Letter of Safe Arrival 10-29-08

Dear Elder Lilly's Family,

I am happy to report that your son has arrived safely in Bangkok and he is in good spirits. He is being oriented by President Dodge and the office staff and will receive his first assignment tomorrow morning.

His Preparation Day will be on Wednesdays and his email address is lillymissionary2@myldsmail.net. You should send him an email this week so that he will have a letter when he checks his email next Wednesday.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions during his missionary service.

Sincerely yours, Sister Laing

Thailand Bangkok Mission Secretary

Photos: MTC Sept & Oct 2008

Thai Elders of District 29A MTC September 2008

After a Successful TRC with the New Thai Elders September 2008
In Cameron's words, "The mini-Mohawk was unintentional" October 2008

Email 10-21-08 ADDITIVE

+++additive: Also I wanted to add CONGRATULATIONS to Kate The Great and Nate. Phew, you guys are awesome. And Happy Halloween. You all should go on a scarefest like good old times (Spencer and Michael know what I'm talking about. That reminds me of Motor mouth. heh heh heh heh heh) Also, I already e-mailed Mom with the shortened scripture if it needs to be shortened more then let me know. Love ya!

Email 10-21-08

Greetings

I have more experiences to share! Last Tuesday evening Elder Richard G. Scott of the quorum of the twelve was our Devotional speaker. He is amazing! He spoke about seeking diligently to learn by what I hear, see, and feel. And then he admonished us to write down the important thing that were learned and do them. He told us that when we willingly make sacrifices because of deeply held desires on the Lord's behalf, it is then that The Lord is able to help us the most; As we pray we should pray for others. He also taught that when we read and pray and ponder and we receive thoughts and impressions to our hearts and minds and we want to discern if they come from the Lord the likelihood is that they come from The Lord because we are on The Lords errand. And he taught many many more things but I don't have time to write them all. Suffice it to say I was very excited to hear his words and I learned a lot. And when he finished his remarks and his picture drawing of little figures on the projector screen (which is very neat-o) he bore his Apostolic witness and asked how many of us Missionaries had ever had the opportunity to shake an apostles hand. I sure wanted to! And then he told us that tonight he would give anyone who wanted to that chance. 2,300 hands, what a sacrifice. But I got to shake his hand!

Also, as you know, last week I got my flight plans. I fly out from Salt Lake to Los Angeles from 8:10PM-9:08Pm and will have about a 4 hour lay over. I'll be able to call home around 10:00 PM (their time), I think. Then I leave for Taipei, Taiwan and should arrive around 6:35 AM the next day. Then I'm off to Bangkok, Thailand at about 9:20 Am and should arrive around 12:05 Pm on the 29nth. So I leave on the 27 and get there on the 29th sweeeeeet.

(Here's a few more things to ponder that I've learned: the more your audience is able to participate in a lesson the more they exercise their agency and invite the spirit, and one of the strongest gifts that we can give to God is bearing a strong witness of him.)

Love,
Elder Lilly

Email 10-14-08 (14 Days Left!)

Hi,

I just returned back from the Temple to report another weeks work. Sorry again that I never actually came back to write again. Elder Bryner had an eye appointment where the doctor checked his eyes in preparation for glasses. He also checked to see if Elder Bryner had glaucoma (no idea how to spell that one) by numbing his eye with this nasty urine colored substance and then tested the pressure behind his eye with a prodding stick. When he cleaned the prodding stick he hadn't allowed the alcohol to dry completely. Poor Elder Bryner, ignorant of the actual procedure, simply figured that the burning bubbling sensation was part of the gig. When what was supposed to wear off in five minutes stayed for an hour and caused his eye to swell up to where he couldn't open it we figured that we should give the Doc another call. Fortunately the burning would only last for the rest of the day and in the spirit of being a united companionship we both wore sunglasses for the rest of the day also.

Last time I said that we had forgone English completely. We did that for about three days straight when people began to speak English again. Not that we couldn't have gone on longer but we said just about everything we cared to say. It was quite a fun exercise while it lasted, but in the spirit of preserving what little English grammar that is left in me we all decided that we would only speak Thai for a certain number of days during the week such as Thursday and Friday. The English Elders did indeed not appreciate it but they already left again so, oh well. This week us the Thai Elders will be the Elders that have officially been here for the Longest time. Before it was only the Koreans who beat us. Elder Young and Elder Schulty have gone through 4 English Elder room mates already and finally they will leave before the fifth does by a week. Booya.

So, this week I get to report about another TRC experience. Elder Bryner and I had prepared our lesson throughout the week according to the usual assignment. Much to our surprise when we actually came to the TRC last Saturday we were assigned to another real investigator where we suddenly scrapped our old plan and taught her as she is, no acting, just helping and answering questions. The investigators name is Ess, the same investigator that we taught in our first two TRCs. It was great to talk to her again and she that she had returned to hear the missionaries. She is such a great person and already has a testimony of the gospel! We talked with our teacher and he will let us teach her again next week also! Lots of work ahead... no time to write! Love you guys.

Love Elder Lilly

Email 10-7-08

Saawaddii Khropkhrua

Today I'm am going to type a bit and hopefully return to e-mail again. I'm all signed up for a hair cut and Elder Bryner needs to get his eyes looked at. Which means we might end up venturing to the doctors office in Babylon. ;) Considering how amazingly tasty the peaches that his family sent to him were, not being MTC food, venturing out and not seeing MTC things will be refreshing.
Yesterday was the end of English for me. Our district collectively decided to kill it. So from here on out I'll only be speaking Thai and a little bit of translating for the poor English Elders who live on our same floor. I'm excited. I've got my Thai dictionary handy and I'm getting really good at Charades.
Wasn't conference great? I thought so. I hope you were watching the Saturday session with open ears because that sister told us that writing missionaries is helpful in missionary work.

-I'll be back!-

Choog dii!

Email 9-30-08

Sawaddii Khrab Khrccp Khrua khong phom! (hello -polite- family of me)

Thanks again to all who have sent letters. It's very difficult to reply to everyone separately as you might imagine.

Today I report another TRC experience for the week. It is something similar to last weeks experience, teaching only in Thai. Except this week was much better. Elder Bryner and I prepared the best we could with the time allotted. We were ready enough to not use notes at all but rather speaking from our hearts the message we have come to share with the people in Thailand. Externally our message was much smoother than before. Internally is what truly matters though. The Spirit was there in the room and as we joined together in testimony and I could see once more on their faces that they, the investigators, felt it also.
I hope each day that we will work hard and efficient enough to come before the Lord and report our work as our best. Also during this experience the younger Thai group that came in had the opportunity of watching us, all fourteen of them. Yes, that's gargantuan. (don't hate because I can't spell... you too Justin.)

I had no Idea that the departure devotional was even recorded. That's very nice of president and sister Boone to send it to you. Did it have the whole devotional on it? When was that anyway, I need a hair cut again. :p

If there's anything you want to send me then it is best to send it now. The slowest method of delivery to Thailand takes six weeks to get there. I thought that three days was bad enough. :)

As of yesterday I have four weeks left at the MTC. I'm sooooo happy. Three weeks is nothing. All the English Elders stay here for only three weeks. I've seen three come and go already not to mention several others in between. I'm glad that Brother Trahsdahl has been asking about my progress. It was his stories of his Mission that I first heard of Thailand. I thought what an awesome mission that would be. Several years later... Here I am about to go. So watch out.:)

Keep working out Justin and Jared... because I will crush you when I get home. I'll be able to bench a baby elephant real soon.
Love Elder Lilly

Email 9-23-08

Dear Family,

It's P-day again! Tomorrow the New Thai Missionaries will arrive... excellent. We made this great plan to great them. I have no Idea if we will actually try it, but the thought is worthy. We found that one of our Elders can fit inside another Elders Travelling Bag. So we thought to bust out the Old Orange dot that marks a new missionary and have one of our Missionaries pretend to be new and smuggle in his friend into the MTC via the Bag. Hahahaha! With a bit of acting skill, and some well placed cameras with recording abilities, it would make for a memorable evening. Like I said the thought is funny... we would never really... right? Anyway.

Since it's faster to write by typing I'll take the liberty of telling you now of My Latest T.R.C experience. This last week was our first Thai only discussion. The TRC is about the Pinnacle of the week, it's the closest thing to real missionary work and it is a marker for what you've learned and are prepared for in the Mission Field. Therefore (future missionaries take note) the Key to succeeding here, besides having the spirit that every missionary depends upon to teach, is preparing everything based off of the TRC from the start of the week; All the way from right after we go to the TRC which is on Saturday and start planning for the week up to the next TRC. I focus the vocab I learn during the week, the phrases I learn, and the lessons I teach based on the TRC from the beginning. I want to be so prepared with the language and my knowledge of the gospel in English that I can focus my teaching while I'm in the TRC teaching investigators based upon the investigators needs. Based on their needs is sort of a phrase that is commonly used here, yet it makes sense. God's love for his children is so great, he knows all of his creations. He teaches them personally through the spirit. As all of us have different strengths and weaknesses, different bodies and thoughts, different personalities, we all need to be taught based on our Needs; our own level.

I heard the conversion story of one of the Members from the quorum of the seventies' wife. During which I could see how God was able to help her through a sweet old lady in a place far far from her home. His wife wasn't a very social person and she liked to travel. She never wanted to get too close to people because then she would form an attachment and want to stay, and she never wanted to stay. Eventually she wanted to go to America. Yet through this Old lady who had lost all but one of her children as they were being born, who was happy and hopeful and had bright blue eyes and red hair like the Child that his wife was helping as she made some money for her travels in the hospital she Personally was able to be brought to the gospel.

Well I'm out of time but I love your letters and I am receiving them. It's quite hard to find time here. Because I'm busy busy working. Love ya.

Email 9-16-08

Dear Family,

Thank you for your letters as usual. I was having a letter famine when suddenly I get pictures in the mail! Yay. I ended up using those pictures for the TRC teaching; which teaching the whole week revolves around. I was able to show the picture of my family and talk about it with the investigators in Thai. The experience was actually quite amazing. It was the last time that I'll be teaching in English. The spirit filled the room and I could see as we taught the Sister's composure change as we answered her many difficult questions such as If we were created in God's image then why do we look different? (she was Thai), why can't I drink a little bit of wine when it is good for you?, etc. As it turns out these were her real concerns and questions that she asked the missionaries. I feel like she was moved in someway by the spirit, and I felt great as we left the room. Now the challenge is to be able to speak Thai for the same amount of time and teach the lesson with the spirit. Yet I feel that the Spirit almost has the opportunity to be stronger as long as I do everything in my part to learn the language because I'm even more dependent on the Lords help, and through him can weak things be made strong. Thai is certainly a weakness for me right now. Not that I'm not learning so much so fast!

Opposite to that experience was one where a simple matter of throwing a ball around at night escalated into a mini feud. I was astonished at how easily these Brethren were aroused against each other and how great the matter became so fast. I could see so clearly how we have opposition in all things and how when Satan's Power found it's way in it came at full force. Our potential is so great here as Missionaries. We are called from the Prophet of God to represent Jesus Christ. The adversity to match this potential is great. We were able to resolve the situation and calm things down. One Elder managed to break his hand in frustration hitting it against the door. It sounds really silly doesn't it? Well it is, but it's real.

Nevertheless I am doing really well. This last week has been the most productive week so far, I think. My companion and I have worked out an effective system and now were getting a lot more vocabulary memorized and using them throughout the day. And now we are the PhiiThays (older Thai people). Next week the younger Thai group will come in and we will help them where we can. There's a sort of approved tradition among the Thailand Elders that involves initiation into PhiiThay-ism. We had to "trust" the Phiithays as they compelled us into the bathroom with our toothbrushes out. They stuck some haggard looking brown... stuff onto our toothbrushes while we closed our eyes. Then we began brushing and opened our eyes. It reminded me of brushing my teeth with herbal shoe shine. It turned out to be Thai tooth paste! It was fun.

As for the socks I don't know where they disappeared to. But you could send me some new ones if needed and maybe some goods, like hmm cookies and cream, and goods, eh?

I have more to say but can't Later!

Hopefully I can send you some pictures.

Love,
Elder Lilly

Video: "Lead Kindly Light" Musical Number

Musical number from a departure devotional. MTC 9-14-08