I LOVE MY MOTHER

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE MOTHER THAT LOVES ME A TON. And just nonchalantly reminds me "Oh and I had my birthday celebration too this week." Must be a companionship thing where we both are sorta forgetful...But we promise. We love our mothers.

​"Love Rangsit District and this awesome ceramic sheep we found when cleaning the church"

My parents and my mother really played a big influence on my life. Helped me learn how to develop a desire and motivation to do the things that need to be done.

Wow. I can't write English anymore. Not sure if any of that even made sense. Maybe I'll just stick to sending pics home instead of typing...

But the things that my parents and my mom have taught me. Really have motivated me and pushed me past what I thought I could do. Seeing her love and support. Especially all those times of helping me with my homework. Mother you are a true champion

This week was interesting. We never not have an interesting week. We as a companionship have been pushing to try and really keep on feeling uncomfortable doing stuff here in Thailand. Sometimes you just gotta keep on getting creative and never stop being happy. With all the rain and appointments falling through, sometimes you just need to go get some ice cream and keep on being happy! Truly happiness is the key.

"Elder Decker"​

Investigator and lessons wise. It was a different week. More of a testing time. Will we slow down, give up, and let our spirits down. Or will we keep on pushing and trying our hardest to love these people even more? Totally up to us. It's our decision on what we want to think, feel, and let affect us.

Times may get rough, but hey. When it comes to the end of the day, we still have a God who loves us and knows us. This love will forever be the thing keeping me going. Through the slow and grinding days. Just keep the love and momentum moving and this too shall pass. Yeeee.

Quick video that a member showed at a dinner

https://www.lds.org/youth/video/things-as-they-really-are?lang=eng

We live in a world so connected by technology that it's pretty hard not to be connected in some form or another. From a smart phone to social media, even including the usage of email. Technology is here, there, and everywhere. But where are we? The present time. Those precious moments. It's the small things that really count when you're out in the world. Living life and doing awesome things. It's just too good to not living in the present. Stay connected, but keep it real. 

This life is pretty legit.

Aloha,

Elder แอลลิส

Forward Ever. Stopping Never.

Under The Bridge

This isn't the full district. It has yet to line up where we are all on a bridge at the same time. We'll get the full #RangsitDreamTeam once we all have our matching ties. Also the greenies have yet to master the night lapse photo style.

Bridges are way legit. Here is a better pic of Elder Bunker?

Went bowling.

But now to the real stuff. It's been an interesting week. With some changes in our style. But we can't slow down and now we just gotta be a little more creative with how we work. Elder Decker is a baller. He's way funny and helps me not get too stressed out hahah. But Rangsit is doing way good. Not too much to say about this week. We've got some way baller people here in this ward.

Some of our best investigators/highlights of this week include:

-More cigarette tossing

-Our 19 yr old investigator sleeping 19 hours straight. Literally he slept through our appointment with him and then proceeded to sleep through church the next day

-Our 11 yr old investigator who loves fist bumps and playing video games. When asking "Would you read and pray with your mom every night" He looks at us like we're crazy. And then just says "Nope." We ask him why and he says "I'm lazy." But he ended up doing it anyways cause we are literally homies and make learning about scriptures fun

-Elder Decker eating coagulated pigs blood, and a bunch of other crazy stuff

-Me and Elder Decker laughing for no reason because the situation got awkward and we didn't know what to do. So we both just start smiling and laughing. And we're not sure whats funny.....

Just a scripture that was shared with the mission this past week. Describes our circumstances pretty well. D&C  3:1 "The works, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught."

The work moves on. The time flies by.

I love Thailand.

Just gotta take it easy and chillllllll.

Aloha,

Elder แอลลิส

Forward Ever. Stopping Never.

Well. It's time again.

I'm not as young as I think I am in this whole being a missionary thing.... Especially when your new companion graduated in 2016

​His name is Elder Decker and he is from Las Vegas, Nevada. Age 18...I think. Yeah. He makes me feel old. I heard there was some video up on facebook - https://www.facebook.com/mormonthai/videos/1267625353269744/

Yeah.

Also Rangsit has been increased to a total of 6 elders working in one ward cause yeah. So the total count goes like this. I'm the oldest, then I have someone who is one month younger, then you add the youngest 4's ages as being a missionary and that equals me. I don't feel this old though....Yeah we've got 2 brand new missionaries and 1 that has only been in country for around 5 weeks. You could say it's a pretty awesome group. #RangsitDreamTeam

This week, well. Wow. We did some stuff. Nothing new to share except for how amazing general conference was this past week....

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/10/to-whom-shall-we-go?lang=eng

"My sincere hope is that we will invite an increasing number of God's children to find and stay on the gospel path so they too can partake of the fruit which is desirable above all other fruit. My heartfelt plea is that we will encourage, accept, understand, and love those who are struggling with their faith. We must never neglect any of our brothers and sisters. We are all at different places on the path, and we need to minister to one another accordingly. Just as we should open our arms in a spirit of welcoming new converts, so too should we embrace and support those who have questions and are faltering in their faith."

Absolutely loved this talk. It is so true! Simply just because people have been a faithful member for 10+ years does not mean that they don't have any problems. The real thing is that everyone has problems, everyone needs some support, everyone can use another friend.

Love is the motive. Always. Guilt can be a pretty convincing motivator, but at the end of the day, the one thing that will never fail is charity. So go out. Smile a little more and love a little harder. If you do it out of love and the person can feel your love for them.

I wish I had some cooler pics this week, but like yeah idk. I'll get something next week.

LOVE IT UPPPPPPP!

Aloha,

Elder แอลลิส

Forward Ever. Stopping Never.

Wake me up when September ends

Well that's a wrap. September is officially done. Also a conclusion to one of the most intense transfers I have ever had as a missionary.

So proud of these Elders. Seriously some of the best missionaries. This pic accurately describes us as missionaries. We've got these two new missionaries just slaying the game and going hard. You can add up the amount of time these three have been in Thailand...And I think I'm still older than all of them combined. I'm not as young as I think I am here in Thailand....

Not too sure what to even like say. These past 5? 6 weeks?  Have flown. Literally it barely feels like we have been here a week. The amount of miracles we have seen working here. Unreal. Also so much good food.

Yesterday at church, a less active member that we have been trying to work with showed up. On her own. She recounted a story where 4 special incidences showed to her that it was her time to come back to church. We had met her my first day in Rangsit. We had finished planning and had a bit more time left in the night so we went out to Future Park (This HUGE mall) and invited outside. On the way back we were waiting for the bus to get home and got on the bus. Then Elder Aposhian goes and sits down next to this 'random" lady. Turns out it was the less active that we have been looking for. So we thought that was all cool.

But we didn't know her story. 

She's been waiting for a reason to come back. People calling her simply wasn't enough. That one night, she was tired and just didn't want anything with anybody. As she's commuting home and waiting she see's us and is just thinking in her head "Elders. Don't you dare get on the same bus as me." Then we do. HAHA. Then she goes and thinks "Elders. Don't you dare sit right next to me." Elder Aposhian does. Next "Elder. You better not start talking to me. If you do I am not gonna tell you that I'm a member." He starts talking to her. And then he recognizes her and now she's just tripping out right now. We both get off at the same stop. Keep on talking. It's chill. She goes crosses the bridge, meets another member friend. She goes home then gets a text from a member. And then proceeds to get another call from a different member. On a Thursday evening in July. It's taken a month of constant support and showing her the ward's love for her. But wow.

What else happened this week...It flooded again. 

Took district pics. The other companionship had two baptisms yesterday too. Literally some of the most amazing and hardworking missionaries I have met and worked with.

จงเชื่อในปาฎิหาริย์

Because Mosiah 18 has been my most studied chapter this transfer...

Verses 20-22

"Yea, even he commanded them that they should preach nothing save it were repentance and faith on the Lord, who had redeemed his people. And he commanded them that there should be no contention one with another, but that they should look forward with one eye, having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts knit together in unity and in love one towards another. And thus he commanded them to preach. And thus they became the children of God."

Don't really know what to even say. Preaching repentance, working with Members, Recent Converts, Less Actives, Serving, and Contacting (SCRAMing). We were out here in Rangsit for the past few weeks loving and serving with our whole heart. Fearing no man, but occasionally a sketchy dog. It was so real. So intense. So MUCH LOVE. 

Transfers this week. Someone's leaving. Who knows. Maybe it's me?

Aloha,

Elder แอลลิส

Forward Ever. Stopping Never.

DREAMING WK4 PT2

So there are these way scenic pools all around and I wanted to get a way legit pic so I decided to go down this pathway and just find a way onto a little clearing in the middle of the pond

This is a wasp nest. I was videoing a bit and then got this caught on my vid. I'm using my mouth mount so yeah....That wasp nest was crazy close to my face. Super lucky I didn't hit it that hard....

Because this happened to Tae...

Me and Elder Aposhian only got stung a few times. Actually I only got stung once. On my finger. And Elder Aposhian was like twice. On his ear. But yeah. They weren't poisonous. Just felt a little bit sore. Took a quick break and sat down then hit up the upper pools.

But today. We rest.

Aloha,

Elder แอลลิส

Forward Ever. Stopping Never.

DREAMING WK4 PT1

The reason I forgot to send off the mass email last week....Went out to Kanjanaburi and checked out these sweet waterfall/pools. It's 7 different pools/waterfalls all connected on a 2 km hike. More on this adventure in PT2.

So we as a companionship have been working and grinding pretty hard this whole transfer. Trippy to think that I've already been here for a whole month...ish? Yeah. So intro's on these two people.

We have Sister Joy and Bro. Song.

Joy has been coming to church off and on for a few months. Her work schedule made it a bit difficult but she pulled through and on a miracle is now able to come to church more consistently. She's also from this random city over in another province. Kumpawapi. Which happens to have missionaries and a church building there. If you understand about Kumpawapi and Thailand and Udorn. Like out of all the random cities in the Essan for her to be from. She's from the one place that has a church, which now she is trying to get her family that is still in Kumpawapi to start meeting the missionaries there. These aren't coincidences.

Brother Song is a baller. Literally. He's in some sort of special soccer program at college. He's the neighbor of a less active member that has recently returned back to full activity in the church. Just seeing how much he has changed ever since my first time meeting with him. Epic. He was so quiet and shy. And now he just has the intense desire to serve, he has seen his life change from coming to know God's love and he wants to share it. He also enjoys singing American pop songs.

The way we teach really reflects through our investigators as they become converted. In an effort to continue being better teachers we've been searching for better ways to explain stuff and came across this verse in 1 Nephi 11:1

"For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot."

This scripture explains the essence of gaining personal revelation and answers to our prayers. It starts with a desire, that leads to a belief, take a little time to ponder, and then BAM. or bam. But either way it pierces into your heart and that's how you know what the truth is.

(check out pt 2)

Aloha,

Elder แอลลิส

Forward Ever. Stopping Never.

DREAMING WK3

Because monkeys and Baptisms.

and then Baptisms (Real ones) จริงๆ

Quick story about our investigator. Ours is the one closest to Elder Aposhian. She's never come to church before and then was just invited to learn about Christ. At first she was pretty indifferent. Just like "ok. Whatever." But then we invited her to English too. So then still a bit like mehhh. But she had accepted a baptismal date so that was chill. Then I get transferred in and we just started going hard working with every single investigator that has a baptismal date. And then members step in and just start slaying the membership fellowship game. And then shes like got best friends everywhere in this ward! And then she follows through on commitments. Pretty much a direct correlation between those that follow their commitments and those that don't. (Those that do get baptized...those that don't dont...) Yeah. So pretty much the rest is history, she's a baller. Her name is Pat. She was baptized yesterday.

So yeah. This is Rangsit. 

Also forgot to throw this up a few weeks ago, but one of our investigators in my last area got baptized on September 4th, pic will be up on the blog. He's also a baller. He was a self referral that had asked for a Book of Mormon. So we sit down, teach him about the Restoration of the TRUE church and then he takes a baptismal date after us barely saying anything about baptism. Then he progresses and keeps those COMMITMENTS. Changed his life. And now he's an epic 16 year old over in Samut Prakaan.

​Quick thought....

Mosiah 18:6 "And it came to pass that as many as believed him went thither to hear his words." I've been studying a ton in this one chapter for the past few weeks trying to understand more about the covenant of baptism. Just a reassurance that those that believe come and listen to the good word. Pretty short and sweet.

Love you all.

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Well I guess not that much cause I had forgotten to press send last week...........its ok. You get two emails from me this week! Weehaa!

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Aloha,

Elder แอลลิส

Forward Ever. Stopping Never.