This is Elder Hinckley's third transfer in this area. He has mentioned that there have been a lot of ups and downs, and mostly it's been pretty tough. We've been working hard, and working well together, and we're at an up right now, I think. We've gone from 0 investigators to about 5 in a couple weeks, and many of them seem sincerely committed.
I'm singing a different song than I was earlier this week. The past little while, I've felt like I've been giving everything I have and am, and not being filled back up. To the point where I don't know if I could give any more, and my prayers were going unheard. And that's when things changed. When I felt like I couldn't do it another day, we started meeting and teaching some of our street contacts, and got a couple referrals from members, and some of the less-actives we've been working with began to open their heart. Results culminated yesterday at church, where we had a few less-actives come back, and 5 investigators in the meetings. A good 60% of the people who committed to go. My heart was filled, and I was--am--so grateful.
Two referrals are from an RC sister Noi. She invited them to come and learn, and we taught a good lesson. One, Sister L came to church yesterday, and the ward openly accepted her. The other woman, Sister Noot, couldn't make it, but is pretty committed to learning. We learned about tithing at church yesterday, which made me a little nervous because usually we wait until we've taught investigators a few times before introducing the subject. Sister Kemtong took it like a champ though, and is still committed. We also met with Brother Dae, who is a former from some years ago. He believes he has a sixth sense (curse the person that released that movie in Thai) and can count the number of times he's sinned in his life. He seems interested and willing to talk and learn.
We dropped by a less-active at her place of work a while back (she wasn't answering her phone). When she saw us, she dropped what she was doing, turned her back without a word, and retreated out of communicable distance. So this last week, we wrote a note to her and dropped it of with a bag of fruit. She wouldn't take it, so we just set it down and left. I don't know what'll come of that, but it was fun. And it felt great to respond with love.
In an recent convert lesson yesterday, we come upon the subject of the Holy Ghost, and the nature of His promptings and roles toward us. I felt like I should share the following experience:
Back when I was somewhere around 12, I remember being disturbed by the apparent lack of the Holy Ghost in my life. I noticed how everyone would cry when they bore their testimonies, but I never had such feelings. I sought the spirit and did the things that invited the spirit, but didn't feel like I was seeing any results. I began to wonder if I was just incapable of feeling the spirit, and almost resigned myself to a future of not being able to empathize with fellow members of the church. One Sunday, the stake president came to priesthood quorum and taught the lesson. I don't remember what he talked about, but at some point I had the distinct impression that the things he was saying were true. I had a thought: that's the Holy Ghost; you're feeling it right now.Then I went into my old pattern of thought: is it really though? Am I just wanting to feel the spirit, and convinced myself I'm feeling something that isn't there? As I sat there with these thoughts going through my head, the stake president stopped in the middle of a sentence and asked everyone "Can you feel that? That's the Holy Ghost." Peace washed over me, and I was so grateful to God who was aware of the desires of a small boy and a stake president who was in tune with the spirit.
That experience helped me recognize the subtle nature of the spirit, and sharing that experience brought those feelings back. Tears came to my eyes, and one of the members pointed it out to me. The members said they sometimes had the same concerns, and everyone was edified. I find myself looking back to that simple experience and several others like it. They strengthen and help me in the work and in life.
A couple insights from the Thai Book of Mormon:
There isn't a word for simply "brother" or "sister" in Thai without specifying whether they are the speaker's senior or junior. So, now I know that the Brother of Jared was the senior of the two. Allegedly, the first presidency went and sought revelation on the subject for the Thai Book of Mormon. I'd wondered before about the "judgment bar of God." I understood the meaning, but what actually is the "bar"? In Thai, it translates to "throne."
The keys on this keyboard aren't very good, so I apologize if there are more errors than usual.
Thank you all for your support and love,
Elder Parish
1. I've mentioned this before, but this is something I hate about Thailand. The child and adult prices are written in script, 150 and 200 (baht) respectively. Unless you can't read script, then they're 300 and 350.
2. Rice field (there are so many rice fields. Everywhere).
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