I guess the new
news first. Today we are in Asoke because we are playing SongKran!
Basically it is a huge 3 day holiday where people just get wet. Like
people ride around in trucks and have huge buckets of water and hoses
and water guns - they soak anyone who walks by. And there's the people
with baby powder and they just chase us around try to get it all over
your face. Taking the public transportation system was really
interesting...we were the only dry ones. Elder Arne was so tempted to
just talk to people and be like "You have something on your face..."
Everyone did. We're going out to play today! We are pretty excited!
The bad thing is that we have to be home early (7 pm)
because it can get kinda dangerous. And also missionary work is really
hard to do when all anyone wants to do is get other people wet. It
really is like a war! And we don't have to wear missionary clothes! We
all feel like we walked out of the house in our pajamas... missionary
problems! Plus I think people might think it humorous if we ask them if
they want to be cleansed from sin when we are all already completely
soaked through...
Good news for the week! We have two new daters.
Sister Gift is so golden. We don't know her super well right now, but
we are excited to get her spiritually progressing for baptism on the
27th! When we closed our first lesson with her, we asked her if she
would like to pray for us. She looked at her watch, then asked "It
won't take longer than an hour, right?"... so we had to go back and
explain again that we don't have books of prayers we read, but instead
pray from our hearts. I love hearing their first prayers. There's
nothing sweeter. Just pure and simple, as if spoken from the mouth of a
child. I wish we could all learn to be so humble and sincere when
talking to the greatest Being in the Universe.
Our other dater is Brother Gan. He has been to
church before and recently was having some problems finding a job. We
invited him to pray for God's help. And he received it! He now works
as a night guard at a new apartment complex really close to His house.
He is really recognizing the blessings that God has given him - so much
that he called us last night when we were at the Senior's and asked if
he could get baptized. That is a question I love saying yes to! He has
a goal for the 27th as well! God is blessing us so much!
Well, I call this old news because for everyone else
Conference happened last week, but for those of us in Thailand, it's
just beginning. I love conference. I love the fact that I can go and
feel the Spirit. Just go and listen to the Prophet called by God, the
special witnesses of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We are so
blessed to have these things available to us. I am another witness of
my Savior. I am a missionary because I love Him and He gives me
everything - this is just a small portion of what I am able to give to
Him in return.
During conference I was really hit by the messages
of what it takes to be a true disciple of Christ. It is not something
we do only on Sundays or casually when we feel like we should. It is a
title we never shed, one we never outgrow. People will always know who
we are - shouldn't we always remember too and strive to be the best
representatives possible? We are all children of God, why not start
acting like it. It is not something we wear, like a cross, that shows
others who we are. It is us. We are the message. We are testaments of
our faith and of the true and living God who created us. We belong to
Him, not the other way around. There is nothing that we can't give to
Him that He hasn't already given to us first. There is no sacrifice too
large or no trial too hard for us to pass through in order to be
obedient and strive to live this short time in mortality to its fullest.
More than ever this past conference I have felt an
urgency and need to be our best at all times, in all places, and in all
things. I believe that life is only going to get harder, but that
shouldn't shake us if we are built upon the sure foundation - even the
Gospel of Christ. I have learned more and more that it is crucial to
have active and living faith in Christ and in His Atonement. That His
Atonement - His sufferings, pain, afflictions, rejections, crucifixion
and Resurrection - is real. That it is not just for us when we sin and
fall short of the glory of God. It isn't just for us when we need
forgiveness. It is the source of our life. It is the reason we have to
live. Because He lives, I too have a reason for living. We can have
hope that no matter what cards we are dealt in life, the game is always
fair. It is more than fair because we can always win. Everyone has the
chance to win if only we are humble and willing to play by the rules
and submit to the will of dealer. All things that are unfair in life
can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It is for our
sins, our weaknesses, when we need strength beyond our own, the
Atonement gives it to us. There is nothing we can not do without the
help of our Savior. I know he died and rose again on the third day. I
am thankful for this glorious burden I am called to bear, not only as a
missionary, but as a member of Christ's only true and living church, as a
witness of Christ, and as a daughter of God. Nothing could give me any
greater pleasure than I have when I am serving my Father in Heaven.
We are the message. As missionaries in Thailand, we
stand out. We bear the name of Christ on our chests among throngs of
Buddhist people and worship places. I love it. Not because I like the
attention. I could get that just by being a furong that speaks Thai
half-decent. I could get that by just being able to eat spicy Thai
food. But that's not the point. We stand out because we testify of
Christ so that others may know what source to look for for the remission
of their sins. We believe it and know it to be true through the power
of the Holy Ghost. And the best part? Everyone has it in their cards
to know that same truth. I pray that people will not discard this one.
It is more important than money or nice things. Those things can be
taken from us in an instant. But the Gospel of Jesus Christ lives
within us. It is part of us, or rather it is who we are. It is
inseparable from who we are. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
Being a witness of Christ isn't a burden - it is a sacred privilege.
I hope to have some pictures next week, but for now this is all I have. Talk to you next week!
Love,
Sister Norrell
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