THE INEVITABLE!

Well Friends, that is right, the inevitable has happened. I will be leaving Korat tomorrow. I can't even tell you how bittersweet this parting is. So Heavenly Father blessed me so so much by allowing me to be on a members switch off (it was actually only my second one ever) with Nok. I feel like my emails have not sufficiently expressed the deep love and friendship i have with her. She is without a doubt my best friend in Thailand. She has been with me since the very beginning and has helped me so much with Thai and just feeling like i have a place here. I love her so much.

So we took a bus out to Chok Chai which is a good 45 minutes away. It was so fun to just have Nok and I together! Coincidentally we were just talking about how I wasn't going to be moving for a long time. I have compiled pictures in an album for her and told her i would give them to her when i moved and she said, no i don't want them, because you aren't going to move. So we went to teach Mae, she is the single mom who has the problem getting baptized, I talked about her a few weeks back. The lesson was going great, Nok was doing such a good job filling in the parts I couldn't because of the language, when Mae's phone rang, it was Sister Hulme. She told me that Elder Milton was moving and that Elder Lilly was training, and I was like, cool! But then she said, You're moving. My heart dropped.... Sister Hulme was balling! She said, I'm not ready for you to move! You can't go! and I was just in shock. Well, the conversation was in English so Nok and Mae had no idea what happened but knew something was wrong. I could barely even get out a feeble, sister tong yay (I am moving) and then I had one of the sweetest moments I have had on my mission. The three of us just sat there and wept together. Bittersweet tears of joy for the time and the spirit we have shared together and sadness that it would be coming to an end. Mae broke the silence by saying she didn't want the people who taught her to move and Nok just didn't speak but cried. Saying bye to Mae was so hard! I hated it. But I know that's just the life of a missionary. :(

So after that I had the greatest blessing of my life to be able to spend the whole bus ride home just talking to Nok, reminiscing on our good times and crying because we both knew life would never be the same after this. I am so close to her. She will truly be my friend forever.

So by the time we got back, Sister Hulme wasn't crying anymore but was still really sad that I am leaving. We had a final sweet experience at Sister Dims (the less active family that I met just a few weeks into coming) and it was so good to be able to really express my love for the gospel and for their family to them. I felt like it was just a culmination of the area. It was so sweet.

OK so that was all just a few hours yesterday!! I still have the whole last week to talk about!! So first off, I just need to say how absolutely incredible my last Sunday in Korat was!! Three baptisms, one confirmation, 4 of our regular attending english students, who we want to teach SO bad, but are not interested coming to church, and 10 investigators total. Wow, I dont think it gets much more amazing than that!! Especially since 2 of those baptisms and the confirmation make 1 eternal family. What a blessing it has been for me to see the way the gospel has bless the lives of Brother Em, Sally and their daughters Ooy and Eve. It will be hard to tell them I'm leaving. I have seen the whole family get baptized since I have been here. My favorite part has to be the fact that Em got to be the one to baptize his wife and daughters and he was so nervous!! He messed up twice with Sally and then with Eve her foot popped up, but Ooy only took one time! It was really cute. :) I love that family. Ahh, how sweet this experience has been!

OK. so the final thing I want to share with you is first how much the Lord is truly with his missionaries and secondly how much the atonement is truly applicable in our lives. I had a really great experience to actually live what I teach and rely on the Lord during a time of much hardship. So Saturday, I don't know what I ate, but it did not agree with my stomach. About 3:30 we were taking the bus back from SiKu and it was packed. my stomach was upset and I thought it was just being on the stuffy bus, but when I got off it didn't get better. We still had 3 more appointments. As we went to the first one I was feeling worse and worse. I thought, well I could be a baby about this, complain a lot and ask to go home, or I can stick it out and pray a lot. I chose to pray! As we went throughout the night it only got worse, but I can't even tell you how much my testimony grew as I literally felt the influence of the spirit in my heart and was able to teach and travel despite my weak condition. Angels were carrying me through that night. So I basically had the worst night of my mission, bathroom at least 7 times and throwing up once (but I made it count) I woke up the next day still sick. It's funny because I wasn't feeling good during church, but looking back now, all I can remember is the amazing spirit that was there and the incredible love I felt for everyone. After the baptism the ward practiced singing and there was just no way I could sing with them. Sister Hulme had to play the piano so I went into the corner by the piano (basically under it) and slept. It was a great nap! OH and then if that's not enough, on Monday, when I was better but still really weak, I burned my leg on the exhaust of a motorcycle! It's pretty bad. I took pictures but this internet place won't let me upload them, sorry. next week. so yea. it was kinda hard. but I promise you all, the Spirit kept me going the whole time and I am truly a better person because of it. I love the way God works in our lives!! :)

OK. I feel like there is still so much to say, but I guess all good things come to an end, like serving in Korat, and this email. Special Birthday shout outs to Uncle Ed and Uncle Gary who by some amazing circumstances are actually getting younger every year! Good job guys. Love you both!

Well, until next week when I tell you where I go (I am REALLY hoping for Chang Mai with Sister Lo... But will go where the Lord wants me to go) Sawatdiiiiiiiiiiiii Kha!

Love you all,
Melissa