Monday, September 30, 2013

HIYA!


hey hey hey it's been another week and this one's been a bit crazy.

so on wednesday e. willamas (DL) told me that Sis. stack had to go to Bangkok to renew her visa with everyone else in her group. so two other companionships came to Korat from further out in the Easan, and we kinda did switchoffs for a day. so i spent the day with sis. madsen and sis. mullen. we took a tuk tuk clear out to an appointment with First, and she was actually supposed to have her baptismal interview that day too...but she's still trying to move out so she and her boyfriend aren't living together anymore. the lesson went really well though, and she's willing to do it even though it will be hard. when we got back from that lesson, we went to pick our companions up from the bus station. while we were waiting, we decided to sing and pass out pass along cards (we're supposed to be inviting/finding people in creative ways haha). So we took the elders with us and started singing hymns in the middle of the bus station. actually there was one guy who called me later that day and asked where he needed to go to be clean from all his sins. he probably called back about 4 times after that making sure he knew where the church was and what kind of clothes he needed to wear hahaha. so we'll see where that goes. anyway, while we were singing, i realized i missed a call from President Senior. that usually means something big. ohhhh yayyyyy i love my life. he just likes to get last minute revelation haha. anyway i called him back and he said that once sis. stack got to the bus station we needed to turn right back around and get her to Bangkok because she would be moving and i would be training a new sister here in Korat. The only new missionaries that came in this past week were khon thai or khon laos (Thai and Laos missionaries). so i found out i would be training a new sister missionary from Laos! but i couldn't be at the transfers meeting because i was still in Korat. it was definitely super hard saying goodbye to sis. stack, especially because we kinda started this area together, not knowing anything, getting lost together, etc. it was kind of a crazy day, trying to get her all packed up, say goodbye to everyone, etc. while the AP's kept calling us asking when we were leaving. we ended up leaving early the next morning, meeting up with my new companion in Bangkok, and then going our separate ways. 
My cute little companion from Laos. I LOVE HER. she's the sweetest thing i've ever met, and as we've gone out and worked together, i can already tell she's going to be an amazing missionary. she's 19, but i wouldn't have guessed it, and i don't think she even needs to be trained. the only bad thing is she's always hungry, which means that i'm always eating. but what else is new? oh and by the way, yes, i am studying up on my Laotian...you know...just in case i serve in Laos anytime soon. so our language studies: she teaches me Laos, and I teach her English. and the only language we can communicate in is Thai. yeah i'm pretty sure i can't speak English anymore i don't even know how.
the past few days have definitely been weird, and crazy, and satan has really tried to get at me sometimes. but just like every other time, i have found strength that is not my own, and i know that God is pushing me through. In his strength we can do all things.
last but certainly not least, i got to ride an elephant today. so i'm satisfied. we had a very kind investigator that pretty much drove us all over Korat today and acted like our tour guide. so i'm pretty much set for the next 5-6 p-days.

love you all,

sis. steele
Riding an elephant with her new companion

Monday, September 23, 2013

OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL WEEK...MINUS THE RAIN!


heyyyyy!

this letter might be a little scatter-brained...a lot has been going on! And it feels like all the work is just flooding in right at once and we're trying to be organized enough to keep up with it. oh and one thing i forgot to say last time...i ate the spiciest food i think i have ever eaten since being here. we went to a members house, and her mom loves us so she made us somdam (papaya salad, usually really spicy, but SO good). Usually the most peppers i've had in it is 2 or 3. so last sunday, when we were crying and dying as we ate it, we asked her how many pricks she put in it....TEN. ouch. my digestive system had fun with that one. but now at least i have added to my bragging rights. haha

we had zone conference this week, and it was SO good. the theme was true conversion. it really made me stop and think. what is conversion? it's so much more than just knowing and having a testimony. it's about BECOMING. and it's made me look at repentance in a whole different way. there's such a stereotype to repentance, that it's this huge scary thing, that it's only for when we make mistakes or do something bad. but it's such a wonderful gift! without repentance, we would never be able to change or to become better. sometimes i forget that the whole purpose of this life is to prepare to meet God, and even better, to eventually become like Him. everyone always asks 'when was your conversion?' And now i can honestly say that it has been on my mission that i have seen myself becoming truly converted to the Lord. rather than just knowing, i feel like i'm actually becoming a new person, and it's all because of these awesome people and the miracles i see from God. there is a member here, Bro. B, and on the 2 days that he has off from work, he will literally spend every minute with us, helping us teach, find new investigators, find and visit LA's, etc. He even took our tires to get fixed the other day (yes, another flat tire..). he's the perfect example of what it means to be a 'member missionary.' seriously, i think he works harder and gives more than most missionaries do. i want to be a member like him when i get back.

the first investigator that we started with here in Korat got baptized yesterday!!! it was such a great day. 4 of our investigators came to church, so they got to see the baptism. Bam was SO happy, and she couldn't even express in words how she felt, just that she was happy. It's been an amazing 3 months of teaching, growing, and learning with her, and now she's baptized! i'm so excited that she gets to have the gospel in her life. everything was perfect about yesterday, except for that the ward pianist didn't show up, so guess who got to play the hymns...yep me. i had to play the sacrament hymn out of 'hymns made easy'...oh how shameful. sorry mom, for never listening when you told me to "get more hymns under my belt."

it's been raining pretty much every day here. and if you know me well you now i really don't like the rain, because it's depressing, and wet, and dumb. but all we can really do is laugh as we ride around getting soaked, riding through 6 inches of dirty muddy water. sister stack lost her shoe in this huge puddle one day, so we spent a while wading around looking for it.

well before this letter becomes a novel, i will say goodbye! i love you all!

sis. steele

Sister Steele & Sister Stack after Bam's baptism

Monday, September 16, 2013

BAM!


hello family, friends, etc.

this week has been absolutely awesome. surprise number 1: I didn't think i was gonna get my package until transfers meeting, because that's usually how it works, but then we had a meeting with our zone leaders from Roi et, and they brought my package with them! so i got it the day before my birthday! and yes, i waited to open it. it seriously felt like christmas morning on Friday, and i was probably wayyyy too excited to open that package. and it was the best birthday present everrrrr! my favorite part was the letters and pictures from all my friends and family. mom had mentioned that it might be a good idea to not read them all at once, kinda space them out so that i could save some for a day when i need a little pick-me-up...yeah that was a really good idea...except for that i may or may not have terrible self control...and i may or may not have spent my entire personal study hour reading every single letter in the package. oops. oh well it was totally worth it. THANK YOU so much i loved the package! and it made my day. later that night, sis. stack said we were going to a member's house...but i knew something was up, because she's terrible at keeping secrets haha. so we got there, and a bunch of random people jumped out and yelled 'surprise! happy birthday!' really though it was the most random combination of people: the elders, one of my favorite families, a few people i didn't even know, the shop owner next door, and bro. nok. apparently bro. nok, the LA that's been coming back to church now, planned the entire thing and cooked a whole live chicken so we could have a feast...beak, legs, everything. the pictures should explain more. yes i ate chicken talons for my birthday. i can't even explain how much i love these people. it breaks my heart to think that i will ever have to leave them, which means i'm coming back here for sure! 

we got the chance to go to st. mary's hospital with the investigator friend we have that plays the violin too. sis. stack and i thought it would be a great chance to talk to a bunch of people/play some music. So i got to play my violin with him in the lobby, with his friend who played the cello. poor sis. stack got her ear talked off my some sweet little old lady for 2 hours....overall it was a good experience though haha

this week we have seen some pretty amazing things happen. we have been told to focus on teaching the law of tithing to less active m. priesthood holders, because that's what needs to happen to get closer to having a temple here. we were promised we would see miracles if we do this. i know that when God promises something, He keeps His promise. FOR SURE. we had a complete full day of miracles just from teaching 2 men in our branch about the importance of paying tithing. it's such a sacrifice for people here, but they know that God will bless them so much if they will just show their faith. yesterday our investigator, Bam, who we've been teaching since we got here (about 3 months) had her baptismal interview. She had to wait 3 months because she's only 13. SHE PASSED! i had no doubt that she would though. i have never seen someone more happy, and i have never been more happy. again, i can't even explain the joy i feel. i love this sweet girl so much, and yesterday was perfect. it was a perfect day. we have started teaching 3 other girls, First, Cartoon, and Pung, and they all want to be baptized. it's crazy to look back at the days when sis. stack and i could barely find anyone to teach, would go inviting all day, and would struggle just to find new investigators. and now we are seeing miracles. we're seeing that there are people that God has prepared, that are SO ready to follow Jesus Christ. everything that has happened this past week is all from God, and it's so cool to know that no matter how weak or inexperienced i am, i can't mess His work up, because He is the true teacher. i've never been more certain than i am now that God is real, and that this is His work. This is the only true church of Jesus Christ on the earth. I'm so HAPPY!

thank you for everything, i really can feel your prayers. love you all so much!

sis. steele

Enjoying the birthday package!

22 candles???

Sis Stack, First, and Sis Steele

Birthday dinner in Thailand!

Monday, September 9, 2013

LIFE IS GOOD!

now that i finally know my way around this place, time is moving too fast! i can't believe it's already september...what??

so our english classes with the soldiers have been going well. it's still kinda stressful to do all the prep for it each week, but i really like teaching, and we have a lot of fun. plus, the head army guy comes to the church to pick us up in a huge nice white van, and they give us orange juice. so there are definitely good things coming from this. also, last time we had a spiritual thought/lesson at the end of class, and we introduced the BOM, and told them it could answer any question they had in life, even helping them learn English. after that, we passed out registration forms, and told them that if they were interested in learning more about the gospel, they could meet with the missionaries. after we left, we counted through the forms, and there were 15 people who were interested. MIRACLE.

We have been teaching a couple from singapore, and we've been trying to get a couple in our ward (who speak english and are from the phillipines) to help us teach them. but we hadn't been able to get a time for both of them that worked. anyway, on sunday we finally followed the phillipines couple home so we could see where their house was...and sure enough, the singapore couple lives 2 doors down from them! they already know each other because they're neighbors! MIRACLE.

We found a new investigator this week, and she's AMAZING. she came to church yesterday for the first time (oh and her name is FIRST. so it gets really confusing trying to form sentences. the names here are super weird. aka: "well, we can just have FOCUS focus on FIRST, because FIRST needs friends at church. But it's hard because we won't even be able to focus on FIRST and it's FIRST's first time at church. Oh and after church we can go teach ICE and IN with SNOW WHITE." something like that...) anyway, First loved everything, and wants to be baptized. she even asked if she could take a sunday school manual home to read....wowwww. MIRACLE. oh and one more random thought about First...she kept telling me how tall and beautiful i was...and then said that if i was skinnier i could be a model. hahahaha. ouch. i don't even care. i'm fat and happy.

i just want to say thank you for all of your love, prayers and support. i live for your emails each week, and i love hearing that everyone is happy. i love being a missionary, i love these people, i love the gospel, i love life.

sis. steele

Monday, September 2, 2013

MY BODY HATES ME!


Happy September!!

i don't really know how it's possible to have a bad cold in hot humid thailand, but it's possible haha. i can't decide what's worse: getting food poisoning and being stuck in bed, or having a nasty cold that makes you sound like a man when you talk to anyone...and i'm talking to people all day long...so that's fun. i decided i'd probably prefer the cold, but it's still nasty.

anyway, our first English class with the army base went really well! we taught a room full of 80 soldiers, and hopefully i'll get to send pictures at some point. we got to talk to them each individually too, so that we could tell what level their English was at. We taught them how to sing Old McDonald had a farm...hahhahahah that was funny. i really wish i would have recorded it. after that class we had our regular English class at the church, and one of the soldiers from earlier in the day showed up! and he's totally interested in the church too! it's crazy how fast we're seeing results from this, and i can't wait to see what happens as more time goes on.

One of our investigators had a bday this week, and she turned 16! we made her a cake and had her come to the church with all the youth in our ward. she loved it. and then we watched the Restoration DVD with her after because she hadn't seen it yet. the spirit was soooo strong, and she said she knows it's true. she's so awesome, and her faith is so strong. We had a training meeting this week too, for all DL's, ZL's, and trainers. It was so good, and it really helped me have the motivation to be better and think of more creative ways to find people. We also had a District conference in Khon Kaen, and there were 24 men ordained to the Melchezidek priesthood. it was amazing. and we are going to have a stake in this District for sure! that's one step closer to having a temple. 

one of the biggest things I've learned is that God ALWAYS answers. hardly ever is it the way you expect or in the timing you expect, but He always provides. sometimes i think we're hardly ever getting results from our inviting/finding efforts. ok, maybe not directly. but i truly believe that God has seen our faith and our willingness to work, and he provides new investigators, blessings, miracles, in other ways. we just had to show him that he could trust us first. i know that this is his work, and that we can do anything, because he can do anything.

loves,

sis. steele