Sawadii kha! Sabaydii may kha?
Yep, I'm just going to stick to that intro from now on! Haha! Anyway, where to begin? Another blurry week. We contacted a lot and met a few people who accepted a baptism date right off the bat! Unfortunately though, those people ended up not coming to church or being free to meet. One man we met was in mid-stretch with his leg up on his bicycle seat. He talked for a LONG time about how he had looked into other religions and that he had a friend who was Buddhist but went to a Christian church. We met with him the next day and he continued to ask a LOT of questions and not letting us get to the point of our lesson after an hour and a half. The next time we met with him he finally let us talk and we successfully went through an entire lesson. He has potential... but he was too scared to go to church. We will continue to pray for him and work with him.
There was another lesson we had last Tuesday with a man I had met at Seacon, the mall. I led and it was really awkward because I would ask him questions and he would be flipping through the pamphlet we gave him with no sign of acknowledgement. At one point I asked, "Do you think Heaven is dirty?" he said nothing. He didn't even look at me. He just kept flipping through pages. We sat there for a good few seconds and I struggled to know what to do so I just moved on and answered the question for him. It wasn't the best lesson in the world. In fact, a lot of lessons I led this past week had its rough patches. I have prayed and prayed and strive to be obedient so that I could have the Spirit to be with me when I teach, but I still struggle to keep it smooth and natural. I still make mistakes with the language and I still can't understand them sometimes. It's a little discouraging considering that I am in my second transfer and I have been in country for four months now.
Speaking of which, I can't believe that it's been six months since I have been ON my mission. Two months in the MTC and four months in Thailand. It's really crazy to think about. I have never been away from home this long before. It's a little surreal. I mean, I remember when I was in Japan for 11 days and that was hard for me! I got super homesick! But here I am in Thailand for ten times longer than that and I'm still kicking. I consider it a blessing from God.
Remember Zaphia and M? You know how they totally passed their baptism interview with flying colors? Well, things turned complicated. Zaphia said that she and M were going to be legally married on Valentine's day. Well, Valentine's day came around and they said that they couldn't anymore. Zaphia still goes to college and here in Thailand, if you get married, they won't let you study anymore. You have to be single. It's just a weird requirement. So, they decided not to be baptized. Zaphia wants to be baptized so bad but she wants to wait for M. M doesn't want to live the law of chastity because he isn't happy unless he well... isn't. It's so sad to see how much desire and faith Zaphia has and yet will put off her eternal progression for her boyfriend. I understand a little though. They don't have the companionship of the Holy Ghost. They don't understand how important this all is like we do. They don't understand how much they will be blessed for their sacrifices to the Lord. Of course we have addressed all these things, but it is a thing called agency that we all have that keeps them from acting. The ward knows about their situation since they knew about their baptism interview. They were really supportive, but I think their support was for the wrong reasons. They are buying this "we can't be legally married until after a year" excuse and not seeing the real problem. Zaphia could easily just live with her parents the entire week. M could overcome his desires through the atonement of Christ. They don't have to wait a year. So much could happen in that time. We will continue to work with them. All will be well.
On a lighter note, our investigators that were baptized two weeks ago gave their first talks in church. It was so sweet. It's such a nice feeling to see the people you helped come unto Christ up at the pulpit and bearing their sincere testimonies of their Lord and Savior. Missionary work is so worth it.
This morning/early afternoon we made Mexican food with two members! Oh, I cannot even express how much I miss Mexican food and other food in general! Eating Thai food all the time is great and all, but I have really come to appreciate the variety I had at home. In fact, I am just becoming more and more grateful to the things I was blessed with while I was home. There were so many things I took for granted. I hope all of you at home in America count your blessings. You have it SO good.
Funny story:
So, this happened a few weeks ago but I forgot to write about it. If I already wrote about it, I am sorry. I still think it's funny. Sister Yim and I were walking through this neighborhood when we came to the end of the street where a bunch of kids were buying ice-cream. We came up and they all got excited and tried speaking English to us. One kid kept asking over and over, "Why are you here? Where you come from?" At one point, the other kids were like, "They already told you! You're stupid!" Poor kid. But then during all this, these little girls were all talking secretively among themselves and giggling. One came up to me, grabbed my hand and then ran away real fast. This happened two other times before we said goodbye. As we walked away, I heard someone running behind us. I look behind and its another little girl running up to me. I stop, she grabs my arm and then kisses it! I was a little shocked. Sister Yim and I laughed really hard after.
There's my little adventure for you all! I hope you all are happy and safe. Know that God loves you and he will never abandon you. I love you!
Love,
Sister Carter
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