Family and Friends,
Wow, an amazing week has just past by again and I can truly say the Lord does answer prayers! So basically when I moved here to Pakkret the first thing Sister Neilsen said was, we don't really have any investigators. And she was right. All the people they were teaching weren't really going anywhere. As I sat in moves meeting I really felt a confirmation that this was where the Lord needed me to move and I knew that we would get the work moving. So I came and it was New Years and we had no one to teach. I just couldn't stand inviting for 5 hours straight, it was killing me. So we got out the ward roster and started making phone calls (I think I mentioned this in last weeks email). I really believe the spirit was guiding me because on Monday we went and met with a less active named Jiew who still has a testimony. It was so sweet to teach her and have her say the closing prayer where she asked Heavenly Father to help her repent and be a strong member again. The best part is, her daughter Pim will be 10 next month, which means she is an investigator!! We now have a weekly appointment to teach her daughter every week and she wants her to get baptized!! I know having the lessons every week in their home will bring the spirit back into their home and help them to be strong members again. The desire is there. Ah, we are so blessed!!
OK, so there is one new investigator... but it gets better. So Elder Westwood, who is Elder Gnem's cousin, (he is a missionary who is currently serving in Sacramento), is so awesome and invited this woman and gave us her number. So we called her and she was really excited to meet with us. We taught her the intro lesson on Thursday with her daughter and son, they loved it! And get this: They asked US if they could come to church!! HA! Miracles!! They are so prepared!! Her name is Noy and her daughter is Fern and her son is Louis (hehe) Her husband is living in England right now, I'm not sure if he is English or Thai, but will get those details as we keep teaching her...
OK, seriously, it gets better... So Thursday we get a call from Elder Westwood again (he is SO awesome) and a woman had called the office (he is an office elder) and asked to meet with the missionaries again. We met with her yesterday and had an AWESOME lesson. She is so ready! She really feels the influence of the Lord in her life and told us of some amazing experiences she has had! I felt the spirit so strong with her and already love her! Her name is Sea. She told us she doesn't really think it's important to go to church... so we'll see how the lessons go. But she is amazing. I'm so excited.
And can you believe it, IT GETS BETTER!!! Yesterday we get a call and the Senior Missionaries talked with a woman named Ohm who works at a shop right down the street from the office and she said she was very interested in learning from the missionaries and wants her whole family and friends to learn!! We were like, WOW! will these miracles cease!! Haha, I hope not! :) So we went and met her and she is just so cute and nice! We weren't able to teach her because she was still working but have an appointment with her on Sunday.
So I know all these stories are pretty typical mission stories, but it was just so sweet to have them all happen in a matter of days and to see the work go from nothing to something. I know the Lord is answering our prayers. I feel so grateful to be trusted by Him to be able to teach his children the gospel. It is so good. I got a letter from Jerom (my cousin) this week, right when all the miracles were happening, and he said that he and his companion were going to double their baptisms because they BELIEVED they could. It is all about believing. I know that is right. Before the Lord could bless us with this success, he tried us... and it was hard. But through our faith and diligence we are now making things happen in Pakkret.
I just love being a missionary. Especially in Thailand. We had the wonderful opportunity to go to an FHE at the Branch Presidents house on Monday and hear them playing their Thai instruments. It was so cool! I even got to play the bell thingy! (what is that called again... like a chime? I don't know... it was easy though. I got a video of it so maybe I will send it next time.
I hear everyone is freezing cold right now? Hahahaha. I love Thailand. It did rain REALLY hard yesterday though! We were going to bike to a members house before we taught Ohm but it down poured SO hard. I thought of Forrest Gump (the weather here is the same as Vietnam) It was big ole' fat rain. I have definitely never seen it rain at home like it does here! We were drenched... We had to go home and change our clothes. It was an adventure! :) Everyday is an adventure here! I am just loving life.
Ok, well I have been so happy to get everyone's Christmas cards! I feel so loved! :) Keep writing because I LOVE getting mail!! :) And remember I get packages as they come! so feel free to send them! hehe :)
Love you all... can't wait to hear from you!! Hopefully there will be baby news from the Wadman's next week!! Good luck, Amy!!! Also, Happy, Happy Birthday Ginny!! Love you! Congrats to Joe and Courtney next week on the wedding! Please send pictures!! Your announcement was beautiful!!
Love,
Melissa
Monday, January 11, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
2010!
Sawatii Pii Mai!!
A new year; a new decade. Yesterday I was thinking back to December 31, 1999. I remember walking home from Desiree's and thinking wow, a new Millennium... since then I have graduated from 8th grade, high school and college and served almost half of my mission! What a great decade... I read the conference talk from last October by Dieter F. Uchdorf about the Love of God. I meant to write the quote down to share it with you all, but forgot, so I will have to paraphrase. He talks about the love of God and how it is infinite. Then he talks about how we can love God more. He says we show our love to God by keeping the commandments and being obedient. The way we become more obedient, he says, is to simply try. He says to take something difficult and try until it become possible. Then take that thing that seems only possible and keep trying until it becomes a part of you.
SO i have decided to make "love" my goal for the new year and the new decade. I have come up with two things that are difficult and will try until they become possible, and then two things that are possible and try to make them more of a part of me. In all my goals, love is the motivation. So the first two will help me to love others and to love myself more. First I want to not be so selfish with things. I want to be a more giving person and give before I would take. Second I want to not eat when I'm not hungry... (that's to love myself more :) It's hard here where there is food EVERYWHERE and people give us a lot of food too! So those are things that are difficult that I would like to make possible. Now for the possible things that I want to become a part of me are, first, my prayers to be more sincere, and second my scripture studies to be more meaningful. Anyone who has served a mission knows that awesome, heartfilled prayers are amazing, life changing scripture studies are possible. They really do happen. But I want to make every prayer, night and morning, more personal and every scripture study a little more meaningful until those two things become a very part of me.
We talk a lot about progressing investigators, which is an investigator that is keeping their commitments and, well, showing progression. But Sister Neilsen and I have been focusing lately on being progressing missionaries. Missionaries who are continually keeping our commitments to the Lord and serving with all our hearts, might, mind and strength and continually recommitting ourselves to the Lord. We are so blessed. I love it.
OK, so this past week has been just amazing. Probably one of my hardest in some aspects, and my best in others. Ah, the mission.... gotta love it. Ok, so hard: Like I said before, they don't celebrate Christmas so New Years is a huge huge deal. Everyone goes home and spends time with family. The way Thailand works is a lot different from home. Everyone sells stuff on the street, so a lot of peoples stores are also their homes. Well, because it is new years, a ton of people aren't selling so the streets are WAY quiet. It's weird. Anyways, every appointment we made canceled on us and I have only met one of our investigators because everyone we call told us not until next year. Even today, which is the 2nd, the streets are still pretty empty. So Tuesday was one of the hardest days for me because I realized that this area is just a lot harder than my first. In Korat we had tons of people to teach and people were progressing. Here there are more people but the people are more busy and less open to the message. Inviting was something that was the very last option, if everything fell through, in Korat, and here it is something we do every day.
Well, we are going to turn the work around here. Because we don't have a lot of investigators, we are going to turn our focus to the less actives and start asking for referrals. Everyone we taught in Korat was a referral... So the past two days we have spent in the rosters calling members we don't know. I feel like I am getting a good grasp of the ward and the area. We have already seen miracles by making appointments with less active members who are willing to see us. (that is always a good thing) I am also experiencing for the first time members who don't like the missionaries... that is sad. So things are looking up, we have tons of people to visit and I am just so excited to see this area start booming! All it takes is lots of faith and hard work.
So for the good things that happened this week: first off I had probably the best companionship study of my whole mission... Sister Neilsen is amazing and knows the atonement more than anyone I know. We read Elder Hollands talk from April 2009 about Christ walking the lonely road and we both just cried as we felt the reality of the atonement. It was incredible.... life changing. I see now how every trail in our life just makes the atonement so real and how much trails are blessings. I feel changed.
Yesterday was pretty sweet too. We went to this American grocery store and I coveted the cereal. Oh man I miss cereal!!! I almost spent 200 Baut on a box of cinnamon toast crunch (that's $6) but decided that I can eat all the cereal I want when i get home... and it will probably taste better then anyways... haha.
AND! I got a package from Lyndsay!! :) AH! I love her!! Thank you, Lyndsay!!!!
Everyone please write me!!! I would love to hear from all of you!!
Love,
Melissa
A new year; a new decade. Yesterday I was thinking back to December 31, 1999. I remember walking home from Desiree's and thinking wow, a new Millennium... since then I have graduated from 8th grade, high school and college and served almost half of my mission! What a great decade... I read the conference talk from last October by Dieter F. Uchdorf about the Love of God. I meant to write the quote down to share it with you all, but forgot, so I will have to paraphrase. He talks about the love of God and how it is infinite. Then he talks about how we can love God more. He says we show our love to God by keeping the commandments and being obedient. The way we become more obedient, he says, is to simply try. He says to take something difficult and try until it become possible. Then take that thing that seems only possible and keep trying until it becomes a part of you.
SO i have decided to make "love" my goal for the new year and the new decade. I have come up with two things that are difficult and will try until they become possible, and then two things that are possible and try to make them more of a part of me. In all my goals, love is the motivation. So the first two will help me to love others and to love myself more. First I want to not be so selfish with things. I want to be a more giving person and give before I would take. Second I want to not eat when I'm not hungry... (that's to love myself more :) It's hard here where there is food EVERYWHERE and people give us a lot of food too! So those are things that are difficult that I would like to make possible. Now for the possible things that I want to become a part of me are, first, my prayers to be more sincere, and second my scripture studies to be more meaningful. Anyone who has served a mission knows that awesome, heartfilled prayers are amazing, life changing scripture studies are possible. They really do happen. But I want to make every prayer, night and morning, more personal and every scripture study a little more meaningful until those two things become a very part of me.
We talk a lot about progressing investigators, which is an investigator that is keeping their commitments and, well, showing progression. But Sister Neilsen and I have been focusing lately on being progressing missionaries. Missionaries who are continually keeping our commitments to the Lord and serving with all our hearts, might, mind and strength and continually recommitting ourselves to the Lord. We are so blessed. I love it.
OK, so this past week has been just amazing. Probably one of my hardest in some aspects, and my best in others. Ah, the mission.... gotta love it. Ok, so hard: Like I said before, they don't celebrate Christmas so New Years is a huge huge deal. Everyone goes home and spends time with family. The way Thailand works is a lot different from home. Everyone sells stuff on the street, so a lot of peoples stores are also their homes. Well, because it is new years, a ton of people aren't selling so the streets are WAY quiet. It's weird. Anyways, every appointment we made canceled on us and I have only met one of our investigators because everyone we call told us not until next year. Even today, which is the 2nd, the streets are still pretty empty. So Tuesday was one of the hardest days for me because I realized that this area is just a lot harder than my first. In Korat we had tons of people to teach and people were progressing. Here there are more people but the people are more busy and less open to the message. Inviting was something that was the very last option, if everything fell through, in Korat, and here it is something we do every day.
Well, we are going to turn the work around here. Because we don't have a lot of investigators, we are going to turn our focus to the less actives and start asking for referrals. Everyone we taught in Korat was a referral... So the past two days we have spent in the rosters calling members we don't know. I feel like I am getting a good grasp of the ward and the area. We have already seen miracles by making appointments with less active members who are willing to see us. (that is always a good thing) I am also experiencing for the first time members who don't like the missionaries... that is sad. So things are looking up, we have tons of people to visit and I am just so excited to see this area start booming! All it takes is lots of faith and hard work.
So for the good things that happened this week: first off I had probably the best companionship study of my whole mission... Sister Neilsen is amazing and knows the atonement more than anyone I know. We read Elder Hollands talk from April 2009 about Christ walking the lonely road and we both just cried as we felt the reality of the atonement. It was incredible.... life changing. I see now how every trail in our life just makes the atonement so real and how much trails are blessings. I feel changed.
Yesterday was pretty sweet too. We went to this American grocery store and I coveted the cereal. Oh man I miss cereal!!! I almost spent 200 Baut on a box of cinnamon toast crunch (that's $6) but decided that I can eat all the cereal I want when i get home... and it will probably taste better then anyways... haha.
AND! I got a package from Lyndsay!! :) AH! I love her!! Thank you, Lyndsay!!!!
Everyone please write me!!! I would love to hear from all of you!!
Love,
Melissa
Hello New Year! :)
Family and Friends!
Oh it was so good to talk on Friday!! Yes, I was trunky! But it's ok, I have already forgiven myself. I had a wonderful Christmas in Thailand. No they don't celebrate Christmas here, only in the mall where there are Chirstmas trees, lights and Christmas sales everywhere (and Christmas music!!) None of the people celebrate it. It was a normal day for most people. I even had a guy tell me yesterday that December 25th is the day America celebrates new years and the Thai's celebrate it on December 31... So basically when you are saying Merry Christmas, a correct response would be Happy New Year, because its the same thing here... I love saying Happy New Year because it's Sawatdii bii my (which translates to Hello New Year) and it's just fun to say.
So Christmas Eve was really fun! We sang Christmas carols and went to President Smith's and ate sugar cookies!!! I was SO happy because I really missed eating sugar cookies! On Christmas day I talked to the fam in the morning and it was so good. It just went by so so fast!! I didn't like that... but I am already excited for May which I know will come in no time! After talking, my companion and I ate lunch at an Italian resturant, and I had raviolis!!! SO good!! :) Then we went to a members house, Mink (the one on facebook) and had an awesome lesson about Christmas. We read Luke 2 in the Thai Bible and bore our testimonies. Mink's was so strong. She is only 18 and the only member in her family. She told us how her dream is to one day read scriptures with her family on Christmas day, but that she was so grateful we were there to read with her and that we were like family to her. :) She is amazing. We went to Impact center, which is like Arco Arena to this thing called OTOP where tons of Thai vendors are selling all kinds of different things. I bought myself a necklace, Sister Neilsen and I matching purses and the boys, dad and the elders I had for secret santa, ties (like I promised!! :) After that we went to the mission office and watched the Christmas devotional, ate pizza and opened presents. It really felt like Christmas :) My favorite part was just going to the office and laying on the couch with a blanket (the office is always freezing!!) It felt SO nice to just relax!! That is something we never do at 7 o'clock at night! So Christmas was awesome!
Honestly though, the day after Christmas had to be one of the most fun days of my mission!! We rode our bikes ridiculously far and it was a miracle that I even had the strength to ride as far as we did. It felt really good though! :) I just can't tell you how much I LOVE Sister Neilsen. I loved Sister Hulme and Sister Brad, I really did, but Sister Neilsen is just hilarious!!! I laughed until I cried FOUR times!! The first time was on our first long stretch, our first two appointments cancelled so we decided to write a note to a new investigator who's trust we are still trying to gain. We go into the 7-11 and we were just drenched in sweat (in December!) from the long bike ride and Sister Neilsen grabs a water from the shelf and drinks half of it before she even paid! I just couldn't stop laughing! OK, so maybe you had to be there... The second time was when we were leaving the 7-11 and I was turning my bike around and accidently ran over my own foot... some how my shoe came off of all my toes besides the big one, and all this happened in front of like 5 people who were giving me pity smiles... I just laughed... So now we are riding to our next appointment and Sister Neilsen, who HATES dogs, is riding in front of me and a dog comes out and starts barking like crazy at her. So she does the only logical thing to do... stops right in front of the dog and stares at it as it furociously barks at her (that was sarcasm) I almost hit her, she stopped so quickly! I said Why did you stop?! I laughed like crazy and am still laughing as I am writing this.... hehehe. And finally after we rode our bikes ridiculously far and I thought I would die, we made it home and stopped at the 7-11 to buy carbs and Sister Nielsen was opening up the banana chips she had just bought and having a hard time. After yelling at them, she finally bursted the bag open and the entire bag of chips fell on the ground.... It took every last bit of energy in me to laugh until I cried.... Ah, what a good day! But more than just laughs, we taught two really good lessons and invited a lot of people. It feels so good to be a part of the teaching. The first lesson was just a spiritual thought with a recent convert and I taught the entire lesson on my own about how the Savior heals us from sin through his atonement. It was so good. I love my life.
And finally today was SO fun. It is Sister Bradfield's Birthday! So 7 of us sisters went out to an island in our area and road bikes along these tiny little roads that remind me of Rainbow Road in Mario Kart (because there are no sides) Then we took a boat around the island and it was just so beautiful! I LOVE Thailand! I took lots of pictures so I will send them home for sure! :) It was an amazing trip. We ate lunch in this cute little restaurant and now I am emailing! The work here is so good! But I'm not gonna lie, sometimes I do feel like I am just on vacation. But as Dad says, if you love what you do, you never have to go to work a day in your life!! And it's true. I love sharing the gospel with the Thai people. They are so amazing and many are ready for the gospel. I am so grateful for this experience!
I love you all so so much. Have a great new year and everyone write me! or send a package ก๊ได้
ซิสเตอร้รักคูณมำกๆๆๆๆ
Love,
Melissa
PS OK the pictures...
I LOVE THAILAND!
Oh it was so good to talk on Friday!! Yes, I was trunky! But it's ok, I have already forgiven myself. I had a wonderful Christmas in Thailand. No they don't celebrate Christmas here, only in the mall where there are Chirstmas trees, lights and Christmas sales everywhere (and Christmas music!!) None of the people celebrate it. It was a normal day for most people. I even had a guy tell me yesterday that December 25th is the day America celebrates new years and the Thai's celebrate it on December 31... So basically when you are saying Merry Christmas, a correct response would be Happy New Year, because its the same thing here... I love saying Happy New Year because it's Sawatdii bii my (which translates to Hello New Year) and it's just fun to say.
So Christmas Eve was really fun! We sang Christmas carols and went to President Smith's and ate sugar cookies!!! I was SO happy because I really missed eating sugar cookies! On Christmas day I talked to the fam in the morning and it was so good. It just went by so so fast!! I didn't like that... but I am already excited for May which I know will come in no time! After talking, my companion and I ate lunch at an Italian resturant, and I had raviolis!!! SO good!! :) Then we went to a members house, Mink (the one on facebook) and had an awesome lesson about Christmas. We read Luke 2 in the Thai Bible and bore our testimonies. Mink's was so strong. She is only 18 and the only member in her family. She told us how her dream is to one day read scriptures with her family on Christmas day, but that she was so grateful we were there to read with her and that we were like family to her. :) She is amazing. We went to Impact center, which is like Arco Arena to this thing called OTOP where tons of Thai vendors are selling all kinds of different things. I bought myself a necklace, Sister Neilsen and I matching purses and the boys, dad and the elders I had for secret santa, ties (like I promised!! :) After that we went to the mission office and watched the Christmas devotional, ate pizza and opened presents. It really felt like Christmas :) My favorite part was just going to the office and laying on the couch with a blanket (the office is always freezing!!) It felt SO nice to just relax!! That is something we never do at 7 o'clock at night! So Christmas was awesome!
Honestly though, the day after Christmas had to be one of the most fun days of my mission!! We rode our bikes ridiculously far and it was a miracle that I even had the strength to ride as far as we did. It felt really good though! :) I just can't tell you how much I LOVE Sister Neilsen. I loved Sister Hulme and Sister Brad, I really did, but Sister Neilsen is just hilarious!!! I laughed until I cried FOUR times!! The first time was on our first long stretch, our first two appointments cancelled so we decided to write a note to a new investigator who's trust we are still trying to gain. We go into the 7-11 and we were just drenched in sweat (in December!) from the long bike ride and Sister Neilsen grabs a water from the shelf and drinks half of it before she even paid! I just couldn't stop laughing! OK, so maybe you had to be there... The second time was when we were leaving the 7-11 and I was turning my bike around and accidently ran over my own foot... some how my shoe came off of all my toes besides the big one, and all this happened in front of like 5 people who were giving me pity smiles... I just laughed... So now we are riding to our next appointment and Sister Neilsen, who HATES dogs, is riding in front of me and a dog comes out and starts barking like crazy at her. So she does the only logical thing to do... stops right in front of the dog and stares at it as it furociously barks at her (that was sarcasm) I almost hit her, she stopped so quickly! I said Why did you stop?! I laughed like crazy and am still laughing as I am writing this.... hehehe. And finally after we rode our bikes ridiculously far and I thought I would die, we made it home and stopped at the 7-11 to buy carbs and Sister Nielsen was opening up the banana chips she had just bought and having a hard time. After yelling at them, she finally bursted the bag open and the entire bag of chips fell on the ground.... It took every last bit of energy in me to laugh until I cried.... Ah, what a good day! But more than just laughs, we taught two really good lessons and invited a lot of people. It feels so good to be a part of the teaching. The first lesson was just a spiritual thought with a recent convert and I taught the entire lesson on my own about how the Savior heals us from sin through his atonement. It was so good. I love my life.
And finally today was SO fun. It is Sister Bradfield's Birthday! So 7 of us sisters went out to an island in our area and road bikes along these tiny little roads that remind me of Rainbow Road in Mario Kart (because there are no sides) Then we took a boat around the island and it was just so beautiful! I LOVE Thailand! I took lots of pictures so I will send them home for sure! :) It was an amazing trip. We ate lunch in this cute little restaurant and now I am emailing! The work here is so good! But I'm not gonna lie, sometimes I do feel like I am just on vacation. But as Dad says, if you love what you do, you never have to go to work a day in your life!! And it's true. I love sharing the gospel with the Thai people. They are so amazing and many are ready for the gospel. I am so grateful for this experience!
I love you all so so much. Have a great new year and everyone write me! or send a package ก๊ได้
ซิสเตอร้รักคูณมำกๆๆๆๆ
Love,
Melissa
PS OK the pictures...
 |
| From Melissa's Mission |
1) Christmas day, the Italian Restaurant. Note the cute new shirt my mom sent! I am holding a 1000 Baut which is like $30 |
 |
| From Melissa's Mission |
2) Us riding our bikes on the beautiful island! SO fun!! :) |
 |
| From Melissa's Mission |
3) Getting on the boat top row, S. Bradfield, S. Meyers, S. Nielsen, S. Marks, Me, S. Amnuaychoke, S. Young |
 |
| From Melissa's Mission |
4) The boat ride was so fun and beautiful!! :) |
I LOVE THAILAND!
Saturday, December 19, 2009
How is life really this good?
Family and Friends,
Amazing things happen when you serve the Lord in Thailand. Like getting called to serve in Pakkret!! I'm not gonna lie, I was a little disappointed when I didn't get to go up to Chaing Mai to serve with Sister Lo before she dies next moves. (that means she's going home next moves, she is from my Stake in Sacramento) BUT Sister Lo served in this area right after Korat just like me! So we don't get to serve together, but we will at least have the same area in common to talk about after the mission! :)
So basically... Pakkret is AMAZING. I already love it. The members are so tight!! They have planned this amazing Christmas program with singing and a nativity scene and I am singing in the program! I love it!! A lot of them speak English... but actually an amazing thing happened. I got here, and I could just speak Thai... it's so weird/amazing. The members ask me questions and I understand them and can answer them! When we contact people on the street I can have conversations with them. My Thai is just doing so well! I love it.
We live in a high rise condo on the 26th floor and have an amazing view!! On our street there are about 10 high rise condo buildings all next to each other and the street is lined with palm trees. I kinda feel like I'm in LA sometimes. I've only been here for 3 days, but from what I can tell, Pakkret is kind of like the Orange County to LA only its about a 25 minute taxi ride into Bangkok, so a little closer. There are a lot of nice houses and some not so nice areas too. But overall it's very safe.
This is the area the office is in... so I get LOTS of perks. I get packages whenever they come, my mails comes a lot faster, AND on Monday President and Sister Smith are taking us out to dinner! Basically that means that everyone should send me a package! :) We also go to church with the AP's, the office elders and the regular proselyting elders so we have a big district, which seems like it will be fun. I like all of the elders serving here so far. OH! and I got a letter from elder Gneme and his cousin is one of the office elders! Elder Westwood!! So that's cool! Tell Elder Bryson I tried to find Elder Degrafendry, but I never saw him at moves. I'll try next moves...
Ok, and best for last is my new companion... Sister Neilsen!! It was hard to leave Sister Hulme because we worked so well together and and such a good time. But Sister Neilsen is just FUN! I have been laughing my head off since I have been here. We work hard, we really do, but it's just a party every day. Partying in the gospel! :) She is from South Jordan and her name is Jessie and she is a track star! She has a scholarship to Utah State and she is a STUD! We run every morning and she bikes SO fast!!! I love it though. I have a feeling this transfer is going to go by so fast!
OK! well, I don't have much to say because I am still just getting used to everything here and meeting everyone. But I just know everything is going to go up hill from here and I love it! I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas, and can really know the true meaning of Christmas. And of course a happy happy birthday to Aunt Shirley on the 24th! :)
Until next time!
With love,
Melissa
Click here to see Melissa's new area
Amazing things happen when you serve the Lord in Thailand. Like getting called to serve in Pakkret!! I'm not gonna lie, I was a little disappointed when I didn't get to go up to Chaing Mai to serve with Sister Lo before she dies next moves. (that means she's going home next moves, she is from my Stake in Sacramento) BUT Sister Lo served in this area right after Korat just like me! So we don't get to serve together, but we will at least have the same area in common to talk about after the mission! :)
So basically... Pakkret is AMAZING. I already love it. The members are so tight!! They have planned this amazing Christmas program with singing and a nativity scene and I am singing in the program! I love it!! A lot of them speak English... but actually an amazing thing happened. I got here, and I could just speak Thai... it's so weird/amazing. The members ask me questions and I understand them and can answer them! When we contact people on the street I can have conversations with them. My Thai is just doing so well! I love it.
We live in a high rise condo on the 26th floor and have an amazing view!! On our street there are about 10 high rise condo buildings all next to each other and the street is lined with palm trees. I kinda feel like I'm in LA sometimes. I've only been here for 3 days, but from what I can tell, Pakkret is kind of like the Orange County to LA only its about a 25 minute taxi ride into Bangkok, so a little closer. There are a lot of nice houses and some not so nice areas too. But overall it's very safe.
This is the area the office is in... so I get LOTS of perks. I get packages whenever they come, my mails comes a lot faster, AND on Monday President and Sister Smith are taking us out to dinner! Basically that means that everyone should send me a package! :) We also go to church with the AP's, the office elders and the regular proselyting elders so we have a big district, which seems like it will be fun. I like all of the elders serving here so far. OH! and I got a letter from elder Gneme and his cousin is one of the office elders! Elder Westwood!! So that's cool! Tell Elder Bryson I tried to find Elder Degrafendry, but I never saw him at moves. I'll try next moves...
Ok, and best for last is my new companion... Sister Neilsen!! It was hard to leave Sister Hulme because we worked so well together and and such a good time. But Sister Neilsen is just FUN! I have been laughing my head off since I have been here. We work hard, we really do, but it's just a party every day. Partying in the gospel! :) She is from South Jordan and her name is Jessie and she is a track star! She has a scholarship to Utah State and she is a STUD! We run every morning and she bikes SO fast!!! I love it though. I have a feeling this transfer is going to go by so fast!
OK! well, I don't have much to say because I am still just getting used to everything here and meeting everyone. But I just know everything is going to go up hill from here and I love it! I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas, and can really know the true meaning of Christmas. And of course a happy happy birthday to Aunt Shirley on the 24th! :)
Until next time!
With love,
Melissa
Click here to see Melissa's new area
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
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
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
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Fa la la la la la la la la
Sawatdii Family and Friends!
Another great week in Korat has come and gone. The highlight of the week was definitely the baptism of Sally, Em's wife. Their two daughters Ooy and Eve just passed their interviews last night and are scheduled to be baptized this Sunday along with another 10 year old girl named Kanoon. I just feel so blessed to be a part of this families conversion. After this sunday I will have seen all of them get baptized and become an eternal family. I have such a strong testimony of eternal families and the way the gospel blesses families. I got the chance to bear my testimony of the love and strength I was able to receive by having parents who raised me in the gospel. It is so great to see the way Sally loves her husband and children and just makes me think of how grateful I am for a mother who loves me the same. Ah, I miss you mom!
Well, you may notice that I only say the baptism of Sally and not Penapha. She has struggled with a smoking habit which is not completely ended yet, so she will have to wait longer before she can be baptized. I would have thought that would have totally bummed me out for her to not get baptized, but it actually did not at all. She has such a strong testimony and has already been through so much to get her to the point where she is able to go to church, now this trail is just one more step the Lord needs her to take to show him how committed she really is. She is so incredible. One of my favorite lessons I learned in the MTC was that the Lord will put specific trails in our lives so that we will gain a specific spiritual quality that we could not have had had we not gone through that specific trial. I know that the Lord is carrying Penapha through every one of her trails, she knows it too. The day she gets baptized will be incredible. I know it. I just don't know when that day is.
The spirit has been helping us so much this week. Friday was an incredible day. I had a recent convert, Sister Wan, on my mind for a while and felt prompted to go visit her. Well, she lives 2 hours away. She wasn't answering her phone. But I know where she works and felt like that is what we needed to do. Even though it was uncertain what would happen, I felt a very peaceful assurance from the Lord that that is right where we needed to be. That is always good! So we get out there and it turns out she changed her number. She wasn't able to go to church because she had been sick, but was still reading scriptures and praying and was doing very well! Well, as we taught her, our bus went by. They said another should come, but weren't sure and we needed to get back for some important lessons in Korat that night. Because we had to wait for the next bus, we had the time to teach her neighbor who got goosebumps because he said he felt like what we were teaching was true. He is an amazing guy! His name is Somchai. Sister Wan wants to share the gospel with all her neighbors! So as we waited for the bus we started to get worried, but I knew the Lord would provide. Somchai ended up giving us a ride about a half hour into Korat and right as we turned the corner to the place where the bus would pick us up for the rest of the way, the bus was right behind us!! It was a miracle. We made it back JUST in time to teach Kanoon who could not miss the lesson we had prepared or else she would not be ready to be baptized this Sunday, and then made it to Sally's to finish teaching Ooy and Eve so they can get baptized this week too. The Lord got us right where He needed us. We even had time to teach Nok! :) It was an amazing day and I just know the Lord was with us that whole day.
I love this gospel. I love that I am a witness of Christ and his true church on the earth today. Life is so good.
Thank you for the love and support you all give to me. It means everything to me! Please keep writing me!! :) It does make a difference!!
AND a big birthday shout out to my wonderful Grandpa who is 81 years old today!!! :) I love you Grandpa and am so grateful for your choice to accept this true gospel which has blessed my life, my family's lives, including my aunts, uncles and cousins, plus many generations to come! It's amazing how one persons choice can effect so many other people! I know we ALL love you Grandpa! You're the best. And we love Ginny too! :)
โชคตี!!
Love Always,
Melissa
Another great week in Korat has come and gone. The highlight of the week was definitely the baptism of Sally, Em's wife. Their two daughters Ooy and Eve just passed their interviews last night and are scheduled to be baptized this Sunday along with another 10 year old girl named Kanoon. I just feel so blessed to be a part of this families conversion. After this sunday I will have seen all of them get baptized and become an eternal family. I have such a strong testimony of eternal families and the way the gospel blesses families. I got the chance to bear my testimony of the love and strength I was able to receive by having parents who raised me in the gospel. It is so great to see the way Sally loves her husband and children and just makes me think of how grateful I am for a mother who loves me the same. Ah, I miss you mom!
Well, you may notice that I only say the baptism of Sally and not Penapha. She has struggled with a smoking habit which is not completely ended yet, so she will have to wait longer before she can be baptized. I would have thought that would have totally bummed me out for her to not get baptized, but it actually did not at all. She has such a strong testimony and has already been through so much to get her to the point where she is able to go to church, now this trail is just one more step the Lord needs her to take to show him how committed she really is. She is so incredible. One of my favorite lessons I learned in the MTC was that the Lord will put specific trails in our lives so that we will gain a specific spiritual quality that we could not have had had we not gone through that specific trial. I know that the Lord is carrying Penapha through every one of her trails, she knows it too. The day she gets baptized will be incredible. I know it. I just don't know when that day is.
The spirit has been helping us so much this week. Friday was an incredible day. I had a recent convert, Sister Wan, on my mind for a while and felt prompted to go visit her. Well, she lives 2 hours away. She wasn't answering her phone. But I know where she works and felt like that is what we needed to do. Even though it was uncertain what would happen, I felt a very peaceful assurance from the Lord that that is right where we needed to be. That is always good! So we get out there and it turns out she changed her number. She wasn't able to go to church because she had been sick, but was still reading scriptures and praying and was doing very well! Well, as we taught her, our bus went by. They said another should come, but weren't sure and we needed to get back for some important lessons in Korat that night. Because we had to wait for the next bus, we had the time to teach her neighbor who got goosebumps because he said he felt like what we were teaching was true. He is an amazing guy! His name is Somchai. Sister Wan wants to share the gospel with all her neighbors! So as we waited for the bus we started to get worried, but I knew the Lord would provide. Somchai ended up giving us a ride about a half hour into Korat and right as we turned the corner to the place where the bus would pick us up for the rest of the way, the bus was right behind us!! It was a miracle. We made it back JUST in time to teach Kanoon who could not miss the lesson we had prepared or else she would not be ready to be baptized this Sunday, and then made it to Sally's to finish teaching Ooy and Eve so they can get baptized this week too. The Lord got us right where He needed us. We even had time to teach Nok! :) It was an amazing day and I just know the Lord was with us that whole day.
I love this gospel. I love that I am a witness of Christ and his true church on the earth today. Life is so good.
Thank you for the love and support you all give to me. It means everything to me! Please keep writing me!! :) It does make a difference!!
AND a big birthday shout out to my wonderful Grandpa who is 81 years old today!!! :) I love you Grandpa and am so grateful for your choice to accept this true gospel which has blessed my life, my family's lives, including my aunts, uncles and cousins, plus many generations to come! It's amazing how one persons choice can effect so many other people! I know we ALL love you Grandpa! You're the best. And we love Ginny too! :)
โชคตี!!
Love Always,
Melissa
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
It's beginning to look a lot like Chirstmas!
Hello and Sawatdii Kha!
Life is so good over here on the other side of the world. It is "cold" aka the weather is perfect. As much as I know I will miss Christmas at home it sure is nice to be in this great tropical weather!
So first a recap on Thanksgiving! It started with Sister Hulme and I running a 5K! (I forgot to tell you last week!) Gotta keep the tradition. I saw the pics you sent of Dad and Jake running it. Too bad Scott had to work! You KNOW I was totally thinking about you and wishing I could have been there. Last year was the best to have all 4 of us kids there. That won't happen again for a long time again. Anyways, we ran the 5K in 28:19! Pretty good I think. It was fun and SO beautiful because we got to watch the sunrise (and we're in Thailand...) Then for dinner we had the Thanksgiving feast at a European restaurant, so it was a little different, but still way good!!
OK, so I HAVE to tell you about the cRaZiEsT dream I have had since being in Thailand. It was mostly crazy because it felt SO SO real. I seriously have never felt so much emotion in a dream before in my life. I really think it was a blessing though. OK so in the dream, President Smith called me and told me I was going home, and next thing I know I am at home and it was the HAPPIEST homecoming ever. Seriously. Mom and Dad, Kurtis Scott and Jake were there and everyone was just filled to the brim with joy that I was home. We were at the house and everything was exactly as I left it. I can't even describe how completely happy I was to be home. It was incredible. So then I start thinking about talking to some friends and I think, oh, I'm gonna go get on Facebook and tell people I am home (sad... i know...haha) and THEN it just hits me like a ton of bricks, I DIDN'T FINISH MY MISSION... I fell to the ground in the living room and was just sobbing like crazy because I knew I needed to get back to Thailand to finish my mission. I asked dad what I had to do to get back and it turns out that because there is going to be a shortage of missionaries in Thailand, dad had to send someone or else I couldn't go back. (haha) So dad said he knew someone he thought could go but I just knew it wouldn't be the same. I had already come home. I can not even express how utterly dismayed I was. It was terrible. And SO SO real. I honestly had no idea I was even dreaming. Well needless to say, I have never been so happy to wake up in my bed still in Thailand, still serving my mission. And I think that dream was such a blessing because, first of all, I got to see my family! I got to hug them and rejoice with them (which will come one day) and then I got to have the motivation to really not take this time for granted. I promised myself that I would work my very hardest now so that when I do return home I wont be distraught, but so happy because I did my very best. Ah, I will never forget that dream.
Well as for my week... It has been SOO good! The highlight was definitely the baptism of Khana. I am not sure how much I have told you about her story. She just turned 8, so according to mission numbers we didn't have a convert baptism this week, but for me personally, she was. When I met Khana back in August she did not want to go to church, refused to pray, and was not the most obedient child. Her mother, Sister Duan, who is actually her adopted mother, was in tears as she explained that Khana would go to church when she was younger, but when Sister Duan's mom got sick, she stopped going for a while. Khana got out of the habit and then refused to go. Sister Duan said there was so much she could not do for her daughter, not being her real mother and all, but one thing she knew she did want to do was give her the oppurtunity to have the gospel in her life and the eternal blessings that come from it. I could tell through her sincerity that her mom had been praying earnestly that Khana would soften her heart and accept the gospel. Well, it was a very slow process. She was not always easy to teach, but slowly slowly, she started to pray. Then she would read scriptures, and two weeks ago, for the first time, she went to primary and stayed for the full two hours. She began loving the lessons we prepared for her and even wanted to pray. To see that little girl in white on Sunday, being baptized by her father with a big smile on her face, made me feel like life was just complete. Like I had fufilled my purpose, more importantly God's purpose. This is truly the work of angels. I feel so blessed to be a part of it.
Lastly I want to tell you about an amazing woman named Mae. Again, I am not sure how much I have told you about her. She is living a really bad situation. Her husband cheats on her openly and beats her. They have a son together and because she is not tecnically a Thai citizen, she needs his money to take care of her son PJ who needs medicine for his heart. She has the strongest testimony and is on her second time of reading the Book of Mormon. She loves Nephi because he struggled like she is now. Her problem is because she is not a Thai citizen yet, she can not be legally married and thus can not be baptized. She is in the process of getting citizenship, but even if she does, she doesn't want to go through the legal process of marriage if she will just one day get a divorce, just to be baptized. So on her own, without us challenging her, she fasted last week for a way to get baptized. Please pray for her. She has such a hard life, but loves the gospel so much. She told us once, through all the pain Pj's dad puts her through, God is always there for her. I had a huge grin on my face Sunday as one of the speakers finished their talk "In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen" and her son Pj, who is only a year old said loudly, AMEN! He has such a good mother and I just want with all of my heart to see her make it through these hard times and just be happy in life! She deserves it.
OK, well I hate ending these messages because I just feel like there is so much more to say. But I love you all and would sincerely love to hear from all of you. Thanks so much for the recent letters! You'll be hearing back from me soon!
Love Always,
Melissa
OH! and congrats to Kinner for being pregnant with baby # 3 :) Babies Babies Babies!! :) Especially boy babies! Congrats Chris and Annie on your son!! I can't wait to see them all when I get home! I loved the pictures from the cabin! Everyone looks great! Miss you all!
Life is so good over here on the other side of the world. It is "cold" aka the weather is perfect. As much as I know I will miss Christmas at home it sure is nice to be in this great tropical weather!
So first a recap on Thanksgiving! It started with Sister Hulme and I running a 5K! (I forgot to tell you last week!) Gotta keep the tradition. I saw the pics you sent of Dad and Jake running it. Too bad Scott had to work! You KNOW I was totally thinking about you and wishing I could have been there. Last year was the best to have all 4 of us kids there. That won't happen again for a long time again. Anyways, we ran the 5K in 28:19! Pretty good I think. It was fun and SO beautiful because we got to watch the sunrise (and we're in Thailand...) Then for dinner we had the Thanksgiving feast at a European restaurant, so it was a little different, but still way good!!
OK, so I HAVE to tell you about the cRaZiEsT dream I have had since being in Thailand. It was mostly crazy because it felt SO SO real. I seriously have never felt so much emotion in a dream before in my life. I really think it was a blessing though. OK so in the dream, President Smith called me and told me I was going home, and next thing I know I am at home and it was the HAPPIEST homecoming ever. Seriously. Mom and Dad, Kurtis Scott and Jake were there and everyone was just filled to the brim with joy that I was home. We were at the house and everything was exactly as I left it. I can't even describe how completely happy I was to be home. It was incredible. So then I start thinking about talking to some friends and I think, oh, I'm gonna go get on Facebook and tell people I am home (sad... i know...haha) and THEN it just hits me like a ton of bricks, I DIDN'T FINISH MY MISSION... I fell to the ground in the living room and was just sobbing like crazy because I knew I needed to get back to Thailand to finish my mission. I asked dad what I had to do to get back and it turns out that because there is going to be a shortage of missionaries in Thailand, dad had to send someone or else I couldn't go back. (haha) So dad said he knew someone he thought could go but I just knew it wouldn't be the same. I had already come home. I can not even express how utterly dismayed I was. It was terrible. And SO SO real. I honestly had no idea I was even dreaming. Well needless to say, I have never been so happy to wake up in my bed still in Thailand, still serving my mission. And I think that dream was such a blessing because, first of all, I got to see my family! I got to hug them and rejoice with them (which will come one day) and then I got to have the motivation to really not take this time for granted. I promised myself that I would work my very hardest now so that when I do return home I wont be distraught, but so happy because I did my very best. Ah, I will never forget that dream.
Well as for my week... It has been SOO good! The highlight was definitely the baptism of Khana. I am not sure how much I have told you about her story. She just turned 8, so according to mission numbers we didn't have a convert baptism this week, but for me personally, she was. When I met Khana back in August she did not want to go to church, refused to pray, and was not the most obedient child. Her mother, Sister Duan, who is actually her adopted mother, was in tears as she explained that Khana would go to church when she was younger, but when Sister Duan's mom got sick, she stopped going for a while. Khana got out of the habit and then refused to go. Sister Duan said there was so much she could not do for her daughter, not being her real mother and all, but one thing she knew she did want to do was give her the oppurtunity to have the gospel in her life and the eternal blessings that come from it. I could tell through her sincerity that her mom had been praying earnestly that Khana would soften her heart and accept the gospel. Well, it was a very slow process. She was not always easy to teach, but slowly slowly, she started to pray. Then she would read scriptures, and two weeks ago, for the first time, she went to primary and stayed for the full two hours. She began loving the lessons we prepared for her and even wanted to pray. To see that little girl in white on Sunday, being baptized by her father with a big smile on her face, made me feel like life was just complete. Like I had fufilled my purpose, more importantly God's purpose. This is truly the work of angels. I feel so blessed to be a part of it.
Lastly I want to tell you about an amazing woman named Mae. Again, I am not sure how much I have told you about her. She is living a really bad situation. Her husband cheats on her openly and beats her. They have a son together and because she is not tecnically a Thai citizen, she needs his money to take care of her son PJ who needs medicine for his heart. She has the strongest testimony and is on her second time of reading the Book of Mormon. She loves Nephi because he struggled like she is now. Her problem is because she is not a Thai citizen yet, she can not be legally married and thus can not be baptized. She is in the process of getting citizenship, but even if she does, she doesn't want to go through the legal process of marriage if she will just one day get a divorce, just to be baptized. So on her own, without us challenging her, she fasted last week for a way to get baptized. Please pray for her. She has such a hard life, but loves the gospel so much. She told us once, through all the pain Pj's dad puts her through, God is always there for her. I had a huge grin on my face Sunday as one of the speakers finished their talk "In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen" and her son Pj, who is only a year old said loudly, AMEN! He has such a good mother and I just want with all of my heart to see her make it through these hard times and just be happy in life! She deserves it.
OK, well I hate ending these messages because I just feel like there is so much more to say. But I love you all and would sincerely love to hear from all of you. Thanks so much for the recent letters! You'll be hearing back from me soon!
Love Always,
Melissa
OH! and congrats to Kinner for being pregnant with baby # 3 :) Babies Babies Babies!! :) Especially boy babies! Congrats Chris and Annie on your son!! I can't wait to see them all when I get home! I loved the pictures from the cabin! Everyone looks great! Miss you all!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)