To my favorite people:
Hello everyone! I seriously just want to tell everyone right now that
THAILAND is the best. Not just because this is the best mission, but because
everything here is so funny. I am seriously laughing all the time. I think I
just really like all the culturally unique randomness that occurs, how shy and
polite people are, and how outgoing they become when they see a foreigner in a
language that they want so badly to try to use correctly. Or they're totally
afraid of you until you say something and they go "WHOA. You understand me??"
It's hilarious. And then there are dogs everywhere, as per usual. And I name all
of them and know where they usually are. Our neighbor's dog looks like a mexican
boxer-person or something, so I named him Mochicho. The name fits his mondo
thighs.
Anyway, let's talk about this week. This week was ROCKIN'. It started off
not so amazing, and there were sick parts in the middle-- in fact, let me tell
you a story.
Once upon a time we were talking as a district about getting sick. Sister
Packard courageously said loudly: "I've been here 5 weeks and haven't gotten
anything!!" and everyone looked at her and said, "Oooooo you're in for it. You
asked for it." Then 4 hours later we were home before bed praying. She prayed
for a humbling experience. 25 minutes later I find out she's sick to her
stomach. She ending up spending the night throwing up. (Too much information?
Probably. But man was it sadly ironic.) So she tells me she prayed for a
humbling experience to which I said:
"Sister! Have you NOT seen Elder Eyring's 'Mountains to Climb'??" Needless
to say, no more bragging about health will be done under our roof. But it took
her out for a day. And that day I had some sort of cold thing that was not that
fun either. So the elders had to keep bringing us 7-Eleven food and
thermometers. Haha. She's all better though. I still have the sniffles. But all
is well. :)
In english class, literally all of our students spread the word on their
own and they all brought MORE friends. Apparently our class is the place to be.
I guess we're doing something right. Yay for being fun and educational! And
thats how people walk into the door of the gospel!!! It's proof, because the
last 2 baptisms I've had have come from there, as well as the next 2 I'm
having.
Oh yeah. This week MARY GOT BAPTIZED!
Oh yeah. Buk is getting baptized ON SATURDAY!!!!!
Oh, and her best friend? HE HAS A DATE FOR OCTOBER 26TH!!
We had 5 investigators at church yesterday. That's insane. I've never had
so many. And we had 3 more rescues in the branch. People are literally flocking
back to church. Yesterday we had 93 people in sacrament meeting!!!!!
We went out with the relief society president the other day and she took us
ALL OVER to find members. So now we are in major business of helping people come
back-- I have no idea how, with my minimal language and 'just a kid' abilities,
things are happening so amazingly. It's been made clear to me that I have
nothing really to do with it. I'm just the tool in the Master's hand. And let me
tell you, God is realllyyyyyy crafty and smart.
Like the other day we walked out of our house after I had sat on our stairs
trying to figure out where Heavenly Father needed us to go to find someone who
was ready for us. We walk out of our neighborhood and I knew we should go this
way. It felt right. .... But nothing is that way. ...... Except someone that
we've never seen in our entire lives literally 50 feet from our street. He just
to happened to be walking back to his motorbike after class, and his bike was
down the street at the school. He had plenty of time to talk to us. He had been
perfectly prepared by all this friends about our church, he'd passed it tons of
times but never went in. His name is Bang and he's a funny 16 year old. We'll be
meeting with him next week.
It literally took 3 minutes to find him. But if it was up to me, I would
have never gone that way. But God knew he'd be coming home that time down that
street. And thus, Bang was found.
As for a hilarious occurrence. You know Bro Jetsada? The man who just got
the priesthood and then we got his whole family to come back to church? They're
doing just fine. But he calls me every day for the most random reasons. 1.
Because he forgets everything we tell him 2. He has the most random questions on
earth. Yesterday he called and asked me how much it would cost to make some sort
of chicken dish I'd never heard of. I told him I had no idea but to check with
the relief society president. :p The day before that also asked about who was
getting baptized. I told him for the 4th time. He responded the same, "Wow. Mary
is such a foreigner name. She is a Thai or not?" I said yes she was. He then
confessed that he forgot my name again. And Sister Packard's name. He laughed
and said he'd have to write it down because he never remembers. But then he then
came out with the best response I've ever heard in my whole life, I am still
laughing about it 3 days later.
"You know, Sister, if I had a foreigner-type name, you know what it would
be?"
"I have no idea."
"FERNANDO SANCHO."
......I died. I literally died laughing I was crying so hard. His little
Thai voice killed me. He then said the next best thing I have ever heard: "He's
a cowboy! ... He wears those pants and rides the dogs." (Ohhhhh man. Apparently
he watched some sort of Cowboy movie long long ago. Does anyone know who
Fernando Sancho is??? Please someone tell me if you do.)
So he then says: "Sister, I think that would be my name because he's kinda
fat, and I'm kinda fat."
So there you have it. If I had a falang name, it'd be Monica. ... Or
Fernando Sancho. It's growing on me.
I just love my mission. It's so great. Our investigators are great. The
branch is great. The work is BLAZING forward.... I'm gonna need some cowboy
pants for this.
Love,
Sister Painter
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