WEEK 61 - SEPTEMBER 9, 2018 - PHUKET

This week Sister Athena was baptized!! It was a really great day! She is from the Philippines and has a really strong testimony of Christ but she always felt that something was wrong with the church she went to growing up. Once she moved from the Philippines to Thailand she stopped going to church. In her testimony yesterday she told us she had an experience where it felt like God was shaking her and asking why she wasn't going to church. She didn't know where any churches were but she knew some of her colleagues and friends went to church so maybe she could go with them. The friends she asked were two members of our branch. Once Athena came to church she felt a really special peace there and wanted to learn more. We were able to teach her and her friends helped so much! We would teach at the member's house and the member's would offer support and pick her up for church on Sunday. She always had such great questions about the scriptures and loves reading them. At the baptism the friends that referred her gave a talk and in the talk she talked about how she has been a member for 16 years and has referred all her friends and family but sister Athena is the first one who got baptized. It was really special and there were not many dry eyes in the room! It was an amazing experience to be a part of her conversion process and to help her learn more about the restoration.

Thai name of the week: Mormon 

These last two transfers we have witnessed multiple miracles from following our stomachs. We taught an investigator at McDonald's and then ate lunch there. As we were getting ready to leave Elder Tu noticed the man sitting next to us had bought one of those pie things but hadn't eaten it. Elder Tu wanted the pie thing so he decided to talk to the man to try to get the pie. When he started talking to the man it turned out that he was really open hearted and really wants to learn more about religion so we got an appointment with him for next week! Then Elder Tu asked if he could eat the pie thing but the man said he was going to eat it so we just sat there kind of awkwardly for a second and then got out of there. Haha meeting him was a miracle for sure! 

At the baptism we sang "I am a Child of God"  and I noticed how many people were getting choked up while singing that song. In conference someone (sorry, can't remember who) shared a story about a young girl who experienced an accident and as part of therapy she was counseled to say "I am a child of God" ten times every day. At first if was really difficult for her but there is power in knowing your divine identity and eventually she overcame her challenges by focusing on who she really was which is a child of God. If there's one thing I've learned on my mission it's that God truly is our Father and each of us are beloved sons and daughters of God. There really is power in singing and saying that you are a child of God, because if is true!

Some fun Thai culture we experiences this week: we stumbled upon a small field with about 30 or so men gathered around several bird cages that were hanging with birds inside them. I guess a popular "sport" here is to buy a bird and then take if to these competitions where they count how many times your bird chirps within a few seconds and the birds who chirp the most win. Thailand is awesome! Another one happened at the hotel where we meet for church. There was a huge auction going on and they were auctioning off licence plate numbers. There is big time superstition on getting lucky numbers so people were paying ridiculous amounts of money for these licence plate numbers. Members were telling us that some went for 3 million baht (a little less that $100,000). I thought it was pretty funny. We noticed a few members slip out during Sunday school to go check on the event too. Haha! I love this country!

Hope you all are doing well! I'm very grateful for all your prayers! I know this is God's work and I'm so happy to be a small part of it! Love you all!

 

Pictures:

Ministering with the Elders Quorum

Here is the field with the bird cages

Athena's baptism

LETTER TO THE BROTHERS - SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Hey Dudes!

Last week we had a zone conference and one of the members of the Quorum of the 70 came and talked to us and he shared this cool story with us that I'd like to pass onto you guys! I know this work is true and I'm trying really hard to work like the missionary in this story worked. I know if you all do the same you will be happy in your missionary service! 

Love you guys!

- Elder Backyard Basketball Bros Champion

Marks Of A Man poem
As I jumped on board my flight from Miami to Salt Lake City, I paused for a moment to catch my breath. Seated near the front of the plane was an excited young man, probably 19, sitting with his parents. His hair was short and his clothes new and sharp. His suit was fitted perfectly and his black shoes still retained that store bought shine. His body was in good shape, his face clear, and his hands clean. In his eyes I could see a nervous look, and his movements were that of an actor on opening night.
He was obviously flying to Utah to become a missionary for the Mormon Church. I smiled as I walked by and took pride in belonging to this same Church where these young men and women voluntarily serve the Savior for two years. With this special feeling, I continued to the back where my seat was located.
As I sat in my seat, I looked to the right and to my surprise, saw another missionary sleeping in the window seat. His hair was also short, but that was the only similarity between the two. This one was obviously returning home, and I could tell at a glance what type of missionary he had been.
The fact that he was already asleep told me a lot. His entire body seemed to let out a big sigh. It looked as if this was the first time in two years he had even slept, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was. As I looked at his face, I could see the heavy bags under his eyes, the chapped lips, and the scarred and sunburned face caused by the fierce Florida sun.
His suit was tattered and worn. A few of the seams were coming apart, and I noticed that there were a couple of tears that had been hand-sewn with a very sloppy stitch.
I saw the nametag, crooked, scratched and bearing the name of the Church he represented, the engraving of which was almost all worn away. I saw the knee of his pants, worn and white, the result of many hours of humble prayer.
A tear came to my eye as I saw the things that really told me what kind of missionary he had been. I saw the marks that made this boy, a man. His feet - the two that had carried him from house to house, now lay there swollen and tired. They were covered by a pair of worn-out shoes. Many of the large scrapes and gouges had been filled in by the countless number of polishings.
His books - laying across his lap were his scriptures, the word of God. Once new, these books which testify of Jesus Christ and His mission, were now torn, bent, and ragged from use.
His hands - those big, strong hands, which had been used to bless and teach, were now scarred and cut from knocking at doors.
Those were indeed the marks of that man. And as I looked at him, I saw the marks of another man, the Savior, as he was hanging on the cross for the sins of the world.
His feet - those that had once carried him throughout the land during his ministry, were now nailed to the cross.
His side - now pierced with a spear. Sealing his gospel, his testimony with his life.
His hands - the hands that had been used to ordain his servants and bless the sick were also scarred with the nails that were pounded to hang him on the cross.
Those were the marks of that great man.
As my mind returned to the missionary, my whole body seemed to swell with pride and joy, because I knew, by looking at him, that he had served his Master well.
My joy was so great, I felt like running to the front of the plane, grabbing that new, young missionary, and bringing him back to see what he can become, what he can do.
But would he see the things that I saw, could anyone see the things I saw? Or would he just see the outward appearance of that mighty elder, tired and worn out, almost dead.
As we landed, I reached over and tapped him to wake him up. As he awoke, it seemed like new life was entering his body. His whole frame just seemed to fill as he stood up, tall and proud. As he turned his face towards mine, I saw a light about his face that I had never seen before. I looked into his eyes. Those eyes, I will never forget those eyes. They were the eyes of a prophet, a leader, a follower, and a servant. They were the eyes of the Savior. No words were spoken. No words were needed.
As we unloaded, I stepped aside to let him go first. I watched as he walked, slow but steady, tired but strong. I followed him and found myself walking the way that he did. When I came through the doors, I saw this young man in the arms of his parents, and I couldn't hold it any longer.
With tears streaming down my face, I watched these loving parents greet their son who had been away for a short time. And I wondered if our parents in Heaven would greet us the same way. Will they wrap their arms around us and welcome us home from our journey on earth? I believe they will. I just hope that I can be worthy enough to receive such praise, as I'm sure this missionary will.
I said a silent prayer, thanking the Lord for missionaries like this young man. I don't think I will ever forget the joy and happiness he brought me that day.

WEEK 60 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2018 - PHUKET

This week we had zone conference with Elder Homer from the 70 and it was great! He taught us a lot. One thing that stood out to me from him was how he went over how missionaries are called to their mission and how we have each been called to this specific mission at this specific time because there are people waiting for us to find them! I really enjoyed that from his teaching.

We saw a really cool miracle this week. As we were about to head home phone night I saw a couple sitting over on the other side of the road so I crossed over and talked to them. They were such a sweet couple and wanted to learn more. They used to study Christianity on their own but they didn't  ever have anyone to actually teach them so they could never understand. They were excited that we could actually visit them and teach them. After teaching them the first time we found out how they almost never go over by the place we met that night but the husband said he just felt like he should keep driving farther into the city and then we met them! I was blown away. The Spirit was clearly guiding them and they have been prepared! They still have a hard time understanding lots of the things we teach but they are so willing to learn. I'm so excited for them!

One night we decided to go visit a Former investigator who lives outside the city quite a bit. We have never visited her so we doesn't know what to expect. When we got there they were happy to see us and happy to talk! The sister we were talking to was nice and talked to me but she had a younger brother there as well who is deaf, cannot speak, and was extremely drunk. He kept yelling, giving us thumbs up, and shaking our hands. It was so interesting! Haha he eventually focused just on Elder Tu and trying to communicate with Elder Tu throughs thumbs ups and hand shakes. It was a little difficult to teach with that but it was pretty funny. On the way back we spotted a sign for the Sea Gypsy Village which we had been hearing rumors about back when a member of our branch crashed his boat, so that was cool.

On our way back from zone conference we had to take a bus back home to transport a bunch of books and other things back to Phuket. When we got to the bus station one of the people I helped teach in Pakkret, Sister Nam, was waiting there for us with food! She had been waiting for an hour but was so excited to see us and give us the food she made herself. Then we found out the bus tickets for Phuket were sold out but luckily we had Sister Nam there. She told us there was another bus station pretty close so she ran out and grabbed us a taxi. Then she accompanied us to the other bus station and helped us carry all our stuff. She made sure we got on the bus safely and then headed back home by herself. I was so blown away by her kindness and charity for us. It was an amazing example of Christlike actions and I'm grateful for her!

I love missionary work! I love getting to know the Thai people and help them come to a knowledge of their Savior. They really donut understand who God Is or who Christ is so it is amazing to be able to teach them those things and then see how it changes their lives. 

Pictures: 

Us with Sister Nam

Brother Wirote taking us to the bus station

"Sea Gypsea Vilalge"

Drink in a bag

WEEK 59 - AUGUST 26, 2018 - PHUKET

Another solid week in Phuket! They have finally started getting our new church building set up so we won't have to meet in a hotel anymore and everyone in the branch is so excited! We will be able to do our own activities and not have to get kicked out of our room! We also got hit with a huge rainstorm this last week and everyone was freaking out and saying it was going to rain for the rest of the month but ever since that day there hasn't been a drop of rain. The streets flooded in the city which left everyone in a panic but it all calmed down.

We had some cool experiences this week. First of all is one of our new investigators names Sister Ring. We met her last week and she is really outgoing and loves talking to people so she gladly accepted our invitation to come over and talk some more! The first time we met her it didn't go great. She talked nonstop for probably an hour. We kept trying to get into our lesson about Jesus but every time we did she would just talk louder and move into a different subject. Luckily I've been trying to improve my patience so this was probably a test. We sat and listened and taught a super short lesson about the Atonement and prayer and committed her to pray after her rant. Later in the week we went back to visit and this lesson was way different! She say and listened quietly but also gave really thoughtful answers to questions we asked her. She had prayed and felt really good while she prayed. After we taught her the restoration we wanted to commit her to be baptized. As soon as we showed her a picture of baptism she said "Nope. I don't do anything with water" and then she told us this story about how she almost drowned in a lake when she was younger. In the story she said once she hit the bottom of the lake a man dressed all in white with white hair and a white beard appeared to her and told her not to worry and that everything would be ok. That helped her feel at peace and so she waited at the bottom of the lake. Eventually someone came and rescued her. I had a thought and showed her the picture of the First Vision. She said the person who appeared to her looked just like the Jesus and Heavenly Father in the picture! Crazy!! We then told her that Jesus had helped save her then so she could be baptized and she accepted a baptismal date! So Crazy! The Thai people are really into dreams and miracles and visions so having something like that happen is really special for them! I know God is preparing people well before we meet with them so they will be ready to accept the Restoration.

Another cool experience includes the German man we met a few weeks ago who wants to drink a beer with us. He messaged us and asked if we could meet again. We went and met with him again and it turns out his mom is very sick and it's really worrying him. We tried to teach him the Plan of Salvation but he don't really believe it. He was very grateful that we were willing to come and talk with him and help him the best we could. He messaged us again the next day telling us his mother had passed away. I don't think it was any coincidence that he felt impressed to message us on that day. I still don't know how much of it he actually believes but I know we were able to share some peace that comes through the resurrection. He is heading back to Germany but he still plans on taking us out for a non-alcoholic beer in the future!

In Sacrament meeting yesterday the topic was missionary work and one of the speakers shared this quote from President Benson "We cannot do this work alone. This is His work. This is His gospel. We must have His help. Plead for it, live for it, pour out your soul to the Lord to receive it." I know this is His work that I am a part of and I love it! I know that if we all pray for missionary opportunities then we will get them and if we plead for His help then He will be there with and will tell us exactly what we should say and do as we share the gospel with our friends. I have experienced that many times and I know that help is available to all of us! 

 

We run by this large silver man every morning. I really feel motivated to keep going when I see him. ;)

WEEK 58 - AUGUST 20, 2018 - PHUKET

Lots of rain on this side of the world so it hasn't been too hot which is really nice! Lots of biking and lots of running. My companion and I set a goal to run every day this transfer and so far we're sticking too it. Not gonna lie, it's probably the worst part of my day but it's keeping me in good shape and it helps me wake up in the morning!

This week we were able to teach a referral from one of the Filipino families in our branch. She is so prepared! She was a member of a different church in the Philippines but she always felt like she was forced to go to church by her parents. She always felt like her church was missing something. Now that she's on her own she wants to investigate more for herself. She went to church last week and loved it! She felt so good at church! We taught her the Restoration and she wants to get baptized! Another amazing miracle of how God prepares the people who are willing to listen.

Something I keep thinking about as I talk to people and teach them is how such faith they've got to have. We just present the information and invite them to act and then trust the Spirit will touch their heart. It reminds me a lot of when the Savior called out to Peter and his brother while they were fishing and told them to follow Him. They dropped their nets and followed Him without a second thought. Such amazing faith that is shown by them and also shown by the people willing to listen to us! 

A recent convert in our branch lives close by our house so we visit their house often. They love the missionaries, have really strong testimonies, and always have plenty of snacks so it's not hard to figure out why we like going there! At our appointment this week we were surprised to see that they have somehow acquired 4 large fish tanks to go along with the 1 fish tank they already have (which also acts as a table) All the fish tanks are right there in their living room. Haha it was so funny to just sit and watch their new prized fish swim around for a few minutes. They're such a great family! 

Thai name of the week: Vanilla

Miracle of the week: we haven't been able to contact one of our investigators for a few days because his phone broke and we don't know where his house is. The first time we met him it was at a park so we thought we'd go back to the park and try to find him. We got to the park and he was nowhere in sight. After walking around for a while we still couldn't find him. Elder Tu had to use the restroom so we decided we'd stop there before leaving the park. The restroom is in the very far corner of the park and sure enough, over by the restroom was our investigator. We both basically sprinted over to where he was sitting and he was so excited to see us! He told us about his broken phone and how he had come to the park every day to try to meet us again. Thanks to Elder Tu's bowels and some extra guidance from above we were able to find him again. He came to church yesterday and loved it and he's really excited to be baptized in a few weeks!

A memeber took us and her sons out to dinner with this sweet "heart backdrop" and the lights of Phuket behind

WEEK 57 - AUGUST 12, 2018 - PHUKET

Hope everyone had a great week! Lots of rain on this side of the world so it hasn't been too hot which is really nice! Lots of biking and lots of running. My companion and I set a goal to run every day this transfer and so far we're sticking too it. Not gonna lie it's probably the worst part of my day but it's keeping me in good shape and it helps me wake up in the morning.

This week we were able to teach a referral from one of the Filipino families in our branch. She is so prepared! She was a member of a different church in the Philippines but she always felt like she was forced to go to church by her parents. She always felt like her church was missing something. Now that she's on her own she wants to investigate more for herself. She went to church last week and loved it! She felt so good at church! We taught her the restoration and she wants to get baptized! Another amazing miracle of how God prepares the people who are willing to listen.

Something I keep thinking about as I talk to people and teach them is how such faith they've got to have. We just present the information and invite them to act and then trust the Spirit will touch their heart. It reminds me a lot of when the Savior called out to Peter and his brother while they were fishing and told them to follow Him. They dropped their nets and followed Him without a second thought. Such amazing faith that is shown by them and also shown by the people willing to listen to us! 

A recent convert in our branch lives close by our house so we visit their house often. They love the missionaries, have really strong testimonies, and always have plenty of snacks so it's not hard to figure out why we like going there! :) At our appointment this week we were surprised to see that they have somehow acquired 4 large fish tanks to go along with the 1 fish tank they already have (which also acts as a table) All the fish tanks are right there in their living room. It was so funny to just sit and watch their prized new fish swim around for a few minutes. They're such a great family! 

Thai name of the week: Vanilla

Miracle of the week: we haven't been able to contact one of our investigators for a few days because his phone broke and we don't know where his house is. The first time we met him it was at a park so we thought we'd go back to the park and try to find him. We got to the park and he was nowhere in sight. After walking around for a while we still couldn't find him. Elder Tu had to use the restroom so we decided we'd stop there before leaving the park. The restroom is in the very far corner of the park and sure enough, over by the restroom was our investigator. We both basically sprinted over to where he was sitting and he was so excited to see us! He told us about his broken phone and how he had come to the park every day to try to meet us again. Thanks to Elder Tu's bowels and some extra guidance from above we were able to find him again. He came to church yesterday and loved it and he's really excited to be baptized in a few weeks!

WEEK 56 - AUGUST 7, 2018 - PHUKET

This week we got transfer calls and Elder Tusieseina and I will both be staying for another transfer! I'm so glad to be staying in Phuket! This area is so amazing! I'm so glad to be a part of getting the branch started off on the right foot!

This last Sunday one of our investigators, brother Por, was baptized! He was so prepared to hear the gospel and so excited to be baptized. Ever since the first lesson when we talked about baptism he has just been itching to get in the water! Every lesson we had with him he would ask what he needs to wear to get baptized and when it would be. Haha he was so excited but so nervous too. He wouldn't leave our side the whole day. Even going into the bathroom to change clothes he just waited until we went in then he went in. It really is humbling to see how much of an impact we can have on some of these people. It has inspired me to improve myself so I can be a better example for them. After his baptism, Por gave a great testimony. He prays a lot and he sees how God blesses him. He is going to be a great strength to the branch in the future!

There is a family from South Africa that lives in our branch and they are so cool! They have sailed around the world and the helped a ton last week when we were dealing with the broken boat. They invited us over for dinner last night because their kids want to have us teach them the missionary lessons. The dinner they made was out of this world and it included: rice topped with eggs, hamburger patties, bacon, and gravy, then a ton of French toast, then a massive pan full of massive cinnamon rolls, then to top it all off a huge serving of mangoes and sticky rice. It was absolutely glorious. Their family is so nice and so tight- knit. We had a really cool discussion about the restoration after dinner too. The family has been traveling the world for the last several years so the kids haven't been to church very much and when they do it's usually in a different language. It was really cool to hear their questions and to be able to teach them. 

The discussion we had with the South African family was focused a lot on the Atonement and we have been emphasizing the Atonement a lot with our recent converts and less active members.  I love teaching about the Atonement and helping people understand that there is someone who loves them enough to die for them. While teaching about the Atonement I realized how much of a personal and individual thing it is between us and Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ knows each of our struggles perfectly and very personally. In a similar way, we each have a personal and individual relationship with the Savior. It's different for each of us. I have felt that it's a little hard to comprehend and understand the Atonement but I know that the more we study, and ponder the Atonement the more we will understand it and see how it applies to our individual lives. 

We met a lady last week that really wanted to meet with us so we went over to her house every day at 4 o clock and every day she had somewhere she needed to go right then. She was always so sad to miss us and kept saying "tomorrow, I promise!" Eventually we started talking to one of her neighbors and it turns out he used to be Christian. We are teaching him now and he has a baptismal date! God really does place people in our paths who are ready to hear the gospel.

Thai name of the week: Flour

I love you all so much! I am so grateful to be a missionary and to be able to teach about Jesus Christ all day every day. Have a great week!

An investigator from Pakkret that I taught got baptized a few weeks ago. Her son got baptized this last week and they sent me this! They're awesome!

WEEK 55 - AUGUST 1, 2018 - PHUKET

Another great week! We got home late last night from zone conference in Bangkok. It was a great conference and I loved learning from President and Sister Hammond. I really loved singing Called to Serve as Sister Hammond ran around us motivating us to sing louder and louder! There was a definite special spirit there. The biggest thing I got out of zone conference is how truly lucky I am to be a missionary at this time at this place. The work is progressing well throughout the whole world but I feel especially grateful to be able to be in Thailand where a temple is on the way and where the prophet visited not too many months ago. The Lord is hastening His work and I'm just happy to be a part of it! 

We saw a great miracle this last week. We were walking around a park talking to a bunch of people. As we were getting ready to head home for the night I got a call from the zone leaders. While I talked to them Elder Tu was talking to a man on a bench. After I hung up Elder Tu explained how the guy he was talking to was really interested and wanted to learn more! So we met with him the next day. His name is Nang. I had been looking for ways to be more bold in missionary work so we decided to commit him to be baptized right off the bat and he accepted! He is so prepared! He loves reading the scriptures and loves praying! He prayed and then got a new job after he didn't have one too! Miracles!

Well crazy story of the week. We biked out to a less active member's house and we felt like we should call a member who lives over there to see if we could visit them. We called him up (he is from America and he's engaged to a Thai woman) and he was in extreme distress. His boat had gotten washed up and stuck in a bunch of rocks. The boat had a large hole and was taking on water. So we hustled over there to help him out. Another member family from South Africa hurried over to help too because the same thing had happened to their boat a year ago. They were a big help because they knew how to handle the situation. We helped tie lines and transport stuff from the boat to the shore but after all was said and done the boat was pretty unsalvageable. The family from South Africa had actually been looking for a new boat so they boat the boat from the owner. But the boat was still stuck. So they decided to hire a crew of "Sea Gypsies" to take the boat away. (Sidenote: not really sure what a sea gypsy is and neither is anyone else but for some reason everyone was calling them that so it stuck) Slowly they lost contact with the "Sea Gypsies" so their next plan was to go to the "Sea Gypsy village" to try to track down the "Sea Gypsies" It was a crazy intense night full of boats and romors of "Sea Gypsies" but in the end they got the boat out safely. Also we only know this story because we got invited over for dinner the night this all went down so we had a front row seat. There were many small miracles that happened to help the boat get out safely so Heavenly Father for sure had His hand in that situation.

One thing I enjoyed while studying this week came from the parable of the Prodigal Son which is one of my favorite parables the Savior gives in His ministry. I absolutely love the part when the father runs out to meet the prodigal son when he was still a far way out. Sometimes I think of our Heavenly Father as a strict judge who is waiting to punish us for all the little mistakes we make but this is absolutely not true. While thinking about this parable it hit me so hard that our Father in heaven is going to run out to meet us when we are still a far way off. He will drop everything to come and rejoice with us even when we don't feel like we deserve it. I felt that very powerfully.

WEEK 54 - JULY 22, 2018 - PHUKET

The work is continuing onward in Phuket! Slowly but surely! While we invited a lady she told us that Phuket was the strongest Buddhist city in Thailand and we have felt that this week! Nevertheless, the Lord continues to place people in our path that are ready to listen to the Gospel! It never ceases to amaze me how anybody would listen to two 19 year old kids on bikes, sweating their eyes out who speak a very little amount of Thai. I don't think they would listen unless it really was strait from Heavenly Father. I know the Lord is always preparing people for us to talk to!

Usually on Monday nights we try to do family home evenings with some members but this last Monday no members were free so we decided to go invite in a neighborhood. One cool thing about Phuket is there have only been missionaries here for a few months so nobody knows who we are or what we're doing so anywhere we go is brand new! We felt good about going to this neighborhood and we found a guy out on a walk as soon as we go there and we talked to him but he didn't seem super interested but he said we could call him on Saturday (but everyone says that to us and nobody means it) so we kept going. After just one house some security man came and kicked us out of the neighborhood because it was dark (???) We tried talking to people for the rest of the night but nobody really talked to us at all. As I got into bed that night I truly felt like I had failed that day because nobody listened to us. It also made me think of Abinadi from the Book of Mormon. He might've felt pretty similar to what I was feeling, even after he testified so boldly to King Noah. But in the end nobody listened to him or us. Or so we thought. Saturday rolls around and we called the one guy we talked to and he told us to come over that morning! When we got there he was all ready with a notebook and pen. We taught of the Savior and of the Book of Mormon and he loved it. He came to church the next day and liked it too! Just like Abinadi the Lord blessed us with somebody who wanted to listen!

This week my trainer, Tim Chadler, came back to visit Thailand with his family and they took us out to dinner! We ate at a really good Japanese place. My trainer and his family brought us a bunch of snacks which really touched my companion. He was touched so much that he placed all the snacks we had gotten on his bed and he voluntarily slept on the floor! He eventually thought it would be better if he just slept with the snacks so he could protect them. Hahaha! I love Elder Tu! 

At church we had an older man teach Elders quorum and I let Elder Tu translate in there so I could translate the Relief Society. After the Relief Society said they didn't need my help I went back over to the Elders Quorum. The older man was teaching from an old magazine but nobody knew what he was talking about. Turns out he had grabbed a Jehovah's Witness magazine and was teaching us out of that. Haha it was so funny! Eventually someone stepped up and took over the lesson to help the brother out. I love Thailand! 

I truly love being a missionary in Thailand. I'm always amazed at how blessed I am to be serving in such an amazing place surrounded by these amazing people. I know this is the exact perfect place for me to be and I know Heavenly Father loves His children in Thailand. 

WEEK 53 - JULY 15, 2018 - PHUKET

Another good week in the Land of Smiles! Plenty of trials and difficulties but many more blessings and great experiences! I love Thailand and the people here so much so it's so hard when they Don't want to listen or when they listen but Don't do the things you ask them to do. It makes me think of the Savior and how He must feel when we sin and Don't follow Him. 

This Saturday me and my companion, two of our investigators, and their friend, who is a recent convert, fasted to help our investigator's parents open their hearts to allow their kids to be baptized. We started our fast together and then broke it Sunday evening and then they called their parents. Unfortunately the answer from both sets of parents was that they did not want to allow their kids to be baptized. It was really hard to see this happen but we trust Heavenly Father has a better plan for them in the future. Thailand is very very strongly Buddhist so when people want to change religion it's almost like changing your entire culture of life. It's hard for lots of people to get to that point but ultimately It has to be their faith in Jesus Christ that carries them to make that change.

This week we had the great opportunity to give several members of our branch priesthood blessings because they were feeling sick. We gave one to a very strong member who has been a member for 20+ years and never received a priesthood blessing. As soon as the blessing was over he reached up and with tears in his eyes, gave us both big hugs and thanked us several times. My companion said it best when he commented that that is exactly what the Savior would be doing if He were here. It was a really good experience!

We also found a large German man who invited us back to talk more so we did that! He and his wife were so nice and really enjoyed talking to us. They liked asking about America and the German man really liked beer. After a while he asked what some commandments we had in our church and we told him no drinking beer and he wasn't too down with that but he was still super nice and said he would read the Book of Mormon. Then he had to go inside to grab something and when he came back out he had a genius idea. He told us basically this "Ok here's the plan guys. When you get home you buy a plane ticket to Germany and we'll have a big German barbecue together and then we can have a beer together." After we smiled and started to talk he responded with "Hold up! In Germany there is alcohol-free beer that you can drink! It's delicious too!" Hahaha! It was so funny how much he wanted us to drink with him! He just wanted to drink beer and we just wanted him to read the Book of Mormon!

One thing that stood out to me came when we visited a recent convert and her family. She's been to lots of different churches and one thing She's noticed at some churches is some are really welcoming and warm, like Christ would have them be, and at some people just keep to themselves and Don't talk to anyone. It made me think, "Am I going to church just to go to church?" It also made me think of a quote from Bishop Causse from last conference, "My dear brothers and sisters, are we active in the gospel, or are we merely busy in the Church?" I believe as we all try to turn our will over to God a little more and try to make our will in line with His we will notice that we are becoming more active in the gospel!

Love you all! Thanks for all your prayers! Being a missionary is the best! 

WEEK 52 - JULY 9, 2018 - PHUKET

Lots of amazing stuff going on this week! This week I was really lucky and got to see my little brother while he's in Thailand doing some humanitarian work. My cousin, Ethan, was with him and I got to see him too! It was such an amazing miracle! On Saturday we got a call from a number we didn't know and I answered and it turned out to be the group leader of their humanitarian group who said he had talked with the mission president and it would be awesome if we could go talk to their group for a second! So we bolted up to the airport and waited until their group was assembled together. Then I snuck up behind Curtis and tapped him on the shoulder. It took him a second to figure out what was going on but when he did he was so excited! It was so awesome to see him Ethan too! I'm so grateful I was able to spend just a few minutes talking with him and his group and I'm grateful to Heavenly Father for giving me that miracle! I'll never forget it.

This week was the 4th of July and my companion came up with a really interesting idea. He wanted to make a cake for the 4th of July so the ingredients he threw in the cake were oatmeal, 2 eggs, water, and a crystal light packet. Oh, and we only have a microwave to cook things in our house so we microwaved it all together. I took one bite and that was about all I could handle. It was not very good at all but it was fun to try! We think it also made my companion sick because he was throwing up the next day! He recovered really quickly though. A very memorable 4th of July for sure.

A member in our ward, Brother Noom, is constantly posting stuff on Facebook about the church and a few days ago one of his former students contacted him wanting to know more about the things he posts. So we were able to meet with him and he's so good! He had gone to lots of Christian churches before and he really just wants to worship God. He had a big job interview this week but he prayed before the interview and he got the job within just a few minutes even after several people had been rejected. He came to church and loved it too! He came at a perfect time where we felt like we didn't have a lot of people to teach so that was a huge blessing.

Thai name of the week: Snot

This week I read the talk "Let the Holy Spirit Guide" by Elder Rasband. In the talk he says "The Holy Ghost accompanies those who are “strict to remember the Lord their God from day to day.” This is something that I am not good at but sometging I have been working on. I've been trying to remember the Savior more in my daily life. Not just at church on Sunday and not just while teaching people but at other times. I have felt that as I have improved on that then the Holy Ghost is with me more in my life. It's really easy to remember Christ when things are tough but we need to remember Him all the time. I promise you will feel the Holy Ghost more in your life as you strive to remember Christ more.

Have a great week! Love you all so much! 

Here's the cake we made

Found a cool Jazz hat

WEEK 51 - JULY 1, 2018 - PHUKET

This week I will pass the halfway point of my mission! It is so amazing to think of the great experiences I've had this past year and all the more experiences I will have this upcoming year! It's hard to tell if this last year went fast or slow haha. I wouldn't trade my experiences of the last year for anything! My new companion, Elder Tusieseina, is such a cool guy! He is so funny and we already get along really well. He's really good at doing different voice impersonations and he also loves Star Wars and Les Miserables so this transfer will be awesome. More than that he is a great missionary with a great love for the Thai people.

Some big changes are happening in our mission. Every summer we get a huge wave of new missionaries so we also lose a bunch of missionaries each summer while the new ones are in the MTC. My last companion as well as my first trainer headed home. Our mission president also finished his three years and headed home and our new mission president arrived this week! His name is President Hammond and he came with his wife and 2 of his kids. They are so excited to be in Thailand and I was blown away by their excitement and energy! They had just gotten off the flight a few hours earlier and they were just beaming and so excited! I'm really looking forward to getting to know them better. We got to meet them in Bangkok on Saturday so that means we had to bus down to Phuket Thursday night and then fly back to Bangkok Saturday morning. That made for a lot of traveling this week!

While in Bangkok we grabbed some food before we went to the airport. We grabbed a taxi and started heading out when Elder Tu told me that he had left his phone at the food place. We asked the taxi driver to take us back and he did but as we were getting out he told us he would flip around and meet us on the other side of the road. That concerned me a little because there are literally thousands of yellow and green taxis throughout Bangkok and this was an extremely busy street with tons of traffic. We ran into the food place and grabbed the phone and ran back out to find the taxi but he was nowhere in sight. We started walking to try to find him as our anxiety increased. Our flight left pretty soon and the traffic was bad so we needed to get going soon. As we walked I felt a distinct impression to wait on a street corner for a second. Sure enough, after a few seconds our taxi pulled up after he had weaved through a few neighborhoods. If we had kept walking we would've missed him. That was a crazy tender mercy that showed that the Spirit is there to guide us in all things.

One thing I enjoyed from my studies this week came from the New Testament and from Jesus the Christ. To end the parable of the Royal Marriage Feast Jesus says "Many are called but few are chosen" I was a little confused about this. I wondered why are only some chosen and why are some people called but not chosen. After reading "Jesus the Christ" I found something that was pretty cool. In the parable they throw a man out of the feast because he was not wearing the proper attire. I thought that was a little harsh but the king had been outfitting all the guests with the proper clothing so the man without the clothing was a thief who snuck in a different way. We are able to relate this to our lives as follows: we are all called to the feast of happiness and everlasting life but if we are unwilling to take the proper steps to get there (like putting on the right clothing for the feast) then we will not be permitted to stay. The right steps involve making covenants with God and participating in proper ordinances and then, of course, enduring to the end. We also know that those without valiant testimonies of Christ will not be allowed to stay at the feast either. This parable gives me extra motivation to be strong in my testimony. It also shows that God calls out to all of us but if we won't do the things He has asked us to then we are not chosen. I am grateful to be able to call out to those who still do not know Christ and help them along the path to conversion so they will be able to enjoy the feast of eternal life. 

Funny Thai name of the week: Egg

Other fun things that happened this week were teaching a guy on an airplane, seeing lots of my old companions, and lots of biking! I love being a missionary and I love Thailand! Love you all!

WEEK 50 - JUNE 27, 2018 - PHUKET

Transfer calls came this week and I will be staying in Phuket. Elder Manwaring finished his two years and is heading home and my new companion is Elder Tusieseina! I'm so glad to still be in Phuket and to serve with Elder Tusieseina and I'm so grateful for the chance I've had to serve with Elder Manwaring. He has taught me so much! Elder Manwaring taught me how to love the people and work so hard in their behalf that you break the seat off your bike for them. (His bike seat snapped off a few days ago while he was biking) He has literally given everything to the Thai people and I hope he feels satisfied with his service to the Lord.

This week was really great! We got lots of food because all the members wanted to feed Elder Manwaring before he goes home. An awesome miracle from this week came from a temple square referral! Her name is sister Chat and she lived in America on an exchange program for a few years. While there she had a friend invite her to go to Temple Square and she went and loved it. She went to church there and met with the missionaries there. Eventually she moved back to Phuket where there isn't a church so she stopped going and stopped reading the Book of Mormon. Several years passed and she started to feel a little sad about her life and started to remember her time at church and how good she felt. Then she had a dream that she met the missionaries in Phuket! She called up Temple Square and asked to meet with the missionaries. We showed up and she was so cool!! She was so happy to meet with us and she remembered everything the missionaries taught her! She has a crazy work schedule so she's a little worried about getting to church on Sunday but she is so cool! A crazy miracle that Heavenly Father has been watching and preparing for several years. I know He really does have a plan for each of us and wants us all to have joy in this life!

Sunday night we went to visit the Martins, a Filipino family. They love Elder Manwaring and wanted to send him off well. After dinner they told us about their friends who needed help talking to their Thai landlord so we got to help them translate. After a long and sort of pointless barter session we helped settle the business. After that the Martin's friends graciously gave us peanut butter sandwiches and while we ate we started a gospel conversation with them. They all had different beliefs but we were able to teach them about the restoration and they all seemed pretty interested. One guy was on his phone looking for scriptures to prove he was right and after he shared his scripture Elder Manwaring whipped out 3 more verses that were so perfect! It was awesome. The Spirit was for sure leading that whole situation! I'm excited to keep teaching them.

This week our investigator who was supposed to be baptized came to us and said she didn't want to because she decided she wants to stay Buddhist. It was really sad to have watched her learn, and see miracles, and find the truth and then leave it all. But, in my studies I found a great little story about a boy and a baseball from conference that helped. Here it is: "With the desire to become the next mighty ballplayer, he decided to go outside and practice. He held the baseball in one hand and the bat in the other, and he threw the ball into the air. With a wish to hit the ball as far as he could, he took a great swing, but the ball fell to the ground without even touching the wood of the bat. Not to be denied, he went at it again. As he was about to throw the ball in the air, his determination grew as the thought of a powerful hit came into his mind. But alas, the results were the same. The ball lay on the ground. But as any good ballplayer knows, you have three strikes before you are out. He concentrated even more, threw the ball in the air, and gave the mightiest swing he had ever attempted. As the ball again fell to the ground, the tears began to swell in his eyes. Then all of a sudden a great smile appeared, and he said, “What a pitcher!" I love this story and the optimism of the little boy. So many things happen in our lives that are hard. Even as we try our very very best we seem to come up short sometimes. Optimism can change all that and can turn trials into times of our greatest growth. My mission has for sure been full of times where I sadly watched the ball fall to my feet but I'm grateful to know that all things work together for our good and all my failures will turn into successes in the future.

I love you all so much! I'm so excited for this new transfer! Have another great week!

WEEK 49 - JUNE 18, 2018 - PHUKET

Things are still going great in the Land of Smiles! The Lord is pouring out His blessings on these amazing people! It is so awesome to watch the gospel change people and make them who Heavenly Father wants them to be.

This week sister Ploy was baptized! It worked better for her to do it before church so a few members showed up bright at early to watch her get baptized. She's changed a bunch from the gospel. We were a little worried for a while because she wouldn't meet with us or answer our phone calls so we were close to giving up on her. God knew exactly what was going on and she eventually made the decision to start reading and praying again and when she did she felt peace and comfort. She started meeting with us again and was baptized! She is awesome and will help the branch out a bunch!

This week while inviting we met a man named Niran outside his house and he invited us in. When we got inside his house we saw that one of the walls is a massive Buddhist shrine. At first I thought we'd be out of there pretty quick but we asked him if he believed in Jesus Christ and he said he did! We introduced a little more about Christ and invited him to church on Sunday and he said he'd come. Sure enough on Sunday morning, despite the rain, he showed up on time and partook of the Sacrament. He really enjoyed church! We're super excited to keep teaching him!

There is a less-active member of our branch who has a son named Win. He is super cool but isn't a member yet. He really loves the gospel and was so close to being baptized but then he found out he had brain cancer and he had to fly to Bangkok for surgery. After the surgery they found out his brain was leaking spinal fluid so he's been on medication to help with that. We've been meeting with him throughout all this and he has been such an example of faith. He still diligently reads his scriptures and he reads the talks we give him when he feels sad. Throughout all this he has turned closer to Jesus Christ instead of farther away from Him. He is still waiting to be baptized until he feels better but we know he will be someday. Oh, and on top of all that he's building an actual iron man suit. Yep. You heard right. He showed us his cardboard prototype and it looks the exact same! While he builds he listens to the scriptures on his phone! He is so incredible with such amazing faith!

Funny Thai name of the week: Hug

Other fun things from this week: the war on cockroaches continues with another victim falling to my football, visited a former investigator and his 7 year-old son mooned me, and a taxi driver gave us the aux cord in the back of his taxi/truck thing and we jammed out to Mormon Tabernacle Choir! I love being a missionary! Have a great week!