I Miss Spongebob

Another week, another nickel. Today marks 10 days in the MTC. Thai is still hard and Utah is still cold. I meet new people every day since there are about 2,000 people here and I love it. I am tired every day and almost fall asleep in every class. Here is my daily schedule for the next 9 weeks.

Wake up at 6:30

Shower

Exercise Time

Breakfast

Personal Study

Companionship Study

Lunch

Language Study

Class for 3 Hours

Dinner

Book of Mormon Study

More class for another 3 hours

Mega journaling

Bed by 10:30

The schedule is very packed and very busy. I never have free time and am always moving. That is pretty much the only way I stay awake. If you haven't realized, I like sleeping. It's non-stop and I actually love it. I am learning so much and am getting so much work done every day. I am learning a new language and am learning more about myself. AWWWW CUTE. 

Back to Thai. This language is hard. Let me tell you a little about it. There are 44 consonants that are all scribbles, there are 55 vowels and vowel clusters. Those can be basically anywhere around the consonants. You read words by the syllables so there are many syllables in one word you have to understand. With that you have tone. Tones are the absolute worst. Every consonant has a class and when the consonant is at the beginning of a sentence it changes the tone. THEN there are rules. If there are certain letters and scribbles at the end of the word it again changes the tone. Sorry if you are confused, but so am I. It's tough. We had 4 elders trying to read 1 Nephi 1:1 and it took us an hour and it was most likely all wrong. I guess we will get it one day. That's what everyone says. 

Back to English. We were able to teach an investigator about the plan of salvation and it was amazing. We had 3 lessons with her and on our second lesson she was so confused and it was awful. We then figured it out and taught such an amazing lesson. SHE PRAYED I MEAN C'MON SHE PRAYED AT THE END.

I love it here at the MTC so much. Anyone getting ready to come and serve, you are going to LOVE it. It is hard but it is also so worth it. I love every second and am so happy to be here. 

Ok bye everyone. I love you all and if you have any good Spongebob quotes feel free to email them to me. Thank you. BYE BYE. 

ผ่านการชดใช้ของพระผู้ช่วยให้รอด เราสามารถมีชีวิตนิลัน 

Through the Savior's Atonement, we can receive eternal life. 

Moroni 7:48 Read and enjoy

-Elder Slavens

Elder Slay

Elder Silawen

Learning Thai looking oh so mighty fine

We all know Thai so well. I promise

Me praying to actually start learning

The district I live in. I love them that's for sure. 

Sleeping with 2 sheets. That's the MTC alright

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Elder Slavens here. I am happy to say I am alive. I've been alive this whole week and am feeling great. I don't think I have ever been this tired before but that's ok I'm enjoying my time in the MTC. This whole experience being here is not what I expected. I don't know what I expected but it wasn't this. We have been working non stop and it's tiring. I suggest to never wake up at 6:30. It just isn't the best idea. When you wake up that early and you live here, days feel like weeks. I've been in the Provo MTC for 3 days now but oh boy it does not feel that way. Being here is truly amazing and I've grown so much already.

My week went something like this.

Wednesday- Land in Utah at 8 AM, spend my last moments as a free man with my siblings then I entered the MTC at 1. My fall roommate Elder Salem Davis showed me around campus which was very cute of him then I met my companion Elder Wright. He went to BYU summer and fall with me but we didn't talk much but we sure do now. We can't really leave each others side so we are forced to talk but really I love him and we are such good friends. We then went to class and began to learn Thai. This language is just a little hard. I'll figure it out hopefully. That night we slept with 2 sheets and woke up many times and we thought that's how it was gonna be every night but turns out they do have blankets you just had to find them.

Then basically every other day after that consisted of waking up too early to function, had some breakfast then we played Walliban (Volleyball in Thai) and some nice 4 square; great game. After that we would usually have lots of study time for language, Book of Mormon, and companionship study. Later in the day we have class for 3 hours then dinner then 3 more hours of sweet old Thai. I've been learning a lot but it is quite difficult to understand a language you don't know. I'm getting there slowly. The days feel long but are really amazing and I already love it here. I have felt the spirit so strong every day and know what I am doing is the right thing. I love this opportunity I have to learn Thai and to serve a mission for our Lord and Savior. Love you and miss you all. You'll be hearing from me next week. Bye bye.

Moroni 10:5 

And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

และโดยอำนาจของพระวิญญาณบริสุทธิ์ท่านจะรู้ความจริงของทุกเรื่อง.

Enjoy the blurry Samsung images.

My enjoying my snack I took for later because they like to starve you here. 

Double whammy companionship study. Thai is fun and all but blurry pictures are the funnest.

Seeing double? I do think so. Who am I you may ask. Just a boy with a picture of himself in his wallet at all times.

Me and my bud Elder Greene. We love to gossip and enjoy the times when we see each other during lunch. 

First week in country!

Hey everybody!

Well I made it to Cambodia safe and sound from the MTC! I'm gonna have such a great 2 years here! I'm so excited to get out there and serve!

I'm trying to wrap my head around the people and the culture and the language and everything, but here are some things that happened this first week of my mission:

1.) An old dude told us so casually that he can't go to church because he is coughing up worms.

2.) Someone bore his testimony for half an hour and said, "don't angry bird". Whatever that means.

3.) Someone else told me that when i go home from Cambodia that I need to, "tell America that           Cambodia is messed up." Silly! I still have 2 years to go!

4.) Last night I had a dream that I was going home, and I couldn't sleep afterwards! So scary! And then I just started laughing hysterically thinking about how one day I can say that I spent 2 years in Cambodia. How random is that!

Well, one day when I finish my mission it will be great to say that I did it. I achieved the impossible. That I've learned a lot.  But that day is so far away.

Until then, see you next week :)

Love, Elder Slavens

awesome activities that all went bad

Thank you to everyone for sending hate mail to my dumb companion who kept trying to serve me and iron my shirts. There was one time when he not only ironed my shirt, but he wrote a note on my dresser that said, "you are special". I was so mad. So this week I washed all my shirts and then ironed them instantly. So that he couldn't iron them.

Cambodia is not letting me go easy. "Not without a fight," Cambodia keeps saying. Cambodia keeps trying to get me to stay (I think it is trying to get me to stay in the hospital) because I keep getting these crazy weird bug bites all over my body. I think it is bed bugs maybe? I don't know, but it is super awesome. Huge, itchy bites.

Here is a list of all the awesome activities we had planned that all went bad:

1.) A member asked us to come do service, but wouldn't tell us what the service was. Then when we showed up at their house, they just took off, making us chase after them. I thought they were doing like a surprise party or something, but they just led us to a patch of land that just had a ton of unfilled graves. I thought for sure we were gonna get murdered. But all they had us do was nail a sign that said, "land for sail" to a post. I was like, "was that it?" and they were like, "yup. That's it." So then we went home.

2.) The same members mom lived in America, but was coming back so we tried to do a surprise party for their arrival. But we borrowed the neighbors lights to hang in the house and the lights exploded so now we owe the neighbor a ton of money.

3.) A different member has been telling me about a school he wants us to come to to tell students about our English class, and when we showed up, It was a middle school with a ton of babies. So we told 100 babies about our English class.

4.) There is one less active member in this area, and he doesn't know any of the new members, so I tried to set up a "surprise birthday party" for him, even though it wasn't his birthday. I just wanted him to feel welcomed. So we bought a cake and went to his house. And he wasn't home... So there I was with a ton of members and a cake, and no one to give it to. So I called the dude and was like, "Are you free?" and he was like, "no" but then his mom was like, "let me talk to him" and then she was like, "HEY! There's like 1000 people here waiting for you! They are doing a birthday party for you! It is a surprise! Get here as fast as you can!" So he came. But the surprise was ruined.

That's it. Bye.

The scary service

Building a chicken house

Lesson with our old dude investigator

Another investigator whose mom calls us her children and loves selfies

We had to go talk to the police to ensure them that we are not here illegally and it naturally ended in them wanting to take pictures with us

The party with broken lights

The classroom full of babies

We just happened to be eating rice in a restaurant when our new

president started signing a bunch of papers, so I got to watch.

A snake bigger than any snake ever.

I miss Justin Tjan

More information about my last companion, Elder Chao. He already finished his mission, but he will be missed (he's single, ladies. Hit him up). Ever since I met him for the first time, he always reminded me of Corbin Hansen, my cousin. 

When we were together, we spent one p-day at an investigators house catching frogs to take home to deep fry. It was way tasty. 

So anyways, back to this week. With my new and last companion Elder Walker, we had random dudes take pictures of us because we are white. 

Also we had 8 people come to church 2 weeks ago and 9 people come to church this week. That was so fun. 

I was told that since I was born in the year of the rat that I should marry someone who was born in the year of the cow. So this is a cry looking for any of those year of the cow ladies out there who are ready for a nice well groomed loyal year of the rat to wed. 

Since I am finishing my mission in 3 weeks they let me go to Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat, the most famous thing about Cambodia. A giant Hindu temple. We had to drive 6 hours to get back to our house, so we hitchhiked and got a ride with this baller who drove a Range Rover and he charged us 2 bucks each. 

Finally, I would like to tell you about Sina. He has learned about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for as long as the church has been in the province of Pursat. 2 years. But for a year or so he disappeared. He was never really potential to be a member because of drug problems and stuff like that. But then, right when I got here, he came back.
And he came back HARD. He went to church early every week. He fixed every problem from his past. He sacrificed a lot to get to where he is today. He is super happy. So we taught him again and just baptized him. he told us he couldn't sleep because he was so nervous and excited to get baptized. 

So yah, that's it. Bye. 

The dude who drove the car taking us to Angkor Wat

The crew of other missionaries ending their missions with me who went too 

​Me taking a picture with a place

​And a million other people taking pictures too

​Giant ancient bathtub 

​Our slave (tour guide) told us that they do this with their hands to represent a lotus flower before the sun rises and it opens up, and that is also why they made the temple have a roof like that. 

I took a picture with an elephant (and was not afraid that it was going to crush my head)

And it wouldn't let me hug it. Jerk

I love Chinese tourists 

​Our Range Rover buddies (read emails for details) 

​super not ugly chick on tv 

​The scariest Christmas card ever that had no return address. Whoever sent this is a FREAK. 

Kid stole my camera and took a picture of me talking in church. It's a pretty sweet picture. 

Baptism

Sina

Baptismal font in our front yard

Then we used the water to wash our bikes

Dinner with investigators and members and stuff. 2 fresh ducks.

Visitors from one of the other branches I served in before. You my remember them as the ones who promised to take me hunting in Vietnam once I finish my mission.