Unexpected transfers and a special baptism

Hello everyone!! So another week down! This week was kind of crazy though, so buckle your seatbelt!! ha So the beginning of the week was just normal as usual. Just doing some mad work here in the Kingdom of Cambodia! Thursday was the day it all started to change! So I was in my room just getting ready for the day and I was standing by the fan drying off the inside of my poncho, when the other elders who live with us came busting into our room and one of them yells, "What in the world is going on?" I just stared at him really confused. He says again, "What in the world is going on!?" I proceeded to tell him that I was drying my poncho with the fan. I realize it is kind of a weird concept... drying a poncho... but I was not expecting quite the reaction I was getting out of him! He then said, "No, not the poncho! Emergency transfers! Elder Lao (my companion) is going to Siem Reap and Elder Schleede (one of the elders I live with) is your new companion." We all just kind of stood around and looked at each other for a while in disbelief at what was going on. After a few minutes of awkward silence we were just like, "Ok, well time to get to work again!" ha So Elder Lao spent a little bit of time packing up his stuff and then the next day he headed out to Siem Reap (a 7 hour drive), and Elder Schleede and I are now companions!!

The funniest part of this whole thing is that Thursdays are when we have our weekly planning sessions where we plan who we are going to meet throughout the week and all that kind of stuff. Right after we finished, Elder Lao looked at me and said, "Ok, if I were to leave tomorrow do you think that you would be able to do all of this by yourself?" Of course I answered a confident yes... haha be careful what you say everyone!! God will put you to the test if you're too confident sometimes! haha So at the beginning I was super stressed out about being able to remember everyone and make sure that everything and everyone got remembered, but the Lord has really helped me to remember the people that we need to meet and the things we need to teach and also the way to get to people's houses!! ha It's been a huge testimony builder for me and even though it's a little scary sometimes, I know that the Lord is currently molding me into the missionary that He wants me to be!

So about my new comp! His name is Elder Schleede! He is almost done with his mission... he has about 2 months left, and he is one of the hardest workers I have ever met! This is yet another blessing that Heavenly Father has given to me! He knows the language super well and he basically spends his entire language study time to help me understand and learn the language! He is super Christlike and I know if I can soak up all the experience and counsel I can from him while I get to be his companion, he will help me become a lot better missionary!

Ok, last bit of news for this week!! So this week I had the amazing opportunity to baptize one of our investigators!!! Her name is Banyaa! She has been an absolute rock star and has completely and totally changed her life to become closer to Christ! It has truly been humbling to watch and I felt incredibly honored that she asked me to baptize her!! The coolest part of the story is that she was my very first lesson in Cambodia! Not a lot of people get to say that :) The Lord does not cease to bless me! I say it every week :) I am so lucky to be serving here!! I love the people and I love my mission! Thanks so much for all of your love and support! Until next week!

Love,
Elder Steadman

Elder Schleede, Banyaa, & Elder Steadman