Adventuring and Member Miracles (Whitewashing Pt. 4)
Hey Dad!
Sorry that this last email got off a little late (what is
it, like 2 in the morning over there? It's not that late/early... hahaha).
Looks like I'm going to have to write a lot to make up for the time that we
bought.... oh well! Didn't really have an opportunity to send a warning email
off this morning, none of the internet shops were open at 6 in the morning
so... we didn't really have a good way to warn you guys in advance, sorry about
that!
The other thing: Prepare for the flood of pictures/videos.
Hopefully that makes up for the lack of time we had to email. I probably won't
take more of those biking videos but... it was fun while I did it!s
So this week has been a blast for sure! It's been a lot of
hard work in this area, but we're happy to be serving here for sure! This week
has been kind of boring to be honest... so I'll go day by day (more or less)
and see what I can come up with to share.
Last Monday we actually did prepare for the week... So we
bought food, got haircuts and the whole bit. Then we called a lot of people
that night, trying to set up appointments with the people that we wanted to
meet with.
Tuesday was District Meeting, which is in Udorn. That means
that we have to take a van to get to there every single time we go to there,
and it takes an hour or so, so it's a little difficult on the time part, but it
all works out. Afterwards, we had lunch with President Tiger (He's apart of the
mission presidency) who used to be Branch President in Nong Khai, so we had the
opportunity to ask him a lot of questions about where/how the missionaries
before saw success in the work. Not saying we want to follow them exactly, but
it was nice to know! I really think that getting whitewashed in is a good way
to find out what really does work and what doesn't in any given area. We have
our basic tools and techniques, but we have to build from ground zero as far as
finding or anything goes. We're here to infuse new ideas into the area and help
the area grow! That's what I think anyways. So, we put out our best effort and
try our best. After that we traveled back and studied, invited, and taught
English.
Wednesday, we invited, almost the entire day. We met two new
investigators! But I'm not sure how interested they really were... but we can
still help them through teaching about Jesus Christ and his Gospel so... they
don't need to be interested completely. They just need to be willing it learn with
us and have a heart open to feeling the Spirit! So that's how that day went...
Thursday... I can't really remember what happened. Needless
to say, we invited in the morning, did studies, and then biked about 30 minutes
out to our investigator's house. So... that was fun! We got to see some people
on the way there that are potential investigators but... none of them really
wanted to learn, so that's how it goes!
Friday, we went and served one of the members early in the
morning! It took a little while to get to his house, but we woke up and he
picked us up from our house! He actually gave us food to eat in the car on the
way over. Then, we helped clean up the street he lived on that had flooded and
was now growing grass, everywhere! So we did that, and then he was nice enough
to feed us lunch, and we got to know him, and his wife better! Brother Somlak
is the 1st Counselor in the Branch Presidency and he's super funny. He can
speak English just a little bit, but enough to form some decent sentences. The
only thing is that usually they're funny comments about random things. I can't
even remember all of the things that he said, but just random bits here and
there. Then, somehow, the rest of the day was filled up with other bits and
things to do. Had to go buy a mattress for a switch-off that we were doing, and
studies, followed by Book of Mormon Class plus Sports Night, so... that's how
that goes! We had a fair amount of people there, but not a whole ton...
Saturday, we had a switch-off with the Zone Leaders here in
Nong Khai! I got to see the good example of Elder Santeco while we served here.
He's so happy all the time, so it's nice to see how he loves the work, and the
people! It helped me to remember that I can still enjoy the work and work hard
at the same time! No need to stress all of the time!
Sunday we went to church and we didn't have a real
opportunity to plan in the morning to plan... but we headed off to church, and
then the miracles started to happen! We get to church and find that one of the
members brought an investigator along to learn and to be at church! This
investigator Nam Waan, had been to church before and had already been keeping
the Word of Wisdom! It was really amazing to see someone like her. We still
need to help her overcome some other problems, but she had no problem accepting
a date to be baptized! We're going to work with her a lot over the next couple
of weeks to help her get ready! Then later on, we taught a member family, and
tried to help them with inviting their friends though using the Plan of
Salvation. That was more of Elder V's idea, but I'm glad we did it! I didn't
oppose at all, but we ended also receiving some advice on people they want us
to visit (this family is the family of the 2nd Counselor of the Branch Presidency)
so we'll be trying to work with those people! The people they identified were
RC/LA members, so they definitely are a higher priority! When we baptize, we
want to retain, not simply just baptize them and let them fall off the radar!
We teach Repentance and Baptize Converts. Later on, we had some members call,
and they wanted us to go teach some people that were at their house that day!
It was a couple that we met, and they were super ready to hear the message of
the Gospel! Now as to whether or not they're golden... I couldn't say. But
they're pretty solid! So we'll keep working with them! Miracles, worked through
members! Members are a great help to us honestly, and we're glad to have been
able to gained their trust to this extent!
Earlier today (Monday) we went adventuring with the
District! We went to see a "Skywalk" which was a Wat on top of a
mountain, but it was foggy, so we couldn't see anything... Then we went to go
see a cave that was super narrow... but super awesome! It was a ton of fun! I
have pictures/video, so hopefully you'll be able to see that... Then we went to
see the river that divides Lao and Thailand (again... because I see that on a
daily basis... hahaha). But it was at a Wat, and it was quiet and pretty
peaceful! Then we had an opportunity to go see a waterfall! So got some good
pictures there too! Lots of pictures, so hopefully you enjoy them!
All right, that's it for this week for me! I really do enjoy
the work, and I'm glad that I have an opportunity to be a missionary here in
Thailand! I know that this is God's truth, and I know that I am doing the
Lord's will here! The Lord will bless us for our diligence and continued
dedication to this work!
Love you lots Dad! Talk to you soon!
- Elder Collin Decker
No comments:
Post a Comment