Faith overcame doubt and thousands WHERE baptized-Elder Cheney

A prime quote from Elder Cheney. You can see how the Thai language has really effected our English abilities (where/wear/were all sound the same).

​Weehaaa! 

So here's a way awesome story. These 4 guys are all from Laos and have been living in Thailand together for work. At first the missionaries had invited one of them. Then that original person had actually handed the card off to the guy on the far right. One day the elders get a random call from someone speaking broken Thai asking to learn about Jesus Christ. That was 6 months ago. There Thai language ability has improved and finally as of this past weekend, all 4 of them that live in the same room have been baptized! FIRST BAPTISM IN THIS WARD IN 5 MONTHS. Hallelujah.

But yes, life is good. Thailand is great. It's a slow grind. Having to work a bit harder and focus a lot more with the investigators that we have. Every single person has the opportunity and ability within them to really be converted, but often times they don't know where to go. Just takes a bit more patience and love. Just the way we like it.

Also for all the missionaries that will be coming to Thailand. A piece of advice: Getting stuff cut in Thailand is way cheaper than it is buying them in America. And you can do cool stuff like put flower patterned liner in the pockets.

Alma 29:9-10

"I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.

And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy; then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me."

Patience+Charity=Joy

Walking down a sketchy alleyway one night trying to get home. Gotta take a pic?

Sometimes you just get lucky and the buses are free and no one is on them.

Aloha,

Elder แอลลิส

Forward Ever. Stopping Never.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY พ่อ and HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASHTON---Dead areas? เป็นไปไม่ได้เลย!!!!

Two awesome things happening today in Hawaii.

1-Fathers day for my พ่อ! Cause he's awesome and loves the ocean and is a way strong example of hard work and dedication in my life.

2-ASHTON'S BIRTHDAY yes, my younger brother is now....13? Yeah that sounds about right. He's old. I'm old. Everyone is old. WOOOOO. Stay stoked Ashton (aka Da best ellis).

The phrase "dead area" refers to an area or a place that missionaries serve that hasn't seen much success or much change in the branch/ward/unit that they have been working with. It's really rather sad when people will say "Oh yeah, that area, it's dead, you can't and won't get any work done."

Many people familiar with missionary work will have probably heard this already saying: "There's no such thing as dead areas, only dead missionaries."

So true. So. So. So much truth ringing in this sentence. There's no such thing as a dead area in the vineyard of the Lord. Only people who aren't willing to give more. Sacrifice, but really it isn't a sacrifice at all. It's a submission of doing more. I feel like I come back to this same though every single week. Probably not every week. But quite a majority of the time.

For every thing that you do, there is a price. Let us think of this price not in a negative sense (as in a loss) but rather as just a switch-off, a choice between two (or more) paths. There is always a "price" sometimes the price is our time or our talents. Things that God has actually given us. The much larger and bigger and way more valuable "price" would definitely be our will. Our heart. Our desires. Things that God actually can't take away. Every single person has moral agency, the ability to make choices in every circumstance. We can choose to follow our heart and our desires or we can try to follow the desires of something higher and stronger.  But it's up to us. What we do, what we say. Even down to what we think. There's a price for every action.

Moroni 7:5-6

5 For I remember the word of God which saith by their works ye shall know them; for if their works be good, then they are good also. 6 For behold, God hath said a man being evil cannot do that which is good; for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing.

So let us all work with real intent. Put forth a strong desire. Do more! NO MORE DEAD MISSIONARIES. Dead missionaries are the only reason that people will talk about "dead area." Change the desire, change the intent, make something out of this time that you have. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing. Be there with full intent and purpose. No need to waste your own time.

NO DEAD MISSIONARIES ALLOWED.

also got my camera to work and send the pics so cheeeeeeeee Pono!

The kids at the church had an activity where they wrote letters to the missionaries. Is there like a new movie or another rendition of Alice in wonderland that came out? I have no idea why, but ever place that I serve the kids love to call me Alice.

I love how we get to ride a ferry in this area. Night vibes.

Aloha,

Elder แอลลิส

Forward Ever. Stopping Never.

Night Life

Samut Prakaan. We are out here. Just two of us. Two foreigners from America. One 19, the other 18. Going out riding truck taxis and buses and mini buses and every sort of transportation (except for motorcycle taxis) and then dinner comes. then it gets dark. Then we keep on working.

Lot of the people here in Samut Prakaan are super hardworking and have the typical day job. They come home in the evening and then that time is their only time free. Which leaves our companionship running around Samut Prakaan trying to find and teach and help them in the evening.

Its fun. Its rewarding.

My pictures still arent uploading.....well....

But this week was some thriving work. We have been focusing a lot more on working with members and anyone that we talk to, to find and teach their friends or anyone they think would be interested in learning about Christianity. But rather than just get a number and a name and call it done. We take it one step further and have that person set up an appointment with the friend or person that is interested and then invite us over. We are letting these people take a more active part in missionary work, having them set up the appointments, having them really be the person that introduces and shares the gospel.

This is probably the happiest I've been in a long time. It's also just a common fact that there is no comfort in the growth zone. Constantly trying to make things just a bit more uncomfortable. 

For example....

-Walking down the street and you see some of those amazing fried bugs! Because Thai people are probably some of the nicest in the world, if you ask to try a single bug they let you grab and eat one. Bonus points if you a)hold it together and reply to them in Essan or b)if you contort your face and make them laugh

-Sometimes when you see a thai person rocking out, you just gotta go rock out with them and then pretty soon you became such good friends in those 2 minutes that he offers to share with you some of his sticky rice and fried meat

-Or the all time favorite of talking with the little thai children because they follow you in a hoard and start speaking in English with you (literally just walking down an alley way and all of a sudden a little girl shouts in thai and then these children like 4-8yrs old come out and start swarming my companion and talking to him in English)

Normally no. I would never do these things. I tend to be rather refined. In my own personal bubble. Chilling, doing my own thing. But its those things that make it a bit uncomfortable that I have learned to find the most joy. The more uncomfortable it is, the faster we grow and adapt. Then just when you think you got it down. The game changes and gets harder and now you gotta keep progressing. And pretty soon its like woah. Where did the past year even go? (into my LOST.DIR folder...so if anyone has some tips on how to retrieve these files SUPER fast hit me up. If not i'll just wait a bit longer and then retrieve them if I ever make the time....)

Its the little things that make life fun.

Aloha,

Elder แอลลิส

Forward Ever. Stopping Never.

New Companion and Computer problems in Thailand - คอมพิวเตอร์ที่ตายแล้ว

For some reason these comps aren't uploading the pic. So yeah. Oh well. Life goes on. I'm paying 10 baht an hour so that was like 5 baht worth of restarting this computer......Bruh. If you could see how many windows I have open on this computer right now. Trying to copy things onto SD cards, moving around pictures, typing this email, and lds.org. I wish I had a bigger screen.

So info on my new comp - Elder Cheney
He's tall. 193 cm. Not sure how tall that is in inches (6' 4"), but he's quite a bit taller than me and loves running! He came into the country at the same time as Elder Bouwmeester and is from Oregon. Samut Prakan is only his second area, it's going to be so sweet. First day we were just talking about like "What do you want to do" and "What kind of change do you want to see?" His response was perfect 'I'm ready to work." This transfer will be a great transfer of going hard in the paint!

Already from the very start, we hit the ground running. We got back into Samut Prakan, dropped off his bags, and got right away to teaching. And on the times that we were traveling to and from our appointments, one of us would be making phone calls and the other would be inviting and talking to whoever was around us. Epic. This is how work gets done. Consistent diligent effort really makes all the difference. But all work and no play? Gotta find joy in the little things. Especially when there are two absurdly tall foreigners, you get some pretty awesome looks coming from the little kids. And they are even more shocked when you understand them and then start talking back to them. The amount of amusement on their faces are so fun.

Something funny...
Me and Elder Cheney both have the great blessing and talent of being able to fall asleep on public transportation within a few minutes. A simply 15 minute taxi ride is usually an amazing nap for me. But then I remembered, wait. I'm the only one in the car that knows where we are going. So I guess I need to stay up. I see potential for some funny situations in the near future. Just imagine: Me and Elder Cheney, both asleep on a bus. And none of the bus workers wanting to wake us up to get off the bus. We get off a few hours outside of Samut Prakan. Hahaha. Yup. It'll be a fun transfer.

There's so much going through my head, so much rushing about everything. There has been such an amazing change happening here in Samut Prakan. Because of the travel situation there has been a lot of members not willing to travel to church. But the elect of the elect will still come. And they have been coming and they are returning now. To speak straightforward, I was rather impatient last transfer, seeing all this work and very little results. But change is coming. We've been laying the foundation and now it is the time to really start the change.

Mosiah 4:27 And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order.

Stay stoked นะ

Aloha,
Elder แอลลิส
Forward Ever. Stopping Never.
Take a look around.