Family and Friends!
Oh man... so many miracles happen when you are a missionary! I wish I had the time to just type up my journal for all of you to read (mom would really like that...) but, as a missionary usually is, I am short on time and only have time to share a few of the many miracles I have had since being in Korat. Plus I want to talk about some cultural things and our adventure today!
OK... so first of all I had my first Zone Conference yesterday. It was INCREDIBLE!! I can not even describe how much I love my mission president and his wife. I feel so motivated and uplifted. Missionary work is the most amazing thing in the world. I have so many plans and goals for the little branch in Korat. We all wrote vision statements as a district and ours is awesome. It is cool that President Smith served here 40 years ago when there were 2 branches in all of Thailand... Now there is a stake and well, i dont know how many branches, but a lot. We are working towards another stake soon in the Isan (north east of thailand) and I just know it will happen. One thing I want to do is start up a choir and go out into the community and sing I am a Child of God, I Believe in Chirst and Joseph's First Prayer, with narration in between. It sounds great in my head, we'll see how it works out.
At zone conference we were eating lunch and this women came and sat with a bunch of us, but for whatever reason, wanted to talk to me. My Thai is still not that good, so it was hard at first, but I really started to understand her. She had just gotten a job cleaning the church, but had not been taught by the missionaries yet. I gave her a BoM and taught her about prophets and baptism. She loved it!! She told me she wanted to get baptized! So we set up teaching with the elders who lived in the area. It was a miracle!
Another miracle that was really cool was on friday we got a mysterious call from a member Sister Bradfield didn't even know. She just said that she wanted to meet us at the church at 7 and for it to be just us, no one else. It turns out it was a girl who has been a member for 7 years, but inactive for 2. AND she brought a friend who wanted to learn! We taught the friend (Gigi) and she loved it. She has been reading her BoM and we are teaching her again tonight. The girl, Nan has had a pretty hard past, but I think the Lord is working on her and she will be coming back to church. I am so excited!
Church is amazing! There are about 70 people who come weekly, which is good. The chapel is small so it is pretty full. The members are amazing and they love me :) My favorite is a recent convert named Nok who is awesome. She knows some english, but not too much so we have a lot of fun talking!! :) It is so funny how close we have become and we can't even really talk that well together. We have lots of fun together. We also went out to ice cream with 2 girls May and Kay who are cousins. They are 15 and 18 and we had SO much fun laughing and joking around! It was good because May is still investigating and Kay is very sweet but was feeling left out because we always spend so much time with May teaching. It was good fellow shipping and a lot of fun!
I am just having the time of my life here! Sister Bradfield is amazing. She is the best trainer I could ever ask for. She is so patient and low stress and is always giving me compliments and bringing my confidence up. I cant imagine being here without her! Dad asked for my address for google earth... I think it is Mucamoga street soi 13... I dont know what that will do. We have ac in the room and fans, so that is nice.
Mom, I am gonna need you to put some money in my personal account. As for packages... american treats are fun. We can pretty much get anything here but its a little different. Mostly healthy please, but some treats are nice too!
So KURTIS HAS A GIRLFRIEND?! plag plag... hahah. Thanks for sending pictures. She is really cute and I wish I could meet her. I know anyone Kurtis likes has to be amazing! And since mom and dad both say she is great, I certainly believe it! I was going to make that my subject line for my email, but I decided to save Kurtis the embarrassment and let only the people who really read these to know about it ;)
OK well there is still so much to say, but time is of the essence! I'll have to tell you about my adventure next week. Love you all!!
Choog dii!!!
Melissa
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Greetings from Prateed Thay!
Family and Friends!!
Thailand is simply incredible!!! Oh my goodness... so much to say! Let's see if I can get it all out! OK, so first the plane ride. It honestly wasn't that bad! Sure it was long, but the airline we flew on was really nice! (the sleeping pill didn't hurt either :) The strangest thing was leaving SLC at 9 at night, traveling all night and all day then getting to Thailand at 10 in the morning when it felt like we should be going to sleep. So, we met Prataan (president) Smith and Sister Smith and we were all just so excited, despite the lack of sleep. The sisters got to ride with Prataan and the elders went with the APs in the mission vans. So, here I am, half way around the world, driving on the wrong side of the road in this amazing foforeignountry!!! I loved it. Bangkok is HUGE... its a big city with lots of high rise buildings and they just go on forever. It would be like looking at the skyline of Sacramento all over the Sacramento region... that big. Traffic is insane here!! The lines on the roads are more like suggestions, people are always in the shoulders and most people drive motorcycles, so those are everywhere. So we get to Prataans, and oh man is the mission home nice!! You saw the picture... We ate lunch, we to the Mission office, took pictures (which were surprisingly not too bad given that I had just got off of a 20 hour flight and had little sleep) He interviewed all of us, we had an AMAZING Thai dinner and by 7 we were out! Everyone was SOO tired, we looked like zombies at dinner.
SO Thursday was moves meeting and it was so fun because the whole mission came. We sang Called To Serve in Thai and they sang it so fast none of us greenies could keep up!! All the greenies sat on the front row and the new trainers sat behind us, but no one knew who was training who. Sister Lo was there and I was really hoping she would train me, but she is training Sister Akagi, which I think is really good. Sister Lo will be perfect for her. OK so the big moment... my trainer is Sister Bradfield from Sandy UT and we are serving in a town called Korat which is AMAZING!! I absolutely love it here... it is seriously the best place to start out. It is 3 hours northeast of Bangkok, so it is smaller, but it is definitely a bigger town. There is a mall and everything. People still drive crazy here, but its not nearly as crazy as Bangkok.
Alright, so Korat... oh man, I just love it. First of all- THE PEOPLE!! they are so nice and so amazing! The members are so solid and the work is going great right now. We have 7 people who just got baptized in the past few months, 2 just past Sunday, and lots of investigators, some who are really progressing. The members help us out a ton and we teach about 2 lessons with a member every day, about. We teach investigators, less actives and members and everyone is so happy to have us in their home. We are so busy teaching all the time we barely have time to find new people!! We also have gotten 4 referals, just this week!! SO yea... this is the perfect area to greenie in. Thai people are SOO nice. They LOVE giving complements. I swear I have never looked so bad in my life (sweating, no make up, hair not done) and still everyone here says I am beautiful. I will say one thing in Thai and everyone says I am gang (that means skillful) I am actually pretty surprised at how much I understand. Sometimes I am completely lost, but a lot of times I understand. I always help with the teaching. My sentences aren't always right and I know I don't say all the words right, but people understand me!! And Sister Bradfield always clarifys when I am trying to say something I don't know the words for. One hard thing is after I say something, the people usually start talking about how good my Thai is for just being here a few days and dont really focus on what I am saying... So it is nice and makes me feel good that they are praising me, but I'm looking forward to not being so new that they have to say that everytime. I have learned SOO much this past week. I love it.
OK, the culture. WOW I love the Thai way of life. Especially in Korat. Everything is Sabaai (litterally means fine but its more like, laid back, chill, go with the flow kind of fine) I'm not gonna lie, their driving freaked me out at first just because its like there are no traffic laws, everyone drives where ever, cars will stop on the side of the street and it just seemed really chaotic... but now that I've been here a while, I realize it so sabaai... everyone's just trying to get to their destination and if someone stops in front of them, you just go around them! There is no such thing as road rage. The horn is only used to let someone know you are there, never to get angry at someone for being in the way. If someone is stall and you can't get around them... you just wait. People are so patient here. SO we ride our bikes everywhere, even on the freeway!! and across intersections. At first I was way stressed out to go through intersections (there are rarely lights, so you just go when you can) but pretty quick I just realized that I don't need to worry, its just sabaai... you go when you can, and if you're blocking someone, they will just go around you. It's awesome. I love riding my bike. My second day on the bike I did have a skirt get caught in my tire, which was funny. But it's all good, it wasn't very good material anyways. I am going shopping today for more skirts. I bought a shirt last night. It cost $6!! It's so cute!!
OK well... the work is just going amazing. I LOVE sharing the gospel. I never thought it could be so fun. People are very receptive to it here. They believe that all religion is good and teaches people to be good, we are really respected. Well next week I will have pictures and talk more about investigators and the work. Time is running out. I miss you all and I love you all!!!!!!!!!!
Love,
Sister Larson
Thailand is simply incredible!!! Oh my goodness... so much to say! Let's see if I can get it all out! OK, so first the plane ride. It honestly wasn't that bad! Sure it was long, but the airline we flew on was really nice! (the sleeping pill didn't hurt either :) The strangest thing was leaving SLC at 9 at night, traveling all night and all day then getting to Thailand at 10 in the morning when it felt like we should be going to sleep. So, we met Prataan (president) Smith and Sister Smith and we were all just so excited, despite the lack of sleep. The sisters got to ride with Prataan and the elders went with the APs in the mission vans. So, here I am, half way around the world, driving on the wrong side of the road in this amazing foforeignountry!!! I loved it. Bangkok is HUGE... its a big city with lots of high rise buildings and they just go on forever. It would be like looking at the skyline of Sacramento all over the Sacramento region... that big. Traffic is insane here!! The lines on the roads are more like suggestions, people are always in the shoulders and most people drive motorcycles, so those are everywhere. So we get to Prataans, and oh man is the mission home nice!! You saw the picture... We ate lunch, we to the Mission office, took pictures (which were surprisingly not too bad given that I had just got off of a 20 hour flight and had little sleep) He interviewed all of us, we had an AMAZING Thai dinner and by 7 we were out! Everyone was SOO tired, we looked like zombies at dinner.
SO Thursday was moves meeting and it was so fun because the whole mission came. We sang Called To Serve in Thai and they sang it so fast none of us greenies could keep up!! All the greenies sat on the front row and the new trainers sat behind us, but no one knew who was training who. Sister Lo was there and I was really hoping she would train me, but she is training Sister Akagi, which I think is really good. Sister Lo will be perfect for her. OK so the big moment... my trainer is Sister Bradfield from Sandy UT and we are serving in a town called Korat which is AMAZING!! I absolutely love it here... it is seriously the best place to start out. It is 3 hours northeast of Bangkok, so it is smaller, but it is definitely a bigger town. There is a mall and everything. People still drive crazy here, but its not nearly as crazy as Bangkok.
Alright, so Korat... oh man, I just love it. First of all- THE PEOPLE!! they are so nice and so amazing! The members are so solid and the work is going great right now. We have 7 people who just got baptized in the past few months, 2 just past Sunday, and lots of investigators, some who are really progressing. The members help us out a ton and we teach about 2 lessons with a member every day, about. We teach investigators, less actives and members and everyone is so happy to have us in their home. We are so busy teaching all the time we barely have time to find new people!! We also have gotten 4 referals, just this week!! SO yea... this is the perfect area to greenie in. Thai people are SOO nice. They LOVE giving complements. I swear I have never looked so bad in my life (sweating, no make up, hair not done) and still everyone here says I am beautiful. I will say one thing in Thai and everyone says I am gang (that means skillful) I am actually pretty surprised at how much I understand. Sometimes I am completely lost, but a lot of times I understand. I always help with the teaching. My sentences aren't always right and I know I don't say all the words right, but people understand me!! And Sister Bradfield always clarifys when I am trying to say something I don't know the words for. One hard thing is after I say something, the people usually start talking about how good my Thai is for just being here a few days and dont really focus on what I am saying... So it is nice and makes me feel good that they are praising me, but I'm looking forward to not being so new that they have to say that everytime. I have learned SOO much this past week. I love it.
OK, the culture. WOW I love the Thai way of life. Especially in Korat. Everything is Sabaai (litterally means fine but its more like, laid back, chill, go with the flow kind of fine) I'm not gonna lie, their driving freaked me out at first just because its like there are no traffic laws, everyone drives where ever, cars will stop on the side of the street and it just seemed really chaotic... but now that I've been here a while, I realize it so sabaai... everyone's just trying to get to their destination and if someone stops in front of them, you just go around them! There is no such thing as road rage. The horn is only used to let someone know you are there, never to get angry at someone for being in the way. If someone is stall and you can't get around them... you just wait. People are so patient here. SO we ride our bikes everywhere, even on the freeway!! and across intersections. At first I was way stressed out to go through intersections (there are rarely lights, so you just go when you can) but pretty quick I just realized that I don't need to worry, its just sabaai... you go when you can, and if you're blocking someone, they will just go around you. It's awesome. I love riding my bike. My second day on the bike I did have a skirt get caught in my tire, which was funny. But it's all good, it wasn't very good material anyways. I am going shopping today for more skirts. I bought a shirt last night. It cost $6!! It's so cute!!
OK well... the work is just going amazing. I LOVE sharing the gospel. I never thought it could be so fun. People are very receptive to it here. They believe that all religion is good and teaches people to be good, we are really respected. Well next week I will have pictures and talk more about investigators and the work. Time is running out. I miss you all and I love you all!!!!!!!!!!
Love,
Sister Larson
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
choog dii MTC!!!!
(translation for non-Thai speakers... which is all of you... GOOD LUCK MTC!!! It also is how they say bye)
Family and Friends,
This is a bittersweet moment. I am getting ready to leave a place that has become home to me. I have made some of the best friends, have had some of the most amazing, spiritual experiences, and have done some major growing here, and time is ticking. At the same time, I am about to go to an amazing part of the world that is so different and exciting, my mind can hardly comprehend... and boy am I EXCITED!!!!!
OK... SHOUT OUTS! August 7th is pretty much the third best day of the year (next to Christmas and may 7th of course haha) Happy Birthday to Scott who is 19!!! Andy, Uncle Gene AND Robin!!! :) AAAANDDD Congrats to Amy for bringing the next BEAUTIFUL child into our wonderful family! (I say beautiful because, c'mon... this is Amy's baby, how could he or she not be beautiful)
Well time is already running out so I will go ahead and give you all my flight plans!!! :) (remember these times are the actual time landing so its not as many hours as it seems)
Depart MTC 5:30PM 10 AUG
Depart SLC 9:25PM 10 AUG
Arrive LAX 10:24PM 10 AUG
Depart LAX 1:30AM 11 AUG
Arrive Taipei, Taiwan 5:50AM 12 Aug
Depart TW 8:30AM 12 Aug
ARRIVE BANGKOK THAILAND 11:05AM 12 Aug
CRAZYYYYYYYYY!!!!
I will be calling about 6 California time SO BE READY WITH QUESTIONS!!! :) Please send me a lot of minutes on my calling card because I want to call when I get to LA too!!
AHH this is insane. OK. Closing words... This past week has been a roller coaster of emotions from nerves to excitement and lots of refocusing. I have made the decision to get to Thailand with 2 feet in the mission... that means I will not be thinking about home a lot. You know it is not because I don't LOVE you all immensely... but because I want this to be about the Lord's work and not about me. So I will be emailing every week, but will not be writing as many hand written letters. I also want to share with you the 4 goals I set for my mission.
1) Always have a smile on my face
2) Share the message with enthusiasm
3) ALWAYS be worthy of the Spirit
4) FOCUS on strengthening others (companions and investigators)
Please help me be accountable for these goals. I have been writing them everywhere so that I will remember them always.
I love you all...
Think about me while I'm in the air!!!
Choog Dii!
-Sister Larson
Family and Friends,
This is a bittersweet moment. I am getting ready to leave a place that has become home to me. I have made some of the best friends, have had some of the most amazing, spiritual experiences, and have done some major growing here, and time is ticking. At the same time, I am about to go to an amazing part of the world that is so different and exciting, my mind can hardly comprehend... and boy am I EXCITED!!!!!
OK... SHOUT OUTS! August 7th is pretty much the third best day of the year (next to Christmas and may 7th of course haha) Happy Birthday to Scott who is 19!!! Andy, Uncle Gene AND Robin!!! :) AAAANDDD Congrats to Amy for bringing the next BEAUTIFUL child into our wonderful family! (I say beautiful because, c'mon... this is Amy's baby, how could he or she not be beautiful)
Well time is already running out so I will go ahead and give you all my flight plans!!! :) (remember these times are the actual time landing so its not as many hours as it seems)
Depart MTC 5:30PM 10 AUG
Depart SLC 9:25PM 10 AUG
Arrive LAX 10:24PM 10 AUG
Depart LAX 1:30AM 11 AUG
Arrive Taipei, Taiwan 5:50AM 12 Aug
Depart TW 8:30AM 12 Aug
ARRIVE BANGKOK THAILAND 11:05AM 12 Aug
CRAZYYYYYYYYY!!!!
I will be calling about 6 California time SO BE READY WITH QUESTIONS!!! :) Please send me a lot of minutes on my calling card because I want to call when I get to LA too!!
AHH this is insane. OK. Closing words... This past week has been a roller coaster of emotions from nerves to excitement and lots of refocusing. I have made the decision to get to Thailand with 2 feet in the mission... that means I will not be thinking about home a lot. You know it is not because I don't LOVE you all immensely... but because I want this to be about the Lord's work and not about me. So I will be emailing every week, but will not be writing as many hand written letters. I also want to share with you the 4 goals I set for my mission.
1) Always have a smile on my face
2) Share the message with enthusiasm
3) ALWAYS be worthy of the Spirit
4) FOCUS on strengthening others (companions and investigators)
Please help me be accountable for these goals. I have been writing them everywhere so that I will remember them always.
I love you all...
Think about me while I'm in the air!!!
Choog Dii!
-Sister Larson
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