01-19-13 Contacting. Contacting. Contacting

01-19-13

Contacting. Contacting. Contacting. 

Sister Yim and I with our safety vests and bikes! 

The bike is awesome. It's super cool and new, and it's a brand that the mission used to buy FOR the missionaries before they told them they need to buy their own bikes. It's a good, sturdy bike. I bought lights for it, a basket, a lock, and a little bell. It's super decked out and a good thing too because it gets crazy on the streets when there is traffic. But, Sister Senior tells us to where these fluorescent vests to wear at night so people will REALLY see us. So, I'm safe. The comfy seat is sooooo good. I am so happy that I have it. I am not sore in the least and I have been biking a LOT since I bought it. I have to be careful though and lock up my bike really good in Bangkok. The seat on the bike makes it more susceptible to being stolen since they don't have ANYTHING like it in Thailand. You should have seen the guy when he put it on my bike. He was like, "This is a good seat!! We don't have these here!" 

And yes, I am actually getting muscle! I exercise every morning with my companion and we jog around the church. I do a lot of ab workouts too and then bike everywhere. I feel good. I feel healthy and stronger. 

You can probably tell that I did a lot of contacting this week. Haha. It's true though. We have been hitting the road with our bikes and coming home completely exhausted. God has been good, as always, and gives me the strength to lift up the covers and hop out of bed. I hit my knees to pray and then get ready to exercise. I wonder how my body can handle so much physical exercise in one day... or months. Our bodies are pretty incredible though. I can handle a lot, apparently. We jog around the church for half an hour and then have like a little over a half an hour to hit the shower and get dressed for the day. After studies, we get out of the house and WORK.

Sister Yim and I have been discovering new areas and walking in neighborhoods to find families. No one is out or they are hiding in their houses. We are not sure if we can really "knock on doors" since it's like a thing here not to unless you know the person. Also, they have heavy gates that usually don't have doorbells on them anyway. So, we have been looking in the gates and trying to see if people are on their patios or something. Little success has happened. But sometimes people will open their gate to talk to us more. We even found a pair of talking birds that said, "Sawadii kha!" and Sawadii khap!" It was the cutest thing ever. I took a little video of it. But, alas, I can't send it since the file is too big. You will all have to be patient till I come home! 

A day of contacting by the Klong! I thought the gate was pretty funny... so much for security for your home!

That same day, we walked down this long strip of road and found this lady who could speak English pretty well. She was pretty hard heartened though and said how Elders used to come by everyday and disturb her and her husband. She has been to church and felt like no one was being welcoming to her. In all, we just let her talk until she had her fill. Sister Yim and I did not feel impressed to share our testimonies. It would not have even affected her in the slightest. After she was done, we just said "thanks", smiled and walked away. We also had another adventure that has affected me this week as well. So, we have come across a LOT of Pakistani people who are refugees here. They speak English, they don't know any Thai, and they are barely getting by on the money they had saved up before escaping their country. They have left their homes because of the enormous amount of persecution that has plagued them for being Christian. The Muslim population in Pakistan has done terrible things to them. Killing them, robbing them, bombing their churches and so forth. It's absolutely terrible. And what's worse is that the Church can't help them since they are not "obeying the laws of the land" by being true citizens of Thailand. There is too many legal complexities if we tried to give them any money etc. There are so many of them. And one day, as Sister Yim and I were contacting, we came across a man named Cornelius and his son, Joshua on a busy road. The 13 year old son spoke more English and was translating for his dad, "Please, come to our home," they said. We tried to politely refuse the offer but they insisted. And so, they led us to their very humble home. It was a tiny little two story. One little room, stairs, and the room on top. They had two mattresses on the ground with curtains for privacy. They told us to sit down and their 10 year old son, stricken with polio, lay helplessly on the other mattress. It was such a sad sight. My heart ached as they explained that they didn't have any money to keep up with the son's medical expenses. They needed money. They wanted work. Their cousin also came into the house and said, "I have been in the hospital for three days because my little daughter is sick with a serious fever. They want her there for another week but I don't know how we are going to cover for it. I come home to get clothes for my wife, and I see you two in my home! I know you can't give us money, but you are like two Angels visiting my home. I thank God for His Angels."

All we could tell them was to have faith in God that everything would work out. He answers prayers and only He could help them. I surely hope that they can get the help they need. God will take care of them somehow. 

At one point, we went inviting by the mall on the bridge. We have come to really like inviting there since there are lots more people and more chances of finding an investigator. All of our contacting in neighborhoods have kind of not turned out at all. So, we will be visiting the busier places now. I talked to a guy who spoke English. He said, "I want to go to your church this Sunday! What time does it start?" I was so excited! I told him all about it and he seemed super interested. Unfortunately though, he didn't come to church. :/ In fact, we only had two people come to church this week when 5 said they would come. 

And so is the life of a missionary. 

All is good. We have had so many miracles happen. Little things like having the energy to go up a steep hill (on a bike) with heavy traffic, or having anyone stop and say, "yes, I want to learn more about this." is a miracle. We may have a baptism this week if our investigator, Jaky, can squeeze in the time. He said he isn't free until Sunday, but we will see if he can still meet with us or not. I pray that all will work out. It may be my first baptism! Wish me luck!

Random tid bits:

1. Sister Yim and I ordered papaya salad with one pepper... there was five in there. Hottest dish of my life!

2. Masaman is now my favorite Thai dish. It's delicious. Definite recommend if anyone goes to a Thai restaurant. Not sure if it would be the same though. 

3. I'm not sure if I have mentioned this but, I go to a Muslim food stand a lot and the lady there has now dubbed me as "daughter". It's so cute. She's like my second mom in Thailand. She gives SO much food now for the same price. I think she's trying to fatten me up...

So, that's about it! I hope that all is well with everyone! Keep the faith, share the Gospel, and feed the missionaries! I love you!

Love, 

Sister Carter

On the klong! (river thing)

Me and my new Thai "genie" pants that I bought a while ago! I love them!