here in Udon Thani. Do I even have to say it? This week flew by once
again, but a lot got done. Monday, we didn't do much. Just went to the
mall and ate at Sizzlers, then back to the house where I took a nap.
It was much needed. Tuesday, we went around and invited for a little
bit, then decided to go and visit Nong. We talked to her for a little
bit and tried to get a feel for her interest in learning. I think
she's interested, but scared at the same time. She pretty much refuses
to meet at her house because her husband and the rest of her family
are mega-Buddhist (like 95% of everyone here) and don't like the idea
of learning about Christianity. We tried to get her to make an
appointment to meet at the church, but she said she just didn't know
what her schedule would be like. We're going to keep trying to get
her, but it's a tough situation. After we met with her, we headed up
to Kumphawapi and invited for a little bit. We didn't have much
success unfortunately, but we had English class that night. We had 15
people! I know that's not a ton, but it's six more than we usually
have, and I think it's going to continue to grow. The bad thing about
it is that we can never get any members to come to the classes, so we
can't teach them. We always have people committed, but they always
back out or just don't show up. So frustrating. We'll keep at it
though. The members are great, they just need a little practice. That
night, we paid a truck 200 baht to take us to the hotel. We were
originally planning on taking a Tuk Tuk that we across while walking,
but we had a feeling that the guy was drunk, so we asked his friend
(who came along) what they had just been doing. He just gave me a big
grin and said "Drinking alcohol, duh." So that plan was out the
window. We had them drop us off at 7-11 and then asked the guy in the
songtaw (truck) to take us out there. It was the same price, and much
faster, so we're going to try to do the same thing every time. We
stayed in the nice hotel again. Yes Brooke, the mission pays for
travel expenses and stuff like that. We have a budget, so when I say
I'm house money leader, it means I have to keep track of where the
money goes, send in reimbursements, and pay bills. It's not too bad,
but it's annoying when the other Elders say "I'm not sure how much it
was, maybe around 100 baht, so just give me that." Yeah, not
happening. Anyway, Wednesday morning, we ate breakfast at the hotel,
went back to Udon and studied then went to lunch with the other Udon
Elders and the Nong Khai Elders who were down for District meeting. We
ate Isan food. That's what we usually get when we're together. (The
Isan is the big Eastern chunk of Thailand). It's really hot, but some
of my favorite. I just hope I can find some when I get home. We had
district meeting with the Zone Leaders at 3, and at 5 we had our
investigators come for their baptismal interviews. Nadin passed! Taam
and Nooy didn't. They both just had some stuff they needed to clear up
first. Taam can get interviewed again in two weeks, and Nooy got to
have another interview on Sunday with a member of the Mission
Presidency...and passed! Nadin and Nooy will both be baptized this
Sunday. Pray for Taam to get there! Thursday we did switch-offs. I was
with Elder Maples in my area. It was a solid day. I always learn a lot
when I work with him. We taught Tugta an RC lesson, then we switched
back to our original companions for a couple hours to do weekly
planning. At 4, we got a call from a girl asking for help with her
English homework, since she knew we taught it. We met her at the
church and helped her out a little bit. Then we started talking about
religion with her. Right then, another girl we didn't know pulled up
on a scooter. We figured she'd be asking about English, but she was
all religion. We gave them both Book of Mormons and ended up talking
to them both for almost an hour and a half because they just kept
asking questions. It was awesome! Their names are Nun (homework girl)
and Um (other girl). Later that night we taught Nooy and helped
prepare her for her new interview on Sunday. We both knew she'd be
fine. Friday was ALL inviting. Long day, and we only got two short
lessons out of it. Those are the tough days, but you gotta put in the
work to bring about miracles. That's one lesson that I'm learning out
here. Work brings about miracles. If we aren't willing to do our part,
we aren't going to get anything. The cool thing is, I think miracles
come a lot of the time even when they aren't directly related to the
"work" you put in. For example, I think the Nun and Um were a miracle,
and we didn't even do anything to meet them. But we'd been working
hard, and were being rewarded for our efforts. That's how the Lord
works. Work = Miracles. Luckily, I learned from the two hardest
workers on the planet. Thanks Mom and Dad! Saturday, we got to meet
with Um and actually teach her. We reintroduced the Book of Mormon and
Prayer, and I think she is totally willing to read and pray. She even
asked us if she could come to church the next day. She's golden! That
night we met with Nadin again and set up her baptism. Pres. Sxa was
there and "suggested" I sing a solo hymn at the baptism, so now Nadin
is all about it. Not happening. I'm not that brave ha. Sunday was
good. 23 people in Kumps, not sure how many in Udon. Um came though!
And I think she really liked it. We got to meet with a black guy that
we'd met a couple of times named Stephan. He's from the Bronx (go
Yankees) and isn't sure about his religious beliefs. Hopefully we can
show him the truth. That night, we headed to Nong Khai. Today, we went
to a really cool Wat (pictures attached), now we're just chillin in
Udon.
Love you all!
Well, gotta go. The church is true!
Love, Elder Sharp
No comments:
Post a Comment