Hello outside world!
This week wasn't necessarily as
exciting as last week, but I'll try to make this as interesting as possible!
Wednesday night, after P-day was
over, we got some sad news: Brother Phan (our teacher that just got
married) was let go from his job due to some issues as well as some
misunderstandings. So, he is no longer our teacher, and we no longer have
Sam as our investigator. We were really heartbroken, especially since we
saw him last we felt like we had let him down (he holds really high
expectations of us as missionaries, and we didn't always live up to his
expectations. He pushed us to our capacities, but he ALWAYS expressed his
belief that we could do great things, and he always bore his testimony about
missionary work after he finished telling us how we could improve. We
will miss him so much, and it is hard not to be bitter about the circumstances
surrounding the incident, but we have hope that Heavenly Father has great
things in store for him and his new wife.
Since we also lost Sam (our
investigator), we got our first dose of what it feels like to lose an
investigator. It stinks. A LOT. We had just started teaching
him again, and we LOVED IT. He was such a good investigator, because he
kept his commitments, was receptive, and had questions and concerns. We
felt like he was a real person! Brother Phan used his own conversion
story as a foundation for his investigator, so it was like it was his younger
self learning things all over again! Needless to say, we will miss both
sides of Brother Phan very much, and I am really not looking forward to losing
actual investigators in Thailand.
We got a new teacher, Brother Thrap
this week since Brother Phan will be teaching us no longer. Brother Thrap
has taught us before, but we now have him as a permanent teacher! Which
means that we also have another investigator to start with! We taught
Phii Dxg for the first time yesterday morning and we were excited to teach him,
especially since our Elders had been teaching him already from the times he had
been our teacher before. He is an awesome and super prepared
investigator. He has an 8 year old daughter named Rainbow and she doesn't
speak (we think she might have a disability). Phii Dxg is really
searching for happiness in his and his daughter's lives and he wants to know
about God's plan for him. SCORE. That's exactly the message we have
to offer him. :)
On Monday, we were supposed to teach
Phii Joe at 1, but he "sent us a message" AKA wrote on the
board that he didn't have time today and that we needed to reschedule. We
were really confused. Then Brother Olsen asks us what we would do if our
appointment fell through in the mission field. We guessed that we would
go tracting...so that's what we got to do. We went to a door (that
Brother Olsen hinted we try) and stood outside as we tried to figure out how to
go about doing it. So we said a prayer, gathered our courage and knocked
on the door. We introduced ourselves, asked him what his name was, and
then asked if he would like to learn about Jesus Christ. He said he
already had a church, then as we stood there looking confused and
terrified trying to figure out what to say next, he said "Chog Dii"
and closed the door. But this wasn't the end to our tracting. We
had to keep knocking! So we did it again. This time a
"different" person answered the door, and we started talking about
English class, and he expressed a desire to learn. We said that we could
teach him English (but we have to go back tonight and make sure it is clear
that we teach English at the church building not at his home. Brother
Olsen then talked to us about our experience thus far, gave us a few pointers,
then sent us out again. The third time went so much better. We made
a connection, and talked about how he could be with his family forever.
He expressed interest, but he looked a little confused, but we have an
appointment with him tomorrow evening to teach him more about the plan of
salvation! Thus, we have another new investigator, Phii Tik.
YAY! So this week has been good for investigators, especially since we
have 2 new and 1 old. Sister Downs and I are really excited to find out
more about them and to implement all the skills, techniques, and fundamentals
that we have learned since teaching our previous investigators. We really
are going to try to teach according to their needs and strive to better
understand and get to know them so we can be better missionaries and
better help them to understand how it all applies to them.
Random experience from this
week: Apparently I remind several people of native Thais. Which
could be a problem. First there was Cat telling me I remind her of her
Sister, and then there was another teacher, Brother Shipley, telling me I
remind him of an investigator he taught on his mission when serving in
Bangkok. She was baptized, so that's good right? I'm just terrified
that when I get to Thailand people are going to think I'm a native and just
start talking to me super fast and expect me to understand... I'm sure it
will definitely help me to learn faster because I'd be forced to speak it, but
it is still scary because I know I won't understand them, and they for sure
won't understand me! Haha :)
Speaking of the language, apparently
your first area determines how you speak Thai for the rest of your life.
FOR-EH-VUR. Sooo let's just hope that I get sent to Bangkok first, that
way everyone I know that already speaks Thai will be able to understand me. :)
But I know that wherever I go will be exactly where the Lord needs me!
The language is coming slowly it
seems, but it is probably because we aren't picking up at the same rate that we
were before. It's probably just because we were learning so much in the
beginning and now a lot of our language study is attempting to perfect tones or
reading, or just things we already know the basics of. I'm sure we are
learning so much and don't even realize it! I think my favorite thing
about learning Thai is that it no longer sounds foreign to me. It is easy
to think in it and speak in Thai-glish, and I love that certain Thai words come
to mind before their English counterparts do. It's so amazing that I am
speaking, conversing, and teaching in Thai with relative ease! That
doesn't mean that it is easy by any means, but it does mean that I am learning
and that the Lord is definitely on my side strengthening me, even when it comes
to the language. However, I have such a hard time with tones. I
think maybe I just need to go back and review all the tones for the words I
already know...so basically relearn them! But it will be a blessing,
especially when people can understand me! It is better for someone to
know you are asking them to come than for them to think you are calling them a
dog...or a horse. (All three words are Maa with different tones!)
We also found out that before we
leave we get to clean the temple! I don't think I mentioned this before,
but the temple has been closed for about a month now for it's deep cleaning and
it isn't scheduled to open again until a day or two after we leave. We
were really bummed! We had gone only twice since we had been here, and
one of those times I was sick. Sooo we were really excited to find out
that we had been assigned a time to clean it, especially since we will not be
able to go to an LDS Temple the entire time we are in Thailand (the closest
ones are in the Philippines and Hong Kong).
I'm running out of time, but I want
to share a few thoughts and quotes I gathered this week, so enjoy!
- "If you want to be a
real rescuer, you must be willing to make real sacrifices"
- "Never underestimate the
power of being a good example"
- We will be accountable for every
word we say and each consequence that comes out of it. Likewise, if we
build someone up, we will see the positive impact and also receive
blessings.
- "We are not born winners or
losers, we are born choosers"
- "It is the little things you
do, think, or say that will ultimately affect your heart and define who you are"
- "If you already know what you
want in the end, it will make it easier for you to help others see what will
ultimately bring them happiness"
- "Where there is trying,
there is victory"
I am amazed at the changes I have
seen in myself and in others around me. A mission is the perfect
environment for self-discovery, self-evaluation, and bettering ones
self. Hopefully my emails reflect even a small measure of the miracles of
missionary work and serving our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ who give us everything.
I know that without them, none of what has happened would even be slightly
possible. I know this church is true and that the message is one of hope,
and it has come directly from God himself. The Heavens have opened and
truth has been restored once more! How glad I am to be able to share this
with the people of Thailand, because I know that God knows them and loves them
just as he knows and loves me and even all of you.
You're awesome, I love you, and
don't forget to write! :)
Love,
Sister Norrell
P.S. This is a
picture from when I saw Sister Foote in the cafeteria last week and she
actually had her camera with her!
No comments:
Post a Comment