First Transfer

I must say, I have had a very full week. Last week on Thursday I packed up the bags that I could, and realized that I had built up quite a food storage in my stay in Kampong Cham, ha ha! So I ended up packing a fair amount of food. I was able to pack everything though, including my helmet and pillows. But it is a very good thing that I didn’t have to fly anywhere because I was surely over the 50 lb. a bag limit... ya. I’ll have to see what to do when that time comes. For now I will work on diminishing my food storage and be a little more careful with how much I build up, ha ha. At lunch time the Shelley’s took all the missionaries out to lunch because I was leaving, so that was super nice of them to do that for us. I had a good time, and I surely miss them and the other missionaries that are serving in Kampong Cham. That evening we went to a members house, and took some noodles and sauce and made spaghetti.  That was fun! Some of them liked the spaghetti, some of them didn’t, but it was still pretty fun. I had a great time serving in Kampong Cham, but the Lord has need for me in Siem Reap now!
Friday was full of bus riding! I gathered my last bits of things, and headed off on the bus to Phnom Penh with Elder Kong at 8am. We got to Phnom Penh around 11ish, and headed to the mission home. We also went to the service center and got some lunch, and then when we went back to the mission home, a lot of the missionaries started showing up for transfers. I was able to see quite a few of the Elders that I was in the MTC with, and now I have been able to see all of them since I’ve been back in the country, so that is awesome! Elder Christian came as well, and I got to meet him at the mission home, so that was cool. Then we boarded the bus and headed for Siem Reap. Oh wow... we were supposed to leave at 2:30, but didn’t leave until closer to 3, and didn’t get to Siem Reap until about 10pm. That was a long bus ride. And it was past bedtime too! Super exhausted. We got to the house, and it is super nice. This house is brand new, I think the elders have been living in it for maybe 2 months now, so not very long at all. I think basically you could call it a condo. There are a lot of stairs, and it’s a pretty big house. It goes up to a fourth level, but there isn’t much up there, just like a balcony. But the 2^nd and 3^rd levels both have a bathroom and 2 bedrooms on them. All in all 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, and only 4 elders, so tons of room cause you always share a room with your companion. But it is a super nice house.
Siem Reap is very, very different from Kampong Cham. There are tons and tons of hotels, places to eat, and lights out at night (this is all in the actual city, Sraa Sraang is pitch black at night, and so is most of the ride out there except for my bike light). I have a hard time remembering that I am actually in the same country, it’s a bit of a culture shock. But it is a really cool place, and I am excited to get to know the area and the people here. Ha ha, another difference is the people here have quite an accent. Kind of like the difference between British accents. How can such a small country have different accents?? It is different, but not to the point that I can’t understand it. But I love it here, and my companion is awesome too! 

Church was great! The branch is strong, and the branch president is really good.  They have currently set a plan, a goal to have the very first stake in Cambodia :D  They are hoping to split Siem Reap into two wards and Battambang (where they just finished the new church building out there, and they are about to start a new building here in Siem Reap- by the way, the church has been in Siem Reap for 5 years now) into three wards. This is super exciting!