Monday, June 20, 2016
Week 31 in Field!
Kaw Soi- Northern Food! So yummmy :)
On Wednesday, we took a long, winding, uphill trip through the mountains to go visit an LA family.
Some slopes were so steep that we had hold on for dear life!!
Meeting Sister Nok and Brother Sutti, made the trip so worthwhile!
These two lovely people in their humble abode, despite the challenges that they face have such a great appreciation and love for the Lord.
Sister Nok even took us around her neighborhood and introduced us to several people that we could share the gospel with.
We found 4 new investigators from our adventure up to the mountains that day!
Sister Nuan was baptized just before I was transferred to Chiang Mai!
She is such a treasure! Her endless gratitude for the gospel, pure love for our Heavenly Father and the Savior are outstanding.
She's been spreading the gospel as far and wide as she possibly can, and have given us the opportunity to share our message with her friends.
She is an amazing teacher, full of love and compassion for the people in her life.
My companion and I were inviting at a market when we stopped to watch, mesmerized, this little girl.
This tiny little child, was stacking and putting away these stools like a boss.
She seemed too experience for such a tiny person..
Then, we turned around to see this school girl, working away at making food to sell...
Several different thoughts were running through my mind...
1) It was so precious to see these little children, helping in the ways they could to run their family business.
2) How fortunate was I to have had parents who had jobs that allowed my brother and me to just enjoy school and play?
On Saturday, we had Zone Training!
It was nice to see some of our fellow missionaries from surrounding areas.
"Don't get discouraged! Keep Working hard, and don't forget to gather the flecks of Gold. Gold is Gold."
We learned that sometimes, missionary work doesn't go the way we planned. And sometimes, we wonder about the "results" we're getting.
But, it's important to remember that the blessings from missionary work come in a variety of forms, not just investigators who get baptized.
It's important to remember that the other members in our ward are just as important as our investigators.
No one is perfect and everyone has concerns and challenges in life.
The little flecks of Gold are just as important as the nuggets.
The First Half of My Mission- THE TRUTH
The past 9 months have been quite a thrilling roller coaster ride!
There's been ups and downs, mountains to climb, deserts to cross, slumps to pull out of, and endless reasons to rejoice.
Heavenly Father has been so very merciful to me, despite all of my shortcomings and countless mistakes. I know there have been times on my Mission thus far, when I have not been a very good missionary.
Sometimes, it's not easy to stay focused.,, sometimes, it's hard not to be lazy.
The last couple transfers have probably been the hardest transfers so far.
They were transfers in which I had to a hard time loving my companion and didn't have very much motivation to overcome my laziness...
It was so easy to pick out my companion's faults and focus on them, rather than forgiving her and moving on.
It was so easy to be lazy alongside my companion instead of jumping up and helping her move forward.
I know that Heavenly Father allowed me two whole transfers in this state to really help me learn several important lessons.
I learned to let things go...to put aside my pride and move onward.
I always thought that focusing on the good in others instead of the bad was one of my few talents...
These past two transfers really tested that...
They made me question if this was a talent of mine after all...
The thought that kept coming to my mind was: "I don't need to like her, I just need to love her."
When in reality, all this did was allow me to continue picking out her faults...
Once I recognized that, I decided that I needed to take a really hard, deeper look at myself instead of pointing fingers.
The things that drove me crazy, I learned to let go and co-exist. I started to focus on overcoming my own weaknesses.
Slowly, my relationship with my companion got better.
But, the challenge with that was that it was easy to let go of too much...
It was easy to stop caring all together...
To become lazy.
It was a struggle to stand up for what was right for fear of tainting our relationship again.
It was an ultimate battle for balance.
I don't know if I ever mastered this fine balance...
But I know that through this experience, I have become more patient, and a little more bold.
The truth is? A mission is extremely hard.
For me right now, my mission is being a full-time missionary in Thailand.
But whatever your mission may be, the trials will come.
Every time you overcome a challenge, you're thrown another one.
I know that this because Heavenly Father wants His children to learn and grow, sometimes in leaps and bounds, in order to be more effective instruments in His hands.
"God sent you here to prepare for a future greater than anything you can imagine. That future, a day at a time, comes alive when you do more than just exist; it comes alive when you live your [mission] life to fill the measure of your [calling]. This invites the Lord into your life, and you begin to let His will become yours." (President Dieter F. Uchtdorf)
"He knows who you can become. He knows your fears and your dreams. He relishes your potential. He waits for you to come to Him in prayer. Because you are His child, you not only need Him, but He also needs you. Those sitting around you...need you. The world needs you, and your divine nature allows you to be His trusted disciple to all His children." (Rosemary M. Wixom)
With these words ringing in my heart, I echo Isaiah's words:
"...He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me; And said unto me: Thou art my servant, [Sister Kwak], in whom I will be glorified...It is a light thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the [people of Thailand]...I will also give thee for a light to the [Thai People], that thou mayest be my salvation unto the ends of the earth." (1Nephi 21: 2,3,6)
As long as we're trying, the Lord will bless us for our efforts.
I am amazed at the number of miracles that constantly surround me.
Some of the greatest miracles have been witnessing the power of the Holy Ghost in converting others to come unto Christ.
The most powerful moments on my mission have been when testifying of the Gospel Truths.
The most beautiful miracles have been the change in people's countenances as the Holy Ghost bears witness to them of these magnificent truths.
I've been so blessed to meet countless wonderful people through this majestic work of the Lord, and it's hard to imagine life not knowing them now.
I know that the Savior lives! And through the power of His Atoning Sacrifice, we can overcome our weaknesses and challenges.
The Music of the Gospel is glorious!
As we open our ears, and let the music take us away on a delightful dance, our hearts will be filled with the Love of God.
No matter how hard life gets, we can be truly happy in our circumstances.
We just have to choose to be grateful.
Monday, June 13, 2016
I Love to See the Temple! :D <3
Monday: We heart attacked the Staples family and the Condiff family in the ward just to show them how much we love and appreciate them. Both brother and sister Staples actually served in the Canada Montreal mission. How awesome is that! We met with our investigator Twana who came to church on Sunday and loved it! We read from The Book of Mormon with her and she just believes that the gospel is true! Her dad is a member in the Racine ward and her brother Roy is taking the lessons there with my old companion Sister Gross. Small world! We met with this guy named Tyrone who came up to talk to us at a Wendy's last week. He was actually the youngest youth to be incarcerated as an adult in the whole state but you would never be able to tell! He is an entrepreneur now who helps keep youth off the streets and he is starting his own TV show on CBS. He was awesome though! He is well versed in the scriptures and we definitely got his attention with The Book of Mormon. We went to visit this sweet old lady named Virginia who had cancer. Her sister in Memphis is a member so we shared the first vision with her and the let her rest because she wasnt feeling well. She was super sweet though and invited us back. We are not living in our ward boundaries right now. We actually lived in the Brookfield ward boundaries. We came home to a watermelon on our pation from Sister Bednarek in the Brookfield ward. So sweet!
Tuesday: District meeting was so much fun! We all went to eat lunch together at Cousins Subs afterwards. It was a great way to build unity. Our district leader Elder Goldsberry is super nice! We were tracting and we found this super sweet lady named Deb. She actually works with a member named Andrea from the YSA ward. She is Catholic but loves learning about different faiths.
Saturday: We took Tiffany out with us for half of the day. She is nineteen and has been a member about two years. Most of our lessons fell through today so we tracted and talked ot people on the streets. We met this super cool man named Willy. We taught him the first vision and he told us a bit about his background. He has seen many churches in his time because he cleans them for work! He said they we would be able to come by again and teach him soem more which is wonderful!
Sunday: The best day of the week always! We had Janice And Jennifer at church for the first time. We went to the YSA sacrament with Jennifer because she was super nervous. They talked alot about trials and the atonement. Something that really stuck out to me was that Christ had to suffer it all and so how could we expect to ge tthorugh life without a little bit of tirla and testing because that is how we grow. Jennifer loved everything about church! We got the elders to give our investigator Ella a blessing and then we taught them a powerful first vision lesson and they accepted a baptismal date for July 15th. The Spirit was super strong!
Monday, June 6, 2016
Week 30 in Field!
Okay...I haven't had enough time to collect all of my thoughts about the first half of my mission...
So that will be in next week's post!
Biggest News This Week: TRANSFERS
I am now in the beautiful scenic city of Chiang Mai, up in the Northern Parts of Thailand!
I have another Thai companion! She's actually still a Greenie...This is only her second transfer!
It's hard to believe that I am a trainer already (even if I am only a follow-up trainer)...
I don't feel old enough in this mission to have that responsibility of not only becoming senior companion, but a trainer as well!
This transfer is going to take a lot of faith and trust in Heavenly Father.
But, before I tell you more about my companion and Chiang Mai...
Flash back to my last couple days in Sisaket!
The second to last day in Sisaket, our district helped MEE May clean her house...
It was full to the brim with junk, mold and bugs...
It also happened to have some interesting friends....like rats...dead and alive...
...and...a giant snake....no big deal...except...it slithered over Elder Hunt's arm...and a bunch of snake experts came to capture it!
Elder Bundy's bike was in the shop for repairs...and the Elders happened to find an old skateboard at MEE May's house....
So....
It didn't work out too well...
President Sxa came to visit Sisaket!
He's one of the counselors to President Johnson.
And this happens to be the only district picture we have this past transfer!
Elder Hunt and Elder Davis joined the no smoking campaign while inviting at the market...
Elder Bundy joined in and proceeded to teach English Class like this!
And with that...ends my adventures in Sisaket!
After an 8 hour bus trip to Bangkok...and then another 9 hour bus trip to Chiang Mai...
This is my first night in Chiang Mai with half of my district!
The first salad I have had in so long! It was so delicious!!
And Korean Food that I haven't had in 9 months!!! :')
Sister Phosawan and Sister Tak, my companion
And the adventures begin in Chiang Mai!
I've been having a little bit of a culture shock...
There are many parts of Thailand that look as if a piece of North America or Europe has been dropped here...
But, culture shock aside, Chiang Mai has magnificent scenic views!
We are surrounded by luscious, green mountains
!
This is Brother Toru from Japan.
Despite his interesting choice of attire to church this past Sunday, he is probably one of the most devoted people I have ever met when it comes to missionary work.
He invited someone who came on the same flight as him to learn with the missionaries, called us up, and set up an appointment.
Despite his broken English, he tried his utmost best to bear his witness of the truths of the gospel.
It was probably the hardest lesson I have ever taught in Thailand so far.
His new friend, a girl from England had questions upon questions...
I was taken aback by her skepticism at everything we shared... and it was strange to teach a lesson in English...but somehow, we made it through.
That lesson was far from perfect, but I hope that the next time she meets missionaries, it will trigger something in her that drives her to learn more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
On a fun note, I met my boyfriend while inviting at a mall!
Today for PDAY, Sister Tak and I went to Tiger Kingdom to play with our large feline buddies!
This is my cute little companion, Sister Tak.
She is 30 years old, Thai, and from Bangkok!
I don't feel like the Trainer or Senior Companion around her because she's already an amazing missionary!
She works hard and leads me around this new area.
She's super driven in the Work of Salvation, but knows how to have fun too!
It's a pleasure being her companion, and I hope that we will have more unity and become the best of friends as we continue the work of the Lord here in Chiang Mai.
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