pretty good here in Buriram (a lot better than I've been doing the
last few days at least). It's been kind of a rough past week, but as
always, there we had some bright spots too. Tuesday, we did switch
offs with the zone leaders. They had come late Monday night, so it was
cool getting to know them. Their names are Elder Thrap and Elder
Siperly. The next day, I was with Elder Thrap. Since we're
white-washing, we didn't really know any of our investigators yet and
hadn't set up any appointments, so we had to spend the entire day
inviting (it was really only like 4 hours because we had English class
that night, but that is still a long time to go inviting at one time).
It wasn't too successful, until we got into this one house. It was a
20 year old kid and his mom. They were both very open and very
accepting of the Book of Mormon, and the mom committed to read.
But...the kid moved backed to Bangkok and the mom moved back to
England this week (she's married to an Englishman). DANG! I was so
stoked to teach them. But at least we planted some seeds for the next
missionaries. Like I said, we had our first english class in Buriram
that night. It was fon tok yut (raining really hard), so only 5 of the
really dedicated adults showed up at 6:30. We were just about to start
when a truck pulls up in front of the church and literally 20-25 kids
piled out of the back. Apparently they had come from about an hour
away to learn, so that was really cool. We told them that next time
they had to bring their parents with them if they wanted to learn
(that really is a rule because they were all under 13), so hopefully
they think it's important enough to get it done. They were all really
well behaved during the class as well. Successful first English Class
in Buriram. The ZL's stayed that night too, and Wednesday we all
headed to Surin for District meeting (we have to go there because the
greenie, E. Hunsaker, has to get his 4 hours of studies done). I had
had a sore throat the night before, and I started to feel really
congested. By the time District meeting was over, it was hitting me
hard. Luckily I had some medication that I had gotten in the MTC when
I was sick, so that helped me get through the week. When we got back
to Buriram, we went and visited a lady named Ooy (she is already an
investigator). We had met her at English on tuesday, and she is
awesome. We didn't have a male there, so we could only visit, but we
gave her a date to be baptized on the 22nd of September. Kind of
shocked that the old Elders hadn't given her a date yet. Thursday, I
was still feeling really crummy, so we called Sis. Senior and she told
me to just stay home and rest. I felt so bummed out by not being able
to work! Friday I was feeling a bit better so we went out. We met a
guy named Cartoon (yes, that is his name) and his friend, Fan. They
were both pretty open. Fan is Buddhist, so it might be a little
tougher to get to her, but I think Cartoon is a really good potential.
Then we met with Ooy again. We talked about faith and prayer, and
focused on the love that Heavenly Father has for us. It was good
lesson. I was starting to feel pretty sick again though, and Elder
Segura said my eyes were really dilated, so we went home and rested
for a bit. That night, we went with the Branch President and visited
another investigator named Mii. We just introduced ourselves and got a
feel for her testimony. She said she doesn't have much faith, but she
definitely has more than she thinks she does. She'll be baptized
eventually, for sure. Saturday, it hit me hard again in the morning.
We called Sis. Senior again because she said she wanted updates. She
told me to either see the doctor if I thought it would help, or just
stay home for the day. I chose the latter. Once again, bummer that I
couldn't do anything. But I got some good rest and some good studying
done. Sunday was alright. It's always good to be able to partake of
the Sacrament. The Sacrament has so much more meaning to me ever since
I've been on a mission. I "got" to play the piano again (I really need
to learn some more hymns ha, but they're coming along. Yes mom, thanks
for making me take lessons at least for a little bit. I'm so glad I
have some piano experience). It was frustrating though, because
Sacrament meeting didn't start until about 9:15, because that's when
everyone showed up. Hopefully we can help this branch out. In the
words of E. Segura "it's kind of like we're baby-sitting them." After
church, we went back to the house to grab a bite to eat, then went
with a lady named Sis. Rose. She's from the Philippines, speaks great
English (because she teaches it here), and is a returned missionary as
well. She took us around and we visited some LA's. It's so interesting
to hear the stories of why they stop coming to church. It's like that
bit you shared with me, Mom. People get attached to callings or people
or whatever. Then once they're released or the people move away or
offend them, they go inactive. I'm sure it's the same in many parts of
the world. That's why it's important to get CONVERTED TO THE GOSPEL.
Callings are important, but it's still only a temporal calling. We all
really need to put our focus on the Eternal. That's what matters in
the end. Today, I'm feeling a lot better. I'm ready to get out there
and get Buriram going! We have a lot of potentials and I think it's
going to be great. Me and Elder Segura are doing awesome. We get along
and work really well together. We both have kind of the same sense of
humor, so it's a good time. But we also both know when it's time to be
serious. It's nice only having 2 Elders in the area. Helps us focus on
the work more. I'll send pics of us and our house next week.
Fam - Hope everyone is doing well. Love you!
Friends - Hope to hear from some of you soon. Love you all too!
Well gotta go! I love you all!
Love, Elder Sharp
No comments:
Post a Comment