Hello everyone! I hope that you are all doing well!
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| Coconut! |
This week was good and a lot of changes happened.
This week I got a new companion, his name is elder Caleja! he is from the Philippines! He only has a few more months left so finishing strong. This week I also felt a little homesick so it was very nice having so much support and prayers from everyone. I know they help me.
Last week Elder Yu and I went to Sally's house for some BBQ! It was a lot of fun! We also said bye to a few other members as that was Elder Yu's last week here. We were also given a coconut which was very good haha.
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| At the hiking trail |
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| Me with a hand drill at the hiking trail |
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| Me pushing some kids on a swing |
Due to the map which we used while planning last week we were able to have an effective week. It was nice to walk from one street to another while visiting every member on our path. If we just planned without the map we would never have known of those members until we got to know the area better. So basically with the aid of the map we were able to use our time very effectively.
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| Elder Yu and Chanta at Sally's BBQ |
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| Elder Yu and Sally at her BBQ |
We were invited to a Cambodian cultural awareness night which some of the members of our branch were dancing at. We went and it was very good! We learnt a lot about the genocide that happened and what some of the people went through. It is important to be able to know those things as it helps you build stronger relationships with the members. It was full of non members and a few of them asked if we were part of the organization (because of how we dress probably). We told them why we were there and who we were. It was really neat as one woman was very curious about the church and asked us a lot of questions! We also ate a lot of Cambodian food afterwards!
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| Cambodian Cultural Awareness Event |
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| At the hiking trail |
We helped out with a service project on Saturday which was very fun. We made a hiking trail! It was a lot of work but the soil was soft like cake so it was very easy to cut into! We then did a lot of digging and also put these huge railroad wood blocks into the soil around the bends as we were making a lot of switchbacks.
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| At the hiking trail |
We drove so much on Saturday that on the way back from Stake Conference in Walnut Creek we saw that we had little gas left. Luckily we made it to stake conference at the temple in Oakland the next day, but then we couldn't do anything else. We were invited to a party in Castro Valley (about 25 minutes away) but had no way down there. Luckily, we were able to find a ride from a member whose brothers we are teaching so we were able to get a ride and also teach a lesson! The party was fun and we were able to get to know the members more.
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| Stuck in a bouncy castle |
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| Some branch members at a party |
I am glad to be serving my mission right now and I hope that if you are thinking of going on a mission that it is one of the best things that you can do! I know the church is true. And I know God exists. I know because of the blessings that I see in my life because of living the Gospel. I don't know why anyone would procrastinate joining the church. There is so much more happiness in doing so and in living the gospel.
I love you all!
- Love Elder Kloosterboer
