AIT #5: December 11, 2002
I've been here in Thailand for almost a full moves now. The next batch of missionaries arrives next week. All is well here. We had our Christmas "thiaw" yesterday ("thiaw" is a Thai word for things like vacations, parties, etc.). Since there are so many missionaries in the mission, it was split up over three days -- Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. One- third of the mission went yesterday with us. It was a lot of fun to see other missionaries, eat a delicious Christmas meal, exchange gifts, and listen to President Slater speak. We watched "Monsters, Inc.", too. I rather liked it. President Slater spoke on light as a symbol of Christmas. He made a point about how light unifies -- Christ unifies things, but Satan separates things (body and soul, us and God, families, etc.). I'd never thought about that before...
Oh, last week we did our Journey to Bethlehem presentation at the Asoke church. It went really well. When we got there Saturday afternoon, one of the farangs asked us if anyone in our group knew how to sing. I ended up being enlisted as an angel in the angel room, singing "Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains." Had to learn the bass line in a jiffy. It was really fun, though, and it was neat to see all the people come through. Hopefully they felt the spirit of Christmas as they went through all the various rooms (shepherds, the three kings of the Orient, King Herod, the innkeeper, and Mary and Joseph).
Nat (the 16-year-old girl) wants to wait till the 22nd to be baptized. We're still not sure who will perform the actual ordinance; we wanted Brother Best to, but he'll be gone. It may end up being me. We're teaching a lot of investigators, including some really good families. No new baptismal commitments yet, however.
There is a goal for the Asia area (mission-wise) for each companionship to teach 20 discussions a week (10 firsts and 10 others). So far we're at about 10 a week, if we're lucky. A long way to go. :) There's a mission language certification program, which consists of memorizing the discussions, memorizing word lists, reading and writing, and being able to teach clearly and effectively. Most people take two months to get certified.
On Thursday I went on switch-offs with Elder Suttiphong. He taught me how to cook rice in the rice cooker (it's very easy) and make a sweet n' sour dish. I love cooking! I make rice for breakfast and dinner every day now. A few days ago I bought cooking supplies (vegetable oil, fish sauce, chili powder, onions, garlic, etc.) and am having a blast. We visited Brother Super at his bakery the other day to go teaching with him. Someday I'll have to learn how to cook Thai desserts and cookies and stuff.
Tuesday night we visited Pepe and Milinda, a less-active couple that was baptized about two years ago. Milinda's doing much better and wants to come back to church now. It was awesome seeing how she realizes that not going to church has made their lives darker (that's what she said). The light of the gospel is real.
I ate dog meat on Tuesday as well, for the first time. It's not too bad, actually. But for health reasons, I probably will try to avoid it in the future. :) Haven't eaten anything else too weird yet. Yet. :) Got my first Thailand haircut as well, for 50 baht (a little over a dollar). Now that I've been here almost a full moves (6 weeks), riding my bike in traffic is a ton of fun. If I ever leave Bangkok, I'll miss it. I think virtually all the missionaries here ride bikes, but there may be a few areas where it's too congested.
I haven't seen any crime or heard of any, surprisingly. In fact, I think I've almost forgotten that crime exists. :) I'm sure it's there, of course, but I haven't seen it yet. Lots of Thais know a little bit of English (at least "Hello"), and quite a few like practicing it on us. I've been using a briefcase for the past three or four weeks (as opposed to a backpack) and will probably continue to do so, since it keeps papers flat and is large enough to hold everything I need to bring with me. The taxis don't have seat belts in the back, just up front. Haven't seen any taxi accidents yet, though. (It's a miracle, considering how some of the drivers drive. :)) There are soooooo many motorcycles here. All over the place, everywhere you go, motorcycles and yet more motorcycles.
Well, I've pretty much adjusted to life here in Thailand. Prices in baht seem normal now; it would be weird to go back to using dollars. I love it here and love the work. It's wonderfully good to see the gospel of Christ change people's lives, especially families. I love families! :) We talked with an awesome investigator today, Nan, who had already read most of Gospel Principles by the time Elder Nelson met her a few months ago. Her husband isn't interested, though, so the sisters will probably have to teach her. She's golden -- we haven't been able to contact her for at least a month and a half, and yet she's still reading diligently from the Book of Mormon, the Bible, and Gospel Principles each day. I wish there were more like her. :) Anyway, I'm about out of time. Thanks for all of the support, everyone, especially the prayers. Prayer is real. This church is real. God is real. Take care and have a great day! :-)
Oh, last week we did our Journey to Bethlehem presentation at the Asoke church. It went really well. When we got there Saturday afternoon, one of the farangs asked us if anyone in our group knew how to sing. I ended up being enlisted as an angel in the angel room, singing "Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains." Had to learn the bass line in a jiffy. It was really fun, though, and it was neat to see all the people come through. Hopefully they felt the spirit of Christmas as they went through all the various rooms (shepherds, the three kings of the Orient, King Herod, the innkeeper, and Mary and Joseph).
Nat (the 16-year-old girl) wants to wait till the 22nd to be baptized. We're still not sure who will perform the actual ordinance; we wanted Brother Best to, but he'll be gone. It may end up being me. We're teaching a lot of investigators, including some really good families. No new baptismal commitments yet, however.
There is a goal for the Asia area (mission-wise) for each companionship to teach 20 discussions a week (10 firsts and 10 others). So far we're at about 10 a week, if we're lucky. A long way to go. :) There's a mission language certification program, which consists of memorizing the discussions, memorizing word lists, reading and writing, and being able to teach clearly and effectively. Most people take two months to get certified.
On Thursday I went on switch-offs with Elder Suttiphong. He taught me how to cook rice in the rice cooker (it's very easy) and make a sweet n' sour dish. I love cooking! I make rice for breakfast and dinner every day now. A few days ago I bought cooking supplies (vegetable oil, fish sauce, chili powder, onions, garlic, etc.) and am having a blast. We visited Brother Super at his bakery the other day to go teaching with him. Someday I'll have to learn how to cook Thai desserts and cookies and stuff.
Tuesday night we visited Pepe and Milinda, a less-active couple that was baptized about two years ago. Milinda's doing much better and wants to come back to church now. It was awesome seeing how she realizes that not going to church has made their lives darker (that's what she said). The light of the gospel is real.
I ate dog meat on Tuesday as well, for the first time. It's not too bad, actually. But for health reasons, I probably will try to avoid it in the future. :) Haven't eaten anything else too weird yet. Yet. :) Got my first Thailand haircut as well, for 50 baht (a little over a dollar). Now that I've been here almost a full moves (6 weeks), riding my bike in traffic is a ton of fun. If I ever leave Bangkok, I'll miss it. I think virtually all the missionaries here ride bikes, but there may be a few areas where it's too congested.
I haven't seen any crime or heard of any, surprisingly. In fact, I think I've almost forgotten that crime exists. :) I'm sure it's there, of course, but I haven't seen it yet. Lots of Thais know a little bit of English (at least "Hello"), and quite a few like practicing it on us. I've been using a briefcase for the past three or four weeks (as opposed to a backpack) and will probably continue to do so, since it keeps papers flat and is large enough to hold everything I need to bring with me. The taxis don't have seat belts in the back, just up front. Haven't seen any taxi accidents yet, though. (It's a miracle, considering how some of the drivers drive. :)) There are soooooo many motorcycles here. All over the place, everywhere you go, motorcycles and yet more motorcycles.
Well, I've pretty much adjusted to life here in Thailand. Prices in baht seem normal now; it would be weird to go back to using dollars. I love it here and love the work. It's wonderfully good to see the gospel of Christ change people's lives, especially families. I love families! :) We talked with an awesome investigator today, Nan, who had already read most of Gospel Principles by the time Elder Nelson met her a few months ago. Her husband isn't interested, though, so the sisters will probably have to teach her. She's golden -- we haven't been able to contact her for at least a month and a half, and yet she's still reading diligently from the Book of Mormon, the Bible, and Gospel Principles each day. I wish there were more like her. :) Anyway, I'm about out of time. Thanks for all of the support, everyone, especially the prayers. Prayer is real. This church is real. God is real. Take care and have a great day! :-)
posted by Ben at 2:04 PM
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