June 24, 2012

Hey fam! Sorry this is going to be very late and very short. It's 5:40
right now, and we have to go work at 6. We went to a waterfall today
in NongKhai, about an hour and a half away by bus, then the same time
by truck, so it's been a long day. I can't send pics this week because
my camera died, but I'll get them sent next week for sure.
Tim and Tugta got baptized! I'm so happy for them. It was a great
service yesterday, and they both bore great testimonies afterwards.
They'll be solid members for sure. Seeing them come out of the water
and seeing how happy they were really made me realize the REAL reason
I came out here. To help others come unto Christ. It was an amazing
feeling and Spirit yesterday. I'm gonna miss teaching them. Tim was
one of my favorites, because she reminded of Kathy Jackman for some
reason, so it was like I was teaching one of my best friend's moms.
We haven't been able to see Dia and her family this week. Boom is back
to work on the oil rig, and Dia is way harder to meet with without him
there, especially since we need a male at all of our lessons, but
we'll keep working on her. All of our other investigators are doing
really well! We met another lady named Fon this week, and she will be
awesome! She's really interested about families, so we're teaching her
the Plan of Salvation next. I think she'll love it.
Last monday, I had to go to the hospital to get an ingrown toenail cut
out. Most painful injection I've ever had. You probably would have
gotten a kick out of the face I made when he stuck the needle in my
toe. But at least I didn't faint or lock up!
Yes, I played the piano again, and yes I messed up again, but at least
I'm still trying! And don't worry Laur, I found a simplified book at
our house the other day, so I'm going to practice out of it for sure.
The missionaries sang "I believe in Christ" on 5 mins. notice in
Sacrament again. Gosh, they gotta stop doing that to us, we do NOT
sing that good. But it was a cool experience again.
Ok...dog isn't dead (fortunately, unfortunately?). We saw it today.
It's just as perky as ever! I'm glad, but kinda bummed because it's
not as cool of a story now. Oh well.
Can you believe I've been here over a month already? This time here is
flying! Way faster than the MTC. This is going to be a fast two years.
That is a sweet chain, Car! Haha I can't believe you actually made it.
Very, very nice.
Anyway, gotta wrap up. Sounds like Brooke and Laur and the boys are
having an awesome time in Oregon. Say hi to everyone for me! Mom and
Dad, thanks so much for your e-mails, they always make my day so much
better. Sounds like you are completely changing the yard around.
CRAZY! Send some pics if you get the time. Car, thanks for the pics
and e-mails. I hope everything is going great. Love ya twin!
Well, sorry again. I will definitley be better next week.
By the way, we have a new mission address. If anybody has already sent
stuff, I'm sure it'll get to me, but here it is:
1645/6 New Petchburee Road
Maggasan, Ratchatewee
Bangkok 10400
I love you all!
Love, Elder Sharp

June 17, 2012

Dear Family and Friends,
Hey! How are you all? It sounds like you're doing pretty great from
the e-mails I got. I'm doing good here in Udon. Busy week (like
always). We did a lot of inviting this week, and hopefully have some
potential investigators. We're going to make some calls and try and
visit some people again within the next few days, so I'll let you know
how that goes next week. Our investigators that we already have are
doing great! We gave Nan and Nun to a couple of the sister
missionaries in our area so that they could teach them. They just
weren't really taking any of our lessons seriously, so we're gonna see
if working with girls will help them out a little bit. Luckily, they
don't have to wait to get baptized anymore! Apparently Nun is 18
already, and Nan's dad is already a member (we had no clue), so they
can get baptized as soon as they're ready. They just need to go to
church 4 times in a row. Tim and Tugta had their baptismal interviews
on Saturday, and they passed! I'm so stoked for them! They're both way
awesome, and they're getting baptized next Sunday after church. I'll
send pics for sure. Taam is coming along, came to church yesterday. I
don't think he'll have any problems, and should be ready to go by July
8th. A new lady, Sis. Tik, finally came to church yesterday. The
Elders that were in this area before us had taught her a bunch
already, pretty much everything. But she would never let us go see
her. But she came yesterday, and me, E. Raven, the Branch Pres., and
Sis. Tim (they're really good friends) talked to her about baptism,
and she said she's ready too. It was a really spiritual meeting. If
she goes to church every week, she'll be ready to be baptized with
Taam! On Saturday, we went to Kumphawapi again. It's a good little
town. We went a visited a couple of investigators that nobody had
contacted for 3 or 4 years and just followed up with them. We might be
going down to Kumphawapi a little more often, maybe to teach English,
so we'll try to follow up with them sometime earlier this week, or on
Saturday. At church I played the piano again. I didn't mess up as bad!
Ha but I'm running out of easy hymns to play fast, so I gotta start
practicing a little more. I really want to start learning how to play
the guitar too, so I'll probably do some of that in my spare time too.
In the Udon Branch, we had 8 priesthood holders there not including
the missionaries! That's the record high since I've been here. I hope
they all keep coming, and that we can get some of the less-actives
back. After church, me, E. Raven, the Branch Pres., the Elder's Quorum
Pres., Elder Hart, and the Ward Mission Leader all went and visited a
less-active that used to be a branch pres. He said he'd come back to
church in two weeks, so pray for him! We couldn't visit Nooy this
week, but we went and saw this lady named Dia and her husband, Boom,
and their 3 kids. They'll be awesome! The dad is especially into the
gospel. The only problem is that he works on an oil rig, and has to
leave for a month at a time, and then comes back for a month. So
that'll be tough to deal with when teaching. But when he comes back,
we'll try and have him go to church the four sundays in the month, and
get baptized the last sunday. Pray for that too!
Ok, so about the monkey pics. I was only SEMI-sketched out. The one
that I looked really freaked, where I have the big bunch of
bananas...I have a valid reason. I wasn't giving them to him, I was
taking them from him, and I didn't want to get attacked haha. Trust
me, I'm a brave boy. Yes, the monkeys are just loose in the park. It's
funny to watch when they get in fights with the stray dogs. We don't
see many other animals, just a bunch of lizards and bugs. But I'll be
able to play with elephants and stuff once I go to different areas for
sure. Ok, now for the story of the week. There is (was) a dog at one
of our neighbor's house. It was kind of an annoying dog. So one day as
we were leaving (Wednesday), E. Raven rides ahead as I'm closing the
gate. He sees the dog and starts chasing it on his bike. They go
around the corner, and I start following. All of a sudden, the dog
comings flying back around the corner, and the timing couldn't have
been better (or worse, whatever you prefer). The dog and my bike slam
into each other, I run it over, and luckily (miraculously) I don't
crash or fall off. I look back and the dog is laying on its side, all
four legs sticking straight out, and its head was craned at some weird
angle, and it was just making these weird, repetitive, yelping noises.
It was literally having a seizure or something! E. Raven was laughing
his head off but just kept going, so I followed. We could still hear
it, then it got quiet all of a sudden. We haven't seen it since. I
really think I killed it. Whoops. Good story though :)
So ya'll are going to Oregon? Sweet! Tell Grandma and everyone else
hello for me! (Then over-night me some Wild River fries). I'll be sure
and send you some pics of my apartment and stuff, so you know what
it's like over here. The food looks good, huh? Yeah mom, I think
you'll be able to last (I hope). There are dishes that aren't spicy
and still taste really good, or yes, there is always McDonalds. And
Swensen's ice cream, that place is the bomb! Sounds like Father's Day
was a success! I wish I could be there visiting with everyone, but two
years is a pretty short time :) I REALLY wish I could've gone to Asian
Star (but I guess I get enough Asian food as it is huh?). I've almost
been out 4 months! That's 1/6 of my mission! It's so crazy how time
flies. And Joy Christensen died? What? Gosh it's weird not being in
the loop of things back home (although a few of you would say I wasn't
even when I did live at home ;) ) Language is progressing, but very
slowly. I just wish I could understand people! It's getting better
though. I think I'll be alright. I contribute in lessons more and
more, so that's all I can ask for. People always say it's crazy how
good we can speak when we've only been here this long. Gift of Tongues
is real! The Lord really does help us everyday. It also sounds like
the yard is looking like the Celestial Kingdom once again. I wish I
could see it! Send me some pics please (of everything, not just the
yard)!
Mom - I'm glad you finally got to the doctors and got it taken care
of. The next appt. with Francom does not sound fun though. It sounds
like the sheds are going to be a success! Good to clear up some space
in the shop. And thank you for the recipe! We will definitely put it
to good use (or more like the sisters will, then they'll bring us some
:) ) I miss American breakfasts. Yes, we still eat out for every meal
except on sundays, where we just eat MaMa (Ramen). You'll survive,
there's Farang (white person) food here if needed :) Do you think I
should take the Amoxicillin? If you think so, go ahead and send it.
We'll never take the Doxy. We have two washers at our house
(thankfully), but I don't think anybody in Thailand has a dryer, so we
just hang dry. The heat deinitely takes care of it. Heat and humidity
are killers, but we survive by blasting all of our AC's. I've gotten
used to it. Thanks for the e-mail! Love ya Momma :)
Dad - HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! Hope you had a great day, because you
deserve it. Sounds like it was a good time having everbody over, and
it sounds like you got some sweet gifts (and it sounds like I picked
out just the right Birthday card)! I hope you get into golf, so that I
can when I get back, and we can go hit it up all the time. That would
be sweet! How are the Yanks doing? As long as they're ahead of the
Sox, I'm ok. Heard anything about the Utes? Love ya Dad!
Laur - I got your e-mail as I was typing, phew! Close call. It sounds
like your pre-school was an epic success! You gotta get me some pics!
And I'm glad that you got back into Institute! I loved institute, and
I love my mission because it's like being in a 24/7 institute class
where I'm the student AND the teacher. I love ya Laur!
Brooke - You got the house! That's so legit! Will you be in Britt and
Jordan's ward, or in the 8th ward? Bummer that D didn't make the State
Am, but I guarantee he makes it sometime with how hard he works. And
the story about Linc is so tight! I love that little guy. Give him a
big hug and kiss for me, and tell him I'll see him when I get home.
Love ya Brooke!
Rest of the Fam - Ava and Ryan, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! You're both getting so
big! Ry, you'll be able to get baptized soon dude! That's so awesome!
That's my favorite part about being a missionary, helping people get
baptized.
Friends - Rope, that's sweet that you had your farewell! I heard it
went great. Riley, Austin, and Roper, good luck in the MTC! You'll
love your missions. Prest and L-Bell, keep preparing. You too, Lance.
Remember the last thing I told you before I left.
Well times running out, it was great to hear from all of you! I hope
to hear from you again soon, and I love you all!
Love, Elder Sharp

June 10, 2012

Hello! Family and Friends!
How are you all? I am doing so great! Man, did this week go by as fast
for all of you as it did for me? It cruised! So much is going on here,
it's awesome. It sounds like you all had a good week. I'm so glad that
Lee's funeral was good. He definitely deserved it. I didn't even know
him super well, but just from the times that I talked to him when he
would come into the Shop, or at family gatherings, or helping me to go
horse-back riding, or whatever, he was an awesome guy. He definitely
deserved the best. My condolences go out to his family and whoever was
affected. It really is so comforting to know that even though he's
gone right now, it's only for a moment, and then he'll be able to be
with his family for eternity. Eternal Life is the greatest gift that
God can give us, and I'm so glad that I have the opportunity to share
that with these people. I really am starting to love all of the people
of Thailand, and I sincerely want them to have that knowledge so that
they can be happy forever. I'm glad that I have that knowledge.
It sounds like the yard is coming along great! (...but trust me Laur,
everything you said about it was right haha). And the preschool! Laur,
you said you attached some pics...are you sure? I don't think I got
any of them. I wanna see it! Not gonna lie, I am so jealous about not
being able to be at the barbecue yesterday (tonight? Whenever it was
haha). That's one of the things I really miss. We kinda had a barbecue
of our own at a member's in Gumphawaphi on Saturday. You put this pan
that looks like a giant orange juicer  over a pot that has coals in
it, and pour broth around the outside and cook vegetables in the
broth, then cook meat on the part that bulges in the middle. It was so
good! (but liver is kinda sketchy, squid too). Any fun plans for this
next week? When's the family reunion? Keep me updated!
Like I said, a ton happened this week. A lot of lessons and inviting
(we call "tracting" inviting. No word for tracting in Thai). Our
investigators are doing good, but there was some disappointments. We
visited Nooy and her family again on Wednesday. We couldn't stay long
because there wasn't another male there, even though she told us her
husband was coming. Oh well. They're doing good. We just talked about
Book of Mormon, and gave them a Restoration pamphlet. So how her kids
communicate with her...they can understand Thai pretty well and speak
a little too I guess. And she knows a little English, but not enough
to really communicate. But her kids are way smart! The oldest is 12,
speaks English fluently, understands and speaks a little Thai, and I
guess knows some Swiss too. Crazy! And he asks deep questions about
God and stuff, like "How did God appear? Did he have a dad, or did He
just happen?" Ah! Awesome questions, but tough to answer. I hope we
can sit down and teach them for real soon. It's too bad, because they
leave every weekend so they can't come to church, but Nooy said they
might leave less often. Pray for them! Tugta is great! We've taught
her all the lessons and she came to church again, so she looks ready
to be baptized on the 24th. Same for Tim. She is GOLDEN. Seriously,
it's like she's a member already. Taam missed church yesterday because
he had to help his dad or somehting, so that was a major bummer. He
has to wait 4 weeks now, but I 99% sure he'll make it. We taught Tim's
OTHER daughter on Friday. Ha I thought it was the same one because
they look so alike, but I guess not. It was a great lesson and the
spirit was so strong, and Tim and Taam bore their testimonies about
Heavenly Father and Christ and the Book of Mormon, and I really think
it touched her. Hopefully she gets interested. Nan and Nun are tough.
They didn't come to church yesterday, and they live far away, so it's
tough to find a good time to go see them, but we'll keep working on
them. Not sure if they can get baptized before they're 18, but we'll
keep working on them. Other than that, we don't have any major
investigators, but a few that we've taught once or twice. Brees is
tough to get a hold of, and a new girl named Nadin is too. But I think
she'll be really good if we can teach her regularly. We've also had a
few lessons off the invite, so hopefully we can get return
appointments. On Wednesday we went to Khon Kaen for specialty training
(two hours away). Pres. Smith was there and he interviewed all the
greenies. It was really good, but sad because it was the last time
we'll ever see him. Saturday, we went to Gumphawaphi and stayed over
again (Dad, I think the beds are even worse than the Disneyland trip
haha). We had a couple lessons off the invite and placed a lot of
pass-along cards. It's just a small town, and I think it's about to
explode! It's so ready for full-time missionaries again, but I'm glad
we get the opportunity to serve there often. At the Gump Branch on
Sunday, I played the piano. "How firm a foundation", "Nearer my God to
thee", and "Now Let us Rejoice." Of course I messed up bad on the
first song (I'm such a headcase), but the other two went smooth. I'm
glad I have the chance to share my talents, and I'll keep practicing.
In the Udon branch, there were only four male members there...me, E.
Raven, the Branch President, and Bro. Jack (ward mission leader). So
we had to do all of the Sacrament stuff. It's so frustrating that no
guys will come! Something we definitely need to work on, but at least
we have like 40-50 women there haha. The Branch Pres. asked me and E.
Raven to sing in a trio with him during Sacrament meeting 5 mins.
before it started. We sang "Come thou Fount" (yes, I chose the song :)
) in Thai, and it was ROUGH! But it was a cool experience, and I think
it brought the Spirit. After church, the members always eat together,
so I tried some sticky rice and this meat that I thought was beef.
Nope. It was dog. Haha I'm just glad I didn't know what it was at the
time, but now I can say I ate it! I love the food here. I've made a
goal to eat at least one spicy meal a day, and I'm learning to
tolerate it a lot better. I can't wait to come back here with some of
you so you can try it! Thai food really is the best. I love rice! Yeah
Dad, you know what I mean. I'll probably be cooking up some eggs and
rice with you when I come home. The language is coming along pretty
well. I try to speak as much as I can, but it's intimidating because I
don't want to sound stupid, but I guess that's the only way I can
learn. Heavenly Father is definitely helping me out, and I'm
understanding a lot better, so I can contribute in lessons better.
Reading the Book of Mormon in Thai also helps a lot. That's one tip I
give to all potential missionaries. If you get called somewhere with a
foreign language, read the Book of Mormon in that language. That's
when the miracles start to happen. So today for P-Day, we went back to
Gumphawaphi and played with the monkeys! It was sweet. We gave them
bananas, and one of them stole my drink when I wasn't looking! I was
ticked because it was still pretty much all the way full, but then it
exploded all over the monkey when he opened it, so it was pretty
funny. I'll attach some pics.
Mom - I'm glad that your Temple brunch turned out great! It sounds
like you worked really hard for it, so you definietly deserved it. And
of course you built a water table. You can honestly do anything you
want! It's so awesome, I have the coolest mom. And I'm so glad you had
that meeting about member missionary work. Do it! It's so cool when we
take members to our lessons, it really helps the investigator relate
and feel more comfortable with our message. I can't wait to come home
and have the chance to go out with the missionaries to lessons (at
least I hope I get to do that). I know you'll get into it, that's just
the kind of awesome church member and Relief Society pres you are!
Question...could you give me the recipe for maple syrup? Me and the
Elders and Sisters in Udon really want to make some because it would
be a lot cheaper than buying it, and you make the best syrup! Thanks!
I love ya momma :)
Dad - I'm so glad that Lee's funeral was good. He deserved it. And the
scripture was so great! It's such a comfort to know that those who
aren't here anymore are living in peace and happiness. And I'm so glad
you got your card! I was afraid it wouldn't get there in time, but it
sounds like it got there way earlier. Everything that I wrote in it
didn't even describe a fraction of what is actually deserved. You
really are the best example as a father, husband, grandfather, friend,
and priesthood holder that I could have. I love you Dad. I hope you
have a great Birthday and Father's Day! You deserve it! Thanks for the
sports updates. We hear nothing out here. So glad the Yanks are
stepping it up! Are Tex and A-Rod doing better? And the Heat really
had to take it to 7 with the Celtics? Gosh, I'll bet they choke
against the Thunder. What about the Utes? Any news? Keep me posted!
Love you Dad!
Laur - It sounds like your preschool is awesome! Try sending the pics
again, I really wanna see. That's so cool that you're already working
with teachers and getting ready for the school year. When do you go
back up there? And yes, keep saving your money! That would be awesome
if you could come back here! I love Thailand! Love ya Laur!
Car - Thanks for the e-mail twin! Great to hear from you every week. I
can't wait to get the pics and see what's going on at home. Love ya
sis!
Brooke - Thanks for the e-mail! I'm sooo glad that Linc's thing wasn't
anything serious! He's such an awesome dude. And I'm glad that the
kids loved Disneyland, I'll bet they were super surprised. You'll have
to send me some pics! I hope that your gluten thing isn't too bad! Let
me know what happens with that! Bummer that the house didn't work out,
but I hope you can find one soon! That'll be so weird to come home and
have you living somewhere else, but cool! Keep the updates coming.
Love ya Brooke!
Rest of the Family - Congratulations Becca on the engagement! That's
so awesome! And I hope to hear from the rest of you soon and find out
what's going on! I love you all!
Friends - Congrats Austin and Hogan on the farewells! You two will be
great! I hope to hear from some of you soon, just send me a letter or
shoot me an e-mail through Carli or someone else in my fam!
Well, I hope you're doing great! I hope to hear from all of ya soon,
and I'll keep you updated!
Love, Elder Sharp
P.S. Being a missionary really is the greatest thing a 19-year-old kid
could do for himself, and for millions of people that you could
affect.
P.S.S. Could you please forward this e-mail on to
kwoffinden@yahoo.com, jeffr57@msn.com, and cneilso@gmail.com, they are
my MTC branch presideny. Thanks!
P.S.S.S. The food pics are Somtam and Fried Chicken, and Phad Mama Muu
(fried Ramen noodles with pork).

June 3, 2012

Elder Sharp in his penguin jammies!

Elder Sharp's MTC teachers

Elder Sharp, a Thai member, and Elder Raven (E. Sharp's trainer)

Hey family and friends! What's up? I'm doing well hear in good 'ole
Udon. It's been a crazy week, long and busy, but very productive. It's
still crazy to me that I'm actually serving a mission...in Thailand.
But it's so awesome! I love sharing the Gospel with all of the people
here. On Monday we didn't really do much, just napped and hung out.
Then went out and invited. We didn't have much success at first, then
we found a guy that let us teach him how to pray. We tried to get a
hold of him this week, but he won't answer his phone. I hate when
stuff like that happens. People need to realize how much the Gospel
will help them! Tuesday night, we teach English Class at the church.
Whenever we go inviting or are just out and about, we hand out
pass-along cards as well as English class cards. It's every Tuesday
for free, and it is awesome. I helped teach the Advanced class,
because most people in there can speak English pretty well, and I
still can't really understand Thai haha. It's way fun. We did some
grammar and vocab, and then played the Telephone game. That was
hilarious! The phrase totally got mixed up. The best part about
English class is the referrals we get. We always introduce the Gospel
at the end, and then people can ask us for a return appointment if
they're interested. We get a lot of new investigators that way. Ok,
I'm not going to tell you how each day went hour by hour, because SO
much happened, so I'll just tell you about my investigators and stuff.
Tim and Taam are doing great! They are Golden. We taught them about
Repentance and the Word of Wisdom a few days ago. They both had
problems before, but they both stopped instantly, and I don't think
it'll hinder them. They just have so much Faith, it's like they're
already members. They come to church each week and have a baptism date
set for the 23rd. It's like they're already members. We got to teach
Tim's daughter last night. She lives in Bangkok and is going back next
week, but we gave her a Book of Mormon and taught her to pray, so
hopefully she tries it out and believes like her brother and mom. Sis.
Tugta is great too! She came to church for her first time yesterday,
because she always had work, but if she comes every week, she'll be
baptized on the 24th! Nan and Nun came to church, but both left after
Sacrament. They can't get baptized for a long time because they're
both minors, but we just gotta try to keep them totally active. I
think they can do it. On Wednesday (I think) we taught a lady named
Nooy and her four kids. She only speaks Thai, but her kids only speak
English. Crazy! So E. Raven taught her in Thai, and then I repeated
everything to her kids. It was like a breath of fresh air being able
to speak in English. The oldest kid is about 12 and loves to read, so
we gave him a Book of Mormon too, and he said he'd read and pray. I
think they could all be golden, and it would be awesome if we could
get them and their dad, so we'd have the whole family. That's the
whole point of this Gospel, making Eternal Families! We also taught a
guy named Brees, and he seems pretty interested, so we'll definitely
get a return appointment. Other than that it's just been a lot of
inviting, with not much success. We've only really had one other
lesson with two girls we invited in to. They didn't seem to be taking
it too seriously when we taught them at the church, but then one asked
"So how can we have happiness if we've done wrong in our lives?" Well,
let me tell ya! We told her we could teach her how to do that exact
thing, so we'll probably be able to teach again. On Saturday, we went
to Sizzler's at the big mall here to begin our fast. We went with the
two other elders, the District President, President Sxa (he is
awesome! Only like 27 and already a District pres.), and a couple of
members. The food didn't turn out that great but it was a good time.
Then me and E. Raven headed to Gumpawapi to stay the night and go to
church in the morning. We visited with a few members, taught a lesson
to the sister and bro-in-law of a member, then headed to our hotel,
the "Gumpawapi Resort." I was nervous for how that was gonna be, but
it was actually way nice and clean. The only bad part was the bed was
like a rock. In the morning we went to church. One of the members
asked me to play the piano. Obviously I can't play hymns yet, but I've
actually been practicing a lot here and almost have a few down! I'm
going to try to play next week. Who would've thought that I would get
interested in the piano again? I'll bet Cindy would be proud! E. Raven
also has a guitar, so maybe I'll try that that out too. After the
Gumpawapi Branch we headed back to Udon, ate some lunch with the
members from the branch before, then headed to our meetings.
Unfortunately, I couldn't bear my testimony because there was always a
member up, but I bear my testimony everyday, so I think that counts
Car ;) I'll try next week. At 5, we had a fireside teaching the
members how to get referrals, so hopefully that helps. Then we taught
Tim, Taam, and Tim's daughter. So that was my week! Busy and tiring,
but I love it. So now to answer some questions...yes, Laur, pretty
much every name is like that. A lot of them are really similar, but
just a little different, so it gets confusing. They're actually just
nicknames their parents give them most of the time, because they're
real names are too long. E. Raven is great. He teaches me a lot of
stuff, and reminds of Derek, so you know it's a good time haha. The
members come and teach with us all the time, those are definitely the
best lessons. It's so nice to have a Khon Thai (thai person) there to
share their testimony and help us teach stuff and make it more clear
for the investigator, especially when the member is a new convert,
because it shows that anyone can change, ya know? Gives them someone
to relate to. Ok, so the food...I love it now. It was tough at first,
but now it's great! I mostly avoid way spicy stuff (you know me) but
there's plenty to eat that's not too spicy or not spicy at all. I'm
actually starting to crave rice lately haha. Speaking of rice, at the
Dairy Queen here, they have a Sticky rice and Mango ice cream shake.
It's SO good! They put real, warm rice in it and it is delicious. I
can't wait to come back here with you and have you try everything! I'm
getting adjusted here, getting into the routine. Sorry, I forgot to
tell you last week, but we ride bikes everywhere. I got mine the
second day. It was ROUGH riding it. I hadn't ridden a bike in years,
but I'm good with it now. If we don't take bikes, we take Tuk Tuk's.
They're like little motorcycle carriage things that guys drive around,
pretty nice. Udon's taxi's. I love Thailand!
So it sounds like you all had a crazy busy week too! Memorial Day
sounds like it was a hit. I wish I could've been there. So does
Disneyland! Haha I really wish I could've seen Carter's eyes, that
sounds hilarious. I'm really jealous of the Yanks game, bummer that
you barely missed all of the good action.
Mom - I'm gonna survive! I'm doing really good here, I don't think
I'll lose much weight. That sacrament meeting sounds so awesome! I
hope they do that sometime when I get home. Oh and could you send me
the Bishop's address so I can right the ward? Thanks! Love ya Momma :)
Dad - Ah I wish I could've been at those games with you! We definitely
have some good memories in LA. And I'm sorry to hear about Lee. That's
so sad. He was such a great guy, and I'll miss him too. I'm sorry Dad.
The good thing is that you'll be able to see and talk to him again.
That's the best thing about this Gospel. Families can be together
forever. I'm so glad I get to share that with these people. I love you
Dad!
Laur - Thanks for the e-mail and especially for your talk. That really
helps to hear that. It's something good to think about when I get
down, to always remember that God loves us and has a plan for us.
Thank you. I love you!
Car - Thanks for the e-mail too! I definitely missed not being in Cali
with my twin, but we'll definitely have more good times when I get
back. Still going to mission prep? And don't worry, I bear my
testimony everyday ;) Love ya twin!
Brooke - I hope Linc is ok! Keep me updated on everything!
Rest of my Fam - I love you and miss you all! Hope to hear from you soon!
Friends - Congrats to Karlissa and everyone else who just graduated!
And Prest...BRAZIL!!! That's so sweet! Congrats brother! I can't wait
for you to have the chance to share the gospel. It's the best thing in
the world. To the rest of my friends...The Church is true!
Well I love you all! I hope you're all doing alright, and hope to hear
from you soon!
Love, Elder Sharp
P.S. I attached some pics, but I'm going to send my SD card home soon.