Ties in Thailand: 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.