This week was pretty awesome, but pretty frustrating to match. All in all a valuable week. Tons of cambodians that we've never met, Lots of loud music and guitars and crazy cambodian music. Very Exciting.
Monday was the usual Three hours of finding to end the day working hard. We met this less active Named Penny, and he got in a car accident that left him paralyzed when he was 18, and he has slowly been rehabilitating for the last 18 years, and has almost full control of his body again! He just has a speech impediment now and smokes a ton of weed. We had a lesson with him, and he was super excited we came over, at first he told us he wants to be a missionary too so he can convert cambodians also, then ten minutes later he decided he was an atheist. He asked if he could have a ride to church though to help him change his mind, so it was ok.
Tuesday we went to Brother Bilsboroughs house to help him finish the hut and load it up, it was awesome. After that we went home and taught Chantha's mom, then ate dinner, then went to have a lesson with the sin's, then taught Pream. (Found out I have been spelling that wrong...)
Wednesday we had to spend the day preparing for cambodian new year, so we didn't get to go out. That night we, as the elders quorum of the Oakland 10th branch, went to help Jonathan and Chantha move into their new apartment in Alameda. It was fun! we got to finally talk to her dad, which was really nice since he never wants to actually talk to us.
Thursday we had Zone conference!! It was awesome, our zone had a special zone conference with just our zone because we have all already applied the training that Lee Donaldson gave in february, where other zones just barely got it! We had a big group discussion on how to use pamphlets effectively in teaching. Good stuff. One thing that was really sad that happened thought: while we were sitting there, we started to get calls from Prim, so after three calls from him, we asked to step out, and called him back, and just that morning his Mom had passed away... He was really shaken up, but he was inviting us to the ceremony they were doing for her that night. We got permission from our mission president to go that night, and before that we went to say hi to some members in Antioch since we were halfway there already, and they weren't home so they said to go to the doughnut shop to see them. We got there and went in and started talking, and she asked what our plans were that night, and we told her we were going to Prim's mom's house for the ceremony, and she said "oh there will be a lot of people there!" and she proceeded to put together six dozen doughnuts and a huge box of doughnut holes to take to Prim's family!! It was so awesome!! We went to our dinner that had been scheduled that night for the Riths, and that was awesome, they are so awesome to us, Siphal asked if we could help give Jessica a blessing, and the spirit was so strong, it was awesome. After dinner Siphal went with us to Prim's house, and it was not even close to what we were expecting!! It was like a party! They had this weird cambodian music and everyone was laughing and having fun, I was shocked. It was really fun to talk to people about what we believe with the plan of salvation, and to tell people that we LITERALLY believe that our families can be together FOREVER. Super cool.
Friday we went to the second ceremony, called a Bun chaan I think. It is where the monks come from the temple (or what used to be the temple) and accept the offering the family gives. They were singing all these crazy chants, and then they just started eating really slowly while everyone chanted/sang. I was really confused. Then after that, Prim bought us a blessing from this lady wearing white, and she gave us a blessing. I had no idea what was going on, but we saw a bunch of our less active members there, which was nice, and Prim was really happy we came! We were really sad to find out though that he wanted to cancel his baptism... He told us, and my heart totally dropped to the ground. All in one moment, all the time we spent with burned to the ground just like the Buddhist temple. We tried to talk to him, but he was too preoccupied with all the people there and helping his family get things taken care of... we were totally bummed out. We had to go downtown for our lunch appointment after that, so we headed out. We got down there, and there was a huge dance festival in the Plaza where we were going to meet Sophany and her non-member husband she wants us to teach, it was cool. When we met them, we walked over to china town to this tiny little sandwich shop that was supposedly really famous! It was so good, I have never had a sandwich as good as that one. We got to know her husband a little more too! His name is Donnies, and he is super cool. He works at the docks moving parts for ships! He loves to speak Cambodian really really fast, so we had to listen really close to keep up! Next we went to help put up the Hut in the Auditorium for Cambodian New Year! After that we went to do our weekly planning! After that, we went to do all the final preparations for New Years!!
Saturday we spent the entire day at the church talking to people from all over the bay area that we involved in the program! we did a ton of work moving things and directing people all over the place until it was finally time to start!! We set up a raffle table and sat down while we waited for the program to start! The dances were so awesome. I loved it. they kept going for two hours!!! I couldn't believe it! they had a bunch of fashion shows and all these different groups that have been getting dances ready! After the Dances, they went into the gym, and the band started going hard. I was totally shocked. It was so loud you couldn't hear the person next to you anywhere inside the gym! Not the best environment to be conducting missionary work. We just went and found people that looked nice, sat by them until the music stopped, then asked really quick if they wanted to come to church tomorrow. crazy night. It was so cool though!! Our service missionaries put in so much work to try to make it good for the Cambodian branch, I couldn't believe it!!
Sunday we got a call from Penny, and he asked if someone could pick him up for church! We were so excited!! Then when we got to church, we had Ten kids in the primary, which is Double the usual number, so we were really really happy!! After church, we were supposed to go to prim's to talk to him a little more, so we pulled out of the parking lot, and for some reason went the totally opposite way without even thinking, and neither of us even said anything. Down the road about a fifth of a mile, we saw a wreck in the road and some people on the side of the road. Getting closer, we realized it was chantha and her two nieces!! we pulled over and hopped out to make sure everything was ok. It was crazy. Everyone there needed a phone, so we let them all borrow our phone and left our suitcoats with them after we finalized that they were all ok. We went to prims next, and his wife fed us luch, and we talked about why we were serving missions with them, and why we wanted prim to get baptized. Prim said he was sorry, and that he does still want to get baptized! He just can't on the 27th now because of stuff with his mom... so we will see what happens!!
Missions are crazy. They are really really hard, but I have never been more grateful to be somewhere than I am right now. I know That I am being guided by heavenly Father in everything I do as I seek to be obedient and bring others to Christ. Everything we do in our lives is significant to our eternal progression, and it is really important to remember that there is no point where our progression will stay the same. If we are not progressing, then we are digressing, and as we seek to progress in even the smallest way, we will have our heavenly fathers help, and we will have the strengthening power of the atonement in our lives. I hope that everyone is getting excited for Easter this sunday!! I know we sure are! Make a special effort to remember Christ in everything you do, now just this week, but always. I love you all!!
Love,
Elder Tolman
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