Fwd: Elder Quentin L. Cook Comes to Thailand

Begin forwarded message:

From: Colby John Decker <colby.decker@myldsmail.net>
Subject: Elder Quentin L. Cook Comes to Thailand
Date: May 26, 2017 at 8:36:53 AM PDT
To: Robin Decker <Robinlynnd@gmail.com>

Hello everybody. This past week has been crazy. We had to prepare for Elder Cook at the office so it was a lot of cleaning and organizing stuff. So much fun. We haven't really had time for a P-Day. We also had to balance office work with missionary work so it's a lot of stuff to do and we're always busy. The days are flying by fast here and there is so many people here in Asoke. It's cool to see all the different types of people here in Bangkok. Everyone is in a hurry though so they don't have much time to stop and hear our message. But there are plenty of people here to talk to. 

The office is a good time and a new experience. We're teaching a guy named Brother Noy who is from Burma. He's so cool. He said he wants to follow God and be baptized but the problem is he can't get married legally here in Thailand and has to go back to Myanmar to get married which is a bummer. But it will all work out in the end. We dropped some of the Thai missionaries off at the Airport and took them through to security. I thought I wouldn't see the airport again until I went home but I got a chance to see it again.

So yesterday, Elder Quentin L. Cook came to Thailand, and all the missionaries in the mission flew to Bangkok for it. We spent a lot of our time preparing for it. He came a little late because he just flew overnight from India and I got to shake his hand. Since we're pretty much the AP's we sat at the very front right in front of the podium. So we got to see him up close and he's so cool. You could tell that he was called by God by the Spirit he brought with him. It was a cool experience. He talked about Temples and Family History work, and about teaching simply. He said he goes straight off the spirit and doesn't prepare anything. His testimony was so powerful. He said Apostles don't really like sharing spiritual experiences because they are personal and should only be said at appropriate times and than he talked briefly about one and it was crazy. After the missionary meeting, he met with all the members in Thailand at a hotel and the room was packed. There he talked more about the Temple and how you can prepare yourselves and Thailand for a Temple. 

So, in my personal study I was reading in Doctrine and Covenants 121 when Joseph Smith was praying to God in Liberty Jail and he was asking Him where he was after suffering for months in the jail. The Lord responded to his prayer and said, 

7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.

Everyone will face trials and hardships in life. It's part of life. Sometimes we will ask ourselves, where is God at this time in my life? Why is life so difficult? If we take a step back and realize that this time of trials or adversity is just a short moment. If we trust in God, and be patient in our afflictions, God will help us through the difficult times in life and help us overcome the challenges we will face in life. Faith in Jesus Christ will help us throughout our whole life have happiness even when times are rough. Salvation doesn't come easy and it shouldn't be easy. It's eternal happiness based on what we do here on Earth. I know that if we put our faith in Christ, we can return to live with him again with our families for eternity. God is real and he loves each and every one of us. Through faith in Christ we can see many miracles.  I love you all and miss everybody!


Elder Decker
เอ็ลเดอร์ เดกเกอร์
Thailand Bangkok Mission

Fwd: Mother's Day

From: Colby John Decker <colby.decker@myldsmail.net>
Subject: Mother's Day
Date: May 14, 2017 at 9:35:30 PM PDT
To: Robin Decker <Robinlynnd@gmail.com>

Happy Mother's day to all the mothers out there. I don't have a lot of time so I just want to send pictures of the two baptisms we had yesterday. They are Sister Noy and Sister Fang. There's miracles wherever you go and they happen all the time. And we also went to the beach :). Love you all and miss everyone! 

Elder Decker
เอ็ลเดอร์ เดกเกอร์
Thailand Bangkok Mission

Fwd: The Office

Begin forwarded message:

From: Colby John Decker <colby.decker@myldsmail.net>
Subject: The Office
Date: May 7, 2017 at 4:46:36 PM PDT
To: Robin Decker <Robinlynnd@gmail.com>

Hello Everyone! This week has gone by really fast. I got transfered out of Buriram and got assigned to labor in the Office in Asoke. My new companion is Elder Kekauoha and he's from LA. He's pretty cool.  So I'm in downtown Bangkok right now. It's crazy going from a little small Esan town to Bangkok. It's a lot of fun though. Except traffic is terrible. The server has been down in the office so we have been outside doing a lot of inviting which is so much fun. There are a lot of people here. So many people. If you talk to everyone, you will find investigators and people to teach. It's really fun and you see a lot of cool things in the city. We work in the Mission Office with the President and the AP's and share a house with the AP's. It's really fun.

This last week, we met this Filipino guy named Larry and we taught him about the Restoration. He said he always wondered what the true church was and now he has found it. It's weird teaching in English. But he said his family is coming to Thailand and they'll be going to church. Miracles happen everyday.

For church, there was so many people there. We went to the English ward at 9 A.M. because some of our Investigators go to that one and we have to translate for them. They go there because they have to work when the Thai ward starts. At the Thai ward, I met someone from Vegas. She lives by Sahara and Durango or Decatur I can't remember. It's funny there's a lot of people from Las Vegas in Asoke. Such a small world. 

I was reading in 2 Nephi Chapter 9 this week and came across verses 50-51 which says:
50 Come, my brethren, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, come buy and eat; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.
51 Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your a labor for that which cannot satisfy. Hearken diligently unto me, and remember the words which I have spoken; and come unto the Holy One of Israel, and feast upon that which perisheth not, neither can be corrupted, and let your soul delight in fatness.

I really love these two verses. The Gospel and the scriptures are the things that Jesus is talking about. It has no price and you don't need to spend any money to have it. Daily Scripture study is the most important thing we can do each day. It strengthens us to face the temptations that everyone faces everyday. It'll strengthen us and help us overcome trials and challenges that we'll face in life. Every time you open up the scriptures, there is power to it. I find something new and something to help me right now in my life every time I read the scriptures. The scriptures are true and this is the true church. Joseph Smith was a prophet and we have a living prophet today named Thomas S. Monson. I love you all and miss everyone!

Elder Decker
เอ็ลเดอร์ เดกเกอร์
Thailand Bangkok Mission

 

Check out the fat dog at the bottom! There are 3 of them that live at the 7 Eleven HAHAHA

Fwd: 9 Months and the Office

Begin forwarded message:

From: Colby John Decker <colby.decker@myldsmail.net>
Subject: 9 Months and the Office
Date: May 2, 2017 at 8:50:14 PM PDT
To: Robin Decker <Robinlynnd@gmail.com>

Hey moms. I wanted to let you know i'm alive and well. I'm moving to the office in Asoke haha. President called me yesterday saying he's got a special assignment for me. Which means i'll be on the computer more. I will be doing like paperwork stuff and the online portion of the mission like weekly emails and baptisimal records, we live with the AP's idk where though, we serve in the Asoke area. We still proselyte and stuff. But yeah it's my 9 month mark today. Not much has happened this last week. 

We met new investigators the other day who live way out in the boonies. Just kidding but they live far away. They're Cambodian and the Oldest guy there just finished being a monk. What was weird is they were a referral from some member. The member was talking to some lady at the train station and the lady said that she had cancer and was gonna die soon and the member was like we have the priesthood we can heal you so she got in contact with us but either we weren't free or she wasn't free so we didn't get around to it till last Monday. we found out the lady died but the family is like chill with it, it was really weird. 

Another member invited her friend who was having troubles at home to learn with us and she talks a lot. She talked for 50 minutes straight haha. We gave her a date and she went to church. The funny thing was in third hour we were all combined and talked about Tithing. It was funny. It's usually a hard subject to talk about. especially when she's having money problems but she didn't have any questions about it when we met with her. So that was our week pretty much.

I don't feel like sending a group email out. Elder Quentin L. Cook is coming here this month. I'll call you on May 15th for Mother's Day in Thailand. I'll be in the office so it'll be fun haha. I probably have to limit it to 30-40 minutes like the handbook says but I probably won't 555. It'll be cool to see you guys. Anyways I love you lots mom and miss you!

-- 
Elder Decker
เอ็ลเดอร์ เดกเกอร์
Thailand Bangkok Mission

P.S. This is a member's dog who was LA (less active) but not anymore. The dog is so cute. In thai 5 is ha with a tone so it sounds like laughing or saying hahaha so thai people use it as laughter.