Week 22

June 25, 2012

Hello everyone! So this week's been crazy! So I'll try to re-cap as short as possible so I'll even break the 11th commandment and not speak in correct grammar.

MONDAY
Bought Viola.  Super expensive in บาท (Baht).  A-string snapped.  No more play viola.  Ate this disgusting looking fish ป. ทวิช's (Pres. Tuwit's) house.  Loved it.

TUESDAY
Taught my English class with Elder Goodmansen, our awesome AP who's leaving tomorrow :(  Lord helped turn way boring class into fun class.

WEDNESDAY
Went inviting in this really mean, weird neighbor in "THE NORTH" (the place we don't usually go) where we had dogs barking at us, one lady almost threw up on us...Short: the absence of the Spirit there felt super sketch.  So invited an apartment complex instead.  We saw a lady painting in her apartment and asked if we could see it.  Showed us with a big smile, invited in, but no male, so couldn't go in.  Got info, left.  Down stairs.  Met old guy with 14 yr old girl.  Talked to him.  Turns out, he's the lady's dad!  Went up and taught, then husband came home (his face seeing two ฝลั่งs -'"falongs," or white people in his house was SOOO funny!).  Taught powerful, short lesson. Awesome!

FRIDAY
Taught "Oh?" (yep, that's how you say her name), a crazy Baptist lady and husband.  Came to door, husband naked.  "Ees ok, no? You man, he man. You see, ees ok!"  She said. Lucky: he was still it in boxers, just like the last lesson too.  For three lessons, we came in and he'd so grab his pants hanging on the wall so we could teach him.  Never seen him wear a shirt.  Well, I guess that's ok cuz we taught this guy named Gnat who was standing with his pants half down, just staring out the window when we knocked on door. Scrambled to put on pants, welcome us in and get to the door.  Funny thing was, after we smelled alcohol on breath and left, he never managed to get his pants on!  555! Next lesson, pants on, shirt elsewhere.  Never seen either of those investigators fully clothed.  Welcome to Thailand!

Week 21

Hello friends, Romans, country-men, lend me your ears...Oh wait, wrong play... Hello Friends, Family, and all significant others.

Happy Father's Day! Dad, I love you so much and you emails always make me laugh and they totally recharge my week. You've been such an example of humble strength to me, and I want to thank you.

This week has been awesome. A lot of plan switching plans and running around everywhere... My President's letter pretty much sums it up:

"Dear President,
Not much has happened this week that's worthy of any particular mention, but I got to see the hand of the Lord by trusting in his timing and his Will.  This week, I had the wonderful experience of singing in the Family Values Award - which really opened my eyes to just how grand of a scale the Church works on. However, practices took up time, and we also help our branch president pack and send all the Liahona's to members living in the country of Thailand (ha ha... Elder Osborne slapped the address sticker on yours, so it should be coming soon if not already there). So our goals took a hit, but I learned this week that the work of the Lord is the work of the Lord no matter what shape it was in. ประธาน ทวิช needed that help, and we were glad to give it to him. Also, ซ. อุ๋มฮิ๋ม [I think that is Oom Iim] was confirmed this week - which put the cap on my first convert's successful entering into the Church! That's always good.

Well, we're sure going to miss you and your lovely wife, President.  But, you're going to have to endure at least one more of these, but just want you to know.

Thanks again, until next week,
Elder Gibbons"

So this week, I learned a lot about service. Packing Liahona's as far as the eye can see was fun, but I think I should mention the Family-Values Award event that I had the opportunity to sing in a small Missionary choir in (we sang Rak thii Baan, or Love at Home).  Family-Values Award events take place in the community and recognize certain people for their exceptional service toward preserving values.  Among the 50-or-so VIPs for this event were well-renowned doctors, very high-reigning generals, and even someone from the Royal Family (a great-grand daughter of His Majesty); she happens to live in my Trainer's first area and is married to Thailand's Former Ambassador to the United States. Like I mean, this was a SUPER sweet event seeing generals and royalty in a country were Princes and Princesses exist and have great respect. But the evening wasn't about them. It was about the amazing things they have done in conjunction with the Church. For example, one of the recipients bore powerful testimony on the power of families and how he couldn't know how to thank the "10 million people who give their lunch money every month" so he can have over $70,000 of dolls and equipment to train people to save newborn baby's lives. One practice doll was "twice my salary," he noted. And know, more babies will be saved with his work and my "lunch money." My mom has always taught me to pay a generous fast offering - I know know why. But I encourage all of you this Father's Day weekend to remember our Heavenly Father and remember to be gracious and generous with our love for each other - in more than just in monetary amounts.

I will definitely strive to do the same. Speaking of striving, don't forget 2 Ne 28:7-9 (I'm excited for the one after this too, but not sinning is good too)! Thank you for all your support and love! Until next Week!

Elder Gibbons

Week 20

Hello everyone again! So it's the beginning of the third week in my second transfer, and we're just chillin' in a internet place... Again...only this morning, I looked at the date, and it has been exactly two months since I have officially set foot in the field.

So, if I can go off on a small tangent: Fact: If you live in Europe or the western hemisphere, you know nothing about what the heck goes on in Asia. Think you do? Sorry. You're wrong. Still think you do? Then you could qualify to be listed under the one exception: You have lived here - and I mean resided in a place without taken a trip back to anywhere else - for a period of time no less that two months. Business here? Nope. Frequent visits? Closer. Study abroad? Very Close. But living with, eating with, drinking with, breathing with, laughing with, arguing with, shopping with, bartering with, singing with, and, most importantly, sharing spiritual experiences with these people for a period of time that is longer that naturally comfortable is the only way a Westerner and come close to KNOWING what goes on here. And what the heck - I still don't know what's going on most of the time. But it is such a different way of living, eating, thinking that NOT NOBODY NOT NO HOW really knows what's up if they talk about Asia. I've grown to hate things about my own culture - even things about my own life that I want to purge. I've grown to discover small jewels of wisdom I didn't know I had but had to use that I love now... Going off on another tangent within a tangent to explain my tangent (this is like Inception!), for example I couldn't stop helping myself to the ปลาทับทิมทอด (blaa tub-tim tod : fish-ruby-fried) at dinner: I eat parts of the chicken that I wouldn't have touched before. I know how to eat fruits that would almost make you gasp! But really, look up a เงาะ (ngaah) and you'll see what I mean. I even gave little treats and water to people who drop stuff or come to pick us up for a lesson because I feel awkward if I don't. I hate flirtatious girls...Or maybe I'm just scared of them. Even my English is sounding weird sometimes because English words come out in Thai grammar. It's so cool to see the Lord shape me to make me an instrument to shape the lives of others...

Ok that was a long tangent about some of the fun worldly things that I have unavoidably enjoyed. But besides all this stuff, I have remained very focused on my purpose as a missionary through diligent study and reverent prayer. So on that note, we had some cool things happen this last week, but I'm going to talk about the spiritual highlight of this week where the hand of the Lord was definitely  present. The following is a very special excerpt that I usually wouldn't share openly and blatantly, so I hope you receive it knowing my intent is not to blare it out there, but to share a glimpse of a very special day from my journal describing the baptism of อุ๋มอิ๋ม ("Oom iim") - my first investigator I met in Thailand, dated Saturday, 9 June 2012:

"As I sat pondering about today, I thought about how appropriate it was we ate at KFC again with อุ๋มอิ๋ม. The first time was the first time I met her; 2nd time was right after we gave her a baptismal date for 9 June; and today - the 9th - we were able to eat with อุ๋มอิ๋ม again, but this time as an official member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her baptism will be a memory I will always cherish.

"One cool experience was going to fill up the font. As we turned on the water as I was standing in the empty basin, I thought about the antiquity of this ordinance for the first time. 'Peter and Paul witnessed the same thing I am doing - and probably watched water fill similar fonts,' I thought. PMG [Preach My Gospel] says: 'The Spirit is manifest strongly as the sacred ordinances [of the church] are performed.' I truly felt the Holy Ghost manifest the sacredness of the experience as I prepared a baptismal font as they did in ancient times.

"Another sacred memory was actually watching the baptism be performed by ป. วิสาล. With the sacred ordinances of the church, the Thai people don't use normal words. Instead they use a lot of ราชศัพท์, or the high language of the kings, which adds another level of sacredness to the baptism performance. This ordinance, performed today was very sacred and this language helped me humbly feel of the importance of it. I'm super blessed have the opportunity to see God's hand in His ordinances!"

Besides eating funky fruit and things like unto it, I'm receiving blessing by the truckload. Thank you for your prayers and support.  Don't forget it's 2 Ne 9: 29-29 this week! (Confession - I didn't do so well on the last one. But repentance is beautiful, and I'm just going to move on and get it this week!) Love y'all! Same time next week...

Elder Gibbons

Week 19

Wow. So much has happened in so little time!  Stephen and Kaiden, Grandma and Grandpa's fall, Paul Christofferson, Summer - with more motivation from Dad, St. George, music concerts which I'm totally jealous of, Lean on Me and Footloose along with our last Gibbons APA year, Shanae's graduation, Mitchell a Priest, Dallan a Deacon... Wow so much has happened!  It's good to know that everything is sabai down there (chill or cool).  I miss you all!

So wow, and there has been so much awesome stuff here as well!  I read all the letters from last week too, which has been a big encouragement. Thank you.

The growth here has been increasing - actually I gtg to Prataan Tuwit's FHE soon, so I'll just let you know some few cool things and I felt like I should update you all on our investigators (I'd spell them, but time's against me.  Such is life?)

So Oom iim, our spunky, witty, yet humble investigator who works at "Cold Sa-tone" and who turns 19 this month, will be baptized and confirmed this week.  She often bashfully says how excited she is to get baptized (I mean she is so strong our Sister missionaries sometimes steal her to go teach THEIR investigators!  Speaking of whom, because they split our district, Ton - our 55 year-old referral from America whom the Sisters are now teaching - was scared of her baptismal date.  Now, she has asked if she can move it up!), so we're preparing her for that wonderful day this week!

So these are just very few of the incredible people the Lord's given me the chance to work with. I request all of you to not forget our memorization this week!  Applying Scriptures has been awesome, so now it's 2 Ne time - vs. 25 and 27!  I've already got the first one (in both languages) so, now it's time to work on the next one!

I love all of you and pray for you often. Congrats everyone for graduations and performances well done.   Love you all so much, and thanks for the opportunity to share my life here with you.  I say my life, because these people really are my life.  When I'm mad at my comp, or when anything comes up that tries my patience, they keep me going.  I would encourage each of you while you memorize your scriptures and while you study personally, to think of someone you love and what would they take from your readings.  When you wake up tomorrow, you will roll out of bed thinking of someone other than yourself who you will be able to serve in your own way.  Record your feelings.  I promise that as you do this, you'll see a new light come into your relationship with that person you'll have never felt before.  It's called the Light of Christ, and frankly, it's the only thing that keeps me from sleeping in or gives me the strength to yell "Sawatdii Khrab?" into that one more door; where the only thing that carries me  or in your case, you,) across whatever obstacle seems insurmountable.  It's hard.  It's the hardest thing I've ever done, but pray for courage, opportunities, and plead with all your freakin heart for gift of Charity every single day (Moroni 7:48).  So, I gotta quickly bike home in the pouring rain - yippie! - so I can make FHE.

Again, sorry for not more detail; I"ll tell you all about Tap, New, Bank, Jamsat, Dye, Duuhie, and my other Thailand adventures next time.

Well, I love you all more than you know, your prayers have been felt more than you will ever know.  Good luck with 2nd Nephi!

Elder Gibbons

Week 18

Hello everyone!

Wow.  What a week this has been. I think I have never laughed, prayed, cried, sang, pooped, studied, or prayed as hard as I ever have before.  Without quoting Dickens too much, it really was the worst and eventually best of times.  I'm going to try to jam-pack this email with as much stuff a can, so buckle up.

Tuesday in a nutshell, I taught gospel lessons during English class with a member who's known for taking up most of your teaching time by doing it for you.  It being my first time and expecting this would happen, one of our great APs, Elder Goodmenson, and I practiced for it, but to no avail.  Not only would he speak through everything, he would go back over the things and re-explain in his way what I had literally just explained.  I was fuming.  I "had not the Spirit" so I shouldn't teach, I thought.  But then in that moment of complete frusturation, I thought back to the time my first District Leader, Elder Mondragon, talked about "being Jesus' advocate" (as opposed to being Devil's advocate).  That means that instead of doubting, fearing or fighting one's self by asking 'Why me?', one who plays Jesus' advocate says 'Why NOT me?' and from there continues to simply ask himself (by asking simply) the hard questions.

For example, take listening to heavy metal [music] like my DL said he did all the time.  After reading his Book of Mormon, he thought about it.  Instead of finding excuses to listen to that music, he allowed Jesus' advocate to ask himself: "Why shouldn't I listen to this?"  "Well, it drives the spirit away," he responded.  After some time of pondering, Jesus' advocate simply asked: "So is listening to that music worth not having the Spirit with you?"  After a moment's hesitation, he had to make a decision.  But his decesion wasn't about 'Should I listen to heavy metal anymore?', but it was 'Do I want the Holy Spirit in my life or not?'  He answered simply, "No, it's not. So, I won't."  Then that thought led me to the words of his companion, my friend Elder Adams from the MTC.  "WHY is one of the greatest questions you can ask yourself," he said.  So I asked Jesus' advocate, "Why? Why am I here in this chruch with this member right now?  What does the Lord want me to do or learn from because I am presently in this situation?"  After asking that, I stopped thinking for how much of my time he was wasting.  I became humble.  I became teachable.  Then the Lord was able to show me HIS way out.  So, I brought him aside and we eventually worked out a compromise where he would explain everything and I would say a 1-1/2 minute comment about the gospel.  I learned that day that it's not about what you teach that brings in the Spirit; it's how you bring in the Spirit through the ways you teach.  After the three lessons that followed, we walked out of that room with our arm over the other's shoulder, even laughing a bit.  I love that fat, smelly Thai man with all my heart and I know it's because of the love I have in Christ.  Also, WE GOT SISTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!  It was a cool experience to go back to transfer mtg, see my Nong's [new missionaries] expressions of confussion and awe at everything said - "Was I like that too just six weeks ago?"  Jesus' advocate whispered, "Yes."  And I almost told him to shut up.  But we met Sister Roper and her Khon Thai companion (who was also a new missionary), helped them move in, and then met our branch president, "Prataan Tuwit".  I wish I could describe our first meeting.  We took our two taxis we came in and drove to the nearby Wats (or Buddhist temples).  We had our first corelation meeting in the shade of a Buddhist temple, surrounded by stray dogs and the sound of blaring symbols and nasaly woodwind instruments.  Welcome to Thailand!  So after that, we all worked our butts off (that's where the praying crying, singing, studying came in), I got a little ท้องเสีย (that's where the pooping came in), and we had an awesome activity on Saturday where we cleaned the church together.  The following two days are summarized in my President's letter:

"Dear President,
This week was the harvest we have been waiting and praying for this whole transfer. The fruits of our labors blossomed this week as we get new sister missionaries, and as we have been working side by side with ป. ทวิช [he could be talking about his Branch President].  On Saturday, after we all cleaned the church as a branch, about 20+ people all went to the most delicious outside buffet.  There, the siters got very well acquainted with the members and we built stronger relationships that we couldn't have built any other way.  Then on Sunday at chruch, that same spirit glowed in the chapel and gave a light I haven't seen in a long time as a result of the Lord's Spirit bursting through ดอนเมือง [?] at last.  The blessings that came this weekend exploded like the popping of a champagne bottle - investagators that I've never met came Saturday to clean and eat together; the well-missed Elder and Sister Khanakham gave powerful
witnesses of Christ's love in their home ward before they head out to L.A.; our new sister missionaries brought hope from their testimonies; members who haven't been to church in months came to church, even our former branch president who has went bitterly inactive and was thinking about going back to Buddhism told ป. ทวิช [thinking this IS Prataan Tuwit, the current Branch President] he would never leave church again; two new investagators just showed up - one was the sister of อุ๋มอิ๋ม (our investagator [Oomiim] who is getting baptized in less than a fortnight) whom we taught after receiveing a phone call that she was there because she wanted to be a different person seeing something new in her sister that she wanted for herself and her two little children.  In short, yesterday was nothing less than a miracle. 

Thanks President for all your help, and this was how I saw the hand of the Lord this week."

Miracles happen in Thailand.  The Lord loves his children.  He loves you because he served you more than anyone else through his Atonement.  If you don't believe me for whatever reason, I'm not going to judge you, but I'll share with you that I am here in this country typing on this computer dirnking this bottle of เป๊ปซ๊ (Pepsi) because of ป. ทวิช.  Because of นิว.  Because of my fat, smelly Thai brother who calls himself อู๋ (Ooo).  Because of Brother Art.  Because I was supposed to help อุ๋มอิ๋ม (Oomiim) embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ so she could lead her sister to the Love of God that she has never before felt.  I am here because of them.  I wake up every morning because of these people.  I eat food with these people FOR these people.  I try my
hardest to go to bed on time because of these people. 

But I CAN because of you.  Your prayers make weeks like this happen and gave me the strength to crawl off the comfort of my little mattress that is laying on the floor and get to work.  It's also because of you I'm tearing myself off this computer because I have stuff to do for these people.  Again I thank you, praise you, and send my prayers with you.  The Spirit is not fake.  It's real, and invites all to come unto Christ and be perfected in him by studying His word, His love and His life.

2 min left before my computer logs me out.  I love you all!  Thanks again, until next time.

- Elder Gibbons

PS: So I'm going to follow up and thank you for joining me in memorizing the Book of Mormon scripture masteries with me before General Conference.
1 Nephi 3:7 was awesome - in both languages!  So I hope you'll "liken" the next one!  1 Ne 19:23.  Good luck!

Week 17

Dear family and friends,

Hello again from SE Asia! I really hope all is well with everyone in the states (or wherever else, but here you are - so Eden, and Uncle Dave: I hope you're doing wee to even though you both could probable be here too). [Mom's note: I used to edit his English a bit, but I've decided to leave it alone unless it doesn't make ANY sense.  You can tell that he is trying really hard with the Thai language, because his English has taken a big dive!!]  Talking with family again was such a blessing, and I am more inspired than ever to work! Seeing all their smiling faces reminded (but not in a distracting way) of all of you whom I used to be much geographically closer to.

Today, I just wanted to talk about a few things, namely my experience working with ward members, studying the scriptures, and about a challenge that I'm currently undertaking which I will invite all who are reading to join me in (to turn back or forever hold your peace...or...something like that).

For this week, I will share some of my president's letter:

"Dear President,

This week we've been working much more closely with the branch. Back home in Utah, I didn't really get to see how all of the intricate parts in action. From working so closely with the branch, it's really cool to see how the arms and legs of the Church actually work together (I know now why my mom was gone to so many meetings as RS president now, ha ha)! It feels like every missionary wants to know the "secret to missionary work" and I've found it. No, it's not "work" because that's a given. The true secret to success in the mission field is to see everything through the eyes of the branch; be the bishop's or branch president's best friend and ally. I'm so glad I learned that NOW working with the excellent ป. ทวิช. Although he is one of the most faithful members of the Church I've ever seen, he really needs us right now more than ever before. Thank you President for sending me here to save him and this branch, and for sending two more sisters - who will be welcomed here as little less that angels for sure."

Well, this week has been different, but much better once we feel like were much closer to the ward, namely our branch president, ประทาน ทวิช Prataan Tuwit). Not only is he one of the few people in Thailand who can sing fantastically, he his trying to hold up this branch that has a total of three available priesthood holders to help the 30+ sisters here. Working with him has been one of the greatest blessings in my life and I'll never forget what it means to lift where you stand. I feel your prayers every minute of every day, and I cannot begin to thank you for the blessing I've received at your hand. Now I ask that in your prayers at night before you pray for me, I would ask you if you could please pray for him [Prataan Tuwit] to have strength to complete each day in his calling and that our branch ดอนเมือง (Don Maung) will grow enough to receive those prepared to come into the fold of the Good Shepherd.  Thank you for your support; I know that he could use it too.

On a lighter note, we're getting sisters not only in our zone for the first time, but they will be serving in our branch! I actually need to go soon so I can clean their house so it's nice for them when they get here and open their area. We're all super excited for this transfers for that, and also that we have the largest group of Thai Thai missionaries - 11!  That means four more than my "nongs" group (or younger group in the MTC)!  In fact, one of the highlights of this week was when I was that I actually got to talk to Elder Sae-Daen, a new missionary from Chang Mai - were an Elder from my group is serving. As I was talking with him, I asked if he knew him and he said yes and then was taken aback because we were in the same MTC group - he said he was super impressed with my language and then gave me a compliment that I couldn't understand. So that pretty much sums my language up: I'm learning at light speeds, but still learning. It really depends on the day and how humble and teaching I am...

Which actually is another cool experience I had this week. The following is from my study journal:

"Our district leader, Elder Mondragon, said to me on our switch-off that we don't have time to judge ourselves here.  We only have time to make changes and get better.  And if we are humble, the enable power of the Atonement - or "Grace" as explained in this week's Liahona – can now be effective and we truly can be more than we are without him.  I think when Nephi cries 'Awake my soul!  No longer droop in sin!' he realizes too that there isn't time available to droop in what we've done wrong."  Now is the time to prepare to meet God by allowing our hearts to "Rejoice" in our Savior, who has given us the Atonement so that we CAN become better than we could ever have dreamed of ourselves.

So my last thing - the challenge!  Engage this thinking in your life by being perfected in him this week.  I'm doing that by memorizing one Book of Mormon scripture mastery a week - starting with 1 Ne 3:7.  I invite all to join me with memorizing all 25 scriptures before next General conference - and be perfected in Christ by treasuring up his word to be ready to listen to his word with me.

Love you all! and good luck!

E. Gibbons

Week 16 - HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO ME!!!

Right when we got his call!!  Matt & Shae had to leave, but the Worthington's were able to say hi before they had to leave.  What a great birthday gift for Collette!!  :)

Joseph's cousin, Kaiden, jumped into view of the camera - This is the moment Joseph saw him and he got so excited!!  He is so happy for Kaiden's mission call to Russia.  He was giving him some advice!!  Also, the first time Joseph saw our new puppy, "Kitty"!!  He loved her...just look at that face!  Who wouldn't?!  :)

You can't really see him in this shot, but it shows how we were all gathered around so he could see us on his screen.

There he is!!  :)  And there we all are in the little box in the bottom right corner. 

Showing us how he says some word in Thai!  :)  Throughout the whole conversation there were people using the computers behind him and they kept turning around to look at us.  We would wave to them every time .  :)

Joseph called us on Skype last night about 10 p.m.   He looked so happy and healthy and it was so great to see him as well as talk to him.  Since we talked to him for over two hours last night, we told him not to worry about writing a letter.  I took notes so I could share what he said with everyone on his blog.  So here are the highlights:

He LOVES Thailand!!  He loves the people and he says the language is very beautiful and poetic.  He is still working on studying it and learning it.  He says he takes taxi’s and trucks with no sides, just seats.  They never stop, you just jump on for a ride!  He says “it’s the luck of the draw” with the taxi drivers.  He loves them!!  One of his best memories was laughing with a taxi driver who couldn’t understand him, but would laugh at everything he said.  Another form of transportation are boats along the canal…those never stop either!  The King of Thailand is well-loved and respected by the people.  Every Tuesday people wear pink because it’s his favorite color!  Even some of the taxi’s and buses are pink.  He says he sees wealth and poverty.  There is a gigantic Super Mall in his area, but right next to it there are tin roof shacks built on stilts over the river and people doing their wash in the river.  Most people live in apartments with everything in the one big room.  He says people like to “squat” over there…like instead of standing or sitting, they squat…and chat on a cell phone, etc.  :)  He got to attend a Buddhist funeral too!

He lives in a 3 bedroom house – one room is for changing, one is for clothes and the other is for sleeping.  They have a plastic washing machine that they have to add water to wash their clothes.  There is another for rinsing, then they hang their clothes on a line to dry.  They sleep on mattresses on the floor.  It is really hot there right now, but he said they have A/C and he even gets cold at night.  They don’t eat at home much, although he did ask me to send some cereal.  Most of the time they eat on the streets.  There are people up and down the streets selling food.  A variety of food on sticks!  And I am extremely happy that Joseph and I now share the same favorite fruit…MANGOS!!!  (Someday I hope we go back with him, just so I can have a REAL mango!!)  He said their Mission President encouraged them to drink Coca Cola because it helps with the parasite problem.  :(  I gave him some stuff to take for parasites and he told me he is taking them most days!  He LOVES all the food there!  His favorite drink is Ovaltine!!  :) He told us names of stuff I could never even begin to spell or pronounce!!  He was so cute because he would interject a Thai word to describe something all night long.  He even forgot what an English word for something was!!  He says he is struggling with the language and learning slowly, yet for us, he was throwing words out there left and right!!  

He has been teaching some investigators.  He said that most of the people they actually teach have already been prepared.  They have already stopped drinking or smoking by the time the missionaries find them and start teaching them.  I guess that is something WE can do…not only pray for our missionaries, but pray for the people – that they can be prepared for the missionaries when they knock on their doors.   They sometimes teach some English, they mostly go by member referrals and they don’t use the Bible to teach, because the translation is not the King James version and it has a lot of translational errors.  (He said we should pray that the correct translation of the Bible will become available to the people of Thailand someday!!)  They can’t even call themselves “Christians”, because the Thai people only associate Christians with the Catholics (didn’t quite understand that part!), but they go by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (obviously, cuz it’s our name…but they don’t say they’re Christian because of being confused with the Catholics.  I hope that makes sense!!)  The Book of Mormon has just been translated for the third time in Thai, perfecting the translation even more.  The people are mostly Buddhists, so he says it is “super cool to see people pray for the first time.”  They challenged one investigator for baptism next month.  Her name is UUM IIM. (ŌŌM ĬM)  :)  So we can all pray for her!!

They live in the city of Don Muang, (North suburb in Bangkok).  The church in that city is a Branch and there were 35 people there last Sunday.  They have the largest church building in the country, but a very small congregation.  He is a Home Teacher and he gets to bless the Sacrament.  Their members were heavily flooded recently and it took a toll on their membership.  He said if we want to know what the members are like over there, to read Alma 18-27.  He said they are super strong and they are just like the Lamanites when they were converted…once their hearts were changed, they never turned back!  The Branch President is one of his best friends!  

Joseph has gained 5 lbs!  The first day when they got to the Mission Home, the Mission President and his wife had a dinner for the new missionaries.  He said they all sat on the floor and ate dinner.  He told us of a childhood memory [premonition?] he had of being on his mission somewhere in the world and he had to eat fish.  (He hates fish!)  When the Mission President served fish “that looked like it was run over by a car several times”, this childhood memory came flooding back to him, but he tried the fish anyway and after praying that the Lord would “sweeten the food like He did for Nephi,” he said he didn’t mind it!!  

He misses people who can sing, listening to classical music, Banff (of all places!), and even though he says he is not homesick he does think about us a lot…just different things that remind him of one of us, or something he knows we would like.  He thinks of Mike and his “Attitude Therapy” sayings on a daily basis.  He asked about Max and Bryce and to tell you both hello!  And that he loves each one of YOU – his family and friends.  And he will do a better job trying to share his mission experiences with all of us at home.  

It was hard to say goodbye, but we know he is where he should be and it’s very obvious that HE LOVES IT there!!!  Thank you for all of your prayers for Joseph, his investigators and missionary work in general!  It is a great work and we are ALL part of the Lord’s “work and glory.”

With lots of love and appreciation…til next week!

Elder Gibbons, as related by his mom’s notes!