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