Dan Jones & Moving a House

We have two progressing investigators, but this past week we were more successful 
contacting and we have three new investigators and four or five solid potential 
investigators, so that is good. Last night right before going up we were contacting, 
and we went to a little area and I started to talk to a guy and then a group of 10 or 12 
people gathered around. And I was really just focusing on one guy but then I started 
talking to all of them. But it was cool, I held up the Book of Mormon and was preaching 
about it, I felt like Dan Jones. We got a return appointment from it, so that was great.

There is a member from trash mountain who are in the hospital with a serious illness. 
We visited him in the hospital. They were starving in the hospital, and they didn't have 
any food.  But the seniors missionary couple and the bishop brought them some food.

The trash mountain area is doing a little bit better, but we are still trying to strengthen the
members that live there. One of the member's needed to move his house, so we went there 
with a group of partially drunk guys and some priesthood holders from the ward and 
picked up the house and moved it to a slightly different location. (see photos) 

So news about transfer calls, my companion and I stay the same and I will be sending 
him home in six weeks. So my streak continues! Every companion for two transfers. 
And I wouldn't be surprised if I train after this because there is a huge group of new 
missionaries coming in next transfer. 

Moving this house.

RC Work

Hello everybody! (that is what all the little kids say to me as I ride by, I am not sure why, I think they learn it in school or something).  This week I saw a really tall white guy riding his bike in the middle of a Cambodian community away from touristy stuff, and I thought to myself, "wow he looks way out of place." A little bit later I thought again, "Wow, that is what everyone thinks of me! haha" 

Anyways another good week in SMC, time is flying so fast.  This Sunday is transfer calls! I feel like I just got into SMC but it has been over four weeks already. But it has got to the point were I know most of the members and I know where we are going....most of the time. This is the smallest area in the mission but I feel it is harder to remember all the roads, because a. everything looks the same, b. the roads have no order to it.  It really is like a maze. But I am getting it down, if Elder Khlot leaves I would be able to handle things, but I don't think he will. He only has one transfer left, and he has been in SMC 3 transfers already, and 4 transfers isn't too umcommon, so I bet he'll stay. But I hope he stays, he is super mellow, and that is nice. And if he stays my every comp for 2 transfer streak continues! 

So a really big group just ended their mission, (they ended 2 weeks early so they could get ready for school). And so now there is only two American groups above him, one that is just one transfer above my group, and we were with each other in the MTC and so pretty much we are the same group. And one above them, and in that group there is a total of one elder. And there Elder Khlot's group that has a total of 2 people. So besides the group only one transfer above me, there are only 4 or 5 missionaries older than me. That seems amazing to me!

 

So most of the work we are doing is recent convert (RC) strengthening.  A while back there was a huge boom of missionary work in this area. So most of what we do is RC stuff. And there are all types of RC's we have, some awesome, some struggling, and some totally lost everything. So it is a fun adventure. Investigator wise we only have 2 progressing. They are both doing well, we are hoping one. We hope one gets baptized in two weeks, and the other in about 3 or 4 weeks. He is a boss, he is doing really well.  The first time he came to church was 3 weeks ago for his baby blessing, and ever since he has been coming. He is doing really well. The couple we found last week just got busy (his job is an on call basis, so somtimes he is super busy and sometimes is is free all the time) but he is still cool, and he said we could come back in September.

We are spending a lot of time contacting, and we are not really getting good results. But we continue trying. :) In Battambong I feel like people were easier to get return appointments but I don't know. 

Just know that I am very happy and I love my mission.

Love,

Elder Plothow

Week 2 in Stung Meanchey

Wow! time is going by really fast with Elder Khlot in Stung Meanchey. I've been here for about two weeks now and it has flown by. It is already August. The work is going well. It blows my mind that it has been 3 years since I was in OHS football camp, holy cow. 

Yesterday we were suppossed to have a baptism but it did not happen. Hopefully he will be baptized soon. Yesterday we did have a confirmation. In here the baptisms are on Sunday after church and the confirmation a week later. 

This ward has a ton of recent converts, and many of them are less-active. :( But there are still a lot of recent converts who are faithful and great. So we are doing a lot of recent convert work. We have about 4 or 5 that have been baptized pretty recently  But this week we did get a few new investigators, so hopefully they will progress. 

Cool story, last night about 7:30 p.m. we didn't have anything to do, so we were biking around and contacting and this guy calls out to us. At first I thought it was just a drunk or a punk kid, but we stopped and talked to him and the first thing he asked was, "How much does it cost for you to teach me about Jesus Christ?"  We told him nothing, for free!!!!! Then he said, "right now I work in the daytime on Sunday, but I am willing to change my schedule to go to church." Holy cow, that has never happened to me where someone was so willing to learn and to sacrifice. We are meeting him at 7 tonight, and I have high hopes. 

 

For food we eat out almost everyday. There is this one place with unlimited rice and you order a meal for only 1.63$ And it is pretty yummy. My new craving is chocolate milk, last week I bought some. It was like the necter of heaven. This week I am going to buy a ton! 

Oh, on a down note while I was emailing last week my bike got stolen.... But thankfully the mission policy is that when a bike gets stolen you only have to pay $10 and the rest is paid by the mission. And I got a nice new bike so it is all good. :) (I have never locked my bike before, but now I do.) 

I love being a missionary. I decided I just love missionary work, getting less-actives to church, finding people, teaching people is just awesome and I love it. I am part of the great and marvelous work. Being a missinoary is awesome!

Love,

Edward

Battambang District

Trash mountain area

The main road into Stung Meanchey

Branch Presidency in Battambang

Member family in Battambang

Elder & Sister Zemp, senior couple in Battambang