Ties in Thailand: 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"

The 'ol video.