle, let me know.

How is your companion?  I hope she is doing better.

Parker King, Ethan, and Kimball got home this past week, so crazy.  Time has gone by fast.  Jason Tomlinson left on his mission to Africa this past week as well.

I am tentatively looking at a trip for us back to Cambodia after you get home.  We will arrive in Cambodia March 10th and leave March 19th. (ASU Spring break)  I haven't purchased the airline tickets yet, but this is the plan.  Are you good with this?  It would be great to spend the last few days in Vietnam, too, what do you think?  Not trying to make you trunky, I just wanted to run our temporary plans past you.  Hannah and Taryn want to come too.

Taryn is looking more and more like you every day...except she is pretty tall. We measured her for her birthday and she is 5’9”. She wears you clothes which causes me to do many double takes, it’s crazy!

I was asked to serve in YW this week. I said I had to pray about it. I’ve never said no to a calling before, so I’m sure I’ll say yes, but it will test my faith.

We start school tomorrow. I’m okay starting, I just want to get on with it.

Kanika just texted me pictures. Seeing you just makes me happy all over!!!

Love you, Mom!

Hi Mom!!!

Well, with my companion, the doctor wants her to go home and told her stake president that she would be sent home because of how sick she is. then the stake president scheduled a meeting with president lewis and us, then proceeded to ROAST on me because he thinks i am the reason she is going home. he also cried because he said his trainer was so terrible to him and feels that sister um is sick because all american trainers are just terrible to their khmer trainees. half the conversation was in khmer and half in english but i dont remember what he said or i said in what langauge and president lewis was there so i got defensive because the stuff the stake president was saying was not true and he was pulling so many false ideas from his own experiences and i was so mad. Then he, Sister Bashford, I feel like you want Sister Um to go home. I have never been so offended in my entire life and i just started crying. her going home is the last thing i want to happen and i have prayed so much that she will get better. i have literally been doing SO MUCH to help her get better including, taking her to the hospital at least once a week, writing down literally every single time she poops, pees, eats food, takes her medicine, has pain, sleeps, how she is feeling physically and mentally, and its a really lengthy log. we have not been able to proselyte for the LONGEST time and its really bringing me down. i am in constant communication with sister and president lewis, and have to translate everything for her and the doctors and her therapy calls, and i make her food and clean up her messes and teach her english and how to be a missionary and then this stake president thinks he can just make all these accusations about me in front of my mission president. i was SO MAD because he doesnt understand ANYTHING about whats been going on. So president lewis probably thinks im the worst missionary ever and thinks i beat up sister um and tell her shes doesnt know how to teach and she sucks. They decided to give sister um one more week and if she can stop throwing up then they will do further deciding but if not she will go home. so this happened saturday around noon and the rest of the day i couldnt even function i was so offended and hurt and angry. but i just kept praying the whole time that i could calm down and i couldnt. i couldnt sleep at all and sunday morning i was still so upset. once we got to church i prayed that once i partook of the sacrament i would be able to just let all of my anger and hurt go away and i swear the second the sacrament ended my anger disappeared. It was seriously a miracle. i havent been upset about it since then and i forgive that stake president but i still dont like him that much haha. so ya. thats what happened with that. but the doctor and the area presidency from the 70 are the ones who ultimately decide so her going home is still up in the air.  

Ya March sounds great! If we go to vietnam or Thailand i wont be much help with speaking. i just know how to say the basics (thank you, hello, please, goodbye) in both languages. but i could learn them. they are pretty dang similar to khmer but not at the same time haha. it would be so fun to have a girls trip here. dont know where i would want to go to church on sunday because that would be hard to choose lol.

I think you should take the calling. what would you be doing? i actually ahve been going to YW the last few weeks because i translate for the senior couple (the colvins, not sure if you know who they are, but sister colvin has become my bff) and i shared with them yesterday that when i was a young woman, my leaders always tried to get me to read my scriptures and say my prayers and do the things that i should do, but i hardly did. i thought seminary and gong to church was enough for me. but when became a laurel i finially started to really understand the importance of it and i had wished i listened to my leaders from the beginning because i would have grown so much more. young women are hard and they are brats sometimes but they will always remember you and at least one of them will cherish you forever and think you were the best leader they have ever had. and if not then i will :) I loved having you in yw with me when we first moved to AZ and i know you will be amazing with it. 

Have fun with school! I hope it makes both of our time feel faster! but seriously still cant believe i only have 4 1/2 months left. TIME IS FLYING!!!

I LOVE YOU MOM YOU ARE THE BEST and i pray for you guys every day. 

Maile:

Dude, who is that stake president, I’ll come punch him in the face. Lol :)

I’m glad you’re not angry. He comes to the situation with a lot of preconceived baggage and hurt himself. He is projecting that anger on to you. I’m so sorry. President and sister Lewis know you are the best companion. Plus, the Lord knows what you’ve been doing, that’s all that matters. 

Mom:

ya i was really wanting to punch him in the face too but im glad im over it. sorry also that story was probably not grammatically correct at all haha. i just hope the lewis's dont think less of me or anything. sometimes times like this make me want to just quit and be like "IM DONE I CONT DO THIS ANYMORE" but then i remember why i am really here and that helps me. also i know i just need to finsih my mission strong. i cant work hard all this time and then let it get the best of me at the end. I loe you mom. youre seriously the best.