On Monday, Sister Sattatip and I helped Sister Booyi's family to have Family Home Evening at their own home for the very first time!
We invited Sister Ja, and her son, Ghitar to help us.
At first, it was a little awkward, but soon the Spirit was present as we each shared our favourite scripture and the room filled with laughter as we played a game.
I'm so grateful for the opportunity to witness the first steps of this beautiful family towards Eternal Life!
They have had to completely change their lives in order to accept the gospel...
They ran into challenges with each of the commandments that we taught.
With the Word of Wisdom, Brother Aut had to quit smoking and drinking.
With the Law of Chastity, they had to become legally married.
With the ten commandments, they had to learn what it meant to keep the Sabbath Day Holy, and had to stop working on Sundays and go to church.
With the Law of Tithing and Fasting, they didn't quite understand it at first, but when they finally understood it, they were able to understand it in their hearts.
Watching this family progress in leaps and bounds within the gospel is a confirmation to me that it is true.
I now know what it really means when we say the gospel changes lives and blesses families!
On Tuesday, we went to go visit Sister Wiray and Brother Wishian's family.
This family is another living proof that the gospel truly blesses families!
They joined the church about 10 years ago, and they have stories upon stories of how the gospel has blessed them.
They have such a strong testimony founded in the gospel.
There was no denying the Light in their eyes as they shared their experiences.
Their home was rundown, beaten and looks not much more than an abandoned garage, but it's a happy home.
So much comfort, peace and love can be felt.
The long bike ride over to their home with a flat tire was definitely worth it!
On Wednesday, we had to use most of our day to travel to Roi Et for interviews with President Johnson, and Zone Conference on Thursday.
There is definitely a special spirit when missionaries are gathered together to be trained on how to improve.
Some of the highlights of what I learned:
1) On your mission, you HAVE to be your primary convert! You must become unshakable, no matter what.
2) Love you companions! Treat your companion like your best friend. Don't expect behavior from your companion that you don't require yourself. Look for ways to serve your companion. CHARITY is the key! Be happy for each other and have compassion.
"We are on the same team! Why would I ever criticize them?"
3) We watched a short video about rules in the military. It is required for you to make your bed with precision every single morning. If you can accomplish that, you have accomplished the first task of the day and you can move on to accomplishing the other things. It will set the pace for your day.(I wish I had the video to share with you!) When it comes to obedience, prove it to yourself first! If you can't do the little things, you can't do the big things. Obedience brings peace.
UBON Zone!
UBON + ROI ET Zones
Just the Sisters :)
President and Sister Johnson
MTC Buddy ;)
This is Sister Burbank! She's been my STL for the past two transfers and will be returning home with honour this next week!
I am so grateful to have had the chance to learn from her example of diligent missionary work.
This is not a new face, is it?
Sister Blaylock was called to be an STL and has served alongside Sister Burbank this last transfer!
How luck am I to have Auntie be my STL?
I have been so blessed to have such a loving and caring STL!
The trip back home from Zone Conference was an adventure...
First we started off by piling into these tiny TukTuks..
And then we met a friend at the bus station!
Then..our bus broke down so we had to wait for the next one...
As a result... we had to cram into an already full bus...which meant that the Elders had to sit in the isles!
To finish off the week, we finally got to watch General Conference!!
During this time, I pondered a lot about repentance.
I was struggling with understanding whether or not my repentance process was sufficient, and whether or not I had been forgiven.
I spent a lot of time pondering and praying.
The answers to this question that I received from General Conference all pointed to the same thing.
Heavenly Father is merciful and repentance is a process for us to have peace and happiness in our lives.
It is not a process to condemn us, or ridicule us, or to punish us.
Heavenly Father loves each of His children individually and personally.
I have not doubt about it.
