Monday, January 20, 2014

12-08-13 The King of Thailand

12-08-13


Sa wad dii kha! Sabaydii may kha? 

Hello friends and family. I hope everything is fine and dandy where ever you are. It's been an interesting week. I mean, everyday is interesting, but I guess this week just turned out unexpected. Ever since I have been in Thailand, I have seen many miracles. But more often than not, these miracles just don't really turn out. Let me explain...

Remember how last time I talked about a cute 74 year old lady named Sodchun? Well, she was sooo, soooo, close to baptism. She moved in with her friend and all looked like it was all ready to go. But, then... her friend took her to another church. Her Pastor told her that she didn't need to move out of her house. She didn't need to read the Book of Mormon. All she needed to do was pray really hard to Heavenly Father and she would be saved. She took the bait. 
She moved in back into her home with the man that's not really her Husband. We called her and she told us that she doesn't want to learn anymore and that she is fine with where she is at. Sister Yim and I were so disappointed. We were so sad. I can't even tell you. She was so close! She had the faith and everything! But, in the end, she took the easy route. 

It's hard. It's hard to take the "hard" road and do what Heavenly Father wants us to do. It's hard to be in a foreign country with a foreign language trying to invite others to come unto Christ. But, do you know what? It is absolutely worth it. Yes, it is not easy. But am I happy? Yes. I am so, so happy to be where I am. Sometimes it's really bizarre to look around and think, "Wow, I am in Thailand." But, at the end of the day, I can feel my Savior's love and strength pushing me onward. He is the reason why I am here. This is the Lord's work. All will be well. 

The other day, when we went contacting, we had an interesting experience. We were going down this neighborhood, and this Pakistani man on a motorcycle stopped us. He spoke Thai and English and he was asking us all sorts of questions about us. He wanted to learn more but he lives in a different area. We told him that we would call other missionaries so that they could contact him and teach him. He was super grateful to us. And then he pointed in a random direction and said, "go down this road, you will find people who will want to learn about this message." I was so surprised. But, we went down that road. I talked to a crazy guy... and he has our number now... but as we kept going, we talked to a lady outside her house. She was talking about how she was Buddhist and how all churches teach good. We were trying to explain other wise but then she mentioned how her grandson was Christian. We asked if he was home and if we could talk to him. She literally rang for him. He came down and was surprised to see us. We explained who we were and if he was interested in learning more and going to church. Funny enough, Sister Yim had brought a spare Book of Mormon and she gave it to him to read. He seemed really genuine and interested. He said he would go to church! I was so happy. 

On Sunday, we called him and he said that he forgot that he had to do something. :( But he said that he would be free on Tuesday, so we shall see what happens. I also had to give my first talk in Sacrament meeting. Attigan (Bishop) had told me I could talk about whatever and so I prayed and sought for inspiration. I felt strongly about talking about repentance. And so for four days, I prepared during language studies and wrote out my talk in Thai and in English phonetics. I ended up messing up and stumbling a few times in my talk... but a lot of people were telling me how good my Thai was already. Other people were joking about my awful tones and how my grammar needed to be improved. You live and you learn. I just hope that someone felt the spirit. That's all I care about. 

We gave Sister Nong a stuffed dog to cheer her up. Her dog passed away and she was suuuuper sad. We love her so much. She does so much for us already! We talked to her about how she will see Beauty (her dog) in Heaven because animals have spirits too. She was so cute. She said, "What?? Nobody told me! I should have given her more treats! Do I have to confess to Attigan? I sometimes hit her!" Haha! I love her. When she opened up her gift she was like, "Whaaat? What is this?" she seemed happy though and said, "It has a big head!" And so she named it "Big Head". :D :D :D

The 5th was the King's birthday. The more I learn about the King of Thailand, the more I begin to love him more and more. The Thai people LOVE their King. He is such a good man. Whenever there was a problem in Thailand, he would go out and try to fix the problem himself. He is such a great engineer too. He designed a dam that helped Bangkok from being flooded. And almost every time he went out, he had a camera with him. He is such a good man. And all the members lit up candles for his honor. His birthday is like a Thai Father's day. So, happy Thai Father's day, Dad! And to all other Dad's out there! I love you!

Well, that's all I got for this week. Just know that I am safe and well. I love you all so very much!

Love, 

Sister Carter

P.S. Thai kids are the CUTEST

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