Juice!

So how is everyone? Stellar huh? Fantastic.

This week was slow. New Years kinda bites it hard.. Man do Thai people know how to drink! Pretty much 70 percent of the people from Bangkok went home to other places.. everyone else stayed here and drank themselves silly. I dont know what it is about Karaoke, but now i love it! Not so much the Karoake part, but the part where everyone singing is HOUSED and trying to sing.. the picture of the cat you drew Josh comes to mind here. People are totally just not shy about it either.. "Hey whadya do for New Years?" "Drank beer." Done. Nothing else. Just drank. How much fun can that really be? Apparently EXTREMELY. Anyway, New Years eve President Smith actually changed our proselyting to have us leave the house at 8 in the morning and get home and 7 at night. Dont know how much of a difference it actually made, but its the right idea. Well actually i take that back.. that was the day we got another Baptismal dater! Hes a super old dude of 80 years old.. but hes got some serious strength behind those bones. We were inviting this one street and we went up to this gate and said hello... he at first didnt say anything but just walked over to the gate, opened it and said, "come in." We talked, taught and gave him a date for the 30th of this month. He accepted it. How determined is he? Not completely sure.. we feel that its right, but he has yet to show super excitement.. but he is determined to go to Church. He actually did go yesterday and said he really like it. More than that, he also said he would try and go every week. The only problem is that his eyes are awful.. he cant read for more than a minute or so until his eyes hurt really bad. Glasses dont really help either. So we will read for him! So anyway, New Years day was pretty quiet as well.. most people were asleep from all the partying.. which is weird cause our neighborhood was SO quiet at night.. didnt hear anything.. i was like, "Is it new years or not?" Anyway, that was all pretty quiet and we didnt get too much done.. plus we were both feeling under the weather this whole past week.. nothing serious, but enough to make us want to take 10 ish minute naps at the house haha.

For the rest of out investigators.. well, everyone went home! We saw Bon and Au a couple times, but never got to really teach anything.. on top of that, he hasnt quit smoking yet.. he made it 2 days after we first gave him the comittment, but relapsed on wednesday. He says he doesnt have a problem with Alcohol, coffee, tea or anything else.. but he knows he is addicted to smoking. He wants to.. really he does.. but he knows how hard it is. We are trying to not just say "cmon just stop, its easy!" cause its really not that easy and neither of us understand the addiction of cigarrettes. He said something really funny last night.. we knew that were gonna get home yesterday so we just went by to say hello before going home.. his mom said that if he didnt quit she would stop talking to him.. kinda harsh and definitely not anything helpful. Bon got defensive at the fact that she was trying to MAKE him stop. He thn said this (rather loudly too) "If someone forces you to eat poop are you going to do it?! No of course not.. i want to do this myself and on my own!" Like.. uhh, "if someone asked you nicely to eat poop are you going to eat it anyway?" HAHAH.. i mean i kinda get his point, but it was just super funny the way he compared the 2 situations.. plus i just learned the word for "poop" (i know what youre thinking.. just now? really?) so it took me a split second to understand it, and then i just started laughing.. no one else seemed to think it was funny though.. i thought it was hilarious! Anyway.. we will meet again tonight and watch... uhh.. dangit i forgot whose talk it is.. someone from Conference about faith and changing our character. I read it during study and thought, "oh yeah.. this can help."

So.. Sister Apple.. she got confirmed yesterday. But actually before that, she got a calling in sacrament meeting AND was already fasting.. WOW. How much more golden can you get? On a different note.. we almost had to drop Her son First.. First and Flukes father is quite the monster.. not only does he have like 5 "friends with benefits" and 5 different places that he stays at, he hasnt been giving Alemony. His second wife (who he has a kid with and she lives at the same house as Apple) saw Fluke and Apple change their lives and sees them being really happy.. pretty much shes just a jealous little (insert some word that im not familiar with) and she tattled told on her husband.. i dont even know what she ended up complaining about, but he called both Fluke and Apple to talk to them about it.. basically, he told Fluke that hes a dead son to him and doesnt care, and Apple.. well he hasnt cared about her for a long time already. But, hes not done with First and he wants HIM to be a monk in the future.. at 20 years old. So, he said to Apple and Fluke to get out of the house, and if First keeps learning with us then he will stop sending money. Well.. was a pretty bad situation and Fluke totally spoke truth.. he told him he was a horrible person (among other things) and wished he wasnt his son... But guess what? What the father doesnt know wont hurt him right? We didnt listen. First wants to learn and so we are continuing to teach.. just at other places. And then, Apple called her Mom to tell her the situation and her mom said that she will send the money for both of them. So, they are going to move out anyway, First included, and find their own place and she will get her own job. It was a way sweet solution. First learns kinda slowly, but he definitely understands.. just explaining it to us is hard for him.. and he for sure has ADD. No problem.. patience.

K so this is what has happened lately.. was a pretty sweet week all things considered. This thursday is transfers and we will find out tonight if anyone is moving.. someone is. Our District leader called us and said that the office Elders have asked everyone what supplies they will need to pick up at the transfer meeting... well, thats a message in a message eh? I want to move but i also dont.. want to experience something new, but this place is so sweet. But, alas, i know i have to go where the Lord wants me to go.. bah. Lets do this.

Elder Gudmundsen