Sup

Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

This week was great! First off..... we got BALANCED KEY INDICATORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For the first time since Sis Reedy left!!!!! It felt soooooooooooooooooooo gooooooooooooooood! Like, it's nice to achieve the "numbers" but it's nicer that those numbers reflect how we're helping people come unto Christ 'cause balanced numbers means there were two investigators at church, two investigators preparing for baptism and a lot of other things. My purpose as a missionary is to bring others to Christ, and it just feels so great when I'm fulfilling my purpose. :)

So probably the craziest thing right now is that this is the last week of this transfer. Transfers is next week! I'm not sure when or how that happened, but my 'lil Sis Downs is almost all growed up! I feel like my first 9 weeks in field was wayyyyy longer, but maybe this was how Sis Reedy felt... I'm really not sure what's gonna happen at transfers. My zone leaders are like, 90% positive that I'm moving, but I dunno! There's a definite possibly that I could stay in Don Muang longer. I try not to think about it... 'cause it isn't really relevant. I try to always remember President Uchtdorf's talk about not waiting to be happy:

"We shouldn’t wait to be happy until we reach some future point, only to discover that happiness was already available—all the time! Life is not meant to be appreciated only in retrospect. “This is the day which the Lord hath made … ,” the Psalmist wrote. “Rejoice and be glad in it.”⁶

Brothers and sisters, no matter our circumstances, no matter our challenges or trials, there is something in each day to embrace and cherish. There is something in each day that can bring gratitude and joy if only we will see and appreciate it."

Lately I've been really enjoying spending time serving with the members of my branch. I've really learned to love these people SO much as I've taken them teaching, taught them, and found ways to serve them. It's ABSOLUTE truth that the best cure for feeling down is to serve others. 

Sometime during last week we had zone training! The focus was on our decision to take the Lord's work seriously and to never waste a minute, because right now this is His time, not ours. The people we serve here will face judgement someday.... but so are we!! At first I was getting kinda freaked out and I was like, "oooooOOOHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" But then I realized that I don't have to be scared 'cause I'm already taking this seriously and I'm always striving to be better. The Lord knows my weaknesses, too, and that's what the Atonement is for. What really struck me the most in that meeting was when they started talking about "inflection points", which I guess is fancy math language for a certain point that a line that's moving in a certain direction must choose which direction it's going to change: up, or down. Right now in my mission I feel like I'm at an inflection point. I feel like pretty much my whole mission I've been struggling with self-criticism, little to no success, and fear. It's been hard to have faith that things will get better when they really never have. And now I'm at the point where I have to decide: am I gonna keep letting my faith dissipate and give up in the end and fall, or am I going to choose to walk with faith and rise above the challenges I face every day? I decided to choose the latter. I'm not sure when or how things will change, I just know that they will. That's the great thing about faith. haha 

Ammon's story in the Book of Mormon has really bolstered me up lately. When he and his brethren went to teach the Lamanites they didn't really have any success at first..... In fact it was kinda miserable for them. They were spit on, cast out, stoned and thrown into prison. Eventually they were thinking about turning back, but they had their own inflection point when the Lord commanded them to go back and teach. So they did! They didn't know what was gonna happen or how things would turn out, but they chose one day to have faith in God and keep going. They knew that the Lord didn't call them to fail. 

 27 Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to^aturn back, behold, the Lord ^bcomforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with ^cpatience thine^dafflictions, and I will give unto you success.

 28 And now behold, we have come, and been forth amongst them; and we have been patient in our sufferings, and we have suffered every privation; yea, we have traveled from house to house, relying upon the mercies of the world—not upon the mercies of the world alone but upon the mercies of God.

 29 And we have entered into their houses and taught them, and we have taught them in their streets; yea, and we have taught them upon their hills; and we have also entered into their temples and their ^asynagogues and taught them; and we have been cast out, and mocked, and spit upon, and smote upon our cheeks; and we have been ^bstoned, and taken and bound with ^cstrong cords, and cast into prison; and through the power and wisdom of God we have been delivered again.

 30 And we have suffered all manner of afflictions, and all this, that perhaps we might be the means of saving some soul; and we supposed that our ^ajoy would be full if perhaps we could be the means of saving some.

I don't know who I'll help on my mission. Maybe my only convert will be myself, and that's kinda the attitude that Ammon and his brethren had in the beginning. In the end they converted almost the entire Lamanite nation, which is SO COOL! I don't think that I'll convert all of Don Muang. haha But this story still helps me feel that I still have time to see success in my mission. Granted.... I don't know what kind of success, but it gives me hope. :)

OK Sorry that I just wrote a talk..... moving on.

We've had some cool experiences contacting after that zone training. One day we had an hour to go contacting and felt that we needed to go to the giant park that we used to teach a former investigator at. The weather was sooooo nice, but the only people that were there were creepy guys fishing..... But we decided to walk about the giant pond anyway. haha After a while we were pretty reisnged to the fact that there was just no one that we felt safe talking to, until we crossed a bridge that one random lady was hanging out on. We nonchalantly just stood next to her and pretended to watch the kids below trying to fish with really long branches that they'd fashioned some string to. She seemed to be avoiding eye contact and it was kinda awkward but we were like, "We haven't talked to ANYONE so we gotta at least try." I ended up making conversion about fishing.... I don't know how because I've never studied fishing vocabulary before... She was actually pretty friendly! At the end I was reaching to grab a picture of christ to give to her and I noticed that Sis Downs already had one in her hand. It was a picture of Christ being baptized- one that we neeever use. I was like, "uhhhhhh oook!" Luckily we were at a pond so we we kind of related the picture to that. But weird enough she was interested and we taught her about baptism and she said she wanted to learn more! Crazy!

Yesterday we were waiting outside of a giant apartment complex for some members to show up so we could visit some less active members. This homeless guy came up to us and started speaking perfect English. Apparently he'd worked in America for 26 years as a plane technician until the company was forced to close and he lost his job. Things started to get sketchy when he started to swear a ton and demanded that we name the 10 commandments. We were like, "uhhh... we have to go" and then he gave us his card which was a note card that he'd written on. He said he's a consultant for everything in the world, only he used more colorful language. haha So we got out of there pretty speedily and ended up sitting next to a girl smoking on a bench. I was about to start a conversation with her when her mom came over and started talking to me! They said they'd be interested in learning and made us check out their coffee shop which is ADORABLE. It's like... a real restaurant! You never see those in Thailand. We got a return appointment for tomorrow and we're gonna teach them and they're gonna feed us hot chocolate and pizza. YEahhhhhhhhhhhh :D

In Thailand we have to wait a whole week to watch conference so that they can translate, so I still haven't seen it! I can't wait! They actually have a problem getting members to watch conference here, which is so sad!! I love conference.

Love y'all!

Sis Zaugg

Thus ends my training....

What a week! It was the last week of this transfer, AND the end of my training. I'm no longer a greenie anymore!! I still feel like a greenie in a lot of ways, but Sis Reedy did a great job of forcing me to do uncomfortable things and learn how to lead and be a missionary! I feel fairly confident that I could do whatever the Lord asked me to do at this point. :) Speaking of which, on Saturday during companionship study I was like, "Hey, on Monday we're probably gonna find out if we're training" ('cause on Tuesday there's a big new trainers meeting). And she was like, "Oh yeah :O" And then I went to call a less active to make an appointment, but before I could press the call button, boop! Got an incoming call from President Senior!

This is basically how the conversation went:

"Hey President Senior! What a surprise to hear from you!"

"Hello! How's your training going?"

"It's great!"

"Great! You feel like you could train someone else?"

"Yeah, I could do it."

"Good, 'cause I'm, asking you to do it."

"Uhhh.... I accept!"

"Haha. Good. :)"

Yup! I'm training! I KNEW IT!! You know, 6 weeks ago I was way freaked out at the prospect of getting a greenie after JUST being a greenie, but I've grown a lot since then! My Thai is fair, my teaching is better, I have more confidence in the Lord and myself. It's great! But most of all, I just know that the Lord qualifies whom He calls, so I know that I can do it (it also helps that I'm staying in Don Muang). I'm only a month younger than Sis Reedy was when she got me! 

Speaking of Sis Reedy, she's training too!!! Again! And she's white washing! AGAIN!! Hahahahahahahhahaha When she found out she basically just screamed for 20 minutes. lol I know she can do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Lord thinks so highly of her. Seriously. Every transfer he like.... turns up the heat on her a little bit. She keeps doing well, so he keeps giving her more!! hahah I'm so proud of her! My mee is awesome!

The new missionaries get here on Wednesday and transfer meeting is on Thursday, so next Monday I'll be a mom! YEAHH!!! I have a big 'ol list of things I want to be as a trainer and what I want to do as a trainer and how I want to improve and do better. :D It's gonna be great! I'm excited to stay in Don Muang. There was a week or two where I didn't want to stay 'cause I was way stressed out and sad about investigators and LA's, but I had an experience this week that really changed my views and my thoughts on missionary work and now I'm fine staying here for at least another 9 weeks!

Me and Sister Pannida!

That experience was going on switch-offs with the sisters from Pankheen. It was kind of random, but the sister training leaders asked us to do it. So I stayed in Don Muang and Sister Pannida, a khon thai from the Issan came and we were companions for a day! I learned SO much from her! She taught me to just love the people. Sometimes I get really caught up in worrying about the branch as a whole and wanting to get people to go to church to build up the branch so there can be a stake, so there can be a temple.... but after spending a day with Sister Pannida, I was reminded that this work is about individual's happiness and salvation. I just gotta love 'em and listen to them and the Spirit. If I love them sincerely and serve them sincerely, the Spirit will be able to touch them. I'm not here to convert them, the Spirit is! (Thanks Carrie :) ) She also taught me to not get too stressed out or have too many expectations. I can have the hope that these people will accept my message, but I can't like.... have all my happiness depend on whether or not this person who I think will change their lives is going to actually do it or not. It's a fine balance that I'm still trying to find. haha Anyway, I think the world of Sister Pannida! She dies in October, so we're not ever going to have a chance to be real companions! I'm sad. :( I want to learn more from her! 

Earlier this month Sis Reedy and I did NOT know who our baptism was gonna be!! But we knew we had to get one 'cause the AP's committed us to getting one, the Zone Leader's committed us, AND our District Leader committed us... so we knew we had to get it.... but all of our investigators were and are..... stuck. :I One day I was studying in the Book of Mormon... just trying to find out what we needed to do to, and I kept opening it up randomly and kept finding scriptures that said, "pray in faith". I was like... ".....oooookayyyyyyyyy....." So I did just that! I just prayed in faith. I just chose to believe that it would happen.

A few days later during long planning a member called us and asked if we were free to go teach her daughter. We paused planning and went and saw her and she accepted a date to be baptized this month!!!!!!!! She wants to change and is eager to learn. Basically she's free every day to meet, she's free every Sunday to go to church, and she loves reading the Book of Mormon!!!!!!!

I know that if we have a righteous desire and pray in faith Heavenly Father will answer our prayers. :)

Saturday was the kind of day that every missionary dreams of having. We taught ALL day! We only had 15 minutes to eat dinner IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And then Sunday was great too! We got balanced key indicators again! AND there was a baptism! His name is Stephen. He's from Africa and plays football! ...Err.. I mean soccer. He's sooooo great! I had to interpret for some of the khon thais that attended.... It was SO HARD! Sis Reedy made me do it! I was so mad. I did ok. Anyway... Myheart was gonna try to make it to the baptism but got stuck in traffic. :( He totally missed it! But we taught him about the Word of Wisdom, and even thought he's way addicted to tea he said he'd quit!!! Yayyyyy : D He still isn't sure if the Book of Mormon is true or if the church is true 'cause he hasn't gotten an answer to his prayers yet, but I think part of it is cause he cant really feel the spirit ever cause of his snooker. :/ Plus he drinks an inordinate amount of tea, so we said that keeping the word of wisdom would help him feel the spirit more and get an answer easier!! 

So yeah. Things are good. Much better than last week. I was way stressed out last week. haha But I chose faith and things worked out alright!

Love,

Sister Zaugg

Hi everyone! Again!

This week FLEW BY!! Like, I almost feel like nothing even happened between last P-Day and today! ....But then I think about it... and A LOT HAPPENED.

OK So on Tuesday we were pretty much stuck at the church allllllllllllllllllllllllll day 'cause we had District Meeting at 1, English meeting at 5 and then English class at 6:30, and it's not like Sis Reedy and I can just go home and come back like all the other missionaries in our district 'cause Don Mueang is so far away from the church. Anyway. So in the time between District Meeting and English meeting, we were calling members and investigators to set up appointments for the week. We ran out of people to call, so we decided to call Udomdet again. Udomdet is that taxi driver who we met my veeeeeeeeeeeery first week in Thailand who gave us a free ride because he was so happy to hear our message. His phone has been off ever since then, but we've been calling him every day. :P Anyway, HE ANSWERED!!!!!!!!!!! We were so excited!!!!! Turns out he lives in the apartment complex that our investigator Ben lives, which is right next to where we live!!! Whaaaaat. Anyway. We set up an appointment to meet the next day. 

I was wayyyyy nervous, 'cause for the last 9 weeks I'd been building this guy up in my head. I was afraid that when we finally got to teach him he wouldn't be interested or as great as I thought, and I didn't know if I was prepared for him to reject us. :( Well, we finally got to sit down with him and he's still interested in learning! He's always had questions about who created the Earth and why are we all here. Just things he's just knew had answers ever since he was a kid. He wanted to read a Bible 'cause he knew it talked about the creation, so when he read the BoM he was disappointed that it didn't explain it right off the bat, so we had to show him where it does. He isn't what I expected, which threw me off a little, but he's searching for truth, which we have! And if he keeps searching, he'll find it.

OK But the craziness with Udom doesn't end there. He asked us why Christ died for him, so I asked him about how much he loves his kids, and that Christ's love for him is greater than that, and that's why he died for him. But when I asked if he had kids he was like, "Yeah, they know you."

...

Sis Reedy and I were like, "Uh..... we've never met your kids."

And he was like, "Yeah you do. My daughter says she meets with you."

....

We asked what her name was.

"Ben."

.......................................................................................................................

WHAT

Udomdet is Ben's FATHERRRRRRRRRRRR

We met this guy randomly my first week and then he disappeared. Then Sis Reedy and Sis Steele met Ben randomly at a 7/11 on the big companion exchanges day and have been teaching her ever since then. THEY'RE FAMILY. Also- Ben has a brother who saw the BoM on her table once and started taking it to work to read. They take turns with it. Yesterday she said that they actually fought over whose turn it was to read. YEAH. THAT REALLY HAPPENED. We're trying to find a way to teach her brother... he's only free in the early morning. :/

Whoa. When I think about this family, and how God has prepared them.... I feel so... small. I also feel comforted by the idea that I know that I can't really mess this up for Ben's family. Obviously Heavenly Father has a plan for them. They're so ready for the Gospel. It's a miracle!!

Also- we got BALANCED KEY INDICATORS!!!! It was a miracle, really. We needed an extra investigator at church, and a guy form the other branch brought his friend who wants to change religions. So now she's our new investigator too!!! It was so great. :DDD

Things are so amazing here. Sis Reedy and I have seen so many miracles with the people we serve and with us. The Lord has really put us through the fire here in some occasions, but he's also brought us to the highest mountain tops and shown us great things. I can't believe there are only two weeks left of this transfer. :(

I don't have much time to talk this week 'cause we're going to Ayutthiya (I dunno how to spell it)- an ancient buddhist place... thing... I dunno. Every one raves about it. Our whole district is going! 

Love y'all!

Sis Zaugg

One More Week in Thailand

Hellllllooooooooo!!

Per usual, MUCH has happened this week. It was a great week! Even if Sis Reedy and I have both been feeling really sick through it all. I think it was a mixture of icecream and some bad Thai food that we had last Monday. haha

This week we got two new investigators! One of them is a referral from a recent convert in the branch. He's in the army and she's his captain. LOL So cool! Her name is Ammy. She's been buddhist her whole life, but has always wondered why there are so many Christians in the world, so she wants to try it out. We're a little bit confused about her, because she's really willing to learn, but when she came to church yesterday she was sooooo attached to her phone, it was a little ridiculous. She was treating church the way a farang (white person) would treat a Buddhist wad. She was taking pictures of EVERYTHING, including the speakers during sacrament meeting and posting them on facebook. Uhhhhhh Yeah. She was feeling sick, too, so she went home before the 3rd hour.   She seemed to like it, though... just for the wrong reasons. lol Next time we teach her we'll suggest turning the phone off and listening to the spirit next time instead. :)

The next investigator is named Ben. Sis Reedy and Steele found her during the last companion exchanges at a 7/11. Sis Reedy and I gave her a call a week later and she was up to meet with us. We met her at a park near our house. 

A little detour for a second: this park by our house is hilarious. At first glance it looks like a normal kiddy park with colorful play structures and stuff, but REALLY it's like... a geriatric exercise park!! LOL If you look closer the play structures are actually exercise machines in disguise. hahahahaha In the evening a bunch of old people gather there and use the structures, flail around and/or lay about and don't actually do anything. 

Anyyyyyway. So we met up with Ben at the park. She's our age and has a real desire to learn about God and Christ! After we prayed, she was like, "Hey... you like, asked for blessings in your prayer.... can you do that?? Do you ever get them??" ANd we were like, "YEAH!" She's amazed by the fact that God and Christ love everybody and that you can have a personal relationship with them. She's a normal personal with normal person concerns, and she really wants to feel like there's someone who loves her no matter what! She's great.

Ew hasn't progressed much since last week, mainly because she works sooooo much, we only got to meet with her once this week. However, she still really wants to learn. She feels guilt for some things in her past and wants to have a better family life and get help with her financial situation, so she wants to know how God can help her with those things. She prays every day. :) Turns out that the random member that we took with us to help teach her sells across from her so they already knew each other! Perfect! So yeah, we won't get to teach her this week 'cause she has to sell out of town, so she wont make her baptismal date. haha Slowly but surely.

Sis Mali is doing GREAT! We have seen maaaaany miracles with her. First, we taught her tithing and she was super excited about it!! She said she would pay it! A couple days later as we were riding to a less active member's house, I felt like we should go say hi to Mali, so we stopped by her little sausage stand. She was super happy to see us and had us sit down so that she could tell us something important. She said that that day she had been really stressed out and depressed, because she was thinking about her debt and the fact that she wasn't going to have enough money to pay it that day and buy supplies to sell the next day, and that she really wanted to go to church, but her debt was making it impossible for her! She was justing praying her heart out and after she finished her prayer, ten minutes later her younger sister called and asked her how she was doing. She told her about her problems, and later that day her sis came over and gave her 10,000 baht!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's almost all of her debt!!!!!!!!!! WHOA. She was SO happy and astounded. She told us, "God really DOES help us! He saw my faith and blessed me!!" She said that she had already bought 3 new skirts for church that day, 'cause she's never owned one before. :)))))))))))))) 

Wow. What a miracle. I think the thing that astounds me the most is just the truth that God truly does love ALL His children. Like, I didn't even know about Mali until 5 weeks ago, but God did. He's been taking care of her all this time, loving her and preparing her for the Gospel. I can feel His love for her and it's so amazing. Makes me love her even more! Not exactly sure when she'll be baptized, maybe the end of next month, it really just depends on if she can get the last bit of her debt payed off. If she keeps paying her tithing she will. :)

We had another random miracle happen this week, too! One night we were teaching Sis Lek, and we had to go to a meeting 'cause we were going to be late, she offered to let us leave our bikes at her house so we could get there on time. It ended up working out that we had to leave them there over night so we could get home on time, so the next morning we went to pick them up. Well, we got there and went to unlock them, but the combination wouldn't work! Somehow when I was locking the bikes up I changed the combination, and we had noooooo idea what it was!! We spent like, 10 minutes just trying random combinations, but nothing was working!!!!! We were about to give up and call someone when Sis Lek randomly is like, "Hey, isn't there a 6 in it?" And we were like, "What?" And she was like, "Yeah, I think I remember seeing a 6 in it yesterday!" So SIs Reedy just randomly switched one of the numbers to 6, and CLICK! IT UNLOCKED!!!!!! All the numbers were totally random, and she just happened to choose the right one to switch to some random number that Sis Lek thought she remembered seeing. Hahahahhahaha WHAT?!?! We were soooooooo grateful!!! God does take care of His little missionaries. :,) That seems like a small thing, but really, when you think about it, THAT WAS A BIG MIRACLE. How many possible combinations are there for a 4 number lock? A looooooot. Wow. Every time I think about it I just can't even believe it. haha

So those are the big things that happened this week. I'm still a greenie, and I'm awkward 'cause I cant understand any one still and no one understands me. lolll It's hard, too, something I've learned about Thai people in general is that they looooooooove to talk! You ask someone a question and they just launch into this monologue about everything but the question you asked that goes for ages and agesssss. And they never seem to notice that no one is listening either! hahahahah Oh dear.

Sis Reedy and I have started naming all the dogs that live on our street. So far we have Scooter, who is the crazy one. He's my favorite, but I try to keep my distance from him. Most dogs in Thailand are super lazy and just lay around all day, but he's always running around doing stuff, I'm not sure what. Sometimes he gets scared by his tail and just starts wigging out. Sometimes we pass by him and he's sitting with just one hind leg raised for no reason. Yeahh... Then there's King James, who is this dog with a really long dreaded tail. We think he looks kind of regal in a sad stinky dog kind of way. Then there's this short little torpedo of a dog who we just come up with a new Mexican name for him every time we see him. Yesterday he was Francisco.

Yup! This transfer is coming to a close. One more week! Pres Senior called us and asked how we  feel about trios..... euuuuhhhhggggg....... I'm not really sure what's going to happen. :S 

Anyway, the work is really picking up here finally! White washing is such a lam baag (burden) but finally we're starting to get somewhere here! Haha took 5 weeks! But we made it!! Yeahhhh

Love you all!

Sis Zaugg

Week 3 in Thailand!

Sawat dii khhaaaaaaaa

So I haven't quite been here for 3 weeks yet, but according to my training schedule I'm on week 3 so I'm just going by that. haha 

So this last week the rainy season really started to live up to its name. It rains every day, reaaaally hard! Last Monday it rained so hard that a lot of the streets in our area of Don Muang flooded, including our little Sirisug (a neighborhood in Don Muang that we live in). That afternoon we decided to walk to the 7/11 down the street for a quick lunch, and the water was mid-calf in some places! Our quote for the day was: "Are you sure this water is sanitary? It looks pretty questionable to me!" I try not to think too hard about what kind of stuff is in the water here. I will say, though, that ever since the flooding there have been big trucks with pipes trying to fix all the drainage systems in the streets. 

Sometimes it starts raining when we're riding our bikes, so it's always an adventure going out every day! Sometimes we show up to appointments soaking wet. :) 

One of the things that causes me the most grief here in Thailand is riding my bike. I have a slight fear of bikes, coupled with the fact that there really are no traffic rules in Thailand, we have to ride in the streets, PLUS Sister Reedy rides like a bonafide khon-thai and it's scary trying to follow her weaving in and out of traffic, so I'm always stressed out. So far I've only bumped into a pole or two, so it's been OK so far! I can definitely feel the protection of angels when I'm riding. 

I love my branch president and his wife!! They're HILARIOUS! Their English is pretty good, but they still say some really funny things. This week they've told me that I look like Mandy Moore, a fairy and Legolas (who they at first thought was called Lazarus). One night they were dropping us off from FHE, and Prataan Thawit told us that if I were in a movie, I would be in a Walk to Remember, and Sis Reedy would be in a horror film. He then proceeded to explain each of our parts in our movies in extreme detail. Sis Reedy almost gets killed, but escapes, and I die of cancer. Darn!

On Saturday we went with the Branch Presidency and Sis Mui to dedicate the house of two sisters in the branch. They live with their aunt who is Buddhist and hasn't been letting them come to church. Apparently she'd bought a 'witch doll' at a market several years back, and thought that it had an evil spirit. She threw it out, but felt the spirit was still there. She had tried to have monks come and cast it out, but it hadn't worked, so she was allowing some priesthood holders to come. Prataan gave a prayer of comfort, blessed the home that it would be a place of safety and happiness and closed the prayer. Simple, but powerful! Afterwards the aunt said that she felt much better and felt a lot of peace! It was a good experience, because the next day Phlccy and Phxan both came to church! Yayyyy! Priesthood is awesome. :)

Thursday was interesting, because Sis Reedy left the keys in the house and locked the door. We tried to pick the lock, but were unsuccessful. We had to take a taxi and spend the night at the Pakkret sisters' apartment. During this whole experience we decided that instead of getting grumpy about it, we were going to be like Ammon from the Book of Mormon and look at adversity as a way of sharing the Gospel! We tried to talk to our taxi drivers, but they were too tired and grumpy. The next day we got our bikes and tried to find a locksmith. We ended up at a market. In front of the 7/11 there are are a ton of vendors. Next to a clocksmith there was a stall for a locksmith, but he wasn't there. So we went around and gave English fliers out and talked to some people! The vendors next to the locksmith were really nice. We talked to them and I even worked up the courage to share a BoM story with on of them. :) Eventually the guy came, but he couldn't help us! But, since we had become friends with the vendors, they called their other friend, who... is like... a professional lock pick or something. And he broke into our house for us. Kinda sketchy, but the land lord was fine with it. I guess it's common here in Thailand? Anyway. We got back into our house!! Yay!! That was an interesting day. And we were blessed for our good attitudes and efforts to teach while we were out. 

Yesterday we got two new investigators. The lady with the kids, Donut and Cheetoh, and her neighbor. Actually, Donut and Cheetoh are the neighbor's kids! We've taught a few laid back lessons to the house lady, but yesterday we we really serious about it and set up an appointment to come teach again! Her neighbor seemed way more interested than she was, and she's coming to learn more next time too! I'm excited, because we've been praying for a family to teach! This might be it! We'll see.

Anyway, I don't have much else to say! The work is hard, but there really is not reason to be sad. God blesses me everyday and I'm becoming a better missionary every day!

Sister Zaugg

Sawadii kha krccbkhrua le phxuan khccn sidtee!! Hello my friends and family!!

So, even though I haven't quite been here for two weeks, it's still counted as 3 because of how the MTC works or something... Anyway, the second week was MUCH better than the first! We finally feel like we've been initiated into the MTC experience and kind of know what we're doing. A little bit. Last Wednesday was the BEST because all the new misisonaries came and some even asked us things like "where's the bathroom?"! We felt pretty cool, even though we didn't know how to answer most of them still. haha!

Recently we have discovered the ~*CHOIR*~. I knew that Aunt Wendy had really recommended it, but I've never liked choir so I hadn't really decided to go. However, our Phii Thais whom we cherish and follow around like puppies were all like, "GO TO CHOIR IT IS THE BEST THING AT THE MTC!!" So of course we went. And oh... my goodness... IT IS!! The choir director is hilarious. Not only are we singing in a huge choir with 800 other misisonaries all sharing our testimonies about the same thing, but we get like a little comedy hour AND he always has the best spiritual thoughts that really strengthen my own testimony! By the end I feel really light hearted and rested, but spiritually stronger. Plus, we got to sing in the giant sacrament meeting on Easter which was amazing.

Speaking of Easter, it was lovely! I hope your Easters were as fantastic as mine. We all had the sacrament at the same time! Which I guess has never been done before at the MTC. Sitting in the choir with all these other missionaries whose purpose is the same as mine, watching the pictures of Christ show on the big slideshow and reading the words of the song "The Lord is My Shepherd" just about did me in. It was so overwhelming. I just had this huge realization that Easter is the reason why we're missionaries! There have been so many devotionals lately about how even though we need to cater to investigators' personal needs and show how the Gospel helps them no matter the concern, that we must always remember that the one thing EVERYONE needs is to be freed from their sins and to live again. And that's what the Atonement is about!!! Christ took our sins upon Himself so that we can become better than what we are. He died for us so that we can live again with Him, God, and our families. What an amazing message! That is what we are sharing with the world. We are the Lord's Battalion in the 11th hour. It's amazing.

I learn so much about my purpose and Christ every day. Something I want to share is a message from David A. Bednar's talk, "The Character of Christ" which we watched after the devotional on Sunday. He tells us, "Just because you have a testimony doesn't mean you are converted unto the Lord. You are converted unto the Lord when you begin to take His characteristics upon yourself." How do you do that? What are the characteristics of Christ? Simply, it's turning out with love and compassion for our fellow man when the natural man in us would turn in. I would ask all of you the next time you're having a bad day and just want to complain about it and say, "look at me! wahh wahh!" Turn out and make it about someone else. Remember that even when Christ was dying on the cross, He still was more concerned about His mother, the thieves on the crosses next to Him, and the Romans.

Teaching is betterrr.... just not good. I'm happy to say that yesterday we gave our first lesson in Thai with NO NOTES!! We had dictionaries, but we only looked up two words the whole time. The only problem is that we haven't been very unified in our teaching. That's the hard part about trios, it's harder to be unified, and thus harder to teach with the spirit. We're working on it.

We're happy and excited for our Phii Thais who got their travel plans last week! They leave next Monday! We're going to miss them so much. : ( 

Recently Sister Barton and I have discovered four square. We love it!! We play with the Phii Thais, Cambodians, and Mongs. It can get pretty intense.

I love you all! And I love letters. : )

Sidtee ruu waa saadsanacag nii ben saadsanacag thii thee chin khaa. Sidtee ruu waa Phrayeesukhrid ben Phraphuuchuayhayrccd khccn raw. Prakhaw rag raw.

Talk to you next week! <3

Sister Zaugg

Farewell

Before missionaries leave for the MTC, it is customary to give a "farewell" talk in church close to their departure. This is mine.

So, you know how on those missionary plaques that they put in the halls have scriptures on them? Well, the scripture that I picked for my plaque was to be the topic for my talk today. For weeks and weeks I looked for a scripture that had personal meaning for myself, but could also have personal meaning for any one else who read it. I wanted the perfect scripture. However, the problem with scriptures is that they all have personal meaning, and all are good.

If I could put all of Mosiah chapters 13 through 18 I would, so finding just that one scripture was a really difficult task for me. Eventually I explained my problem to my parents, and each gave me scriptures that I was surprised to have connected with deeply, and thought that both should be the scripture on my plaque. I couldn’t decide between the two, which proved to be an even bigger problem than just not knowing where to find it.

The one that my mom suggested is one of our very favorite scriptures, which is found in Alma chapter 5. Verse 29 says:

"And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?"

I liked this scripture because it's an invitation to all who have felt of Christ's redeeming love to never let it go, but it has also been a very important and helpful scripture to me in the last 6 months or so and reminds me of my own personal conversion and decision to serve a mission.

I knew that God wanted me to serve a mission when I was 14 years old. President Monson gave a talk in conference that year about the Priesthood's duty to serve a mission, and even though it was addressed to the men, I felt and knew deeply that it was also for me. At the end of his talk I turned to my mom and said, "Mom, he was talking to me," to which she replied, "I know."

I've always had a testimony of the Gospel. I've had the truth of it spoken to me many times by the Spirit. However, in the last three years I found myself struggling with my testimony. Deep down I knew everything was true, but since living the Gospel had always come easy to me, I fell into a false sense of safety and complacency. I wasn't as sincere and diligent in studying the word and loving Christ and His Gospel as I did in my childhood. Pride entered my heart and I felt like I didn't need to read the scriptures every day, that I didn't need to be so careful about my media choices. I stopped nourishing my little seed of faith, and it started to die, and even though I couldn't see it at the time, looking back I see how little the Spirit had an influence in my daily life. I wasn't as happy as I could have been if I had relied more heavily on my Savior and been more obedient.

Harold B Lee said, "That which you possess today in testimony will not be yours tomorrow unless you do something about it. Your testimony is either going to increase or it's going to diminish depending on you."

Satan often finds us when life is easiest for us. He lulls us into complacency, and then he strikes with everything he's got.

In 2 Nephi 28:21 it says: "And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell."

When Fall term began at BYU I found myself dealing with the largest, most difficult trial I had ever encountered in my life, one which I had not been prepared for, partly because of it's unexpectedness, but mostly because I had distanced myself from Christ, and was too prideful to turn to Him for support. I had been cheated away from the Savior who died for my sins.

It was in those first few months that I felt completely and utterly alone. I don't ever remember in my entire life feeling as cold and dark as I did then. My testimony could have been crushed then, I could have walked away from it all at that point, but I remember one night in my despair praying with every ounce of sincerity that I had, saying, "Heavenly Father, I will give up everything and change if You will just help me survive this."

The love and peace I felt that night is something I can't explain, but it was then that I knew that I had never been alone, that Christ had held His arms out to me the whole time, and I had just been looking the other way.

Christ says in Matthew chapter 11: verses 28-30:

 "28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

I had been trying to carry this burden on my own in my own way for a long time, and all I had to do was put it and my pride down and pick up His yoke, which I firmly believe is easy because He carries most, if not all of the weight. When I made the decision to be more humble and faithful in my obedience to Christ, I suddenly found myself infinitely happier and fulfilled. For the first time in a long time I felt to sing the song of redeeming love, which I had forgotten. And it is the most beautiful song that I have ever heard, because I knew that it wasn't just for me. It made it possible for me to forgive and to have love and hope. And I knew that others needed to have it.

One of my new favorite hymns is Savior, Redeemer of my Soul:

Savior, Redeemer of my soul,
Whose mighty hand hath made me whole,
Whose wondrous pow’r hath raised me up
And filled with sweet my bitter cup!
What tongue my gratitude can tell,
O gracious God of Israel.

I testify that by being humble and doing what we think are the simple and little things of the Gospel, that we will be beyond the grasp of the devil, and we will be happy. If we will just put down our yoke and pick up Christ's, we will have joy. I also testify that we can't be fence sitters. The fence doesn't exist. You're either on God's side or you're not. Like Harold B. Lee said, if you aren't feeding you testimony and growing closer to Christ, you're smothering it and growing closer to the devil. You must choose whose side you're on.

I am so grateful that I was able to have this change of heart just before the announcement was made. I was so glad that I had already started the changes that would lead to a full testimony beforehand, because after the announcement was made, I knew that I needed to be firm in the Gospel of Jesus Christ before I could serve a mission. I was disappointed and a little angry with myself that I had not been prepared at the very moment that the announcement was made to put my papers in the next week, but it was a testament to me of God's knowledge and love for each of His children. He is aware of us and what we need. I marvel at His patient hand in guiding my preparation to becoming a tool in this great work.

And now that I have learned this for my self, I ask every one of you not to allow this to happen to you. Keep your testimony blazing  so that you can be a missionary at the drop of a dime, whether it be a full-time mission or a member-missionary opportunity. Don't let laziness or lack of committment keep you from sharing what the Gospel has to offer to others. Luckily I had gotten serious enough about my preparation that Heavenly Father let me know at an early date that I was ready to serve, but I know that it could have been worse had I not been willing to humble myself and change, and I will never let myself get that close to the edge again.

We each have received such amazing blessings from the Gospel. It brings us peace and joy, and we should never ever forget it. And if you are in the same position that I had found myself in: if you've felt it before, you can feel it again. It takes work, and humility, and patience, but it is worth it. We all need to sing the song of redeeming love so that others can hear it.

        Which brings me to the other scripture that my dad suggested to me. It’s the scripture that he had on his plaque when he served his mission in Florida. It’s Helaman 5:9, which says:

"O remember, remember, my sons, the words which king Benjamin spake unto his people; yea, remember that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, who shall come; yea, remember that he cometh to redeem the world."

This is the reason for missionary work. This is why I’m taking a break from school, my family, my friends, and my life for a year and half in Thailand. Not because I think it will be a fun experience, not because my parents want me to, not because every other 19 year old mormon girl is doing it but  because Jesus Christ atoned for our sins, died on the cross, and was resurrected so that we can be saved and return to our Heavenly Father someday, and there are people in this world who don’t know it. There are people who don’t know that no matter who they are, what they’ve done, or what people think of them, that they have a Heavenly Father who knows them, loves them, and wants them to be happy no matter what. They don’t know that because of the Savior’s atonement, they can repent and be forgiven of the wrong things that they’ve done.

Now that I have found my joy in Christ's Gospel, how can I keep it to myself? Lately I have been reading in the book of Alma, and I have found Alma the Younger and the Sons of Mosiah to be amazing examples of how I should be as a missionary. In Mosiah chapter 28 verse 3 it says:

"Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble."

It isn't just about eternal salvation, though, it's about how Christ's Gospel can bless the lives of every person on Earth right now in their daily lives.

It's wanting every one to feel the love and comfort that I received when I was in anguish all those nights ago.

The amazing thing about the Gospel, is that the more we live it, and the more we match ourselves with the Spirit of God, the more we open ourselves to feeling the love He has for His children. During Stake Conference Brother Call said that the genuine love he feels for all of us, even if he has never met any of us, is because it isn't his love, but the Savior's. I've experienced a taste of that love, because I already care for the people of Thailand an incredible amount, even though I have never been there. I know that that is God's love, and it's that love that caused Him to give His only Begotten Son to die for us. It's that love that caused Him to give us the Book of Mormon. It's that love that caused Him to give us a living Prophet who directs us and guides us.

So maybe now you can understand why I had such a hard time picking between the two. It wasn't until Friday afternoon that I sat down and really prayed about it. I was eventually directed to Exodus 15:2.

"The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him."

This is my scripture. To me, this was the perfect blend between the two scriptures from my parents. Jesus Christ saved me, and now I'm singing the song of redeeming love. I am so grateful to my parents and the words of wisdom that they have offered me. I have always admired their testimonies, but I had to make a place for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in myself, and now I have the opportunity to share that song with the people of Thailand, and watch it light up their lives.

This mission is not for me. It's not about me, and it never will be. This is about Jesus Christ, Heavenly Father, and His children. I am honored to serve the people there, and I know that if I am obedient, God will make me a tool in His hands, and He will change the hearts of many for the better.

I know that this Gospel is true. I am so grateful to Joseph Smith for having the courage to do all that God asked him to. It was hard, and it cost him his life, but look at what came from it. This Gospel changes lives for the better. I am living proof of that. Look around you; this ward is living proof of that. Our families are proof of that.

I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and I hope I never take it for granted again. It testifies of Christ. It asks us to be better than what we are.

Above all, I know that My Redeemer lives. He lives, and loves all of us. He is the Redeemer of our Souls, and is always standing with His arms outstretched towards us. All we have to do is walk into them.
I'd like to close with a scripture in Alma chapter 26, verse 16:

"Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel."

I know these things are true, and am excited to share them with the people in Thailand. I say these things in the same of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.