You have to read this -a district conference and pink sins

Dear Family!

This week was all around insane. I feel like I say that every week. This week's title of the email can only be "You have to read this" because you just really do.

Well this week was the week of District Conference for the Khongaen area held in RoiEt. It was so big there were 5 life-size carved swans involved. It was probably the most stressful week of all eternity, seeing as all the head-honcho's from Bangkok and all the branches of Khongaen came in. There were about 340 people involved.

So we tried to get everything done as early as possible, including making programs typed in Thai for our baptism. That took a long time. Thai is a beast to type. But that's not really important.

But anyway, with that said, I have never been so involved in the holding of a big conference-- it is entirely stressful! I'm sure people with high-up callings have to be pulling their hair out over these activities- down to the last catered- bowl of rice!! So it was plenty of duties for me, what with translating, training the relief society on member-missionary work, a roleplay, choir musical numbers... it was enough to feel piled on. But upon passing each thing, fulfilling.

So I'm now at this point trying to describe everything that happened to us. I can't. It was just like everything wanted our baptism to not happen. There was a lot of chaos with time changes, two other people showing up out of nowhere from the dark abyss (aka other branches and even one from our own who I did not know about) that apparently came prepared to be baptized! Oops.

"Thanks for telling the people running the baptism" - said nobody ever.

So then we call Party and we urge her to get her little tush back to the church (she went back to help in the ER, mind you she is a doctor) and eventually she shows up to the church in a red sweater with a big duck on it and a pair of faded jeans.

"Where's your nice dress you had on a few hours ago??" I ask. "Let's get you into your baptism clothes. Sorry, but everything's entirely insane here."

She follows me with probably the most hollow face I've ever seen, like she's seen a ghost or something. I hand her the dress and say, "It's okay, I'll take care of everything. It just got a little insane here, and we're apparently having two separate baptismal services and... what's wrong?"

"I crashed my car!"

"You WHAT?"

So she literally wrecked her car in her hurry to get here in the hospital parking lot. So naturally I've about had it here, and this rodeo of a baptismal service has driven me up the wall, and apparently Party's car into the flagpole.

Pictures attached.

But anyway, more than 10 investigators of ours, the youth, Party's mom, And Gee's friends all came (with the remainder of the congregation willing to stay for 'Baptism, the Sequel.') And even Sister Senior and President got to come. So all worked out.

I admit though, I got way mad and I let one of the poor elders have it. I don't think anyone had ever seen the likes of a mad sister like this before. I'm not proud of it, and later that night, I asked for sincere forgiveness. No matter who's fault everything was, I had no excuse to be a poop. I found though, that the moment I let out the sincere words of apology that any lasting annoyance was gone. It's the reason I can't explain all the things that happened to us yesterday. I'd tell you if I remembered, but I just don't. That Elder held out his hand to shake with a smile, I took it, and I forgot.

It's the Miracle of Forgiveness! I attest to the truth and divinity of the Atonement of Jesus Christ-- we can read about having Christ-like attributes all we want, but when we're put on that stage of our lives to face actual real-life situations, it's in the applying of those principles that counts.

Later that night I got to witness both those girls, Gii and Party, as recent converts in action. I can testify that there was an immediate change. They started over. They were new people. Their desires had changed, they knew where they were going, and they were dedicated to that path. I am so blessed to be here to see miracles happen. Both of those girls told us later that day, at separate times, that if we ever needed them to help teach, they were going to be there.

That morning, Party dyed her hair red. (I have no idea what prompted her to do that.) So when she came up out of the water, her dress was covered in faint left-over dye.

I helped her out of the font and said, "Wow. Who knew? Your sins were pink!"

And they were alllllll washed away. That's better insurance than her car has.

Love,

Sister Painter

Planting seeds

Dear Family,

This week was insane. Literally insane! So much that we had adversity at every corner so as to try to stop us, to the point of cutting our power, a dater dropping us and than with a prayed-for-miracle miraculously called us the next day having a spiritual manifestation it was all true. Even our sweet recent convert's mom passed away. Literally anything to try to throw us or get us down, it seemed.

 

But we wouldn't let it! We literally fought through every last thing-- including "Call Me Maybe" blazing on the speakers in the city as we both got a prompting at the same time to go pass down a neighborhood we'd never been to, both feeling like we'd find a certain family we saw ONE time on a DIFFERENT road. Well, we ignored the prompting until we got down the road leading away from that street, where we both confessed we had promptings to go back.

 

I said, "Ah mannnn it's uphill! Why didn't we say something up THERE?" to which we turned around and went back, awkwardly passing the people we just taught and going down the street we felt we should go.

 

In what had to have been the only open 5 second window, we saw the father coming down the road to get into his car, with which held their entire family. ... OUTSIDE THEIR HOUSE. They were about to go to a wedding, and it was the one moment they would have ever been outside their home that day.

We saw miracles beyond description this week. We have 8 people preparing to be baptized in the next 3 weeks, and we had 9 investigators at church. Two interviewed and ready for this weekend. And 6 new people excited to begin learning.

We have so many people to take care of that we are literally only concerned about their welfare-- we know each person by name, their life-story, and where they are on their journey to knowing the purpose they're here. Missionary work is not memorized and handed out in the same form to each person like a ticket. It's a process of understanding, listening, and helping that person see beyond what they currently do.

Everyone who reads this must know, that ANY missionary experience you ever have does not go wasted.

I taught a woman in April of 2013, as a brand new greenie. Her name was Dig. I taught her in her home, and her fluffy white dog. Those are the lessons I continued to remember having had taught as a greenie. As my greenie days were ending, Dig couldn't stop working on Sunday. She eventually decided she didn't have time for us. I kept in contact, or at least tried to, until she convinced me she really was satisfied worshipping at home without being baptized. But I felt like I could not let it end that way. I kept notes for whoever came back to the area once I left, and it read: "Do whatever you can to find her."

I got an email this morning from Sister Sahagun in Udon-- she sent me a picture with one line. "Do you remember Dig?"

It was a photo of her in splendor white.

She had come back to the church building one sunday, unannounced, and was ready now. She was just baptized this last weekend.

I feel the same with an experience I had with a woman named Somaay. One day I and three Relief Society sisters made our way down the street to see our investigator. We had walked. She wasn't free. Sister Suri's idea was the pray right there in the middle of the street. So we did. The next person we talked to, by the Relief Society president's pointed finger, was a massage therapist outside her store. Sitting to talk with her, we found out she had a Book of Mormon already, having already once talked to the sisters shortly before I arrive. But, she was not really open with us. She was completely disinterested in changing anything about her life.

She then spent the last 4 months watching me bike to that investigator's house. She watched the change in that woman's life. I waved to her each day we came. One day she got up from her store, came over and sat down with us as we taught, confessing she needed to know. What was it that she was missing here? We made an appointment last week and came back with her member friend. She knew it was all true. She accepted everything. She was hanging on the edge of every word, and committed to baptism right there. She came to church on sunday for the first time.

We never know what seeds we sow until they are reaped by those that follow us.

This last week an investigator of ours getting baptized on the 31st brought her whole family to church for the first time for all of them. She, her husband, and her two darling daughters wore there Sunday best, and arrived 30 minutes early for sacrament meeting.

The Lord's Work is Hastening beyond what I ever anticipated, expected, or thought I would ever take a part in. Elder Holland is known to say that, "No young man was ever as affected by their mission as I was."

Well, if that's his claim, this is mine: "No young WOMAN was ever as affected by their mission as I have been."

This has been and continues to be the platform on which my testimony firmly lies: a life consistent with gospel truths and study, an open heart and mind, a willingness to change and be changed, and a hunger to share.

 

May we all go feed the hungry. There are so many of us feasting but not opening doors for others to come and join. This week my parents were ushers at the brand new Gilbert Temple. I can quote from the scriptures my feelings: "And my soul longed to be there."

What I want for my Thai's is a temple. I want them to have a place of refuge. We are so close. With this wave of prepared people, I feel it, it's not far from their reach. The same goes for any region. The Lord said "The field is white." He did not say, "The field is white in Brazil only." This is Asia's time.

 

I am convinced there are so many people in Asia because God loves Asians. The field is bright white here, as bright as the future. Because "Faith is always pointed towards the future." -Holland

The future for Thailand is a temple. 

   Love,

Sister Painter

                                                                                                                                                                 

"The Closet"

Dear Family!!

 

I don't even know what to title my email for this week. I'm struggling for adequate words here. This week was literally so.... okay. Let me make my first attempts at an explanation here.

First things first. My neck is fried... and my very white companion Sister Embley, blonde as she is, is fried like a lobster, as dad would say. When being sunburned is so "NOOOO" in Thailand for the locals, when they saw our faces they almost sent us to the hospital. :p

 

But the events that led us to be sunburned were soooo worth it. We (with the Elders) decided to go serve at the "Children's Day" festival at the park. Yes, they have a countrywide holiday for children. Moms and dads get it, and so kids 1-15 get to have a giant party where everything is free to show their appreciation for them.

 

So funny story-- they forgot we were helping them, so that didn't work out, but it made for a great reason to be inside inviting people! So we first gave out every english pamphlet we had to every nice looking family we could. ... And also to strange families, mind you. But then I opened up my violin case and we got to the more important message-- coming unto Christ! So I raged some strolling strings music to get people to look over at us while the Elders and Sis Embley did their thing with the grand message we have. Elder Angkham, the Lao elder was relentless with a picture of Joseph Smith's vision-- it was probably the bravest thing I've ever seen! Haha. He is an 18 year old, right out of highschool, from the country of Lao, sharing the gospel in a crowded crowded children's festival just trying to find the eyes of a good family who needs something more in their life. So cool to see.

 

But then came the real miracle-- within 15 minutes of each other, all of our investigators that have baptismal dates came and found us there! They called me and asked where we were, knowing what we'd be doing. And they came, asked us how we did shared the message, and REQUESTED TO HELP. They asked for materials and then they went out and did it! I was inviting there with 3 other missionaries, an RC that showed up unexpectedly, and 3 investigators! I'd look over and Sister Embley would find someone who was interested and an investigator would run to her side and they'd both explain. It was the best unity I've ever seen, members, missionaries, and investigators.

 

Our investigators are so solid, going around asking every other investigator when THEIR date is, how excited they are for them, etc etc. Everyone is so close- investigators are introducing themselves to other investigators, and members, etc etc until everyone is friends with just us bringing them to the situations for it to happen. It's how missionary work is supposed to be! And members as WELL as investigators, are bringing their OWN friends and helping us teach them!

In fact, we had a day where Bas called us and knowing he was so busy, found a slot where we could meet him- he said, "Is right now okay?" so we requested 15 minutes to get there, and we prayed in that instant together to prepare a member to help us teach him that could get there that fast from where-ever they were. So we felt like we should call Sister Jan. We did. She said: "Whoa! Oddly enough I'm sitting at home with a good friend of mine and we've been talking about God and religion for a while here!" then I hear her ask her friend, "Do you want to go to the church right now?" and so the both of them immediately get on their motorcycles and high-tail it to the church. Me and Sister Embley emerge from a room in the back of the church with some things and are met by 5 people! Wait, FIVE?

 

Apparently Bas showed up with two more friends and says: "They have a lot of questions! Can we actually teach them from the beginning?" Sister Jan's friend is beyond ready for this. She left the church saying, "I'm going to get myself ready for this baptism thing."

So the lesson goes great. But then I remember, "I was not expecting this many people. Uh Oh. I don't have enough Book of Mormons!" so I prayed in my heart explaining the situation to Heavenly Father. And I told him, "I need you to put two Book of Mormons in the closet behind us. I was not expecting this many people!"

 

I turned to Sister Embley, "Could you go get the Book of Mormons in the closet please?" ...... Words of Faith.

 

She opens the closet. Pulls them out.

 

So I feel today kind of like Moroni, being unable to explain what I've seen happen and unable to explain fully because of "stumbling over the placing of my words".

 

The Restoration did not just include restoring gospel knowledge: but the power to turn faith into real-life miracles.

I certainly did not put those books in the closet.

Love,

Sister Painter
 

Happy New Year 2014 (A Proclamation)

Dear Family,

I am beyond excited about the Gilbert temple. I'm dying to see it finished and I wish I could be at the festivities. I can't wait to one day go in there! It's beautiful!

This has been the one and only Christmas season I'll be spending in Thailand, and I can't even tell you how crazy they love New Years. It is way close to how we celebrate Christmas... family-wise, at least. It's really cool how it works, because the New Year falls right in the middle of rice planting seasons so people get to rest, go home, and be with their families. So we've been seeing a ton of people could back into town and little reunions between people is so cute on the side of the street.

 

For those who I didn't skype last week, we had a Christmas 5-day celebration at our church building, which included a live-action play of the Nativity, a fat Santa (Elder Thomas.... who then was pummeled by children like that Rat thing on the Goofy Movie during 'Lester's Possum Pals' :p) and it was just all around cool. It literally felt like Christmas that night, and guess what? I'M FREEZING! Thailand doesn't have heat, anywhere, so there is literally no escape even in our own house. Showering is painful and tear-provoking.

 

We also had a Christmas party in Udon with President Senior, who treated us to lunch, a fun cookie decorating activity, and a great set of songs and stories. It was way fun to be with them for Christmas.

 

Right before Christmas I actually thought I was being transferred! Not so! Turns out I stayed, and brought back my #3 trainee. I was severely humbled at the idea that I've been entrusted with ONE MORE trainee, again, as well as overseeing the Khongaen zone sisters. I always wonder how much more responsibility or what harder task I'll get at transfers.... each time it has been one step higher. :p So I feel like eventually there will be a limit.... right?

 

I love Sister Embley! She's here from... well, everywhere. China, England, Mexico.... I officially feel under-traveled, despite how many places I already have been. She spent periods of her childhood in each country. I can't say I would have wanted that. But hey, she'll definitely be serving in international before she's through. Haha!

 

This week was a week of miracles-- we have THREE new people firmly committed to baptismal dates for January. I cannot tell you how prepared and progressing these people are. Buki, Bas, and Party. Here's the thing: I think I decided that the people who are most ready for the message of the restoration are the people who are seeking more than what they have experienced as the traditions of their fathers. People who are looking to expand what they think they already know. Eager learners. These three people are like this: Buki is in a gifted school for english, excelling in the language. Bas has been admitted to the equivalent of Bangkok's Harvard. And Party is a well-paid doctor here in Roi Et. What do these people have in common? A drive for further knowledge. Isn't that what the gospel is about? A life-long progression to do just that?

 

Party came to all three hours of church despite getting off work after a hospital night shift. Buki was in tears saying how she knew it must be true in our last lesson because she felt the spirit so strong from a member's testimony. And Bas woke up with a dream in the middle of the night that he was supposed to be baptized.

 

I have no words to describe what I've seen. I feel like some of the prophets in the Book of Mormon that literally are told they cannot share any more because it is too incredible to comprehend. I will leave it at this: I have seen miracles of what the gospel can do for people's lives. I can at least express that it has done just that for mine.

 

This next bit is a heart-softener. We went Christmas Caroling at a hospital here in Roi Et with two elders. As Sis Embley and I got in there, all Sis Embley could say was, "Sister I think they're being tortured! Do you hear the screams?" I calmed her down and said sometimes that was normal for kids to sound like, but I also knew we were in a hospital, so.... anyway. Comforted her anyway. I took her into the children's building where the screams were coming from. We got there, and it was just one little girl, screaming pretty much for no reason. No poking or prodding or anything. So she sees us, still agitated for some reason. I realize she's not fully "there".

 

I open my mouth and sing, "Sleighs Bells Ring, are you listenin'...." and the little girl stops. She stare silently. "In the lane, snow is glistenin'.." And a smile formed on her face. But the 3rd song, she was laughing as happy as can be.

 

We sang some in Thai, some in English. The weary eyes of the stressed parents lit up in that damply lit hospital. And even the tiniest baby turned its head to look in our direction. The spirit of Christmas hit, and those who had fallen in spirit were rising in light. How amazing it was to see.

 

Right now we've made plans to train two young adult girls to be missionaries- so they're going to go find 2 friends that they can help us teach so we can show them how to be a missionary. They are so excited and had so many questions as to how to prepare.

 

And you know what? One of those girls was none other than Sister June-- the girl I sat down with 2 months ago and read Joseph Smith's words with her, where she told me she wanted to be as spiritually strong as she once was. If you remember that email I sent that week, you'll know how strong I felt God's love for her on that Sunday afternoon. She has attained what she wanted-- she made it back. She came back and now she's planning on being a missionary herself.

 

So this is my New Years Message to the world: Family, friends, and all.

Never give up on those you believe won't ever come back or won't ever feel what they once did about the gospel. This girl left for a year, believing she couldn't come back. Prayer changed her mind.

 

My dear and inspiring Uncle Rod, after 30 years of not being active in the church, this last Sunday was set apart in the bishopric in Nephi, Utah. These things do not just happen for our friends, or just for missionaries-- these things happen to us.

 

To anyone who may be lacking the faith to know that this is possible-- take it from someone who has seen it with her own eyes. It can happen for you.

 

2014 will be an amazing year. It will be what we make of it, and what Christ wishes to make of us. I know Christ was that child, born over 2000 years ago, and the Bible says Simeon blessed, saying: "This child is set for the fall and rising again of many."

 

This year, as we remember what the Christmas season is about, don't forget what the New Year can bring-- change, development of our attributes, and a firm faith that Christ can make this year everything we can't make of it ourselves. Miracles do happen. Seek Him out.

 

In 2014, Wise Men will Still Seek Him, even after the Christmas season is over.

Love,

Sister Painter 

Merry Christmas!!

Sis. Monica Painter was unable to email this week because she got to Skype with her family.  We feel so blessed.  It was a wonderful Christmas Eve present.  She did send pictures and descriptions of Christmas though, so enjoy. From, Her  Family

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!Sis. Packard with Sis. Painter before transfers.

Sis. Painter with her three trainees at a Bangkok meeting, Dec. 19th, 2013.

Her new companion in Roi Et.  She was not transferred and is still the sister trainer leader.

 Sis. Brooke Embley and Sis. Monica Painter phone photo.

The  Ward Christmas party went on for days with a manger and sheep and a lit up Ezekiel.

 

So for me, none of these things move me and crabs

Dear Family,

We get to skype on Christmas for an hour! :D So I will be getting on on my Christmas day, as in your Christmas Eve. :) I'm pretty stokeddddd! And transfers are this week, so I have no idea whether I'm moving or not. I probably am.

So the paint is almost off of my arms. There's about 4 more freckles.

 

As for strange things: here's a story for the books. We were getting a ride back home from Sis Waruni, and all of a sudden we hear a thump inside her quiet car. We're like, "What was that?" and Sis Packard swears something hit her foot. Then she screams and says: "THERE IS SOMETHING IN HERE." And before we know it, huge crawling things are next to us on our seats, and seemingly everywhere! So Sis Waruni goes: "Wait, is it a crab??"

.....WHAT?

So apparently she didn't have time to move them or put them anywhere, so she threw in like 4 crabs into her car just to wait to be moved, but forgot about them! So we're in this car, like I swear "Snakes on a Plane" or something, and these crabs are coming after us for being on their seats! So we're all screaming because they have nippy claws and they DO bite, so all 3 of us are both screaming and laughing, TRAPPED in this car win the darkness knowing that they're coming for us.

 

....So we ended up pulling over and eventually said crabs were either removed or put in the car compartment for safe keeping. Totally bizarre.

 

We also baked a cake on monday, stored it in our refridgerator and ate it consistently for 5 days...

 

This week was way cool-- we had 6 people come to church! YAY!! And in that group was Nang, the woman we've been working with for weeks and weeks (like 16 weeks, and even before that, other girls went and taught her.) She finally committed to a baptismal date, AND she went to the gospel class, for the first time! Miracle. She has been a tough one for a long time, it we were seriously just so baffled that after all this time, everything we had tried finally worked to help her see what she wanted. And there ya go! She's getting baptized! But I'm convinced, still, it had nothing to do with us, but with the amazing spirit. Had her husband never been bitten by a monkey, I KNOW she would not know what a prompting felt like!

 

So with the gospel class this sunday, I found out last minute that everyone that would usually be the teacher... was not at church. In fact, there wasn't even bread for the sacrament until someone ran to fetch some! Uh oh! So I'm praying way hard like, "NANG IS HERE FOR CLASS FOR THE FIRST TIME, PLEASE GIVE ME A TEACHER FOR THIS CLASS." We needed a miracle.

 

And so I go into the room for class, seemingly no teacher. Uh shoot. Pray some more. MIRACLE! Sis Jan, my dearest friend, waltzes in saying she got called to be the teacher. Oh thank goodness. It really was a miracle, because nobody had a clue what was going to happen and how awkward that would be! It turned out to be such a good lesson that Sis Bunlawm had to put her head in the door and stop the class because it has gone over to long. :p

 

They put up Christmas lights on the church, and it looks legit. They're getting ready for their Christmas WEEK party.... oh dear. It's supposed to bring in a ton of people, but unfortunately us missionaries will be moving part way through so it's really hard to help them with it or know who will be here!

 

I love the members here. And the Thai's in general. If I'm moved, that will be okay. But I will MISS these people. This area changed my whole mission.

 

So as a spiritual thought, I've experienced some hard things recently, but has made God's plan for me pretty clear. I'm just supposed to have my full heart in this right now. Life has taken some crazy turns along the way, and trials happen, but I read the words of the Prophet Paul this last week that touched me right to the heart:

"But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God."

 I will take the rest of my mission and do whatever God wants me to do with it. I will be whoever he wants me to be. I will say whatever it is I'm supposed to say. I gave up everything to be here right now, and I intend on taking that notion and putting everything I've got into where am I, where-ever I am.

Right now is not about me, and I can figure out school, work, life after the mission, AFTER the mission. Until then, I'm just optimistic about everything. I sure do love the gospel, and the atonement. Christ has taught me some doozies of amazing revelation in the last few weeks. I have been thrown adversity because the work of Thailand is about to TAKE OFF. We have a plan to have 200 baptisms in January. That's gonna happen. So with that, adversity comes. Opposition comes before every miraculous thing. Take for instance Joseph Smith's own experience.

So for me, none of these things move me.

I would not trade my mission for anything, for it has really taught me lessons that are more valuable than I can express. I love God. He is so good.

What an amazing season! Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good week.

Love,

Sister Painter

 Sis. Packard and I in a chicken coop.
 

clown cars and Bow

My dear Family!!

Hey! This week I picked up your package from the office! :D So tempting! Thank you so much! I'm so excited for it.

 

This week was chilly! With no house heat or particularly warm showers, I'm dying in the mornings all bundled sometimes! So it goes to show I was not meant for Ukraine, Russia, or Armenia...

 

The week started off with a good fence painting. We did that and then suddenly realized, well, oops. Kinda got it all over ourselves. No big deal, it's washable. OH WAIT NO IT'S NOT. I still have paint all speckled all over my arms since last Monday evening. A full week. It turns out the paint wasn't even paint-- it was Anti-Rust paint-solution... stuff. So let it be known, I won't be rusty for a while....

 

And it made for a lot of "Painter" jokes throughout the week.

 

This is my favorite awkward moment of the whole week: HOW DO YOU ASK A DEAF WOMAN IF SHE IS PREGNANT??

Okay, so our investigator was looking a little plumpy yesterday at church. So what better to do then to try to figure out where this baby could have come from-- seeing as I don't know her family because we struggle in the communicating area. So we try a lot of sneaky ways of asking, none really work. So pretty much... yeah, I'm pretty sure we called her hardcore fat? I still don't even know if she's pregnant..... Note: Do not ask deaf women if they are pregnant if you cannot speak adequate sign language.

 

This week I took some travels to Bangkok and Kalasin, one for my MLC meeting and the other for an exchange. MLC was way inspiring-- we are so pumped for the future of the mission. And so then later when the meeting was over, President was like, "Oh just kidding, we're not done. We have an activity for the last visual lesson. But we'll need pants, socks, and an ice rink." ...... So we went ice skating for like 30 minutes. Hahahaha. Oh President. I love him and Sister Senior so much.

 

So the craziest thing. It gets to church time-- there's like 4 minutes until it starts... Uhm, where is everyone? We saw the Elders outside, praying together to find someone to bring into the church. Just as hope was about to be lost at the idea of having investigators there, or even members really, it was like the doors opened and tons of people flooded in! In fact, a member brought 9 KIDS OVER 8 to come learn! I was like, "Are you serious??" And then new investigators just burst in the doors every 3 minutes-- all friends of the youth, who had participated in our now very effective sports night. They ALL came! The church was filled with kids-- almost 11 on the front row, and then the back was filled with teenagers. Just... WHAT! It was nuts.

 

I even taught some of our investigators violin this week. Hahah, it was so cute. They were freaked out about performing 2 Christmas songs at their school because they just started learning a month ago... and so we taught them the gospel, AND violin. It was so precious. The first sounds were wretched and ear-busting. But by the end it sounded way good! I was like, "Did I just teach some Thai's... in Thai... to play violin? Where am I?"

It was a really cool experience though, because they called me and just told me they wanted to play for us first to show us what they had been working on. Bambi said: "I actually found out God was real through playing violin. I tried playing this so so many times and couldn't get it, but then I prayed that God would help me, and the very next try I got it all right! He must be real." Oh, heart warming. I could just squish her in a big hug.

 

Kalasin was really busy and fun-- we actually had a miraculous 15 minutes with a girl there named Bow. From what the sisters had heard, she was uninterested and not coming back, so they didn't ever try to go see her. But Sis Broeder was like, "I'll give Sis Painter a go at it while she's here." just to see if it was legit or not. So we get there and we had the most lifting and real sit down with this girl-- I have NO IDEA what everyone was talking about. She is fully ready to come back-- she knows her faith was waning and she so wanted it back. I felt God's love for her so much it was insane. As we were walking away, I could hardly remember what I had said, because it just felt like the words spilt out, not from me, but a direct message from a Heavenly Father that was pleading for that moment to help her come back. He was so invested in THAT MOMENT that I was about in tears telling her that all was not lost, she was not lost. The Holy Ghost was blazing out of us as we testified to her of her worth.

It was in that 15 minutes that I realized how involved God is with the finding of His lost lambs. Her home was in a dark alley outside the city. We came in the night, shined in our bike lights and called for her. She came out, confused but suddenly open with us knowing who we were. I will never forget how I felt when I realized this girl, in a hidden corner alley, was a daughter of a Supreme God, who LOVED HER with all His heart. He was so happy, just so happy, that she was found. It's a miracle that I even got to be a part of it.

I love you all. Life is good!!!!! Happy Christmas Season!!

Love,

Sister Painter