AIT #31: June 25, 2003
We just got back from a wonderful zone conference yesterday, President Slater's last in Thailand. President Hansen arrives on Tuesday and will be mission president on arrival. The one thing certain about missions is change. Investigators change (a *lot*, for good or for worse), members change, companions change, areas change, mission presidents change, the weather kind of changes (hot, hotter, and hottest :)), and we ourselves change.
So, we left P-lok on a bus Monday afternoon and arrived in Lampang around eight o'clock in the evening. It's a really pretty ride. Ate dinner at KFC at the local Big C and then rode a song thaw over to the elders' house. Elder Haase and I spent the night at Elder Garrison and Elder Jackson's house, and Elder Jorgensen and Elder Peterson stayed at Elder Keenan and Elder Rock's house. Woke up at 3:45 a.m. At 4:15 Elder Garrison and I hopped on the bikes and rode out to get a song thaw, then went to pick up the other four elders. Returned to the house and picked up Elder Haase and Elder Jackson and went to the bus station. It was another two hour ride to Chiang Mai.
We had breakfast at the Felix City Hotel, which is really close to the Chiang Mai church. There are soooo many farangs in Chiang Mai, and after spending so much time around Thais, it's a rather odd sensation to see white people. How will I ever cope with going back home to America? ;) Zone conference started at 8:00 with a good lesson on member-missionary work by Elder Keenan (our ZL). President Slater gave a wonderful talk on the last week of the Savior's life. I couldn't help but think of the parallel, Pres. Slater gathering us around him for his last few words before going back home, kind of like Christ gathering His apostles around Him at the Last Supper. Sad to see him go but sweet in that he's been a valiant servant and has been faithful to his call. We four P-lok elders did a musical number, "God of Our Fathers, Whose Almighty Hand", with me on the piano. After President's talk we took a group picture and broke for lunch. President interviewed us four P-lok elders during lunch, the usual routine (we're the farthest from Chiang Mai in the zone, so we wait until zone conference for interviews; the Lampang elders go up the day before to be interviewed with the Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai missionaries). I'll miss President. He's helped me a *lot*, through all the spiritual valleys and hills I've been through so far. After lunch the Lampang district sang "Press Forward, Saints." The APs gave a lesson on activating less-active members, those lost sheep who've fallen away from the fold. And then we were done. Took more pictures (individual pictures with Pres. and Sister Slater), then went to the bus station and left for home. It's a long bus ride and we didn't get home till 11:35, but oh well. :)
On Saturday we had a branch activity which went really well. Played lots of games outside and then had a lesson on Zion and unity within the branch, followed by dinner. Lots of people showed up, including Loogkit and Ao, our two best investigators right now. They're friends with many members already and that's made a huge difference in helping them progress. We also had a less-active member, Brother Golf, come back to church. He works offshore most of the time and only returns to P-lok for a couple weeks at a time, but we visited him last week and he came! :) We're still seeking out all the lost members and putting them on the map, gathering all the information we can find (from neighbors, relatives, etc.). It's wonderfully fun, especially since it's the kind of work I think I want to do for a living (genealogy/history). The best part is when we actually make contact with the member. This past Saturday we were doing invites near our house (just outside the shortcut behind the house), talking with a lady at a small restaurant. An old grandma cutting vegetables nearby overheard us and said that she used to go to our church with her granddaughter. Lots of people think that all of Christianity is the same and that if they go to any church they've been to ours, so we always take that with a grain of salt. On the rare occasions when they really have been to our church, it's lovely, and this was one of those. We asked what her granddaughter's name was and she said Duanggamon Kaewpraseard. I recognized the name from the old member records we've been searching through and we got Duanggamon's phone number and current location. Called her up and set up an appointment for Sunday after church to meet with her. Hurray! :) We've made actual contact with three or four old members so far, and with a few more we've located their current whereabouts (usually they've moved to Bangkok). It's amazing how many old members there are here...
Well, I'm out of time. Keep up the good work and stay strong in the faith! Take care. :-)
So, we left P-lok on a bus Monday afternoon and arrived in Lampang around eight o'clock in the evening. It's a really pretty ride. Ate dinner at KFC at the local Big C and then rode a song thaw over to the elders' house. Elder Haase and I spent the night at Elder Garrison and Elder Jackson's house, and Elder Jorgensen and Elder Peterson stayed at Elder Keenan and Elder Rock's house. Woke up at 3:45 a.m. At 4:15 Elder Garrison and I hopped on the bikes and rode out to get a song thaw, then went to pick up the other four elders. Returned to the house and picked up Elder Haase and Elder Jackson and went to the bus station. It was another two hour ride to Chiang Mai.
We had breakfast at the Felix City Hotel, which is really close to the Chiang Mai church. There are soooo many farangs in Chiang Mai, and after spending so much time around Thais, it's a rather odd sensation to see white people. How will I ever cope with going back home to America? ;) Zone conference started at 8:00 with a good lesson on member-missionary work by Elder Keenan (our ZL). President Slater gave a wonderful talk on the last week of the Savior's life. I couldn't help but think of the parallel, Pres. Slater gathering us around him for his last few words before going back home, kind of like Christ gathering His apostles around Him at the Last Supper. Sad to see him go but sweet in that he's been a valiant servant and has been faithful to his call. We four P-lok elders did a musical number, "God of Our Fathers, Whose Almighty Hand", with me on the piano. After President's talk we took a group picture and broke for lunch. President interviewed us four P-lok elders during lunch, the usual routine (we're the farthest from Chiang Mai in the zone, so we wait until zone conference for interviews; the Lampang elders go up the day before to be interviewed with the Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai missionaries). I'll miss President. He's helped me a *lot*, through all the spiritual valleys and hills I've been through so far. After lunch the Lampang district sang "Press Forward, Saints." The APs gave a lesson on activating less-active members, those lost sheep who've fallen away from the fold. And then we were done. Took more pictures (individual pictures with Pres. and Sister Slater), then went to the bus station and left for home. It's a long bus ride and we didn't get home till 11:35, but oh well. :)
On Saturday we had a branch activity which went really well. Played lots of games outside and then had a lesson on Zion and unity within the branch, followed by dinner. Lots of people showed up, including Loogkit and Ao, our two best investigators right now. They're friends with many members already and that's made a huge difference in helping them progress. We also had a less-active member, Brother Golf, come back to church. He works offshore most of the time and only returns to P-lok for a couple weeks at a time, but we visited him last week and he came! :) We're still seeking out all the lost members and putting them on the map, gathering all the information we can find (from neighbors, relatives, etc.). It's wonderfully fun, especially since it's the kind of work I think I want to do for a living (genealogy/history). The best part is when we actually make contact with the member. This past Saturday we were doing invites near our house (just outside the shortcut behind the house), talking with a lady at a small restaurant. An old grandma cutting vegetables nearby overheard us and said that she used to go to our church with her granddaughter. Lots of people think that all of Christianity is the same and that if they go to any church they've been to ours, so we always take that with a grain of salt. On the rare occasions when they really have been to our church, it's lovely, and this was one of those. We asked what her granddaughter's name was and she said Duanggamon Kaewpraseard. I recognized the name from the old member records we've been searching through and we got Duanggamon's phone number and current location. Called her up and set up an appointment for Sunday after church to meet with her. Hurray! :) We've made actual contact with three or four old members so far, and with a few more we've located their current whereabouts (usually they've moved to Bangkok). It's amazing how many old members there are here...
Well, I'm out of time. Keep up the good work and stay strong in the faith! Take care. :-)
posted by Ben at 7:52 AM
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