So Many People At Church

With Bon and Bam and their parents

p.s. When is Chinese New Year?

So it's almost time for transfers again. In fact, on Wednesday it's unavoidable to some degree to not think about it but Sister Zatarain and I have decided that I will stay. :P Haha, of course I will gladly move to my next area and love the people there just as much as I love them here. It's interesting how this transfer has turned out. We didn't necessarily see anyone get baptized, but we saw the church get stronger! 

Yesterday, we almost had a full house for sacrament meeting and that is exactly where we want to be heading. In fact, President Senior came up here on Thursday and we got to talk to him for a little while. He has a lot of plans for P-lok and for the areas surrounding us such as Sukothai, Phigit and others. When we can get our church attendance up just a little more and maintain it, they are going to make this area a central district in Thailand. It’s so exciting! There are lots of details but essentially, our responsibility is to build a stake. S. Zatarain and I have talked about this all transfer.

I've now been in this area for four and a half months. The work never get routine but sometimes, as missionaries our brain can't think of anything else. For a long time, we've been feeling like we need to look through this member book (active and less active). We took it to a member named Brother Boy who is also a return missionary and he went through the whole entire book with us. He gave us soooo much good information and so much help! I'm so excited to start visiting these people and inviting them to come back. I hope I stay but if not S. Zatarain will do a great job! 

This week when we went to go find a LA named Brother Son. We found out that his nephew is Sister Fern’s really good friend that I met when I first came to P-lok. While we were riding to our next appointment, I explained it all to S. Zatarain after we visited him and we decided to stop and say a prayer to just thank Heavenly Father for preparing that situation. It really was blessed by the hand of God because typically, on Friday we have coordination meeting but this last week we didn't because Sister Harris was sick. So we had extra time and we left the house earlier and if we did have that meeting we might not have run into Fern’s friend again, p.s. his name is Bank. 

Chiang Mai was awesome as always! I got to see Sister Oui! She still hasn't come back to church but this visit, we talked with another LA and I always feel so loved when I visit them. They treat me like family and they are the sweetest. Anyways, he shared some of the problems that he has at church and how he feels, etc. He really does have a strong testimony as does she so we talked about using that to be examples for others. In addition, we go to church to renew our baptismal covenant with God, we don't go for other members. 

It's been an amazing week! Sister Zatatrain and I have cooked every single day and as cheesy as it sounds the saying, "The family that prays together, stays together." Except, we substituted pray for eat. As missionaries we pray all the time, but there was a week where we didn't eat breakfast together and so we just did our own thing. There were no problems it was just chill...there's a Thai word in my head but I can't translate it correctly. Anyways, we really do have so much fun and are closer every time we eat breakfast together. I think part of that comes from the fact that during the day, we work and we are talking about our area, investigators, members and so forth so during meal times, we can talk and get to know each other individually. It's really fun! Moral of the story--eat each meals together as a family. จบ

I feel like I’m forgetting something but it's probably not important. 

Final words, this morning we discussed the restoration. As missionaries we are to "declare the message of the restored gospel." We do teach the Plan of Salvation and the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Commandments; but our central message is that the Priesthood power of God has again been restored to the earth, Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. Our message is so sweet, so simple and so happy. On average, missionaries probably teach this lesson the most because it's crucial and it's true. 

Well, I love you all. 

Happy almost February. Happy Chinese New Year!! (unless it's not here yet) 

I LOVE YOU ALL 

Always, 

Sister Yeo

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

This week was another fast one! I'm not even sure what to share at this point. We are in Chiang Mai right now. I'm going on switch offs again, but I feel like this time will be my last opportunity to visit Chiang Mai. The transfer is ending in 10 or so days and I feel like this time I'll be moving. I love being with Sister Zatarain and it would be nice to stay with her for one more transfer, but I’ll go where I'm called. I'll let you know for sure if I do more. 

For now, work in P-lok moves forward. We saw so many cool miracles this week! Last night, when we were reviewing our week together, we talked about the day when we went looking for a less active member and another day when we gave an investigator a form for her to fill out.

The first experience happened on Wednesday. Sister Zatarain and I planned to expand our range and to find more less active members to bring back to the branch. We had no idea where this person lived. All we had was a very general map and an outdated address. We prayed and just let our faith guide us. When we got to the general area, we stopped at the side of the road to look at the map again and right as we stopped, we heard someone behind us ask, "Sisters! Who are you looking for?" It was a member named Brother Boy. We showed him the picture of the LA and he said, “Oh I know them!” He then called them for us and led us to their store. It was such a blessing because it was such a hot day and more so we wouldn't have found it otherwise. 

Again on Friday, we went looking for one of our investigators, Sister May. We didn't know where her school was but the Elders helped point us in the right direction because it was in their area. We pull up to the school and decided we just have to try asking around. The hard part about going to schools is, if you want to find someone you need to know their real name--meaning their full name. Most people go by their nickname in Thailand so it was almost impossible! We tried calling her a few times and she didn't answer and as we pulled up to the parking lot, the first person we saw was our cute little member, Sister Bang! She knew exactly where we needed to go and again it was a miracle. 

This transfer, we've seen a lot happen without directly planning for it. I’m not sure how to explain that, but basically there are some days that we really want to find new investigators and reach our weekly goals but by the end of the day, it doesn't happen. It's not necessarily discouraging but more so it gives us a sense of urgency to meet our 80 people at Sacrament meeting goal this transfer. Long story short, we've trust in Heavenly Father that he will invest and grow P-lok and how he needs to at this time. He always sends us help and works along side with us (like it says in Jacob). It was really nice to meet all our goals this week and to even exceed them. It's very fulfilling in life. 

Finally on Sunday, we had a goal to have two new daters and we had 0. This mother and daughter I taught on Tuesday showed up and honestly, we weren't expecting them because we had called them all morning and they never answered. The two of them are so prepared. We talked about baptism for 30 minutes and about their lives. They accepted to get baptized and we're working with them and helping them prepare. Again, more reasons why I would love to stay in P-lok but S. Zatarain would take good care of them. 

I think tomorrow we are going to see Bon and Bam. I think it'll be the last time I'll see them in Thailand. Weird! Sister Stolworthy and I were talking this morning about how we are already at our 1-year’s mark. It's interesting to see the things that have happened in that time. 

Well, I don't have much else to share about this week. 

LOVE YOU ALL,

Sister Yeo 





Yindee, Yindee

This week went by so fast and last night as I reviewed it and right now as I'm thinking about it, it all seems like a blur. Sorry if my thoughts are jumbled. 

Well, this week at church we had 49 people at church and throughout the meeting, there were people coming and going. I feel like all our week’s work and efforts add up to Sunday and sometimes it's hard not to be continually asking, “What more could I have done?” Sister Zatarain and I talked about it yesterday and took a glimpse into an eternal perspective. We talked about Jacob chapter 5 on how the Lord of the Vineyard; after laboring and pruning and so forth, there still was no growth or fruit. What Godly sorrow we might feel when people chooses not to step closer to God.  

I read Doctrine & Covenants 123: 12-14 this morning and it answered my questions. There really are things that my “eyes can't see” but like in verse 13, I just want to “waste and wear out” [my mission life] by bringing light and truth to both, investigators and members also with great earnestness. It's been a really enlightening week and in our efforts inviting others to know the Savior, I know I've grown closer to Him myself. 

Our investigators Sister Boom, Brother Air and Brother Gap attended church yesterday and they stayed for all three hours!! I’m already loving watching Sister Boom change. She has so many concerns and so many questions and after learning in the Book of Mormon, it gives her solace. Sometimes, her questions multiply but the gospel is understandable and the Spirit confirmed it to her. 

On Saturday, they had children's day and we did some service at this huge carnival at the airport base. It was pretty sweet and there were SO many families there. It was probably the most perfect place to try to contact people. We prayed, got started and managed to talk to a few families. It wasn't the best environment with the loud music, kids running and screaming everywhere but one day those people will want to learn the gospel. 

OH yeah, almost forgot, remember how last week I wrote about the question concerning how people pick between their parents and God...? Well our investigator Sister Boom, asked that exact question in our lesson last Monday. I had to stop and process and then I thought, “Oh hey, I know the answer to this.” Lately, I feel like Heavenly Father is just carrying us and any and every time we open the scriptures with our investigators, the answer lies in front of us. The Spirit is fantastic! :D 

LOVE YOU ALL 

Sister Yeo 





Recent Pictures Up To January 6th

Went to a waterfall one time.

Bell, Mink, S. King and Me.

Made a Christmas tree. :-) is it still up?...Yup!

Service project at a member's house. Nailing wood. haha.

Christmas in Chiang Mai.

Hill Tribe.

My MTC comp, Sister Stolworthy and I.

Lighting off lanterns.

All of us...and President Senior. :P

Me and Sister Zatarain.

Last day with Sister Carper. :-(

S. Zatarain and I on a very windy ride.

Dinner on the river.

2013

How is everyone doing? For some reason in my mind it didn't register that it's cold over in America and that it's still winter. Once the New Year hit, it was just the same as it was in December; except the month turned into January. But anyways I hope no one is sick at home or anything like that. P.S. how was New Year this year?

This week we've seen a lot of blessings as a result of obedience. President Senior’s monthly letter for December was about obedience. As a companionship goal we made ours--perfect obedience. Accordingly, we faced challenges that tested our commitment to be obedient but I’m happy to say that because of our prior commitment to our goal, Heavenly Father really did bless us. 

Being a senior companion doesn't really feel different; but the one thing I was stressed about lately was teaching. At the end of last transfers, we had two investigators, both of whom, at this point we've already dropped because they aren't progressing. Meaning we had no investigators last week. I felt really stressed because I know the area and I needed to teach S. Zatarain since she's still pretty young in the mission. Regardless, she’s such a good missionary and so fun to work with. We find ourselves laughing a lot about random things. BTDubbs, she's from Texas. Anyway, the last week and a half was stressful because of that. Also, it hit me that I only have 6 months left and when we weren't teaching anyone at the moment, I guess I wondered what I was doing wrong. However, I just needed to wait because just about every day this past week, we found 2-3 new investigators so things always work out in the end. There were lots of interesting and uplifting lessons this week. The main point is that obedience is the first law in heaven (D&C 132) and God keeps his promises when we keep ours. 

One of our new investigators is this lady who called us on Thursday as we were doing our weekly long planning. We actually were on the section for planning on how to find new investigators. Then, she called and said, “Hey, can I learn about the scriptures?” Which on my mission, I think I've only had three people ever call and ask that. So we met her on Friday and she told us why she was interested. Hers is literally exactly like the Joseph Smith story. This actually was a lady that I met before last transfer. We were riding our bikes down the street and she stopped my comp and said she wanted to learn about Jesus. The sign was actually for English and we didn't know if we understood her correctly so we asked her again and she said, “Yes, I want to learn about the gospel.” We got her number then and after that we had no contact. This apparently is the time Heavenly Father designated for her to learn. So we went with that in mind and taught her the restoration. She's full of questions and really sincere about seeking the truth. It was a happy moment and fulfilling in life and our purpose.

Lastly, Fern got baptized!!!! :-) I was so happy. She asked me to give a talk and when I was preparing for it, I remember when I first met her. Her parents wouldn't let her learn the Gospel but now she's a member! The Elders were the ones who taught her and like we've talked about before, it doesn't matter whose baptism it is; rather, it's about her salvation and her soul. It was special and during my study on Saturday and this morning, I thought about the role of parents. 

In Thailand, or maybe it’s just Asian culture, respect and honoring parents is huge. (We met with our RC yesterday who is in her 40s and her parents at first didn't' know she was a member) S. Zatarain and I talked about when we choose between God and your parents what comes first? Obviously, God! However, when we choose Him, we break the commandment of “Honor thy Father and Mother.” Right? We continued to talk about it and at the end of the day, I just want to say we ended up talking about how grateful we are that you’re our families. This week, I felt like I help someone for real that wasn't necessarily an investigator or RC. We went and saw the Relief Society President. As she shared her stresses about sisters she has to deal with and how she doesn't want to be the RS President anymore, a scripture from Mosiah popped into my mind and so I shared it with her. Yesterday at church, she mentioned it in her testimony and then again in Relief Society about how she felt like angels came to visit her. It was a really special experience and the more I thought about it, I credit it to the Spirit. No way could I have come up with that scripture to share with her on my own. The Spirit really does deliver to us the things that we need and when we need them. I guess what I'm getting at is; thank you mom and dad for raising Travis, Trina and I in a home that invites the Spirit and we were definitely taught through the Spirit. It takes a lot to teach someone how to recognize those feelings. I love you both so much for being those examples to me.  

Well I hope you have a great week. Good Luck with starting school—Travis and Trina. hehehe 

LOVE YOU! 

Always 

Sister Yeo
p.s. Pictures attached of Sister Fern's baptism!!