Sawadii khaa khrabkhrua khccn
Sidtee!!
So this past week, Sister Bentley
and I got to leave the MTC!!! We got to travel to the Social Security
Office on Freedom Blvd because Sister Bentley needed to get a new social
security card to get a new license but we had to get her passport to get a new
social security card because they don´t accept temporary licenses as forms
of identification, but she had to have her passport back to Salt Lake by Friday
because they were sending off our visa stuff then. Needless to say it was
a big mess. But we enjoyed getting out of the MTC so much! We were
only gone for an hour, but it was like the best hour ever. We basically
just sat in the office and waited. People would talk to us and ask us
what we were studying. One man behind us was from Thailand and he
recognized some of the words we were learning, but he didn´t remember
much. It was just so neat to talk to someone who had lived there! I
loved being in the real world. We were real world missionaries for an
hour! It was awesome.
.. We really noticed the change in
atmosphere there was in the real world. A lot of the buildings at the MTC
are dedicated and the Spirit is so abundant here! But in the real world,
we still had the Spirit, but it wasn´t readily available like it is in the
MTC. We really had to strive to have it with us always.
.. People watch the
missionaries. We could tell that every move we made or word we said was
being observed and remembered. We are told that our appearance is the
first thing people notice, and it is so true!
.. Heavenly Father really watches
out for His missionaries. We weren´t sure how everything was going to
work out with the loop of troubles, but the man we got to figure it all out
with had a daughter on a mission so he was rather kind to us. He even let
me sit with Sister Bentley because he knew that we weren´t supposed to be
alone, even though in normal circumstances she would be the only one allowed.
Also, a man let us use his cell phone to call the travel office for a ride back
to the MTC! We were worried about that (and not having the right number),
but it all worked out with the Lord´s help!
.. I loved being a missionary in the
real world. We are different. I think missionaries forget that in
the MTC because we are around missionaries ALL DAY. Sometimes we´re like
' Look there's the missionaries' and then we remember that WE are missionaries
too! But people recognize that we are different. We were standing
outside waiting for our shuttle, and people would smile and say hello, then
they would see our badges and their demeanor would change! They would
light up and say 'Oh hi Sisters!'. It was seriously the best. I AM
SO EXCITED TO BE A REAL WORLD MISSIONARY.
So I think every couple days in my
journal I write something about a moment where I am just shocked. This
week, it was on Sunday. All the Sisters in my district got called into a
meeting with the branch presidency. Guess what! I got a new companion! I
am now companions with Sister Downs, and Sister Bentley and Jackson are
companions now. It was so crazy. We didn´t see it coming at all.
Sister Downs and I were super excited because we´ve become pretty close over
the past month, but we were also terrified. President Jackson said he
just felt like there should be a change made. I knew that I just needed
to trust him and the revelation he received.
Sister Downs and I were not at all
the dominant teachers in our previous companionships. We weren´t the ones
who did all the talking. So putting us together we thought would be very
interesting. And to make matters even better, we already had an
appointment to teach Phii Joe and Monday at 1! We prepared a lesson super
quickly, went over it once, looked up a couple words, then we taught. It
was such an awesome experience! We both talked so much and we really
seemed to already have that unity as a companionship! It is amazing what
we can do with the Lord´s help. When I would get stuck, she would finish
my sentances, and I would do the same for her! It was so good.
I´m learning so much about being a
missionary. I am learning that missionaries should strive to be
transparent and vulnerable in some respects. Both of which are things I
don´t like to be! But I´ve realized so much that being these things are
what the people we teach need. We are not above them in any way, we are
just trying to help them and serve them in order to bring them happiness.
I like to have things planned out, but sometimes we don´t know exactly what the
needs of the people we teach are, but God does. If I sit around and wait
for inspiration to come and words to come to my mind, I will not be
successful. I need to open my mouth, start talking, be vulnerable and let
the Spirit guide me. I love the feeling I get when I am teaching a lesson
and I am talking and I just receive thoughts of things I should say. The
best part is that normally I can say it effortlessly in the language because of
the Spirit's help. I love teaching people about the Gospel, and
especially sharing what I know to be true. But without the Spirit, I am
nothing and my words are empty.
My missionary purpose is to ''Invite
others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the Restored Gospel through
faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the
gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.'' I am SO excited to go
to Thailand, and I know I will have SO many experiences but I am so excited to
be able to fulfill my purpose in Thailand. I am excited to be immersed in
the culture and to eat good food, and see new things, but I am so much more
excited to be able to help others come unto Christ by sharing the Gospel
message I have to help them find happiness, peace, and comfort despite the
challenges they may be facing in life.
On Saturdays we don´t teach
investigators, instead we teach at TRC, which is the Teaching Resource Center
where people volunteer to talk with the missionaries just about life. We
usually share a message with them that they can apply to their lives, and it is
really cool. SOO on Saturday, we taught 3 people. All of whom were
native Thai speakers (or Khon Thais as we call them. I think it just
means Thia people since Khon is the classifier for people). But the issue
was that they were from Issan, not Bangkok. We maybe understood 6 words
they said. And they constantly corrected us on our grammar and
tones. It wasn´t a bad thing, but it certainly wasn´t the most encouraging
experience we ever had. The 3 girls we taught were around 16 and 17, and
they were so sweet. They were patient and gentle with us. (Maybe
our vulnerability really came through...) At one point I was asking Cat
(which was her nickname and she went on this big long tangent about how she got
her nickname) about her reading habits and she just started spouting off things
we didn´t understand at all. FInally we got tired of asking
her ''Phuud iig'' or speak again and she got tired of speaking
again so she told us in English. That whole time she was
asking me about whether or not I was Asian. Haha!
No wonder we didn´t understand... When we got back to our classroom
we were all a little discouraged about our experience in TRC and how we THOUGHT
we knew Thai but apprently really didn´t. At all. Then one of
our teachers came in and told us that people from Bangkok would have
a harder time understanding them too because they were from Issan.
It was a comforting thought, but then I remembered that Issan very well could
be my first area in Thailand. We´ll see!
The language is coming along slowly
but surely as usual. We love the saying ''Thii la nit, thii la nccy''
which means little by little. We are getting faster at reading, but the
hardest part for me is memorizing the tones. Oh tones. Maybe I'll
just resolve to be that missionary that no one understands because I speak so
monotone and read super slow! I know it will come, but I´m just going to
have to keep at it and keep practicing!
I feel like in the MTC, it is almost
harder to put your whole heart into the work. It is really hard because
we are teaching our teachers as investigators, we're trying to become less
selfish, we are trying to adjust to this new lifestyle, and we don't have real
investigators that really demand all of our attention. But I had a
thought this week about missionary work. Our Tuesday night devotional was
about how our investigators are really prepared for us by God and that He knows
exactly where each of them are even when we do not. We are sent out to
find them and we have to seek that guidance from Heavenly Father to find the
people who need us and who are prepared for us. I was thinking about
this, and I was thinking about how I can´t wait to meet those people in
Thailand. But then I remembered that everything I am doing now is
preparing me to be prepared for the people who Heavenly Father has prepared for
me. (That´s a lot of preparation). But it all is a cycle! It
all comes around in the end! Even though I am not yet teaching real
investigators, I am learning and gaining the skills I need to help those who
really do need me. This time in the MTC can be tedious and long and
sometimes boring, but it does serve a purpose.
Well, my time is almost up!
And I´m sorry about all the tone marks instead of apostrophes, as well as the
lack of question marks. People in the MTC love to change the keyboard
languages and then forget how to change them back! Crazies.
Anyways, I love you all lots and I love hearing from you! It makes my day
when I get an unexpected letter or DearElder in the mail. (Speaking of
which, in order for me to reply to them, it would be best if you sent them
before Wednesday because I can only write letters on Wednesdays. And make
sure your address is correct, otherwise you may never get a reply.)
I hope all is well and I will talk
to you in a week!
Love,
Sister Norrell
Picture Notes:
Sister Bentley and I on our adventure to the Social Security
office!
Temple walk pictures, both of Sister Downs and I. The
only difference is the background...one of them has Elder Beatty making a face
like he's kissing Elder Crump... haha :)
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