Elder Taylor in Cambodia: Week 7: No Sleeping in Class; There is Good to be Done

It's a struggle at times to not close your eyes for a second. Well one day Neakruu (female teacher) was teaching and Elder Millet had closed his eyes for a second and she faked throwing a marker at him. Well Lookruu Ho (Vietnamese teacher) was in class helping and he picked up a dry erase board eraser and chucked it at him. Woke the class up for a bit.

So Lookruu Ho has been helping us out because they didn't have any Vietnamese elders, but they got new ones this past Wed. Lookruu Ho is also their progressing investigator so they don't know he's their teacher yet. Anywho he was hiding in our room and he showed us Lookruu Garlick's language assessment from when he was in the MTC 2011. Gives us hope that we can be like him because he was just like us. It was really funny acutally. Oh and since the new missionaries aren't supposed to know Lookruu Ho is their teacher we decided on code name Lookruu Savage.

Practicing grammar and saying dates, time, making appointments, etc and Lookruu Garlick gives us this sentence: "In 1992 at 6:10 Om Thom ate a ripe mango." Writing it here it doesn't seem that funny, but it was great when it happened. Our grammar is slowly improving, but passive voice is weird.

Had a couple surprise visitors: One was at dinner. I was sitting at the table and the seat opposite me was empty when an elder jumps in front of me on the other side and squats and just stares. I stop, pizza in hand and stare back. He looks vaguely familair but I can't place him. After a bit he says, "Heartsville." I'm really confused because he wasn't in the Heartsville ward when I was there. Turns out I met him at a dance my last week in Heartsville and somehow he remembered me. We chatted a bit. Elder Bailey, him, is only here for three weeks so he'll leave the same time as me.

Next couple surprises were people I did recognize. Walking down the class hall on Wed and I do a double take because one of the new elders in my zone was in my tuba section at BYU marching band. He's going to Thailand. Then at dinner I saw another elder that was in our section and he's going to Russia. Tuba section represent!

Last surprise was quite the surprise. Elders Tan, Otto, Millet and I were sitting in 18M building doing TALL (the language learning program) and in walks a dude with a white teacher/leader tag and a man in full army uniform with his wife and daughter (my age). Guess they were giving him a tour and they asked us questions. I had "to tempt" on the screen and they had me pronounce it for them. (lbuang l-boo-aung) Also the MTC president showed up, President Burgess and added to the conversation. Basically I saw a lot of important people I wasn't expecting too. Also the military man was from Colombia, SC so he knew exactly where I'm from, Aiken.

The MTC is starting to feel even more like we're all sardines in a can. We have about 2,600 missionaries here right now and we had 1,557 missionaries in choir, largest ever and 2nd time we've broken the record while I've been here. (Before it was just under 1,000) If you're not in the choir you don't get a seat in the main room and have to go to overflow.

Got to do Skype TRC again last night but this time we didn't get a native Cambodian. We talked to a return missionary that lives in American Fork, Utah right now. He's been home for 8 years, but went back 5 years ago and said that Cambodia has changed a lot. It didn't used to have any roads really but now it has a lot, so makes life easier for me.

Yesterday we also had a language fast (no English) from when we woke up till lunch. It was hard at times but it frankly is really amazing to me that I can do that.

To end on a spiritual note and take away this Sunday we watched Ephraim's rescue. (about early saints crossing the plains) There is a scene where they have to cross a frozen river and no one has much strength or desire to walk through a freezing river in the snow. However, this one young man helps a young boy and his mother across and then goes back to help his own mother pull their handcart across. Later Ephraim, main-ish character, arrives to help them and he blesses and heals the aforementioned young man's feet. His mother says that Ephraim is a holy man but he says he has too many imperfections to count. Then the mother inquired how he managed to do so much good. Ephraim simply replied, I try. We can all try each day to do some good, to help our fellow brothers and sisters of God. Right now I'm going to help the people the Cambodia because that is where God has called me. May God help you in your trials and enable you to help others that only you can uplift.

Elder Taylor