Week 4

Hello World!

I'm going to be trying to direct my letters a bit more broadly so I
can be more specific in individual letters (sorry mom). But I want to
thank you all for all your support - I'm really feeling the spirit and
khwaamchuailua (help) from those prayers. So thank you! Also, thank
you everyone for the jodmay (mail) - although I have limited time to
respond with haste, I appreciate greatly all the encouragement.

Jason - OMGOSH!!!! MEXICO?! Phom txxten YUH YUH (excited A LOT) to the maxx
(didn't have time to express that last time)! Keep me posted on cool
events - from a good score on a test to a mission call - I'll gladly
bounce up and down in my room getting weird looks from my roommates if
I hear good news of any kind. ;)

So it being my 4th/5th week, there has been A LOT of spiritual growth,
but I thought I'd talk a bit about the AWESOMENESS of this language
this time around. It's still YAAG MAAG (SUPER HARD), but so beautiful
and poetic. For example, the word for "repentance" is pronounced
'glab-jai', where "glab" means 'return to', and "jai" means 'heart'.
So to "khawjai" (understand - 'enter' - 'heart') the word repentance,
one must understand the turning of one's heart back to God. Yiam, nai?
(Awesome, huh?) These compound words can be found almost everywhere,
like in the words for "shoe" and "sock". The word for "shoe" is
'rong-taaw'. "rong" = foot, and "taaw" = building.  So, a building for
your foot is a "rong-taaw!" Then replace 'rong' with 'thuung' (bag)...
and you can figure out the rest!

Some other cool examples of the Thai's expressiveness involves how you
address people. For example, I would call Max or Bryce 'khun' for
familiarity, where I'd call Joe Cannan 'nung' for younger. I'd might
also call Max or Bryce or especially Matt Schlappi or Geoff "Phii" for
being older. Then I'd call Siah, Elly, and children under 4 (Anna
would also especially call Mary Holker) 'nuu' which means 'mouse'.
Isn't that cute? Then comes the fun part - every woman that is as
young as my mom I call 'Maa' and as old as my dad 'Phah'. It's like
we're one big family because there's an additional 4 ways you address
aunts and uncles, and then each grandparent has their own address!

Well I'm 7 min passed my time (I hope I don't get struck down before I
leave to Thailand), so I'm going to go, but thanks again for all that
and for listening to my Thai grammar lesson... Love you all and see
you soon (in only 50 fortnights!)

With all the love in the world,
Elder Gibbons
สู ๆ !! Keep Going!

PS: Mom, could you please send me my extra ties? You bring 4 - 5 here
and you feel like a loser (especailly when your comp brought
SAAM-SIP-SONG!!! Ask Anna to look up how many that is...)! Haha, not
really I feel great, but it's nice to have some more variety here...

Week 3 - handwritten letter

Sorry, I didn't get to post this before we left for Arizona, so even though he will be writing again today, I wanted to post his "intermediate letter" (email isn't his favorite way of writing...so we get some handwritten letters during the week too).

Dear family...

Now for Thai, on February 10th, 2012, I was sitting in the TALL lab (technology-assisted-language-learning) one night [and] I was practicing some phrases and all of a sudden I stepped back and realized that when I was practicing some phrases that I was not even thinking about them and it was just flowing out of my mouth!  My mouth was actually shaped differently inside when I spoke Thai and different when I spoke English.  My new teacher, Brother Day (Phii Aphiwat) has like two personalities.  When he speaks Thai he's funnier than when he speaks English!  Berkeley, my Portuguese teacher once told me that she felt like he had two different brains - one for English, and one for Portuguese.  I now see this is pretty true, and I think my "other brain" was born.  Wow I sound like a Sci-Fi alien movie, but now Thai is coming and sticking better.  My script isn't the best, but I'm determined to be able to read out of the Book of Mormon by this week - hold me up to that, please, and please pray for me to be able to do this!  I need the help, but I know I can do it "through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13).

Well, I'd like to say hello to Anna, Kenz, Megs, Matt, and Toady (I loved Anna's other pic of him - I do miss being my weird self around here...)

But yeah, also, I had so much on my desk that I just barely read Duke's letter from week 1 just a few days ago - and it applied WAY more than it would have otherwise!  Weird, huh?  The Lord used my laziness to bless me!  JK, hopefully that vice will clear up by then...

I hear some people at home are not happy that I haven't been "answering questions" [that would be me, his mother!!] Well...my suggestion is 1) make a list of all questions wanting answers (no more than...let's say 20/week for now), 2) Type them lik you would a math lesson, 3) Then, I'll be able to provide answers to anything you need (sometimes its hard to think of more than a few things at a time here...)  It's a three-step program that I hope will bring you hope and info.  :)

Also, I got letters from Bryce, Jason, Danielle, Max, and the sister of my friend Zoe; Phoebe Heins...Separates the wheat from the tares...good friend become better ones through writing here...Thanks for all your support because good family becomes better as well!

With love, Elder Gibbons
"suu suu!" (Fight, Fight!  Keep Going!)