Happy
Mother's Day Everyone!
Or Everyone in
Thailand at the very least. Today, August 12th, is Her Majesty's birthday -
which means it's mother's day. Everyone is off school and work, buying gifts
and doing Buddhist stuff for their แม่ (Mae, or Mother). All
these festivities have made me think of one of the greatest people in my life -
my แม่ Mae! But oddly enough, it makes me
think of my Father - my Heavenly Father.
While talking about
Mothers Days and Fathers Days with a member who we're trying to get back to
church and trying to help his wife investigate the church, he said that every Sunday
could be Father's Day - why? because the Sabbath Day is the Father's Day,
right? Kind of funny... His name is X (or changed to Pat) and his wife's name
is Ple (like the second syllable of "ApPLE" but Thai
people can't say Ls at the ends of word; they say Ns and thus
it's pronounced "Bun"). Buster is their cute little devil-baby
who is the epitome of terrible twos. Getting them back to church is something
we've been working on, but didn't happen this week. In fact NO ONE came to
church this week whom we and the sisters worked with. It was sort of sad, but
we must keep the good in mind, because the rest of this week have been
miracles.
I mention Mother's
Day specifically because of the Faith of my mother. I love her so
much. To me in my mind, she is the greatest example of a missionary, because
she gave her all for us kids and loved us more than she loved
herself; I try and try and try to be like the kind of "missionary" she
was then to me then and is now. As Helaman recalls (and as I apply to
myself) the Stripling Warriors were only stripling because
of the mothers who raised them. Because of my mother, it could be written that,
[I] did think more upon [my investigators] than they did upon [my life]; yea, [I]
had been taught by [my] mother,
that if [I] did not doubt, God would deliver [me]...saying: [I] do not
doubt [my] mother knew it. (Alma 56:47-48)
If I may be so bold
as to give a specific example, I would mention her power testimony of prayer
that was made manifest this week.
Remember Sister Dtaan
and her grandaughter King King? Well we gave her a baptismal date for the 21st
of September, which was a bit shaky from her part. But then after this week,
the week I asked us all to pray for her, she told us (not asked us) if she could
be baptized by the end of THIS month!
She has been doing
sooo great and been chewing less and less - even some days she doesn't even
chew at all! Her gospel knowledge is growing and growing in just the space of a
week. I KNOW with everything that is within me that this miracle came to pass
because MY mother knew it - she knew that Sister Dtaan could quit and get
baptized to experience the true and lasting happiness that comes from
this restored gospel. Her progression is a direct result of your prayer and
faith, mom. Thank you so much for helping. I thank you and all who read this
last letter for pouring your heart and soul into mighty prayer to trust in God,
or in other words, to "[rely] wholly upon the
merits of him who is mighty to save" (2 Nephi 31:19).
May we all on this
wonderful mother's day rely on him who is mighty to save through the power
of prayer is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, our
Savior. Amen.
Love,
Elder Gibbons
PS: I will need to
rely on His saving merits especially this next week as President gave me the
call this Saturday and asked me if I could accept the assignment as Trainer for
this next transfer. Thank you for your prayers, but now I ask for some more
that I might be able to catch up the work my mother's prayers are giving me
here in Kalasin Province!
