Hi.

Before I forget....i get to skype next weeeeeekkkkkkk!!!!! ahhhhhh yayayayyaayay. so here's about all the specifics i know. (oh and ps. get ready, because i'm 95% positive i'm about to move, so i may be a bit bummed next week...just because i know i'm gonna miss this place like crazy.) anyway, it will be Wednesday morning for me, so Tuesday night for you? Which is your Christmas Eve right? sorry to pull you away from all the festivities. i'm not actually sure what time exactly, because it might depend on my new companion too. i would plan on anywhere from 6-9pm...sorry i know that's not specific. if i remember right, by skype name is emily.steele6. What skype name should i look for?? hopefully i'll be able to send a quick email right before. can't wait!!

Every day of this week was good, and I'm so thankful to be a missionary. On Tuesday we talked to one of our investigators from English class. She's a mom with 2 little boys, who works ALL time, while trying to take care of her sick mom too. Her husband died 10 years ago, so she's a single mom. She works a lot, and hasn't been able to come to church yet. She's basically one of those investigators that's already Mormon, and if she could just come to church, she'd be baptized right away. She actually reminds me a lot of you, mom. On Tuesday she told us that she asked for a day off on the 29th, and she knew exactly what she was going to do with her day off...come to church! She wants her 2 boys to be missionaries when they are older, and she is so excited to be a member of the church one day. So that was our miracle for Tuesday. On Wednesday we rode our bikes to Joho. Yeah I should have listened to Elder Ghettavong when he told me it was 'really far.' I think it was about 30+ km round-trip. We met one of our RC's out there, because she wanted to go visit members with us. She's going to be a great missionary. Then we biked another 5 km out to another RC's house. She was baptized about 2 months ago, along with her two little kids, and just found out she only has a few months left to live. She was diagnosed with cancer a while ago, and it's spread to the point where the doctors don't really know what to do anymore. On Wednesday I felt like a representative of Jesus Christ. Rather than just going through routine, checking off my 'to-do's', or racking up numbers, I really felt like I was where God wanted me to be. I know that as missionaries, we are truly 'His hands.' Although I felt so sad to see this woman in the state that she was, I could tell she wasn't in despair. She had hope. And not necessarily hope that she would experience a miraculous recovery, or that her pain would disappear, but hope that this isn't the end. I was surprised at how happy and upbeat she was, even though all she can do is lay in bed. She knows that she's found God now. She knows that she made that covenant with Him that if she is faithful, all will be well with her in His kingdom. 

I know I am here to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that's what I do every day. But in the process, I am learning so much from seeing the faith of these people. They're teaching me!

Until next time,

Sis. sTeele

Can time slow down please?

Happy December.

This week we did a lot of traveling...which is ok sometimes, but when you have long bus rides week after week, it starts to get old. we had to go to Bangkok to renew sis. Phavadee's VISA so she wouldn't get kicked out of the country. it's been pretty crazy in Bangkok lately because there have been some political riots going on. i really don't know much about it because i'm way out here in Korat, and i'm not exactly allowed to watch the news or anything like that, so i'm kind of in the dark. anyway, we spent pretty much a whole day in Bangkok, because the buses were super full that day, because it was Father's Day in Thailand.

We started teaching a new investigator this week, and she said she loves coming to the church because she feels better than she feels in any other setting. She said that the members are different than any people she's ever met. She's so excited to keep learning, and  is progressing really well. We taught her on Sunday about the Restoration. One of the members in our ward (she is from the Philliphines) wanted to help us teach, even though she knew she couldn't speak Thai. She shared her testimony in English, and we translated, and the Spirit was so strong. I know our investigator came out of that lesson REALLY wanting to learn more and to read the Book of Mormon, because of the Spirit. No matter what language we speak, the Spirit speaks all languages. And I know that this investigator knows that God loves her.

I can't believe how fast time flies. Sometimes I wish I could slow it down. Korat has been my refiner's fire, but it has also been my little heaven on earth. I love these people more than I can say, and I am so happy. I am so thankful to God for the opportunity He has given me to be a missionary, and to see His hand all the way over here in Thailand.

Hope you have a fabulous week!

Sis. Steele

Bangkok at Christmas time!  (She was there renewing her visa.)

Open wide!

PLEASANT AND PERFECT!

December 1, 2013

wow what a week. everyone here keeps saying how cold it's getting...and i'm absolutely loving the weather. it's not cold at all. it's actually perfect. but now i'm starting to see the members come into sacrament meeting wearing full on coats, and sis. phavadee is asking if we can turn-off the air conditioning because she's cold. i just keep telling everyone they're crazy. whenever we arrive at our destination after a long bike ride, i'm still hot and sweaty. i would still consider this weather more warm than cold. but it's "cold" compared to the hot season i guess. it's perfect.

so i actually went through my planner this week so i could remember what happened this week, because a week here is an eternity and sometimes i forget little things.

Monday: FHE with one of the members. She's a recent convert, and married to a farang (foreigner) he's from the U.S. so we usually have Thai/English lessons when we visit them. anyway, FHE lately has been fun. i've been introducing the game "Don't Eat Pete" to everyone lately. i don't know why i didn't think of it sooner...everyone loves it, and they're usually super confused about who 'Pete' is. the only bad thing is that i have to keep buying M&M's, which are considered an 'expensive' food here.

Tuesday: we had to go to Udon for Mission Tour. so we spent most of the day in a van. much better than a bouncy bus.

Wednesday: Mission Tour. Elder Larry Y. Wilson of the 70 came with his wife, and the theme was 'Principles of the Restoration: found in 1 Nephi 1. It was really good, and it made me realize there's still so much i don't know about the scriptures. Also, another really cool thing: the Thailand Bangkok mission had over 100 baptisms in November. I know every mission is different, and some missions baptize like crazy. But this was the first time this mission has EVER hit 100. That's basically a whole new branch in Thailand!

Thursday: we taught Saychon. i think he must have some memory problems or something, because as much as i think we've explained things thoroughly, for some reason he still thought that we came from monkeys...

THANKSGIVING!! how could i forget? we went to a member's house with the Elders, and we tried to have a traditional thanksgiving dinner (chicken, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, rolls, watermelon, and pepsi.) YUMMO! (by the way, i've got everyone saying Yummo now, it's hilarious.) 

Friday: we taught a new investigator. 1)she's really old. 2) she's already Christian. I've found that these type are actually the hardest to teach, because they're stuck in their previous Christian ways. in our lesson, we had one of the members say the opening prayer, and during the whole prayer our investigator was crossing her chest and whispering 'hallelujah', 'khob khun phra-jaw!' (thank you god!) the whole time. yeah i think she might take a while to convert....

Saturday: May was baptized! Miracle: she's been an investigator for 3 years now, off and on. i didn't actually meet her until about a month ago, because she hadn't showed up to church in a LONG time. so it turns out that the first missionary who taught her was Erica Eyestone! small world. May is baptized and confirmed now, and i've never seen her more happy. she wants to be a missionary in a year too. she's really become one of my best friends so far.

Sunday: our whole mission had a 'Thanksgiving Fast'. i've never really done that before; fasted with the sole purpose of giving thanks to God for all the miracles we have seen this past month. i feel so grateful. i feel so blessed. i feel so happy. i can't even really describe it...just that i feel so full. God is GREAT. i love you all so much. thank you for your prayers!

sis. steele

Sis Steele and Sis Phavadee having fun!

It is now a mission rule that we wear these at night: it says: I'm a MORMON in Thai. i thought this might help you sleep peacefully, knowing that i am bright green and reflecty on my bicycle.

May's baptism
May was first introduced to the gospel 3 years ago by Erica Eyestone!