Week 26: I Hit the 6 Month Mark

This week is exciting! First off, Christmas is this week and second, I hit my sixth month mark! Time is really weird on a mission. I feel like I have been a missionary for so long and at the same time I feel like the days are flying by. Mission life is crazy.

Well, I dont have a lot of time...But here are some pictures! 

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​This is a member in our ward and his abstract art piece of Christmas! He is amazing! 

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This is Om Gia. She is hilarious. She changed her shirt to this one and told us that this shirt is more "Ganster". I like her way of thinking. She made sure to have her Book of Mormon in the picture. She is proud to be a Mormon!

​Merry Christmas from Sister Snooks and Sister Semones. 

I am thankful to have a loving Heavenly Father who sent His Son, Jesus Christ so that we can all return to Him again someday. I have been thinking about this a lot especially during this month. Even though it may not feel so much like Christmas here, this year I have come to realize what the true meaning of Christmas really is! 

Thank you for all your support and emails! Love you all! Merry Christmas! 

Week 25: Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! As a missionary in a country that is 98% Buddist, Cambodia doesn't really celebrate Christmas other than giving gifts and putting up Christmas lights..... but, it has made me have to put forth more focus on Christ's birth. Even though It's hard to be away from home during the Christmas season, I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve my heart out this month and get to know my Savior even better.

This week I don't have a ton to talk about...We are having a hard time finding new people to teach! We have two golden investigators but one is on a business trip and the other had a baby this week.... soooo..... We have been contacting a lot this week. Super fun. We are trying to be more creative in ways to contact, if anyone has any good ideas, please share!

I went to my first Cambodian funeral. It was a daughter of a less active member in our ward. The daughter was diagnosed with cancer and the family was mad at God for it so they didn't want anything to do with the church anymore and went back to being Buddist. We heard about the daughter's passing and went to the funeral to show our respects to the family. The whole time I was there I felt so sad for this family because they thought they would never see their daughter again. I am so thankful for the gospel and know that if anything was to happen to my family I have the comfort and knowledge from the Plan Of Salvation. I know that my family will live together for eternity. God is merciful and has given us a Savior and that through him, death will have no sting. 

Everyone should go out and find someone who needs the Gospel. 

Love you all!

Sister Snooks

Week 24- Happy December

Hey!

We decided to take a little trip to this fishing place with my District on pday! It was fun and relaxing! Reminded me of all the times missionaries would come over to my house to fish!

This last week was great! I went on an exchange with a Khmer Sister, Sister Hom, who lives in my house! She is the cutest but the best part of the exchanges was that she doesn't speak a ton of English and I don't speak a ton of Khmer! But with the help of the Spirit (and some charades) we had a great day together! We met with this Look Yay (what you call someone old enough to be your great grandma) and she was the cutest thing! She is tiny! I was a giant compared to her! She decided to make us food! We helped her debone the fish and the shrimp and she made this dish that is like rice soup. (I have no idea how to write the name of it for you... sorry.) While she was making the food she started talking to us and the stove caught on fire! Sister Hom went running over and put it out. Went it was out, the Look Yay looked at her and said, "Good job!" (in Khmer of course) and continued on cooking like nothing happened. haha Cambodians are the chillest people on earth. 

We also met another family and their little son was a character. His name when translated means "Handsome Boy". I asked him how old he was and he responded "Four! And I have 4 girlfriends" and went off listing their names. He then told me "Julia" was the prettiest because she was chubby. In Cambodia when you are chubby you are considered more attractive! Wouldn't that be nice!

Our investigator, bong Amap, is done with the lessons! She has to go on a work trip but she will hopefully receive baptism on the 24 or 31 depending on when she gets back from her trip! We are so happy for her! She is a miracle! She has been learning with the missionaries for over two years and when the missionaries would tell her that she can pray to God to find out if the church is true for herself she would tell them that she wanted an experience like Joseph Smith, to see God and His son Jesus Christ. The week I came to this area she called the missionaries and told us that she received an answer to her prayers through the Holy Ghost! She is so happy! I am so happy for her! Whenever we would tell her about a commandment that she would struggle with she would tell us that she trusted God and knew that He wouldn't give her something she couldn't overcome! She has such great faith! So, for all those missionaries who have investigators who have been learning for forever, don't give up. They will have a change in heart! 

I hit a pot hole while biking and crashed this week. I got the palm of my hand pretty good....ugh. But that's okay, I'm keeping it covered so it won't get infected! Don't worry Mom! haha We ran out of the tape to cover the the bandage so the dirty air wouldn't get to it so I have this rubber glove on my left hand to keep it clean. It's pretty funny looking but hey, you have to get creative sometimes on the mission.  But I am fine! No worries​​! 

We started decorating for Christmas! It's so cute! 

Love you all! 

Week 23- Chicken Pox...Great...

Hello! I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving! My Thanksgiving dinner was an all you can eat place with Khmer food and they had salad there and really good bread so I was happy. Plus later that day the senior couple in our area brought us a Pumpkin pie. They are the best! 

I love my area so much! The youth are amazing! Everyday they just come and hang out at the church after school and we teach a lot of our lessons at the church so we get to see them all the time. One of the girls we love is a recent convert and she was sick this week. Sister Semones and I decided to go stop by and say hi! Little did we know she had Chicken Pox! Neither Sister Semones or I have had it before... and when she saw us she was so excited she ran up to us and gave us a big hug. Pray for us.  

Yesterday we had the primary program during sacrament and it was so cute. Watching these adorable Khmer kids sing Book of Mormon Stories with all the actions to the song was my favorite part. Speaking of that song, I wake up to that song playing every day. The Sisters I live with are two Khmer Sisters and they love that song. I'm trying to teach them the actions to the song to help them remember. I love them so much. Living with these two Sisters is helping me so much with my Khmer! The language is coming... Sister Semones is my saving grace right now. She is so patient with me and the language. I'm so happy I get to work with her! Most likely I will be with her until February because that is when she will have completed her mission. We work hard together and laugh a lot. I love her so much. 

I know God answers our prayers... and has a sense of humor. Sister Semones and I got done with teaching an English class and I was so tired (I had a cold this week) and we had a long, hot bike ride ahead of us. I was walking to the bathroom with Sister Semones and I said I prayer in my heart to help me wake up so I can bike home safely. I went to the bathroom (too much information, I'm sorry) and I went to grab the Bidet and accidentally grabbed it wrong so I sprayed my face. I was awake after that. What a tender mercy. 

Also... I realized that my whole life I've been saying Tropical Guide not Topical Guide.... Dang it.

I love Cambodia so much. I cannot believe how fast the time has gone here. I have come to realize every day how much I needed this exact mission for my life and the experiences I'm going through. I am so thankful to experience what it is like for someone to feel Heavenly Father's love for them for the first time or to see someone experience the atonement for the first time. It makes me appreicate the gospel so much more than I did before. I think that because I grew up in the church and I also lived in a area with a lot of LDS members, I sometimes forgot how incredibly lucky I was to be born into the church. I am so humbly grateful for my Heavenly Father and how He has blessed my life. I am so grateful for His Son, Jesus Christ. I am grateful for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 

Week 22- New Area

Hey! This last week was exciting and also very sad! I had to say goodbye to a lot of people I love so much! I have found that on my mission I've learned to love a lot deeper. It's hard to explain, but saying goodbye to the members and less actives in my first area broke my heart. Saying goodbye to my "mom", Sister Haddock, was super hard also. She is seriously the best!

One of the last days before I left was crazy! I was biking next to an Elder and out of no where a motto just took him out. The guy on the motto got pretty beat up and his motto was a little messed up, but the Elder looked like he wasn't even touched! His bike was totally fine! I was in shock from it! Not a single tear in his clothes from skidding on the pavement or a mark on his white shirt!  Goes to show that God really does protect his missionaries. Don't worry mom... I'm okay :) 

That same day we got to do service at a members house. She told us we were helping her move her house so we thought we would being hauling things into the new house. Nope. We were doing "Extreme Home Maker". Let me just say, I've watched a ton of those eposidos and have not seen a house worse than this one. It was the grosses/scariest house I've ever been too. The floor was covered in cockroaches.  Because I didn't know we were there to kill cockroaches, all I wore was my Crocs. They were running all over the top of my feet. Our job was to kill them all.... all 1000 of them... We had brooms and smacked the crap out of them. I couldn't kill them without letting out a little scream every time. We ended up being the entertainment for the neighboring houses for the two hours we were there. The next day we went back and started fixing the walls. Super fun. Service is the best. 

My new companion is awesome! Sister Sermones is from Texas! She is almost done with her mission and I will being "killing her off", as in I will serve with her for her last two transfers/ three months until she goes home! She is helping me so much with the language! I'm so grateful to have her as a companion! I also live with two Khmers who are so cute! They have been helping me a lot with the language and I help them learn English! Super Fun! 

This new area is great! There are a ton of recent converts who are amazing! I'm excited to be serving here!

She liked my glasses so I bought her some fake ones. She loved them so much so she gave me her black head band I'm wearing. So sweet! ​

Thank you for your support! Happy Thanksgiving! 

Week 21: Bye-Bye TSK:(

Something that I love about Cambodia is when an old lady gives me a hug she sniffs my neck... HAHA. It's like giving someone a kiss on the cheek! Everyone here does it! Parents always do it to their children. It gets me every time. So Mom, be prepared.... When I see you, I'm going to give you a huge hug and sniff your neck... haha so weird. Reason number 62,614,173 of why I love Cambodia. 

So I got my first real transfer call and it was pretty exciting/terrifying! I am leaving my area and Sister Haddock, which breaks my heart. But, I'm excited for my new area and companion! She is from Texas, went to BYU, dresses super cute, and trained one of the girls I was in the MTC with. That's all I really know about her! I'm excited though! I transfer on Friday so I still have some time to say goodbye to the members. Aahh, so sad. Missions are just full of goodbyes... But its worth it!

We have been trying to find service to do in our area and this week we were blessed with two opportunities! The first one was peeling a ton of bananas! We probably peeled bananas for about an hour. It was great. Then we begged a lady in out ward to let us do some service for her since she just had surgery. She told us we could serve her by doing her hair and nails... God gave me the talent of being able to do hair, and I was able to use this talent and serve her! Best service ever! She wanted us to do it on Saturday so she would look good at church. I love her so much.

Sister Haddock and I were craving curry for a week and the Lord provided for us. Two different members got us curry and had us over to eat it in the same day! It was so good but it was so much curry. One of the ladies who got us curry has no money and lives on the side of the road but she bought us five dollars worth of food (that's a ton of nice food in Cambodia.) We knew that if we tried to pay her back she wouldn't take the money. She was counting how much money she had (from her little food cart she sells on the road) in front of us. Sister Haddock distracted her and I slipped in $7.00 to her pile of money she was counting. As she was counting she realized how much money she had. This was probably the most money she had held in a while. She told us that "God has blessed her because she is trying to do her best." In that moment I wish I could have just given her all the money in my wallet.

One of our less actives is amazing! She has been struggling with money and is in debt. Everyone here sells beer and cigarettes because it makes the most money. She decided to stop selling it because she knew that God would be able to bless her more than the money from the beer and cigarettes. Her faith is so strong. One thing I love about being a missionary is being able to see people's faith and trust in the Lord. I love the scripture in Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding."  I know we can always trust in Him. He has a plan for all of us and I know we can always rely on him for strength.

Have a good week!

**I'd eat it but its still alive....jk**

Week 20- Lunch Appointments

Some people have asked if they celebrate Halloween in Cambodia. Sadly, they don't. But since I am in the most American Ward in Cambodia, they announced they were doing a Halloween Party on Friday! The Elders and us were waaayyy excited and planned out what we would dress up as. One of the Elders was an elf, the other was a tiger, I was a basketball player and Sister Haddock was Satan. We got to the church all dressed up and excited only to realize it was just a plain 'ol Primary Party. Apparently no one does the dress up part of Halloween here.... But the kids loved it! We were a hit! haha

In Cambodia it is really rare to have lunch appointments but since one of the elders in our ward is going home soon, everyone wants to have lunch with the missionaries!  We had two appointments this last week which is unheard of! We had Family Home Evening with a family and they asked us to bring a dish so we made spaghetti for them. They LOVED it. They fed us a fried fish, some clam things, and rice. It was pretty good. I ate a lot. They kept giving more and more and telling me to keep eating, so I did. The next day we had lunch at a less active's house and it was SO MUCH FOOD. I had no idea what we were eating..... Basically we just said a really long prayer over the food and went for it. One of the dishes was fish guts... yummmmm. :) 

One of the sisters in our house that is speaking Vietnamese got sick and long story short Sister Haddock stayed with her and I went out with Sister Galland!! hahha For those who don't remember me talking about Sister Galland, I'll update you. I met her in the MTC! She has been in the mission about 6 weeks less than I have, and she is learning Vietnamese... and they told us to go on splits together... HAHA....WHAT?? We're both just babies.  It was so fun. It's not as bad as it seems cause most people who speak Vietamese here also speak Khmer... So my Khmer was put to the test and we taught two really good lesson! The gift of tongues really kicked in this week! It helped to build my confidence in speaking. 

One of our investigatory is amazing! His story is that he found the gospel 30 years ago but had to leave Cambodia for a while. He came back and has been searching all the Christian churches trying to find it again. A month ago he was on a moto and saw this church building and he pulled in and ran inside and realized it was the LDS church! He was so happy and asked us for our book, The Book of Mormon, and has been reading it ever since! He has such a strong desire to be baptized! He self committed himself to stop smoking and drinking to follow the Word Of Wisdom. Since he was 18 he has drank every day and he has been smoking 3 packs a day and all at once he stopped. He told us that through Jesus Christ, he can do all things.  I know that to be true. When we feel like we are not strong enough, good enough, or smart enough, His Grace helps us. He makes up for what we lack. I know that our investigator has felt His Grace overcome his addiction. I know that through His Grace I can speak Khmer. 

In Mosiah 10 :32  It says,

Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

 I know through Christ and his Grace, we an do all things. 

I love you all!  Thank you for everything! Happy Late Halloween! 

Sister Snooks

 **Look who came to seminary one day!! The Smith girls!!

 **My CICFO family

 **We could pass for sisters! Practically twins!

 **The church was cutting down all the banana trees... so we took them all home even though they aren't ripe.. but hey, free food. ​

 **​Serie Neats Baptism! She started learning with us but then realized she lived in a different area! She is the cutest! ​

Week 19! Working at the Car Wash

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I can't believe we are hitting the Holiday months as in Halloween, Thanksgiving,Christmas, and New Years! Wow, time is flying by. Also Transfers are coming and I'll be out of training!!! I can't tell if I'm excited about that or scared....

This last Saturday we did a HUGE car wash at the church and it was a success! We cleaned 400 cars/motos/tuktuks and 250 people came inside the church to take a tour. That led to getting100 referrals! So good!!!. We weren't completely prepared about how to spray off the motos since we only had two water hoses so the bishop pulled out the two fire hoses we had in the building to wash all the motos. In Cambodia, it's totally fine to use those I guess! By the end of day I felt like I had got hit by a train. We had to be at the church by 6:30 am to clean it and we left the church at 7:30 pm. It was so fun though. 

A lot of memebers came from the stake to help us give tours of the church and wash all the cars/motos. Guess who all came! The CICFO kids! It was so awesome to see them all again! They are so fun!

I was biking to church this week and I was in front of my companion when my bike came to a complete stop. I usually have to tie up my dresses so they stay away from the tires but a piece of my dress came out of the hair tie I was using to bind it up and my dress got caught in the gears or something and it about ripped the whole dress off me! It was so stuck some people stopped to help Sister Haddock get my dress out since I couldn't move! HA. 

There was this huge event in Cambodia that every person and their dog was watching on TV one night. We went to a members house to meet with them and they had it one. They were all talking about how cool the dance was that they were doing and I realized it was the electric slide! HAHA so I got up and started doing it for them. They loved it! They thought I was so talented! Some people appreciate my dance moves.

Well that's all folks! So sorry if I haven't responded to your email! Know that I am reading them all!! I love you all! 

Sister Snooks

More Pictures

This is the bridge/board that broke right after we walked across it.

 her nick name is Flappy Bird.... hahahhaha Cambodians are so cool

 

 Teaching verbs....like "Dabbing"

 CAMBODIA IS BEAUTIFUL!

 THE NEW CHURCH IS HUGE

 We had so many people at the building dedication!

 We had a celebration after the dedication.

 Senior Missionaries are the greatest!

There were lots of reasons to jump for joy! 

President and Sister Christensen...love them