They Marveled At Us

Hey everyone,

This week was pretty long.  What's good is that all the hard work pays off.  In our area(s) we were able to find many less actives homes and contacted pretty effectively as well.  We gained a few new investigators and even had one at church.  Balancing both Baku and Takhmao areas has required a lot of planning and good effort daily.  We are striving to work at the pace the Lord has set and we are seeing success.

On Monday we had a great game of soccer in the city.  I'm getting better, scoring goals etc..

That night we hit the streets of Stung Churoh, the ''Deep Lake", a neighborhood in our Takhmao area.  Many people in this area are fishermen, fishing in the lake daily.  Later we contacted and got a few potentials.  At one point we were biking across a bridge and saw a family working at a large dirt pile.  They were moving the dirt and placing it to make a path to their house.  Their house is on stilts, resting above the river.

Elder Horn and I quickly jumped off our bikes and began assisting them.  They marveled at us.  The neighbors peeked out their windows and doors to watch.  I could hear them saying things about "the giant french person in the white shirt and tie".  It was great though because afterwards the family comitted to come to english class* and church.  We had many other similar experiences.

*When they went to english class, I wasn't there (I was in Baku) and the father of the family (who speaks some english) kept going around asking the other missionaries where the "very big man" was *hands stretched up above his head to show size*.

Thanksgiving was fun.  We headed to the senior couple's house as a zone and had a feast.  It was my first time having mashed potatoes since the MTC in July.  It was fun to discuss the gratitude we all had for various blessings in our lives.  This week I took much thought and study of the sacrifices of the early saints, which made the church as we know it, a possibility. I had many unforgettable spiritual experiences this past week as my thoughts were turned to the early saints.

As always, my bike was a pain this week.  The chain fell off more times than I can count and severely slowed down travels to and from Baku.  It was a little frustrating, and quite a few times Elder Horn and I switched bikes at my insistence so I could tow him (Horn on my useless bike) and I pedal us both to Baku (me on his bike). 

As for news for this week, President has asked us to move in with the Elders closer to the Takhmao church.  Their house is much larger with some 7 bedrooms and only one companionship currently using it.  I like our current house despite the small size.  It have a nice bathroom and shower (rare in Cambodia), and a nice convenient bedroom for Elder Horn and I.  

Thats all I've got for this week.  I spent most of my days finding the homes of lost members.  Its pretty difficult and time consuming because no one has an address here.  We are forced to rely on the map drawing skills of previous missionaries.  A lot of dogs barking at us, people pretending they don't know us (but they do, we have their picture on the CBR), and a ton of sweating.  Its worth it though because we now know our areas better  and know new people to meet with.  

Shout out to my brother Gabe! Today (Dec. 1st) is his 9th Birthday!

Love, Elder Jake Zierenberg