Sister Zaugg in Thailand: My Last Email From the US!

Guess what. This will be my LAST email from the States for 16 months!!!!!!! I'm leaving for Thailand on Monday!!!!!!!! We got our travel plans last Friday! We were pretty sure that they would come on Thursday, but we were disappointed when our mail boxes were empty. : ( So we weren't really sure when they would come, until Friday afternoon at lunch Sister Melton and Chii Stephens of the cambodian and vietnamese districts came running to our tables squealing and waving their travel plans!!! My district all freaked out and rushed to the post office and found ours there too!!!!!! We have a 3 hour layover in Taipei, Taiwan!!! The Cambodians leave the day after us on Tuesday and stop in Hong Kong. SO COOL!!!! It was actually really hard to focus that day, but we pulled it together and maintained some form of composure!

My zone (minus the nccng thais)

And then on Monday our name tags came!!!!!!! Like- the ones that have our names in Thai! That made is SO real for us. Like... we're actually going to Thailand. And we're going to be speaking Thai and serving Thai people. Wow. You know, I'm really not that nervous. I've worked hard here at the MTC. I've learned a lot, and I know I'll learn a lot in Thailand. Mostly I'm just ready to go and work work WORK! I just know they're going to have us place a Book of Mormon as soon as we get off the plane, and I'm so PUMPED FOR IT. I'm gonna like drag whoever my companion is around and talk to whoever I can. Even if they can't understand a thing I say, they'll see how much I love that book, and hopefully they'll want to check it out. Haha! I just want to run around Bangkok and tell every one I make eye contact with, "GOD LOVES YOU!!!" That would probably be un-productive though, so I'll refrain from doing that.

Sis Duplessis and Sis Stack

We will miss our nccng Thais! We don't know all of them that well, but there's been a few that I've really come to know and love. Our mini-me trio and Sis Duplessis and Sis Stack are just my absolute favorite! They're all so cute and we adore them. Sis Stack is probably the cutest Sister on the planet. I feel like every time I look at her she's smiling at me or one of my companions. It makes me feel so loved. <3 I will be sad to leave our nccngies, but I'm PUMPED to be reunited with my Phii Thais!!!!!!! I miss them so much. I can't wait to see them and see how far they've come in the last 6 weeks.

Mini-mees!

This Friday my investigator, Sam gets baptised! We're so excited. He's the only one of our investigators who's getting baptised before we leave. And he's getting baptized on his birthday!! We asked Brother Phan (who plays Sam), "Is Friday really your birthday?" And he said, "Yup!" So we're planning some kind of.... birthday... type thing.... We're not sure. It'll prolly just be a card that's filled with love. Haha! We love our teachers.

My district at the temple!

Last day at the temple!

Yesterday we went to the dentist again! Sis Ng needed a re-filling this time! But we went to a different office this time around. It was suuuuper fancy! We felt weird not having to swipe our security cards to get in and use the elevators. Haha. So while Sis Barton and I were trying to study Thai in the waiting room, a woman and her daughter came in, and we heard that the daughter was a soon-to-be missionary, so we asked the woman where her daughter was going, and she said, "estonia", and asked where we're going.

When she found out we're going to Thailand she was like, "oh! My daughter just got back from Thailand!" And we were like, "what's her name??" And she said the name of the same sister who has been coming to TRC for the last 6 weeks!!!!!!!! We FREAKED out!!!!!!!!! We LOVE her! We have the funnest times teaching her. We laugh, and feel the spirit, and she shares her experiences in Thailand and we actually understand her when she speaks!!! That was really fun. Also, there was a whole commotion in the dentist's office because they just recently got a little nemo fish in their tank, and all the other fishies were attacking it and they were trying to save it. We kind of just sat there and yelled, ""save the fishy!!!!!!!!" I hope they were able to find it a better home. : ( ...Anyway. That was my fun dentist trip.

So for having not had any contact with any sort of media in the last 2 months, I haven't really had any cravings for tv or music. There's only been 2 things that I've thought of fairly frequently (like once a week): Pride and Prejudice and SPONGEBOB. I was talking with Elder Calderon in my district last night about Spongebob and I realized how.... important... Spongebob has been in my life...! That feels really weird to say, but it's TRUE! My family totally bonded over that cartoon, parents included. I swear half the stuff that comes out of Eliza and my mouth when we're together is some form of a Spongebob quote. Hahha! Who knew. Missions force you to realize deep, deep, stuff.

One, more important realization that I've had here at the MTC is that part of the stress I've had that's contributed to discouragement is that I haven't been evaluating my success/performance according to the Lord's standards. I admit that I'm kind of a perfectionist when it comes to some things. I know that my mission is a serious, serious, thing. I am the Lord's servant. I DO NOT want to waste any of his time. I take it very seriously, and I've gotten into this habit of thinking that if I'm not a perfect missionary, I'm a waste of time. But that's not it at all! Bro Phan actually has been trying to help me through this the whole 8 weeks I've been here. Last week he shared a quote with me. It said: "I have often said one of the greatest secrets of missionary work is WORK! If a misisonary, works, he will get the spirit; if he gets the spirit, he will teach by the spirit; and if he teaches by the Spirit, he will touch the hearts of the people and he will be happy."

nccng thais and all the sisters that came in the same day as me!

So, yeah! I do have to work! I have to work my rear off! More than I ever have before! But I'm supposed to work so that the Spirit can work through me. I can't measure my success as a servant of the Lord by how many rules or bullet points I can check off of my daily list, but by whether or not I am filled with the Spirit, and have joy in the work. That was something that took me 8 weeks to figure out, and to be honest, I'm still trying to understand it. But I'm better than I was before. It's hard, wanting to be a good missionary, because sometimes we end up doing things our way, instead of the Lord's, when we were trying so hard to do it His way in the beginning! But that's what repentance is for. :) I do it every day, and it's kept me sane.

So, yesterday was my LAST Tuesday devotional! And guess who came.

....

Elder Russel M. Nelson!

Can you BELIEVE it?? I have heard from TWO Apostles of the Lord here at the MTC. Some people don't even get to hear from ONE, let alone, TWO. I am so incredibly blessed and spoiled. What a special experience it is to hear an apostle speak. He talked about how ancestors of us and our invetsigators will be with us as we bring them closer to Christ. He talked about how family history is a very important tool in misionary work. I really believe now that family history will be a great tool in my mission! I'm so greatful to have been able to hear Elder Nelson speak!

Well, I'm running out of time, so I'll just express my testimony and gratitude for the MTC! The MTC is HARD! But it's amazing. I was forced to grow and learn in capacities I've never done before. I know for a fact that I was called by God through His prophet. I can feel that my calling is divine. I know that missionary work is hard because it's supposed to be. Elder Holland said, "Missionary work is hard, because salvation is not a cheap experience. Why should it be easy for us, when it was never easy for Him?" I have to cry, sweat, and hurt to help these beloved children of the Lord, because Christ did that and so much more for me- AND them. I am so grateful for Him and His atonement. That's why I'm here. I am so ready to go to Thailand. I'm ready to work with these people, and share Christ's love with them. I am so privileged to be a missionary. There is nowhere I'd rather be right now.