Hellooo from Thailand!
Let the rumors be confirmed that I am indeed in Chaing Mai, and it is beautiful. :)
We got to Thailand around noon on Wednesday (I'm still not really sure where Tuesday
went...) and since we were late, our plans were shuffled and
accelerated. We had paperwork and orientations to do, and they had to
take my blood :( That part wasn't too much fun. But they fed us Thai
food so that was good! It was definitely much appreciated. And
delicious. Food isn't good unless its spicy right? By the end of Wednesday,
all 22 of us looked like zombies hanging out on the couches in the
mission home. I literally could not keep my eyes open, and I'm sure we
all smelled like roses after being on a plane forever. Getting us to
eat dinner was a chore. Sister Senior joked about how we were like
little children having to be coaxed to eat their dinner. It wasn't Thai
food this time - it was KFC. So I guess its about the same wherever
you go! We stayed the night in a hotel in Bangkok. They are really
nice and super cheap. There were 2 people to a room, and our room only
had one bed and a floor palate. I took the floor, and it was the best
sleep I have gotten in a long time. We slept pretty much all night with
two lamps still on because we forgot to turn them off. Yeah, we were
only a little tired.
Thursday
was transfer meeting day. We started out with breakfast in the hotel
(it reminded me why I love breakfast that is not MTC breakfast), then we
took vans through Bangkok traffic to a different church building. We
loved seeing Bangkok! It is so cool to me that Thailand is my home for
the next 16 months. It is amazing. When we first got off the plane, I
just thought "Welcome home, Sister Norrell!". The traffic is kinda
crazy, but the people are so generous and road rage doesn't exist.
There are really only normally 2 lanes, but somehow there are 4 lanes
of cars, and then motorcycles weave in between...it's really different.
But that's why its exciting, right? So we got to transfer meeting and
we introduced ourselves, then we got put into our companionships!
Everyone was cheering, and it all happened so fast! It was hard to
remember where you were even going because we were all being swept to
different areas and out of our comfort zones for sure. I think most of
the people in my MTC zone were going to Bangkok areas, some went to
Issan and Ubon areas, and I think 3 or so went to northern areas like
Chaing Rai. I wish I could remember them all, but I can't! Oh well.
My trainer is Sister Ng. She's from New York City and is
super sweet. She's only been in country 3 months, which means she just
barely finished her training not too long ago (training is 12 weeks).
She was in the MTC with my Phii Thais, and her previous companion was a
Khon Thai so she is so good at speaking Thai, which I am definitely
thankful for. She is so patient with me and I couldn't ask for a better
trainer! We got called to go to Chaing Mai to whitewash the area. So
I'm still not exactly sure what whitewashing is or why we do it, but
basically a set of missionaries is replaced by a brand new set in the
area. (Normally, one missionary would stay and another would come in
from a different area). So Sister Ng was previously in Roi Et (in the
Issan) so we are both brand new to Chaing Mai! Everyone told us how
lucky we are to be here and I am so excited! Our bus to Chaing Mai left
Bangkok at 7 pm and we arrived at 4:30 am.
We had our District Leader and his companion with us thankfully so
they got a rotdaang that took us to our house and helped us unload all
of our stuff. We are living with two other Sisters: Sister Zatarain
and Sister DuPlessis who was one of my Phii Thais in the MTC! So we
have 3 generations of MTC in our home. :) Our house is interesting.
Its a little run down and needs quite a bit of work, but it was a quick
purchase from when they went from having 2 sisters to 4 sisters in the
area. The showers are kinda sketchy, but I haven't seen any nasty bugs
or spiders yet, so I'll take it!
We had to do a lot of adjusting and getting settled in, especially
since we are in a brand new area that we are not at all familiar with.
It's been interesting to say the least. We've only gotten lost a
couple times... but we always find our way back home!
Saturday
we saw our first baptism in our branch! Sister Aom was taught by the
Zone Leaders and she is a super sweet lady. They asked me to lead the
music for the baptism... so just imagine me, still jet lagged and
getting sick from lack of sleep and a weakened immune system, trying to
read Thai fast enough to sing it in time, remember the tunes and notes
and the speed of the music, nervous because this could be my first
impression to many of the members...it was interesting to say the least.
They may have been better off with no one leading the music, but I
tried so that counts right? :P But seeing this baptism was a really neat
experience. First baptism in Thailand and my mission in general!
Sunday
was...interesting. I can say I understood one talk during sacrament
meeting! But that was because a member gave it in English while a Thai
member translated it into Thai. But I understood it! I was asked to
bear my testimony so that was fun and nerve wracking. I just hope they
understood my Thai! After Sacrament Meeting I went to Gospel Principles
class - 3 of our investigators came to church this week! The teacher,
who is also the branch president, referred to me as Snow White the
entire lesson. I'm still not exactly sure why, but I don't really
understand anything that is going on around me most of the time. I
think the worst is when people know that you don't understand much Thai
so they practice their English on you. Sometimes I can't even
understand that very well because I'm listening for Thai and it doesn't
sound like Thai because its not Thai! It's actually pretty
embarrassing, haha. I think I had a flu/cold so my first church
experience in Thailand wasn't super enjoyable because I was trying to
stay awake and alive while trying to get something out of what was being
said during the meetings. It's hard to be social with the branch when
you're sick. Hopefully I didn't ruin all chances of them liking me
because of that!
It's been a little discouraging because its been hard to get into
the work. Sister Ng and I are both new to the area so we really have to
lay our foundation work carefully but quickly. The language is hard to
understand and I just hope that I will become more comfortable speaking
it soon. I can understand the gist of a conversation that someone else
is having, but when they turn to talk to me, I get so confused and I'm
lucky if I understand 3% of what anyone is saying. But I'm coming to
realize again that the language doesn't matter. The Spirit will guide
me in the work that I need to do and what I need to say. I'm coming to
remember more and more of how much the Lord is definitely involved in
this work. I had forgotten that and had relaxed how much I rely on Him.
But that's what it's all about - relying on the Lord and letting him
guide you to where you need to be. I'm so glad to be in Chaing Mai and I
know that I am exactly where I need to be, doing exactly what I need to
be doing. I am excited that the Lord knows that I have specific things
to offer the people of Chaing Mai to help them and strengthen them and
to know that there are people here who are ready to hear the Gospel and
to learn about Jesus Christ. It's going to be an adjustment, but I know
it's nothing I can't do without the help and support of my loving
Heavenly Father.
I love and miss you all,
Sister Norrell
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