Joped

Elder Lilly is now home and was released as a full-time missionary on September 3rd, 2010. Thank you to all who have visited this site and shown support through letters and prayers.

Last one then Jope.

Dear Family,

 

I got all of your E-mails.  I'll see what I can do.  Money is a bit tight right now, but oh well. 

 

The members in Srisaket were all so nice as we left on the Train to Bangkok.  A lot of them came to see us off.  It was very nice to see their smiles and give a last good bye/Sawasdii to them. 

 

Tomorrow Elder Booth and I will have our last full day of work together.  We decided, since we are in Bangkok right now again, that we will travel to Bangkhae, my first area, and work there for the day before moves meeting.  What a treat that will be.  And Elder Tom will be there. I like to call him my loog (son).  I think it will be nice to talk to some of the members that I once knew from back when I was first struggling to speak Thai.  I still remember the first lesson that I ever taught, it was the same evening that I first arrived in my first area.  Elder Booth also served there once too. Good times.

 

Luckily today is a pretty sabaay day for us. 

 

Elder Booth and I went and picked up our suits today. They look pretty, pretty nice. 

 

There's not much more to say. I'll talk to you all on Friday.

 

Love,

 

Elder Lilly

 

P.S. My luggage is going to be pretty lampak (difficult) to carry. One of the bags doesn't have any wheels, and It's 50 pounds.

The road goes ever on and on back to the door where it began...

Dear Family,

 

Well, I can officially say that the time is near at hand. Tomorrow is another day of training, then Friday we will probably mostly be traveling, then planning. Sunday will be a full day of work minus church--and I get to give a talk, then Monday will be packing and Tuesday I will come back down to Bangkok again for preparation and then moves meeting is on Thursday. 

 

The training is really good.  I really enjoyed it a lot.  They won't be starting this kind of training in the MTC until May.  I'll be able to train Brandon and Justin before then. :P  I like the section about the Book of Mormon.  There is no doubt in my mind that the Book of Mormon is true. It is clear evidence of Jesus Christ's divinity, of Joseph Smith as His chosen Prophet and Revelator, and of how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints is the Lord's Kingdom once again established on the Earth.  The Spirit has witnessed to me that the Book of Mormon is true. By the Power of the Holy spirit I know it.  Everything in this Church depends upon the truthfulness of that Book.  When I read it, and pray with sincerity, it is as if the book becomes alive with precious guidance that I needed at the time. And then when I read it again, with the changes in my life, new things stand out and it enlightens my understanding.  It's really a good book. And it came from God. It also contains the fullness of the Gospel.

 

A while back Elder Booth and I were headed to the bus station from the Sky train. It was raining outside.  We went through a few stops and each time a new group of people entered the train. At one of the stops I saw a large white man (we like to call them farangs) wearing a white shirt and a tie. He was holding in his hand a Bible in a plastic bag. I thought to myself "that's funny that a preacher from another religion would end up standing right next to us." The Preacher never looked up but he proceeded to open the plastic bag and pull out his large Bible. Then I thought to my self "Oh no." He then proceeded to flip through the pages until he came to a certain chapter in Ephesians. It was Ephesians 1:7 or something like that.  He then read the verse out loud to us making sure to stop at particular parts to throw in a comment.  He said something like this: If any man Preach another Gospel "like the Book of Mormon" ...whether he be given it by angels, "like the Angel Moroni" let him be accursed. "let him be accursed," he repeated, "that's scary stuff huh?" He had a funny lower sounding voice.  I told him that I believe that the Bible and the Book of Mormon contain the same Gospel in them. He said that he didn't. I asked him what his name was and where he was from. He said that he was the guy that Joseph Smith warned us about and told us that he has been going around Preaching in Thailand for 10 years, but he can't speak Thai and he doesn't have his own church but he goes around from church to church.  After he answered I asked him if he had ever read the Book of Mormon and he said no but he had heard about it.  I told him that he shouldn't believe everything that he hears and advised him to read the Book about it. Unfortunately he refused and said that the verse that he just read alone would be incentive for him not to read it.  His words didn't have any validity to me because he had never even tried to read it before.  But if he would read it sincerely, with the intent to obey it's teachings were it true and truly came from God, and then pray with faith, he would receive an answer that it were true, and he would rejoice in it.

 

I feel very grateful that God loves us and speaks to us, and speaks to His Holy Prophet, just like he always has. Our Savior lives! And He will bring us back into the presence of the Father to be judged of our works.

 

The Gospel is so true!

 

I will be excited to see you guys next week. Until then I'll be enjoying my last few days!

 

Love,

 

Elder Lilly

 

Fruit Snacks

Dear Family,

 

Unfortunately the Internet web site wasn't working on thursday in the several different internet shops that we went to. And so today is also not preperation day and will thusly not be a full letter.

 

The Zone Sportsday was pretty fun. Everyone was very enthusiastic about it the whole time. I think it went very well. We mostly played football, Basketball (yesss) and ping pong. Everyone was pretty dead tired the next day which was Zone Conference. But nevertheless the Zone Conference went very well, and we received possitive feedback on it. Partway through the meeting President Smith announced that all of the Leaders and Trainers will be doing a training in Bangkok on Tuesday and Thursday. That means that preperation day will be changed to Wednesday for this next week as well.  I am kind of glad that he moved it to next week instead of next moves. Now I will get to train about the new focus'/changes that are coming up. From the looks of it it will simplify teaching while still using, and actually better applying, Preach My Gospel.

 

The following week will be the week I return home so I'm preparing again for another adventure.

 

Sorry this one is so short...

 

Love you all more than I can say,

 

Elder Lilly

Dear Family,

 

This one will be short. We moved our Preparation day to Thursday this week in order to have a Sports day with our Zone. I will E-mail a full letter on Thursday. I have an appointment in a few minutes anyway!

 

This past week has been amazing.  We had a special lesson where the Spirit gave us word for word what we needed to say.  The Lord has blessed our area greatly. And things continue to look up.

 

Love,

 

Elder Lilly

Sabaydii baw der

Dear Family,

 

Another school year is starting. That's pretty crazy.

Last letter I forgot to wish Jennifer a Happy Birthday. Happy Birthday Jenn!  I'll get to Celebrate Michael's Birthday pretty soon too. August 13 is my two year mark as a missionary!  I remember the number thirteen was also my cubby number in kindergarten.

 

This past week has been great.  Elder Booth and I had the opportunity to talk to our Branch President and ask him how his work was going and how we could help him. We were able to give him some good suggestions and he was very grateful for them.  I'm excited for the new changes that he has made. 

 

Speaking of changes, I remember when President Smith came out with big changes in how we do missionary work and watching the missionaries who were returning home look disappointed that they couldn't be a part of them.  Ironically there are some very big changes coming up soon. They have changed the way that they teach missionaries in the MTC a bit too. That will be good for Brandon. :)  President Smith informed us and trained us on how we will apply these new changes in the Thailand mission. He said that we will help to start that "Legacy" just before we go home.  And when I say we I mean about two thirds of the current zone leaders. In two moves (this one and next one) about that many of the zone leaders will have been replaced.  Some of the things that we learned through trial and error and by the Spirit they have analysed and will start teaching new missionaries. And the great thing is that all of the principals for these things are in Preach my Gospel already. Truly Preach my Gospel is "the way" to do missionary work.

 

We recently taught Sister Nok who just got baptized. We taught her about missionary work. She wants to be a missionary!  She said that she would pray about it. There is another sister in our Branch who is preparing to be a missionary and she just happened to walk in and help us teach. We weren't expecting that.  The Lord is in the details of our lives.

 

Keep being awesome and working hard.

 

Love,

 

Elder Lilly

Earthquakes' a comin' ...Yup.

Dear Family,

 

 

This week has been really great.  The work is progressing on. And I just feel like the Lord is blessing us and the Zone that we are responsible over. Yesterday evening we were traveling on our bikes in the overcast when it started to rain. I said a prayer in my heart that the Lord would allow the rain to help us in the work somehow. We went a little ways further out when the rain picked up even more. I decided that we needed to stop to the side for a second in order to put my things away into a plastic bag for protection. When we stopped on the side of the road Elder Booth asked one of the owners of a small shop for a bag for his things.  We just happened to have stopped at the same shop of a man that we invited yesterday. We had set an appointment with him for today in the afternoon. He invited us to sit down in front of his shop. As we sat down waiting for the rain to stop we talked to him about the Gospel. He said that he wanted his friend to come sit down too, and in a few minutes she came and did sit down with us. After that miracle had happened we continued on and soon the rain started again. This time our possessions were already bagged up and protected, so we said a prayer together and moved on talking to everyone we saw as we went. Despite the rain, we found another three families and set appointments with them for this evening and tomorrow. The Lord is truly merciful.

 

I feel even more blessed to have been raised by such awesome and good parents.  I feel grateful for your great sacrifices on my behalf and for your teaching me the Gospel and correct principals.  I rejoice in the happiness that comes from the Gospel and righteous living. I feel sickened by many of the things that I've seen people do and say. Sometimes it's refreshing to just talk to one of the members of the church who seem so much happier and full of light than what I normally see.  I also feel grateful for all of my loving siblings and their different personalities.  

 

Yesterday (Sunday) we taught the first lesson to Sister Nok after her confirmation into the church.  We taught her with the Elder's Quorum President and the Relief Society President. They were so welcoming and they shared their testimonies and willingness to help out.  Nok seems pretty excited to share the Gospel too. We invited her to help us teach another investigator and their at their house.

 

Love,

 

Elder Lilly

 

Happy Birthday to Nanna Pooh! 23 Already. Happy Birthday to Eli too! Born just a little bit after Diana. :p

Dear Family,

 

Hey!!!!

 

Well, here I am again sitting in an Internet store surrounded by kids and teens playing silly video games that are all at least 10 years old. It just rained outside. The air is very thick today.  It reminds me of the chapter I recently read in the Book of Mormon about the vapor of darkness that was so thick you could feel it.  This evening we have an appointment scheduled to meet a recent convert who is struggling a bit. But now that we were finally able to contact her she has opened up to us about her trials.  Our appointment with a new family will be moved to tomorrow because they will go to Ubon to celebrate Wan Khaw Pansa which is a Buddhist festival. It's supposedly similar to that one day of fasting that some Christian sects follow. Although I forget It's name. Unfortunately instead of fasting like they traditionally should be doing many just drink more. Ubon is going to have a massive celebration. Many people from all over the world will be going to it.  Despite the rain today, truly Thailand is having a drought.  Usually it rains so much that it floods everywhere. That's what they are used to. Many people say that Thailand is a place that is UdomSombun which means... it's bountiful, the land is fertile and the nature is thriving-- so much so that many people are careless and lazy.  Perhaps there is some truth in that. But as far as the economy is concerned they are struggling.  I think that if they and we do not prepare then the need for food storage will come right to our doorsteps and we will regret not giving enough heed to the warning.  Although it's hard to imagine that it would happen to us.

 

Elder Booth and I are very excited for this my last moves period.  At the beginning of each moves we set a vision for our zone.  I remember setting a vision for my life for the day that I Jope (end) my mission and go home. Now I get to look back and see what I had envisioned actually happen.  I have said before that if we aren't happy when we are doing missionary work then we aren't doing it like we should be.  At times it's a struggle.  But oh what a difference it makes in our work when we are grateful, happy, and rejoicing.  Particularly last moves it seemed that the leaders were reproving people for their lack of progression. Some people got discouraged. Others humbled themselves and kept working on. Personally I think that I am my own biggest judge. But I rejoice in the opportunity to set goals and improve. I can never be satisfied with current levels of progression, and I always fall short of Christ's standard. Therefore even in the days of great success there is need for repentance. Why should I let my weaknesses get me down?  I hope to help those people in the places that are struggling to enjoy the time that they have, so long as their heart is in the right place.  I recall that those times that I was the happiest were the times that I was receiving the most spiritual guidance.

 

So Elder Hood has moved to Korat where I used to be and Elder Taphithak has moved in his place. Elder Taphithak reminds me of Aaron a little bit.  He's pretty laid back, has a similar sort of smile, and he has a cool watch.

 

Tomorrow is Elder Booth's Birthday.  His favorite treat is chocolate flavored raisins.  His family sent him some macaroni and cheese in a package.  I like cheese.

 

We are doing well.

 

Love,

 

Elder Lilly

P.S. We had another Baptism!

Dear Family,

 

 

How is everyone?

 

Today's E-mail is late because they switched our Preparation day from Monday to Tuesday for this week due to moves meeting being changed to Wednesday instead of the normal, Thursday.

This morning we got the phone call from the assistants about who in our Zone is moving so that we can inform them all. Surprisingly enough Elder Hood in our District is moving.  But I am not! Yesss. That means that my entire mission I had only 4 areas (although it feels like more because we travel all over our zone). I was able to enjoy about 6 months in each of my areas.  But it also means that I'm down to my last moves.  Time truly is short.  The rest of my group excluding Elder Young are all dead, or rather they went home.  The Assistants to the President do a companion exchange with the zone leaders once every moves.  Elder Young planned it out (since he's the assistant) so that he and I will switch-off together this moves. He said that it will be our "Trunky Switch-offs" together. It should be fun.  But no worries, we are going to go out with a BANG. :p

 

This past week has been a complete adventure. We spent some time in Surin helping out some Elders who were sick in the Hospital--one of which was diagnosed with Dengue Fever.  We interviewed some investigators, one of which was from the Elders in Srisaket who will be getting baptised this Sunday.  We invited in all of our spare time, sometimes for the majority of the day, and found some families, one of which is waaaaaay interested and awesome. It's been a good week.

 

Last moves there were sometimes that we got behind in time and felt a bit rushed.  When that happens I feel it is good to spend some time to analyse what happened and set some new goals and a new resolution to do better. The times that we feel so good we're on fire are also the times that we feel on top of the time. That's something we did recently, and it truly helps. When preparing to make changes and repent it helps to do some cleaning around the house too.  If you walk into the same room and sit in the same place and everything is a bit messy like before than you will probably get the same feelings as before and fall into the same old rut as before.  Making the physical changes helps to start anew.

 

Love Ya!!!

 

 

-Elder Lilly

Dear Family,

 

Elder Furr and Elder Hood really wanted to spend some time on this preparation day to go to Surin and see the Elephant show. But renting a car would have been much too expensive for the two of them and for other reasons Elder Booth and I decided to go too.  So I got to go see the Elephant show and ride elephants again. :p The shop there had some pretty good classic Thai items that would make good soveniers so I bought some.  I sometimes feel a bit weird spending money on that sort of thing. It's not something I normally do. But, it's all good. 

 

This past week went by faster than usual... and that's saying something. We went to Bangkok again for our Zone Leader council meeting. On our return we traveled to Buriram and switched off there for a day. We saved a lot of time and a long journey by going to Buriram first. But the sacrifice was not being in our own area for a longer period of time which is hard on it's progression. Some of the people that we wanted to visit had to wait for us to come back which makes following up with them even more difficult.  After we contact someone for the first time it's best to follow-up with them or try to visit them again within a day or two. But the Lord is merciful and he let Elder Booth and I to meet a couple new families on Saturday and Sunday.  I hope to help at least one more family to come unto Christ before I return home. If I don't move next week then it's possible for me to accomplish that. 

 

I know I've written about how important it is to know the culture, and about how I've been trying to notice it and record it for posterity's sake. During this last Zone Leader council meeting President Smith talked about the mission culture. He explained that it's the zone leaders that set the culture of the mission. Which culture is sort of a series of beliefs that drive our actions. I was pondering about the mission culture and about how I would like to see the mission culture change.  Currently there are two days set apart where everyone is supposed to speak Thai or for the Thai missionaries English and only that for the entire day. Or at least it was that way before and now it's not 100% clear as to what we should be doing.  I would like to see all of the missionaries immersing themselves in the culture and motivated to speak Thai all the time and then maybe English inside the house. I would like to see missionaries eating the weird meals and trying out some of the things that Thai people do differently. I have grown a lot of love and appreciation for the Thai people, esspecially when I am immersed in the culture.  These things are important to me, partly because I'm part of setting the missionary culture.  Whether it changes or not I hope every one learns to love and understand the people.  They are so funny too. Heh heh

 

I'm glad the reunion went well. I find it ironic that Diana get's married to a Dentist and now she has braces. I'm glad that the Lord provided the means for our family to return home safely. I'm sure there was something that we could learn from that experience. The Lord's tender mercies are great. He certainly is in the details of our lives. I've been recording the Lord's tender mercies in my journal and it is quite amazing.  

 

I gotta go now. Later.

 

 

Love,

 

Elder Lilly 

Happy Independence Day

Dear Family,

 

There is something special about leaving America that makes you more grateful for your freedom.  We celebrated Independence Day. Elder Booth and I have been under the weather for a couple days. We went back home after church on Sunday and rested. After we awoke we went down stairs and made huge cheese burgers, and fruit salad for us and the other Elders. Then we all sat down together and sang all three verses of the National Anthem which was amazing.  I've always been a fan of the last verse. If I can remember correctly it goes a little something like this...

Oh, thus be it ever, when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation!
Blessed with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land
Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

After we sang the hymn, we said a prayer, and had a feast. I have recently been reading in Alma about captain Moroni. He said that the cause found in the Title of liberty is the cause of God. I think that freedom and family and religion are inseparably connected.  True freedom supports the family and religion. Therefore it is freedom that connects our government to religion. And If wicked men separate government and religious/moral principals then they are taking away our freedom because it is the proper glue that binds them. If we are free to sin and kill without punishment then we are not truly free nor do we have peace.  Then we are left with chaos; and what is the point of government?

 

Anyway, I really like that our fathers trusted in God and successfully established a free nation. And how blessed have we been.

 

It's good every once and a while to consider what is important to us, what is truly important, and what our vision is for our future.  That's something that I've always enjoyed doing here in the mission field.  I get to see all kinds of lives and people both rich and poor, happy and miserable.  There's a completely different feel in the church verses outside of it and the people in church seem so much happier then those out of it. These things help expand my understanding and vision of what's really important or not.  There was one point in my mission when I was thinking about what I was going to change for when I return home from my mission.  Then naturally the thought of video games came into mind. I had a small struggle inside of myself considering this subject. I really enjoy video games. I wanted to come home and play some sweet multi-player games with my brothers and sisters. But there are many games that I've played before that I like that perhaps weren't the best. And where do you draw the line? At length I came to the conclusion that I was willing to give up video games completely if the Lord required it of me and I especially wouldn't play any games that would distract me from being able to feel the Holy Spirit's presence.  So I committed myself to that and considered it a sacrifice with a blessing connected to it, and indeed even then I suddenly felt at peace inside and I felt free from a certain burden. I feel like since then my spiritual sensitivity has increased, and my eternal perspective has deepened.  What a blessing! At any rate I don't see when I'll have time to play video games when I get home... there's way too many books that I want to read and things that I want to accomplish. Balance is key, but the Spirit is the guide.

 

The same guidelines go to music and other forms of entertainment. It's not too big of a deal now but I think there remains an effectual struggle to be made. Yet my mind is fixed with a resolute determination.

 

Well, that's all I have for now. Happy Independence day!

 

Love,

 

Elder Lilly

Dear Family....

                         This week fleeeeeeeeew by really really fast. I read your e-mails and I think that it's always good to hear that our cousins are still doing activities together often.  I think that our cousins are all so awesome and that we are very very fortunate to have such a large family living in close proximity to each other.  I think that we can be a great and positive influence on each other. 

                          I'm sure that Mom did an excellent job speaking at church.  Sometimes after I teach a lesson to the missionaries, for instance zone conference last Saturday, I am tempted to ask myself the question which is found in the title of a certain hymn called "Have I done any good?"  Sometimes It's hard to tell how well we did without getting any feedback.  But when you bear your sincere testimony you can never fail.

                          I would like to pose the question... what would you do if you couldn't fail?

                          This past week Elder Booth and I have been so busy that we haven't had enough time to even wash our clothes. Don't get the wrong idea, we washed our clothes. But Elder Booth had to take some of his dirty clothes to Yasothorn and then get them washed while we were on switch-offs there. Planning things out is imperative. Without it we would be lost. We plan our days out to the point that we should never have to ask ourselves that question: what should we do right now? 

                           I've found that a big part of our lives is our expectations. If we didn't expect to have to do chores on Saturday then when the unexpected chore gets assigned to us then we might not like it. But if you've already devoted your time to doing chores on Saturday then there's no feeling of injustice. I'm sure we've run into that situation before... even though we should always be willing to give up our time. In missionary work it is the same. We set the expectation to teach families, and then we start to see a lot more success in teaching families. We set the expectation for our investigators to get Baptized and then a lot more people get Baptized. And there is no feeling of mistrust nor fear of the unexpected. I'm sure going to church would be scary for the first time, unless they knew exactly what to expect.  ...And there's nothing worse than Dad and Mom looking at you in the face with that disappointed expression saying that they expected better of you.

       

                          Right now Elder Booth isn't feeling too well. I had the great opportunity to give him a Priesthood blessing yesterday.  There is such a power manifest in the ordinances of the church.  I felt comfort and strength from the Holy Spirits presence during the prayer.

                          I know that where the Lord calls the Lord qualifies. I've never been afraid of getting a calling on my mission because I am sure that the call comes from God.  I wish all of the members understood that divine call and never have a problem with their leaders.  And I wish all of the leaders understood that they need to depend on God from whom the call was extended. Life is pretty simple. We need to learn who God is by obeying His voice. And eventually we will have Eternal life.

  

                                                                       Love you all,

                                                                       -Elder Lilly 

P.S. What would you say about me getting a suit cut before I return home?  It could be around 150-200$

Dear Family,

 

Life is good. Candy is sweet. The entire mission is on fire right now. We have had the most amount of new investigators that we have ever had before. And now we are working extra hard to help to get people to come to church.  We are finding families. And that's what Thailand needs in order to get a Temple. We are so fortunate to have a Temple nearby.

 

A few days earlier I went on a switch-offs with Elder Blaustein who was my old companion from Korat.  He has changed so much. It's great to see his progression.  We were just full of joy throughout the whole day.  Right now he is companions with elder Tyrapong.  I feel glad to of had the opportunity in informing him about some of the things I learned from being companions with a native Thai.  He appreciated the advice and the new understanding about how to work with the Thai people.  They (usually) resolve problems in a completely different way than foreigners.  Understanding each other is so important. There's no problem that can't be fixed through correct understanding and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Recently we sat down and talked to a man who felt satisfied with his life. He has money, but not too much money, he has a "happy family", he has "enough happiness", he does good things, he is a good person, he has "enough" of everything that he needs. He refuses to consider the future because today is enough for him and whatever happens after death, to him, it doesn't matter now.  Well, meeting him helped inspire me to do some more considering about how we can help those who are as the scriptures would say hard hearted and blind minded. How do we help someone who is satisfied with his life's progression?  I still am not finished on studying about this subject.

 

I feel way grateful to have the time leftover on my mission that I do right now.  The Lord has been so merciful unto us in the past few weeks. We are spending every available moment in working towards our goals and increasing our service. I do feel the spirit of urgency as I go out to share the Gospel.  From every experience I ask myself... What does the Lord want me to learn from this experience?  And when I do so I have found that there was something that the Lord did indeed have for me to learn. Every time.  It reminds me of something that I noticed from Moroni 10:3-5. This of course is Moroni's promise to the world about how we can gain a spiritual witness of the truth.  In verse 3 he asks us to consider how merciful the Lord has been to the children of men from the time of Adam down until this time, and then ponder these things in our hearts. In 1 Nephi 1:20 Nephi explains that he will show unto the world that the tender mercies of the Lord are extended to all those who whom He has chosen because of their faith. This remains a theme all throughout the Book of Mormon. We need to remember how merciful the Lord has been to us and our fathers. Those whom we teach must notice and ponder the tender mercies of the Lord which is the message that the Book of Mormon has about Christ and His atonement and then they will receive a witness that those things, which they pondered in their hearts, are true. I think that it's remembering and recording the tender mercies of the Lord that helps us to fulfill the promise that the Spirit will always be with us. And then we can overcome all of the temptations and power of the devil.

 

I hope that all makes sense.  It seems that the scriptures are a journal of the tender mercies of the Lord. And through that we can follow those ancient peoples examples and learn who God is and how He is. "And this is life eternal that they might know thee the one true God and in thy son whom thou hast sent."

 

I love you so much! If you have any questions that you would like to ask me then feel free to ask them.

 

Love,

Elder Lilly

 

I translated for Elder Chen.

 

"If you put fish in a small tank then the fish stays small. If you put the fish in a big tank then the fish gets big.  Don't put your fish in a small tank! Let it grow. Let them grow!" -Elder Volk (talking about helping members to do depend upon themselves.)

Dear Family,

Thanks for the E-mails.

 I'm so glad that we get to read from the best book ever for an hour everyday. I've learned so much studying the word of God and looking at it from different perspectives. And then to get to spend another hour talking about it and applying it into our work is even better. I find myself rejoicing in the new light and understanding that I have been given as I discussed the Book of Mormon in my companionship study. When I get married I would like to have a companionship study of the Book of Mormon.  Lately I've been so busy with zone leader business that I haven't had much for free time. Usually I get home, plan, race to get ready for bed/prep to talk to the district leaders on the zone and then I gather the nightly results from the zone and send it in then it's already late and I need to get to bed. So I decided to wake up an hour early in order to study extra and to write in my Journal. Afterwards I feel so refreshed and the morning seems so much more peaceful.  I feel more ready to go out and do the Lord's work. Morning study beats study at any other time, hands down.

Also, I feel like I am starting to really understand the Thai culture and how to apply that knowledge to teaching.  The more I work on it the more I learn about it.  There are simple little things that we can say or do to help them understand clearly and be more open hearted to our message. For instance if we say that we are religious teachers than it sort of brings to them the feeling or idea similar to their schooling where they are forced to sit down and listen respectfully to the teachers without asking questions until the teacher calls for them. And we probably want money for it because we do it for a living.  But if we say that we are religious advisers or rather that we come to advise about religion, not teach about religion, then they get the feeling that we will come and advise about a religious path and that they can choose whether or not they will accept what is taught and apply the teachings to their life. Another example is what I talked about before that they need to have an understanding about the Plan of Salvation and get a taste of what restored truth is before they will really understand the restoration. Then we can go back and teach the Plan of Salvation in detail.

Yesterday and Saturday was district conference. My new companion Elder Booth and I got a call from President Smith informing us that they have no translators for the area seventy that was coming and he needed us to go and translate for him all day. So we did. Then on Sunday we did the same. It was crazy and kinda fun. While translating for the congregation I couldn't remember the word for light house.  I looked back to my companion and he gave me a word but it wasn't quite a light house. The congregation understood, but I will never forget the word for light house again. Praphakhan. Yeah. The area seventy was quoting from the hymn Brightly Beams our Fathers Mercy.  Unfortunately they don't have that hymn in the Thai Hymn book.

This moves is moves number 15/16. Elder Elwood moved out of the house, Elder Typagone went back to being a normal member, and Elder Hood got a new companion straight from the MTC, Elder Furr. I'm proud of Elder Hood. Other than that there are two more new missionaries in the Zone. Everyone seems excited about the opportunity to train.

President Oaks came to Thailand around the time of all of the Civil unrest. He gave a blessing to Thailand and it's people. He blessed Thailand to have peace. Ever since then there has been no problems that I have heard about. The Peace came so quickly and suddenly. So the work goes on. I sure do love being a missionary and doing the Lord's work.

Love,

Elder Lilly

P.S. PhatPhetPhrikMaMuang is way delicious. I could eat it everyday.

Dear Family,

 

We are looking for families to teach. There is a certain word in Thai that English doesn't accurately express. The word is graengjai. It is the feeling that you get when someone offers you help with something but you feel like you would be asking too much if you allowed them to. It is the feeling when you don't want to ask because it involves bothering someone else.  Most Thai people are very greangjai.  Usually people are way willing to help but too graengjai to have anyone else help. Unfortunately that feeling rubs off on missionaries too.  There might be one piece of cake left and you want to eat it but you feel too greangjai to ask for it. In our look for families we are forbidding our missionaries to feel graengjai about asking for other family members to sit in on the lesson.  But rather we are setting the expectation that the family should be together. If we come and they aren't together then we may ask to come back again later when they are.

One of the sad facts about the work here in Thailand is that there is a very bad percentage rate of people who stay active in the church. A family is a support system. Finding families is another way that we are going to help Thailand to retain those precious souls who join the church.

 

I have noticed that it is difficult for many of the Thai people to fully understand the restoration.  Most people aren't prone to considering abstract ideas such as faith. They haven't been raised with a background of Christianity. When we ask them what they think the purpose of life is or what they think will happen after death the average person says that they have never thought about it, or they thought about it a little, couldn't figure it out and then abandoned the effort to try.  But also, many of the Thai people are extra interested in the Plan of Salvation.  I think that that simple background of who they are, why they are here, and where they are going helps to prepare their minds for understanding other Gospel truths.

 

There is a funny little saying that every missionary who has come to Thailand knows and probably dreads which is that "every religion teaches us to be good."  I have explained this saying before, and I have thought of several different methods of moving the conversation forward after they use this as an excuse to be satisfied with what they've got. But ultimately when we come and talk to people on the street we are not trying to prove our point but we are working to prove our love. When we come with love in our hearts and a smile on our face then we already have the advantage of having something that they want even if they still don't understand that we teach truths of salvation rather than simple good teachings that help us be a good person. I hope that as we live our lives that we will be good examples that others can see.

 

I have explained that we are looking especially for families. Well, yesterday we were on our way to go teach a family that from a numbers perspective would look very good to get a family full of new investigators.  Not that we ought to be motivated by numbers but you can see how there is a strong temptation to go over and teach them all. But as I prayed to ask for the Lord's permission to go and teach this family, against all logic I felt like we shouldn't teach them. But we had already set an appointment to meet them, and their phone was off as there was a storm coming in. So I talked to my little companion friend to ask about his impressions on the matter. But he said that he felt okay about going to teach this family. Therefore with the time short as it is, and a storm coming, rather than go and teach them we went to go talk with them and perhaps set up another appointment but at least we would go to the appointment according to our word. SO we prayed together and it felt right. So we went.  Soon I realized the reason for feeling as I did. It turns out that the father of the family and the mother had just got out of an argument together and they weren't on good terms at the time.  The patriarch of the family was not ready to hear the word and lead the family.  Because of this understanding and the impressions that I had felt before we left I was much more aware of the situation. Our visit there was short and we set up another appointment asking for the mother to invite the father in on the appointment.  From this little experience I learned a lot of principals.  I was confused about those first impressions. And I had even prayed and asked again if we should/could go. I realize that my question should have changed to asking for understanding.

 

 

I know that the Lord is leading His work perfectly and with His perfect timing. I know that he is protecting and leading His missionaries. I thank you all for your prayers for me. They bring me strength beyond my own, and protection from our loving Heavenly Father.

 

I love you all,

 

Elder Lilly

Dear Family,

Thanks to everyone for the Birthday love.  And a special happy Birthday goes out to David as well.  I have good news that I wasn't expecting. As my old companion Joped (went home) two weeks early, the assistants set up a mini-mission for one of the 19-year-olds in our Branch. His nickname is Jay but now he is Elder Typagone, my new two week companion. What a great opportunity it is for him to prepare for his mission and get ahead of the game. And what a good opportunity it is for me to work to my hearts extent and help my own area to progress onward.  I feel full of energy and desire to get the work going here.

 

Also, Elder Volk was released as a Branch President yesterday. Now there are only 2 Missionary Branch Presidents in the whole mission. That is a big land mark as to the progression of Thailand. In two moves just as I return home the mission will be welcoming 14 new Thai missionaries. And if my current companion gets his papers in soon then there is a possibility that he could join in the ranks of that group as well.  Because of the reduction in missionaries there are only 50 companionships in Thailand right now. With all the new Thai missionaries comming in that means that almost every companionship could have a Thai companion.

 

Tonight we will travel over to Bangkok for another zone leader council meeting.  Elder Young, who is the current Assistant to the President, and I had a good time switching off in Sisaket. He and I will be the only two people from our group who aren't Joping early. He and Elder Bryant have prepared a Zone Leader Council meeting about teaching families.

 

I am still doing great. I feel good. I'm excited about my new companion. I really enjoyed training Elder Tom. It will be fun to train Elder Typagone too.  On my birthday we took part in a very successful Fireside... although firesides aren't all that great for missionary work, but this one really got the members thinking about their lives and truly helped them to obtain an Eternal Perspective.  Some of the evidence of the results of the fireside were manifest as the members bore their sincere testimony during sacrament meeting.  The members supprised me with a birthday cake during our correlation meeting, which we promptly consumed. Now that today is preperation day i'll be sure to eat something sweet.  Some of the missionaries in my zone informed me that they celebrated my birthday by going to an icecream parlor for lunch.  I told them thanks. :p

 

It feels good to work hard and get the blessings of that hard work. There's not much else that feels so satisfying. Keep working hard at home. That'd be a good birthday gift. And eat something sweet. You know I would.

 

With 76 tons of Love,

 

Elder Lilly

pizza

Dear Family,

 

Hello Hello Hello. Well, this Saturday is indeed my birthday. I was reminded that my birthday was comming up during Zone Conference when they were announcing birthdays and... Woah hey that's my name their announcing.  Oh yeah, my birthday is coming up soon.  Now I'm making it a big deal in the whole zone so that we can celebrate seperatly together. In the same day we have set up a fireside at the church about the Atonement. I'm way excited for the fireside. We are asking everyone to come to the church in their sunday dress. I feel like the planning was done under the influence of the Spirit. Therefore am I confident about the success of the activity. Our purpose is to increase their Faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement.

 

This week was full of chaos in the Thai Government. The battle between the Red shirts and Yellow shirts has slowly started affecting us more and more. For the last couple of days we've been stuck in a country wide curfew. At first the curfew was at 8:00 but now it's at 9:00. The Red shirts have gone around burning the towncenters in each of the provinces. They havn't been able to burn the Town Center in Sisaket. The police have the place very well locked down with barbed wire and policemen everywhere.  We aren't affected too bad by it though. It's safe for us so long as we avoid that little section of the town. It seems to be an ongoing ordeal off and on off and on. It will be interesting to see how it progresses further.  These are the signs of our times.

 

Yesterday we went to another Buddhist funeral.  A huge storm broke out and it started flooding in the area that we were in. Then we had a blackout. I thought it made sort of a cool grim effect on the funeral. The rain was pretty loud though. We all escaped from the rain and lit candles inside the house. I was fortunate enough to be able to sit down next to several of the priesthood holders in the Church and talk to them about various things. One of the interesting concerns that they brought up was about how we can show love for those people that we visit, more esspecially those who we don't know very well or those who havn't come to church in a long time. "Clearly we don't need to tell them that they are missing church. They already know that. But what can we do to help them come back? When we invite them they don't listen" they asked me.  The answer I gave them stemmed back from something that I had read in general conference which I think I shared with you guys last week. The best way that we can help people to repent is to increase their faith in the Gospel.  Our faith increases when the spirit confirms the truths to our hearts. The members had been inviting people to come back to church but they hadn't been teaching those people to increase their faith in Jesus Christ and His Gospel. So nothing changed. I am glad to have an increased understanding of the importance of the gospel in teaching.

 

I love you all and thank you for your prayers,

 

Love Elder lilly

from Jennifer

Dear Family,

 

Today was a fun day. We played basketball, soccer, and ping pong at the church in Ubon. I really enjoyed playing basketball. It's been quite some time since I've played. Tomorrow is zone conference. We will speak about setting Visions, making goals, and planning.  I'm excited to have another opportunity to invite the Spirit and rely on the Lord for help in inspiring our zone. 

 

So, my companion has been having some personal health issues which has been an obstacle for us in our work together.  He will return home from his mission on the 28th of this month. That means that I will be in another three man team, and get two new companions. Right now I'm balancing helping my companion, working in my area, and helping out the zone.  It's been quite the learning experience.  There are so many valuable experiences to be gained from serving a mission.  One of the youth in our branch who had been deciding if he were to go on a mission or not had received a confirmation from the spirit and bore his testimony about how he knows that a mission is the best university that he could enter.  I agree.  It's so good.

 

Last Sunday Ahm passed his interview. He's moving to Prea before next Sunday. He'll have to get baptized in Lampang. I don't have any worries about him. I feel like he is the most firm investigator in the faith and truth of the Gospel that I have ever taught before. To me he gets it. There is so much power in the simplicity and truth of the Gospel.  It's what we need to accomplish in life. Some of the teachers at church don't quite understand the Gospel and their role as teachers in inviting the people that they teach to improve their lives. Some people still simply teach the lesson material without any goal or conscious effort to explain the Gospel truths and invite the people to change, which without that the lesson is lacking in focus and power. But with a commitment in mind which will help the learner repent and come unto Christ then the lesson becomes focused and it gains personal relevance and meaning.  

 

The scar from the 2  by 4 is pretty much all healed up.

 

As far as the Trek is concerned... I remember a powerful closing talk from President Thornock. I remember feeling the spirit extra strong as I served and studied in a peaceful and serene place. I remember walking for hours and eating soggy delicious rolls. I remember a lot. Overall it was definitely a worthwhile experience, especially if you go in with the attitude to serve and learn.

 

I love you guys sooo much. It was way good to talk to you on the Phone. Sorry I had to cut it short... I had a lot of things that I needed to accomplish.

 

Love,

-Elder Lilly

Testimony

Dear Family,

 

Wow, Jeremy is home already. That's great! I'm sure he'll mention how fast the time has gone by. That's a great mothers day present. 

 

Thanks for the stories about our ancestors. I had someone ask me about my Ancestors yesterday. I told her that my parents were about to send that to me.

 

So another moves has passed by. There are now 7 Thai missionaries in my zone. Elder Pituporn stayed here in Srisaket and he is on his last moves. That means that I am more than likely to stay here in Srisaket for the next moves period--but you never know. Elder Milton moved to the office and we welcomed Elder Hood into our District.

 

Last Saturday Ahm interviewed for Baptism. He is way ready to get Baptized but he will need to interview with one of the President's counselors first.  He shared his personal Testimony with us as we prepared him for the interview. It's such an awesome experience to see him get a Testimony and then progress so fast. It's a feeling that's hard to describe but it's a good feeling. And I get excited considering how when we remain faithful until the end we will see each other again with glorified and perfected bodies in the realms of God's kingdom.

 

We met a strange man a few days ago at the church. He wanted us to teach him but when we sat down he seemed to want to teach us his doctrine more than listen to us. When he spoke he would go on in speaking things that made no sense and wouldn't ever directly answer our questions. So we asked the Branch President to speak with him. Afterwards he seemed a bit angry but he left the church and we havn't seen him since. Meeting him was a stark contrast to hearing the open, joyful, and personal testimony of Ahm and also the members testimonies that we heard on Monday.

 

Elder Pituporn and I are doing well. I always enjoy setting up the vision for our area/zone. As part of being a Zone Leader we get the opportunity to teach one of the District Meeting lessons in each of the districs that are in our zone. President Smith would like the zone leaders to do whatever it takes to help the zone to progress. Some of our options are switching off for 1 day or 3 days or a week or whatever we need to do. I like having a lot of options. I've seen how one person can have a tremendous impact on those who are around him.

 

I suppose I should mention that last week we took part in a service project where we helped destroy the remains of one of the members houses that burned down. It was good fun. Unfortunetely we didn't have much for tools. Rather we used 2 by 4's to take down the burned remains. As I was weilding a 2 by 4 I hit a cealing board above my target which caused the board to reverberate and it hit me in the face. Ouch. I recall Michael once got hit by a 2 by 4. But, no worries. It was a small scratch. And it's basically all healed up by now. In the end we cleared the house and did a great service to the family in the Branch. Their Neighbors were wondering why they hired foreigners to help take down the remains of the house. :) They were able to explain that we were missionares.

 

I love you guys and I'll talk to you on Monday.

 

 

Love,

 

Elder Lilly

everyone says we love Cameron!

Dear Family,

 

The baptism was excellent. I was very impressed and satisfied with what a great sacrament meeting, Sunday School class, and Baptism that we had yesterday. Elder Milton and I both gave a short talk during the baptism and afterwards Nang bore a personal and meaningful testimony. She has seen some miracles in her process of learning the Gospel. Part of her testimony included an experience where she had asked the Priesthood Holders to give her a priesthood blessing of healing. Within three days of the blessing the stone that was in her body had vanished away and she was healed.

 

I feel like our district is catching the spirit of unity.  Elder Elwood helped to teach the investigator class this week. I remember having the feeling of cheer as I was desirous that he would teach with power and with the Spirit. I took part in the lesson and bore my testimony about the restoration of the Gospel. I remember having a similar feeling when Elder Milton came up to talk during sacrament meeting. It feels good to set aside all personal desires and unite to a righteous cause.  In that way we help each other grow. And we help the Branch grow.

 

I suppose we are like sponges. We constantly absorb in the influence of our surroundings. We also have our own influence. That's sort of the miracle of families and relationships that they can have such a positive influence on each other and lead each other upwards to better things.  The more we give the more we have to give.

 

Being a Zone leader involves a lot of travel.  Last Tuesday night Elder Staples and I traveled to Bangkok by train to renew our visas. Then we went straight to Surin to interview investigators.  Finally we came back to Srisaked for a night only to meet back in Ubon for more interviews and to switch back with Elder Pituporn and return to Srisaket the next morning. But, before Elder Staples and I went to Ubon we came to a large Neighborhood to invite people to come study the Gospel with us. We got some phone numbers and set up a few appointments. Yesterday Elder Pituporn and I went to teach one of the investigators that we had invited in that neighborhood. It turns out that that investigator invited most of the Neighborhood to come and learn with us too. So we ended up teaching a lesson to about six or seven people who came to learn with us. We'll go back to visit them again next tuesday. :)

 

That sunday we had seven baptisms in our Zone.

 

So that was one of our little adventures this week. On Sunday we had another Branch Council meeting. Perhaps some people feel like we have too many meetings in the church but it seems to me that the reason for all of the meetings is similar to the reason for the law of Moses. Many people come to a meeting just to fulfil the requirements of the Law. Then they miss out on the spiritual purpose of the law. If we understood and obeyed the spirit of the Law then the meetings would be short, productive, and uplifting experiences. Therefore, don't ever get descouraged about church meetings. But remember our purpose as a member of the Church and as sons and daughters of God.

 

 

Thanks for the great letters. I'm looking forward to hearing from Michael about his experiences. I really do love each of you and hope the best for you.

I would like to ask for a record of how our family ancestors were first introduced to the Gospel. It would be useful to share for some of the future first generation members that we are teaching.

 

Also if anyone were wondering what a good gift would be for my birthday... I don't know. Something tasty from home is always good. Aaron's and Nana's present was pretty sweet. I liked the pajamas... so soft.

 

Love ya,

 

-Elder Lilly

Package has arrived!

Dear Family,

 

Yaaay I'm so glad that y'all got the package I sent. The Pakamas are way sabaay (comfortable).

 

My investigators are doing great. Nang just passed her baptismal interview last saturday. She's ready to get baptised this sunday. I think that the baptism can help to really pick the work up  here in Srisaket as well because to put it simply... the power of godliness is manifest in the ordinances of the church.  Most people who see a baptism end up getting baptised themselves. :) We will do our best to make it a spiritual baptism.

 

Today has been excellent. We spent almost all morning cleaning the house. It feels excellent to have a clean house. I'm not sure when the last time was that the house in Srisaket was cleaned, sadly enough. I have been looking for the oportunity to deep clean it since I got here. The house is a little weird. It was designed with metal bars on a sliding door all around the house--over every window, door, and opening. Then the outside has a black metal fence and a black metal sliding gate. Indeed, it looks much like a prison. So we opened all of the drapes, cleaned up, opened the sliding doors and let the sun shine into the room. It's refreshing. 

 

Well, I feel like this moves is a time where we need to start focusing on faith again. Naturally without obedience there is no faith. In showing faith we need to pray more, work harder, and give more of ourselves.

 

Work is also part of faith. And work itself seems to have a way of fixing all of the problems. If we know how to work and we do it then we can accomplish almost anything.

 

It seems like the times where we don't really feel prepared to go out and invite are the times when the least people are outside. Then those times where we are prepared and happy and we talk to everybody are the times when people start popping up out of nowhere and there are more people who are outside of there houses, even when it is super super hot--which is often. That I believe is another witness to God's influence in our work.

 

The zone here is progressing. But It's just not yet to it's full potential. One companionship often gets the majority of the results for the week. That shows how much better the whole zone could be doing. But the Lord is blessing us greatly. And as we exercise faith and work work work the Lord will lead us to the things that we need personally and in our areas.

 

I enjoy some of the little things that are "so Thai." Learning a culture completely changes your perspective on how things really are. For instance if you first came into the country without a knowledge of the culture and someone was rejecting you by making excuses or running away or by avoiding you, you might get offended. But if you understand that part of there culture is to avoid rejecting you directly because they are trying to be polite and not hurt your image than you wouldn't get offended because you would understand.

 

I thankyou for your love and letters.

 

I love you and pray for you,

 

--Elder Lilly

oh what fun!

Dear Family,

 

Conference was pretty pretty awesome. Although, just like last time, it would have been better were it in English. I noticed the voices of some of the missionaries who had returned home already. Translating for general conference would be fun.

 

I'm here in Srisaket on the day before the Songran water festival. There are already people driving around in trucks and setting up booths to ambush people and soak them with water. Currently I am only parshly wet. Tomorrow I will be completely wet. Sadly this time of year brings around a corrupt tradition of drinking alchohol  with friends at night. Many families have children who start drinking while they are young.

 

The Lord has blessed us with some pretty awesome investigators. One of them is named Ahm. He is only 18 years old but he has shown a lot of maturity for his age--consitering that the Thai people don't consiter people adults until they are about 21 years old. He comitted himself to avoiding the drinking that goes on in the society. Indeed, usually drinking is a social thing. You drink because all of your friends do. We teach him everyday. Another one of our investigators is named "Ahn." She travels about an hour every Sunday to get to church. That's the Spirit!

 

Right now I am switching-off with the "Assistant to the President."  Which just happens to be Elder Bryant who was in the MTC class just before my group.  Today is a sort of abnormal day because of Songran (usually monday is a Preperation Day). This morning we walked along the side of the road and talked to everyone that we met. One the guys that we met opened his heart and set an appointment fir us to come back tonight. If we can, and we are infront of their house, we will ask to come inside and talk with them for 10 minutes. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is true!  And it's so powerful. The more I understand it the more I love it. We enjoy talking with people and getting to know them. One of the people we talked to liked music. And he had a guitar. Elder Bryant played some songs from the guitar with him. Afterward he showed interest in helping his family so we set an appointment with him.

 

Speaking of family, from general conference there was a definite theme about families and specifically about raising kids. The Gospel of Jesus Christ blesses families. Our family is way blessed because of the Gospel. I carry the pictures that we took before I came to Thailand around with me all the time. Just today I showed a policeman a picture of our family--all nine of us kids along with Braden, Jade, and Crystal. Aaron is in there too... He just wasn't official yet. I didn't say much to him but I got his number.  Just about everyone that I show the pictures to says that our family is "Ob un" which means warm/happy.  What a blessing to be sealed together for eternity so long as we keep our covenants. There is nothing more important than that. I still pray for our direct and extended families to succeed in such great a cause. I especially pray that Kara and Michael will prepare quickly. Having a "companion" is all kinds of fun and you learn a thing or two from it. ;p  And a missionary companion can't compare to an eternal companion.

 

Well, the Lord is blessing us greatly. He always does when we obey him. It's that easy! I would advise Brandon and Justin and Jared to learn the Book of Mormon, to develop your talents that aren't involved with a computer (you don't get much use out of those talents on your mission) (plus you're way too good at that already), and to start practicing the mission rules or rather start practicing becoming more like Christ. For instance! Try not using any word that Jesus Christ wouldn't use for a day. Ex: G4y su(k etc. Last time we talked on the phone there was a lot of those words being used. I hadn't heard that kind of language in a long time.

 

Those things will prepare you for a mission. They will help prepare you for Eternal life.

 

I love you all soooooo much,

 

--Elder Lilly

Happy Easter

Dear Family,

Thanks for all of the wonderful e-mails. I really enjoyed reading them. My easter sunday was a different sort of rejoicing as we had opened our fast on saturday around lunch time. 

Last week I had a special switch-offs with Elder Milton. I was able to help invite in his area for the majority of three days. It was good to switch-off with an old companion of mine. We enjoyed talking about things that we learned from the Bible and the Book of Mormon.  We talked about different ways that we could improve our work to make it more sacred. Then we had the oportunity to apply those things that we talked about. We imediately noticed the difference in the power of our inviting. I believe that as we strive to make the things that we do more sacred that the Lord will pour out marvelous blessings. That's how it's been for me. The area that we are in has been struggling for quite some time. I took especial care to notice how the branch was doing and what things that we could possibly do to improve the work here in Srisaket during church. Elder Milton and I had the opportunity to talk about those things that we could do to help. It is very clear that the most important thing in our lives right now is finding the Holy Spirit and being worthy of His divine direction. Naturally we cannot force other people to change. It must start with us first, and then as we excercise faith the Holy Spirit will work through us to accomplish God's will for the Branch. I am amazed at what a great influence just a few people can have. The Scriptures are full of great examples of that. Tomorrow will be zone conference and Elder Pituporn and I will get to take part in teaching our zone.  I was asked to speak about The Power and Authority of your Calling. I'm glad to be able to help teach other missionaries about that power, which power is the power of the Holy Spirit.

Naturally we are excited for General Conference again. We are telling the world that the Prophet is about to speak to us God's holy will. That's pretty awesome.  Being a witness of God is a great joy.

Lately has been especialy hot and humid. Usually I can tell if a storm is comming early because it will become extreemly humid outside.

I love you all very very much. We were blessed with such an awesome family. I enjoy hearing about how great you guys are doing and how much fun you are having back home.

Sometimes I remind myself that I am in Thailand just to absorb how awesome that is and how much I love this place. It's not hard to put myself and other missionaries into a good mood. All I have to do is think... I'm in Thailand. :p

My prayers are for you all.

Love,

Elder Lilly

Life is great. Candy is sweet.

Dear Family,

 

Thanks for the pictures (from Crystal). 

I was able to print the article that you sent. I really enjoyed that talk. 

 

Life as a Zone Leader is quite different from life as a District leader. Personally, I really enjoyed being a district leader. I felt like my district was like my little family here in Thailand. We were blessed with many mighty miracles in our District. As a zone leader, our influence isn't quite as personal, but we do get to switch-off with every companionship each moves. One week of being a zone leader was good. Next week will be even better. There are five districts in the Ubon Zone, and ten companionships (that's a lot).

 

Right now I am serving in Eastern Thailand which is much different than Central Thailand. The majority of the people speak Isan/Lao, which is a different dialect of Thai. Luckily most people speak the central Thai language as well.  The Isan tones are way different than the Central Thai tones. 

 

Elder Piduporn and I switch-off with other districts about twice each week. The furthest district away from us takes about four to five hours of travel time to get there. So... we do a lot of traveling.

 

I really like how that after we had set a vision for our zone, and set a vision together as a district, that immediately the atmosphere changed and we noticed how the Lord was preparing a way for the vision to be accomplished.  When we gathered together for our normal district meeting we opened with a song and a prayer. But there was a special feeling of unity and strength as we knelt together one more time and prayed specifically for help in setting the vision for our area. I feel like the Lord accepted our prayer and the vision that we set together was revelation concerning the potential of our area. Now we have a written vision, goals, and plans that we will follow. It's a good feeling.

 

The Church is true!

 

As I was studying Preach my Gospel I noticed that in the Scriptures all of the Prophets testified of Christ. Naturally, they would. But even if they were explaining another principle of the Gospel they always testified of Christ. Sometimes as missionaries when we go out and invite it's tempting to sort of advertise the Book of Mormon (which we give out for free) and miss out on the opportunity to testify of Christ. But really, without Christ the book of Mormon would be nothing. But as we testify of Christ in connection to the Book of Mormon or vise verse, then we have more of an opportunity to invite with the Spirit and with Power.

 

I am enjoying my time here while it lasts. Thailand is a great place. They call it "The land of smile." I think that's very appropriate. Especially since most people struggle to pronounce the "s" at the end of a word.

 

Keep on working hard every day. I love you all,

 

-Elder Lilly

Dear Family,

This one will be short.

So, here's the news. Firstly I must say Happy Birthday to Dad and Justin. I'm glad you all had a fun time. HAPPY BIRTHDAY. That goes to Rose too. Also, I must say thanks to Rose, I got her letter. I thought that was sweet. Also I got an unexpected package from Nanna and Aaron. YESSSSSSSSssss. Life is good. Elder Tom thought it was funny a few weeks ago when the mail came in a huge envelope and I made a show by punching my arm through it because it was empty except for the usual 24-month list. I wasn't really upset of course. It was good fun. He threatened to pray that I didn't get mail again in hopes that the envelope would suffer the same fate. I told him that he didn't need to pray. Heh heh

Now I am in Srisaket. My companions name is Elder Pituporn. Yessss, another Thai companion. President called us to be the Zone leaders over the Ubon Zone. We are working our hearts out. This will be an excellent moves. We will be switching-off with the Ubon district already, tomorrow. I have a feeling that time is going to start flying by even faster.

I love you all,

Elder Lilly

To my Loved ones

Dear Family,

Thanks for the words from Elder Busche's talk. That was an answer to my prayer for help. If you could send me a copy of the talk that would be very appreciated.

Being on a mission has helped me to maintain an Eternal perspective. It has helped me to notice the times that I am the most happy. It has helped me to prepare for the obvious difficulties that are coming up ahead. As I walk through the neighborhood I have opportunities to see all kinds of people and their life styles. I know which kind of life style I want to maintain. I know that the only way to truly be safe and receive a fulness of joy is through obeying the promptings of the Spirit.
I like Joseph Smith's teachings about revelation. He said that we need to obey the first promptings of the Spirit until a principal of revelation has developed in us. He also added that we should wake up every morning and dedicate ourselves to the Lord.

I believe that every moment of life is a trial that is pointing us to Eternal life. If we ask ourselves always what is it that God want's me to learn from this experience, then I believe our progression will accelerate much faster. I believe that the Lord can do mighty miracles. The Lord created the Earth, He created us, Through His Spirit He knows everything and has influence everywhere at the same time. Some of these things are hard to wrap our minds around, but that's okay. The Lord has given us His Spirit as our guide. That's pretty special.

I hope that our family will focus on an Eternal Perspective. Because today is a part of Eternity. And there's nothing else more satisfying, exalting, sacred, exciting our real than obeying God and His Holy Spirit.

Lets not waste time.

Love,
Elder Lilly