Monday, June 16, 2014

Two stakes in Thailand! Woot! Woot!

Hello family!


Dad and Grandpa: HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! I love you so much! I hope you have been having a great day today! I've been thinking about you all weekend! :)

Well, it's been a great week here! We'll start with the most exciting news.

Yesterday was Stake Conference. It was held at the Amari Watergate Hotel in Asoke. Way fancy and so much fun! It was just so cool to see so many Thai Saints gathered together. I really felt the Spirit in the meetings. So, at the stake conference Elder Wu, Elder and Sister Wilson, and Elder and Sister Gong were in attendance because, as of yesterday..... Thailand now has TWO stakes!! Amazing! This is something that we've all been working toward for a long time now (and previous missionaries way far back) because it means we're that much closer to having a temple. So, there is now the Bangkok Stake (which includes Bangkapi) and the Bangkok North Stake. They also created the Bangkok West district. So, things are moving along! It was a really awesome, exciting day! Before the conference started President and Sister Senior, as well as Elder and Sister Wilson, conducted a new member meeting. So, it was way fun to go to that with our recent converts. They gave them encouragement, shared their own conversion stories, and warned them of what they will be up against in the future. Keep the faith!

So, yesterday was just amazing! It was also soooo fun because we got to meet with so many missionaries. I got to chat a little bit with Sister Sawangwong and Sister Narayanan! Love those two so much! Miss them like crazy!

Saturday night was the Stake Conference Adult Session and they asked us missionaries to go. It was a really great evening. We heard from the Wilsons and the original stake president, and other leaders. It was a really uplifting evening. They had a choir that did some really nice arrangements. Sister Steele accompanied them on her violin. Wow! She's way good!

On Sunday we had two investigators show up to the conference. They are investigators that we are not teaching anymore, but randomly showed up! So, we're going to try to meet with them tomorrow.

Yesterday evening we had a miracle. So, I think rainy season is starting to set it because it was quite the downpour yesterday evening. We still had not gone inviting yet because of stake conference and teaching appointments, so we decided to go to Fashion Island on the bridge that crosses over the highway to contact. After about an hour on the bridge a former investigator ran up the stairs to greet us, Sister Du! She helped us invite for the following hour and she said she wants to get baptized. We have an appointment with her today.  Praying hard for her and so grateful that she wants to be baptized!

This week we had a really great lesson with Sister P. She told us that before she was a member of the church she would do things that she new she shouldn't because it was wrong, but did anyway. After becoming a member and receiving the Holy Ghost she said that now she sometimes still has those desires, but the Holy Ghost helps her choose the right thing. That was just so awesome to me. She follows the Holy Ghost and eventually that will lead her to a point where she doesn't have those desires. I really felt the Spirit in her lesson and I think she felt really good about sharing how she's improved her life so much! Amazing!

Oh, this was so fun! On Wednesday Brother Goodman came to our Book of Mormon class! It was so fun to chat with him. He's here doing interviews to compile a history of the church in Thailand! Sweet!

Also, this week I finally finished the New Testament! I love that Book so much! Reading about Christ's ministry and also about the apostles really has increased my testimony and my understanding about Gospel principles and the history of that time period. It's been so much fun and I've gotten so much out of it. All I can say is that the Second Coming is coming. John's given us the warnings now let's get ourselves ready for it! Maybe I'll start the Old Testament now. Sister Peterson is reading the Old Testament and she shares what she's reading with me every day. She said it's helping her organize in her mind all the Bible stories we always hear about, and I really like the insights she gets from them. So, maybe I don't need to read it... she's reading it and getting the important meaning from it for me! haha

Next week are transfers! That is crazy. I feel like Bangkapi is my mission. haha I'm going to be sad to leave, but I think I'm getting ready for a change. I'm going to be sad leaving Sister Peterson, too. She's a really awesome missionary and she's been so fun to have as a companion. I've been lucky to have two transfers with her!

Oh, I noticed on facebook that one of my investigators from Mahasarakham got baptized!!! Sister PingPong (sister Bong's daughter if you can remember). So so so happy! She looked so pretty in the pictures!

I love you all so much! 

Love,

Sister Stevenson