I have had a crazy week and am excited to tell you about it,
but all of it has been included in the longest letter I've sent President. It
includes all the things I've done except the cheese member lesson I had with
Sister Nuen (former missionary here from Cambodia), Elder Wilamas and our new
investigator who is Cambodian.We also were at the grocery store and I tried to
talk to this girl in the check-out line. She wouldn't even talk back! She just
smiled awkwardly and turned back. Elder Watkins asked if she liked Oreos and
she still didn't say anything. We just looked at each other and he's like,
"Does she even speak Thai?" So I asked her straight up: "Do you
even speak Thai?" (Which is pretty offensive here but I ask it to people
who pretend to ignore me and it get's their attention...hehe...) She turned
around and gave me that same confused face. So I asked her, "Well are you
Laotian?" which is even MORE offencive to most Thais. But her eyes got big
and she shyly nodded her head quickly with an embarrassed smile. So I just
started speaking Lao/Isaan to her and we had an awkard conversation about her
coming into the country the day before, being with her family and having to go.
ตลกดี...
So here's the letter. Unedited, uncut ;) PS: Please
pray for the miracles to keep coming and for those we're working with,
including Tik and Nuch, Taa and her two kids: Pim and Non, and Tum in Ang
Thong.
Dear President,
This week was great as we continued to see miracles. A
Melchizedek Priesthood holder from Buriram just waltzed into church yesterday.
THAT is a miracle! A mom of a violin-playing member Sister Ja who just came
back active recently was at church yesterday (we had a feeling to invite her
mom to a baptism and she's been to activities ever since). Our members have
been really noticing the growth here too and are catching the fire by really
welcoming our new members and investigators. My prayers have been desperate
(and quite outstanding in the sense of seemingly impossible) to have LOVE flood
back into this branch where it was so ardently absent in the recent past. Those
prayers (combined with that of my mother I'm sure) were realized in a small
part as I looked around the room after Chruch yesterday to see everyone talking
and smiling - just people enjoying the company of each other. We had 61 at
church, 11 of which were investigators - we ALMOST have our goal for 70, a goal
that seemed impossible to reach when I came in at 39 people in October. We also
have a goal for 6 baptisms this week, which will take our 17 Miracles goal up
to 11 as well. Please keep a spot in your prayers for your first area,
President, as this goal is grand and almost too good to be true.
We have seen miracles as we focus on the Book of Mormon. I
read the Book of Mormon over the phone to one of our investigators, Sister Taa,
in the van on the way down back from Lopburi and it really helped her. By the
way, I was in Lopburi last week for more reasons than just to see the monkeys.
I also interviewed Elder Wilamas' investigator, Sister Noi from Khon Kaen. She's
a golden member referral from a Sister Rabiab. I spoke Isaan with her and her
family before the interview with and they thought I was Thai until I couldn't
spell some of their names on the baptismal form haha... Anyway, after
reading from Enos on that bumpy car ride and liking every necessary verse to
her life, I told her through the Spirit that she is going through all these
hard times and having all these questions because one day SHE will be a great
teacher of this gospel one day and a great leader. She's just a little เด็กดื้อ (stubborn little
kid) sometimes and won't trust herself or some of the answers she receives. So
after the Zone Training that Ayutthaya and Lopburi received, Elder Wilamas and
I snuck in a lesson with this woman before he left (shhhh... don't tell my ZLs
lol). Elder Wilamas and I taught her with two other great fellow-shippers who
have had similar problems. The whole lesson was in Isaan and the Lord opened my
ears and I understood almost everything. He taught with power and authority
that I have seen but few times in my mission and told her that her being
baptized with be the means of leading many hundreds or even thousands to be
baptized. She mentioned that she fears she will have no support if she ever has
to go back to her native province of Amnat Charoen, to which Elder Wilamas said
that she will be a pioneer in her native land (meant a lot coming from an Ubon
native). It is the only province without a church in that quarter of the land
and she will open it, he said, echoing my promise I gave to her about being a
teacher and a leader. But last night she called just as Elder Watkins and I
were talking about her. She said she doesn't want to think of all the forces
that tell her no, but knows that this is the best way and that she she wants to
follow Christ. We have hope she will be baptized this week as she has been
getting answer after answer.
Elder Wilamas and I have also really been seeing success
outside Ayutthaya in unusual amounts; both of companionships in the province of
Ang Thong and he and Elder Wheeler in Suphaan Buri. We are both finding
families in these places that are ready. I'm not doing this for adventure or
expansion; I feel the Spirit has lead me to do this work and led him to do his
in his companionship. I see the day is near for Zone leaders Ayutthaya to look
after Elders Nontaburi (Pakret and Bangbuathong), Elders Lopburi, Elders Ang
Thong, and Elders Suphaan Buri. Elder Wilamas feels that the people of Saraburi
are hard-hearted and not ready yet, so we'll see about that.
The last order of business is our district. Elder Sowards is
doing great (even let us have a baptism this Friday!)
and Sister Sowards' song will be beautiful on the 14th at Changwattana (which
I'm conductng the piece and helping other members practice their own pieces
they're doing). Elder Watkins and I are happy and unified as usual and sadly
feel we may be separated at the end of this transfer. We're preparing for
anything but excited for the growth that the Lord will create here. Elder Smith
(being Senior for the first time) and Elder Winsor have had some
"frustrations" you could call it, but the Lord led me to quote some
Hamlet to the both of them individually and talk to them about how I had to
adjust to being a better person as I was a district leader over Sisters in Ol'
Kalasin (it's like Elder Smith's "Back in '82" phrase he always says
that make me die of laughter). They are doing better as we all "learn
heaven" together here in the ancient capital of Ayutthaya.
That seems to be all the news for now besides some political
jazz that might be touring through the city. We'll keep you posted on this NEXT
week because after we weekly planned, this next week seems even CRAZIER than
this one!
With all my love,
Elder Gibbons
