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.

First Baptism

Well we are teaching a family and they are awesome!  They have 3 kids and one is 13 and one is going to 8 in 3 weeks and one is like 3.  Girl boy girl sandwich.  They have super strong faith and know that this is true and are working soo hard to get there and be baptised and everything!  

 The mom and dad can't read but the older girl can.  So we told them last week they were ready to be baptized and she, the mom, had this trip coming up where she was going to Thailand to work for a while and that she was nervous about not gettting baptized before she went and she prayed (yes!) and then that night her daughter had a dream and saw her mom getting baptized and then we showed up that night and told them they were ready!  She was sooo happy and just told us more about her dream and seriously when she said this I know that God works in all kinds of ways to help his children return.  She said that maybe because khmae people can't read and aren't very educated that heavenly father gives them dreams to know that this is true and I know that she is right.  Because so many people I've heard have had dreams and are now the storngest members in khmae!  She is soo cool and the whole family is strong!  So then we scheduled the baptism on Saturday so they could be confirmed at church the next day.  And their interview was at 2 Saturday also before the baptism at 4.  

 So we are waiting there at the church for them and they don't show for like a half an hour after 2 and still not there so we call them and they just got hit by a moto on their bikes as they were turning into the road to the church!  And we race over there and play big bad white guys to make sure the moto guy doesn't just speed off with out paying cause thats the rule, if you hit them you pay.  And things were going well and the guy that hit them was being cool about it but super rich khmae skinny guy. lol Anyways we bought the kids some ice cream from the gas station and took them to the church and the oldest girl interview and passed and then we went back to help the mom and dad and littlest girl get to church and get everything straighten out.  

 But they all eventually got to the church and interview and passed. then we got ready to start and at first I was thinking Elder Wilcox, my comp, was doing them all but then we ask the girl, Sokhea, who she wanted and she said elder decka.  And I was like wow, I'm gonna baptize someone in khmae!!!  Then I thought crap!   I barely know khmae!! Haha.   It was the coolest feeling and the coolest thing to do ever! All white, speaking khmae and baptizing someone in a fountain outside in brown water!  Haha.  I love khame!  And it was the coolest thing ever!  And i didn't mess up and she got under the first time and it was quick and simple but the feeling was strong!  

Then the next day we were planning to do their confirmation and they didn't show again!  It was 830 when they got there and the whole time I was worried about them not coming cause if she goes to Thailand without being confirmed she would have to be baptized again and it would just not be good.  But the whole time I just sat there waiting and knowing and feeling this peace that they would come and all would be well.  And I just said ok.  I trust you.  And it was all good and they all got confirmed and I was in the circle with all of them!  It was like the coolest first baptism ever!  I was loving every minute of it!  I love being a a missionary and now we have another new family and they have 2 kids of age and it will be soo cool to have more baptism and more families just like this one.! :)

 aight well thats my story for the week and i have money and food and everything is good! i love you all soo much and i will take lots of pics and hope you know that i am loving it and tell everyone that no matter what i am having a great time. even with all the annoying things this place is awesome! i love my mission!! :) i'm doing great! and no little rash can slow me down!!! :) love you mom! bunches and bunches! :) :) get better soon and i always keep all of you in my prayers! i love you soo much!!!

 love joshua elder decker

Hello from Cambodia!

We got to Cambodia safely on the 23rd and had lunch at the mission home and I had delicious mangos already!  We had a night at the mission home and I slept a ton but I didn't ever feel too tired.  My new companion is Elder Wilcox and we serve in the Kheets or provinces about 4 hours or more from the city.  This is the place I wanted to be so I was crazy excited.  It's really flat here and not as jungley as I thought it would be.  We have 4 Elders in this area with a permanent senior couple here too.  My schedule is an hour ahead of normal so instead of 6:30 to 10:30 everyday, it's 5:30 to 9:30 and for the first 12 weeks I have 2 hours of companion study instead of one so that is cool.  Our mornings are relaxing and we have gotten breakfast out most mornings now and its baay sac cruuk rice and cooked pork so its different.  Sometimes I just don't want to eat that early and that stuff so I need to get some cereal and milk going soon.

There's literally no driving rules here.  It's crazy!  There are no rules and no speed limits and no cops.  You can drive wherever and if you are bigger you win.  The big van totally wins!  It's crazy in the city and everyone and their grandmas have a motor scooter that they do anything and everything with.  They just go wherever, no rules and we just bike on the street like a car and you honk to tell someone you're coming so it's always loud and just the best.  No street lights either.  In the city there are some but they don't always work so you don't have to follow them if they don't work.  I have a bike that was left at my really nice house for Cambodia.  Its more like Aladdin than Jungle Book and it's pretty big, really big.  I have a good bed and ac in the room we sleep in and good fans in all the rooms.  We sleep all together in one room.  The four of us Elders are all that's in our area in this kheet.  The senior couple lives next door and the church is right there too.  We had our first lesson with 5 girls outside that are all recent converts and I was sweating so much, it was ridiculous.  They all laughed at me cause I'm big and sweatin and they don't sweat cause they are cooler.  They wear long sleeves cause they are afraid of the sun and it's just funny.  I am doing good with the food and eating mangos as much as I can.  We eat a ton of rice and I had my first Sunday here too and it was totally different but good.  I don't understand any of it really and I just tried not to laugh at them singing cause they can't sing or keep time so they are ahead of the music all the time.  I have to learn how to play the piano cause they just have them recorded and the senior elder wants me to do it so there ya go.

We are busy all day every day and its just awesome!  Our area rocks and I hope to have some baptisms soon so it will be fun.  Our lessons are very simple and we have to explain a lot of stuff so its just fun.  My sittin on the ground skills need work and my knees are always sore but whatever, the work is worth it and I can explain why so its not a big deal.

The people are friendly to me and think I'm really big and they like my name cause its the sound a giecko makes so its all good.  I have a little red bike that makes me look huger, so perfect, I can scare the Cambodians too.  Anyway, we teach like 5 or 6 lessons a day sometimes and we are always busy going places so its fun and I love it.  I get to ride my bike and sweat my face off every day and that is the best part about it cause I'm so tired when I come home I can't wait for bed time at 9:30 and it's soo good.  I sleep fine and I'm all good.  You can send mail to the mission home as I probably won't get it except for around transfers.  I can buy a meal or two with a dollar here so it goes a long way for that kind of stuff.  I have everything I need so don't worry about me, it's just like a big campout!  I teach English once a week and when we teach english we say I love you big, big!  I love you and miss you tons and will take tons of pictures! 

Love, Elder Joshua Decker
posted (and edited!) by Mom

Josh will be traveling to Cambodia next week and here is a summary from his letters in the Missionary Training Center.  His letters are family oriented but we tried to take out some lines to show his growth.  We are very proud of him and what he is doing.

From Week 3 - 12/27/11 – “Class is going well and we’re learning a lot of language and a lot about the doctrine in English.  I love being in class, our four teachers are awesome.  I can read the script slowly and I can write some words.  It’s coming but it’s the longest and hardest alphabet in the world.”      “We taught a new investigator today and it was great!  We taught a little about prayer, talked about our families and God and Jesus and the atonement and the Book of Mormon and placed a Book of Mormon.  It was like our best lesson ever so I’m happy and surprised it went so well!”

From Week 4 – 1/8/12 -  “My khmae is such that I can piece together an experience I had here in khmae and it makes sense.”   “Language is good.  I can speak better and I learn new words everyday.”  

From Week 5 – 1/17/12 -   ”Teaching is good.  Our investigator is preparing for baptism and we are teaching him to get ready.”   - This week  Josh  sent us a Book of Mormon and The Family: A Proclamation to The World in khmae (Cambodian).  It looks pretty crazy! But he says it’s crazy fun to learn.

From Week 6 – 1/24/12 -  “Hey everyone!  I’m doing great and I will try and write bigger in this letter.  So everything is good here.  The temple was good today then we made a snowman on the hill near the Temple and it was just awesome.  We felt great because we went back to look for my companion’s name tag and people were so happy and taking pictures with our snowman!”

From Week 7 – 1/31/12 -  “Things are going really good.  3 weeks left and then to Cambodia.  I’m really ready to get outta here! “  “The language is tough but it’s coming.  It’s going to take being in Cambodia for 2 years to get better at it.  I’m crazy excited to keep learning it forever!  It’s so cool!”

Josh has a sore knee that the dr. has looked at this last week and he had an MRI.  So far he is still scheduled to leave on Tues., Feb. 21.  We hope nothing happens between now and then to prevent him from leaving.  We appreciate your interest and even prayers on his behalf.