Wheat and Tares

Hello everyone!

This week I have found that I am especially thankful for the Spirit and for the love that can be conveyed through the Spirit.  We were working with some Less Active members of the Church - people who have been members for 30-40 years, have been Branch Presidents, and haven't been to church in 20 years.  It is really sad to see how they let things of the world take hold of their hearts and that they don't have the Spirit with them anymore. 

We had an interesting encounter with one brother in particular:  his heart was especially hardened.  he is a lawyer, and at the beginning of the lesson he was practically yelling at us.  He said he wasn't really free, but I felt impressed to ask him if he was going to go to church this week.  He was a little perturbed that I would ask him right after he said he wasn't free, so he started talking about how he needed to choose if he was going to be with God or against him.  He went off about how the world is changing and how when he was 20 and a new member he looked up to others for sources of strengthening his testimony, how then he was persuaded much easier.  I am not completely sure that he even believes it anymore.  But all that kept running through my head was "truth never changes".  We are told over and over by modern day prophets and apostles of our Lord that God's standard never changes even when the world's do so rapidly.  Over and over again in the Scriptures we are told that God never changes and if He does He would cease to be God.  I also had the thought to share with him the Scripture in Mosiah 3:19 :

 19 For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.    

He was so hardened to the Spirit -so caught up on intellectual knowledge that he had forgotten what the most innate and tender feelings we could ever feel felt like.  The Spirit is that which connects our Spirit to God and helps us to build upon the most sure foundation.  It is true:  the world is changing.  It is going downhill steadily and it is increasing speed.  Yet, things of the world cannot satisfy.  As Elder Perry would explain it, we are the wheat and the evils of the world (the tares) are so closely sown in.  We can't simply ignore them - they are surrounding us.  So what we can do is prepare to defend ourselves against these things before we are face to face with a choice.

"A steward managing the field must, with all his or her power, nourish that which is good and make it so strong and beautiful the tares will have no appeal either to the eye or the ear. How blessed are we as members of the Lord’s Church to have the precious gospel of our Lord and Savior as a foundation on which we can build our lives."

I know that as we prepare ourselves against the storms of the world by building our foundation upon Christ's Gospel, we don't have to worry about the tares, because we will be prepared to face any storm.  We will be as the wise man who built his foundation upon a rock.  We may not be wise as to things of the world, but with what really matters, we will be sustained our whole lives through.

And the best part?  This man eventually did open his heart, at least a little.  He finally agreed to come to church on the 30th.  It is a step in the right direction!!

Miracles can happen!  We just have to believe.

I love you all!

Sister Norrell

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/finding-lasting-peace-and-building-eternal-families?lang=eng

Waiting Outside

Helloooo everyone!

Emailing a little early this week.  Sorry if I missed you!

This past week was really good!  We felt the Spirit helping us work harder and giving us direction on how to improve.  
We also had the excitement of moving houses this past week!  Since there are 4 Sisters now instead of just 2, we had to find a new house to where all of us could fit (even though I don't think there will be 4 Sisters any more after this transfer...).  We finally found a house and started moving in!  We took the beds and the desks out of our apartment which was interesting because there was no elevator...thank goodness we have Elders!  The new house is kinda scary...yeah.  Big and spacious.  Kinda dark and needs a paint job...but we get what we can take since the other Sisters were in a hotel since coming here.  Haha ;) Sister Yanisa and I will be moving in at the end of the month since the rent on our apartment has been paid until then...we may or may not be procrastinating.  I really just don't want to pack up my stuff to move, because then I don't really have time or a reason to unpack again.  Weird.  
Good things are happening!  New investigators, finding random members who are now inactive.  One was a member since the beginning of the Church in Thailand - 30+ years and has been a branch president twice.  Another was someone people here in Korat know, especially the young men.  It was a powerful moment having those young men help us teach.  They both expressed their love for this older man and told him how much of a role model his was for them and how much they wanted him to come back.  One of them even started crying - an 18 year old boy.  The Spirit was so strong.  I saw that there is no reason why we should underestimate the power of our own example.  In my mind's eye, I feel that the Lord showed me that this less-active member does have potential.  A less-active member now, but a great and powerful leader in the future, especially among the youth.  Truly God sees our potential and as we trust Him, we will be given the ability to begin to see it for ourselves.  After we met him for the first time he started reading his Book of Mormon for the first time in almost a year.  He told us that he felt so good in coming back to the things that he has known for 15+ years now. The Spirit is still the same, all we have to do is seek for it.

3 Nephi 14:7
 7 "Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."

Another testimony that I gained this week was about the power of the Book of Mormon.  We have one investigator who we have been teaching for a long time and she kinda stopped progressing. We have been pushing for her to get baptized, but she just has something keeping her back that she refuses to tell us.  Then we had a heart to heart with her about it.  We committed her to write down 5 concerns or questions she has about baptism and then go read the Book of Mormon to find answers.  Since then she has been doing so much better!  She reads the Book of Mormon and Bible at any chance she gets and she asks questions and slowly she is opening up to us more and more.

I learned a lot from her this week.  She's really shy.  Last week she came to church, but came 5 minutes late and was too shy to enter, so she sat outside for an hour and then went home without us even knowing it.  So this week we were determined to get her inside.  I thought about her sitting outside too shy to enter into this most sacred and important meeting.  But then I thought about how ultimately it is her choice to come in or stay outside.  But at the last day, what if she was forbidden to enter into God's kingdom?  

 37 And I say unto you again that he cannot save them in their sins; for I cannot deny his word, and he hath said that no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore, how can ye be saved, except ye inherit the kingdom of heaven? Therefore, ye cannot be saved in your sins. (Alma 11:37)

Let us all be worthy at the last day.  Let us not procrastinate or exercise our judgement unrighteously as to not be found worthy to enter God's kingdom at the last day!

Love you all!
Sister Norrell

Directions for Life

Hello all!

This week was good.  A lot of traveling to far away areas of Korat, getting fed by members of the Branch, and reading the scriptures a lot personally, with investigators, converts, and less actives.  Oh and a lot of chocolate milkshakes.  The weeks may go by fast, but we are all still learning - that is one thing that truly never ends.

Something I have learned this week is that in life there should only be two directions that we look.  The first is FORWARD.

Sometimes we may have regrets about the past  - things we wish we could change.  Or sometimes we look back longingly on the way things used to be.  Both of these thoughts are contrary to the way the Atonement works.  Faith does not work in retrospect - it is a forward-moving principle.  When we look back, in a way we are forsaking our faith and hope.  We start to believe that God isn't going to give us anything better than what we have already had.  Such a thought is not true.  When we have repented of the things we have done wrong, we should only move forward.  God forgives and forgets when we repent - why shouldn't we do the same?     Why is it so hard for us to forgive ourselves and forget our own past transgressions? Why do we allow room for the fear Satan seeks to instill within us that causes us to look apathetically towards the future?  The only explanation is that we have eternal potential and Satan does not want us to see it.

The only other direction we should be looking is up.   In life sometimes it is easier to look to either side for direction or for a measure of success.  But this is also contrary to God's plan for us.  God knows what He wants us to be, so why should we look to other people instead of going straight to the source of all knowledge and truth for the answers we seek?  When we look side to side all we see are other humans giving us their opinions on how we should be acting or what success we should be achieving.  We see them in the same mortal journey that we are taking on as well.  There is no one human being that is the same, so why should we look to them.  Let us always look up to the One who knows us perfectly and wants to see us reach our full potential.  

God has given us all the tools we need to succeed -  the Scriptures, Prayer, the words of modern day Prophets and Apostles.  Above all He has given us the gift of His Beloved Son.  He wants to see us succeed and has given us all the things we need.  Let us always be in constant use of these tools and never look the wrong direction.  Sometimes we may mess up, but we never need to doubt the love that God has for us.  We are His children.  He knows us perfectly.  He has given us the ability to become like Him.  Let us not waste our time in looking the wrong way.  Let us only heed to the voice of the Lord in facing the future with faith, and in looking up for the direction and confidence that really matters.

I love you all!
Sister Norrell

Getting that tan back!

Hello everyone!
So this past week we had transfers - I didn't request anything, but God knew exactly what I wanted!  
I got transferred (Sister Mamea stayed and is now companions with Sister Holmes - so lucky!)
I am now in Korat - in the same Zone as Mahasarakham, so I think I can probably request to go visit everyone!  I hope so anyways.  :)
I feel so lucky to be here.  All I really wanted for my last transfer was to able to ride my bike and work hard.  That's what I get to do now!   I forgot how good it is to ride my bike and be able to see the stars.  It truly is the greatest.

This week we also saw a miracle - an investigator who was a member referral got baptized.  The miracle is that she was actually able to get into the font.  She got into a car accident a while back and the estimated recovery time was about 6 months.  It has been about 4 and she was able to do it!  I think she broke her hip and she had to get a metal rod inserted.  She called us Friday saying that she wanted to get baptized on Sunday!  And she was.  Sister Tasani.  She's so wonderful.  It was a touching moment to see her climbing up the ladder into the font - all of us were tearing up.  I know she has great faith and that God really helped her to do this thing.  She's wonderful!  What a great addition to the Lord's kingdom on earth.

I know that God will help us when we have the right desires and when we have faith in Him.  Miracles have not ceased to exist as long as the faith of the children of men persists.

I love you all!
Love,
Sister Norrell

(Sorry for the short email - I'll plan my time out better next time.  :)

Pictures:
Previously in Korat there were 6 missionaries and a Senior Couple.  3 of those missionaries left and they got 5.  So imagine that.  5 missionaries all moving to the same area at the same time.  2 brand new missionaries too!  That's a lot of bags.  Here is Sister Yanisa when we were all trying to check our bags in at the bus station.  At least 12 bags and 3 bikes. I think they hated us.  There wasn't enough room one the bus so we had to wait for our bikes to come on another bus.  

Elder Tamang's bike seat is really really high.  He's too tall! 

The Korat church is currently under construction - they are expanding it.  Luckily, we have a rented building!  This is the English sign outside the building  - along with the pretty sunset! 

TRANSFERS

Me and Sister Yanisa, with Sister Lam and Sister Jane (A Sister from Bangkapi that is just coming in this transfer!  She's so great.  And she's going to be trained in Chiang Mai.  Super jealous!) 

Elder Beatty got sent to Myanmar!  Won't be seeing him again for a long time.  :P

These kids are my new best friends.  Owen and Noel.  The first time I met Noel she was so happy that our names were so similar!  And the rest is history!