Friday, December 25, 2015

Merry Christmas!

Dear Mom,

I hope you'll have a super awesome Christmas! It was great to skype! Our next p-day is going to be on New Years. Talk to you then. Nothing much to say, but a ton of miracles.

Merry Christmas!

-- 

ขอแสดงความนับถือ,                                           Sincerely,
เอ็ลเดอร์ ซัน                                                        Elder Sun
ผู้สอนศาสนา                                                                 Missionary 
ศาสนจักรของพระเยซูคริสต์แห่งวิสุทธิชนยุคสุดท้าย         The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
คณะเผยแผ่ กรุงเทพฯ, ประเทศไทย                                   Bangkok, Thailand Mission

Monday, December 21, 2015

Skype

Hello. We get a little bit of time today to send an email out and coordinate skyping time with our families. We will be able to skype 9am our time which should be 7pm over there. Also, thanks for the wonderful Christmas gifts and wishes. I know that the most wonderful Christmas gift of all is Christ and love.

-- 

ขอแสดงความนับถือ,                                            Sincerely,
เอ็ลเดอร์ ซัน                                                        Elder Sun
ผู้สอนศาสนา                                                                            Missionary 
ศาสนจักรของพระเยซูคริสต์แห่งวิสุทธิชนยุคสุดท้าย                 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
คณะเผยแผ่ กรุงเทพฯ, ประเทศไทย                                         Bangkok, Thailand Mission

Monday, December 14, 2015

This week


This week

Dear Mom,

Thank you for your email. Sorry that mine has come late. This may be my last week in this area. It has also been a week full of a ton of miracles. I'll have to make this email a little shorter than normal because of all of the amazing sight-seeing we did for the last pday, but I'll make it up next week.

This past week has been full of visiting, teaching, serving, working, miracles, interesting experiences, surprises, the Lord's guidance, accidents, and new investigators.

To start out the list of interesting events, my companion had to go to the hospital to get stitches. He fell getting out of the shower and cut his arm. We luckily have very very awesome members who were willing to take us to the hospital and get him patched up.

I can summarize this week up by saying that in all things, we've been blessing by the Lord. Whether it be with the work, personal problems, finding new investigators, or strengthening new members or less active members, I can see numerous blessings that the Lord has given us. He has led us a lot this week, and I feel like it has helped me realize that he is always leading us, we just need to look a littler harder and we'll see it.

A huge miracle has been the arrival of the sister missionaries here. In everything they do, I can see the positive affect they have through there diligent work, obedience, and love for people. They have seen quick success and many miracles in just the 2-3 weeks that they have been here. It's been amazing to see and makes me want to seek this kind of conversion in my own life.

We've been able to work with a few specific investigators recently and meet with a few new investigators as well. This past week, I've also noticed the importance of diligence obedience/work combined with reliance on the Lord. Many times, we work hard and make plans, but for some reason plans fall through, people don't show up, or we don't get to meet with the people we plan to, but I've noticed that with every effect we make to work harder and more diligently, the Lord provides blessings in other ways. We've made many calls and set up appointments with new investigators, but several fell through. Despite this, we were still able to meet with other, unplanned new investigators that same day. We try to plan and work as hard as we can and do/say what the Lord would have us do/say and the Lord blesses us. We had zone training last Saturday and one thing has still stuck with me. When we show the Lord our willingness and dedication to work, He'll bless us. We may not see immediate results, but He sees our desires and efforts. Sometimes we invite and don't meet anyone interested, but the sincere effort we put in can create blessings in other ways.

Some other miracles are a few RC's we are working with .They have such great faith, a desire to help, and understanding of the Gospel - combined with a desire to share. We had a few of these help us teach, and they each were great fellowshippers and helpers. We've been teaching about the temple and family history a lot. We've helped several people start family history. We had a member who had just finished being a member for 1yr leave for the temple. We helped he complete her family history too. It is so exciting to talk about the temple and the blessings from the temple.

The Christmas spirit is beginning to grow and spread. It's awesome. Christ is the center of Christmas and the center of our lives as we choose to follow Him. He is the reason for the season.

We also had a fun biking activity here. Bike for Dad. It was the king's birthday. We got to bike around and invite.

We had so many people and so many investigators at church. All of the classes were nearly full! We had a lot of investigators finally have the opportunity to come to church.

We had the opportunity to take a lot of pictures today. We are the cutest, most awesome district ever!

-- 

ขอแสดงความนับถือ,                                           Sincerely,
เอ็ลเดอร์ ซัน                                                        Elder Sun
ผู้สอนศาสนา                                                                 Missionary 
ศาสนจักรของพระเยซูคริสต์แห่งวิสุทธิชนยุคสุดท้าย         The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
คณะเผยแผ่ กรุงเทพฯ, ประเทศไทย                                   Bangkok, Thailand Mission

This week


Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Moving into Christmas

Dear Mom,

This past week has been such an interesting week. We're really pumped up for Christmas and the extra faith, excitement, and energy from the new sister missionaries is already having a strong effect on Sakon Nakhorn. I'm super impressed that, already, the Sisters have been seeing miracles here. This pastSunday, we had 85 people at church. 25+ than previous weeks. It almost feels like the Sisters came, and immediately the bolstered faith has brought miracles. We had two baptisms this past week and in some ways I feel like my faith has been bolstered, too. From zone conference, to MLC training, to sister missionaries, to really sitting down and talking to members about how we're going to change the branch, has really made me increase in enthusiasm and expectations for this area.

This past week, we saw two investigators baptized. Both are super amazing. I'm continually impressed with the testimony of members as well as we got to have fast and testimony meeting this Sunday. One of these investigators, as with all our investigators, sometimes make me stressed and just anxious in general. But in the end, so, so happy.

We had many, many LA members come to church this week, as well as a missionary 'fare-well'. There seems to be so much growth in the Lord's church at times that it reminds me of Helaman 3:25. "So great was the prosperity of the church, and so many the blessings which were poured out upon the people, that even the high priests and the teachers were themselves astonished beyond measure." I know the Lord can work miracles. No doubt about it.

We've been trying really hard to find new investigators who are prepared to receive the Gospel, and I can say this past week we've seen several miracles. We had many appointments with new investigators and have met with many referrals. We've tried to keep our days busy while keeping an ear open for revelation. An investigator I street contacted finally was able to come to church, and it turns out that the Sister missionaries had actually ran into and have started teaching their family already as well. What a small world and a mighty miracle. And no small coincidence.

I really appreciated the MLC training from our zone leaders - really great stuff that we are immediately starting to apply. The training was definitely a source of revelation for me that helped to answer many of my questions. We are going to refocus on the temple for LAs and try to help build up people's vision.

The sister missionaries work so, so, so hard and have great personalities to go along with it. They are very strong examples for me and the rest of the district. They seriously make me want to work harder.

We are going to continue to try to work with the branch leaders to push for some increased growth and resolve.

With renewed vigor and enthusiasm, we expect to see an increase of miracles.


-- 

ขอแสดงความนับถือ,                                           Sincerely,
เอ็ลเดอร์ ซัน                                                        Elder Sun
ผู้สอนศาสนา                                                                 Missionary 
ศาสนจักรของพระเยซูคริสต์แห่งวิสุทธิชนยุคสุดท้าย         The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
คณะเผยแผ่ กรุงเทพฯ, ประเทศไทย                                   Bangkok, Thailand Mission

Monday, November 30, 2015

This past week...


This past week...

Dear Mom,

This past week has been great, and full of miracles. It feels weird and also exciting that Katelyn is already back. It feels like she just left! I talked to my companion about the Blads. He says he's probably most definitely related to them. Among all the miracles this past week, there was also another large Thai holiday/festival that happened Wednesday night. It's called looy kra thong (ลอยกระธง) or floating flags. People made a bunch of boats, lit them, and push them out into the water. An RC hand-made our boats for us. Specially hand carved large yellow wax flower. They worked on them for several days, staying up late. Felt bad that didn't get better pictures. We had a great time inviting people. There were so many people and a big parade as well. We had the chance to invite parade walkers again. Most of the people there were girls and it seems like while we invite them to learn about Christ at church, and they invite us to get married at church. Good times. #ฝรั่ง

For Thanksgiving, we shared what we're thankful for and then ate some food.

This week, we'll have zone conference. We'll receive some good training, and we'll also get sister missionaries in Sakon Nakhorn! We're really excited to see the branch grow even more. This morning, we took an hour and prayfully thought through who we were going to give the sisters to work with. It was actually a very hard decision. I felt like we didn't want to 'give' any of them away.

I've noticed many, many blessings that have occurred in just these past few days. We've been able to meet and talk to many new people as well as to help many progress and come unto Christ. I've felt an increased outpouring of mercy and the Spirit in Sakon Nakhorn this past week.

I've been feeling a little stressed and disappointed recently, to the point where some members even commented on it. They pointed out that I had changed and wasn't the same person I was when I first got to Sakon Nakhorn. I took that and reflected on the past few transfers. A long talk with some amazing members and missionaries later and I can honestly say that since that moment I've noticed and felt a change in the Spirit. I learned that no matter where we are, we always need to take a step back and evaluate who we are, were we want to be going, and what we want out of life/our experiences. This is also something that our zone leaders talked to us about just a few days before so it definitely shows that it must be true.

We taught an amazing new investigator this past week who has a strong desire to learn. We started off the lesson as normal and told them if they had any questions or wanted to know anything specific, to ask. It didn't even feel like we had to teach a lesson - it felt as if they taught themself. They asked a lot of questions and we were able to teach in a way that I've rarely seen before. They seemed to absorb information like a sponge and asked a lot of really good, relevant questions. She'll get baptized for sure.

We were also able to meet with a few more families this past week. We met the mom of an investigator who had no hesitations in giving their child permission to be baptized. As a matter of fact, the mom actually expressed such a strong desire for her two kids to grow up well that she cried several times and was more than willing to accept us over again. As we met with her, some Jehovah Witness missionaries stopped by as well. What a coincidence.

On Sunday, I was very, very anxious for investigators to come to church. I think I prayed more in that meeting than any other sacrament meeting before. One investigator that we've been working with didn't come to church at first. When I called the morning before church they said they probably wouldn't come for several reasons. They were making much progress and this was something that would really help them. My heart literally sank and I immediately thought about agency. How sometimes if people really can't come, we can't force them. However, I felt like the Spirit literally guided what I said because after a fairly long conversation over the phone addressing concerns, they showed up at church. At the end of the phone call I sat and prayed and felt "weighed down with much desire and anxiety". As soon as I told myself that no matter what happens, I was still going to be optimistic and work on helping other people at church- they showed up. I felt like my prayers were answered and stressed relieved when they showed up at church - and also willing to stay for the entire time. We didn't have any investigators at church as sacrament started, but they began to trickle in which was a large faith builder and miracle.

Another miracle is an investigator first taught a few weeks ago. They were able to come to church for all three hours last week and will get baptized this week. They, too, are awesome.

I feel like a period of trial has brought a period of blessing as well. We were continually obedient and diligent and in the end, it will of course always pay off. There are many more miracles that we have seen, but I feel like these are the largest. The Lord is in His work and is always preparing people to hear and accept the Gospel. Always be looking for ways to share the Gospel.

-We ate dog jerky last Monday. Translated to: Heavenly Meat
-Floating boats. Mine is on the left - the one with the giant yellow flower.
-Thanksgiving. So much fruit. We did have mashed potatoes though. อร่อย
-Hospital visit.
-We'll go house searching for the sisters.
-I'm way behind on getting a haircut.
-We visited an investigator at the university. Visiting schools in Thailand is just a bad idea. No matter what age range. People are just not accustomed to westerners.

-- 

ขอแสดงความนับถือ,                                           Sincerely,
เอ็ลเดอร์ ซัน                                                        Elder Sun
ผู้สอนศาสนา                                                                 Missionary 
ศาสนจักรของพระเยซูคริสต์แห่งวิสุทธิชนยุคสุดท้าย         The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
คณะเผยแผ่ กรุงเทพฯ, ประเทศไทย                                   Bangkok, Thailand Mission

Monday, November 23, 2015

Thanksgiving is coming

Dear Mom,

Happy Thanksgiving! The branch is planning a Thanksgiving, and pretty soon, a big Christmas activity. I hope your holidays will be great, too! It's crazy to think that this will be my second Christmas/Thanksgiving. Oh how time has flown by. I can't sum up how I feel better than Sister McCuen did in her email. I'm grateful to be a missionary, feel love for people, and learn to rely and trust on the Lord.

Sakon Nakhorn only has one district. Elder Blad could be related to the Blads that we know...I actually never thought about it. What are the Blads' names? Oh, and I'm way, way excited for Sister Sun!! And for Diana to move to Wisconsin.

 

Focusing on what the Lord wants me to do helps me keep my challenges/responsibilities in perspective. There are many, many things to do, and we can do all things through the Lord. The things that are least important get pushed to the back burners until time comes around. Sometimes that means eating meals, buying groceries, or washing clothes. When we follow the Spirit in our decision making, we are guaranteed to not make the wrong choice.

 

I feel like the biggest cause of decrease in church attendance and baptisms is a combination of the Lord's will and the will of His servants. He can do all things on His own, for sure. He allows us to take part in His work to learn, grow, and make mistakes. The Lord is very patient in letting imperfect people preach His perfect Gospel. We don't have to do it alone, however.


This week I've learned a lot from all of the missionaries in our district. This past week our companionship has had a semi rough time with teaching appointments and filling our time with meaningful activities - just things that test our faith. I've definitely learned the value of patience and effective planning. Training and being a district means a lot of planning, accountability, and stress. It definitely feels very different to be planning mostly everything everyday and having to know and do so much, but the Lord qualifies those He calls as we rely on Him.

The small things can make a big difference. Small acts of kindness can show a lot of love. Little problems with obedience can bring to pass big results over a period of time. Whenever I think about investigators who may not be progressing, I think about what it is that we can do in order to be more obedient, have the Spirit more, and then what their needs are. As a mission, we have been challenged to do a '40 day fast'. Pray, and seek for personal relevance about what we can do to be more consecrated to the work. To change whatever it is that we need to in order to be able to have the Spirit with us more and become closer to the Lord. It is, has I have noticed these past few weeks, very, very difficult. I repeatingly find myself kneeling at the end of each day and asking for forgiveness for the same weaknesses that I've been working to overcome since the beginning. Change is hard. For Alma the younger and many others, it was exceeding painful, but the end result is the joy and Spirit that we receive as we come closer to the Lord.

One major miracle that we've seen this week was on last Monday. As we were making a lot of calls trying to meet with new investigators, we were able to meet with a really awesome, interested man, who has progressed a lot in just a short amount of time. We first met him two months ago, but could never meet him. He has since met with us everyday this past week and has accepted the challenge to be baptized. I believe this obvious, large miracle, is a major sign of the Lord's mercy in our lives, evidence of people who are really ready to accept the Gospel, and the fruits of exact obedience and having the Spirit be the focus of teaching. All of the lessons with him have been "smooth" and I can honestly say that the desire of those who are prepared to learn is such that their attitude is one that is conducive to the Spirit as well. Our experiences with him is one of the things that has made me look at how we teach as well. The 'training' videos that we received at transfers have also had a large part in changing how I've looked at teaching. While we are teaching the gospel, consider carefully the concept we are teaching. Teach it simply so that our investigator cannot fail to understand it. Then, make it clear through our enthusiasm for the concept that we truly believe it. While teaching, we consider how the principle not only applies to the investigator, but how it applies to us. We teach in a way that the Spirit not only bears testimony to an investigator, but to us also. When the Spirit bears witness to us as we teach, the influence of the Spirit will also be felt by the investigator and bear witness to them as well. If the Spirit bears witness to us while we are teaching, the Spirit will also bear witness to the investigator. The Spirit will testify to both us and to the investigator, and we will "rejoice together." Conversely, if the Spirit does not bear witness to our soul each time you teach, then we can't expect the Spirit to bear witness to the investigator. This is a thought that President Johnson shared with us from D&C 50:17-22. The key is simplicity, conviction, and the Spirit.

There are definitely many other things that have occurred this week that I would consider miracles. We had an LA that we've been working with for a while come back to church. There are many people who have experienced conversion and felt the power of God's love, but over time just allow distractions to have too large of an influence in their lives in place of that spirituality that used to be there.

I am continuously impressed with my companion, Elder Blad. He is always working hard, looking for ways to improve, and also has a fine-tuned ear for the Spirit. I am often surprised at his wisdom that he shows in studies. He is also making great progress in his language ability. He is beginning to becoming more confident and not as afraid to open his mouth. Sometimes I get into a bad mindset that since he's new and doesn't know how to do/say a lot I need to make up for it, which is true, but at the same time, pushing him out of his comfort zone is one thing that will make him grow the most.

Tomorrow, our zone leaders are going to go on switch offs with us. They are going to split us up so we have three companionships. I'm excited to see how much we can get down with three companionships and for the feedback on what we can do better from the zone leaders. When we also get sisters in Sakon Nakhorn, I guess it will be like this, too, so it'll be a 'test-run'.

We have many investigators that we are trying to work with and will continue to see miracles as the Lord's hand is revealed to us.

What I read this morning:
Helaman 3:24-27 "And it came to pass that in this same year there was exceedingly great prosperity in the church, insomuch that there were thousands who did join themselves unto the church and were baptized unto repentance. And so great was the prosperity of the church, and so many the blessings which were poured out upon the people, that even the high priests and the teachers were themselves astonished beyond measure. And it came to pass that the work of the Lord did prosper unto the baptizing and uniting to the church of God, many souls, yea, even tens of thousands. Thus we may see that the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name."

As I thought on the spirit of Thanksgiving that we'll have this week, I thought about all of the support and love that so many have for missionaries. I'd like to thank everyone for their prayers and thoughts that many have shared with me. I would ask for prayers focused on our investigators and the members. We appreciate the prayers that people offer the missionaries, but don't forget investigators too.

-We helped an LA serve food at a school. People are so unaccustomed to foreigners. It was entertaining to see their reactions. Also, because it's a small world, we get to meet the same people again.
-We finally finished building the branch president's house. He had his first FHE on Monday.
-We met a ton of LA's this week. Some don't like the church anymore. Some love the missionaries a lot. A few of those want me to be their son in law.
-We had our first branch council meeting in a long time. Yea! for more power to the branch. Planning Thanksgiving/Christmas.
-I find it weird when people answer their phones in the shower.
-We're going to eat dog today.
-The Lord is in every aspect of our lives.
-We'll have miracles on the way as well as Sister Missionaries.

-- 

ขอแสดงความนับถือ,                                           Sincerely,
เอ็ลเดอร์ ซัน                                                        Elder Sun
ผู้สอนศาสนา                                                                 Missionary 
ศาสนจักรของพระเยซูคริสต์แห่งวิสุทธิชนยุคสุดท้าย         The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
คณะเผยแผ่ กรุงเทพฯ, ประเทศไทย                                   Bangkok, Thailand Mission

Monday, November 16, 2015

Into a new transfer... Pic 2


Into a new transfer...

Dear Mom,

We are going into a new transfer, with new experiences, a new district, new companion, but I'm still in Sakon Nakhorn so that's the same. What's also new is that I'm training a missionary straight out of the MTC, Elder Blad. I'm pretty pumped.

I'm so grateful for this new transfer. I'm very excited for the opportunity to train Elder Blad. He is so awesome. He has an amazing understanding of missionary work and a great desire to learn. I'm impressed by his courage to speak and open his mouth. He's willing to do anything. While he may be a little slow in the language and sometimes has a hard time understanding the language, which is expected, he's able to share very clear, and power thoughts. He is very humble and already a great missionary. It was very surprising and interesting to find out how similar in background we are. He's from Pocatello. He's half Taiwanese, and I feel like he is just like me when I was a greenie. I'm trying to give him plenty of opportunities to speak and teach whenever I can. Training like this is such a big change, one that I'm not entirely sure how to approach, but I feel like it's going to be great. We have all of the faith and resolve to help make Udorn a stake. We're going to focus on callings, priesthood holders, and visting/home teaching. We have set very high goals this transfer, but we know that the Lord is going to help us. This transfer is also only five weeks long because of Christmas. Christmas is almost already here, again. Oh how time flies by.

It is also interesting to hear that my last companion, Elder Noyce, is going to be going to my greenie area. I've told him a lot of stories from that area, and now he's there. It's a small world/mission.

I feel like I always have so much to learn from each of my companions. This transfer will possibly be the transfer I learn the absolute most. 

As a district leader, trainer, and working with the ward the way we are, I feel like the Lord has put a lot of trust in me. I'm going to make sure I am accounting adequately to the Lord for the work we are doing as a district, companionship, and individually. I'm also excited to see what each new week holds. As I sat back this Sunday night and looked over everything we had going on and everyone we are looking after, I realized just how crazy it's looking. We have a lot of investigators we are working with as well as RC's/LA's.

There is so much going on! Also at transfers, it was announced that Sister missionaries will be coming to Sakon Nakhorn in the next two weeks. That'll be a huge, exciting change. The branch president was telling us how with more missionaries, the work will speed up even more and everyone is really excited for that. We had a period of rapid increase, then some decrease in terms of church attendance and baptisms, but we can all see that it's about time for another step in the right direction. Also at transfers, we received some new training. Each Stake/District has worked with the mission to put together a serious of special training videos to help us become better teachers, missionaries, and work with the member in each District more efficiently. It is a very new thing and an interesting idea. The training from our leaders can help us as we learn and figure out how to diligently apply it.

I was able meet up with my second trainer at transfer as well and a bunch of people that he's trained and people that they've trained. It was a great family reunion.


-- 

ขอแสดงความนับถือ,                                           Sincerely,
เอ็ลเดอร์ ซัน                                                        Elder Sun
ผู้สอนศาสนา                                                                 Missionary 
ศาสนจักรของพระเยซูคริสต์แห่งวิสุทธิชนยุคสุดท้าย         The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
คณะเผยแผ่ กรุงเทพฯ, ประเทศไทย                                   Bangkok, Thailand Mission

Monday, November 9, 2015

The last week of the transfer is starting good. Pic 5

The Truck.

The last week of the transfer is starting good. Pic 4

English Class.

The last week of the transfer is starting good. Pic 3


The last week of the transfer is starting good. Pic 1


The last week of the transfer is starting good.

Dear Mom,

I loved this past week so much. District conference here in Udorn was such an amazing opportunity that was also filled with many miracles and blessings. We had several investigators and a lot of members make it out to district conference which was a great thing to see. Those said investigators are also continuing to progress and it was definitely a great opportunity for them to learn and grow as well.

I'm thankful for all of the many blessings and continual guidance that the Lord gives us from day to day, sometimes even hour to hour. I am exceedingly grateful for the opportunity I have had to serve in Sakhon Nakorn and with Elder Noyce. I'm very grateful for the amazing examples I've seen from other missionaries, leaders, and also members. I'm impressed with the courage and testimony of new members, and even investigators. The training we received on Saturday along with all of the training, talks, and revelation from the speakers the past few days really made me rethink and desire to change several things about my own life and how I've been working as well. In the training, I learned the most on the subject of the Atonement. What it truly means to change and why. He loved us enough to Atone for us. All He does is invite us to change. It 'pumps us up'. In conference, we talked the most about the Sabbath day and I loved an analogy shared about the real pearl of all we do and that is the Atonement. We have a box. A beautifully wrapped present that is decorated and ornamented with ribbons, bows, and covered with elaborate wrapping paper. But that is in the box is what is most important. They talked about how activities and events can be helpful and necessary, but the true gift is the Atonement.

I was deeply impressed with how people, all around the world can come together and rejoice in the same Savior and Redeemer. I felt a special spirit as we listened to the members from Laos sing and give talks in Laotian that made me really know that the bonding power that was there was love. Love of Christ and the love our Father has for each and every one of us. I learned about sharing testimony and being a miracle for someone else. It really made me want to change and to become something better. I know that that is what this life is all about. Changing, improving, and doing so out of love for God, Christ, and others.

This past week I also had the opportunity to go on switch-offs with Elder Stevens. It was a great opportunity to work more closely with the other Elders and take a look into how they work. I remember in conference call with the zone leaders that they said the members of our districts really look up to us. Most of the time I don't notice it or realize it. Sometimes it seems like that's not true, but when they said that, I realized that it is true. We talked about leaders in district conference as well. I often forget that I am a leader. I am fairly old in the mission. My example, whether I see it or not, can, and does have an influence on others. After saying this, I should probably work on being a better example more often.

Working with Elder Stevens, I was able to see how much he really cares for everyone that we met with. I could see just how badly he wanted his investigators to feel of God's love, the truth of the message, and how much he wanted them to have spiritual experiences. I often think about how similar he and I are when I was a greenie. I was very similar in a lot of ways. I wanted others to know how I felt, but I didn't know how to do it. However, Elder Stevens can already speak Thai fluently, so that's not a problem. In fact, he often says too much. I was able to try to help him put his thoughts, which would sometimes ramble and make lessons extremely long, more simple and powerful while focusing on the principles and pearls of the Gospel. It's a hard thing to do, but I believe he is learning at a faster pace than me when I was a greenie.

Many miracles: 1) appointments didn't show up on Monday but we were able to take a well needed sit down with the Branch President. 2) Our investigators at the hospital were still doing well on Tuesday. Also a group of ER workers we met with there where really friendly. 3) Several potential investigators I called were able to come to English class and meet with us. 4) We were able to meet a few long time investigators who we had lost contact with; they also brought a friend. 5) We received two referrals from another referral from an RC. 6) Got to serve an investigator who is going strong; I'd never done so much farm work until coming to Thailand. 6) Had a great group lesson with some RC's and two investigators with a baptismal date. One of which we had also lost contact with until then. 7) Visited the family of an RC who is continuing to learn. She's awesome. 8) Conducted my first baptismal interview - she was awesome. 9) District Conference - came back and visited an LA who said a really great prayer and said how she had never had a companionship of missionaries like us before and would truly miss us. She committed to coming to church every week that she can. She reminds me of my mom. 10) Still ended up getting balanced despite losing almost 2 work days.

There have been many, many more that I'm too lazy to write them all.

Oh, and a baptism. We went to Udorn this past weekend for District Conference which is like Stake Conference. There, we had a special baptismal program. It was kind of crazy with all the the things going on, so we didn't have a chance to take any pictures, but it was, and always is, an indescribable experience to witness people going into the waters a baptism and making covenants with the Lord. I also had the special opportunity to be the baptizer. We weren't sure when the service was going to start, where the font was, where we were going to change our clothes, or even who everyone was, but it was awesome. We had invited this investigator over a transfer ago, and at first we were afraid that she wasn't making much progress. We ended up deciding to let the other Elders work with her. It was a special experience because I was also the one able to interview her. It was my first interview and despite being anxious/nervous, I was able to feel the Spirit in that interview. She had a strong love of Christ and desire for her future...let's just say there are a lot of stories that we could tell about her and leave it at that. Oh, and it was super great riding in a truck with all of the members. It was a good time.

Oh, and I was able to meet my very first RC, Bro. Jack. He moved back to Udorn from Bangna. He is teaching a bunch of his family members here. The members here in Udorn were talking about it with me.

-- 

ขอแสดงความนับถือ,                                           Sincerely,
เอ็ลเดอร์ ซัน                                                        Elder Sun
ผู้สอนศาสนา                                                                 Missionary 
ศาสนจักรของพระเยซูคริสต์แห่งวิสุทธิชนยุคสุดท้าย         The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
คณะเผยแผ่ กรุงเทพฯ, ประเทศไทย                                   Bangkok, Thailand Mission

Monday, November 2, 2015

The last week of the transfer...

Picture 2

The last week of the transfer...

Dear Mom,

Thanks for looking after the lawn and stuff. I hope you had a good Halloween. We had a pretty fun Halloween party here in Sakonakhorn. Also, this past week I've had many people talk to me about the things my mom has been sharing with them on Facebook. It made for quite an interesting conversation starter Sunday morning. 

This week has been so full of miracles. The Lord has blessed us so much. Coming into the last week of the transfer, I'm excited to be able to work even harder and make the absolute most of this time. This past week, we've had the opportunity to study various topics to prepare for an up coming district conference. It really expanded on my understanding of faith and helped me see several ways that I can improve my faith. One thing I continue to notice is the pattern of personal growth. Being with my companion has helped me see, in several ways, how we should learn and grow from daily experiences. He is always full of love and looking for ways to serve others. He has the Spirit so strong, and often times I am impressed when we teach. He is a tremendous disciple of Jesus Christ and a truly converted missionary. I can see that he has touched so many lives and has brought God's love to everyone he comes in contact with. I've seen him continually change and improve and a rapid pace as I've had the chance to serve with him these past two transfers. We won't know who is moving until next week, but I feel like I have learned from his example of being self motivated, self correcting, and self teaching. It made me realize that if we want to get anything out of this life or an experience, it is up to us. Sometimes I am tempted to wait for instruction or guidance before doing something, expecting an answer to come completely and clearly. However, there is no guide book for life which outlines everything we should do and when. The closest thing we have is the Spirit, and even then we must seek it. If we want to be better teachers, we need to teach, see what was good or bad, learn from it and go at it again.

We continue to work hard, and no matter what it is, it always seems like the Lord is there. We are still working with several families, and are waiting on miracles from the Lord. In the talk that we had just read this morning, it addressed "how to make things happen". I feel that if we want miracles to happen, we need to have the faith and work to make them happen, but it's also hard when working with others - everyone has their agency. We simply rely on the Lord to fill our mouths and touch the hearts of the people we care about. I enjoyed reading the emails from Sister Sun and Sister McCuen this past week and feel like their experiences can also sum up ours. When we commit ourselves to be 100%, try to follow the Spirit, and put our shoulders to the wheel, we'll see miracles, change in our lives and the lives of those around us. I always find it interesting to reflect on how our faith can influence others. It really struck me this past fast Sunday when I had the opportunity to translate for a non-Thai speaker. I feel like I really 'internalized' the feelings and meanings that people put into their testimonies and I felt the Spirit very strongly in that meeting.

I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary, to feel so close to the Spirit, to get to know God's children, and to have such a great opportunity to help others come unto Him, feel of His love, and to help them develop faith in Him. I know this is a unique, and special opportunity. More than just that, but a real calling. I'm thankful for the thoughts that you've shared each each to help us become better servants of Christ. I am still working on 'perfecting' my desires - my desire to work harder, more diligently, and with more charity. I've learned that when we want to increase our faith and see changes happen, it all starts with our belief and desires. If we truly desire something, we will believe, commit, do, and see the Lord help us when those things are what the Lord would have us do. To become more like Him. I would invite you to read this talk, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that I mentioned earlier and think of ways to increase your faith. This was a great talk that I could really apply to missionary work and I know that it applies to all of us.

Thank you for all you do in and your example of love, service, and experience.

Elder Sunny

Oh, and there was a big wax castle festival. A bunch of Buddhist temples made wax castles entirely by hand and there was a big parade. Super cool. It was also a great opportunity to talk to people. We actually walked with the parade people for a bit and talked to them about the Gospel. Good fun.

"We become what we want to be, by consistently being what we want to become" "All of us must come to an honest, open, self examination. An awareness within as to who and what we want to be"

-- 

ขอแสดงความนับถือ,                                           Sincerely,
เอ็ลเดอร์ ซัน                                                        Elder Sun
ผู้สอนศาสนา                                                                 Missionary 
ศาสนจักรของพระเยซูคริสต์แห่งวิสุทธิชนยุคสุดท้าย         The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
คณะเผยแผ่ กรุงเทพฯ, ประเทศไทย                                   Bangkok, Thailand Mission

Monday, October 26, 2015

Coming into the next week...

Hello Mom,

I hope all is well coming into the winter season over there. I promise I'll shovel the drive when I get back.

I was a little sick with some sort of cold/flu. I wasn't throwing up or anything, so it wasn't too bad. I'm also glad the tools are being put to good use. 

This week has been great. This past week was very busy, actually. We had the opportunity to go on switch offs with the Zone Leaders and I switched off with Elder Choechayaphum. Switch offs were a great opportunity for me to see great examples of how I can me a better missionary, district leader, and disciple of Christ. We received some great training that will definitely help us feel the Spirit and do the Lord's will. We focused on desires, prayer, and personal conversion. I really liked the thoughts that were shared and the past few days I've been thinking about how I can further change my desires. I remember talking to Elder Noyce about it before, it it kind of comes down to the question "how do we change our desires". We often speak of consecration, doing what the Lord wants and changing ourselves, but how do we actually do it. I feel it all starts with the small things we do and a conscious effort to constantly be what we want to be. All I want to be is what the Lord wants me to be, but sometimes I ask myself "what exactly is that?". This week is fast Sunday, the next is District Conference in Udorn. I'm very excited for the growth that is happening all over Udorn and all over Thailand, and Laos, too.

Some say the only constant thing in life is change. This is most definitely true. A wonderful truth about this change that we will face in life is that we can always choose what kind of change will happen. We can decide how the changes that happen around and to us will change us. When choose to follow Christ and decide to become more like Him, the change that occurs and the change that we choose will be one for our benefit.
Alma 5:12 "And according to his faith there was a mighty change wrought in his heart. Behold I say unto you that this is all true."

Elder Sun

-- 

ขอแสดงความนับถือ,                                           Sincerely,
เอ็ลเดอร์ ซัน                                                        Elder Sun
ผู้สอนศาสนา                                                                 Missionary 
ศาสนจักรของพระเยซูคริสต์แห่งวิสุทธิชนยุคสุดท้าย         The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
คณะเผยแผ่ กรุงเทพฯ, ประเทศไทย                                   Bangkok, Thailand Mission

Monday, October 19, 2015

This Week...

Dear Mom,

Oh! How I love being a missionary. Every day is literally bursting with miracles, tender mercies, life changing and faith building experiences. I've recently 'rededicated' myself to thinking positively. It does wonders for the soul.

We may not be able to change who we are, but every weakness that we have can be overcome and made into a strength through the Atonement. I often catch myself thinking, or saying negative things. I've been working on immediately replacing those thoughts and saying positive things instead.

This past week was awesome. We also had another baptism and a confirmation this past Sunday. It was great to see, for sure. The person baptized has come a long way and they said how they felt just full of joy and happiness when they were baptized.

I was pretty sick the past few days to the point where Sister Seppi said I had to stay home and rest for a day. It was a good opportunity to sit and reflect on the past week.

Mission Tour was when a member of the 70 came and visited us. We traveled to khonkaen and received some training from him and President Johnson. It was an amazing opportunity and we also received new phones. This week we'll have have MLC training and get to go off on switch offs with our zone leaders.

Sometimes I still find it difficult to balance being a 'leader' and also humble. I just try to rely on the Spirit and do what's right.

I'm not one with words and there is a lot to do, so I'll suffice it to say that I will try to write more next week.

Elder Sun

-- 

ขอแสดงความนับถือ,                                           Sincerely,
เอ็ลเดอร์ ซัน                                                        Elder Sun
ผู้สอนศาสนา                                                                 Missionary 
ศาสนจักรของพระเยซูคริสต์แห่งวิสุทธิชนยุคสุดท้าย         The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
คณะเผยแผ่ กรุงเทพฯ, ประเทศไทย                                   Bangkok, Thailand Mission

Monday, October 12, 2015

10-12-15

Dear Mom,

This week has been awesome with General Conference and this next week is very exciting with mission tour and zone conference. We had a terrific week where we've taught a lot and met with many, many people. We were also able to go out and have some great inviting sessions. I feel like no matter what happens or what we do, we'll always be blessed by the Lord. We're continue to work with part member families and expanding our pool of LA's. There have been several small miracles throughout this week. We've been trying to work with the Branch President to help him feel less overworked. He's building a house, working a lot, and hasn't had much time to work with us (or the Branch). We've been worried a bit because we've seen and have had several Branch presidents fall away from the church when their lives get hectic and they lose balance in their lives. We have finally made progress on one side of the puzzle by finally helping the Branch President get access to his LDS account. It was something long overdue on the books.

I feel like General Conference was a miracle in its self. Having the opportunity to listen and receive direction and guidance from the Prophets and leaders of the Church helped me feel more confident in how I needed to work. There is much, much revelation to be received from the living prophets and I feel like this past session was chalk full. This past week has been a very good time of learning and the week coming us is going to be a time of applying.

Whenever I think about transition periods in life, I think about the opportunity to apply previously attained knowledge in a new situation. It's always easier said than done, but change is a fundamental part of everything. The Plan of Salvation, the Atonement, our lives. One thing that is also true is that one is never, ever 'done' with being a missionary. The various phases of life that I've seen in the lives of investigators and members here have helped me to really see the eternal significance of it all. Every person no matter how young, small, old, experienced, or inexperienced, are all on this eternal path. Each 'phase' is an essential step.

I loved Pres. Uchtdorf's talk on the gospel is simple. It is not necessary to over-complicate or over think. 

I also loved Elder Holland's talk on love and mothers. I noticed a theme of women/moms/chlidren, too. It was quite interesting because of the membership of the church here is mostly women and nearly all of our investigators are female.

Each of these talks I thought about investigators. Sometimes, I honestly feel like a mom, or a parent who, like Elder Foster said, wants to teach their children and let them know of their love and let them know that no matter what they're going through, the Lord has been there too.

The themes of gospel, faith, answers to prayers, the Spirit, parents. Prophets, and revelation were just what I needed and I'm definitely going to study through and review these talks.

He lives, and He loves us.

-- 

ขอแสดงความนับถือ,                                           Sincerely,
เอ็ลเดอร์ ซัน                                                        Elder Sun
ผู้สอนศาสนา                                                                 Missionary 
ศาสนจักรของพระเยซูคริสต์แห่งวิสุทธิชนยุคสุดท้าย         The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
คณะเผยแผ่ กรุงเทพฯ, ประเทศไทย                                   Bangkok, Thailand Mission

Monday, October 5, 2015

Moving Forward...

Dear Mom,

I hope all is well over there and the cold season doesn't cause too many problems. The cold season here...will probably feel the same as the rest of the year. We go to the hospital every week because Elder Noyce has some back/neck problems. We're really hoping it'll get better, but he Lord gives the hardest challenges do his toughest soldiers. I know that this is definitely so true. No matter what we are faced with, it is an opportunity to grow. Either the Lord will chasten us to make us turn back to Him, or the trials the righteous face area a test of faith to strengthen us further. We do switch offs for training, balanced work load, and if plans don't go as planned and the day turns into a little bit of chaos. haha.

This past week has been awesome. A new transfer is always full of exciting new changes and experiences. The beginning of the week seemed to pass by slow as we got ready for transfers, but as soon as we got back we hit the ground running by teaching, visiting, and working hard. I was so grateful to be able to go down to Bangkok even though we didn't move. Which is another thing that I'm really excited about and thankful for. I feel like we saw a lot of miracles and mercy from the Lord last transfer and we have the chance to serve together again and continue to see miracles. It was also great to see the large group of new missionaries coming in. Sometimes I feel like I'm too old. On the first day of the transfer, the zone leaders told us that our zone was the youngest in the mission. Our district is very, very young, and the first thing that I thought was how much trust the Lord has placed in us and how much faith and 'young enthusiasm' we have. The Lord must have a lot of faith because I'm now the oldest missionary in our district by about 8 months and I'm the district leader. The other companionship whitewashed out and the two new elders both speak Thai fluently already.

This past Sunday, we saw one baptism. It was the friend of a member that we had been teaching for a few weeks. He has a great desire and really wants to get to the celestial kingdom. The biggest trial for him in getting this far was his lack of confidence in himself. He is afraid that he wouldn't be able to keep the commandments. But this humility is also a great strength, too. He's a more quiet, shy person, but he knows what he needs to do. We invited him to take things one step at a time and rely on the Savior through prayer. For sure we'll face trials in life, but we don't have to be too worried about what is going to happen in the future if we plan well today and resolve to do what we know is right.

We also had 5 people confirmed this past Sunday. It's great to see more of God's children coming into His church and coming unto Christ.

I'll have to say that I'm not ready to be a District Leader (having more responsibility), but I know that I really am ready because the Lord will help me. I have a lot to learn about being a leader, a missionary, a disciple of Christ, and while I may not be sure what I should do and feel like I don't have a lot of experience, I know that it all comes down to what I do know. Following the example of Christ, listening and following the Spirit, and being consecrated to the work. There are a lot of details, things to do, and plenty of reasons to be stressed or discouraged, but I know that it's not something too big, too hard, or something to become discouraged over because we don't have to do it alone.

I'm always very impressed with my companion, Elder Noyce. He's a hard worker, diligence, exceedingly loving, consecrated, humble, obedient, focused, happy, patient, and in-tune with the Spirit. He makes me want to work harder and I honestly believe that he is one of those few missionaries that people talk about will change the mission.

This past week was great because all of the investigators that we've met, transfer meeting, the people we've visited, the baptism and confirmations we had, the growth in this area and the enormous faith that our companionship has. I know that miracles can happen. They do happen. They occur all around us. Miracles in the work are just a small showing of the Lord's love for us. The desire that sprouts in the hearts of investigators, the Spirit that they feel, and the love that missionaries, members, and investigators share is something that I feel is a miracle in itself. This transfer will be great. The Lord will lead us and we will allow Him to work miracles through us.

I'm excited for this transfer, mission tour, zone conference, and for the work that we'll be able to do.

-- 

ขอแสดงความนับถือ,                                           Sincerely,
เอ็ลเดอร์ ซัน                                                        Elder Sun
ผู้สอนศาสนา                                                                 Missionary 
ศาสนจักรของพระเยซูคริสต์แห่งวิสุทธิชนยุคสุดท้าย         The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
คณะเผยแผ่ กรุงเทพฯ, ประเทศไทย                                   Bangkok, Thailand Mission

Monday, September 28, 2015

The last few days of the transfer

Dear Mom,

This past week was super great, full of miracles, tender mercies, and good work. We were very blessed this week and  were able to meet a lot of people. This past Sunday we were blessed by being able to see three people enter the waters of baptism. Truly a great miracle and experience. One of them have an interesting, unique story. One of them had learned with the Elders and had come to church for quite some time up until a few days before his original baptismal date. He got into an accident which prevented him from being baptized on that day. I'm not sure what happened, but a long time passed even after the accident with no one contacting him. One day, a member talked to us about him and took us to visit him. He suffered great memory loss from the accident, but the things that he could remember were God, Christ, and baptism. He is under the care of his mom who isn't a member, but she was more than happy to allow him to be baptized because it is something that he really wanted and made him happy. It was quite a miracle and wonderful to see how the Lord has a plan in everything. I'm sure that for some reason, he wasn't quite ready at first, but now his example is able to touch the lives of many people at church as well as his mom.

The other people who were baptized were all referrals from members. I believe that the reason this area has seen much success is because of the diligence and desire of the members to share and help others. We have been working with numerous family members and friends to try to work alongside the members and help their friends accept the Gospel. Several members often say how badly they want their families to come to church, but they don't know how. We try to help them be examples, invite them, and always invite them to pray for the families, but sometime I feel that there's not much we can do if they don't open their hearts at first. It feels like there's not much more to do than to be patient and continue to show love.

One common concern that frequently comes up is respecting the family tradition and not wanting to go against what others may think. We have another investigator who was interviewed and was set to also be baptized this past Sunday, but Sundaymorning she said that she really wasn't ready. She has not yet elaborated why, but she has had problems with her family not supporting her decision to be baptized.

Earlier this week, Elder Tee gave us a talk on consecration and a talk on a successful missionary and told us to tell you what we thought. He asked us to come up with what makes a successful missionary in a sentence or two. We took some time in companionship study to review the talks and discuss consecration to the Lord and His work. It made me reevaluate the way that I've been thinking about missionary work. I believe that a successful missionary is one who seeks and does God's will. Being a successful missionary involves learning, repenting, and improving. The only real 'measure' of success for any individual rests with that individual and with God. It lies in our personal commitment and conviction to become what the Lord would have us become. Each of us as missionaries have to have a vision for our mission. What do we want to get out of our mission and then be committed. When we align our vision with what the Lord would in-vision for us, we can accomplish that thing and we will be successful. We will have the Spirit with us and we will be able to touch the lives of others. Exactly what PMG says.

We continue to help people build faith, invite them to repent, and try to do the Lord's will in all things.


-- 

ขอแสดงความนับถือ,                                           Sincerely,
เอ็ลเดอร์ ซัน                                                        Elder Sun
ผู้สอนศาสนา                                                                 Missionary 
ศาสนจักรของพระเยซูคริสต์แห่งวิสุทธิชนยุคสุดท้าย         The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
คณะเผยแผ่ กรุงเทพฯ, ประเทศไทย                                   Bangkok, Thailand Mission