Sister Wright's birthday
Monday, August 26, 2013
"Country Road" in Mahasarakham
Hello
familia!!!
Okay, so this
week was great! As a mission, each week we are supposed to have the goal of
having "balanced key indicators" which means: 2 investigators with a
baptismal date, two new investigators/week, 10 lessons taught with a member
present/RCLA lessons, and 2 people at church. It's way harder than it seems.
This week we were so hopeful that we would actually reach our goal. We achieved
it all, except for two investigators at church. Only one showed up, but it's
the first time that an investigator has shown up! So, even though we didn't
totally make our goal, we were still really happy!
So, as far as
D. goes we did not get to teach her this week because she was gone with work.
Hoping we will this week. We have kept in touch with her, though. And we also
dropped off a conference talk that we thought would help her.
We've kept in
touch with B. also. She says she's been praying and read a little in the Book
of Mormon. We brought her by a conference talk as well. So, even though we
didn't get to meet with them this week, we are keeping in touch and they are
still on the right track.
This week we
got two new investigators! Not sure if they are really truly interested, but we
shall see! They are two 18 year old girls from English class. They are super
cute! They met with us at the church and we had
an intro lesson with them. We introduced the Godhead, the BoM and prayer. We
gave them each a Book of Mormon and committed them to start reading and praying
about it. They accepted a return appointment. So, I'm hoping things will
progress!
As far as Min's
grandma goes, there really is something about Sisters connecting better with
people sometimes! haha We were talking to Sister Mod about Min's situation and
she told us that the elders had always had such a hard time teaching her
because the grandma was so rude and would tell them to leave. However, I
already told you how she was so excited to let us in and feed us all this stuff and
give us hair product. Last night we went to drop off something to
Min and the grandma told us to come in and sit down because she wanted to show
us pictures. She also wants us to come over for dinner this week. Oh, also, on
Saturday Min invited us over to make candy with her and her friends because her
grandma was teaching them how. Way fun. We made these coconut cantaloupe candy
things. But, the grandma would not let us leave until we had eaten lunch! Then
later that day we came back to actually teach Min a lesson. When the grandma
saw us she literally went and dragged out a little table, put a red table cloth
on it and brought us all this fruit, smoothies, and soup! haha I am so
confused, but so pleased that she likes us so much. I think we're going to be
able to help Min progress a lot better. We asked her to be baptized and she
agreed! Anyway, her Mom works way far away and only comes home once or twice a
year, so she wants to wait until her mom comes home in December. So, we
probably won't see her baptized, but I'm so glad she has that desire and has
that goal now!
This week I
think I definitely got food poisoning for the first time! haha On Tuesday I
felt so sick all day long and I'm pretty sure it was from whatever we ate the
night before at FHE. However, the day that I felt sick was really fun! We had
our first district meeting with the new elders and it was great. E. Chelson is
way organized and had a lot of great advice/counsel. Afterwards we went out and
visited a LA who lives waaaay out. We went with a couple in the ward and their
little boy. It felt so nice to just be with a normal little family. The family
unit is very weak in Thailand and I cannot really think of any other families I
know where there is actually a mom and dad and kids that are all living
together and in the gospel. It just felt really nice to be with them. But the
lady we visited lives in the most beautiful lush place ever! So
gorgeous. But, the greener it gets, the more mosquitoes there are. I attract
mosquitoes like no other! So, I was putting all this ointment on my bites so I
wouldn’t itch them, then this little dog came over to me and started licking it
all off! Ick! haha Dogs and mosquitoes will not leave me alone!
One goal that
we have here is to make church a bit more spiritual of an experience. We
noticed that people are always late and that causes meetings to start way late.
Church is also definitely the social gathering place and sometimes I feel like
people forget the real purpose for coming to church. So, last week the branch
president had a big meeting and basically talked about needing to come on time,
think about the sacrament/ Christ's sacrifice, and being reverent. There was a
big difference this week! We try to get there about 30-40 minutes early to
welcome people and then Sis. M plays prelude to set the tone for the meeting. I
think the talk from the branch president and having music really made a
difference because church started 2 minutes early!! What? I have never been to
anything in Thailand that has started on time, let alone early!! So excited!!
So, this
weekend there is a big conference going on in Roi Et and Khon Kaen because
Elder Gerritt W. Gong (first quorum of 70) is coming! Our branch is singing in
a little choir for it and they've been going like crazy trying to prepare for
it. So, since S. Mullen is the only one that plays the piano well enough, we've
had to go to practices to accompany them. They asked me to lead the choir! haha
If only I could actually read the song. Actually, I pretty much have it memorized
because we've sung it so much. But now I can say that I've lead a Thai choir!
Fun!
Turns out we
will be having switch-offs this week with Sisters in Galasin (Sister Greenwood!)
So, I'm not going to the meeting on Saturday to sing with the choir. But we
will go on Sunday!!! I'm way excited to go to Galasin and see Sister Greenwood!!
Yay!
On Thursday was
Sister Wright's birthday. So, we made her some little treats and took them over
to her with the Elders. She is so funny! She took a bite of the brownie and
then danced around and made us each take a bite. Then she made the elders do
the hokey pokey for her. Love it!
We also met with
Sister Joy. She's so cute and so excited about coming back to church. When I
called her to see if we could meet she said, "Yes! Let's meet at 12 and
eat som tam and then have the lesson!" So, we had som tam, fish, brownies, and
then a lesson on the restoration. I just love meeting with her.
Oh, the other
day we went to visit another less active sister. Her husband was there and he
really likes it when we come over because he likes to speak English with us.
Anyway, he was playing some John Denver and would get so excited if we knew the
song. When "Country Road" started playing I sang along with it and he
was way happy! haha The song kind of made me homesick, though.
So, yesterday
when we were coming back from teaching we were stopped at a stoplight
and this man walked up to Sister Mullen and wanted to shake her hand. Warning
for anyone coming to Thailand: if someone wants to shake your hand beware. That
is very abnormal because everyone always just "ways." Anyway, she
shook his hand and then he planted a huge kiss on her hand. I have never seen
such quick reflexes from anyone. She yanked her hand away and then luckily the
light turned green right then and we rode away! So funny and unexpected.
Oh, this story
is really funny. Sometimes missionaries go a little far to make their goals.
Yesterday the elders were sitting waiting for church to start and they realized
that only one of their investigators was going to come to church. To get their
balanced key indicators they needed one more person at church. So, they left
and flagged down a tuk tuk driver and just told him to go wherever. After
they'd been driving for a few minutes they saw this garbage lady off the side
of the road and told the tuk tuk driver to stop. They hopped out of the tuk tuk
and ran over to the lady and told her that she needed to go to church! haha This
poor random woman was probably so confused. Anyway, I’m not sure what they
said, but they somehow convinced her to hop in the tuk tuk with them and go to
church. Apparently she would only speak Esan with them so they couldn't
communicate real well. haha It just made me laugh that they literally dragged
this lady off the street to come to church.
Those are the
highlights of the week.
Good luck with
the first day of school and seminary! Can't wait to hear about it all!
Thanks for
being the most amazing wonderful family in the world!
I love you!
Liz
Monday, August 19, 2013
A great week
Hello Hello!
Daniel, did those little cracker
things taste good? We gave them to our English students as little prizes. Guess
what?? Yesterday I was sitting outside of 7/11 and an elephant walked down the street! Soooo
awesome!
Mom, I'm glad you liked the som tam!
We just had it two days ago with our new elders. And, of course, every Sunday
the members make it. There's a papaya version, a cucumber version, and a Lao
version that is super fishy. Love it! Did it come with sticky rice? That's what
they always eat it with here.
On Saturday we were at the church so
Sis. M could help the ward members practice a musical number for a conference.
I was sitting in the back eating a See's sucker and a member came up to me and
asked me if I like chocolate. I said, "Yes!!" The next day she showed
up at church with an armload of little chocolate candies for me and Sister
Mullen! Thank you Sister ChuanPhid! So sweet. She seriously brings us food
every Sunday and whenever we visit her she wants to take us to eat. She takes
us to get smoothies often. So cute! She's the lady that got baptized by the
elders my first Sunday here. She's a very classy lady and a little sassy! haha
I just love her. She's the one that I said was my Thai grandma.
So, Sister M and I did not get
transferred. I'm really glad, I wanted to stay here longer. But, both of our
elders were whitewashed out. E. Beuhner went to Chiang Mai!!!! And Elder
Attasit went somewhere in BKK! Way cool! Our new elders are Elder Chelson (he's
been out over a year) and Elder Chambers (he came in with S. M's group).
They're going to be great! They didn't get here until Saturday, though, because
E. Chambers was sick with something in the hospital, and E. Chelson was singing
with "Beyond 5."
But... drumroll... this was a
breakthrough week!!! Thank you so much for your fasting and prayers. I think
they made a big difference! We decided that we wanted to fast, as well, for our
investigators. On Wednesday we broke our fast and decided to drop by an
investigator's shop. Her name is Sister D. She had a baptismal date from the
previous elders but didn't make it because she would never have time to meet
with us because she was traveling a lot and having family issues. Eventually,
we were hardly even able to get her to answer her phone. So, we decided it was time
something changed with her and we just stopped by her house. We were kind of
nervous and hoped she'd take it okay. She was totally welcoming and invited us in.
She told us that she missed us and just that morning she'd been thinking about
calling us. I felt like she really was sincere about what she was saying.
Anyway, she still has the desire to be baptized and she wants to get baptized
next month! We're going to try to do all we can to get her ready before the end
of this month, though! We'll see. It'll be pretty hard because she can't meet
often, but we are going to really, really try! I was so encouraged and so
beyond happy!!!
But then it got even better! We've
been teaching a 28 year old girl. She had not been progressing hardly at all
until about two weeks ago when she had a great spiritual experience with
prayer. She also has finally started reading the BoM assignments we've given
her. Anyway, this was my turn to lead the lesson and we decided to finally
extend the baptismal commitment to her. To be honest I was expecting her to
reject it. But she said YES!!!! Oh my goodness I am sooooooo happy! She said
she would if she was ready by then (we gave her a date for the 15thof next month). We assured her she'd be ready and we'd be here to help her
along the way. I am just so happy that she has this goal now and I hope that
things progress in the right direction!
Also, here is a great example of the
importance of members in missionary work (what the apostles taught at the
broadcast is very true!!) We have an investigator that has the desire
to go to church and probably be baptized, but her grandma won't allow it. In
fact last week she had to cancel her appointment with us because her gma
wouldn't let us come over. So, we found out from a church member that the
grandma is good friends with another member, Sister Yuen. Sister Yuen agreed to
come with us to help us get into this girl's house and keep the grandma
happy/occupied. Well, that was the most effective thing I've ever experienced.
Normally the grandma is very grumpy and just glares. She doesn't even say
hello. With the member there she was a completely different person! She came
over to us and each gave us a flower for our hair. Then she brought us some
fish concoction she'd made and told us how healthy it was. Then she brought us
fruit and then she brought us this pumpkin coconut dessert thing she'd made
(which was wayyy good by the way). She then brought us this shampoo/conditioner
stuff that she makes from these fruits that are sort of like limes and gave us
a bottle. Holy Cow! Where did all this generosity and kindness come from?? haha
I told her that she knows how to do everything and she laughed and seemed
really pleased! I also told her that her coconut pumpkin stuff was the tastiest
thing I'd ever eaten (may be true) and she gave me some to take home! So, this
to me proved the importance of having members come to lessons!
So, those were definitely the most
exciting things this week. But, there are just some little other things that
happened that I'll share, too.
A couple of nights ago we were
trying to decide where to go. Neither of us really knew. Sarakham is small and
there are only so many places to go. So, we prayed about it and then I started
biking down a road. So, when Sister Stevenson leads inviting we end up getting
chased by a pack of angry dogs, through a small herd of cows until we reach a
power plant where nobody lives. When Sister Mullen takes over and leads we end
up at the bus station and have nine small lessons with random people waiting to
go to their destinations. Good thing I'm not training! haha Way funny. You
should look up "Thai cows" or something... they are very different
from cows in America!
A couple days ago we went to
Swensen's to get some ice cream and fill out our correlation sheet for Sunday.
Another falang came in and sat a table away from us. We started chatting and
turns out he's from England. His name is James and he teaches English
somewhere. He was way nice and we invited him to church. Not sure if he'll
come, but we have his number and I feel like he'd be open to learning with us.
AND it would be in English! He lives out by the monkey farm and he said if we
ever go we should call him and he'll come with us and bring his girlfriend.
The other day we were inviting
around this little shopping complex. Around 8:30 we went back to our bikes to
head on home. I got on my bike and started riding, but I could not for the life
of me ride straight and finally I tipped over... I was so confused and I think
the people on the sidewalk were a little disturbed and amused! haha Anyway, my front tire had gotten punctured
somehow and it was completely deflated! So, we had to take a tuktuk home... 80฿ out the window. But I got it fixed the next day and it's
totally fine.
When we picked up the Elders we went
and got som tam with them and Sister Nok. Elder Chelson asked about school,
etc... I told him I'd been at the Y for three years. He was way excited to get
an update on the football team... haha. Wishful thinking on his part! I told
him they did well last season. I actually have no idea and that doesn't tell
him much anyway. Then he asked about Riley Neilson. I knew something happened
with him last season but I could not remember what! I was like, "yeah... I
heard his name a lot... I think he did really well, but got hurt or
something..." And then Elder Chelson said that I'm apparently not the
person to ask! haha Wish Grandma Lynn had been there to set him straight on BYU football!
Two nights ago we were in line at a
grocery store and two Indian men started talking to me. I started chatting a
little bit in Thai to them, but then they asked if I spoke English. Yes, I do! But after talking for a few minutes I realized it would
have been much easier to speak to them in Thai! I have never heard such a thick
accent in my life. I seriously probably understood 3 words of what they said.
But, we invited them to church and they were nice about it. He kept asking me
"what percent of Thai do you know?" How are you supposed to quantify
that? um... 2%? haha Sister Mullen said
I knew 50%, so that was nice of her and they were impressed! If only that were
true!
Last night when we went inviting we
decided to just go sit on the curb and see who came by and try to talk to them.
So, within just a few minutes a guy walked by. He kind of looked at us, so I
said hello and then he came over. Sometimes I think people really want to talk
to falangs but are too scared to. So, with a bit of an invitation they totally
jump on it. He came over and plopped himself down beside us and talked for at
least a half-hour. He showed us pictures of his family... and his car! But, he
actually seemed maybe a little interested. We told him about what we teach,
invited him to church, gave him a pamphlet on how to pray, etc... and he
invited us to come visit him. So, I think in the next little while we're going
to go out to his house and hold a family home evening for his family.
I've been trying to think of some
cultural things to share... I wish I would have written down things that really
stood out to me at first because it’s all starting to seem normal now.
But here are a few things:
People answer their phones no matter
what is going on. In the middle of church, in the middle of a conversation,
someone's giving a spiritual thought... doesn't matter, they will answer their
phones.
Never point your feet toward anyone
or do any task with your feet... very disrespectful.
People take off their shoes to enter
homes, small buildings/shops, and the church.
Instead of napkins, homes and restaurants
will have a little toilet paper dispenser thing. haha
People eat with a fork and a spoon.
I have yet to see a butter knife. If you're right handed you hold the spoon
with your left hand and the fork with your right and use the fork to scoop food
onto the spoon. Interesting. I like it! You should all try eating Thai style
next meal.
People do not deal well with the
rain here... everyone runs for cover because they think they'll get sick. It's
like 90 degrees out.
Public toilets are usually pretty
awful and you have to buy toilet paper from a machine if you want it!
Anyway, just a few fun things!
Thank you all so much for your love
and support. It makes such a difference! I love you all so much!!!!!! Have a
fabulous week! Samuel, please don't die at XC! :)
Love,
Liz :)
Elephant crossing!
With Sister Mien...went to see Min with her.
With a lady at church. She wanted to take a pic with me, including a pic of her son. She likes to try and speak English with us.
We get soup a lot...yum! It's a really good broth that they put noodles, meat and bean sprouts in. Then add vinegar and sugar. But, mostly I like the bowl!
Okay, this is one of my favorite things here. A wedge of pumpkin with coconut custard stuff in the middle. Must learn how to make this!
Monday, August 12, 2013
Market MoTab and mother's day
Hello Wonderful Family!
Thank you all so much for the
emails! Wahoo! I just looooove hearing what is going on. Last P-day, just a few
hours after I emailed we met up with the elders and they had our mail! Best
mail day ever! At night we have an hour before bed to write in our journals,
do whatever... I usually will write in my journal and read a letter or two.
Love it!
Thank you so much for the
celcius/fahrenheit conversion! 86 degrees is not that bad. But I guess it is
the cold season... ugh... just imagine when summer hits! Luckily rainy/cold
season lasts a long time! I really love the rain storms here. It makes it hard
to do much because everyone runs for cover and we can't really proselyte. But,
as far as enjoying some nature, it's awesome.
And yes, I’m way excited about Oct
31st finishing date. I hope it doesn't change, I don't think it will now that
this whole 9 week transfer thing is pretty set in stone. And that does mean
I'll be in Mahasarakham for another two months, unless President Senior decides
to switch things up, which is totally possible. But I have a feeling we'll both
be here another transfer. I really hope so! I feel like I'm getting comfortable
with this area and I just love it here so much. I feel like I’m finally able to
speak enough to actually have meaningful conversations with ward members. This
last week I really felt like my language understanding and speaking improved.
One member asked me how I'm feeling about the language now that my first
transfer is over and I said it is going way better. She told me she agrees
because she can understand me better! haha So, slow but sure improvements. Yay!
Oh, big exciting news of this week!
We had one reactivation!! Her name is Sister J. and she's been a less active
for a while. She's probably about 25-30 and is married. When we got to Mahasarakham
Sister Nok took us to visit her and we've been continuing to visit her. She's
been coming to church almost every week since we've been here, and yesterday
she had her interview with the branch president. She's officially been
"rescued" and is an active, participating member! She is way full of joy and a joy to be around. So happy for her! Just
as exciting as a baptism to me!
Bad news of the week: at the end of
last week Sister Mullen started feeling a little sick. We got a thermometer and
her temperature was increasing until it hit 102 degrees, and eventually 103!
Holy cow! We called Sister Senior and she told us to go to Khon Kaen to the
hospital. The Khon Kaen elders met us at the bus station and got a dtukdtuk to
take us there. They waited with us there for a few hours as she got blood tests
and everything. They were such a big help, so grateful for them. So, turns out
Sister Mullen had contracted Dengue fever! It's pretty bad, and it is the
most common really bad illness that missionaries get here. It's from the
mosquitoes, so it's not contagious. Usually when people here have Dengue fever
they are hospitalized, but the doctor didn't feel that was necessary-- luckily.
So, we went back home and she rested. We had to go back to Khon Kaen on
Wednesday for another check up. She was doing way better and the doctor felt
fine about her recovering. She's totally fine now, but we spent a few days at
home so she could rest. Poor thing!! Our elders were great. They taught our
English class for us last minute, and they stopped by to see how she was doing.
Elder Beuhner also called Sister Nok and asked her to get us food and Snickers. So, for the last week, Sister Nok has been constantly bringing us
Snickers! We seriously have like 6 in our fridge right now! We also had
multiple ward members call and ask how they could help us. Anyway, Sis Mullen
is feeling fine now, and I'm so grateful for all the people who take care of
us.
Since Sister Mullen was sleeping and
sick for a few days I had complete control of the phone! haha That was fun... I
actually understood more than I thought I could. So, good phone practice.
Oh, this was kind of funny. While we
were traveling back to Mahasarakham on the bus I was dozing off, but I could
hear a group of college students behind me talking about the "falang"
(me). Then all of a sudden I felt one of them tap me on the head. I turned
around and smiled at them and they all laughed and hopped off the bus! I'm
pretty sure they thought I was asleep and were daring each other to touch my
head. Funny!
Okay, this was AWESOME!! Two days
ago I got a phone call from Suzanne!!! Ahhhhh! I was so excited! We talked for
about 10 minutes! I think she was heading back home soon, but she'd been in
Chiang Mai. I think she had a great week here in Thailand! It was amazing to
hear her voice! She gave me some great advice and totally gave me a huge boost!
Love her!
So, this week I bought a guitar! I
walked into the only guitar shop I've ever seen here and asked for the cheapest
guitar they have. They brought out a sky blue guitar for 1300 Bhat. Done. The
owners were excited that a falang bought from their shop and they had me and
Sis M pose with the guitar so that they could take a picture for their facebook
page. haha I really wish I could tell you what the page is, but it's in Thai.
So, with my fine new guitar we went
to market that night. We borrowed a folding table and set up our pamphlets,
flyers, copies of The Book of Mormon, etc... I started playing hymns and Sister
Mullen sang them (I don't have the words for any hymns memorized in Thai, so I
just kind of hummed along). But then, one of the people in charge of the market
came over and handed her a microphone. haha I think she was a little mortified
because it connects to loudspeakers that broadcast to the entire market! But it
was fun! It was not the most successful idea, but I think we're on to something
here! The guy also said we could bring music to play over the loudspeakers. A
little Friday night market MoTab anyone? haha Way fun!
Today is Mother's Day in Thailand.
So, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to Mom, Grandma, Grandma, and all my other mothers! I
love you all so much! In celebration of Mother's Day the branch had a big
program. It was really really cool! The Young Women did a traditional Thai
dance with traditional costumes. There were a few speakers and musical numbers,
and then they all "way"ed their mothers. I love this tradition. They
had all the mothers sit in front of the room, and then all their children come
kneel in front of them and pin flowers to their shirts. Then the mothers give
little blessings to their children. It was so sweet! I went and
"way"ed Sister ChuanPhid! She got baptized my first Sunday here and
is kind of my Thai Grandma! So much fun! And of course, it would not be
Thailand if they didn't have enough food to feed five armies. We had some
really good soup and sweets afterwards! Super fun event!
A few days before the Mother's Day
program we went over to the church so that Sis Mullen could accompany the YW as
they were practicing a song for the program. We turned on the AC and a bat flew
out of the vent and started circling the room! All the girls started screaming
and we all ran for cover! It was super funny. The branch president had to come
and get it somehow.
Another fun thing here- I know you
already know this, but everyone goes by their nicknames. Real names seem to
only be for formal things. So, it's always fun to ask people what their
nicknames mean. Every once in a while people have crazy nicknames that are
English words, like Omelette, Salad, and Sandwich!
Yesterday we went out to Sister
Jiam's house to visit her. She's the lady that we sing to every day. She is not
doing well and is not expected to live much longer. Her cancer is really bad
and she's in a lot of pain. I feel so sad for her. However, she has the most
positive attitude and biggest smile always. We missionaries went with about 40
ward members to her little house and spent some time with her. Sister Mullen
and I sang her "I am a Child of God" and then the youth all
"way"ed her for Mother's Day, and then they sang her a Thai Mother's
Day song. It was so special to be out there with her. I was so sad to see her
in such bad condition but I really felt the Spirit as pretty much the whole
branch was together there to support her. I just love how the gospel and this
church binds people together. I also love the knowledge of the Plan of
Happiness and that we can all be together forever. This life is just a short
time but we have eternity together! What amazing news!
Last night was one of the YW's 18th
birthday, so we went to Sister Wright's house for a dinner and surprise party
for her. It was way fun! I had some really good chats with ward members and I
understood a lot.Yay! One lady in the ward learned how to make brownies and
lemon bars from a previous elder and she makes them for EVERY event that the
ward has. Fine by me! Lemon bars always make me think of Mom.
So, as far as teaching this week
goes, not the best. Every appointment we had fell through. Sometimes I get a
little frustrated because we have these lessons prepared and I feel like our
investigators might be making progress. Then the appointments end up falling
through for silly reasons. I just feel like we are not teaching well enough for
them to feel the spirit enough that they want to make the time for us. I don't
know, there's a lot to learn and I just wish we could get in more lessons and
that people would actually meet with us when they agree to. It's okay, though,
I know we'll be able to meet with them, it just might be at a slower pace than
I'd like.
This week I was reading in the
Conference Ensign and I loved President Uchtdorf's talk "Your Wonderful
Journey Home." He asks us what are we doing on our journey, and are we
where we want to be? He explains that we have maps on this journey of life to
help us and they are the scriptures, words of the prophets, and revelation
through the Holy Ghost. I love that we have this guidance in our life and that
we have purpose and direction. What a blessing.
I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! Thank you for
your love and support and happiness! Have a wonderful week!
Love,
Liz
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