4th of July week. So did I (yes, we did celebrate it). A TON happened
this week. On Tuesdsay, we went down to Khon Kaen in the morning to
have a Meet&Greet thing with Pres. and Sis. Senior. They both spoke
and told us about themselves, and Pres. Senior bore his testimony in
Thai. They are going to be awesome! They have a great Spirit about
them, and I can tell they are ready to work hard to keep this mission
successful, and build it stronger as well. And even though Pres.
Senior only studied at the MTC for 8 days, his Thai is awesome. Major
Gift of Tongues right there. He did sound very Japanese-like when he
spoke though. It was a good time, and E. Bartling and E. Campbell (my
MTC comp and one of the other kids in my group) were there, so it was
cool to talk to them. We're all struggling with the same things. Two
biggest...language and food. Of course. I'm getting used to the food
now though. Spicy is alright, and there's a ton of way good dishes
that I'm stoked to show you when I come home (I just hope I can find
them somewhere in Utah). On Tuesday we had a talent show in English
Class for the end of transfers. E. Maples, Sis. Carper (one of the
sisters in my area, they all live across the street), and Sis Kaw (a
girl in the other Elders' branch) wanted to practice singing "The
Star-Spangled Banner" and they needed another Elder in the room where
they were practicing. When it got time for them to sing, I didn't go
up, then Sis. Kaw told everyone to start clapping for me. You probably
would have got a kick out of how red my face got. So I got roped into
singing with them. I guess we weren't too bad, and it was a cool
experience. On Wednesday, we had District meeting and then sang the
National Anthem together and Slammed to celebrate. Slamming is where
you get this cookie call a Tim Tam, and you drink milk through it like
a straw, then eat it when it gets all soft. It's a tradition here and
in a few other missions I guess. Definitely gonna do it when I get
home, because I heard you can buy Tim Tams at Wal-Mart! Thursday was
Moves Meeting, so E. Raven and E. Patterson went down to Bangkok, and
I stayed up in Udon with E. Maples. E. Raven is now the District
Leader, so I'm going to be doing a lot of switch-offs and running our
area quite a bit. A lot of responsibility for a greenie, but I really
see it as a blessing, because it'll help me learn to be a more
effective missionary, and prepare me for when I'm a senior comp. Pray
for me though! I need it bad. Saturday we went to Kumphawapi again,
and it was a great day. We got 3 lessons off the invite within an
hour. I was focusing on having more Faith again, and being more
confident when I spoke (that's a struggle for me), and I really think
it helped! We didn't get anything else for a while, but we eventually
got one more lesson off the invite, and a lesson with an investigator.
We also got to give a member a blessing, she'd torn her achilles
tendon. I love having the opportunity to exercise the Priesthood, such
a great blessing in our lives. Could you imagine where we would be
without it? I'm so grateful for it. Anyway, that night at the
hotel...SKETCHY! It was probably around midnight, and I got woken up
by some guy screaming way loud. I was kind of out of it, but it kept
repeating and I heard bottles breaking between screams. Me and Elder
Raven looked out the window once it stopped, but couldn't see
anything. Then I saw a guy in a black shirt laying on the ground,
drunk out of his mind. He kept mumbling stuff, then a cop rode up on
motorcycle. The guy tried to throw something at him, so the cop kicked
him. It was actually pretty funny because the guy deserved it. Then a
couple other cops came in a truck and arrested him. Not going to lie,
I thought a maniac was going through the resort killing people. But
don't worry...he wasn't. Sunday, was a good day in Kumps. 27 people,
the high since I've been here, and I didn't mess up when I played the
piano! Udon...not so good. Only like 50 when we usually have around
65, and we only had 2 investigators (Taam and Nooy) when we were
expecting around 6. Unfortunate. We're going to have to move Tik's
date since she missed church. Taam I think is going to be good to go
by the 22nd, and Nooy is scheduled for this Saturday! Her interview is
on Tuesday when the Zone leaders come to do switch-offs, so we'll see
how it goes. She might need a little more time (hopefully not), but
she has a really strong testimony of the church. She'll be a good
member once she's baptized, especially with Tugta around her. Fon
didn't make it to church unfortunately, but we gave her a date for
August 5th. Church is the only obstacle, and I think she has a desire
to go, she just needs to...go. She knows it's true, so I think she'll
be ok. We didn't see Sai again last week, but we're going to try to
this week, so I'll let you know how that goes. The language is coming
along. I learn more and more each day, but I still have a long way to
go. I think it'll be another blessing that comes out of running our
area.
It sounds like everything is going great back home! 4th of July
sounded fun, and it sounds like everything is about ready for the
reunion. I'm sad I'm not going to be there, but I'll be thinking of
all of you (but not too much, I'm a missionary ;) ). Be sure and send
some pics!
Love you all! Hope to hear from you soon!
Friends - Got my first letter in country (2, actually)! Thanks
Karlissa! I'll write you back! Hope to hear from eveyone else!
Well, gotta go. I love you all! The Church is true!
Love, Elder Sharp
Pics: Me and E. Patterson, and the other elders dared me to fit an ice
cream cone in my mouth...so I did.
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