My Thai Missionary: November 2016

Sunday, November 27, 2016

Testimony

I've gotten sick again so I'll keep it short and share some thoughts that came to me while picking rice this past week.

I know this church is true. I know God is real. Diligence is nothing without faith. I know the Jesus lives and is the Son of God and our Savior.

I love you all, merry Christmas!

Sunday, November 20, 2016

New Companion!

I forgot it was Thanksgiving!!!!

This week has been busy with transfers. I have a new companion, Sister Panasuto! She is from Mahasarakham but got baptized at Roi Et so she knows lots of members here already. She looks likes she is from Tonga and she has an afro but she is Thai. To put it simply, she's cool as.

This week there is a scripture I found this morning:

There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God. (Ecclesiastes 2:24)

This week I want to you to

Take time to eat and drink as you celebrate Thanksgiving!
Reflect on the joy and good that your labor brings. At the end of the day, if you don't like what you're doing, you're doing it wrong. Do good and look for the hand of God in your labors, and soon you will begin to see how much joy that you can have in the work--school work, job work, house work, missionary work.

Also, just curious to see how the family is on that challenge I gave you a little bit ago about inviting those in our life to learn the gospel. Has anyone shared anything yet? I'd love to hear.

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Boo baptized, 50-year celebration

Boo's baptism

Our investigator, ปู่สมาน got baptized this week! In Thai we call him "Boo" which means grandpa. (but that depends on the tone though too because Boo also means crab)

50-year anniversary celebration of LDS Church in Thailand

We also had Thailand's 50 year anniversary celebration of the Church being dedicated in Thailand.

Now if you're interested, here's a dose of miracle for your day:

I had a switch off in an old area of mine, actually with my old companion too, Sister Nan. We had an appointment at the university there with a new member. We walked to the cafeteria to wait there, and sat down at an empty table next to another table where a girl was by herself eating lunch. We struck up a conversation, chatting about life until she invited us to sit at the same table as her. Then we start talking about the gospel and why we are here waiting at the university, when our member we planned to teach walked up and sat down at the table with our new friend named Bom. We invited Bom to continue to sit and hear a message with the new member we had an appointment with, and she accepted. It turns out, it's just what she needed. Bom was pretty stressed with a lot of things going on in her life and she didn't know how to deal with it all. Because we made the effort to start a conversation, we were able to introduce prayer and invite Bom to pray before we left. After Bom finished praying, she surprised us by asking how many times she was allowed to pray during the day. Of course we replied happily, "all day, every day!"

What I love about this miracle is that we could have just as easily sat there waiting for our member to come, not talking to anyone, but because we reached outside of our comfort zone, we became useful instruments in God's hands. A comment that brought goosebumps to all of us is that Bom didn't know why she came to eat at the university. She's not a student there, and she said she normally just makes food at home. Something inside her made her feel like she should go eat at the university that day. And because we were putting ourselves out there, a miracle occurred. I can't count the number of times I've sat down and had conversations with people that aren't interested, how many people have rejected our message. But I do know that all we do is for the small moments we can bring to pass like this miracle. I have a testimony that miracles are real and that with faith and lots of effort, they may come to pass.

Love you all, work hard and seek out the miracles!

Getting ready to go to the 50-year anniversary celebration

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Photos!

Sister Donlaya and me at Mission Tour
in Udorn with Elder Wong

This week I can't remember. But I do remember the church is true!

Here's scripture I'd like to share:

Behold, I am the law, and the light. Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life. (3rd Nephi 15:9)

I know that as we choose to make Christ the center of our lives we will be granted eternal life. It's the most simple yet most awesome doctrine known on this earth. I am grateful to be able to share it with everyone.