One week in and lovin' it

Holy crap. Is this real life?!?! This is pretty much the craziest thing and yet coolest thing that I have ever decided to do in my entire life!! I honestly don't even know where to begin!! I guess Wednesday! So saying goodbye on a curb to all of my family/best friends was pretty much the worst thing ever! I don't ever plan on doing that again! Luke- you are in the dog house by the way! You were supposed to cry before we got to the curb! Don't think I will forget punk!! :) Anyways as soon as I walked in I KNEW that as hard as this journey is going to be that this is without a doubt right where Heavenly Father wants me to be at this point in my life!! The Spirit is absolutely crazy here! I have never felt God's love for me more than being here at the MTC!! So anyways back to the first day! I walk in to my classroom like 10 minutes after I got here and met my teacher...kind of. He was speaking in Khmai so fast that I could not understand a single word that he said...but then again, even if he was speaking slowly in Khmai I still would not have been able to understand what he was saying haha. This continued the entire class period and still to this day I have only heard him speak English like 3 times! It's a little piece of heaven every time though!! Ha- anyways, so that was kind of brutal! But then I met my companion and he is SO SICK! His name is Elder Quirante and he is a total stud! He is from texas and I purposely didn't capitalize texas because I know it bugs him! hahaha He has some serious texas pride!!! But he is so fun and he makes me laugh a ton! But at the same time when we need to turn the switch and focus we can do that really well!! The way he acts kind of reminds me of Carson so it's been so fun getting to know him! Love my comp!! :)

Um, let's see...oh food!!!! You are all probably wondering if I have been spending more time in the bathroom or in the classroom?! Well there is good news and bad news. The bad news is I have been spending lots of time in the bathroom but the good news is that it's because of my companion! Hahaha runs for dayyyyssss haha. He pushes through it though! No pun intended :) haha It's actually really nice! We just bring the flash cards with us and bust them out while we're in there!! :) I can say a prayer and ask really simple questions... can't guarantee a solid response back though haha. We had our first investigator 3 DAYS IN!!! I felt like I was walking into the lion's den!!! It went pretty good considering I don't speak Khmai haha. We have had 3 appointments since then and on the most recent one he asked us if we had a Book of Mormon that he could read! We didn't. haha Not only that but we forgot our own scriptures to take into the meeting! haha We are awful missionaries! But he was super cool about it and we are bringing him one next time! :)

There are 6 different languages in our zone! All Asian! It's the first time any zone has been made with more than 1 language in the zone! Just makin' history in the MTC!! The languages are Khmai, Vietnamese, Thai, Cantonese, Laotion, and Hmong! Danielle you will be happy to know I am really coming in to my Asian side! :) haha It's pretty cool when we say zone prayers because it's in a different and unique language every time! I love all of the Elders that are in my zone! We easily have the best zone in the MTC!! Overall so far the language has been super tough but it's coming and will continue to come with patience! Oh ya, and there are only 3 people here that are in my class learning Khmai and that's me and my companion and a sister missionary! And I could not love it anymore! During class it feels like a one on one class and it's been such a blessing! 

Anyways, I better wrap it up but hey everyone- mail is the best thing ever! I may not be able to write you all back fast but keep them coming!!! They keep me going! If you haven't written me a letter yet...you're dead to me!! haha Just kiddin'! Just hop on it ;) I love you all so very much!! Especially you Momma Bear :) Next email just send me a list of questions and I will do my best to answer them!

To end I'll just share a scripture with you guys! It's in D&C 31: 3-7 and it reads, "Lift up your heart and rejoice, for the hour of your mission is come and your tongue shall be loosed, and you shall declare glad tidings of great joy unto this generation. You shall declare the things which have been revealed to my servant, Joseph Smith, Jun. You shall begin to preach from this time forth, yea, to reap in the field which is white already to be burned. Therefore, thrust in your sickle with all your soul, and your sins are forgiven you, and you shall be laden with sheaves upon your back for the laborer is worth of his hire. Wherefore, your family shall live. Behold, verily I say unto you, go from them only for a little time, and declare my word, and I will prepare a place for them. Yea, I will open the hearts of the people, and they will receive you. And I will establish a church by your hand." I bear testimony my time is come! I'm so grateful I get to go bear testament to the people of Cambodia that Joseph Smith heard and saw what he said he did and that through him the fullness of the gospel has been put back onto the earth!! He is my inspiration!! If he can dedicate his ENTIRE LIFE and eventually die for what he believed in, then I can give a short 2 years of my life to show him that his death was not in vain. The people of Cambodia NEED to know that they have a Heavenly Father who loves them and that his son Jesus Christ loves EVERYONE and died for us so that we could live with him again someday! You're all in my prayers! I will talk to you all real soon!

All My Love,

Elder Steadman