Dear Family and Friends, what's up? How is it going in Utah? Still cold? It's a little cooler here...I guess...the rain started up again this last week. That is the part I am not excited for (especially if the floods come again sometime. Yuck!). This last week was Crazy busy, but we got a ton of good things done, and we are definitely being blessed by the Lord. I don't think I'll be able to go exactly day by day on this one, just because so much happened (and I left my planner back at the apartment), but I'll fill you in as much as I can. We got to go and visit Dan again last week (I have attached a picture). He's doing good, but we are quickly running out of things to teach and talk to him about...ideas? Tuesday was pretty much spent getting ready for English showcase. It's quite a task keeping a group of Thai people, who vary widely in their ability to speak English, entertained for an hour and a half, but we pulled it off! We did the "How to make a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich" game again, which was a hit, and then played a game called "Do you love your neighbor?" It's hard to explain, but most of us have played a variation of it in Elementary school. Before that, we were able to teach Jume and prepare her a little more for her baptism. She is really going to be a great member, and I think will help the ward get a lot stronger, because a lot of the members have become great friends with her. Wednesday was a little crazy. We were doing comp study, and got the call about transfers from Elder Thomas. Well...they white-washed the Elders out of Bang Khae (the other area in our District), and kept both me and Elder Oakeson here in Thonburi. We were not expecting that. I thought I was getting a new companion for sure. But I'm actually quite relieved and happy about it. There's a lot going on here, and it would've been a major pain to have to catch a new guy up on everything. Plus, I really like Elder Oakeson. We met the Bang Khae Elders over there a little later for District meeting, and then slammed together for the last time. I'm pretty bummed that Elder Thomas isn't going to be my District leader anymore, but oh well, we had some good times. Since neither of us were moving, we didn't have to pack, so we were able to teach a couple of lessons that night. Sis. Soda was first...and that was just not a good lesson. She was really down because she had failed her German test at school, so she couldn't even concentrate. Plus, the member we used to help us teach was being really quiet and awkward as well, so that didn't help. I was glad to get out of that one. After that, we were able to meet with Neng, the guy from the Navy. That was a really good lesson. We had to take it slow because he didn't know anything about Christianity, but we explained God and prayer, and committed him to pray that night. We followed up with him the other day, and he says that he has been praying twice a day, so we're stoked! We're hoping to be able to see him again on Wednesday. Thursday was a very interesting day to say the least. Got up early so that we could (try to) make it to transfers meeting on time (Pres. Senior wanted every missionary there). Yeah that didn't happen. Of all the taxis in Bangkok that we could have chosen, we got in the worst one. The guy acted all friendly and interested in our message of Christ, so we were stoked and started testifying. Pretty soon though, he cuts in and starts telling us how we're wrong, that we can't have true happiness in life, yadayadayada. We tried to explain what we believed, he cut in again. This went on for quite sometime, then I realized that it was quickly turning into a "bible-bashing" session, so I suggested that we just don't discuss religion anymore since we wouldn't agree with each other. He consented (but had to be reminded occasionally for the rest of the trip). Then he tried to act all buddy-buddy, but me and E. Oakeson were just not having it. To top it all off, he was a "new driver," got us stuck in traffic because he didn't know where he was going, and it took us 2 and a half hours to get there. Definitely not my favorite experience on my mission so far. Anyway, we were the last ones to walk into the meeting, and arrived just as it started. There is a lot of crazy stuff going on here. We got 5 missionaries this transfer, are getting 6 next transfer, and then...32 new missionaries in April. Crazy! Well over half the mission will be trainers or trainees. Probably includes me, but we'll see. Every missionary older than my group in the mission has gone senior companion, so my group is next. They also changed the "heirarchy" of the mission. It usually went as follows: Greenie, junior comp, senior comp, trainer, district leader, zone leader, and AP (if applicable). But now missionaries will be leaders at earlier stages, and be released from leadership to train when they're close to finishing (typically). Pretty cool. Plus, zone leaders won't be companions with each other anymore, but will be paired with junior companions. Pres. Senior is really preparing this place the best he can to receive a temple, and it's way cool to be here at this time. Here is another thing that happened at transfers that Pres. Senior has allowed us to post:
“By invitation, the Thailand Bangkok Mission received approval to have four young service volunteers to labor in Vientiane, Laos. These service volunteers will work with Deseret International Charities under the direction of the Senior Couples who are located in Vientiane, and will be involved in a variety of humanitarian and educational service opportunities, including clean water projects, hygiene, neo-natal education and English language instruction. The young volunteers will also support the Branch activities of the Laotian Saints in Vientiane, Laos. The Church is not yet officially recognized in Laos and this recent activity is for the purpose of providing additional educational and humanitarian service.”
That's all I can really say. After the meeting we went and ate Subway at the mall, and then went back to Thonburi. We were able to meet with a girl from English class named Boom. We basically did the same thing with her that we did with Neng. Good lesson. Friday, we were finally able to meet with Dukadan again. That was probably my favorite lesson of the week. We taught half of the PofS through the Atonement, and she was really into it and asked great questions. At the end, we challenged her to a baptismal date. It's amazing how strong commitments can bring out true concerns. She asked if being baptized meant changing religions, and obviously the answer is yes. She said she wasn't sure if she was ready to leave Buddhism since that was the tradition in her family, so we challenged her to pray about it. For a second there, I thought she was going to say she didn't want to continue learning, but luckily that's not the case. She has a lot of faith, she just has to get over the mountain. Saturday, we had 3 lessons with Jume, Soda, and a lady named Jenny. Soda's went a lot better than last time. We talked about ancient and modern day prophets, and she was asking a lot of great questions, so it's obvious that her interest and testimony are growing. With Jume we reviewed the Godhead. With Jenny, we taught the Restoration. She was found at another area's English class, but lives in our area, and wanted to know why Christianity has so many different sects. What better than the Message of the Restoration to find that answer?! Sunday was also an awesome day. We had 5 investigators at church! Trust me, that's a dang good amount. Jume, Soda, Dukadan (which is a good sign!), Fuse (who we now have permission to start teaching again!), and a lady named Jiab. She has an amazing story, and was definitely a huge blessing. The Elders from Saphan Sung had called on Saturday and said that this lady had moved to Thonburi a couple of days ago. So we called her and invited her to church, and she came. She's learned everything already, and will be interviewed for baptism on Saturday. YEAH! So awesome. She's been Buddhist, Muslim, and a variety of different types of Christian, but has finally found the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. Today, we're pretty much just chillin'. Oh and now instead of Elders in Bang Khae, there's Sisters, and Elder Oak is the new D.L.
Love you all! The Church is True!
Love, Elder Sharp
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