I'm amazed that I made it through another week.

The thoughts that go through my head every time I sit down to start typing an email. Like wow. It's been another week. But these weeks are all so different. So much weird stuff happened this week....

"Look at the flick of that wrist"​

Went over to go eat lunch and teach a members mother. But usually its just these two women so we have to wait for a member guy to come so we can go inside the house. But then the member yells at some guy to go and open the door for us. All we see is a big tall shadow behind a wire door, so typical Thai culture, we lift our hands up and wai him (wai is the way to greet the people). To our surprise we see this white guy from France named Bernard. Long story short, he's been living and traveling between France and Thailand for the past 30 years. He married a Thai lady for like 25+ years, has a son, and speaks Thai a lot better than he speaks English. Start speaking to him, and he shares with us how he speaks Thai better than he can speak English because he is in a part of France that they speak more German than they do French. It was interesting. Also plot twist, he is the strong Buddhist person in his family and his wife (who is from Thailand) loved to read the Holy Bible. Can you imagine the look on the members friend when they walked in seeing one Chinese, one Mexican, 3 Thai people, and then a French guy all discussing about religion in Thai. Yeah. Thailand. Never gets old.

Last English class in the village. Found some new investigators and reconnected with some young members that we honestly thought disappeared off the face of the earth.....

Had stake conference this week. Highlights from this stake conference....

Patriarchs!

At this stake conference, because we were a newly created stake a few months ago, at this conference there was a new Patriarch called. Out of the 4 stakes in Thailand, I have been at the stake conferences where 2 of the new Patriarchs were called and then I have served in Samut Prakaan with the first Patriarch of Thailand and then also in Rangsit with the second Patriarch of Thailand. Pondered on how amazing that is. Like to have a Patriarch I feel is a sign of stakes really being. They holds such a special spirit and just being around them makes you smile. You can feel of their love, their excitement, and their desire! 

From one of the speakers she had shared a simply process to progress...It started by learning, then desiring, then I uh....missed the third point.....Then searching and the accumulating factor was humility. Being humble with the things that you have been given. Learn to desire to ----- to search to humility. Sorta doesn't make sense and it's probably way outta context but I'll just leave that there....cause I already typed it hahahah.

But onto the real stuff.

He said at home he helped his parents make salsa,
so this member let him help stir fry these peppers and onions.

What we have been doing recently as a district has been a Book of Mormon initiative. If you can recall from my emails last month we had spent a large amount of our time in villages, at markets, and on the streets just going and talking to people. And from doing this yeah, we found a lot of people. But now we are trying to change up the tactics. Laying the base for a foundation to be made by working with members more. We have been going and visiting houses and sitting down and teaching with members and less actives about the importance of the Book of Mormon. Once they start sharing their testimony about how The Book of Mormon changed their life, we hit them. With the scriptures. Literally and not literally. We bring out the book. And challenge them right there that if they believe these things to be true that they need to go, write their testimony in the book, and then prayerfully select a person to hand it out to and bear testimony to them. At first we were a bit scared, cause this is a bold thing to do. But the results have been pretty solid. These members are now getting their own active part in missionary work. Not every referral we get is perfect, but we see more how these peoples hearts have been softened from the loving and sincere testimony of their friends.

Oh and one other piece that I thought was way cool.... coming out of the Discussions of the Lectures of Faith by Dennis F. Rasmussen he states, "..faith is revealed in the action that it calls forth. Prior to that action, faith, like ability, remains hidden and unused. It exists as a capacity as a potential action. It is there-it can be used or put to work-but that will require action."

John 13:17

If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

Aloha,

Elder แอลลิส

Forward Ever. Stopping Never.