Sawadii Khrab Family and Friends! How is everyone? I'm doing great
here in Udon Thani. Do I even have to say it? This week flew by once
again, but a lot got done. Monday, we didn't do much. Just went to the
mall and ate at Sizzlers, then back to the house where I took a nap.
It was much needed. Tuesday, we went around and invited for a little
bit, then decided to go and visit Nong. We talked to her for a little
bit and tried to get a feel for her interest in learning. I think
she's interested, but scared at the same time. She pretty much refuses
to meet at her house because her husband and the rest of her family
are mega-Buddhist (like 95% of everyone here) and don't like the idea
of learning about Christianity. We tried to get her to make an
appointment to meet at the church, but she said she just didn't know
what her schedule would be like. We're going to keep trying to get
her, but it's a tough situation. After we met with her, we headed up
to Kumphawapi and invited for a little bit. We didn't have much
success unfortunately, but we had English class that night. We had 15
people! I know that's not a ton, but it's six more than we usually
have, and I think it's going to continue to grow. The bad thing about
it is that we can never get any members to come to the classes, so we
can't teach them. We always have people committed, but they always
back out or just don't show up. So frustrating. We'll keep at it
though. The members are great, they just need a little practice. That
night, we paid a truck 200 baht to take us to the hotel. We were
originally planning on taking a Tuk Tuk that we across while walking,
but we had a feeling that the guy was drunk, so we asked his friend
(who came along) what they had just been doing. He just gave me a big
grin and said "Drinking alcohol, duh." So that plan was out the
window. We had them drop us off at 7-11 and then asked the guy in the
songtaw (truck) to take us out there. It was the same price, and much
faster, so we're going to try to do the same thing every time. We
stayed in the nice hotel again. Yes Brooke, the mission pays for
travel expenses and stuff like that. We have a budget, so when I say
I'm house money leader, it means I have to keep track of where the
money goes, send in reimbursements, and pay bills. It's not too bad,
but it's annoying when the other Elders say "I'm not sure how much it
was, maybe around 100 baht, so just give me that." Yeah, not
happening. Anyway, Wednesday morning, we ate breakfast at the hotel,
went back to Udon and studied then went to lunch with the other Udon
Elders and the Nong Khai Elders who were down for District meeting. We
ate Isan food. That's what we usually get when we're together. (The
Isan is the big Eastern chunk of Thailand). It's really hot, but some
of my favorite. I just hope I can find some when I get home. We had
district meeting with the Zone Leaders at 3, and at 5 we had our
investigators come for their baptismal interviews. Nadin passed! Taam
and Nooy didn't. They both just had some stuff they needed to clear up
first. Taam can get interviewed again in two weeks, and Nooy got to
have another interview on Sunday with a member of the Mission
Presidency...and passed! Nadin and Nooy will both be baptized this
Sunday. Pray for Taam to get there! Thursday we did switch-offs. I was
with Elder Maples in my area. It was a solid day. I always learn a lot
when I work with him. We taught Tugta an RC lesson, then we switched
back to our original companions for a couple hours to do weekly
planning. At 4, we got a call from a girl asking for help with her
English homework, since she knew we taught it. We met her at the
church and helped her out a little bit. Then we started talking about
religion with her. Right then, another girl we didn't know pulled up
on a scooter. We figured she'd be asking about English, but she was
all religion. We gave them both Book of Mormons and ended up talking
to them both for almost an hour and a half because they just kept
asking questions. It was awesome! Their names are Nun (homework girl)
and Um (other girl). Later that night we taught Nooy and helped
prepare her for her new interview on Sunday. We both knew she'd be
fine. Friday was ALL inviting. Long day, and we only got two short
lessons out of it. Those are the tough days, but you gotta put in the
work to bring about miracles. That's one lesson that I'm learning out
here. Work brings about miracles. If we aren't willing to do our part,
we aren't going to get anything. The cool thing is, I think miracles
come a lot of the time even when they aren't directly related to the
"work" you put in. For example, I think the Nun and Um were a miracle,
and we didn't even do anything to meet them. But we'd been working
hard, and were being rewarded for our efforts. That's how the Lord
works. Work = Miracles. Luckily, I learned from the two hardest
workers on the planet. Thanks Mom and Dad! Saturday, we got to meet
with Um and actually teach her. We reintroduced the Book of Mormon and
Prayer, and I think she is totally willing to read and pray. She even
asked us if she could come to church the next day. She's golden! That
night we met with Nadin again and set up her baptism. Pres. Sxa was
there and "suggested" I sing a solo hymn at the baptism, so now Nadin
is all about it. Not happening. I'm not that brave ha. Sunday was
good. 23 people in Kumps, not sure how many in Udon. Um came though!
And I think she really liked it. We got to meet with a black guy that
we'd met a couple of times named Stephan. He's from the Bronx (go
Yankees) and isn't sure about his religious beliefs. Hopefully we can
show him the truth. That night, we headed to Nong Khai. Today, we went
to a really cool Wat (pictures attached), now we're just chillin in
Udon.
Love you all!
Well, gotta go. The church is true!
Love, Elder Sharp
Dear Family and Friends,
Once again, this week FLEW by (even though it doesn't seem like it to
you Brooke)! Yes Car, I'm almost 5 months through my mission. It's
going by so fast, but I'm making a lot of good memories. This week was
a good, and very busy one. I'll try to remember everything that
happened. On Monday, we went down to Kumphawapi to see the monkeys,
and it was quite an experience. There was a monkey sitting right by me
watching Elder Maples hand out peanuts. I touched him with my foot (a
touch, not a kick), and he didn't really seem to like that. Then a
couple minutes later, Elder Thomas starts walking away, and the monkey
attacks him! He got a little bite on his leg, so he ended up having to
go to the hospital and get rabies shots. Whoops! Sorry man (but I
don't think the touch made him bite. I just think he was a crazy
monkey). Tuesday we went to Kumphawapi again to invite a little and
teach English. We didn't have much luck inviting, but we did get to
meet with Pa. She started telling us about her life and her husband,
and I guess she's had it pretty rough. I just hope she can realize the
blessings that come from the Gospel, because I know that it can make
her happier. It was annoying though, we had to cut the lesson short
because the member just got up and walked out, so we couldn't finish.
Lame. That night we taught another good English class. We only had
nine people again, but we hung a big tarp sign on the church fence on
Saturday, so we should have a lot more people tomorrow. Tuesday night
we stayed at a pretty nice hotel, and had a complimentary breakfast in
the morning. I never thought toast with butter could taste so good
(butter is really expensive, at least for missionaries). Wednesday, we
went and tried to visit some people we haven't seen for a while. We
went to Fon's first, but we couldn't see her. Apparently she had to
get her appendix out or something, so she's been recovering for a
while. Pray for her! Then we went to Tik's. She let us in and we sat
down and talked for a little bit. She said the reason she hasn't been
coming to church is because she sells stuff out of her house, and if
she's not there when a customer comes on Sunday, they'll go somewhere
else. We tried to tell her that God would take care of everything if
she kept the commandments, but she wouldn't budge. We'll keep trying
though! Then the Sisters called us and asked if we could go give a
blessing to one of their investigators who had been sick for a few
days. She was about 15 years old, and not only did she look very sick,
but also very sad. It about killed me. She said she'd just been
praying and praying and didn't know what to do anymore. I'm so glad
and grateful that we have the Power of the Priesthood and have the
ability to exercise it to help these people. It was an awesome
experience. I asked Sis. Carper about her the other day, and she said
she'd gotten a little better, hopefully her recovery continues. Pray
for her! That night we taught Nooy and Nadin (I'll talk about them in
a minute). Thursday, we got up at 4:00 a.m. so that we could be down
to Khon Kaen for Zone Conference by 8. Elder Thomas had to practice
the piano. I was beat, but it was an awesome meeting. Pres. Senior
honestly could not be better. He taught a lesson on Faith and the
importance of it in missionary work. Like I said last week, you can't
teach without the Spirit. And you can't hear the Spirit's promptings
without Faith. Faith is the most fundamental principle of Christ's
Gospel. Without Faith, nothing else matters. I've been trying to
exercise more Faith lately, and will continue to. I encourage all of
you to do the same. After all the meetings were done, the Pres. had to
interview everyone, and we were some of the last, so we didn't get
home until about 9, so we just got ready and went to bed. Friday, me
and Elder Whitaker (from Nong Khai) did switchoffs in my area. It was
a good day, and I learned a lot from him. At about 4, we were at the
house figuring out some bills and money stuff (I'm house money leader,
and it's quite annoying). I got a call from Pres. Senior, and he gave
me and E. Whitaker an assignment. We had to stay with the Sisters the
rest of the day because I guess the crazy (supposedly dangerous)
husband of one of their (former) investigators wouldn't stop calling
them, and he wanted us there in case he showed up or something. So we
had to stay at our house for a few hours while they were at there's.
At 5, the other Elders stayed there while we went and taught Nadin and
Taam, then we switched back. It was crazy day. Saturday, we went to
Kumps again. Just inviting, nothing real big happened. We weren't able
to meet with Pa, and she wasn't at church yesterday, which was a major
bummer. Sunday was pretty chill. Just a good day to focus on the Lord.
We still aren't getting many investigators. Taam, Nooy, and Nadin are
really our only solid ones. Pa hopefully will be, but it's still a
little too early to tell. But like I said, those other three are
SOLID. They all have baptismal dates for the 12 of Aug.! And I think
they are all ready. E. Raven taught Taam yesterday and he said he is
doing awesome. I taught Nadin and Nooy (we did some switchoffs with
members), and they are both great too. We're going to meet with Nooy
one more time tonight, and then they are all getting interviewed on
Wednesday when the Zone Leaders are up here for District Meeting. Pray
hard for them! The 12th is going to be one awesome day, because we
have 3 people, the Sisters in our branch have one, and the other
Elders have two. 6 new members in one day! How awesome would that be?
I'll let you know how the interviews go next week. The language is
coming along really well. It felt really good teaching Nooy and Nadin
by myself yesterday, I just have to remember to slow it down and speak
clearly and loudly (gosh, that's always been a problem of mine).
Everything else here is good. Rainy season (bleh). We got clearance to
move houses, too! I'm so stoked. Our house is alright, but it's too
big and too hard to maintain. So we looked at some townhouses where
the senior missionaries live, and I think we're going to jump on them.
Gotta go, Love you all. The church is true!
Elder Sharp
Hello Family and Friends! Don't worry, I'm not going to send this late
again. How are you all? It feels like I was typing my last e-mail
yesterday. The weeks are really flying by here. Things are going good,
nothing to complain about. A lot happened this last week, and a lot is
going to happen this week again. Last Tuesday, me and E. Raven went
and stayed down in Kumps so that we could teach English class. We only
had 9 people, 3 adults and 6 younger kids, but they were all really
eager to learn and asked a lot of questions. It was probably the most
fun english class I've taught so far, because we had a good time, but
they were also learning a lot as well. We headed back the next morning
and got home in time to do a little studying, then we had District
meeting. We talked about teaching with the Spirit. I've read that
chapter in Preach My Gospel many times, but each time I learn
something new, and the fact that we wouldn't be able to convert
without the Spirit gets reassured. The Spirit is the real teacher.
Everyone should remember that. Whether you're a set-apart missionary
or a member missionary, you have to have the Spirit in order to make a
difference. Anyway, after district meeting, all of the Elders went to
this really good Vietnamese restaurant with an khon Thai RM. He's
going around visiting all of the places he served and then moving to
Utah to go to school. It was a good time visiting with him and all of
the other Elders. Of course, in the end they had me try to fit
something in my mouth. This time it was a giant ball of lettuce (yes,
it did fit. And don't worry, I'm getting a Dairy Queen shake out of
it). A big mouth has its advantages. Thursday, I did switchoffs with
E. Thomas (E. Maples new companion). It was a really good day. We
taught a Recent Convert lesson to Sis. Tugta about callings, service,
and missionary work. She is awesome, and way excited to receive a
calling. Then we had to run a few errands and stuff like that. That
night, we met with Taam. He's finally reading! He reads everyday, and
the following up helps a lot. I think he's coming to know that it's
true, and should be ready to be baptized on Aug. 12. Friday, we had
long-planning and did some inviting. That night, we met with Sis.
Nadin. I think I told you about her already, but she's 18, and is
going to college down here. She's originally from Nong Khai (the other
area in our zone) and her mom just got baptized up there last week.
Nadin is awesome. She reads and really studies the Book of Mormon, and
asks a lot of good questions. Do you know how hard it is to explain 2
Nephi 1:23 in Thai? Ridiculously hard. But I think (hope) she
understood it in the end from my chopped explanation. She came to
church yesterday for the first time, and I think she'll be baptized
here soon too. We set her date for the 12th of Aug. as well. The rule
changed, and investigators only have to go to church 2 times in a row
in order to be baptized, but we're gonna play it safe and take it
slow. Saturday, we headed back to Kumps. We went inviting for a while
and met this old lady who is already a Christian. We read in the intro
to the Book of Mormon and explained how the Book of Mormon is a
companion to the Bible. She was really open to it (and it felt like
she already believes it's true and that Pres. Monson is a prophet
haha). We'll follow up with her sometime this week. After that, we
went to the church and pulled weeds for a while (I thought I'd gotten
away from that). It looks a lot better. That night, we ate dinner with
a sister (her name is Pa, non-member) of a guy who is member and her
husband. We visit with them almost every time we go to Kumps, but
they've never been really interested. After we ate, we just asked if
we could share some words about Prayer. It ended up being a 40 minute
lesson and they have both committed to read and pray about the Book of
Mormon. It really felt like me and E. Raven were testifying with true
power, and they both looked so happy when we were talking. At the end,
the guy prayed and Pa said she had goosebumps afterwards. I think we
have two future members on our hands. Great day. Sunday was great as
well. We had good numbers in both Kumps and Udon. 28 and 76! So
awesome. Two twin 9-year-old girls got baptized after the meetings,
which was sweet. Sister Carper had me and E. Raven be witnesses
because for some reason, Thai people think you have to keep the
curtains closed until right before the baptism prayer starts, and then
close them again right after they come out of the water. We made sure
they stayed open, and it was much better. Everyone got to see how
happy they were. At 7 we met with Taam again and just read the Book of
Mormon and shared things we liked. It was a good lesson, and I really
feel like my reading and comprehension is coming along well. Today,
we're going down to Kumps to see the monkeys again because some of the
other Elders haven't seen them.
Our investigators are doing alright. Taam, Nadin, and Nooy are doing
the best. They came to church yesterday, and all are progressing. Nooy
moved, and she's in the sister's area now, but we might continue to
teach her. I'll let you know what happens in the next e-mail. Tik is
not doing so hot. She's NEVER free to meet (at least that's what she
says) and doesn't come to church. Basically, someone has to go and get
her, or she won't make any effort to come. She has to have the desire
to do all she can to come, or else she hasn't received true
conversion. We didn't meet with Fon this week either because she's
been sick, or she didn't answer her phone. Hopefully this week. We're
going to meet with Nong tomorrow and follow up. This week, more
switchoffs, and we're going down to Khon Kaen on Thursday for Zone
Conference. Lot's going on, and this week should fly by too.
Friends - Happy Birthday Josi! Hope it's a great day! Hope to hear
from some of you soon!
Well, gotta go. Remember to always pray to have the Spirit with you,
and do missionary work. Members are the best missionaries. The Church
is True!
Love, Elder Sharp
Dear Family and Friends,
Sorry I didn't get this sent yesterday! It was a crazy P-Day and we
ended up not having any time to e-mail, but at least I'm getting it to
you today! This week absolutely FLEW by! So much went on. On Tuesday,
E. Raven did switchoffs with the Zone Leaders, so him and Elder
Siriphan stayed in Udon, and I went down to Khon Kaen with E. Olive.
We did a little inviting, English Class, then went home and crashed.
The next day we all met at the mall to eat, then me and E. Raven went
back to Udon. Pres. Senior was at our church when we got there. We had
a lesson with a girl named Nadin, and he asked if he could sit in on
it. PRESSURE! We taught the Plan of Salvation, and it ended up going
well. It talked to us afterward and complimented us and gave us a few
pointers. He is awesome. The rest of the week was just inviting,
inviting, and more inviting. We only have about 5 serious
investigators right now, so we're working hard to find some new ones.
We haven't had to much success, only a few lessons taught, but not
many seriously interested people. There is one girl who we gave a Book
of Mormon, and she has already read a little of it. Her name is Nong,
and she wants to start meeting us at the church. Hopefully she turns
into a good one! We didn't end up going to Kumphawapi this Saturday,
just more inviting down here. We did go down there for church Sunday
though, and we had 30 people at church! So awesome. The number keeps
growing every week. And technically about 7 were "investigators"
because E. Raven had met them in English Class when him and E.
Siriphan had gone there to teach it on Tuesday. I think the English
Class is really going to help Kumps grow. In the Udon branch, it was
pretty disappointing. We only had about 5 people when we should have
65+. And only one investigator, Taam, came to church. Nooy didn't get
baptized this weekend. She just wasn't ready. Me and E. Raven talked
about it and decided not to have her interviewed. She was alright with
it, and is willing to prepare for a later date. The problem is, she
moved away this week because she got a new job. She had told us she
would still come to our church, but she didn't show up. Hopefully we
can contact her this week and figure things out. Pray for her! We also
moved Taam's date. I taught him with Pres. Sxa while E. Raven was
interviewing a couple of the Sisters' investigators for baptism, and
we had him choose a new date. He just isn't reading and doesn't have a
strong enough testimony of the Book of Mormon. He chose the 12th of
August, and committed to read everyday. We'll be following up on his
reading everyday as well, so hopefully that helps. We weren't able to
meet with Fon this week because she was sick everyday, but this week
for sure. We gotta get her coming to church too. Please pray for all
of these people! We didn't get to meet with Sai this last week either,
but hopefully this week sometime!
Yesterday was a crazy/awesome P-Day. We had slept over in Nong Khai
Sunday night so that we could get up early and get going. We rented a
van, and the six Elders and some members all went together. We went to
this sweet Wat and took some cool pictures, then went to this big
mountain thing. There were a bunch of steep staircases that went up
and wrapped around the mountain, so that's what we spent most of the
day doing until we got to the top. It was way tiring and WAY sketchy
at some points, but definitely worth it once we got to the top. I'll
send some pics. Once we were done there, we went to this way sweet
waterfall. There were two actually, and they were way better than the
first one. Thailand is definitely the best place for P-Day activities.
It sounds like life back home is great, and that the reunion was a
success! Man I wish I could've been there. 175+ people? Awesome!
That's so great, especially for Grandma and Grandpa. Just being able
to see everything they started has got to be a great feeling. And I'm
so glad that Aunt Neva got to go too. That definitely had to have made
Grandpa happy. Gosh, it sounds like you all went even more all-out
than you usually do. A mechanical bull? Haha I wish I could've seen
that one so bad (it's a good thing I wasn't there though, I would have
beaten everyone, easily). Who did win? The Buchanan breakfast is
probably the thing I miss most. I would be in heaven if I could just
have one plate. Day after I get home, we should do that ;) You have to
send me pictures of everything! I'll bet it feels good to be getting
back into the swing of things now.
Rest of the Fam - Love you and hope to hear from you soon!
Friends - I hope to hear from all of you too! Love ya!
Well, gotta go. The church is true!
Love Elder Sharp
