July 8, 2013

Yeah, I don't have a new comp or area. Hey Family, how's it going? Well, I'm still in Khon Kaen with Elder Angkham, and happy about it. We were not expecting to stay together. But we are, and we're going to keep things rolling. Once again, the week flew. Had some great lessons with investigators, and also had some rough times inviting. We just did not have any great success at finding new investigators on our own this week. Not going to lie, I'm glad the two weeks of required inviting are over, but it was a good experience, being able to testify of Christ, and I'm sure we'll be blessed for being obedient. Our investigators are doing good, like I said. Some not as good as I had hoped, but solid all around. The strongest one right now is Gung (thanks to all of your prayers, especially if Lando prays for him everyday). He is scheduled to be baptized this Saturday! Keep the prayers coming, please! We taught him a few times this past week, focusing on the priesthood, and he came to church yesterday, so he should be good to go for his interview on Thursday. Boo was confirmed yesterday, which is awesome. I wish they would get married ha. It would make staying active so much easier for them. Ari is the one who isn't doing as good as I had hoped. He's smoked a couple of times the past week. So sad, because he had been off for so long. But I still have a ton of faith that he can quit. We went to teach him one night, and we got there just before he got home from work. His wife told us that he had smoked 3 cigarettes that day, so we wanted to see if he would say anything about it. We ate dinner with them first, and were planning on asking about his smoking afterwards. Just before we started eating though, he came out with it. He said he felt so horrible for doing it, and really wanted to fix it. I was so happy. He didn't try to lie or cover it up or anything, and sincerely wants to change. Unfortunately, he smoked another on Saturday, and wasn't able to come to church yesterday. We'll probably have to change his date to the 3rd of August. We got another investigator this week, Sis. Bay. She is the friend of one of the members, Sis. Briaw. She's learned everything already with past missionaries, but was never baptized. I can tell that we'll have to re-teach everything, but if she keeps the commitments we extend, she should be ready to go on the 3rd as well. We weren't able to meet with Pinky again, hopefully this week. 

The District is a little different. Elder Quinn moved, and Elder Ellsworth got a new greenie, Elder Proctor. I swear I know him. He looks very familiar, and says he moved from WJ to Herriman when he was 8. Kalasin got a sister companionship, so now they are their own District. I'm just over the Khon Kaen Elders now. Kinda happy about it, makes it a little less stressful. 

On the 4th of July, me and Elder Angkham didn't get to go dwon to Bangkok, so the branch threw a little Independence day celebration. Hot dogs and fireworks and all. Plus, they made me sing the National Anthem by myself. That is a HARD song to sing! Way fun though. 

Sounds like your week was great. I'm sure the reunion was a blast, make sure and send some pics. 

Well, gotta go. The Church is True!

Love, Elder Sharp

July 1, 2013

Dear Family and Friends, can you believe how fast this time has been flying? I blink and it's already Monday again. Last week was super busy, and a ton of really good things happened. Tuesday night, most of the members went to the funeral of Sis. Ew's dad up in Udon. They said it was a good service and that Sis. Ew is doing a lot better. She stayed up there this week and apparently took a bunch of her family (who aren't members) to church in Kumphawapi, so hopefully that turns out some good fruit. At English class that same night, we had about 20 people in attendance, and 15 were new students. Finally! Our class is growing. Pres. Senior and the AP's just created a new website for the English program here, www.freeenglishclass.org, and they think that it will really help get the word out there. It looks awesome. Bummer thing was, nobody was really interested in the Gospel, but they will be eventually. Wednesday, I had to go to Maha Sarakham again to interview Bro. Nuker (Kalasin Elders' investigator) again. He passed my interview and Elder Khanakham's easily, so he was baptized this last Saturday! On Friday, I had to go to Kalasin again to interview 3 more people, who all passed. Kalasin had four baptisms this weekend, so we were stoked. 

Last Monday, Pres. Senior sent out his president's letter, and in it challenged (more like commanded) all of the missionaries to spend two consecutive hours everyday for the next two weeks inviting and testifying of Christ. Honestly, before he sent the e-mail, it was easy to find time for an activity like that. But once the challenge was out there, we were all of a sudden so busy to the point where we had to cancel or move appointments in order to do it. It's going to turn out to be a blessing though. We've found some great potential investigators that we will follow up with today. 

So as for our investigators, they are doing fantastic. We weren't able to meet with Pinky this past week, but she said she has been praying everyday, so I'm happy. She'll probably be coming to English tomorrow. Bro. Ari is great as always. He has been completely off of smoking for quite some time now and is right on track for his date on the 20th. He's really applying the Atonement and putting a lot of trust in God to help him quit. Thank you for all of your prayers! Sis. Boo...well...she was baptized! We met with her on Wednesday with Elder and Sis. Khanakham. We finished teaching the missionary lessons and then focused on baptism. She said that she didn't want to do it on Saturday because she had a test that morning and thought her excitedness would mess up her ability to do well, so I tried to convince her to do it Sunday. She just kept doing the "nervous" laugh and saying she would feel better if it would be next week, so that's what we finally decided. We set an appointment for her to be interviewed on Thursday of this week, but as we were saying the closing prayer, I realized we would probably be in Bangkok for moves meeting. I brought it up, and Elder Khanakham totally roped her in and talked her into moving the baptism to Sunday (yesterday). So she was interviewed the next day, and baptized Sunday. It was a great service, and I know I've said this about other converts, but she seriously bore the best testimony I've heard from a convert. Even all of the members were impressed. One of the best parts about the baptism was that Gung was there! And even better than that, he apparently doesn't want to work in Rayong, and will be staying in Khon Kaen for good! We met with him after the service, taught tithing and fasting (the last lessons we needed to teach), and talked to him about baptism. He's ready to go, but wants to "study" more first, so we set the date of the 20th, but I'll be working on him. 

This is transfers week! This is easily the fastest transfer so far on my mission. I love this area, and really hope I don't leave. The ZL's said we are supposed to know who is moving today, but still no word. I personally think that I'm staying and Elder Angkham is moving, but we'll see. 

Sounds like the reunion is going to be a blast. Tell everyone hello for me, and say happy birthday to Grandma for me! Send pics. 

Well, gotta go. The Church is True!

Love, Elder Sharp

June 24, 2013

Hey Family, can you believe that another week has gone by? It's amazing how fast time is flying, but a lot of great things are happening at the same time. This last week, some good things (and not so good things) happened with our investigators. Bro. Ari is probably our most solid dater right now. He's pretty close to being done with all of the missionary lessons, and his faith is sky-rocketing. We go out and see him close to everyday (30 ride each way. Rough! But worth it), but he likes to talk so much that it takes a while to get our lesson rolling, so we've had to take it pretty slow with him. The biggest (and only) problem so far has been smoking, but he's quit! This will be day 4 of no smoking for him. If all keeps going well, then he'll be baptized on July 20th (WofW problems have to be stopped for at least 3 weeks before a baptismal interview). Please pray for him! I know he can do it, and he is very determined. 

We were finally able to meet with Pinky again this last Saturday night. She's had a bunch of freshman school activities for basically this past month, but now she's done and we should be able to teach her regularly. We shared the Message of the Restoration, and I feel like it went really well. She seems to understand pretty well, and asks good questions, but she has almost no foundation of Faith. It's actually really strange since she is the only member in her family who isn't a member. Yes, only her dad is active right now, and even he was inactive for a couple of decades, but still. She didn't even have any concept of God. She'll progress fast though, if she keeps the commitments that we give her. The only real problem I can see with her is keeping the Sabbath Day Holy. She has to go to school every Sunday, so she won't really be able to come to church. I've seen more miraculous things happen though, so please pray for her!

So, Bro. Gung has moved. We found out yesterday, and I'm way bummed about it. We're going to try and teach him over Skype (he only has one more lesson to go), and then it's up to him whether he'll make the trip to Bangkok (about 4 hours from where he is, I think) every Sunday to go to church. Elder Khanakham said that there is another member from Khon Kaen who is in the same place he is at (Rayong) who goes to church in Bangkok once a month, so maybe he could at least make that compromise. We'll see what happens. Sis. Boo is still doing good. She came to Sacrament Meeting yesterday, but then had to leave to go and do some school project. Gosh, I didn't think getting a higher education could be such a speed bump in the Lord's work. We're going to meet her tomorrow, and talk to her about getting baptized this Saturday. We mentioned it to her yesterday, but she said she's not ready. Personally, I feel she's as ready as she'll ever be. She's cruising through the Book of Mormon (probably in Alma now), and has gotten answers to her prayers, so she should be good to go. We are going to force anything of course, but we will get a gentle nudge. Please pray for her! She can be baptized this Saturday!

So those are our investigators! We have a few more potentials, but nothing has really happened with them yet. Please pray for us to find some new solid ones. We're really going to need the help, especially with Boo and Ari getting baptized in the near future. 

On Wednesday morning this last week, I had to go to Maha Sarakham (an area that isn't even in my District) to interview an investigator of the Kalasin Elders. His name is Nooker, and he goes to school there, and goes back to Kalasin over the weekends. Anyway, he didn't pass, but I'll being interviewing again this coming Wednesday, and I feel good about it. After that, I went back to Kalasin with Elder Campbell for our switch-off. Now, this is the Elder Campbell who was in my MTC group. It was a riot of a day, but we worked hard. Man, I don't want to go to Kalasin though, just because of how bad that how is (did I just jynx myself?). So disgusting. 

Bit of some bad news. Sis. Taan, my recent convert, got in a motorcycle accident yesterday. It wasn't life-threatening, but I guess her arm and leg are pretty messed up. Pray for her! We're going to try and visit her today or tomorrow and give her a blessing. Also, even worse, after church I saw one of the members, Sis. Ew, talking to some other members, and she looked really upset. She's a good friend of Taan's, so I thought that was what was making her upset. Well, Sis. Jew, the Relief Society president, called us over and told us that Sis. Ew's dad had apparently been in a very serious car accident in Udon about an hour before. I called the Elder's in Udon, and they agreed to go to the hospital and give a blessing once Sis. Ew and her husband got there. We said a prayer with all of the members, and then they left. Unfortunately, we found out this morning that her dad passed away. Please pray for her, she's going to need it. It just makes me so much more grateful for the Plan of Salvation, and the knowledge that we have of knowing that we will see each other again. 

The District here is on fire. We're all focusing on what is most important with the key indicators, and bringing a lot of people to Christ. Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. I know that that is a huge reason why we're having so much success. 

I hope everything at home is going good! I can't believe that this transfer is almost over (and that I have 8 months left!). I'm thinking that I'll probably stay in Khon Kaen for one more, and Elder Angkham will move. Trainers and greenies don't usually stay together once the training is done. 

June 17, 2013

Dear Family, how is it going? It is going so great here. This last week was awesome, and we got some really great things done. Our investigators are doing awesome. Boo definitely is a miracle, as well as Gung. Gung was actually supposed to have gone down to the southern part of Thailand for work last Wednesday, so we were planning on trying to teach him over Skype. Well, we made an appointment with Boo for Friday, and when she showed up, Gung was there too. He still isn't sure if he's going to work down there, and might end up staying in Khon Kaen. I would be super stoked if he did, because he is nearly ready for baptism. Both he and Boo came to the baptismal service on Saturday, and then church on Sunday, and had great experiences. They've been having trouble recognizing the answers that they've been receiving about questions they ask through prayer, but I think they're getting it down, and will start progressing even faster. On Tuesday, we had given Boo a baptismal date for the 29th of this month. I know that's pretty quick, but I feel like she could've been ready for it. Anyway, we had to move it to the 20th of next month, because she is preparing to graduate with a degree in tourism, and might have to spend a couple of weeks in Nong Khai, or up in Vientiane, Lao. She's still really good though. Gung is just as good, we just can't give him a date yet because we don't know if he's staying or going (I think that Boo really wants him to stay. Flirt to Convert!). Bro. Ari (yep Laur, we all call them Brother and Sister. Once we explain what it means, they have no problem with it) is doing great. He's so willing to come to church, and have us over to his house to teach him (I'm glad it's worth going out there, because man it's a long bike-ride). He likes to talk a lot, so it's hard to get all of the stuff we had planned into the lesson each time. But what we do get in, he just soaks up. He wasn't able to come to church yesterday because he was in Sakon Nakhon, but we're following up with him today to see if he went to the church up there. We had to move his date from the 6th to the 20th as well because he has a smoking problem, but I know that he can break it. We're actually going out to his house tonight for a family home evening. Please pray for him! Sis. Taan was baptized! She chose me to baptize her, my first time baptizing an investigator. She was super prepared, and Elder Yuen (the ZL that interviewed her) didn't even have any suggestions for boosting her testimony before she got in the water. A few of her good non-member friends were able to attend, along with a good group of members. The program went off without a hitch, and I only had to put her under the water once (even though she didn't bend her knees in the slightest). Like a Boss! The confirmation was yesterday, and she is now an awesome member. Our district (6 Elders) is doing awesome. We've had two baptisms so far this transfer, and might end up with 6 (hopefully). We've got a few great investigators right now (as you can see), but we really need some more. Please pray for us so that the Spirit will lead us to those who are prepared. This transfer is going by way fast, only 2 and a half more weeks. I'm pretty sad that I'll have to split from Elder Angkham. He's been a great comp, and I've learned a ton. 

Well, gotta go. The Church is True!

Love, Elder Sharp

June 10, 2013

Dear Family, How's it going? Things are finally rolling fast here in Khon Kaen. We have some really great investigators, and some are getting VERY close to baptism. I forgot to tell you in last week's e-mail, but last Sunday, me and Elder Angkham got a phone call from some girl asking how she becomes a Christian. Talk about a miracle. I set up an appointment right then, and we've taught her twice so far. Her name is Boo. The first time she came, she brought her friend with her named Gung (he's a guy!). He actually seemed more interested than she did. We taught them with Elder and Sis. Khanakham, and it was a solid introductory lesson. We taught Boo the Restoration the next day (Gung had gone home for the weekend). She soaked it all in, and committed to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. She wasn't able to come to church yesterday, but I'm sure she will next week. She sent us a text at about 11 last night, asking why Nephi had to kill Laban. She couldn't wait until morning? Well anyway, I sent her a very well worded text and am now waiting for a reply. Hopefully it goes well. Sis. Taan is doing awesome! We've finished teaching her all of the lessons, and she should be getting interviewed within the next couple of days so that she can be baptized on Saturday. Please pray for her! Bro. Ari is doing awesome as well. We weren't able to meet with him during the week because his boss was in town and he was swamped with work, but we went over there last night and met with him and his wife. Taught the Restoration, extended the commitment, and he will be getting baptized on July 6. So awesome! He'll progress so fast, and then be able to get the Priesthood and help strengthen this branch, all bringing us one step closer to a temple in Thailand! Sis. Pinky hasn't been able to meet since last week. The universities here are super strict with new freshman and have them doing activities everyday for about a month. We're hoping some time clears up so that we can teach her. I talked to her dad at church yesterday, and he says that she has a desire to learn, so that's good. On Wednesday, we had Zone conference. It was really awesome. Pres. and Sis. Senior came to Khon Kaen the day before to interview the Khon Kaen Elders, and to have us present our talks that we had to prepare. Those all went well, and we had a great interview. After that, he wanted to go out with me and Elder Angkham and "do what the Elders do." Do you know how stressful it is to plan some sort of meaningful missionary activity to do with your mission president at 10:00in the morning when nobody is home. Yeah, it's tough. Anyway, we went to visit a former investigator, and somehow all 4 Elders and Pres. and Sis. Senior showed up there. I think the lady was a little freaked out, hopefully it doesn't scare her away. The actual conference was really good. It was focused on Desire and Diligence, something that the mission needed. Pretty crazy though, the AP's gave us the commitment to spend the entire next day (Thursday) out on the streets testifying of Christ. No meeting members or investigators, just out inviting. Well, it was a long, hot day, but at the end, it felt really good. Just focusing completely on Christ and the reason we're here, nothing better. Sis. Daw got baptized on Saturday, so that was really cool. Oh yeah, just saying, my (literally) big mouth has become the cool thing here. Everytime I see certain members, they tell me to open my mouth. It's so funny how they always get a kick out of it. 

Well, gotta go! The Church is True!

Love Elder Sharp

I'm going to type a little bit of Thai, I want somebody to tell me if it actually turns out on there computer please. ผมรักครอบครัวผม

June 3, 2013

Dear Familia (hey, I can speak Spanish too haha!), How's it going out there in good old Utah? Khon Kaen is solid, and getting a lot better. We've finally found some solid investigators, and some ways to work with the branch and members better. The first counselor in the mission presidency, Elder Khanakham and his wife, is currently assigned to Khon Kaen, and he has been a huge help. He's constantly taking the Elders out to visit members and teach investigators, all at his request. I have absolutely no problem with that. Because of him, we've found some great part-member families that we're starting to teach. Sister Taan is doing great, and is still right on track for the 22nd or sooner. We taught her a couple of times this week, and she's keeping all of our commitments and came to church. I'm not worried about her at all. We also got two really good investigators on Friday. We did switch-offs that day, and I worked with Elder Ellsworth in his area, while Elder Angkham and Elder Quinn (the two greenies) worked in mine. We actually kind of shared the work, both teaching the other area's investigators or LA's at some point or another. Anyway, we went with Elder Khanakham to visit the home of the first counselor in the branch presidency. He had set an appointment for us to teach his 18 year old daughter who is the only member of their family who isn't a member. The family was LA for a while, so she didn't know much, but she's going to be solid if we can teach her around her school schedule. Her name is Pinky (seriously). The other two Elders went and visited a member who was baptized around a year ago, and her husband was there. They introduced the gospel, and now he's awesome! He came to church yesterday, and we're going to see him again tonight. His name is Ari. Saturday was an exciting and rough day at the same time. I was able to interview someone for baptism for the first time. Her name is Sis. Daw, one of the other Khon Kaen Elders' investigators. It was a really spiritually uplifting experience, and she passed easily. Basically just an hour of listening to testimony and bearing testimony. She'll be baptized on the 8th of this month. The rest of the day was rough. All of our plans and back-up plans fell through, so we just tried to go to the market and talk to people. Didn't work, so we decided we'd go back to the house and call formers for the last hour. Ok, Mom, don't freak out, but on our way back home I got hit by a car. Well, my bike got hit. The car was waiting to pull out of the street, and it had paused, so I figured the person had seen me. Nope. Pulled out and hit the middle of my bike with the fender. God was really watching over me, because somehow I moved with the bike, and caught myself. Didn't even fall over. That was a miracle. Bike was a little jacked, so it's getting fixed right now. I walked over to the car and this terrified girl in her 20's gets out and starts trying to talk to me in English saying how sorry she was. I just smiled and told her everything was fine. She wouldn't believe me for a minute, but finally accepted it. Haha I wish I would've been thinking straight and gave her a pass-along-card. Well, Elder Angkham didn't know I got hit, so he was long gone before I could yell his name, so I started walking. He finally gets back to me, and I guess a dog bit him in the pants on the way back. Crazy night! But we're all good. Sunday was great. Had a meeting about how to grow priesthood strength with all of the ward leaders after the block. Got some solid plans made. Finally made syrup last night! So good, especially with deep-fried french toast. Being in Thailand, I've realized that cooking oil is a great thing. Zone conference is this coming week. It'll be in Khon Kaen for the Khon Kaen and Udon zones, so we've spent most of the day cleaning the church. Weather here is rainy everyday...yuck. 

How's it going back home? Memorial day sounded awesome. Eggs and hamsauce?

Well, gotta go. The Church is True!

Love, Elder Sharp

May 26, 2013

Hey Family, Sawadii Ja. How's it going? It's good here in Khon Kaen. This week has been a little bit slower than most, just because I'm still getting adjusted to the area (and to riding bikes again. A five month biking fast really takes a toll on a guy). Unfortunately, Elder Angkham doesn't really know the area very well, or the locations of members' and LAs' houses, so I've been relying on the other two Elders to get me around this last week. It's a work in progress, but we'll get there. Being with Elder Angkham has been great. We've got a solid relationship, work well together, and it'll definitely improve my language skills (and yes, I will most likely learn some Lao out here as well). When I first got here, I was talking to Elder Ellsworth (one of the other Khon Kaen Elders and my MTC Nong) about the areas, and in the end, I decided to delete "companionship areas" and let the missionaries just kind of work free for all and work together a little more. It worked in Thonburi, so I think it can work here. Right now, our companionship doesn't have too many investigators. There was only one when I got here, and she got confirmed yesterday, so she's technically not an investigator anymore. We have two more that we got this last week, and one of them, Sis. Taan, came to church yesterday and has a date for the 22nd of next month. I think that she'll progress and get baptized sooner than that though. We've visited a few members as well, and they're great. This branch is pretty small, only about 40 people go to church consistently, but it has a lot of potential to grow (especially since it's basically the center of the District). A good chunk of the solid members are Young Single Adults. They're really good at fellowshipping investigators, so it's nice to not really have to worry about that. So, embarrasing moment of the week. Last Tuesday we went and got our blood drawn. Side note: The hospitals here (except for Bangkok General) are sketch! The nurse draws this girls blood, drops the needle on the ground, picks it up and wipes it off, and goes about her business as normal. I love America. Anyway, I survived the blood draw (ok yes, I got sick walking down the stairs and had to sit down for a minute, all while having an old Thai lady up in my face telling me that I shouldn't be sick and to be stronger).We had to go back a couple of days after and ask for certificates saying that we passed the inspection, but the hospital was closed. So I called Elder Crawley, and AP, and told him. He then asked if he could have a short over-the-phone interview with me. A strange request, but whatever. The interview was really weird, and he was using really "proper" language, asking me about my key indicators and plans I have to help the District. At the end he says "Well Elder Sharp, thank you for calling at the perfect time." What does he mean the perfect time? All of a sudden I her a huge group of people yell thank you. Elder Crawely gets back on and says "Elder Sharp, I would like to let you know that every Zone Leader and Pres. and Sister Senior think that you did a great job with that interview." Oh man, they were having a leadership meeting in Bangkok, and since I called in, they used me as an example of how nightly follow-ups should go. Let's just say that that was one of those "I want to melt" kind of moments. 

Well, I'm loving being here, and I love this work. Sounds like everything at home is going great. Happy Memorial Day!

Gotta go. The Church is True!

Love, Elder Sharp

May 20, 2013

Hey Family! How is everyone doing? From the e-mails and skyping last week, it sounds and looks like you are all doing great.Thanks so much everyone for being there and supporting me and Carli. It really means a lot to me to get that much support from family (and I'm sure I'm speaking for Car as well). There isn't another missionary out here who has a family like ours. So things here are great, but a lot different than they were about 3 days ago. I am now in a new area with a new companion! Since all of the missionaries came down to Bangkok on Saturday for the meeting with the Apostle, Pres. Senior thought it would be a lot smarter to just do the moves business then. Of course I knew and President Senior knew I was moving, so I started packing a little bit each day starting Thursday so that I didn't have to stress about it the last night in Thonburi. I'm really glad I did that. The meeting with Elder Andersen on Saturday was awesome! He focused on being a Witness of Christ (since that is his calling and ours), and I learned a lot of great stuff. L. Whitney Clayton (Presidency of the Seventy), Larry Y. Wilson (1st Quorum of the Seventy), Elder Watson (2nd quorum of the Seventy), and Pres. Senior (plus their wives) also spoke to us, so it was a really great meeting. After that, we all gathered at the Bang Khen church and received envelopes with our new assignments. Ready for this?...I am now serving in Khon Kaen, an area out in the Isan (the country), my new companion is Elder Angkham, a Lao missionary who came into the mission last transfer, so I'm finishing up his training this transfer. Hopefully this helps out my language skills, because I'm going to be speaking Thai 90% of the time (maybe I can learn some Lao too). I'm also the District Leader here. There's two companionships in Khon Kaen and one in Kalasin, so a District of 6 total. It'll definitely be a little tougher than my first time being DL, but I'm excited and ready for the experience. We left for Khon Kaen right after the meeting and got here around 8:30 that night. Sunday was awesome. Elder Clayton, Elder Wilson, and Pres. Senior all came to Khon Kaen to have a kind of conference with the Khon Kaen and Udon Districts, so we got to learn a lot more from them. I also got to see a lot of familiar faces from Udon, so that was really cool. I was sad to leave Thonburi. Once you're in an area for four transfers, you almost want to stay longer, but I'm ready for the next experience. The bummer thing is that I couldn't tell any members I was leaving because we couldn't risk any of them showing up at the meeting (a bunch of them already wanted to go to the transfers meeting to say goodbye to some missionaries who were finishing). I'll have to go back to that ward for sure when we come back to Thailand to visit. The branch here is a little weak right now I think, but hopefully we can get some stuff going. Pray for me (us)! The house is the 2nd nicest in the mission, so no complaints there. Just a little dirty from not being cared for, but I'll take care of that. 

Well, gotta go! The Church is True!

Love, Elder Sharp

May 6, 2013

Sabay dii mai khrab? Pen yaangray bang? Hello! How are you all? I am doing great here in Thonburi. A lot of good things happened this last week. Last Monday, at the Zone sports day, we pretty much just played dodgeball the entire time. Good stuff, and yes, I was very sore. On Tuesday, we got a call from the office, telling us that we had left two mattresses in the old apartment and had to go and move them out. Man, I thought I was done with that place. Me and Elder King went and took them out and set them by the garbage cans. We had called the Bishop and asked who he thought might need them, but he couldn't really think of anyone. He suggested Sis. Jiab, but we called and didn't get an answer. She called back later and said she could definitely use one, so we went back to the apartment and lugged it to the house. It was hard, but worth it to be able to help someone. Wednesday, we went back to Sis. Gay's house and helped her finish up with her boat. We also ate at a very sketchy noodle place, but hey, I guess that's the stuff we eat every day. Haha trust me Mom, you're going to love it. After that, we had a great District meeting, mostly just talking about how we can get more investigators, since both companionships were a little low in that area. Elder Buss challenged us to contact 10 people a day as a companionship, and they would too. Now, 10 people doesn't seem like a ton, but it's harder than you think. We have done it on almost  everyday, and it's improving. We all feel that if we keep it up, the Lord will keep pouring out the blessings. He's already shown it to us quite a bit. We were finally able to meet with and teach NamKeng again. He's progressing, but didn't come to church yesterday (not sure why). We'll keep working with him, but it's getting a little tough. Friday night, we (the 4 Thonburi elders) spent a good chunk of time cutting up and organizing our ward list into sections and areas so that it'll be easier to look for and find LA's. It's going to help a ton. Cool experience. On Tuesday, me and Elder King had some spare time, so I felt like we should go to this house by the church that an LA lives at that we hadn't yet met. We went and he wasn't there, so I was a little confused about why I felt we should go there. We sat down to figure out what to do next, and a lady sitting at a little store next door said "Hello Elders." We talked to her and came to find out that she is a member of 15+ years but hadn't been to church in forever, and had moved, so we never would have found her. She gave us her number and we're going to start working with her. A definite miracle led by the Spirit. Sunday was definitely my favorite day of the week. It was POURING that morning, and Sis. Dukadan hadn't shown up yet, and I was getting worried, because we were almost past the time when she could get confirmed that day. Me and Elder King were praying hard, and she walked in at the last second pretty wet. I was so happy! She got confirmed and will be an awesome member. Once church was over, we were able to teach Fuse again (finally). I don't know what happened, but she went to the youth conference thing this past week, and turned into our best investigator. We're pulling for her to be baptized on the 19th! Please pray for her! We were also able to visit a couple of LA's after church, Sis. Nina and Bro. Somsak. Sis. Nina is like 22ish and the daughter of a strong member. She has problems with some people in the ward, but we had a great lesson and she agreed to come back next week! Bro. Somsak is old and confined to a wheelchair. We took the sacrament out to him, and it was one of the most spiritual experiences I've had on my mission. I've never seen such an appreciation for the sacrament, and it makes me want to change. Today, we went to China Town for a bit, but didn't find much, mostly just wandered around. 

Sounds like everything at home is going great. Can't believe that I Skype home again tomorrow! That was the fastest five months of my life. 

Well gotta go, can't wait to see and talk to you all! The Church is True!

Love, Elder Sharp

April 29, 2013

Hey Krobkrua! How is everyone? I am doing great here. This last week was a solid one, with a stupendous ending. The majority of the week was spent finding less-active members. It's hard. The records that have been kept here by other missionaries (especially when it's a Thai person writing in Thai) are atrocious. Huge chunks of crucial information are left out a lot of the time, so it's pretty much impossible to find a lot of the people on the list, unless someone in the ward knows the person personally (which isn't very common). The wards and branches here in Thailand are very...interesting. If you looked at a ward 10 years ago compared to now, it would almost be completely different, in terms of the members that attend regularly. Kind of sad. There's always the few old-time strong members who have been in the unit for an eternity and will never fall away. But for the most part, it's new faces. The members here (and everywhere) need to learn their responsibility of fellowshipping somebody into the ward, and then helping them to stay. I would say the second part is harder. A new convert recently baptized will usually have no problem being a strong member and coming to church every week for the first few months or so. But if the members don't care for the person, they will fall away every time. That's something I think we all can work on. Tuesday was the longest day. There are 13 less actives on the same street that the church is on, so we went out looking. We only have found 6. That street has the most messed up number system I've ever seen. Just gotta let the Holy Spirit guide. English class was alright. We got four new students, all women, and none were interested. Bummer. Wednesday, awesome! Sis. Dukadan was interviewed and passed! When she and Elder Buss came out of the interview room, they didn't have the baptismal record in their hands, and didn't seem any more happy or excited than usual, so I thought she didn't pass. I finally asked Elder Buss the reason, and he gave me a very confused look and said, "What are you talking about? Of course she passed!" I was stoked! I sprinted to catch up to her and congratulate her. She was super happy. Thursday and Friday were spent trying to find LA's, with minimal success. But we did get a referral from the Bishop's wife, so we went and found her. About 3 hours of travel, and only 5 minutes of talking, but it was worth it. She'll be golden! Saturday was good, but turned out to be WAY stressful. We went and helped a member scrape the old silicon from her "flood boat" (yes, floods in Thailand every year, if you didn't already know). Then we went and met with Dukadan to finish up preparations for the baptism. She was so ready! We were planning on cleaning and filling the font after that...but that's when we realized we hadn't emptied it from Sis. Soda's baptism. Yeah...that was a while ago. So drained it, and by the time that was done we had to go to the bishop's house. He has a ton of good stuff planned for the ward, and we're going to take a big part in it. Pray for us! One of the best parts of that visit was his wife's peach and mango cobbler. So good. Sunday morning we had to get up early and be to the church by 7 so we could clean/fill the font and make the programs. But we got it done, had a great 3 hours of church, and a great service. I'm really glad she is finally baptized. She told her parents, but I'm not totally sure how they feel about it. The important thing is that she did it. God will take care of her and her family. Today was a Zone sports day, great to exercise a bit, but I'm going to be sore. Oh, and on May 17-19, an Apostle will be here! So stoked. Not sure who yet, but the Thonburi Elders will definitely be to the meetinghouse at like 6 in the morning, I can tell you that. The other investigators (Fuse and NamKeng) weren't able to be taught this week, but we're hoping for next week. We need some new ones as well. 

Well gotta go. The Church is True!

Love, Elder Sharp

April 22, 2013

Hey Family, what's up? I'm doing solid here in Thonburi. This last week was pretty different than normal, but that's ok. We got a lot of good stuff done, and hopefully some REALLY good stuff is going to happen this week. On Wednesday this last week we went to Asoke and had Zone Specialty training. My Zone Leaders right now are Elder Segura (an old comp once again) and Elder Appleyard (from England). This is the first time either of them are ZL's, and they did a really good job. They taught about consecrating ourselves to the Lord by giving him all of our Heart, Might, Mind, and Strength. It was really inspiring, and then we watched a large portion of 17 Miracles to give some examples of consecrated lives. I wish I had watched that entire movie before I left. Those pioneers were amazing. After that I had the opportunity to interview with President Senior. He is so good. He gave me the exact advice that I needed, and really cares about this mission. I'm definitely privileged to be serving under him, especially at this time. The majority of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were spent visiting strong members and less-actives, with a bit of teaching investigators in between. We figured out that there are over 400 members in the Thonburi boundaries alone, and we only get 40-50 people at church every week. Yeah, I think there's some work we could do there. From the time I came into Thonburi with Elder Oak to now, we've always had plenty of investigators to fill our time. Now, it's kind of died down. But I think it's a sign from God telling us to switch our focus a little bit. I'm really excited to start working with some of the ward leaders a little more, and finding some LA's. We're getting a good plan put into place, so it should be good. Let me know if you have any ideas for the missionaries or ward members in helping LA's come back strong. Anyway, right now we have like, 1 1/2 investigators? Dukadan is still there, I'll tell you about her in a minute. NamKeng was going good. We taught him a couple of times this past week, and they were really good lessons. We extended the baptismal commitment for the 12 of May, and he accepted! Then it kind of went downhill. Soda told us the next day that he had told his mom about it, and she said no. Apparently he's one of two children or grandchildren of his grandparents, and the other one is already Christian. What that means is that he has to be a monk sometime in the future, so he can't get baptized right now. AH! That really threw a wrench in our plans. Now we are planning on trying to turn our focus to their mom, but we don't know if she'll agree to meet yet. Please pray for her to open her heart! Now as for Dukadan. We had a "do or die" lesson with her on Saturday night. Basically we just told her that she won't really progress in the Gospel anymore until she gets baptized. I felt prompted to tell her that is she did choose to be baptized, she won't have any problems with her family in the future. I trust that God will follow through on that promise, and it helped boost her confidence as well. Last night, she told her dad that she was going to be baptized, and then immediately hung up. He didn't try to call back, so we'll see what happens when she calls again tonight. Please pray for her! This is the only thing standing in her way. If she chooses to, she will be interviewed on Wednesday, and baptized on the 28th! This is the baptism that I really want to see. She's changed so much, and has great faith in God and Christ. This coming week is just going to be a lot more of working with LA's. Oh, and if you're wondering about Fuse, we kind of dropped her. She just doesn't have a real desire, and her aunt is making it really hard to meet and teach her, so we decided she's not ready at this time. We might try to meet with her once more, but if it doesn't work, she's dropped. Sad, but there's hope for the future. 

How's everything going at home? Mother's Day is next month...crazy! Can you believe it's already been 4 months since I talked to you? I'm thinking maybe this time a Google+ account could be set up, and then we could have multiple devices chatting at once. Whatever you guys wanna do. Can't wait to see and talk to you! I will be calling on the 13th, so it will be the 12th (Mother's Day night for you). 

Rest of the Fam - Love you all too! Hit me up soon!

Well, gotta go. The Church is True!

Love, Elder Sharp

April 16, 2013

Thonburi. Yep, I'm still here. Pulling 4! It came as a complete shock to me. President Senior called me on Tuesday night and told me that we would be getting another set of missionaries in Thonburi. I was a little confused why he was telling me and not Elder King, so I asked and he said I would be staying here, with Elder King. So I don't have a greenie. I was a little bummed that I didn't get to be a trainer, but I'm over it and ready to go. It's a blessing to be able to continue working with Elder King in Thonburi. I'm going hard to the paint and making sure that our current investigators baptized, so that will be a blessing to see. Oh, I am also no longer the District Leader. One of the new missionaries that came to Thonburi is senior to me (has about 3 months left), so Pres. Senior asked my permission to give the calling to him. I'm totally fine with that though, I know I'll have more opportunities to serve in the future. So this last week was pretty crazy. I almost started packing a few times at the beginning of the week, but now I'm glad I didn't. It was funny at English class on Tuesday, because it was obvious that a few of the members had a "going-away" gift for me. You should have heard them when I told them I was staying haha. But hey, I got a nice new skinny-tie out of it (I'm all about the skinny-ties now). Wednesday, we had planned on preparing Elder King to kind of run the area for a while, but since that was out, we had to figure out some productive things to do. Luckily, Bro. Banjud called us and asked if we would go visit him. It's always good to strengthen the members. That night we also visited an LA that I had never met before, Bro. Ponyut. He seems really nice and awesome, but maybe too much so. I had committed him to come to church for the last six weeks that I would be here. He didn't make it this last Sunday. Hopefully he does a little better at keeping commitments in the future. Thursday - Transfers day - was pretty crazy. We had to be up super early so that E. King could renew his visa, and after that we had to sit at the church for 3 hours until the meeting started. I realized that there were quite a few people who got called to train who weren't anymore, so it made me feel a little better. Anyway, my Pa is gone. Elder Raven went home. And I am now as far in my mission as he was when he started training me (goes fast huh?). The two new Elders that got called to Thonburi are Elder Buss (DL), and Elder Pyne (his greenie). They're good guys, and I'll enjoy working with them. Elder Buss has some great ideas of how to help the ward grow. We've decided not to split the area in half, but to work together basically. There'll be some bridges we'll have to cross when we get to them, but once we get a system figured out, I think it'll be great. Conference was awesome! Again. I had to watch a couple of the sessions in Thai (Saturday and Sunday morning), but they were still good, and the English sessions were phenomenal. My favorite had to have been Elder Holland's. I loved how he said that we first have to keep the ground that we've already gained, and then recognize our weaknesses. That's the way we show our faith. And that bible story was the perfect example. I also loved Elder Cook's, and everyone else's references to personal peace. That's something that I've really wanted some help on lately. All in all, it was awesome, and I had a ton of questions perfectly answered. So this past weekend was the Thai New Year called Songkran. Easily put, it's a 3-day, country-wide water fight. Period. We were allowed to play  on Monday, and man was it fun. A group of missionaries and members went downtown yesterday, bought big super-soakers, and then destroyed people. I only get one, so I had to go big and get the strongest gun. No regrets there. I owned people. Everyone and everything was soaked. Super tired (and also sunburned) today, but it was worth it. My investigators are doing good. We really only have two right now, Dukadan and NamKeng. We met with Dukadan last Thursday and taught tithing and fasting, so she's all done with the missionary lessons. She just has to decide to be baptized. I can't wait to talk to her and find out how her weekend at home was and if she read the BofM in the wat. NamKeng is apparently hooked on video games, so he didn't come to church or meet with us. Frustrating, but we're meeting with him today, so it'll be fine. Please pray that we find some more investigators! 

Hey sorry, yesterday was a little crazy, so I got to come back and finish today. Well, we saw Dukadan as we were waiting for a bus, and talked to her about how her weekend at home went. Apparently her family is pretty mad about the whole situation. She didn't really do any of the Buddhist ordinances though, just bowed to a monk because her mom was freaking out in the middle of the wat. So I'm actually really happy. We're going to meet with her on Saturday, hopefully she just decides to be baptized. Please pray for her!

Well, gotta go! I love you all, and the Church is True!

Love, Elder Sharp

April 8, 2013

Hey Krob Krua (family), what is going on? I'm doing pretty good here in Thonburi, winding down what is most likely my last week here. I let you know where I am next week! To start off with, no I haven't watched conference yet. We get it this coming Sunday. From what I've read, I'm looking forward to Cook's and Uchtdorf's talks. Gotta love conference. I really love it more out here than I ever have before. Anyway, this last week was a pretty dang solid one. We had a ton of lessons, and a lot of success as well. Nothing super "exciting" happened, but it was my favorite week so far as a senior comp in the sense that we helped our investigators out a ton, and a couple of them are really close to baptism. Tuesday, we finally went and cleaned our old house completely (disgusting), turned in the keys, and were OUT of there. I never want to go back to that place again. Our new house is coming along pretty good. We have most everything organized and put away, just a few more things, but it'll go fast. On Tuesday night we had a great English class. Last week at church, two twin 28-ish girls came to church, because that was one of the homework options that I had given out the week before at English. I introduced the Gospel to the one that came to english again, Sis. Mon, and then we taught her again on Wednesday morning. Her biggest concern was breaking commandments that she didn't know existed, so we taught her the way to pray and to repent, and committed her to start. She didn't come to church yesterday, and she might have given us a wrong phone number, but she really did seem sincerely interested, so hopefully it was an accident and we can talk to her again tomorrow at English. Wednesday night, we were finally able to meet with NamKeng (Ice), Soda's younger brother, again. We explained the Godhead and prayer, and committed him to pray. He said that he's not sure at all if he believes in God, and he's skeptical about changing religions since his mom hasn't changed yet. But don't worry, we're going to baptize his mom, too, so I think he'll progress pretty quickly. Especially since his sister is a member and good example to him now. Thursday was, for the most part, spent at the house. We spent most of the time long-planning for this week, which went a little longer than usual since I had to make sure Elder King is ready to go with the area if I do leave. We did a little more organizing as well, but were able to get out of the house that night. We taught Dukadan with a member named Brother Wiin. He's a less-active, but he is awesome. It's so weird to me. Every time that I visit or teach with or talk to a less-active, they always exude the strongest testimony. He was the perfect person to have help teach Dukadan. It's just sad that those LA's won't act on their testimonies and follow Christ 100%. Anyway, we taught the Law of Chastity, and then spent a ton of time discussing baptism. She's going home this weekend for a holiday, and she said that her entire family will be going to a wat (Buddhist temple) to worship. We asked her what she was going to do, and she said she was going to just go and sit in there (which is fine) and read the Book of Mormon (which is the best thing that I've ever heard). We were so stoked! Though she is a little nervous about how her family is going to take it, but she's finally willing to take a stand for what she has come to know is true, which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Well, after she told us that, I figured that moment would be the best time to commit her to a baptismal date. She still wouldn't give in to that, so I explained that her reading the Book of Mormon at the wat is pretty much already changing religions, she just has to get in the water now. It made sense to her, but she still said she wants to wait until after she goes home. Probably the best lesson we've had with her yet though, the Spirit there was incredible. Friday we were able to take Soda with us, along with Bro. Ding (Elder's quorum pres.) and go and teach Fuse. Man, she's hard to read. When you ask her questions, she gives awesome answers, but the rest of the time she just sits there with a bored looking face. We don't really know what to do, and she's not reading or praying very consistently either. I know the testimony is there and that it would sky-rocket if she would just keep the commitments, but SHE has to do it. If anyone has any advice on how to help her, let me know. Saturday, we taught NamKeng again and had a pretty good lesson on the Restoration. He committed to go to church the next day, and he did (although he disappeared during the 3rd hour, and then reappeared after church was over). Saturday night, we went and had a meeting with  Bishop Arun and Bro. Bay (WML). We presented Pres. Senior's goals to them, asked for their help, and then asked how we can help them. I think it really helped build our relationship with the bishop, and I think things are going to start cruising along even faster here in Thonburi. Sunday was absolutely awesome. I wore my new suit and Easter tie (I don't know if I want to wear the suit that much. I mean, I would only wear it on Sundays, but should I just save it until I get home?). They went very well together. 3 investigators were there: Dukadan, Soda, and Fuse. It was Fast Sunday for us since we didn't have conference, and the Bishop had me bear my testimony first since I'm probably leaving (he didn't tell everyone that though, he's good like that. It's never a good idea here to tell the ward you're leaving). I bore it on Christ and repentance, and the Spirit was very strong. I hope it touched someone. After church, we taught Fuse about the Law of Tithing and Fasting. She's still quiet, but she accepted them. We taught Dukadan after that, and were planning on teaching the same thing, but didn't get to it. She's planning on giving an English Book of Mormon to her French friend on Tuesday, and wanted to know how to talk about it and the 10 Commandments in English a little bit. I'm totally down for some Missionary Work! We also had to explain to her how the Pope is a good guy, but has no real meaning in the Kingdom of God, just Thomas S. Monson and the Quorum of the Twelve. That led to Priesthood power, and by the end the member that we brought in was explaining about Priesthood blessings for the sick. She was ALL over that since she has been sick now for a few weeks. The Elders Quorum president annointed, and I had the opportunity to bless. It was a special moment and the Spirit was strong. She definitely has the faith to make it work. Elder King asked for a blessing as well right after that since he's sick, and Dukadan asked for permission to stay and watch. Me and Bro. Ding switched roles, and it was a great experience the second time (and Bro. Ding's first time blessing). Today is just chill, writing letters, napping, etc. Transfers this week! I can't wait to get my greenie, and he's going to get to meet his grandpa (Elder Raven) once before E. Raven goes home. It would be totally fine to stay in Thonburi, but I'm ready for another area and adventure as well, whatever the Lord wants to bless me with. So this coming weekend (12-14) is a Thai holiday called Songkran. Basically, it's just a giant, country-wide water festival. We get to play in it for one day, and then have to (try to) work the others. From what I've heard from past missionaries, it's basically impossible, but I'm excited for it! I'll send pics. Ha and it starts the day after transfers. Lucky greenies. For some reason lately, I have the biggest CRAVING to play soccer. I even had to stop and look at some soccer cleats/futsol shoes when we were at the mall today. Oh, and I got some interesting information...I know what day my mission ends. Because of the age change, they are eventually going to switch transfers from 6 to 9 weeks. That throws all of the dates off, so I now finish on February 21. I don't even get two years! I mean, it's only 2 weeks short, but weird! 

Well, gotta go! Love you all. The Church is True!
Love, Elder Sharp

April 2, 2013

Hey Family and Friends, how's it going? What a long, yet fast week. It feels like I was just barely e-mailing last week, and yet almost everyday here seemed to drag on forever. This week was mainly filled with moving stuff over from our old house to our new, and organizing it all, but it's finally (almost) done. There were a few really good things that happened though. On Wednesday, we had Zone conference. Ha I gotta show off my new suit. Anyway, we got some great instruction from the AP's, zone leader, and Pres. and Sis. Senior. The Ap's first focused on "The Small and Simple things." It was a great lesson, and really put some things in perspective. They showed how important doing the little things are. We've always heard it. In church, in sports, in school, that doing the little things is what brings us success (and how the little things are really the big things). But, of course, they always go back to being the "little" (unimportant) things, and we lose our focus, and the results. They made us commit to writing down and doing the little things that we need to work on. It reminded me of a quote that Mom sent me in one of her letters, that went something like "Cherish the little things in life, because one day you'll look back and realize that they were the big things." And it's true, especially in missionary work. The little things bring success. After that, Pres. Senior and Sis. Senior talked about using time wisely and making back-up plans (which is one of the little things that I need to work on), and then the rest of the time was focused on repentance. I learned a lot of great things, and gained another great testimony of the important of true repentance. It's something that we all need to do everyday. And it's not just stopping doing something or confessing a sin. It's a change of heart. That's the hard part, but through the Atonement, it's ALWAYS possible. Thursday was a LONG one. A few of our appointments fell through, and so all we ended up doing all day was long-planning and moving stuff. It was needed, but man I am sick of moving. Mom and Dad, thank you for never making me move when I was growing up. Friday was great. We had a couple of good lessons. One with Bro. Lek, a recent-convert who had missed a couple of weeks of church. I don't think he wanted to miss though, he was just sick and had stuff at his daughter's school. He's the most humble person I've ever met, and it felt great to help strengthen his testimony. The other was with Soda, a good lesson on the Gift of the Holy Ghost. She was confirmed on Sunday! So awesome, and she also helped us teach Sis. Fuse, who we're hoping will be baptized sometime mid-April. So...I didn't know Sunday was Easter until I got to the church...so I didn't wear my tie or anything. Whoops! I was expecting it to be in April, so I didn't even think about it. Luckily I was able to pound out "He is Risen" from the simplified book in Sacrament Meeting. It was a really great Sunday though. I'm so grateful for the Atonement, and the way that none of us have to fear death, because the bands have been broken by Christ. I know that He truly is risen. Sunday night we had our "Easter Party" haha. It was a great time coloring cookies (and yes Laur, we did eat them. Not too bad) and doing our puzzles, while shooting around on our basketball hoop. Thanks for the package! It made for a great but definitely "silly" Easter. I got it on Wednesday and the Taffy cookies were gone by Friday. The investigators that we have, for the most part, are still pretty solid. Soda was confirmed, so she is now a recent convert. We did talk to her about her mom, but she thinks that her brother would have more of a chance of being an investigator right now. I just say, why not the whole package? I'll keep you updated on what happens there. Dukadan is still doing really good. She wasn't able to meet this last week, because she was sick all week, but she did come to all of church, so I'm happy. Please keep praying for her! Fuse is going again. We hadn't been able to meet with her in a very long time, but finally got to on Sunday. So we're really hoping that her and Soda become really good friends, because there just are not that many solid strong YW in the ward right now. They could really keep each other going. We gave Fuse a new date! April 14. Might be after that, but if she does her part then it's possible. The bad news from this week: Boss has kind of dropped off the radar. After teaching him about the LofC and needing to be legally married, he's just been kind of avoiding us. He did come to church last Sunday, but not yesterday. And he's cancelled one appointment that we had, and then just never showed up to the next one, and we haven't been able to contact him since. I don't know what's up. Please pray for him. It's so weird to me, but the marriage thing is a problem for a lot of people. 

Sorry that this is coming a little late, yesterday we had to go into Asoke to walk in a parade (which we never got to actually do) and by the time we got back we didn't have time to finish before we had to go visit Dan. Anyway, yesterday we finally moved all the rest of our junk over to the new house. Now we just need to get it organized. Oh and I'm sending a picture of my new suit...I am just not photogenic, so focus on the suit instead of my face. I also got a fitted shirt with cuff-links ha. Today is just a day of cleaning the old house, organizing the new, and planning out English...so excited. But I think we should have some new investigators at English class tonight. This "transfer" is winding down to a close (since it's only 4 weeks). Crazy. I'm going to miss working with Elder King, he's a boss. But I'm also really excited to get my greenie. Pray for me!

Well, gotta go. The Church is True! 

Love, Elder Sharp

March 24, 2013

Hey Family and Friends, how's it going? I'm doing fantastic here in Thonburi. This last week flew by, and a lot of good things happened. This might be a bit of a shorter one, sorry about that. I gotta start working on keeping my e-mailing within a little better time limits. Anyway, there were a few highlights this week. To start off...we moved! Bro. Arm, who was actually one of our a AP's a couple months ago but has finished his mission now and works in the church office, came and checked out our old apartment and told us what we needed to do on Tuesday, sent us an e-mail on Thursday, and we moved Friday. It is so SICK! We by far have the nicest apartment in the mission.  A couple bedrooms, a couple bathrooms, and a living/kitchen area. With American showers. That is my favorite part. I'll attach pictures. Ha apparently Pres. Senior had told Bro. Arm that he didn't want us moving in there when he saw pictures (I would be the same way, can't trust missionaries to up-keep an apartment like this) but he had already signed for it, so oh well. I'm not complaining, I'll just enjoy probably my last 3 weeks in Thonburi. Thank you Mom for teaching me how to keep a house clean and organized. Elder King is great with it too, we're just worried about the next set of Elders who come in. On Wednesday, we switched off with the ZL's. I stayed in Thonburi with E. Raven (my Pa!). I was really stressed the night before, because I could not find anyone who would make an appointment for us. That morning, I was praying hard for direction, and felt prompted to study in PMG chapter 4 about the Holy Ghost. Immediatley after that, I felt prompted to call an RC/partially less-active, Bro. Banjud. He accepted, and that's what we did. It took pretty much the entire day, but he really needed a visit and someone to talk to. He's worried about his work and family, so we shared some scriptures and experiences that will help him out if he applies them. I know that God directed us to him that day. Thursday, I had my first District Meeting. I focused it on repentance, since that is going to be the topic of Zone conference this week. I was really nervous, but Elder King and the Zone leaders shared a lot of stuff, so I got through it. Repentance is becoming more and more apparent to me out here. We go out everyday, begging people to repent, and expecting them to. That means that we ourselves need to do our part, repent, be worthy of the Spirit, and avoid being hypocrites. After District meeting, Sis. Soda was interviewed for baptism again and passed! She was baptized this Sunday, I'll say more about that in a minute. Thursday night we met with Boss. We had a good lesson on the 10 commandments, but we discovered a bump in his road to baptism. He's married according to Thai tradition, just not according to the government yet, so he can't get baptized until he is. We committed him to talk to his wife about it, and he did, but he said it just might not be possible right now. He has WAY too much faith to let that get in the way. Pray for him! He'll get get past it. Dukadan is still doing great. Hasn't committed to a date yet, but is progressing and building her faith. We weren't able to meet with Fuse...hopefully this week. The best day of the week was Sunday. Soda was baptized! She was so happy, and bore a great testimony at the end. The bishop baptized her, very glad it was someone from the ward. Her mom and friend came to church with her as well, so hopefully we can start teaching them. Elder King is still awesome as ever, and a great worker. He's still young, but the great thing is that he acts like he's been out for a while. He's always throwing out ideas and ways that we can help the ward and our investigators progress. He's from Idaho Falls, and is on transfers 4 right now. The experience so far of being a District Leader and Senior comp has pretty much been what I expected it to be: tough, a bit stressful, but a lot of fun. You are completely right Dad, it is so easy as a Junior comp to just lean on the senior in the tough situations. But I know exactly what you're talking about when you say it's like we put on magic ear plugs. My language is doing awesome right now, and I know it's all because the Lord is blessing me. I couldn't understand and speak like I can just a few weeks ago, but the Gift of Tongues is real. Right now we're running a little short on people to teach, so please pray for us. We could really use the help.

How are things back home? How's the weather? March and April are the hottest months here, and man is it HOT. I'm sick of being sweaty all of the time, but I guess I'll take that over wet with rain for now (that'll come in a few months).

Well gotta go. The Church is True!

Love, Elder Sharp