March Miaracles

This will probably be another short one, because this internet place is sticky and hot, and I don't know how long I can stand to sit here. Although it's not much better once i go outside. i'm realizing that it is DEFINITELY the HOT season. this week street contacting was KILLER. if my message didn't turn people away, then my appearance surely did. hi, my name is sister steele, and i'm a hot, gross, sticky, sweaty mess. every once in a while i run into a friendly person that will see that i'm dying of heat as i try to give my little schpiel (sp?) about baptism, and they'll hurry and pull me into the shade so that i don't have to suffer anymore. every time we go out and invite people on the streets for 3-4 hrs. or so, i have to think long and hard about why i'm here. not that i have any doubts or anything. no, of course not. but day after day, when everyone here thinks we're crazy, and wonders why we come back every single day to face the heat and the rejection, i'm glad that i have a reason for it. and it's a reason that trumps all. JESUS CHRIST. because I know that He lives. Because I know that He knows the way back. He knows the way because He IS the way. He really is the only way. and people here, people all around the world, don't know that yet. and i know that my small inconveniences or obstacles are nothing compared to what Christ endured. and any time that some shrewd little old man, or some grumpy middle aged woman tells me that 'nobody here is interested. go home.', i get to turn to them (with probably a little more sassy-ness than necessary) and tell them that yes, people here are interested. because God is preparing people to receive His truth. because just yesterday, there were 9 people that followed the example of Jesus Christ and were baptized at our church. because in the month of March, there were 212 people who became members of the true Church of Jesus Christ. so yes, it is worth it. whenever i get stuck in my own little world of blazing heat, rejection, and 7/11, i pull back and look at the big picture. This mission is seeing so many miracles! in Novemeber, we had never seen more than 80 baptisms in a month, and then broke 100. and now it's doubled. but this isn't about the numbers. this is about people. God is preparing people, and we're finding them. and now i can't wait for april.

now that i've gone on and on, here's to another week! make it good:)

sis. steele

ps. remind me to tell you about our choir that we're practicing for for our easter program this month. it's been a stellar experience hahahaha. aka one of the elders said we sounded like a funeral march....thanks.

9 baptisms....Exciting!

 can't believe it's been a week already. And just so you know this letter may be kind of short, because my plans for this p-day include eating and lots of sleeping. NAPTIME. there is no time to be wasted. WOOF. even though i'm dragging, i'd rather be tired out of my mind as opposed to having energy to spare, knowing i could have given more. anyway...

satan has been working really hard this week. stupid satan. within our district we had 4 people pass baptismal interviews...and then for some reason or another, they got cold feet. kind of a bummer. but in the end, i'm thankful. i'm thankful that these people still have the ability to CHOOSE. sometimes i just want everyone to be baptized, to just tell them this is what they're doing whether they like it or not, because this is true, and this is what they need. but if i forced anyone into the water, that would be satan's plan. so when you think long and hard enough, satan's really working against his own plan. God wants us to do good. so when satan tempts us, he's giving us that second choice (bad)...hence giving us the opportunity to choose. take that satan. ok...maybe that makes zero sense. but it worked in my head while i was writing it...now i'm just confusing myself.

so last week we became a trio. this week we became a companionship again. Sister Stack is sick and recovering in another area of BKK, so since we're already a threesome, sis. holmes went to be sis. stack's companion's temporary companion. confusing. basically, now it's just me and sis. kittima here. things are still going really well, and we should be having a few baptisms next week. but sis. holmes is surely missed, but hopefully she'll be back in no time!

well, with not a whole lot left to say, i hope everyone has a good week this week. as hannah montana says..."LIFE is what you make it. So let's make it ROCK."

love sister steele.

The Dream Team

well hello. in thai.

like i've said many times before, a LOT can happen in a week. so because i'm really lazy to tell it in story format, i think i'll just go day by day and list every adventure that we've had.

Monday: my stomach shrunk in the hospital, because i was barely eating anything, but don't worry, Monday took it back to its normal size. we did all of our errands and then ate KFC. and then a member wanted to take us to lunch, and we couldn't just not eat...of course. so then i just ate a second lunch. and then cursed myself throughout the whole 30 min. bike ride home...

Tuesday: Zone Conference. SO GOOD. especially because this one pumped us up, rather than telling us all the things we're doing wrong. we even had a scripture chase/jeopardy game. and our district happened to win, so then i got to eat a mini snickers bar. it was worth it.

Wednesday/Thursday: got a call from the A.P.'s that we would be getting a 3rd companion...at first i was really skeptical about how it would work out. but it's actually been reallly really good. her name is Sis. Kittima, she is Thai, and she has 6 weeks left on her mission. so basically now i am in a companionship with someone who can barely speak Thai, and someone who can barely speak English...and it's going really well! i loved my threesome in the MTC, but i wasn't sure how it would be out in the field. it makes things more fun, and we work really well together. thank goodness.

Friday: i had already planned to do a switch-off with some other sisters in our zone, so when we all of a sudden became a trio...ummm...yeah i didn't really know how a switch-off would work. but we made it work. poor sis. kittima got in the night before, and then i made her and sis. holmes go to Bangnaa sis. adams to work for the day, while sis. barton came to saphansung with me. we spent a lot of time in the sun. and got sunburned. and apparently sis. holmes got stuck on the subway and temporarily separated from sis. kittima and sis. adams. hahahaha. overall: switch-off=success. yay.

Saturday: first real day of work with sis. kittima. everything, in sis. holmes words, went "swimmingly." we were able to teach some really good lessons, and i'm really excited to be able to hear sis. kittima teach! she's an amazing teacher, and speaks WAYYY better Thai than i do...because she's been speaking it since birth. so hopefully that will work to my advantage. 

Sunday: awesome. A cute little mom we've been teaching, Wi, and her daughter Belle, came to church, and she brought her son this time too,Big. So now they can all get baptized next SUnday together!! so exciting. oh, and on a very unexciting note, sis. holmes bike got stolen. from the church. i don't know if i trust anyone now. we're still hoping and praying that a member just borrowed it for a bit or something. we went inviting at a market, and we got to eat a fried frog. and as Dewey would say, it was "YUMMO!"

well that's about all. today is monday, and i'm going bowling. i guess it could be fun...one of these days i will learn to love it:)

love you all!

sis. steele

Emily's way of making it to the baptism while in the hospital!

March Madness

As i've said time and time again, time here is strange. SO much can happen in just one week. If i have what i call "poop days" at the beginning of the week, i just have to keep telling myself that the end of the week will be so much better. just keep pushing. last wednesday i started feeling really crummy, and my fever wouldn't go down. so finally on friday when i couldn't even get out of bed we decided to take everyone's advice and go find a doctor. and then i had Dengue fever. the doctor said i needed to be admitted, and i wasn't too happy about that, because we had a lot going on that week. we were supposed to have a few people getting baptized at church, and i really wanted to be there. i asked if i could just wait until sunday and then be admitted and he said "no." and then i asked if i could just leave the hospital for 4 hours on sunday and then come back, and he looked at me like i was stupid. so then i sat in a hospital bed for 4 days. i will admit, i felt WORLDS better once they started pumping drugs through me. but i think i just about went crazy just sitting there and doing nothing. all in all, i found out that the work will go on without me, which is a good thing. our baptisms for sunday went through, and we got it approved to do a switch-off with some senior couples so that sis.holmes could go to church while someone came and babysat me in the hospital. so it was good that at least one of us could be there. anyway, they let me go home on tuesday! we had an exterminator go to our house to get rid of all the diseased mosquitoes, and they told us we could go back to the house after 2 hours. so we waited an extra 2 hours at the hospital before leaving to go home. and then when we finally got home, we open the doors and it's still completely filled with toxic smoke. cool. so then we're racing in and out, holding our breath, turning on fans, opening windows, etc. so i don't have dengue anymore, i just get to breathe in mosquito gas while i sleep. yeah...our house still smells kinda funky. 

anyway, after that little escapade, our week was just normal. and it did get better. we're teaching a cute little mom and her daughter, and they're getting baptized next sunday! and the last lesson we had with them really got me thinking about how the gospel of Jesus Christ really does HELP people. she's at a low point in her life and searching for something more than what she has right now. all it took was one lesson. one time. one time telling her that she's not alone but that she has a Savior who knows how she feels and knows how to help her. this message has power. the power to help people realize, "oh. i CAN change." the Atonement is for everyone. Like Elder Bednar says, it helps bad men become good, but it also helps good men become better. and how grateful i am that i don't have to be stuck, doing the same thing, in my same way, as my small, insignificant self. but that i can be something more. that i can literally be changed, and become someone much more than 'normal'. After all, the plan is for ALL of us to become like God. 

Ok, that's enough from me for one day. thank you for all of your prayers, i definitely feel them. love you all!

sis steele

Meaw's baptism

After locking themselves out of their apt....

Sis Steele in the hospital getting over Dengue Fever 3 2 14
The lady on our left is her most recent convert!

UPDATE

The following is an email received from Sister Manning, a Sr. missionary serving in Thailand.

Thank you for sharing your beautiful daughters with us here in Bangkok! Even while in the hospital, they were doing their work! These photos were when I sat with Sis. Steele on Sunday at the hospital while Sis. Holmes attended church and baptisms of their two converts.  The sister on the bed was one that got baptized and came to visit her missionary.  The 2 young men are members of the ward that wanted to visit and the YM in glasses even offered a prayer for Sis. Steele before they left. SO cute, it just warmed your heart.

Your daughters are doing well and are a great asset for the mission. Take heart in knowing they are being cared for by tge Mission Pres and his wife. They are very "hands on" leaders here in working with these young people. We are all blessed to be serving with them.

I understand the sisters are back home now so when I see them again, I will try to get more photos to send to you.

With warm regards,

Sis. Manning

Sr. PA missionary

Sis Steele (recovering from Dengue fever), her recent convert, and Sis Holmes

Sis Steele and 2 of the young men in her ward who came to visit.  She got discharged from the hospital today, 3/4/14!

HEY

hey,

just in case i don't get a chance to email again, just wanted to let you know i won't be sending out an email today. i've been in the hospital since friday and should hopefully only be here a couple more days. i was having some symptoms and then i tested positive for dengue fever. but once i got into the hospital i feel worlds better. it's just a matter of letting the 7 day period pass, becuase that's how long it usually lasts. they need to wait til my blood platelets are at a safe level. i'm really doing just fine though so you don['t need to worry:)  i have already seen so many miracles this weekend. we still baptized 2 people at church, even though we couldn't really be there. i love you so much!! and don't worry about me!