Miracles in Pangnaa

 Me and sis Adams at the Christmas devo!

I hope every one had a great Christmas! My Christmas was fantastic. I got to skype my family, then Sis Adams and I went to a mall and ate Japanese food and bought ourselves a blender (And then two days later discovered that the apartment already had one. Oops). 

Christmas dinner at a Japanese restaurant.
I decided to be a walrus for this picture for some reason.

After our P-day ended we met up with the Elders in our district and went caroling at the sky train station! We took turns talking to people while the others sang. We found a few people who were interested, but then we got told that we couldn't carol there so we decided to go caroling outside of Sis Adams' and my favorite 7/11. We found even more people there. hahahahah We ended the night with visiting a member family. The wife is inactive, so we shared a message about Christmas and why it's important that Christ was born. It was awesome!!!!!!!!!! It was an excellent Christmas. 

Soooooo cold!

Supposedly the week of Christmas is rough on missions because every one gets homesick and productivity decreases, but Sis Adams and I went even harder after Christmas. We had sooooo much  to do! And we really reaped the blessings from our hard work. At church on Sunday we had four investigators at church, one of which is a girl who is preparing to be baptized next Sunday! We found her mom outside of a supermarket, and her mom brought her to the church on Saturday. The mom isn't so interested, but her daughter, Noon, is SO excited!!! She's adorable. We're way excited about her! Our Elders had a lot of people at church too. We had a total of 9 investigators, which was the second highest total in the zone (after Saphaansung) and we're the smallest district in the zone with only two companionships! Awesome.

So that was a miracle.

My little chancho!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And his uncle.

Yesterday my investigator Les from Saphaansung was baptized. Sis Steele, the sister training leader who took my place in Saphaasung took such good care of him. :))) We talk to her a lot so I've been so blessed to get to hear about my little chancho (Sis Hughes and I nicknamed him chancho... you know... like from Nacho Libre...). He was such a miracle!! On that day when we met him, we had randomly decided to take a song thew instead of a bus to get to the church... if we hadn't had taken the song thew we wouldn't have met him! And then he wouldn't have followed us to the church, and then he wouldn't have gotten a Book of Mormon and left his church orphanage and moved into his Islam family's home and gotten baptized!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Apparently he brought his uncle to his baptism. There is no way that that was all just a coincidence. He was so ready.

 After the baptism he went contacting with the Elders. :))))) SO MUCH HAPPINESS.

My first bug!

Not so bad.

Random baby elephant walking down our street.

So we've been trying to do some exploring and trying different places to contact, but we've found that the area around the church is just filled with people ready for the Gospel. One night we spent an hour in front of a big mall and got rejected up the whazoo! NO ONE wanted to talk to us (well.... a few people did... but not many), and then in the last 30 minutes of the night we went to our favorite 7/11 and got two new investigators who agreed to baptism!!! We've vowed never to contact anywhere else. lol

 How many trash dogs can you count?

Speaking of that 7/11, yesterday Sis Adams and I had planned out like 4 hours of contacting and had just tried to do some neighborhood contacting which did not bring any fruit... so we were really hoping that our 7/11 would pull through for us. It was just way hard because New Years is a HUGE holiday in Thailand and everyone has literally gone back to their home towns so no one was out!! While I was trying to get to know the food vendors (it's kind of awkward when they just watch us talk to people for an hour and judge us... it's more fun when we're friends with them and they just expect us to be there, lol) Sis Adams tried to talk to this deaf guy... so she gave up on that. But we both noticed that he was watching us, so we showed him a picture of baptism and he got really excited. He communicated to us that he'd seen it before and was going to a church the next day (don't ask how.... I don't even know myself). We pulled out a restoration pamphlet and he said that he has one. His friends wanted him to learn. He showed us on a bus card where he was going... wayyy far away! We told him that there was a church around the corner. He got way excited! So we set up an appointment to meet on Sunday because this week he's busy.

So basically we had a deaf Thai conversation.... I don't know how it happened but it did. So he's wayyyyyyy excited to learn! And we're wayyyyy excited to teach him! How are we gonna do it? I HAVE NO IDEA! But it's going to be sooooo sweet. I can't wait!

So that was another miracle.

So many miracles are happening! Pangnaa is so ready to change. The Lord is hastening His work. :DDDDDDDDD

Happy New Years! Or: Sawatdii bii mai!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe it's 2014 already!!!!! What the heck?

Love,

Sis Zaugg

Hello, Again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, I'll start with the best news! We had another baptism! It kinda sprung on us, actually. Last week during weekly planning we decided to make a goal for zero baptisms this week because we had no investigators that had been to church enough times to be baptized... but I had an impression to make a goal for one baptism. We talked about it but in the end still set it for zero. But then on Monday we were talking to one of our investigators who is always causing drama and we never really know what to do with him, but on Monday he said, "SISTERS. I will be baptized on the 15th for sure with Gift!" And we were like... "WHAAAA?" Gift is an investigator who has been around longer than Sis Hughes. She's 14 and has wanted to be baptized since the beginning of this year, but her parents were making her wait for her 15th birthday, so we were expecting to not ever see her baptized since she had to wait for February and we would both have moved by then. So we called her and were like, "You can get baptized?!?!?!?!" And she was like, "Yeah!" And we were like, "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US." So we were like, why have her wait for the 15th! Let's get her baptized this week!

Her baptism was awesome! She got baptized with 4 other people. Every companionship in the district had a baptism on Sunday. Awesome! Before Gift went into the font she was super excited!!!! She kept saying, "Finally!" I almost cried when she was in the font- I was just SO happy for her. She's been waiting for this for so long, and she finally got to do it. :))))))))))) Happy day!

OK So now for the next best news: we have the best new investigator in the whole world. 

Two Thursdays ago we went to visit Sister Ooy, the lady who has no money and a crazy mom who won't let her work. Every time we go out that way Sis Hughes and I get SO mad! The mom is absolutely nuts and can't be reasoned with. She never leaves her house and just watches the news and sees how there are riots in certain parts of the country and thinks that the whole country is like this, so she wont let her daughter go out and work.... which means they have no money for food. It's always very hopeless and super annoying whenever we go. 

We found a Santa with a sax..... Huh. 

So we were heading back from that on a song thew pretty ticked. It was crowded 'cause it was rush hour and we were surrounded by a bunch of teenage school boys. One of them heard Sis Hughes speaking Thai and was like, "You speak Thai??" And they had a conversation. He said his name was Les and turns out he recently converted to Christianity and was curious about where our church was. Also, important note: he had purple glasses on. hahahahah She told him that we were stopping at the church and invited him to go with us. He smiled and was like, "Oh... uh. That's OK." BUT When we got to our stop.... he got off with us!!!!!! So we took him to the church and taught him the Restoration. In the end we told him he needed permission from his guardians to keep learning. He was like, "Well... my parents are Muslim... so I don't live with them anymore. I live at a church and the pastor is my guardian. I'll have to ask him."

 We were like DOY! So we invited him to come again and waved good bye thinking, "Well, we're never gonna see this kid again." Christians here are pretty anti-mormon.

CHRISTMAS SWENSON'S!!

The next day was Zone Conference.... and at the end when we were going to our various interviews, GUESS who was at the church? LES. I would recognize those purple glasses anywhere! We were like, "You came back!!!!!!!!!!!" And he was like, "Yeah, my pastor said I could check out your church!" We were like, "Sweet!" So we've taught him almost every day since then. He came to church two Sundays ago, but was like, "I can't come again cause I have to go to my church." He had a lot of questions and we really had to study the Bible and Book of Mormon together to answer them. He had some doubts at first, but he kept saying, "God lead me to this place, so I need to keep studying." ....But then a few days later we were teaching him and he was like, "BTW I can come to church every week now cause I left my church and moved into my uncle's house. I know it's true." 

Yeah. Also, he was like, "sisters.... why do I have to wait 3 months to be baptized (it's a rule that kids under 16 have to come to church for 3 months straight before baptism)? What if Jesus comes TOMORROW?! I have to be ready!! I think He's coming soon." So we asked Pres Senior and he cut it down by 2/3's so Les can be baptized on the 22nd! He's still really antsy, though. Haha Yesterday at church he was looking at a painting of Moses ordaining Aaron as a priest and I was telling him how he'll get the priesthood after he's baptized. His eyes got SO big and he said in Thai, what could only be translated into English as: "Oh that next week were the 22nd!!!"

Les and Khaw

What an amazing kid! He has become best friends with the Elders' recent convert, Khaw, the kid who has basically the exact same story. They are just the biggest turds together. They chase each other around and always have their arms around each other. GAH. Sis Hughes and I can't handle it.  One day after teaching Les, we got a call from the Elders saying to go to the Pakistani's house cause they invited the whole district to go for dinner. So we got on a song thew with both Khaw and Les cause they live out that direction. Les got off at his stop, but khaw was like, "Sisters, where are you going?" "Uhh... to a Pakistani's house." "Oh. I'll go with you." "Khaw, they don't speak Thai." "It's OK. I'll protect you from the cars. :)" LOL So we showed up at their apartment with this little Thai kid. We were like, "Uhhh... Hey we brought Khaw too. :V"

Next week our investigator, Dear gets baptized! She's 17 years old and the cutest person in the whole world. She is SUPER excited for her baptism. We are too!

So basically right now we're just baptizing all of the high schools in Thailand. haha! We're hoping to find some adult investigators soon... The ones we keep finding don't stay around for very long. :/

Me drawing in a park.

One more story! A couple days ago we decided to go to the airport to visit Jeep, who has been working SO much and we only get to see her on Sundays. So we went to go surprise her.... well, that was the worst idea we've had since the wad fiasco. Turns out the Thai airport is the STUPIDEST place in the whole world!! It is so hard to find anywhere there!!!! Their escalators are not systematic at all. Some go up, some go down, and sometimes you just can't find any that are going the right direction that aren't blocked by guards. And then the elevators don't even go to all of the floors and it's sooooooooooo confusing. Eventually we made it up to the 4th floor where the Dairy Queen that Jeep works at is. It was then that we realized that the Dairy Queen is in a place that's restricted only to those with boarding passes! ARGHHHHHHHHhhhh We called her to let her know that we were there and she felt good that we at least had made the effort to go see her. lol

Sitting on the floor cause my back hurts.

After that we tried to find the Krispy Kremes that was supposedly on the second floor.... but it took forever to even get to the second floor, and eventually we just gave up, got Subway and went home defeated.  The taxi driver on the way home asked us if we our sandwiches were good and asked if we wanted to try the leaf that he was eating. It was literally a leaf that he had picked off a tree and was eating. We were like, "uhhh... no thanks...." hahaha On Sunday an investigator's dad brought krispy Kremes so we still got to eat a donut! Yayyy :)

This is Sister Hughes' last week in Saphaansung! This weekend we're going to be in Asoke doing the big choir thing, so we're gonna have to work really hard to get balanced key indicators!

Things are great! Being a missionary is awesome. Especially when it's in Thailand. :)

Sis Zaugg

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

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

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.