Happy New Year!

 Sorry there wasn't a letter last week, but this should be sufficient right?

Last last week I found out that I was leaving Chiang Mai.  I had to stay a little longer to help out with the Christmas festivities there, so we missed transfers meeting.  They decided to fly me to my new area instead of having to go through Bangkok and then all the way out to Udorn.  I got to Udorn on Saturday, we stayed in Khon Kaen that night then made it to my new area on Sunday morning - Mahasarakham in the Isan.  Leaving Chiang Mai was hard, but I am excited to see what new adventures await Sister Crockett and I in Mahasarakham!  It is one of the first areas in Thailand ever opened.  It is a slow paced small town and really laid back.  Lots of rice fields, weird Thai cows, dirt roads and water buffaloes.  

My companion is Sister Crockett.  She's awesome and I feel like we are pretty similar!  not to mention our birthdays are 5 days apart.  Yeah, it was meant to be - we're going to have lots of fun!

Christmas here was pretty uneventful.  We skyped families (YAY!), tried to make pancakes and hot chocolate at the church with the Elders (tried being the key word), took naps, and then went caroling.  We were led by motorcycles on our bikes.  I don't like biking at inhuman speeds, I discovered. It was rough, but we survived!  The bad news, I think I am becoming like an old lady on my mission.  Don't be surprised if I have grey hair in the next pictures of me you receive!  :)

I feel like lately I have been realizing just how much I was prepared to come to Mahasarakham.  I feel like I have the exact skill set that is needed to work here.  Upon arriving, I am excited that Sister Crockett and I have made the decision to focus on building up members and strengthening the branch.  We have lots of willpower and motivation to get that much done!  Apparently in the past, the investigator scene has been pretty slow, but we are determined to change all the stigma that Mahasarakham may have.  We firmly believe that as we work hard with the members, and try to bring in active and full-tithe paying Melchizedek Priesthood holders, the investigators will come.  We will be doing our part, of course, but right now we feel that the Branch and already existing members are what demands our attention the most.  It does no good to have 100 members if only 30 come to church, right?

The amazing part - as we changed our focus and our perspective about the work here, we actually made balanced key indicators this past week! (10 lessons, 2 new investigators, 2 people with baptismal dates, 2 investigators at church)  That is something that hasn't happened for the Mahasarakham Sisters since Sister Crockett first came here 9 weeks ago.  I believe that the windows of heaven are ready to burst and right now we are only experiencing a trickle of what is to come.  I am so excited to see miracles!  I know the Lord has great things in store for this area.  Even though it may seem a little slow progressing, I know that this field is just as white as all the rest, even Bangkok.  There may not be a ton of people, and they may not all be interested, but there is work for us to do here!  If there wasn't, then we wouldn't be here.  Even if there is only one prepared soul, we are here to find them and we will find them through the help of the Lord! 

This week we were blessed with 2 new really good investigators.  We are excited to see how they progress.   We met them for the first official time yesterday at their house about 20 kilos away.  It is a man about 60 and his granddaughter, who is 10.  They seemed really interested in learning!  We didn't have a lot of time so we taught them about prayer and committed them to pray every day.  They asked a lot of questions, and we hope to see him at church this Sunday!  Going to his house was an adventure in itself...at first he wasn't answering the phone so we almost just turned around and went home.  Then he called back and said "No, I really want you to come!  Everyone is waiting!"  We were confused.  Really confused.  But it was all good!  We made it and they were having a party, but amidst it all, he was really focused and interested on what we were telling him and not just what was going on in the background.  We are excited to see miracles happen!  Hopefully he can meet us at the church more regularly though.  The member that was with us described the area that he lived in as "Lehi's Wilderness".  "Look, there is the River Laman!!"  Haha :)

Here are some pictures of us:

At the 3D art exhibit in Chiang Mai

 Making hot chocolate in the toaster oven - Thai Style!

 

Until next week,

Have a Happy New Years!

Love,

Sister Norrell

Another week, stronger faith!

Hello world!

This week has felt like a turning point in my mission!  I am learning so much, and I am continually so grateful for this opportunity to be a missionary - a servant in the Lord's vineyard, giving my all to partake in this great and final harvest.

A lot of what I have learned this week has to do with faith and the will of God.  Sometimes we read scriptures that say "If you have faith and ask God, nothing doubting, then it shall be given unto you", right?  But what about the will of God?  How do I know if my faith is sufficient to work miracles if it is not the will of God for it to happen?  Our faith cannot possibly only be manifest through moving mountains if God doesn't want the mountain to be moved, right?  As I studied it out in the scriptures this week, I learned so much about God's role in our lives.  

As I was studying by topic, trying to find the similarities between faith and faithful, I happened upon Psalms 31.  This chapter hit me so hard.  It was like everything I needed to hear at the exact time I needed it.  It taught me once again that God is aware of everything we need.  He sees our trials and our afflictions.  He knows what we go through with on a daily basis.  I was reminded once again that faith is not just made manifest through things that happen to us.  There are plenty of people, like Joseph Smith or Paul the apostle, that had bad things happen to them.  They were cast into prison and paid hard prices for their beliefs.  Surely that wasn't because they didn't have sufficient faith to be relieved of those burdens or situations.  Their faith was extremely strong.  It wasn't made manifest by them being released immediately or prison walls crumbing to the earth.  Their faith was made manifest in their patient endurance and submission to God's will.  Faith is trusting in someone or something.  We can't be relieved of every trial we are put through.  We cannot fix all our problems by saying we have faith.  That's not how that works.  Faith is trusting in God and all that He has.  Faith is knowing that there are good things right around the corner if only we endure patiently a few more steps.  Faith is remembering that God will not give us any trial we are not able to handle.

If you need any comfort of this, read in Ether in the Book of Mormon.  He told them how to prepare the barges - He gave them the means to cross the great waters to the promised land.  He sent great winds across the waters, resulting in waves and storms, but He was continually guiding them to the promised land.  Sometimes they were buried in the depths of the waters, but God delivered them and kept them safe until they got to the shores of the Promised Land.  He is always aware.  

The more we try to get closer to God, the harder times can get.  He is steering us towards our "Promised Lands" and sometimes that includes raging storms in life.  It doesn't mean that God has forsaken us - it only means that God wants us to get there.  We have trials in life so that we can learn and become more like our Savior Jesus Christ.  This time is a test, and what good does a test do if we have all the answers right there in front of us?  He knows what He is doing.  He knows us better than we know ourselves.  Trust in Him and have faith that there are good things in store to those who wait and endure patiently.

I love you all!

Sister Norrell

P.S. - P-day next week is on Christmas!  Don't worry if you don't hear from me again until then!  Who knows where I'll be in Thailand... :)

"Mormon girls - how ridiculous!"

Hello world!

Those are the exact words that a weird white British man said as he walked past us at the Central Airport Mall where we were inviting people to get baptized.  Sister Ng and I, not being completely furong were able to pull it off okay where we just spoke Thai back to him.  Oh the joys of knowing two languages!  Thankfully, that's the worst we have encountered thus far.  The Elders have had people cuss at them at that exact same spot.  I guess Heavenly Father just pays special attention to His daughters, and lightens the sting, or just helps us avoid it all together!  We just laughed about it later, and now it has become the joke of the District.  Yep.  We are ridiculous!  Let me just tell you about our "ridiculousness"....

This week has been interesting.  Since mission tour, I have been having weird stomach pains, that actually became quite miserable at some points.  Normally after I ate.  After about a week and a half of enduring it, I decided to ask the Elders to give me a priesthood blessing.  The Priesthood is seriously the best thing on this earth.  I am so thankful for the restoration of the Gospel, with the same Priesthood that Christ held on the earth again.  Through it, the powers of Heaven are clearly made manifest.  How else can we be freed from sin?  How else can we be sealed as families for all time and eternity?  How else can we receive the ordinances of salvation necessary for us to return back to our Heavenly Father's presence?  I am so thankful for it.  I am so thankful that I was able to receive a blessing of health that has relieved me of that pain.  No power other than that from Heaven is that great.  

So after receiving that blessing, unfortunately, my troubles didn't quite stop.  I woke up Thursday with a sore throat, and then yesterday I woke up with a headache that turned into a fever.  But today I am feeling so much better after medicine and some rest!  So don't worry about me.  I am all better now!  :D

Oh, so something else that I want to tell you is something I found in a Liahona from Christmas 2007.  It was a story about a lady who took over a giant Christmas tradition of stuffing stockings for the whole extended family.  Her mom had arthritis and she wasn't able to do it herself anymore.  The lady was really stressed and wasn't able to find the joy in the stocking she stuffed herself.  And then she emptied the stocking and found a little mouse made out of walnuts and hazelnuts. It was misshapen and looked like a kindergarten art project.  Her old mother told her she wanted to help out but she was only able to make one.  She said she was so touched that her mother believed that she could look past the imperfections and see the hard work and dedication that went into making it.  Just like our efforts are imperfect, if we are able to find the beauty in small things, how much greater is our Father in Heaven, our Creator, able to see through our faults and see our good intentions and nature.  

I am grateful that even though I am imperfect, that even though I can't do everything right all the time, I am thankful that God can see through it.  He knows my capabilities, He knows my weaknesses, and He can see our joys.  He knows what we need, and is ready to give it to us at any time.  I am thankful for the gift of His Son that enables us to be able to return to live with them again and to experience even greater joy than I can even imagine in this life.  He has a plan for us and He will not leave us comfortless.

I love you all!

Sister Norrell 

·         With our new investigator - scheduled to be baptized on the 21st!

·         Brother Ford and Elder Harley.  The Elders gave him clothes...future missionary right here, folks!

December??

Hey!

Sorry I don't have a lot of time this week - maybe like 5 minutes. I don't feel like I have a ton to say anyways. I am glad to hear you all had a fun safe Thanksgiving! I guess it wasn't too weird being away since I really haven't been home in about 2 years for Thanksgiving...but that's besides the point, right? :)

I love you all lots and lots. I promise to write more next week. We had fun eating good food and talking to lots of people! It was weird being in a totally American style home. I was having a mini crisis trying to figure out what side of the world I was actually on. But it was all enjoyable nonetheless.

It doesn't feel like December yet. It feels like...October. It is still warm, but somehow today I have managed to be fine wearing a sweater. Just another manifestation that my first winter home will be absolutely miserable. :P

Wise words for this week: It has to get harder before it can start to get better. This week inviting was really hard. We had rejection after rejection and we are still struggling to find solid people in line for baptism and even investigators in general. But we were obedient. We went the full 2 hours a day as directed. We didn't see immediate results, but we know that the Lord blessed us for our efforts. The Lord knows when we are obedient, and although the blessings may not immediately follow, that is when we show the Lord who we really are. We can show to Him that we really are willing to do all He asks of us. That is the trial of our faith, and we receive no witness until after that trial. The Lord will bless us, just do all you can to remain faithful until the end!

Love you!

Sister Norrell