Sister Zaugg in Thailand: Heyo!

Howdy everyone!

This week was really good, despite some setbacks. We had fasted earlier in the week that we could help an investigator overcome her fears of baptism and help her decide to be baptized last Sunday. We were using EVERY last ounce of faith that we had! For me I've felt like I've been doubting things really easily lately. Just 'cause in the past I've prayed for and worked for certain miracles that have never really come to fruition, so I worked extra hard to push away any doubt or fear that came up. :) In the lesson that we had with her we asked her about her fears, and then read in the scriptures what allllllllll the blessings of baptism are. At the end I just looked her in the eye and said: "I know it, and you know it. You're ready." And she was like, "Yeah." :)))))))))) She's so sweet!! I think she just needed a new face to just tell her that she was gonna be OK. She also worked up the courage to ask her boss to give her Sundays off. We'll see tomorrow if he did or not!!

I'd say our fast was successful! It was a tiny miracle and it helped boost my confidence.

This week Sis Hughes and I have been working on being more bold in our finding. The Elders in our District are NUTS!!! They are so focused on baptizing. They literally talk to everyone about baptism. So many nights I've seen them standing outside of 7/11's just asking people if they wanna be baptized. It's a little excessive, if you ask me. We're taking more of the approach of having a conversation with someone first and then leading it into the benefits of baptism and THEN inviting them to be baptized. It's still putting us out of our comfort zones, though, but as a certain MTC teacher of mine once said: "There's no growth in the comfort zone."

Our district made a goal for 20 baptisms in the next 8 weeks. That means each companionship needs to get about 7 baptisms each. haha Well, I'm not gonna say it's impossible. We may very well find a family or two who wanna be baptized before Christmas.

I don't think it was coincidence that I got thrown into this baptizing-crazy district when I'm the missionary who's stopped believing that she can baptize. If this doesn't help me overcome my block, I dunno what will! hahah

Well, last P-Day Sister Hughes came down with a bad cold which carried over to Tuesday. She slept all day Monday and a good portion of Tuesday. It was way sad. :(

And then on Wednesday we went to this little Italian Pizza place for dinner (it's actually owned by an Italian man) and ate pizza!!! That was way fun... except for Thursday morning we were both SO sick!! We're pretty sure it was the pizza. We were sick all day and had to go to Big C to buy crackers and soda 'cause that was all that we could eat. At one point in the day we were waiting at the church for a recent convert to come and Sis Hughes was in the restroom and I was just sitting on the floor outside sipping on a Sprite. When the member walked in she was like, "Oi! What's wrong with you?" Sis Hughes walked out and was like, "thong sia :(" and the member was like, "both of you???" hahahahhahah She was confused why americans medicate sick tummies with soda and crackers. She said we needed to eat minerals.

And then on Friday I came down with Sis Hughes' cold and had to sleep for most of the day before having to take the sky train to down town Bangkok for another dentist appointment. That was an interesting experience. The appintment went late so we had to rush to find a taxi that would take us to the sky rail. The taxi driver got lost and dumped us in a way sketchy neighborhood in the heart of Bangkok at night. We asked a vendor how to walk to the station and he was like, "Oh! Just turn down this street and walk through five intersections!" We looked down the street... and it was very dark with sketchy people and lots of neon lights. There was no way we were doing that. So we hopped on a little tuk tuk and he zipped us over to the sky rail.

Oh dear. We were both so miserable this week. However, we got balanced key indicators and found 6 new investigators which is AWESOME!! We found a family who wanted to know the answer to the questions of: "What is our purpose on Earth and where are we going after we die?" So we taught them the Plan of Salvation and they're gonna keep learning!! Yay :D

Also, we went allllllllllllllllll the way out in the boonies to teach a recent convert who lives alone with her crazy mom. We taught her about expressing gratitude every day 'cause she's going through a rough period, and then at the end she was like, "I'm gonna paint your nails!" So now I have pretty nails. They're pink and sparkly and ridiculous. I LOVE THEM!!

Last Sunday we had a baptism! A kid name Khaw. He's 14 and has been investigating for about 2 months. Kids under 18 have to go to church for 3 months before they get baptized, so at first the Elders had to tell him that he had to wait. He was CRUSHED!! He just sobbed and sobbed. He was like, "But Elders!! What if Jesus comes TOMORROW??" The kid has already read all of the Bible, Book of Mormon and is half way through Doctrine and Covenants. He helps the Elders find investigators, gives Book of Mormons to every one and apparently preaches against Buddhism at school. He also has his own missionary daily planner that he takes every. LOL He just wants to be baptized is all! Last week the Elders asked President Senior for special permission to baptize him now, and they got the go ahead! Awww it was so cute. This kid is so serious. You wouldn't be able to tell he was happy unless you talked to him. He doesn't smile, but when you talk to him, the corners of his mouth perk up and he just goes on about how happy he is. :))))))))