Alright, well the most exciting news of the week was we had somebody back into our car this week. I'll start from the beginning so you get the whole story.
Well, the car in our area has needed some work done on it for a while. We've been in contact with the guy who works for the church in this area and we scheduled an appointment to meet him at the Auburn Stake Center on Thursday so he could do the repairs. We have limited miles to drive every month and driving to Auburn is a 60 mile round trip that eats up our miles super fast. We drove to Auburn Thursday morning and almost plowed into some lady pulling out in front of us at an intersection. She was making a right hand turn into our lane and didn't stop coming from the other direction. Thankfully there wasn't a car to the left of us and I was able to swerve into that lane to avoid drilling her and her stupid dog sitting on her lap. We made it to the Stake Center where we then ended up waiting, and waiting, and waiting. I called the repair guy and he said that he thought our appointment was at 1:00 not 11:00. He then said that he wasn't able to meet with us anyways because he was tied up somewhere else. Great. We wasted a ton of our miles driving there and didn't even get what we needed done.
On the way back, Elder Garner and I stopped at a restaurant in Grass Valley that is owned by some members and they let us eat for free there. We pulled into the parking lot and took the only available parking spot right behind some guy with a giant trailer on the back of his truck. He was parked across the parking spots so that he was taking up about 4 of them. We parked, went inside (walking right in front of the guy sitting in his truck), and started to order. About 30 seconds later, the dude in the truck came in the building and asked us if we drove the red corolla. We said yes and he told us that he backed into us and ripped the bumper off. He immediately started to blame it all on us, using the intimidation approach, by saying that it is only common courtesy to not park behind somebody with a trailer and that we should have never been there. Hmmm... let's think about that for a sec. Common courtesy... It's also common courtesy to not park your giant trailer illegally taking up 4 parking spots in a small parking lot, and it's also common courtesy to, I don't know, maybe look behind you when you're trying to back up and make sure nothing is in your path? Not to mention the fact that it's also common courtesy to not use your giant trailer to cross county lines and dump trash illegally in another county to "save money." (He told us he was doing his company "a favor") We also had a restaurant full of witnesses that could clearly identify who was at fault. Basically he put a giant hole in the left-hand side of the bumper and tore it off the car. We were able to snap it back on, but it's going to be a costly repair to get that hole fixed. 2 hours of paper work later, Elder Garner and I were finally able to get back out and continue our day. The mission office is handling everything now, thankfully. Good times, good times...
That's about it for now. Our investigator, Jason, didn't show for church on Sunday and we still haven't been able to meet with him. I don't know that the deal is. He forgot about our last appointment. If we could just sit down with him one more time it would really help us know how to handle the situation. Right now we're just in the dark and all we can do is keep trying to contact him and pray that his heart will be softened.
Happy Birthday on Sunday, Mom! I'm speaking in church and I'll give you a shout-out in my talk! : D
I'm still not getting the emails Devin is sending to me. I did get the one you forwarded, so until further notice keep 'em coming. He wrote to me this week, thankfully and I've already replied, so we do have some communication happening. We'll figure things out eventually.
I'm running low on Imitrex, fyi.
Well, hope you all have a great week. Pray for us to find more investigators. Our teaching pool is pretty dry right now. Love you all!! Man, I love this work!
Elder J. Hammer
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Hola!
Well, as of tomorrow, I will have been here for 3 weeks! How exciting. haha. I am pretty sure that after 12 weeks, I am going to be insane. Just the fact that since I have been here, we have already had two districts come and go, is kindof depressing. Oh well. Thank you for your letters in the last package. I think reading letters is my favorite part of the week, so keep them coming. In response to questions from said letters:
Kurtis - Sundays are just like every other day here. They don't feel like sundays, except for Sacrament Meeting. No, we don't go to the gym, but yes we do learn Cambodian, or Khmae, which is what it is really called. That is basically all I do here is learn Khmae because that is the most important thing right now. We sit in the same classroom for anywhere from 9-12 hours a day. It's pretty boring sometimes, and I have pictures of almost everyone in my district sleeping at one point or another. I got a sweet one of my companion with a three inch drool hanging from his mouth. I will be sending a picture of that when I get them printed off. haha. Also, that's cool that you and Kadin are having fun with my games. Hopefully you can beat Zelda before I get home. It's pretty hard, but you could do it.
Mom- Yes I have gone to the temple. We go every Tuesday, to the 3:40 session, except now that I am in the missionary choir (cause I am hoping they will use us in General Conference, since I will still be here for that) we will be going to the 2:40 session cause choir practice is during our normal temple time. We also get to go walk around the temple, and just kinda hang out there for a while every sunday. It's very nice to get off the MTC grounds for a while! haha.
Kasey - To be honest, no I am not missing home. I pray for the family every day, but I really don't miss it. Except for my Nintendo, I miss that a lot, so please don't break it. haha. My favorite experience so far has been when I shook President Monson's hand.......just kidding. I haven't seen any apostles yet, but we have a general authority devotional every tuesday night, so I am sure I will see one sometime.
Now that you have a new stove, there is no reason to not send me lots of junk food. That would be nice......... The olympics sound pretty cool too. When do they get over? I need an updated medal count too. How is BYU doing? I still haven't heard anything about them since I have been here. Also, I would like to know how the Jazz are doing too. It doesn't surprise me that Ambria is getting married. She's been dating that guy for a while now. That's cool though. If you see her, tell her I said hi.
Guess what? My finger is almost all the way better. I don't put bandaids on it anymore, so that tube of stuff you sent I haven't even used. I even played volleyball at gym yesterday! Yeah! It was so fun! Unfortunately, I can't extend my finger all the way, and can't close it all the way, and hopefully that isn't from the scarring, but I have a feeling it is. oh well, it is a pretty sweet scar! haha. I've got lots of those :) Well, I need to email Justin. I think I have been sending things to the wrong address before, so maybe he'll get it this time. haha. I like letters! Remember that. Love you all!!!!
Love,
Elder D. Hammer
P.S. we are learning to read and write the scribbly stuff this week, so I will hopefully be able to write a sweet letter next week! I am so excited.
Kurtis - Sundays are just like every other day here. They don't feel like sundays, except for Sacrament Meeting. No, we don't go to the gym, but yes we do learn Cambodian, or Khmae, which is what it is really called. That is basically all I do here is learn Khmae because that is the most important thing right now. We sit in the same classroom for anywhere from 9-12 hours a day. It's pretty boring sometimes, and I have pictures of almost everyone in my district sleeping at one point or another. I got a sweet one of my companion with a three inch drool hanging from his mouth. I will be sending a picture of that when I get them printed off. haha. Also, that's cool that you and Kadin are having fun with my games. Hopefully you can beat Zelda before I get home. It's pretty hard, but you could do it.
Mom- Yes I have gone to the temple. We go every Tuesday, to the 3:40 session, except now that I am in the missionary choir (cause I am hoping they will use us in General Conference, since I will still be here for that) we will be going to the 2:40 session cause choir practice is during our normal temple time. We also get to go walk around the temple, and just kinda hang out there for a while every sunday. It's very nice to get off the MTC grounds for a while! haha.
Kasey - To be honest, no I am not missing home. I pray for the family every day, but I really don't miss it. Except for my Nintendo, I miss that a lot, so please don't break it. haha. My favorite experience so far has been when I shook President Monson's hand.......just kidding. I haven't seen any apostles yet, but we have a general authority devotional every tuesday night, so I am sure I will see one sometime.
Now that you have a new stove, there is no reason to not send me lots of junk food. That would be nice......... The olympics sound pretty cool too. When do they get over? I need an updated medal count too. How is BYU doing? I still haven't heard anything about them since I have been here. Also, I would like to know how the Jazz are doing too. It doesn't surprise me that Ambria is getting married. She's been dating that guy for a while now. That's cool though. If you see her, tell her I said hi.
Guess what? My finger is almost all the way better. I don't put bandaids on it anymore, so that tube of stuff you sent I haven't even used. I even played volleyball at gym yesterday! Yeah! It was so fun! Unfortunately, I can't extend my finger all the way, and can't close it all the way, and hopefully that isn't from the scarring, but I have a feeling it is. oh well, it is a pretty sweet scar! haha. I've got lots of those :) Well, I need to email Justin. I think I have been sending things to the wrong address before, so maybe he'll get it this time. haha. I like letters! Remember that. Love you all!!!!
Love,
Elder D. Hammer
P.S. we are learning to read and write the scribbly stuff this week, so I will hopefully be able to write a sweet letter next week! I am so excited.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Best Day EVER!
Well, yesterday was officially the best day of my life!! We were able to go to the temple with the Cranes and it was amazing! Seeing Steve and Samantha in the temple has been the happiest experience I have ever had. I was able to go to their Endowment session and afterwards their Sealing. Wow!! Steve gave me the biggest hug in the Celestial Room and just kept saying thank you. The funny thing was that I was saying the same thing to him! You should have seen the smiles on their faces the whole time we were there! Their Sealing was the first one that I have ever been involved in and it was a very spiritual experience. There were so many people there from my ward in Gridley which was awesome! Elder Monson was able to make it as well! Seeing him again was great! He told me about his visit with Mom. I love him to death and we're buds for life. I really can't put into words just how wonderful the whole experience was. I consider it one of the greatest blessings I have ever received to have been involved in my own small way in the Crane's conversion. To see the hand of the Lord so apparant in their lives has strengthened me so much. I know that the power of God is real and that we have been given His Priesthood to perform the saving ordinances we need to return to live with Him again. There is no denying the fact that I witnessed for myself two of God's children sealed for time and all eternity in the House of the Lord. It was real and it was beautiful.
I don't remember if I told you this last week or not, but we were able to set a baptismal date with Jason! We're shooting for March 13th. He was pretty excited about it when we commited him. Hopefully we can make it. He wasn't able to come to church on Sunday and he hasn't returned our phone calls this week. I'm not worried...yet, because he is a pretty busy guy. We should be able to set something up with him again here in the next day or so. Unless something really crazy has happened in his life he should still be on for our date.
I hope all is well at home. Let me know how things are going. I haven't heard from Devin at all yet either. Do you think I could get his email address? That would be much appreciated. Time is out, so I need to be going. Take care until next week. Love you all!!
Elder J. Hammer
I don't remember if I told you this last week or not, but we were able to set a baptismal date with Jason! We're shooting for March 13th. He was pretty excited about it when we commited him. Hopefully we can make it. He wasn't able to come to church on Sunday and he hasn't returned our phone calls this week. I'm not worried...yet, because he is a pretty busy guy. We should be able to set something up with him again here in the next day or so. Unless something really crazy has happened in his life he should still be on for our date.
I hope all is well at home. Let me know how things are going. I haven't heard from Devin at all yet either. Do you think I could get his email address? That would be much appreciated. Time is out, so I need to be going. Take care until next week. Love you all!!
Elder J. Hammer
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
From Elder Devin
Well, I've been here for two weeks, but technically I'm in week three. haha. Mason, thank you for the stickers and the valentine. and thanks for the bandaids too. My finger is way better. Not all the way, it still hurts a little bit to bend it, but I can play basketball. and it doesn't look gross anymore, but it's going to be yet another sweet scar. by the way, I am all out of normal bandaids. but don't worry, I can get some in the bookstore here, so you don't need to send me any. You could send me a package with some goodies or something like that though. I think I'm the only one in the district that hasn't gotten a package yet. haha. But anyways, Cambodian is coming along pretty well. we are all to the point where we can actually bear our testimonies with the spirit. It's pretty cool. We learned how to count lastnight. It's pretty fun. I could count to a trillion, if I had the time, but that would take forever, and seeing as how I don't have any time to even write in my journal at night, I don't think I will try that. haha. there is still so much that I need to learn, and it is so daunting, but that's why I will be here for 10 more weeks. that's kindof a scary thought. I am pretty sure I will be crazy by the time I'm out of here.
I met an Elder that is from Boston the other day. He said that the Boston temple grounds are the most beautiful grounds in the world. So I am pretty excited to see that. I really can't wait to get there.
So I finally found out what the super bowl score was. That stinks, I wanted Austin Collie to win his first year in the NFL. oh well. How is BYU doing? I haven't heard anything about any of their games since I've been here. Also, I heard one of the teachers yesterday saying something about a 360 off the backboard something dunk in the Dunk contest. I would like to know about that. aaaaaand. how are the olympics going? or are they even started yet, I don't know. there's lots of things I don't know. It's kindof weird.
How's my Nintendo doing? no broken controllers or games or tv's? I know mom said that if it gets broken, she'll get me a new one, but I would really like to keep the one I have. Just checking up on that.
So last tuesday, we had Elder C Scott Grow from the seventy presidency come and speak to us. It was so good. and My daikuu (companion) and I were on the second row, so we got to shake his hand afterwards. It was pretty sweet.
Wow, saamsep (thirty) minutes goes by fast. I'm already down to 10. What else should I say? Oh. I saw elder Lunt the other day. He has gym with me on thursdays. I was talking to him and he asked me if everyday felt as long as the day he came in. I told him that the second day is the longest, but after sunday it goes by fast. He was pretty happy about that. There are lots of my friends here that I didn't realize were here. and I will be here the longest out of all of them. 12 weeks is such a long time. holy cow.
How's Justin doing? I haven't heard from him yet. Hopefully all is well with him. Oh! We had our first TRC on Saturday. that's where we go in and get to know someone (fake investigators) in our language, then ask if we can teach them in English. My daikuu had a "gift of tongues" moment and was just talking with everyone. It was CRAZY! I had no idea what was going on. It was pretty cool. Then we taught this tiny old lady who is from Cambodia. We taught her the first lesson. It went so well. It was really a great experience. I'm not looking forward to week 6 TRC cause that's when we have to teach in Cambodian. That should be interesting. haha.
We had some new elders come in this last week, and I think 6 of them are going to Justin's mission. there are two of them that are 6' 5" and super skinny, and aren't very good at basketball. haha. I don't know all of their names yet, but I will let you know when I get them. Well, I'm down to 2 minutes so I should send Justin an email real quick. Have a good week!
Cum riab lia!
love,
Elder Hammer
I met an Elder that is from Boston the other day. He said that the Boston temple grounds are the most beautiful grounds in the world. So I am pretty excited to see that. I really can't wait to get there.
So I finally found out what the super bowl score was. That stinks, I wanted Austin Collie to win his first year in the NFL. oh well. How is BYU doing? I haven't heard anything about any of their games since I've been here. Also, I heard one of the teachers yesterday saying something about a 360 off the backboard something dunk in the Dunk contest. I would like to know about that. aaaaaand. how are the olympics going? or are they even started yet, I don't know. there's lots of things I don't know. It's kindof weird.
How's my Nintendo doing? no broken controllers or games or tv's? I know mom said that if it gets broken, she'll get me a new one, but I would really like to keep the one I have. Just checking up on that.
So last tuesday, we had Elder C Scott Grow from the seventy presidency come and speak to us. It was so good. and My daikuu (companion) and I were on the second row, so we got to shake his hand afterwards. It was pretty sweet.
Wow, saamsep (thirty) minutes goes by fast. I'm already down to 10. What else should I say? Oh. I saw elder Lunt the other day. He has gym with me on thursdays. I was talking to him and he asked me if everyday felt as long as the day he came in. I told him that the second day is the longest, but after sunday it goes by fast. He was pretty happy about that. There are lots of my friends here that I didn't realize were here. and I will be here the longest out of all of them. 12 weeks is such a long time. holy cow.
How's Justin doing? I haven't heard from him yet. Hopefully all is well with him. Oh! We had our first TRC on Saturday. that's where we go in and get to know someone (fake investigators) in our language, then ask if we can teach them in English. My daikuu had a "gift of tongues" moment and was just talking with everyone. It was CRAZY! I had no idea what was going on. It was pretty cool. Then we taught this tiny old lady who is from Cambodia. We taught her the first lesson. It went so well. It was really a great experience. I'm not looking forward to week 6 TRC cause that's when we have to teach in Cambodian. That should be interesting. haha.
We had some new elders come in this last week, and I think 6 of them are going to Justin's mission. there are two of them that are 6' 5" and super skinny, and aren't very good at basketball. haha. I don't know all of their names yet, but I will let you know when I get them. Well, I'm down to 2 minutes so I should send Justin an email real quick. Have a good week!
Cum riab lia!
love,
Elder Hammer
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
New Investigators!
Hello everybody!
This past week was a pretty good week. Our teaching pool has been pretty much empty since we came here to the Penn Valley Ward, but not anymore! We had exchanges this past week where I went with one of our Zone Leaders in Auburn for the day, and the other Zone Leader came into our area with my companion, Elder Garner. While I was in Auburn we had a great day visiting a few people and teaching a couple lessons. We even taught the Stop Smoking Workshop to a family that night. Hopefully they are still doing good. My companion and our Zone Leader had a great day in our area. They picked up two new investigators and taught a couple lessons, and talked to a ton of people while they were out! My companion was stoked about the day (me too of course), but I'm really glad he had that experience because things have been slow lately. He needed it that boost. The names of our new investigators are Kristy and Jason. We actually tracted into Kristy awhile ago, but we couldn't ever sit down with her - until last week. Jason was a referral that we received from the missionaries serving in the Nevada City Ward and he is a stud. He is soaking up everything we are teaching him, so far, and we plan on committing him to get baptized the next time we sit down with him, which will be tomorrow. Having a baptism date scheduled again will be nice. We think he's ready for it, we'll have to see if he thinks the same.
Dad, you asked about Georgetown, right? I don't think it's in our mission. It could be, but I haven't heard of it. Do you know some of the surrounding cities that it's by? Also, if you call the mission office they could tell you for sure if it is or not, and they could give you the phone number for the mission that it is in and you could get the referral to the missionaries that way.
Let's see, what else is going on. My Temple trip to the Crane's sealing is next Tuesday and I can't wait! I am so excited about it! We were in Gridley about two weeks ago for a trainer-trainee meeting and it was crazy being back in the area. While we were there we stopped by and I said hi to the Pratts and the Cranes. Brother Pratt is the Bishop now in the Gridley First Ward, but he was at work when we went there so I didn't get to see him. I did see the rest of the family though. Sis. Pratt told me in a letter recently that her son, Garth, has been serving with an Elder Nate Adamson from Orem in Mexico and she asked if I knew him! Crazy! The connections I have with the Pratts are nuts! Samantha Crane was way excited to see me again too. Steve was working, so I'll have to wait until Tuesday to see him again. Being in the temple with them is going to be the best!
That's about it for now. I haven't got anything from Devin since he went in to the MTC. He tried to send me his farewell talk in a recent email, but I can't open it on the computers here in the library. Could I get a copy in the mail? Also, can you forward anything he sends to me until I can figure out how best to communicate with him? I don't have his email address yet either... I'm glad to hear that he's doing ok with the language. I am so happy for him! He is going to be awesome.
Take care until next week. It's too bad that Collie didn't get a Superbowl victory as a rookie, huh? ; ) Love you all!!
Elder J. Hammer
PS. I almost forgot! Happy Birthday, Kadin!! Love you bro!
This past week was a pretty good week. Our teaching pool has been pretty much empty since we came here to the Penn Valley Ward, but not anymore! We had exchanges this past week where I went with one of our Zone Leaders in Auburn for the day, and the other Zone Leader came into our area with my companion, Elder Garner. While I was in Auburn we had a great day visiting a few people and teaching a couple lessons. We even taught the Stop Smoking Workshop to a family that night. Hopefully they are still doing good. My companion and our Zone Leader had a great day in our area. They picked up two new investigators and taught a couple lessons, and talked to a ton of people while they were out! My companion was stoked about the day (me too of course), but I'm really glad he had that experience because things have been slow lately. He needed it that boost. The names of our new investigators are Kristy and Jason. We actually tracted into Kristy awhile ago, but we couldn't ever sit down with her - until last week. Jason was a referral that we received from the missionaries serving in the Nevada City Ward and he is a stud. He is soaking up everything we are teaching him, so far, and we plan on committing him to get baptized the next time we sit down with him, which will be tomorrow. Having a baptism date scheduled again will be nice. We think he's ready for it, we'll have to see if he thinks the same.
Dad, you asked about Georgetown, right? I don't think it's in our mission. It could be, but I haven't heard of it. Do you know some of the surrounding cities that it's by? Also, if you call the mission office they could tell you for sure if it is or not, and they could give you the phone number for the mission that it is in and you could get the referral to the missionaries that way.
Let's see, what else is going on. My Temple trip to the Crane's sealing is next Tuesday and I can't wait! I am so excited about it! We were in Gridley about two weeks ago for a trainer-trainee meeting and it was crazy being back in the area. While we were there we stopped by and I said hi to the Pratts and the Cranes. Brother Pratt is the Bishop now in the Gridley First Ward, but he was at work when we went there so I didn't get to see him. I did see the rest of the family though. Sis. Pratt told me in a letter recently that her son, Garth, has been serving with an Elder Nate Adamson from Orem in Mexico and she asked if I knew him! Crazy! The connections I have with the Pratts are nuts! Samantha Crane was way excited to see me again too. Steve was working, so I'll have to wait until Tuesday to see him again. Being in the temple with them is going to be the best!
That's about it for now. I haven't got anything from Devin since he went in to the MTC. He tried to send me his farewell talk in a recent email, but I can't open it on the computers here in the library. Could I get a copy in the mail? Also, can you forward anything he sends to me until I can figure out how best to communicate with him? I don't have his email address yet either... I'm glad to hear that he's doing ok with the language. I am so happy for him! He is going to be awesome.
Take care until next week. It's too bad that Collie didn't get a Superbowl victory as a rookie, huh? ; ) Love you all!!
Elder J. Hammer
PS. I almost forgot! Happy Birthday, Kadin!! Love you bro!
Cum riab sua!
Cum riab sua! that means Hello. It's pronounced joom reeab sooah. pretty awesome. Well, my first week here in the MTC has been amazing! I told you ni my letter that the scripture I want on my plaque is 1 nephi 3:7. The reason I chose that one is because one of my teachers, Bro. Olson, shared with us a story about how when he was on his mission, and he was the only Cambodian speaking Elder left in thailand, and he was feeling really overwhelmed. He read in the scriptures where God commands us to be perfect in all things. That includes speaking Cambodian. he then shared with us the 1 nephi scripture and I had never looked at it that way before. the Lord will provide a way for us to be perfect in all things. It was amazing. The spirit was so strong in our classroom.
So my district is pretty awesome. We have 10 elders, including me, and 1 sister. My companion is going to the California Sacramento Mission speaking cambodian. Everyone else is going to the Cambodia Phnom Penh mission. I feel very humbled that the Lord would choose me with the assignment he has given me. I am the only one in the entire MTC that is going to the Massachusetts Boston Mission speaking Cambodian. That is pretty cool.
I absolutely love the MTC right now. it will probably not be that way in 12 weeks when I leave, though. haha. the food is a bit overrated in my opinion, however. But that doesn't mean I don't eat a lot. I've already gained 6 pounds. I feel pretty gross about that. HAHA I'm just kidding. I haven't gained any weight. just like normal. I also decided that the showers are about the worst thing ever. They are either really hot or freezing. It's quite the dilemma. But other than that, it is really fun being here. My roommates are awesome, and we had no problems whatsoever getting to know each other. that is basically how it is with our whole district. We are all pretty tight. there are also two elders here that are going to Justin's mission speaking Hmong. Their names are Elder Reid and Elder Paramore. they are both really cool.
I found out that I can't send emails to anyone but immediate family so if any of my friends want to email me, they should just write me a letter instead. Especially cause letters are better, and ESPECIALLY because I don't have any letters yet. I'm like the only one that doesn't have any. that's lame.
Learning cambodian is pretty swell as well. that sounded weird. Bro. Godfrey ( our other teacher) told us that the cambodian alphabet is the longest alphabet in the world. there are 33 consonants, 32 sub-consonants, 27 vowels, and 12 independent vowels. and yes, most of them sound the same. It's pretty ridiculous. It's amazing how much we have already learned, though. The 2nd day, we learned how to pray, and now we aren't allowed to pray in English. ever. even personal prayers are in Khmae (it's not Khmer, it's Khmae) and we also learned how to bear our testimonies. It's very fun talking to each other. We don't really know a whole lot of vocabulary right now, so we substitute lots of english words, but it is still really fun. Anyway, I only have 5 minutes left, and I still need to email Justin, so I must go. Sorry, we only get 30 minutes every p-day. I love you all!!!!!
Happy birthday yesterday, Kadin! 10 years old is pretty cool. cum riab lia! I love you!
So my district is pretty awesome. We have 10 elders, including me, and 1 sister. My companion is going to the California Sacramento Mission speaking cambodian. Everyone else is going to the Cambodia Phnom Penh mission. I feel very humbled that the Lord would choose me with the assignment he has given me. I am the only one in the entire MTC that is going to the Massachusetts Boston Mission speaking Cambodian. That is pretty cool.
I absolutely love the MTC right now. it will probably not be that way in 12 weeks when I leave, though. haha. the food is a bit overrated in my opinion, however. But that doesn't mean I don't eat a lot. I've already gained 6 pounds. I feel pretty gross about that. HAHA I'm just kidding. I haven't gained any weight. just like normal. I also decided that the showers are about the worst thing ever. They are either really hot or freezing. It's quite the dilemma. But other than that, it is really fun being here. My roommates are awesome, and we had no problems whatsoever getting to know each other. that is basically how it is with our whole district. We are all pretty tight. there are also two elders here that are going to Justin's mission speaking Hmong. Their names are Elder Reid and Elder Paramore. they are both really cool.
I found out that I can't send emails to anyone but immediate family so if any of my friends want to email me, they should just write me a letter instead. Especially cause letters are better, and ESPECIALLY because I don't have any letters yet. I'm like the only one that doesn't have any. that's lame.
Learning cambodian is pretty swell as well. that sounded weird. Bro. Godfrey ( our other teacher) told us that the cambodian alphabet is the longest alphabet in the world. there are 33 consonants, 32 sub-consonants, 27 vowels, and 12 independent vowels. and yes, most of them sound the same. It's pretty ridiculous. It's amazing how much we have already learned, though. The 2nd day, we learned how to pray, and now we aren't allowed to pray in English. ever. even personal prayers are in Khmae (it's not Khmer, it's Khmae) and we also learned how to bear our testimonies. It's very fun talking to each other. We don't really know a whole lot of vocabulary right now, so we substitute lots of english words, but it is still really fun. Anyway, I only have 5 minutes left, and I still need to email Justin, so I must go. Sorry, we only get 30 minutes every p-day. I love you all!!!!!
Happy birthday yesterday, Kadin! 10 years old is pretty cool. cum riab lia! I love you!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
He's Doing Well
We heard from Devin today. Our first letter! It's always so good to get that first letter. It was adressed to The family (krom kruasaa):
Dear Family,
Well, my first 2 days have been great. Yesterday, after I got in, I was shown around and met my companion (daikuw). His name is Elder Sieng. His parents are actually refugees from Cambodia. He was born in Salt Lake, but knows a little of the language already. He is going to Sacramento. We are the only 2 of 9 in our district not going to Cambodia! Yesterday, we also were in meetings basically all day. It wasn't too exciting. The spirit here is INCREDIBLE!! Before I forget, the scripture I want on my plaque is 1 Nephi 3:7. I had the most spiritual experience ever today and decided that's the one I want. I will write a longer letter on p-day which is Tuesday. We have learned some Cambodian or Khmai. We have to say all our prayers in that language (phiasau). It's pretty fun! Love you all!!
Love,
Elder Hammer
Dear Family,
Well, my first 2 days have been great. Yesterday, after I got in, I was shown around and met my companion (daikuw). His name is Elder Sieng. His parents are actually refugees from Cambodia. He was born in Salt Lake, but knows a little of the language already. He is going to Sacramento. We are the only 2 of 9 in our district not going to Cambodia! Yesterday, we also were in meetings basically all day. It wasn't too exciting. The spirit here is INCREDIBLE!! Before I forget, the scripture I want on my plaque is 1 Nephi 3:7. I had the most spiritual experience ever today and decided that's the one I want. I will write a longer letter on p-day which is Tuesday. We have learned some Cambodian or Khmai. We have to say all our prayers in that language (phiasau). It's pretty fun! Love you all!!
Love,
Elder Hammer
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Short and Sweet
Subject: Hymn #249
Being a missionary is the best! Devin is going to be awesome!Sorry this one is short this week, I took all my time emailing Devin. Could you please make sure he reads my email before he goes to the MTC?
Mom, I really appreciated your letter this past week. It has really impacted me in ways that I really can't express right now. Thank you. Have fun at the MTC tomorrow! Geez it feels like only a week ago... : )
I love you all. By the way, my shoulder is feeling a lot better.Love you!
Elder Hammer
PS. I am getting a new email address: justin.hammer@myldsmail.net I don't know when it will be active, so I'll let you know. Spread the news!
Being a missionary is the best! Devin is going to be awesome!Sorry this one is short this week, I took all my time emailing Devin. Could you please make sure he reads my email before he goes to the MTC?
Mom, I really appreciated your letter this past week. It has really impacted me in ways that I really can't express right now. Thank you. Have fun at the MTC tomorrow! Geez it feels like only a week ago... : )
I love you all. By the way, my shoulder is feeling a lot better.Love you!
Elder Hammer
PS. I am getting a new email address: justin.hammer@myldsmail.net I don't know when it will be active, so I'll let you know. Spread the news!
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