We received this from the Thailand Bangkok Mission Office:
Your missionary is scheduled to return home on
5 July 2013.
Your missionary is scheduled to return home on
5 July 2013.
3/17/2013
Best Ward Ever!
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| With Sister Dukda! |
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| S. Stolworthy (MTC Comp), S. Davies and I |
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| Send off/Last day in P-lok |
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| Brother Bob's baptism |
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| New area/Ward |
The area is wonderful! The Elders prepared and have been
helping us so much. They are also a blessing to us. The first day we got here
they took us to some of our potential investigators and showed us a huge map
and asked us what we think about the split in our area and so forth. The
members brought us dinner and it was so sweet because we were all starving!
There also happened to be a relief society activity on Saturday which was so
perfect because we got to know all the members. There is a sister here who I
met 7 or 8 months ago when I was in Bangkhae. She and her daughter gave me big
hugs when they saw me and it just made me so incredible happy that they are in
this branch. Oh before I forget, my last day in P-lok was perfect. Because we
both had a strong feeling I was moving I did most of my packing on P-day and
here and there. So we were able to work, work, work all day on Wednesday. It
was also my last “youth” activity and my heart just about burst. My RC Sister
Dukda walked into the kitchen and I actually screamed hehe. I can't explain how
happy I was to see her after missing her for so long. The funny thing is, I
told S Zatarain about her a lot the week before and just so happened that she
came on my very last day in the area. It was a miracle.
Right now we are trying to figure out what the ward needs
and how we can help it grow and be strong. We met with a handful our new
investigators and potentials and less actives already thanks to the Elders.
Everything is good, yes as you know I will be coming home in July. :/ But I am
happy to see you all. Last night I just made a collage of all your pictures in
my journal. I'm so happy we will all be together forever. :)
This week I don't have much else to report but Saturday
brother Bob got baptized. When he shared his testimony, you could really feel
how much this kid has changed. This quarter our mission is focusing a lot on
repentance and initially I always think of it as 'we do something bad, so then
we need to repent'. That's correct but there is also repenting of those smaller
things that we need to change to be even more like the Savior. There is never a
day where we should feel content because this is why we came to this world. To
learn how to change and become perfect and meet God.
I love you all!!
Always,
Sister Yeo
3/10/2013
Happy St. Patty's Day
It's been a really great week and things in Phitsanulok are
still wonderful. Last Saturday Sister Oui got baptized and confirmed on
Sunday!! She was so prepared and so happy to be baptized. Her testimony was
simple and very sincere.
I've thought a lot about my time here in Phitsanulok and the
time I have left of my mission. This morning I looked over the last 6 months
and was happy to know that every month, at least one person was baptized and
Heavenly Father let me be a part of that! I love the members here so much and
the investigator we have now; Sister Boom has such a great desire to be
baptized that she is changing essentially everything in her life to follow the
Savior. She was out of town yesterday but looked up the church in Bangkok so
she could still attend sacrament meeting, Sunday school and Relief Society.
Along with my "reflection" so to speak of my time here I thought
about what Heavenly Father needs me to do for the rest of my time here.
I feel like I'll be moving this Thursday and it's sad to be
leaving. However, I have learned so much from everyone here and I have made
some lifelong friends. The experiences have left an impression of love on me
and I hope I've been able to do the same for others.
Recently, President Senior sent out a book of "instructions"
specifically for our mission. As Sister Zatarain and I studied it, we came
across some rules that we thought would be hard to do. However, as we discussed
it more, we concluded that obedience is what we taught Sister Boom the day
before and what we teach to every single person we meet. If we ourselves can't
do that, why are we even on a mission? We left everything behind to focus
solely on the work! One of the rules we were asked to observe is to
not write to our recent converts (of the opposite gender) more than once a
transfer, which is a 3-month period. And if they respond, the office will not
send them out and because of the change in office elders and AP's moving we
should expect to not hear from them. (Not to worry, letters from home still get
sent out to us) We both were so sad about it because we won't be able to
contact people like Brother Jack, Guy and Oh, etc. after we leave this
area. Luckily, there are other blessings stored up when we choose that we would
obey this exactly.
Overall, things are great! Healthier and happy! Sister
Zatarain and I have had sooo much fun these last two transfers! I'm really glad
that we could learn from each other.
I hope you all have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day!!
hehe
LOVE YOU
Always,
Sister Yeo
3/04/2013
Finding God's Will
Is it summer yet?? It's blazing hot here!!!
It definitely is starting to be hot season. Except, this morning it's
been raining so there’s been a nice break/cool breeze; even a little
chilly.
Well what can I say? The tender mercies of God will never
cease to amaze me. I wish that in a few simple words I can explain how much God
is in the details of everything. This week we faced another empty investigator
pool. After our last three investigators got baptized, we had no one to teach
and those who were somewhat progressing suddenly went MIA. It's interesting how
much my perspective and stress levels have changed in this area. 3 months ago,
when we were faced with this problem I was so stressed and I felt that with S.
Zatarain still being somewhat new, I had to help set a good example for her and
that I wasn't quite living up to it. But of course Heavenly Father just wanted
us to show that we were willing to work and then He would take care of the
rest. The result: 3 baptism! (all of which are doing well and I'll tell you a
story soon) Now that we have this same problem, I don't feel that same stress
and we just worked and give our best every day. Well, as we are taught in the
church, we are to fellowship those who are new and help nourish and give them
the good word of God. We spent most of our time visiting all 9 of our recent
converts. That itself takes quite a bit of time. We also visited less actives
and just worked and prayed so much to find new investigators.
So the plot thickens. Sunday comes and we are still in need
of 80 people at church to get a new church building for Phitsanulok. One of our
former investigators, Boom came again. She's been coming for about three weeks
but during the week days she's a little flaky and won't make a firm appointment
to meet with us. The three hours of church was so filled with the Spirit and
there was something different. Fast and testimony meetings always seem to be my
favorite because a miracle occurs. I wasn't there for Relief Society because I
helped Sister Mink in Primary (which was so much fun and made me miss teaching
Primary in our ward) but S. Zatarain came and found me after church and told me
that Boom said she's ready to get baptized. All she said was she's ready with no
further explanation. She'll be baptized on the 30th of this month after
district conference!!! Yesterday, was a bunch of little miracles! Sister Bang,
one of my absolute favorite members is going to Utah at the end of July for a
student exchange program. She's been applying and trying with so many programs
to get a host family and finally she got it! So I'm excited after I get home,
I'll get to see her and welcome her come to Utah and then you can meet her too!
:)
Next is brother Gap. He's been an ETERNAL investigator. He's
been coming to church for a year but still hasn't been baptized because he
can't get permission from his parents. They want him to do a Buddhist tradition
first and he'd have to wait till he's 20 years old and right now he's 17 and
then he can be baptized. So yesterday during our lesson we asked him, “Have you
explained to your parents what baptism is?” He told us what he said to them and
we realized that his parents probably don't understand him based on what he
told us. I shared with him my favorite scripture in D&C and why I wanted to
be a missionary. I told him why it was so important to me. We
committed him to pray about why it's so important to get baptized
for him personally. Then we committed him to pick a date for himself on when he
wants to get baptized. I gave him my calendar and he said the 10th. We
clarified and he said March. THAT'S THIS SUNDAY! S. Zatarain and I sat there
for a minute and thought. We asked him a few more questions and then made
another appointment to meet with his parents. We are seeing them tonight with
the branch president to explain what baptism is and why it is a blessing and
ask their permission.
This morning S. Zatarain and I talked about his lesson and
how we can most effectively teach so that his parents will feel the Spirit.
They don't need to know the mechanics of baptism; the details of who stands
where and who say's what. We talked about how it revolves around faith. We want
to help them understand who God is and what kind of love He has for them. We
want them to know the Savior and feel that their son is not just getting
baptized. He's following the Savior who will teach him perfectly how to be like
Him and how to be saved. Part of the reason they want Gap to do this Buddhist
tradition is because they believe that is how they'll go to heaven. Baptism is
the first step but we all can't be saved if we don't have faith in the one who
will lead and show us how to be saved. Baptism is our purpose but it is more so
the individual’s desire to act as a result of their faith. It's God's plan for
him, he'll be baptized on Sunday!!
Our prayers are answered every single day. We almost lost
the phone on Wednesday. S. Zatarain realized it wasn't in her bag. We said a
prayer and backtracked but we didn't find it. We got to the church and Brother
Guy said, "Did you lose your phone? Someone called Brother Fair and he
went to go pick it up for you." It was such a neat experience. Speaking of
Brother Guy, he is the CUTEST recent convert. He has such "new member
fire"! During dinner yesterday night, the elders told us they were
teaching with him and when the investigator sat down Brother Guy assigned who
would say the opening prayer and closing prayer. Then during the lesson he
pulled out the missionary pamphlets and would explain parts of it. He also
wants EVERY church book possible. He's been persistently asking the
Elders for a Preach My Gospel book ever since he found out about it. The best part
was when he found out about the triple combination: Book of Mormon, D&C and
Pearl of Great Price. The Elders let him borrow Brother Gap’s for a lesson and
at the end they needed it back to give back to Brother Gap. When the Elders
explained and showed us what his face looked like we couldn't help but giggle.
They said he looked like a kid who just got his ice cream cone taken away.
Anyways, he is the perfect member missionary. When he got a calling to be a
home teacher he called us right away and talked for 10 minutes about how
excited he was. I love, love, love all the RC I get to know and work
with.
Have a great week!
LOVE YOU ALL
S. Yeo
2/24/2013
BAPTISM SQUARED
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Nook (On the left by Me) and Praew's (On the Right by S.
Zatarain) Baptism!!
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The Young Men; Half of them are RC's, Two investigators and
and Less Active members that came back!
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Branch Activity at the Waterfall
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Hey, it's almost March and that seems so unreal. How was
everyone's week? Is it warmed in Utah yet? It's started to get really, really
hot here. Lately, we go through more water in a day than we have in a
week.
This week was crazy! I've been trying to think about what to
write because most of the events happened towards the end of the weekend. I had
some health issues on Wednesday and had to stay home for a few days; therefore,
we didn't get to do as much work as we had planned. The Elders gave me a
blessing and now, I'm just about back to normal. Nothing to worry about! Nook
and Praew's baptism was also another miracle because I feel like every obstacle
that could have been thrown at us came our way.
We found out that Sister Nook needed a second interview so
we had it all set up on Tuesday but then we found out that she hadn't told her
parents that she was getting baptized. She had just told her older sibling who
is like her second guardian and that sibling and said it was okay. We
told her that we would like to go meet her parents and just get to know them
and provide encouragement for them to support her in this decision. She was a
little shifty in letting us meet her parents because "they're never free."
It was really difficult to meet with them plus I couldn't really leave the
house for more than a few hours. Thursday night we get a phone call and this lady
told us that she's the mother of Nook and she gives full permission for her
daughter to get baptized. She said Nook told her (the mom) that she really wants
to get baptized so she is okay with it. Friday comes around and that is when
she was scheduled to be interviewed again but we had already left the night
before for Chiang Mai for training. We made so many phone calls and our branch
president and young women's president plus her daughter; Sister Bang helped out
so much. She passed and so the next tricky part is planning the
baptism. We needed clothes, they asked Sister Zatarain and I to give talks
and we needed to arrange things according to when the members would be home
from the ward activity at the waterfall.
The next morning, we went to the church and set up, clean up
and turn on the water and managed to find enough white clothing for the girls.
When we got back to the church, the next concern is the pressure of the water.
Since everyone, including the missionaries were going to the activity, no one
would be there to monitor the water flow so Elder Harris said we would have to
turn it to half volume. The branch activity was great and so fun. Members, less
actives and investigators all went. It was interesting because Sister Praew
told the branch president that she was having her time of the month and she
wasn't sure if she could get baptized. Sister Zatarain and I thought it was
ironic because she was playing in the water at the waterfall the whole time. We
figured it wouldn't be a problem if she was already soaking wet. The cool part
was, at one point the branch president, Elder Harris and us missionaries talked
about baptizing the girls in the river since all the members were already there
and everything. The final decision was to do it at the church. When we got back
to the church, it's about 1pm and the baptism is supposed to start at 2pm
because the girls needed to get to school by 3pm. We looked in the font and the
water is only half way. This isn't the first time it's happened so I wasn't too
worried but we were more so worried about time. We asked the girls if it could
be at 3pm and they agreed. Apparently, their class started at 4, but they told
us 3pm to give themselves enough time to get to school. We rushed home, changed
and tried to look somewhat presentable ourselves, then went back and it all
worked out!
This week, we are going to go try to find more people to
teach! We need a huge boost in our teaching pool. Please pray for those who are
ready to open their hearts and the members as well. Just about every baptism
here has come from member referrals and English class. In other news, Brother
Guy received the Aaronic priesthood yesterday!! He was so happy. We also went
to meet his mom and for some reason, in my mind it made me nervous because we
had heard that they were upset that he spent so much time at the church. When
we got there, his mom welcomed us with a smile, took us by the hand gave us
water and talked to us for an hour. She was just being a good mom when she
expressed that she was concerned about what Brother Guy was doing for so many
hours away from home. She would call him and he wouldn't pick up his phone and
sometimes, he would even turn it off. Honestly, it made me laugh, I told her I
used to be like that; I won't answer mom's phone calls because I was having fun
and didn't want to come home yet. Then, we shared with her that the message we
teach and have taught to Brother Guy is about change. Then we all can be better
and improve and the gospel makes us happier. The lady needs the gospel! You
just look at her eyes and can tell that she's tired, but she has so much love
for her two children and all she wants to do is give them happy lives and
success. She's so cute and sweet!
Lastly, I've been reading in Alma and this past week I came
across chapter 5; a well-known chapter. This time I loved how much it talks
about how the Lord, "changed their hearts". One of my friends talked
about the talk given by Elder Christofferson in May 2011. "As many as I
loveth I rebuke and chasten". It really hit me this week because at one
point in the talk he says (something to the effect of) though it (chastening)
may be hard to endure, we should rejoice and be grateful that the Lord thinks
we are worth the time and trouble to correct. I loved that because ever since
the start of my mission I've had a hard time with not being the perfect
missionary because I know I have my faults and many of them too. But God
doesn't expect us to be perfect all at one time. It's a constant change of our
hearts and that we just need to try. The goal still is to be perfect but we
definitely need His help if we are to understand how to become. It
set up a perspective for me. Our lives are not necessarily on a time scale in
the sense that we don't know when we will die but our missions are. It is
specifically for 18 months or 2 years. It's a mini measurement of progression
and how for the rest of this life we will never be done working towards
perfection. The scriptures are great!
Well, I hope you all have a wonderful, wonderful week!
I love you all!
Always,
Sister Yeo
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