My Last Transfer

HELLO EVERYONE! I'll be dying in Khon Kaen and training for my last transfer. My current companion will be going to Sisaket with my former companion Elder Brinkerhoff. It's crazy to think that I only got 6 weeks left and this is my last transfer and Companion.

What happened this week:
Sister Pam from my last Area who dreamt of Jesus got baptized! Yaaaay!
After visiting this potential Investigator's house 3 times he decided to let us in. He is way cool. He's a former cop. He has very strong opinions about law enforcement here and in America. He loves reading and will read the book of mormon!
After that we found some drunk people who said hello to us when we were biking by so we decided to talk to them. They were way funny. Said we could eat at his restaurant anytime.
We helped one of the recent convert's son move some rocks to the back of his house and got a tree off the roof.
I taught institute again.
Thursday night, we flew to Bangkok for the People Going Home Next Transfer Meeting. We stayed at the AP's house with 20 other elders haha.
Friday we had the meeting where I met all of my MTC group which was fun. President and Sister Johnson talked to us about life after the mission and about setting goals and plans. It was way scary knowing how fast time is moving. I still feel like a greenie. Rode a long bus home.
Huge rainstorms this past week. We had a record high 48 people at church.
Met an investigator who was an investigator 20 years ago. He also is an electrical engineer so I talked to him about his job. He doesn't like it haha.
We visited the drunk guy with the restaurant again and talked to his friends and one of them knew the missionary band that was around like 30 years ago. Very cool.
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I'm running out of these thoughts things but I like conference talks, so here's another. It's called Mountains to Climb by President Henry B Eyring in the April 2012 General Conference. He talked about how he prayed to God for trials and he experienced the hardest trials he has ever faced. Later, he reflected and he thought it wasn't the right time to ask for that. But there's a part in the talk I want to share. It says:

If we have faith in Jesus Christ, the hardest as well as the easiest times in life can be a blessing. In all conditions, we can choose the right with the guidance of the Spirit. We have the gospel of Jesus Christ to shape and guide our lives if we choose it. And with prophets revealing to us our place in the plan of salvation, we can live with perfect hope and a feeling of peace. We never need to feel that we are alone or unloved in the Lord's service because we never are. We can feel the love of God. The Savior has promised angels on our left and our right to bear us up. And He always keeps His word.

We'll all experience hardships, trials, and obstacles in life. Through the Gospel and the Holy Ghost, Heavenly Father will guide us through them. We have angels all around us supporting us through these tough times. We just need to have faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement. God loves us and wants what is best for us. He'll put us through the refiner's fire in order to prepare us for the next life. Keep on moving forward. Press on. And remember that God is with us always when we are keeping his commandments and following Christ's example. He will not lead us astray. We need to trust in him and all things will be alright.

I miss you all! Have a great week!

Pics: me going home (Bangkok), district chair pic (one chair), Mtc group, Sister Pam's Baptism, my ferarri

A couple more pics: My Last Zone Conference with President

Elder Decker
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Thailand Bangkok Mission

More pics from: My Last Zone Conference with President

Elder Decker

เอ็ลเดอร์ เดกเกอร์

Thailand Bangkok Mission

Pictures

วัวหายควายล้ม

Hello again. 

Another splendid week being a missionary!

Last P Day​ we went to a temple, a waterfall, and then a snake farm. It was very fantassstic. (sorry). 

We went to a member's garden that was pretty far away. We kind of got lost a little. But we got a lot of mangos and guavas. 
We also met with Brother Nung. We saw his little baby. It's only 5.5 pounds. It's so small! I didn't get any pictures because it was under a basket. 
Taught institute again. 
Miracleish story. We were going to see if our Investigators were at their houses and none of them were. We went to one potential Investigators house and rang his doorbell and yelled hello a couple times but no response. So we went to this shop to get some water and than this Pakistani guy started talking to us who's a professional golfer and has been living in Thailand for 20 years and wants to learn English. As we were talking to this guy, the potential investigator comes out of his house and walks to the store and they're actually friends. The potential investigator named Jack wanted to meet with us and talk about mormon for 1 hour. It was cool. We were feeling bad that no one was at their houses and then a miracle happened. 
I went in a switch off in Udorn with Elder Miyagi who is a transfer younger than me. He's mormon famous. He's on a couple mormon messages. He's my favorite. 
This week I want to share a talk again. It's from October 2010 General Conference called "Of Things That Matter Most" by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf. He talks about slowing down. It's a way good talk another must read. But I like this part of the talk. 

"As we turn to our Heavenly Father and seek His wisdom regarding the things that matter most, we learn over and over again the importance of four key relationships: with our God, with our families, with our fellowman, and with ourselves. As we evaluate our own lives with a willing mind, we will see where we have drifted from the more excellent way. The eyes of our understanding will be opened, and we will recognize what needs to be done to purify our heart and refocus our life.

First, our relationship with God is most sacred and vital. We are His spirit children. He is our Father. He desires our happiness. As we seek Him, as we learn of His Son, Jesus Christ, as we open our hearts to the influence of the Holy Spirit, our lives become more stable and secure. We experience greater peace, joy, and fulfillment as we give our best to live according to God's eternal plan and keep His commandments.
We improve our relationship with our Heavenly Father by learning of Him, by communing with Him, by repenting of our sins, and by actively following Jesus Christ, for "no man cometh unto the Father, but by [Christ]." To strengthen our relationship with God, we need some meaningful time alone with Him. Quietly focusing on daily personal prayer and scripture study, always aiming to be worthy of a current temple recommend—these will be some wise investments of our time and efforts to draw closer to our Heavenly Father. Let us heed the invitation in Psalms: "Be still, and know that I am God."

Our second key relationship is with our families. Since "no other success can compensate for failure" here, we must place high priority on our families. We build deep and loving family relationships by doing simple things together, like family dinner and family home evening and by just having fun together. In family relationships love is really spelled t-i-m-e, time. Taking time for each other is the key for harmony at home. We talk with, rather than about, each other. We learn from each other, and we appreciate our differences as well as our commonalities. We establish a divine bond with each other as we approach God together through family prayer, gospel study, and Sunday worship.

The third key relationship we have is with our fellowman. We build this relationship one person at a time—by being sensitive to the needs of others, serving them, and giving of our time and talents. I was deeply impressed by one sister who was burdened with the challenges of age and illness but decided that although she couldn't do much, she could listen. And so each week she watched for people who looked troubled or discouraged, and she spent time with them, listening. What a blessing she was in the lives of so many people.

The fourth key relationship is with ourselves. It may seem odd to think of having a relationship with ourselves, but we do. Some people can't get along with themselves. They criticize and belittle themselves all day long until they begin to hate themselves. May I suggest that you reduce the rush and take a little extra time to get to know yourself better. Walk in nature, watch a sunrise, enjoy God's creations, ponder the truths of the restored gospel, and find out what they mean for you personally. Learn to see yourself as Heavenly Father sees you—as His precious daughter or son with divine potential."

We all need to strive to develop and improve these 4 relationships because they are the things that matter most. There are good things, better things, and best things. We should be spending our time doing the best things each day. 
Have a great week! 

more pics from Rain, Rain, Go Away

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Another day another dollar. Hello again everyone. It hasn't stopped raining here for the past couple of weeks. It makes everything hot and humid. Anyways my week was goose. Played Risk for PDay. Cool, miracle stuff happened this week. I may or may not have ate Sizzler's 3 times this week. 

We were inviting and we came across this guy washing his cart. I started to strike up a conversation with him and he stopped and walked over to us. He wasn't wearing any pants haha. It was pretty funny but he loves religions and likes to make people happy. He's down to meet with us again.

Next day, we were way far away from the Church after an appointment canceled on us or because the coffee shop disappeared and we were riding through some neighborhoods in the middle of nowhere. We stopped by these 3 older ladies and they said we can teach them about Jesus Christ. They want us to be their son in laws. But we're going to stop by and visit them this week.

The investigator (who wants to be in the US army) baby was born. He also came to church yesterday. 
I taught institute class. The district wants the missionaries to teach institute in Khon Kaen. I've never been to an institute class before. My first one I taught it haha.

We went to Central and ate at Pizza Company. While at pizza company, some white guy sat next to us and started talking to us. White people in Thailand are scary so I was scared something was about to go down. But he was actually a former investigator from Chiang Mai who just moved to Khon Kaen with his wife. He loves pretty far out of the city. He's from England. Said he didn't really like England. But his wife learned English at the free English classes we teach so that's how she speaks English. Pretty small world. We invited him to church and he said he'd come on Christmas. So pretty soon!

I almost got eaten by a dog. 
Sizzler's burgers are pretty good.
The 40th anniversary of the Priesthood devotional program thing was good. I watched part of it. 

But today, I want to share a talk by Elder Holland in April 2013 called "Lord, I Believe". Just a couple of parts I liked. 

"With this tender scriptural record as a backdrop, I wish to speak directly to the young people of the Church—young in years of age or young in years of membership or young in years of faith. One way or another, that should include just about all of us.

Observation number one regarding this account is that when facing the challenge of faith, the father asserts his strength first and only then acknowledges his limitation. His initial declaration is affirmative and without hesitation: "Lord, I believe." I would say to all who wish for more faith, remember this man! In moments of fear or doubt or troubling times, hold the ground you have already won, even if that ground is limited. In the growth we all have to experience in mortality, the spiritual equivalent of this boy's affliction or this parent's desperation is going to come to all of us. When those moments come and issues surface, the resolution of which is not immediately forthcoming, hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes. It was of this very incident, this specific miracle, that Jesus said, "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." The size of your faith or the degree of your knowledge is not the issue—it is the integrity you demonstrate toward the faith you do have and the truth you already know.
  

The second observation is a variation of the first. When problems come and questions arise, do not start your quest for faith by saying how much you do not have, leading as it were with your "unbelief." That is like trying to stuff a turkey through the beak! Let me be clear on this point: I am not asking you to pretend to faith you do not have. I am asking you to be true to the faith you do have. Sometimes we act as if an honest declaration of doubt is a higher manifestation of moral courage than is an honest declaration of faith. It is not! So let us all remember the clear message of this scriptural account: Be as candid about your questions as you need to be; life is full of them on one subject or another. But if you and your family want to be healed, don't let those questions stand in the way of faith working its miracle.
   

Furthermore, you have more faith than you think you do because of what the Book of Mormon calls "the greatness of the evidences." "Ye shall know them by their fruits," Jesus said, and the fruit of living the gospel is evident in the lives of Latter-day Saints everywhere. As Peter and John said once to an ancient audience, I say today, "We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard," and what we have seen and heard is that "a notable miracle hath been done" in the lives of millions of members of this Church. That cannot be denied.
   

Brothers and sisters, this is a divine work in process, with the manifestations and blessings of it abounding in every direction, so please don't hyperventilate if from time to time issues arise that need to be examined, understood, and resolved. They do and they will. In this Church, what we know will always trump what we do not know. And remember, in this world, everyone is to walk by faith."

It's a lot but I'll let you all read it. He's talking about when the father with the possessed child comes to Jesus and Jesus told him by your faith he shall be healed. I love that example and what he said. It's such a great talk. We need to strengthen and hold to the faith we already have. We'll all go through trials of faith, but we need to hold fast to what we know and believe and resolve and overcome those trials. I can't remember who said it I think it was Elder Uchtdorf but he said "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith". Jesus is the Christ. Our Heavenly Father loves each of us more than we can imagine. Don't forget you are all sons and daughters of our Heavenly father. We are all destined to become Queens and Kings. Don't forget who you are and who loves you and supports you. Love you all and miss everyone!