Drumroll please....

All the Cambodian missionaries in the mission at Water Festival

Baptisms on August 19, 2012

me, Arnold, Esther, Elder Langford, Atong, and Bro. Mangelson

Well, I assume everyone wants to know about transfers first, so I'll hit on that topic right off the bat. Our district leader (him and his companion share our apartment), Elder Castellano, played a trick on me - he pretended like he was talking to the APs on the phone about me and my language-learning capabilities. When I walked in the room, he asked me how my Cambodian is doing, and then asked if I felt confident learning new languages. He then left the room and I later overheard him "talking on the phone" about Haitian-Creole. He totally had me fooled though, and for a whole week I was worried and stressed about leaving Revere and having to learn a new language. I was excited for the idea, and I had even told some people about it in preparation to leave. Elder Castellano waited until right before transfer texts came to tell me that he had been pulling my leg the whole time. He had me going for the whole week, thinking that I was getting transferred into the Creole program! Anyway, I'll be honest, I really was prepared and ready to get transferred this time. I had written down the addresses and phone numbers of all the members I wanted to keep in contact with, told people, had some people sign in my journal (sort of like a yearbook for missionaries!)...and then the transfer texts came - I'm staying here in Revere 2nd for another transfer, with Elder Langford! I was ready and willing to go wherever the Lord sent me, and He decided to keep me here for a little while longer. We've got some awesome investigators that we've started teaching, and Elder Langford and I have set some goals for what we're going to get done this transfer. I'm pretty stoked. =D

Elder Hanberg is getting transferred to one of the wards in Nashua, and Elder Castellano is staying here and will be training a new missionary!

Zone conference was this last week, which was pretty great! Pres. Packard has been helping us a ton as we strive to work more with the members and find the best way to do so. He gave some really awesome trainings on that, and he also talked about the Book of Mormon for a while - where it comes from, how all the different peoples and populations relate to each other in location and time, and how all the different plates fit together. It was really cool!

The Water Festival this last weekend was a great success - we had many contacts and referrals that came from it, and it was really great to be immersed in the Cambodian culture for a whole day! We had a really great time, and I feel privileged to be called as a representative of Christ and of the Church to these people. It was so fun - our booth had a huge sign with the name of the Church in Cambodian, and also two GIANT wooden books: the Bible and the Book of Mormon. It was pretty legit! I sent my mom some pictures, so hopefully one of those will make it up on the blog!

On Sunday, Esther, Arnold, and Atong were baptized! It was a wonderful service, and it was so special to see them making this sacred covenant with our Heavenly Father. They asked me to sing for it, and I did so. It went well, and I'm honored to have been asked to sing! I also personally baptized Arnold; Elder Langford baptized Esther, and one of my favorite members here, Bro. Mangelson, baptized Atong. I'm so happy and excited for them! Esther described it as like she had a heavy weight lifted from her back - she feels so light and free, and loves being a new person, with a new slate. When we talked to Arnold yesterday over the phone, he said that they are doing very well. I forget his exact quote, but it was something to the effect of "wonderfully amazing" or "amazingly wonderful" - that's so great to hear. We saw Atong yesterday, and she said she feels the same way as Esther does. It's life-changing for me to be able to be a part of these individuals' lives as they change! There's still more to teach them and a long way for them to go, and we get to be here for the beginning of that as well. =]

Much love and Godspeed!

Elder Justin DeLong