Transfers again lawwwww

"Law" in Thai means, "really?" And Thai people say it a lot, but we've been using it excessively lately, because Sis Adams and Tilley have a recent convert who inappropriately adds "law?" at the end of every statement. It's really confusing. "what time is it law?" "Yeah, I think my sister would like to come to church law?" hahahahha 

Tilley's last meal in Udorn

Anyway, so transfers came and went..... and I'm still here! With Sis Stewart! Yup! Nothing really changed except Tilley moved to Asoke (lucky dog) and Sis Muller took her place. We also got 3 new Elders. I'm excited to see how this transfer goes! I'm hoping that it's like last transfer where at first we started with almost nothing and the work quickly picked up... because right now things are very sloooooow. Ever since Stewart got sick a few weeks ago the work has gone at a snail's pace. It's pretty annoying, actually, but we've decided to use all of our missionary knowledge that we've gained over the last year and a half or so to NOT get frustrated and beat ourselves up over it. :) We've learned way too much to slip back into that nasty old habit. 

Just keep swimming... just keep swimming....

Getting our feet massaged!

But that doesn't mean we still don't see miracles on a daily basis! Yesterday after dinner we decided to take our new elders out to nongprajak to go contacting. As soon as we were on our bikes, BIG BLACK clouds rolled over and it started sprinkling. We all looked at each other and decided, "YOLO!" And headed over to nongprajak anyways. Well, when we got there there was hardly anyone at the park (no surprise), and after the other sisters locked their bikes together, they realized that they'd left their bike lock key at the house. So Stew and I had to get back on our bikes and get the keys from the house. With faith like that of Ammon's she said, "Don't worry, we'll find our next baptism on the way there!" Well, we didn't find anyone on the way there, but on the way BACK I yelled at an older guy on the street through the rain: "YOU WANNA GO TO CHURCH?!" and through the rain I thought I saw him nod so we stopped and it turns out that he really wants to go to church! So we got his number and thanked God. We're meeting with him tonight!

So that's about all I have for this week. On Tuesday a member took us to her rice fields and we planted rice! It was overcast and sprinkly so it was very pleasant. I was afraid of leeches, but the worst of it was only spiders. It was fun squishing around in the soft mud and shoving shoots of rice into it. We were sooo slow compared to the members who've done it their entire lives. Plus, we got tired really fast. They could have done it all day! After one field my back and hamstrings were KILLING me. I'm still not completely recovered. haha!

Us taking a picture of them taking a picture of us.
These kids are members and are soooooo funny!

Have a fabulous week!

Sis Zaugg

All good things must come to an end....

And thus ends the second most perfect transfer of my mission! I'm pretty bummed about it, actually. It was SO MUCH FUN. Shout outs to my sisters: Stewart, Tilley, and Adams. I love them SO much, and am devastated that we need part! They are so fun, and so lovely, and have taught me SO much! Friends forever, maybe?

Nothing too exciting to report on this week. At least, nothing to write a big long email about. I'll just send pictures and tell stories about them instead. Is that OK?

Hasan is a recent convert from last transfer. He was found at an Islamic restaurant. He secretly asked the sisters for a Book of Mormon and met with them in secret. Before he was baptized he told the district leader: "If my family finds out that I'm Christian, they have an obligation to kill me... but I don't care, because this is true." WOW. Right after his baptism he got called out by the army to be stationed somewhere else in Thailand, but last week he showed up at church! He was here for the week and came to all the activities, helped teach, and was generally just awesome. Then on Friday morning he called and said, "Sisters! I'm about to head out! Come see me!" So we rushed over and gave him some Liahona magazines. He's so cool! Good luck Hasan!

Elder Jex in his finally dying throws
decided to make a tie out of
baptismal cards. haha

The Isaan is soooo pretty!

Happy Birthday tooooo................. ME!

Chillin' at Jin's house.

Happy Birthday tooooo................. ME! I'm actually quite shocked at how fast this last year has gone. I can remember my last birthday quite vividly.... and now I've gone and done it again! 21 years old. Hm. Dunno how I feel about that. 

Here's a fun fact: I'm not sure if I ever said "I am 20 years old" in English.

Me and my memberssss!

Anyway. This years' b-day was a blast! In the morning the sisters in my house bombarded me with silly spray while I was still undressed, and gave me some sandals and a mini-jade elephant pendant that I've been drooling over and have thought I would never be able to find again. We taught some recent converts and invited and ate Japanese food for dinner with the whole district and some members! Then to top it all off we ate a pazookie (pizza cookie?) at the Browns' and the same members from dinner suddenly showed up and surprised me with a cupcake and a beautiful Thai rendition of "Happy Birthday".

We went to the District President's house for lunch
and he made us these way fancy non-alcoholic
beverages. hahah! Before he was a member he was
studying food sciences...? Or something like that.
But basically he knows how to make any alcoholic
beverage under the moon. hahahahaha

It was all so nice and I felt very loved! I'm so grateful for the missionaries in my district, especially the sisters, and also for all my friends, the members!!!! I love Udorn so much. The members are the BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!

President Sua (tiger) looking suave.
He has got to be one of my favorite people
that I've met here in Thailand.
He is soooo funny, sooooo nice, and a rock in the church.
Whenever we accuse him of something
he says, "What! I'm chinese!"

Cleaning the baptismal font!
It gets sooo gross. Not really sure how.
Must be all the sin wishing off. ;)

This week we still didn't really get much done... Sis Stewart can't seem to get better. :( So we did a lot of recent convert and less active work. And it really payed off in the end, because this Sunday we had every single one of our recent converts at church (one of which passed the sacrament for the first time), PLUS two members who we haven't seen at church all this transfer who we taugh this week CAME!!!!!!!!!! It was a miracle!

Elder Tanawat, my district leader
looking good!

PLUS, sister long got baptized! She was so cute and teeny tiny in her baptismal dress! Four people got baptized and she was the last, which meant she was the last to share her testimony at the end. She stood up and said: "Dear Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen." hahahahahahhahahahah! She's so stinkin' cute.

So you know, it was a pretty good week. This next week is the last of the transfer. WHOA.

 Are you sick of cloud pictures yet?

Have a great week! Love you!

Sis Zaugg

Sicker than a dog

Wednesday morning my companion and I both woke up feeling a little under the weather. As the day wore on I got better but she got worse. And she just kept getting worse and worse until we were spending the entire weekend at home. She literally slept for 16 hours one day. hahahaha Sooooooo we did not get a lot done this week.

On Friday we were feeling pretty bummed, because after a slow week last week we were wondering how we were ever gonna find new investigators. Of course we forgot that with the Lord ALL things are possible, and we got a call from the Relief Society President saying: "Hey sisters, my son who has been to church a couple times told me today that he wants to be baptized this Sunday. Can you come teach him today?" uh WHAT?????????? hahahahahahahahha Guys. God is good. Sister Stewart was too sick to get out of bed, so we arranged for Sis Brown to come stay at our house while I taught the brother at the Browns' house. I literally taught him all of the lessons in an hour and a half and he was SO prepared! His mom was thrilled. They're already making plans to go to the temple. :,)

Cool story about his mom: her name is Roong and is Sis Reedy's FIRST CONVERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And we baptized her son. Gyahhhhhhhhhhhhh My mission has come full circle.

So we taught Top (the son) and one other investigator this week. The other investigator is another referral from a member. Her name is Long. Long comes with her neighbor and her neighbor's husband who is the elders' investigator. They're the smallest old people I've ever met. They live WAY out in the boonies in little shacks and are so humble and kind. They're so poor, but a neighbor who owns a tuk tuk takes pity on them and takes them to church for a low price. They're really old and only speak in Isaan, which is more Laotian than Thai. So we have to bring a member who speaks Isaan to help interpret. Originally Long was going to be baptized on Sunday, but we felt like she needed to understand more about Christ and the covenant of baptism. She has a strong desire to be baptized, but she doesn't really know why... hahaha So we'll teach her some more this week, then she'll be baptized next Sunday!

 In the corner is one of the giant rain pots.

There's no running water in their little community. They used to have to carry in water or collect rain water in MASSIVE pots (taller than Dad), but Elder Brown has a colleague who donated money to install a well on their property, and they were just putting the finishing touches on it last week. The whole neighborhood gathered round and were SO excited! The sister from church was holding the hose and spraying it all over the place with the biggest smile on her face. Another woman said: "It just makes you want to take a cold shower!" I'm so happy that they finally have water. :)))))))

The well.

This man was sitting watching them turn on
the well with the BIGGEST smile on his face. :)

So even though we haven't been able to do much, the Lord sure has been working hard here in Udorn for our sakes! It really goes to show that this is HIS work. Not ours!

Yesterday was Zone Conference, hence the reason why P-Day is on Tuesday this week. It was sooooo goooooooood. But the sad thing about it was that it's my last zone conference ever, which means they made me get up with all the other dying missionaries and bear my testimony. That was surreal. 

Rrrrrrrghhhh.... I'm not dead yet! 

Getting my palm read.
He said some bad things about the other sisters,
but I only got good things!

During Zone Conference an Elder was giving a talk about man's potential to become like God, using the example, 'a chick becomes a chicken, a duckling becomes a duck, so of course a child of God is heir to all that God has". But I thought I heard him say, "a duckthing becomes a duck" and I almost wet myself laughing.

Remember that you are a duckthing with great potential to become a duck! God loves you and so do I. Have a great week!

Sis Zaugg

There Can Be Miracles.........

This week seemed soooooooo looooooong. We either baptized or dropped all of our investigators and taught a grande total of one lesson this week. hahahaha This always happens at least once in a transfer, though, so I tried not to get too stressed out. It was actually kinda nice to turn a fresh page and start over. It also gave us an opportunity to use our faith to produce miracles!

By Saturday evening we realized that we didn't have anyone committed to going to church on Sunday, so we fasted as a companionship that we would somehow have investigators at church and that we would get 10 new potential investigators. On Sunday we had 5 investigators at church and got 6 potential investigators. MIRACLES!!! Three of the 5 were walk-ins, one was a guy that Sis Stewart invited, and the last was a friend of a member. Here's another cool thing: one is from Africa, and another from Liverpool. We're going for international this week, apparently. hahaha!

Anyway, so that was a really cool answer to prayer. God really is aware of His missionaries. :)

Not much else happened this week..... We had another MLC down in Bangkok................ Yup. 

Last P-Day we went to a member's farewell dinner. She's entering the MTC tomorrow in Provo! She's going to Australia! Sister Aom... she's sooo cute! Anyway, when we got to her house an old lady who communicated through grunts and squeals dragged us inside and there on a blanket on the floor was the smallest human being I've ever seen. Her name also happened to be Aom. Aom is 13 years old, and has some kind of a disease. Her arms and legs are stick thin, and she can't speak, but she can communicate by shaking her head and smiling. She had the most beautiful eyes! They had us stretch out her arms and legs to keep the muscles from getting stuck, because her muscles are always contracted. We all fell in love with her instantly! We sang her hymns and helped her muscles relax. It broke my heart that she has to endure this physical trial, but it made me happy that she has family that loves her and takes good care of her.

Sooo yeah! Hopefully with the start of June will come some more interesting stories to tell. Sorry I don't have more to share! It's been pretty quiet over here in Udorn.

 

Sorry I send so many pictures of the sky, but it is downright gorgeous out here. I looooove it!

Sis Zaugg