What Happens When: it's Chinese New Year!
Hello Hello!
HAPPY NEW YEAR! well, Happy Chinese New Year, I guess! I don't think anything except the Super Bowl is going on in the U.S. (#gobroncs), but here it is a full on party! actually, everyone left the city (my area Teuk La'ak is right in the middle of the city) so it's pretty dead for us this weekend. Chinese influence is really strong in Cambodia, so everyone and their dog is having parties out in their countryside provinces for the weekend, so we just try to keep ourselves busy. The lanterns everywhere are way cool though!
This week I attended my first Zone Conference. Way fun and so inspirational. You gotta love the mission president and his wife. Mine are the best! We talked a lot about being a deliberate disciple. I have been studying about the difference between "deliberate" and "accidental" lately. A deliberate disciple sets a goal of who they want to become, chooses to become a great disciple of Christ while successfully fulfilling their purpose and reaching their full potential. For the accidental disciple, they just kinda go with the flow and hope to be happy with the minimal success they may achieve. All you missionaries or soon-to-be missionaries, read "the Fouth Missionary" By Elder Corbridge. It will change your life! We also got a re-boost for studying vs. reading the scriptures everyday. It is funny how your priorities and feelings about studying change once you have lived the missionary routine.
At conference, we read one of my new favorite talks by Elder Richard G. Scott entitled, "Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge". We are very focused as a mission on true conversion and making sure we are building our spiritual knowledge along side our investigators. From this talk, we learn that "the greatest achievement mankind can make in this world is to familiarize themselves with divine truth, so thoroughly, so perfectly, that the example or conduct of no creature living in the world can ever turn them away from the knowledge that they have obtained."- Pres. Joseph F. Smith. WOW.
We are continuing to focus on finding those who have been prepared and are ready. It's hard work, it's sweaty and dusty to go out contacting when we're not teaching, It's fun though and it gets me out of my comfort zone to walk up to strangers and make conversation, especially in Khmer. Good thing everyone here is seriously so kind. You can talk to anyone and they will be nice to you. :)
Have a great week everyone, thanks for the letters and emails. I appreciate it!
love,
Sister Haddock
Sister OrMax - she is in Pogentong, but we met up at the mission home
My compie Sister Thoun and I at "the riverwoods of Cambodia" #lanterns!