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