Email 11-26-08 Comings and Goings

Dear Family,
Life is going well here in Thailand. We had a Zone meeting yesterday in Petchaburi. It was a great opportunity to assess how well we were doing and think of some ways to improve. We also had interviews with President Dodge. I was actually a bit excited to interview because when you measure progress then progress increases, and when you measure progress and report it then the rate of progress increases. We had another Zone meeting today except it was more of a Zone activity/get together and we all played some games. It was a good experience. The funny thing is that right now I would rather be studying. There's a lot to absorb and learn in the Gospel and I want to teach it the best I can. The more familiar with the scriptures and Preach my Gospel I am the better. Preach My Gospel is the way. It is truly an inspired book. And speaking of learning in the Gospel, this week we taught one of our investigators who is working on quitting smoking. He also has Tuberculosis. The Doctor suggested that he quit smoking after he was fully (not just partially) healed from TB because while he adjusts to quitting his body becomes weaker until it can heal. We already have taught him almost everything he needs to know before he is ready to be baptized. After we taught him this week he was manjai or in other words, he was ready to quit then! He wanted to fight fight! It was so awesome to see his spiritual strength. When I first saw him he could hardly walk and he had to wear a mask. Now he is up and kickin'. He can jog and ride a bike, he doesn't need a mask, and he wants to quit smoking. The Gospel has blessed his life so much. The power of healing and cleansing is one of the great blessings that we can witness before our eyes. There's another man who teaches the investigator/recent convert class at church who is a great example of the blessings of the Gospel. When the missionaries first started teaching him he was a drunkard, pretty lost in life. With only four years of schooling he had only a basic knowledge of reading and writing. Through the commitments to read the scriptures and pray for the spirit, he learned. His Spiritual appetite grew and he gained a desire to learn and feast upon the Words of Christ. His life has completely turned around for the better. He is happy. He is healthy. And as a bonus he is skilled too. He has helped Elder Ewing and I teach investigators a few times already and he was super grateful when I gave him a copy of the Liahona conference talks edition.

For Thanksgiving this week I'll be going to someones house and eating a sweet dinner. That's about all I know about it right now. There's an international ward in Thailand which is basically the source of the Thanksgiving festivities.

As far as the Earthquake goes... oh yeah, it was good. Eight scoops of delicious ice cream, all of my choice, and fudge. I ate it and was full to the brim. Elder Ewing ate it and almost exploded. It was a stretch of capacity for sure... kinda made focusing while we were buying food difficult. But it was worth it. The thing about Thai food is after a while I start craving something of substance... something meaty. A Cheese burger starts to sound reeeeal friendly. I can has Cheese burger? :D *cough* Anyway, last night we decided it was about time, so we bought all of the ingredients, breaded our own chicken and all until we had an awesome construction of complete American origin. Ohh yesss. Course that was after a little smoke fiasco as my companion learned the hard way that the oil doesn't need to be boiling for it to be REALLY hot. But it was, also, worth it all; really filled the spot, if you know what I mean.

As for other business, I checked up on the E-mailing rules and it looks like every E-mail needs to go through my parents E-mail address, and they will forward it to me. Likewise I will just E-mail my parent's address and they can then forward it to everyone else. Everyone can still contact me and I everyone only it will be through my parents first (loren.lilly@gmail.com).

The Judy Clan Thanksgiving reunion sounds like it is going to be awesome, I can't wait to get some pictures of it's greatness.

As it is thanksgiving somewhere in the world it's a good opportunity to remember how blessed all of our lives are. I am grateful for you Mom and Dad. I am grateful for The Spirit. I am grateful for my family. I am grateful that I can focus everything I have to serving God for two years. There's a lot of people who focus on trying to make enough to support their families. I am grateful for great friends and family who write me, for prayers. ...cheese burgers, carpet... :p

Love you all
Have a Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Birthday Spencer!

-Elder Lilly