Best view ever! BM meeting in cambodia

More kids that love the big white guys

Hey man! where did the road go??!!

April 22, 2012

Lets get readddyyyy to ruuuuuummmmbbbbllllle!  Aight so here is the answers to the questions first:  haha - health better but not that great.  Trying to eat a little less and still have energy.  Mail came but didn't get the package yet because it was too much for the President to bring with him.  I got letters from Grandma, Brady's and Warren's.  I am working on return letters but my time is limited!  New Mission President coming soon but what's crazier is that an apostle is coming this transfer so that's nuts!  I don't know if I will get to see him though so it's all good.

My last e-mail came from Seam Reap cause we spent 3 days up there doing training and pday and interviews with the President.  I got to shop around at the markets there and they are way better than Kampong Thom where I'm usually at.  I got great deals cause the mings like my nose and I can speak khmae and they give us good deals too cause they don't rip off people of Christ.  It's a big tourist place because of Ankgor Wat.  It's super funny that they love my nose.  The mings tell me that I'm super handsome! and then the girls about 20 - 30 (called bongs) all think I'm handsome so I get good deals shopping around and it's just funny!  I love it!  Super cool place and when you come, pack light cause the best part of Cambodia is the markets!!!!!

So after that, we had good Khmae for lunch and man some stuff you will love dad!!!  Mom...idk, they have KFC and that's what we had for dinner and really good ice cream.  It was a fun pday and no worries.  Then Tuesday, we had our training and lunch out again and then more training and mexican food after training.  Then we stayed in a hotel for a night, 2 beds (small beds), bathroom, fridge, microwave for $15.  Ya, super cheap!!  Weird being a missionary in a hotel, lol.  Then Wed. we had interviews and came home.  Had lunch at a place called Suoky soup.  It's a buffet of meat and veggies and noodles and your own pot of boiling soup to deep fry whatever is running on the conveyer belt right in front of you!  Super dream come true!  Haha! You will love it when you come - it's sooo dang good!!!!

After the bus ride home we taught a couple of lessons.  It was tough to get back on schedule but we did and had some fun in our area too!  Friday we were out looking for a recent lost convert and came back in town to fix lunch and the whole kheet was having an all day water fight!!!  It's National Water Fight day!  We bought these little bags of water, like 5 for 12 cents and it was hilarious!  Laughing all day!  We rode out to this one area and there was like 30 kids playing and we played for an hour and a-half.  It was sooo fun!  I came home that night completely soaked from head to toe.  I didn't get any pics cause I was trying to keep the backpack dry!  I'm excited and ready for next year now!  Saturday we did a bunch of service and moved dirt for an hour and got so sweaty that I was wet like the day before. Then a kid started up the water fight again and I owned him like 3 times and put him in the giant pots they fill with water, lol!  Super funny!

I have to give a talk in church this Sunday so its scary talking in Khmae but I feel good about it.  We have 3 new investigators and 3 new families we are working with now so we are busy and we teach all day every day and it's never boring.  We ended the week eating jack fruit which is like banana laffy taffy but fruit! Things are great and I love you all and miss you!

April 16, 2012

I'm healthy this week and the doc says the e coli is gone but I still don't digest a lot of my food and I'm trying to eat a lot of fiber and do what the doc says.  Every day starts with a bowl of oatmeal then we study and work hard and I sweat a ton and drink a ton of water.  The branch party was fun.  We didn't do a lot of teaching this week but I'm doing good and I'm having fun doing whatever we have going on.  It's alwayt fun and I have lots of pics this week that that will be good.  The Khmae is coming.  I know a lot but not enough and listening and talking back and forth is easier.  I have good talks with the neakmings at the markets and then our investigators and members are way fun but I'm still learning.

I love the market and shopping.  All the mings want to tell me that the girls will like this shirt on me cause its tight and shows off my muscles and they love the decker nose!  I got told that this morning at the market by 3 neakmings.  Haha, as I was buying a waffle for breakfast, lol!  Cambodia is super fun and I love my p-day and can't wait for you to see all the pics.  I love you and being a missionary is awesome! 

Love Elder Decker

Buying Treats from old ladies

Doing some gardening with Ming Phalle

Me and elder Garlick from the MTC

My week before Easter

This week was pretty good.  We only had about 3 days of actually proselyting.  Transfers were on Thur. and Fri. so I was planning on staying with the other Elder while my companion and his comp. went to the city for transfers and zone leader training but I've been taking an antibiotic for a week and talked with Sister Smedley and she said that I should come down with my companion to go to the doctor and see what is up.  So the doctor said that I have e coli.  He said that the antibiotic was helping and to keep taking it and he wants me to come back this week.  So this Thursday I go to Seim Reap to go to the doctor again and see what's up.  I feel fine.  I eat enough, and I sleep fine and I'm not in much pain.  It's strange that I have it because we are really clean with food and I know you saw the meat we buy last week in the blog but we clean everything after we buy it.  Someone else had it and was in the hospital and out of commission for a week....but I'm doing great mom.  I just worry that in the last 2 weeks we haven't been in our area much and I need to be helping the people more so its tough not to get discouraged when you feel you aren't doing missionary work, but trials and bad things come up every day and little annoying things just don't bother you too much after awhile and life is still good. 

So, I'm happy and somewhat healthy right now.  Easter weekend was way good and we got to see conference in English and we had lunch with the senior couple both days, really good!  Then last week I rode a cow at a members house and I have pics, lol!  It's not as fun as it looks!

There was a huge storm last Friday and the thunder and lightning was the loudest and brightest of any storm I've ever witnessed in America.  So crazy and the last 3 nights before we went to the city, no power all night so no ac for 3 nights sleeping and then our 2 nights back from the city we didn't have power.  I'm still sleeping even though its really annoying and super hot.  Then this week it's khmae new year and we have 2 days off.  Friday and Sat. we have 6 hours of house cleaning Fri. and 4 hours of work in our member record book and then we get to go to a cool place with everyone and the branch is having a party at the church so I'm hoping for delicious treats to eat, lol!  But we still don't have much time to go out and teach this week either but I'm doing way good.  I got your package and mail from grandma.  The treats were all great and I love the letters and I love all the emails!

They love angry birds here but they don't know why, so it's hilarious.  They have all kinds of angry birds shirts, hats, cups, everything for cheap!  I need to write more letters but I'm just really busy. But I love you bunches and I love Cambodia!

I love you all - Love Elder Joshua Decker
posted and edited by Mom

March 26, 2012

aight well my week was good.  Pretty normal week with nothing too big happening and its starting to get to the point where days are blending together and soon weeks will, and months and years.  But its way good.  The rash is good and I still use the stuff I got from the Ming at the computer/pharmacy store.  I love her and she is super funny.  I talk with here a little every p-day and I wave as we go by sometimes.  Super nice family runs this place.  Last Monday I got my first khmae hair cut and masssage combo pack for a buck and quarter (lol) could have got the hair wash cut shave and massage if i wanted...maybe next time. (lol)   Then Monday night we had exchanges with the assistants so we had a 3 of us together for Monday night and Tuesday afternooon.  Then we had a good long day Wednesday and it rained a few times here and it was just an American rain but a lot of water quick and it floods fast in places. Didn't bike through it, cause the Khmae try and keeep their houses dry and coming in soaking wet is something they don't really like.  But we just sit and wait for a break.  Khmae shut down when it rains. (lol)  Super funny. 

Then we did confirm the family and they made it there and are doing soo good.  The lookpuu or husband of the family calls us when he can't make it to church and feels bad so its just awesome!  They are so cool!  I bought a little speaker thing and flash drive last week and the speaker is great for my mp3 thing and I have a flash drive I can put music on and play it from the speaker I bought and its really nice and i got it from chinese to english so thats a lot better lol super fun! 

I found a delicious treat that dad would love.  Its an omelet style stuff in a cooked dough bread ball.  It's delicious!  And 33 cents lol I love them soo much!  And every treat has some kind of bean in it, so I'm diggin those.  We eat rice and noodles everyday.  I will need a wok and rice cooker and a good set of knifes lol, we cook once or twice a dad and I eat oatmeal or cereal or egg and rice and pork in the morning for breakfast just as tidbits of what I'm up too.  Then this week it rained a few more times but that is good luck for the year and the Khmae new year is coming up and apparently the whole mission get owned by it, cause everyone goes off somewhere and don't really tell you.  It's not america lol.

Then this week there is someone that wants to serve a mission in our branch and he is working really hard to get there.  He came out with us last night and he knows a lot of english and is really good and teaching with us and explains things super good.  Soo that is always fun when we help guys get ready to serve missions and he hopes he goes to America to learn english better and come home and get a good job. so that is something Khmae needs, smart people with plans to do something with their life.

Then we work with the branch more and more and try and find the recent less active members in our area.  Cambodia has 11000 members and 2500 come in the country every week.  Soo its trying to balance work with investigators and work finding and helping less active is always a balance we are working for!  It's tough but everything is worth our time when we do it with the spirit as our guide! Helping some stay active and come back to church is just as important as baptizing a new convert.