Sam sent the following email on Sunday, March 20, 2016:

Date:  March 20, 2016 at 10:32 PM

Subject:  សួស្ដីអ្នកទាំង​អស់គ្នា!

Hey Family,

You know what? I don't think I took a single picture this week. Sorry about that fall off. That's why I'm banking on you guys to document everything when you come. We have a few good investigators right now, and I saw a flicker of light in the midst of the dark abyss that is Chaktomuk yesterday. No, just kidding, but I do think that South Stake is about to wake up from its slumber. Something about the south rising again?? My personal studies are way better than they used to be in quality. Overall everything is going well. I feel like I have grown and progressed as a person. I know I still do a lot of stuff wrong and still make a lot of jokes that don't make sense, and I've forgotten all my pop culture and sports knowledge and how to write a college paper, but overall I think I'm a better person than I used to be. So I guess that's a success. Love you guys, hope all is going well. Get your cameras ready for when you come here to make up for lost time.

Love,

The Favorite

I think I have done a very bad thing.  In my last email to Sam, I told him he didn't need to apologize to us for sending short emails.  I told him we knew he was busy, and that we understood if he didn't have a lot of time to write.  Apparently that was all he needed to hear:

Date:  March 14, 2016 at 2:56 AM

Subject:  Hey

Heidi said not to worry about sending short emails, so I'll just tell you that I'm doing good. We're trying to help our ward but sometimes it takes more than elmers glue and paper clips to fix a car engine. Send the package to Me Sokheang. Thanks!

This photo was taken a while back when Sam was serving in Battambang.  He was with his friend, Me Sokheang, who was just recently called to serve as a missionary in Oakland, CA.  Sam likes to have me send little care packages to the Cambodian elders while they are at the MTC. :)

Elder Me (center) at the airport in Cambodia, before flying to Utah to enter the Provo MTC

Left to right:  Elder Asay (Sam's companion), Elder Me, Sam, & ?

Sam sent the following email on Sunday, March 6, 2016:

Date:  March 6, 2016 at 9:58 PM

Subject:  Chatomuk Blues

I don't have a lot new or fun to say. I know you guys all probably hate me for it, but my emails are no good. My journal is still pretty good though, so never fear. We meet a lot of characters every day. Crazy people out here. We have a few people that we're hopeful will be good. The ward is pretty hard inasmuch as there is no good leadership. We've been thinking the best thing for it would be to merge it with some other ward because it's just baaad. This last week we did a full day of training for the new trainees and their trainers and that was pretty fun, then had MLC the next morning. I like working with President. He's a smart man. Elder Me, my friend from Battambang, will be taking a plane out to the Provo MTC tomorrow, so perhaps there may be another special package in store. A recent convert that we meet with and teach asked me the other day if missionary work is more a skill or the spirit. I say some of both. You've got to have skill to start talking with people and make conversation, but in the end if you think you can rely on your own skills and ability to get people to learn and progress and want to change their life, you're wrong. If you think that you will fail every time. I also read a Talmage talk about the difference between "Thou shalt not" commandments versus "Thou shalt" commandments. Give that a ponderize for a bit if you can. Also Joseph Smith is incredible. Read the "life and character of the prophet Joseph Smith." Skibby is going to have a great mission. They really are good. Man, it's hard and often discouraging but in the end it's an easy realization that it's the best thing to be doing. Love you guys!

February 28, 2016--Sunday

Skibby opened her mission call last night and has been called to serve in the Spain Madrid Mission! She will report to the Spain MTC on July 12th.  She is so excited!  Sam had been certain that Skibby was going to be called to serve in Cambodia, and Emily was equally sure Skibby was going to be called to San Fernando, California.  So both were a little disappointed...  But I really believe that every individual's call is the right one for them, and I am so happy for Skibby to have the same kinds of amazing experiences serving people that Em and Sam have had on their missions!

We recorded Skibby's mission call opening last night and then emailed it to Sam.  Sam sent us the following after watching the video:

Date: February 28, 2016 at 10:03 PM

Subject:  Play Ball

Hey, happy for Skibby, but I'm a little bummed. Still think she'd be great here. But you can't win them all. We had a transfer go through this week and that is always a little bit hectic, but we got it all figured out and everyone where they need to go. I think they're all happy. It was a good time with Elder Elieson. My new companion, Elder Asay, is really good. I'm excited to have him here and it will be good to help the area. I'm ready for Chaktomuk to get going and it already has and I think will continue to. Boy, I've learned a lot on my mission about a lot of things. I don't have any cool pictures this week, so cling to those Angkor Wat ones from last week. 11 weeks seems like a short time, but until the time I go home still seems far away. Hope all is well back home with you guys. Peace. Go Jazz, plus baseball season is about to get underway here.

Sam sent the following email & photos on Sunday, February 21, 2016:

Date:  February 21, 2016 at 11:21 PM

Subject:  Angkor Wat

Hey we took a surprise trip to Angkor Wat this past week. Also took another trip out to Phnom Chiso. We also got transfers all called out last night and it'll be this Wednesday.  Now this stuff barely registers a blip on the radar, but if you told me coming in that neither the Bishop or the EQP don't have a clue how to give a blessing for a sick person....  We walked them through that yesterday. Gotta love Cambodia, man.

I have plenty of pictures. like 300, but here's a few. And we'll get more when you come.

Angkor Wat

Left to right:  Elder Elieson (Sam's companion), Sam, & 2 other elders

Sam is on the far right.  His companion, Elder Elieson, is on the far left.

Sam sent the following email on Sunday, February 14, 2016.  Skibby submitted her mission papers this same day, and Sam refers to this at the end of his email....his very short email....again. ;)

Hey guys, I don't have time. But this week was good. We're teaching better with the Spirit. And I think finding people who have real intent. Thanks for the prayers. There's a few things that seem possible for us in the area. We just got done making out transfers starting in a week and a half and that took a bit of time this week but was fun and we were effective in the time that we had. I'm doing good. We're going to some mountain today which was not my idea but was roped into it and I'm not thrilled to go, but I'm on a mission and everything we do has to be a group project so I don't have a choice. The wards here just make you want to shake your head, but then you laugh at the ridiculousness of it, then you find out a way to help it. God bless Cambodia, it's a great place and I think Skibby will come here on her mission too. We'll see. Peace guys!

Sam sent us the following email on Sunday, February 7, 2016:

Date:  February 7, 2016 at 9:36 PM

Subject:  No pictures this week but maybe next week…

Heya guys,

We're in a hurry to get down to the south stake center to have a cook out and hopefully play some wiffleball/basketball stuff or something. Should be pretty fun. We bought 7 kilos of chicken breasts this morning and 4 kilos of potatoes. Plus 10 pineapples. Shishkabob here we come. 

There was a little girl on a trike or something that we saw take it right off a foot and a half curb and land right on her face. No problem, she popped up. Nbd. Gotta love that Cambodian spirit.

They're in a little bit of a cold spell (meaning the mornings sometimes get down to about 68), and the coats and winter hats are out in full force. If it ever snowed here so many people would die. Meanwhile we're loving it.

At the market (this kind of stuff happens all the time) some lady was talking about us right in front of us because they think we don't know the language and says joking to her friend, "They're handsome you should take one." The other lady cuts meat..."Careful, they know Khmae!" 

My study has gotten a lot better since President's zone conference this past week. Studying--I don't know--I was always afraid to mark in my scriptures, but now I'm not and I get a lot more out of it. If you need help studying, write stuff down and also don’t worry about marking in your scrips. 

s'good, love you guys!