12-29-13 Christmas Program

12-29-13

Sawadii Kha! Sabaydii may kha?

So, I have a lot of catching up to do. This past week/last week has been a little crazy. With Christmas season, it's bound to be a little busy. Not with Christmas shopping, of course! Haha! But, the Ward had asked us to be in their Christmas program and it was so much fun. We were all dressed up as... people in Jerusalem? Yeah, I am not really sure what it was. We were just back up singers, basically. 

It was really cool though. On Christmas Eve, I was able to share the Christmas story to my English students. They had no clue what the story even was. So, to share that special, sacred story to them and see the interest and awe in their eyes... I think it was one of the best Christmas eve's. Not only that, but we were able to eat good ol' Thai food as well for dinner! (papaya salad!!)

Christmas day was wonderful as well. We were able to eat lots of Christmas goodies we received from family (thank you fam, btw) And we pigged out as a district on hot chocolate and apple cider as a district. We watched Missionary approved Christmas videos and ate lots of candy canes and chocolate. To top it all off, we went to Sizzlers (yes, there is an actual Sizzlers here!) and I got a nice, juicy, American burger. It was so good! It almost felt like home :)

 Our golden investigator, อ้ม (Oom) hasn't been answering her phone and she didn't come to her appointment last week and to church. So, unfortunately, even with her moving to a different area, (yes, she's moving) we can't baptize her. We are kind of bummed to say the least. She was so good. She was sharing the Gospel with her children and her children's friends. And when we were introducing the Gospel to her daughter and her daughter's friends, she was practically teaching the lessons! It was so amazing. I love her so much. But now we are just super worried. We hope she is okay. But since she didn't come to church, she can't be baptized till she comes twice in a row. And the Elders in the place she's moving to will have to take care of her. After all that mess yesterday, we invited people or "Dan Jonse'd" since we need more people to teach and people to baptize for this coming month. (the mission goal is to get 200 baptisms) I started to talk to everyone and got rejected each time. One lady was super nice but she was Catholic. She was just talking about how she was only Catholic because her dad taught her to be that way. She wasn't interested in learning but she said she might check out the church sometimes, which is promising. We then came up to a questionable looking man. He had a bottle of cold medicine that actually has alcohol and opium in it. He didn't seem too out of it though as we were talking to him. We gave him a date and he said... yes. A lady came up to him as we were talking to him and she was like, "what are you doing talking to these people?" he waved her off and was like, "not now woman!" she hailed a taxi and said, "we need to go!" and he waved her off again as we confirmed the 26th of January as a date for him. So, hey, I think God has a sense of humor sometimes in answering our prayers. I hope that this man we invited WILL be baptized next month. There is always hope. I have faith. 

I am kind of nervous about this week. I will be leading all the appointments and such. I will also be leading lessons and doing everything a Senior companion would. I have been praying really hard so I won't mess up. My companion says that I will be fine. I can't mess up the Lord's work... I don't think He would let me, really. And, the Lord is the only one who can help me now. I will put my whole trust in Him this week. Wish me luck!

Sorry that this post is jumping around everywhere! I don't have TOO much time to write all that I want. There is so much I want to say about Thailand too. Like the fact that it's only 70 degrees here and there are people with coats and scarves on. It's so crazy. And since it's New Years tomorrow, there's hardly anyone on the streets! It's so much quieter on the streets. I sometimes wonder what it's like to be a missionary in America. The church is still growing here and the missionaries do a lot of work that members or the church is supposed to do. We sometimes clean out the bathrooms and replace the toilet paper, or members will call us so that we can open the church. Not that I am complaining or anything. I just wonder sometimes if some of the things we do is "normal". But, hey. Every missionary has their own experiences, so I guess I really can't compare. 

Anyway, if anyone else has any questions about Thailand or... missionary work or whatever, feel free to email me and tell me to put it on here, okay? 

I love you all! I will write a better letter next week, I hope! 

I love you!

Love, Sister Carter

The Ward Christmas party skit with the YW and YM. There are like two YM in total and the rest are all young women! And they put up that cool stage too! 

12-24-13 Skyping on Christmas Eve

12-24-13

I spent this morning skyping with family and I feel so blessed. I loved seeing people's faces and knowing that there are people way in America that love me. Even though I am not at home, this Christmas is so wonderful. I get to be a servant of the Lord and tell these wonderful Thai people about their Savior and Redeemer that they are unfamiliar with. God is good. Miracles are happening and all is well. 

I know it's tough to say goodbye, but just know that I love you so very much and that I will be alright. God is taking care of me and all is well. Be strong, mom. I love you so, so, so much.

Love, 

Sister Carter

12-15-13 Lessons in Thailand

12-15-13

Sawadii kha! Sabaydii may kha?

Well, I will just say that God is good. Good things are happening. Last month, we had a total of 100 baptisms for the entire mission. We have a goal to have 200 baptisms in January! It's pretty crazy, but the Lord wants to hasten the work. Thailand needs a temple. So, we will provide the members for that to happen. The Christmas season has also lifted my spirits. There are Christmas lights all around the mall and they have a Huge Christmas tree in the front as well. It's just so beautiful. They have a few mini Christmas trees around some shops too, funny enough, but I don't think the Thais have quite gotten the art of Christmas tree decorating down! Haha. 

Also, good news: I finished the Book of Mormon again! Twice in one year! Woohoo! I am so happy. The Book of Mormon is the most true of all books in the entire world. I have learned so much and I am always spiritually fed after reading it. Please, if any of you do not know of its truthfulness... read it. Ponder. Pray. It's so simple. All you have to do is act. :) 

Lately, I have talked about the miracles that haven't turned out. Let me tell you a story about one that has turned out this week:

It's painful to see the investigators I love come so far and yet not take the necessary steps for true joy and eternal happiness. I love these people so much. I want them to progress and come closer to our Father in Heaven. But, agency is a gift that happens to hurt others in this matter. It's alright though. I have wondered why these miracles I have always turn awry in my peak of happiness. It makes me a stronger person. And, I have learned not to let this sorrow get to me. I have to keep pushing forward and the Lord will do the rest. And he has! 

We met this wonderful woman named Oom. (it's weird typing it in English... ) on a song tow. Sister Yim was sitting next to her and they were having a casual conversation. Sister Yim mentioned the Gosepl and she was very receptive and interested in the things that she mentioned. We got her number and she said that we could call her any time. She was free all the time! Imagine that? We called her the next day to go to a Christmas show the church was putting on. She said she would go and sounded excited to come with us strangers. After the show she said that she felt so warm and she had goosebumps all over. We taught her an intro lesson and invited her to say the closing prayer. She was so overwhelmed by the spirit that she was crying!!! She is protestant, but we invited her to church the next day and she did. She said that the lessons in church answered a lot of questions she's had for years! And she shared these experiences with us that she's had in her life. 

She has been through a LOT. A lot of dark, dark things have happened to her and her daughter. Horrible, terrible things that were out of her control. But yet, she has had visions and dreams where she is in Heaven and everything is white and beautiful. Everyone is in white and there is a long, white, endless table. Christ and God invite her to eat with them... and then it ends. We taught her the restoration and she accepted a date for this month! I am so happy. I love her so much already. I feel like I have known her for years. She is so strong and has such an incredible light to her. And because of her trials, she is an amazing person. 

For once in my mission I felt as though I finally realized why I was truly here. THIS was why it was worth it. People like her that God prepares for us is more than anything I could ever ask for. God is good. He is so good. 

We had three investigators come to church this last week. THREE. I am so happy. Getting people to church is the hardest. Especially when they have school and work. Here in Thailand, they have extra "special" schooling on Saturdays and Sundays. So, it sucks that people will be doing that than going to church. I just know that God is blessing us. I love this work. 

Random things not related to spiritual things:

Lessons in Thailand:

1) Be careful on Song tows... you never know when the driver is super drunk.

2) Watch your tones when you speak. You could be saying some weird stuff...

3) The most (if not guaranteed) used excuse/saying when people aren't interested is: "I don't have time!" and "I'm Buddhist."

I'm sorry that this letter is short this week. I just wish you all an early Merry Christmas! I will be skyping my family next week so I don't think I will be able to get in a letter. Just know that I love you all. Be safe. Be happy. God is good. Share His Gospel. 

Love, 

Sister Carter

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

12-06-13 Note from Thailand Bangkok Mission President

12-06-13 Note from Thailand Bangkok Mission President

You may have noticed that Bangkok Thailand is in the news.  There has been some civil disobedience and protesting at several government buildings.

These demonstrations are very localized in the Bangkok area. Most of the missionaries are nowhere near these locations. Missionaries have been

instructed to not go near any of these locations and to stay away from any large gatherings.

Your Missionaries are safe. We will continue to monitor the situation.

President Senior

Thailand Bangkok Mission President

12-01-13 Thanksgiving

 12-01-13

 Sawadii kha! Sabaydii may kha?

Hello everyone! It's been a while... or like, a week or two. Unfortunately I was really sick last p-day. I was up all night emptying the contents of my stomach for four rounds. It wasn't really fun and I didn't get any sleep. My companion was sick that morning too so we ended up staying in bed all day. The next day wasn't all that much better. I was still feeling unwell but I pushed on and taught English class that night. Last Wednesday, I was still feeling unwell so I ended up receiving a blessing from the Elders. I was so grateful to them. 

But let me back-track a little. The week before this, we got a call from the Elders. They had said, "guess what? We have a miracle for you!" We were confused but then they explained that they talked some Elders in another district who wanted to give us one of their investigators who actually lived in our area. She had been going to church over there with her friend so that's how they came into contact. She had learned a lot already and desired to be baptized! We were so stunned. I didn't know how to feel or react. So, we immediately contacted her and set an appointment. We found her street and waited for her to meet us. We didn't know what she looked like. All we knew is that she was 74 years old. But I see this old lady walking with an umbrella as a cane, with a bright orange hat on. She comes up and smiles at us. I instantly knew that this was Sister Sodchun. She led us to this building that had a rusty gate in front. The building was an old, old factory that she lives in. It's not a functioning factory and it was very dirty, musty, and cluttered. I couldn't believe that she lived in such a place. She was so nice though. She kept offering us food (some crackers) and we talked to her for a bit. We asked if she wanted to move up her baptism for November (her original date is in December) and she said, "I like my date where it is." But then Sister Nong (the member we brought) said, "But what will happen by then? You never know what will happen to you!" Sodchun looked all nervous and she nodded her head, "You're right! I am old! And the streets are so crazy!"

Haha! I love her so much. But, it turns out that she was living with her husband... friend... person. They weren't legally married so we had to tell her that she couldn't be baptized unless they were married. She said her husband... friend was a drinker, smoker bum and wouldn't want to get married. We asked her to try anyway. But, he said no... and we found out why. She is bankrupt and he doesn't want all that debt to fall on him. And so we suggested that she move out. But she said she couldn't because she wants to take care of her friend because he's diabetic. But, after some reassuring, she agreed. So, the next time we came over she told us that she was moving! We were so happy for her. But then we found out that "moving" meant moving to the fourth floor!!! It is so hot up there! And the stairs are so steep! She would die! We told her that moving to the fourth floor didn't count. She was so discouraged. 

In the end though, she found a friend who she could move in with. But, it was the same friend in another area. The same area the other elders had given her to us. On top of which, she didn't get baptized in November, we didn't get the "goal" and the original Elders have her back. What is the moral of the story? I am not quite sure. But, I am so happy though. I am happy because she is still getting baptized and SHE is happy. The Lord had tested her faith and she was strong. I am proud of her. I will miss having her as an investigator. 

Back to last week...

So, after being sick for three days we had Thanksgiving! Oh, and it was such a nice one! I thought I wouldn't really have a thanksgiving in Thailand but Brother Arm and his wife were so nice. They went through the trouble of finding a big Turkey! And Stuffing! And cranberry sauce! And mashed potatoes!!! It was so American! I loved it. We all shared what we were grateful for. Sister Nong was like, "I don't know why Thailand doesn't have a holiday like this. We must be ungrateful!" Haha! It was the best Thanksgiving I could ask for in Thailand. 

After Thanksgiving, we had mission tour on Friday! Elder Wilson and his wife (from the area 70) came to visit us and speak with us. The meeting was 6 hours long but I learned SO much. I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon and the Restoration. My understanding of it has grown so much. I am truly thankful for the entire experience. And at the end, Elder Wilson picked three random people to interview...

He chose me.

Me. Why me? I was so confused. I was the only sister he picked too. And when we sat down to talk, I realized that God must have known the questions of my heart better than I did. Elder Wilson was able to answer something very personal and dear. I will forever be thankful. 

Sunday was Sister Barton's and Sister Nong's birthdays. We made cinnamon rolls and spaghetti! It was so good. I have been truly blessed and haven't even recognized it. 

This morning, we listened to a song on a CD that the mission president gave to all the missionaries. It was the song "Lead Kindly Light" by vocal point. The words, "I am far from home... lead thou me on... " It really hit home for me. I teared up. Being far from home is hard. And it's harder when it's my first time ever. But more than that, as I listened on I realized all the selfishness and pride I had. I couldn't recognize how good I had it and just focused on all these petty emotions I had. To just let Heavenly Father take the reigns in my life is such a huge step. And it's one that I still struggle with. I trust Him, but I need to let Him fully enter my heart. It is always a work in progress...

I love you all. I love this work. God is Good. I am ever learning and growing. Don't worry about me. I will be fine. The Lord will take care of me. 

Love, Sister Carter

11-25-13 Stomach bug

Hello to Sister Carter's Family,

This is Sister Bentley, I live at the house with Sister Carter. She and Sister Yim caught a stomach bug today and have been unable to leave the house. They asked me to send a quick email to let you know that they are happy and doing well. They are so sad that they can't send emails today but they will be back again next week and will have more to report.

Your daughter is doing great. She is so cute and I have been so grateful to get to know her these past few weeks. She's working hard and learning so much. 

Thank you for all that you do for her!