Hah! With a thai nugget for another transfer! Elder Tom is now District leader and the Zone leaders were moved over to Ubon... We have a very large district as before. For just our Branch we have 3 companionships, 4 Elders and 2 Sisters: 4 Thai missionaries and 2 amuricans... huzzah! We had a new sister move in and a new zone leader. We do have 2 more Elders in our district but in a different area thats kinda far away.. new elder over there too..my nong from the MTC. Its a sweet district. So the trip to Bangkok? So much fun. There was an Elder dying (dying means finishing his mission here) and we talked a lot on the train down.. hes way funny. Actually he just called me as well.. hes very scared cause he doesnt know what to do.. he got released in Asoke, about 45 minutes from his house, and then went home as a regular person, ALONE! His voice sounded very terrified haha. Also his situation is.. unique cause he has already finished schooling. Anyway, he was great. In Bangkok i did not get to go to my area (well technically I did because the train dropped us off there) but i did get to meet Brother Tawid at the office for about 30 minutes or so. Then we came back: 430 PM to 500 AM.. ah! So long.. wasnt even a sleeper train.. was a sitting train. But i enjoyed it very much.. for reasons ill explain later. Met almost everyone from the MTC at transfers meeting which was also nice. I was very smelly.. wednesday did work and left in the evening, thursday was in BANGKOK so i got a little of every kind of bacteria possible, and then came home that night.. so do the math.. very smelly. Luckily one of the sisters that went there and back had some wipies.. very dirty.
Anyway.. our investigators! We gotta move Somchays date to the week after next because just not enough time. BUT he will be ready. He called this morning and said he just prayed and felt really good.. he was really frustrated with work again and wanted to stop and sleep.. but he prayed and felt like he could keep going. Cool eh? So i dont think i ever said what Somchay does.. hes about 22 years old and is in his last year at College... he teaches violin as well. His schedule is exactly like mine and joshes.. wake up at midnight and then start working... After church yesterday i asked what he was going to do later.. said he was going to go home and work. i said, "no you're not.. what time did you go to bed? Oh you didnt? yeah, you're gonna sleep." "What? No im not! I need to do work!" This morning he called and i said, "so you got up at midnight yesterday right?" "Right." "So that means you went home from church and slept?" "Exactly." Quite amusing to the soul. Anyway, hes a solid investigator and our closest one to getting baptized.. woot! Hes a little concerned about his family cause he did invite his mom to come to church and she was silent.. then she said, "Dont joke with me alright son?" So, may have a little "anti" feelings later on.. but hes still pretty solid in the testimony that he doesnt know he has.
So today i dont have a lot of time.. in fact i gotta go already.. Theres a member who needs some help moving some furniture.. So ill have to cut this week very short. Just want to let you all know we have a Father in Heaven who loves us all more than we can understand. While i was sitting on that LONG train ride back to Ubon, i had about 6 hours to myself after everyone else fell asleep.. and you know me, i dont really sleep well. Anyway, i had kind of a hippy moment where i had all this time to myself to ponder and to think about EVERYTHING. To put things short, i received a witness again that we are children of heavenly father.. and it felt fantastic. This week ive felt a fire in my heart to help everyone understand this one simple point the way i have come to understand it. Love ya guys..
Elder Gudmundsen
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Happy Valentine's Day
Day of Love! Fantastic. I dont think that its really any special day out here.. but 7-11 does have special sandwhiches!
So how are you all? All you men spending ridiculous amounts of money on your women-- I mean beautifully, fantastic wives? Teehee.
Interesting week.. pretty good. Okay i lied it was AWESOME. Lets start with Brother Somchay eh? Okay remember this guy? Met him at the post office one day and he didnt even ask who we were just asked where our Church was? Yeah.. he totally got on an answer. BAM. So one night he said he was feeling really... frustrated with work and school. We had told him before that when he feelsl ike that (cause its quite often haha) to pray and he will feel better.. well he has been doing that quite often and says it helps. One night he prayed and decided to just open the Book of Mormon and read. He opened to Alma 34: 33... by the way im relaying his story when he told us face to face in a lesson. As he told us that, he opened the Book of Mormon with us to read the verse... Now brother Somchay speaks really fast, so as he was explaining he stopped for a second to say, "ah.. its about to happen again." Whats about to happen again? About to CRY again. He read that verse and said that he didnt know what to do.. he felt something crazy and just sat there... feeling like he wanted to tell someone what he was feeling, but no one was there (well, someone was there), so he just sat there and cried. Hes like, "what was that? Was that the Spirit?" "YES!" He then said that after he read it again, he turned to the back of his Book of Mormon where we wrote "27 February" as his baptismal date.. he said he looked at the date and he felt "yes. This can be the day. I dont need to wait until October as i once said." That night we had planned to teach about the Atonement, but instead followed his lead, and shared spiritual experiences. Then, we taught about the Word of Wisdom. Yeah, i know what you're thinking, "why such a big jump Elder are you stupid?" Yes. And no. He explained that he had thought to himself and has decided to quit smoking.. in fact since the last time him and i had talked about it, he quit.. about a week and a half now. Also, since the first day he met us, he quit drinking alcohol. He doesnt have a problem with coffee or tea. Hes also keeping the law of Chastity. So all in all.. its pretty sweet. This week hes pretty busy but he wants to keep meeting and will try his best to make time. Oh yeah! i Forgot the funny line he said.. one night he called us and asked us what our "goals" were.. "are you trying to make everyone like you and want to meet with like, 5 times a week? cause it worked.. i want to keep learning!" Yeah... ssssaaaawweeeet! Only problem was that he didnt go to church haha.. He told us saturday night that he wanted to check out his friends church... okay, no problem. Then sunday night he called us because he wanted to "confess that he sucks" (hey, his words) because he didnt go to that church either haha. He fell asleep sunday morning at 7 in the morning and woke up at 6 at night hahah.. said he feels way dumb and like a sinner haha. Well, I dont really have any room to "chastize" him because.. well you all know why haha.. not that i would even if i was a good person before the mish. Anyway, this guy is soo cool. Getting baptized FO SHO!
So that was the up.. this is the down: we met this girl who happens to be the friend of a recent convert. We were trying to meet as a family (4 all together) but it wasnt working out so one night we only met with the daughter (the friend), "play." Shes way nice and really open to talk about this stuff. We met her on a wednesday.. it was all good and a very happy lesson... friday morning we call to set up the appointment.. her boyfriend died. Yeah.. roller coaster? We havent met again for obvious reasons, but told her friend, the recent convert, to keep in contact every day. We handed that family over to the Sister Missionaries cause.. well, thats for them to handle.. and its a girl. After that sad note, we taught brother Somchay about the Plan of Salvation, and in particular, the Atonement. While teaching, not only did my testimony get stronger, and i just felt really good about it, but i thought back to her boyfriend.. at the end of the lesson we sang I know My redeemer lives... Such a perfect song. Even though he passed away, "he shall conquer death" BECAUSE of Christs infinite atonement... "What comfort this sweet sentence gives." Its such a blessing to KNOW that we will conquer the affects of the Fall and be saved from Spiritual and Physical death and be with the ones we love again... i cant imagine how much it has to ____ for Play, but like Alma once said, "how bitter were my pains... but how exquisite and sweet was my joy."
These were the highlights of the week.. actually there was one more.. we had zone conference and went bowling after.. oh man that was fun. Met up with one of my nongs' nongs and hes fantastic. Kinda reminds me of Brandon Nash.. my good 'ol roomie of only 1 semester. The zone conference itself was way fulfilling too.. funny too cause almost everything President said, him and I had talked about in our own personal interview the week before. Cool.
K so this is all i got for now.. love you all... transfers in 3 days... i gotta go down to Bangkok to renew my visa so definitely have to go the transfer meeting.. 2 people in our district our moving for sure.. dont know about Elder Tom.. we shall see.
Love, (especially today)
Elder Gudmundsen
So how are you all? All you men spending ridiculous amounts of money on your women-- I mean beautifully, fantastic wives? Teehee.
Interesting week.. pretty good. Okay i lied it was AWESOME. Lets start with Brother Somchay eh? Okay remember this guy? Met him at the post office one day and he didnt even ask who we were just asked where our Church was? Yeah.. he totally got on an answer. BAM. So one night he said he was feeling really... frustrated with work and school. We had told him before that when he feelsl ike that (cause its quite often haha) to pray and he will feel better.. well he has been doing that quite often and says it helps. One night he prayed and decided to just open the Book of Mormon and read. He opened to Alma 34: 33... by the way im relaying his story when he told us face to face in a lesson. As he told us that, he opened the Book of Mormon with us to read the verse... Now brother Somchay speaks really fast, so as he was explaining he stopped for a second to say, "ah.. its about to happen again." Whats about to happen again? About to CRY again. He read that verse and said that he didnt know what to do.. he felt something crazy and just sat there... feeling like he wanted to tell someone what he was feeling, but no one was there (well, someone was there), so he just sat there and cried. Hes like, "what was that? Was that the Spirit?" "YES!" He then said that after he read it again, he turned to the back of his Book of Mormon where we wrote "27 February" as his baptismal date.. he said he looked at the date and he felt "yes. This can be the day. I dont need to wait until October as i once said." That night we had planned to teach about the Atonement, but instead followed his lead, and shared spiritual experiences. Then, we taught about the Word of Wisdom. Yeah, i know what you're thinking, "why such a big jump Elder are you stupid?" Yes. And no. He explained that he had thought to himself and has decided to quit smoking.. in fact since the last time him and i had talked about it, he quit.. about a week and a half now. Also, since the first day he met us, he quit drinking alcohol. He doesnt have a problem with coffee or tea. Hes also keeping the law of Chastity. So all in all.. its pretty sweet. This week hes pretty busy but he wants to keep meeting and will try his best to make time. Oh yeah! i Forgot the funny line he said.. one night he called us and asked us what our "goals" were.. "are you trying to make everyone like you and want to meet with like, 5 times a week? cause it worked.. i want to keep learning!" Yeah... ssssaaaawweeeet! Only problem was that he didnt go to church haha.. He told us saturday night that he wanted to check out his friends church... okay, no problem. Then sunday night he called us because he wanted to "confess that he sucks" (hey, his words) because he didnt go to that church either haha. He fell asleep sunday morning at 7 in the morning and woke up at 6 at night hahah.. said he feels way dumb and like a sinner haha. Well, I dont really have any room to "chastize" him because.. well you all know why haha.. not that i would even if i was a good person before the mish. Anyway, this guy is soo cool. Getting baptized FO SHO!
So that was the up.. this is the down: we met this girl who happens to be the friend of a recent convert. We were trying to meet as a family (4 all together) but it wasnt working out so one night we only met with the daughter (the friend), "play." Shes way nice and really open to talk about this stuff. We met her on a wednesday.. it was all good and a very happy lesson... friday morning we call to set up the appointment.. her boyfriend died. Yeah.. roller coaster? We havent met again for obvious reasons, but told her friend, the recent convert, to keep in contact every day. We handed that family over to the Sister Missionaries cause.. well, thats for them to handle.. and its a girl. After that sad note, we taught brother Somchay about the Plan of Salvation, and in particular, the Atonement. While teaching, not only did my testimony get stronger, and i just felt really good about it, but i thought back to her boyfriend.. at the end of the lesson we sang I know My redeemer lives... Such a perfect song. Even though he passed away, "he shall conquer death" BECAUSE of Christs infinite atonement... "What comfort this sweet sentence gives." Its such a blessing to KNOW that we will conquer the affects of the Fall and be saved from Spiritual and Physical death and be with the ones we love again... i cant imagine how much it has to ____ for Play, but like Alma once said, "how bitter were my pains... but how exquisite and sweet was my joy."
These were the highlights of the week.. actually there was one more.. we had zone conference and went bowling after.. oh man that was fun. Met up with one of my nongs' nongs and hes fantastic. Kinda reminds me of Brandon Nash.. my good 'ol roomie of only 1 semester. The zone conference itself was way fulfilling too.. funny too cause almost everything President said, him and I had talked about in our own personal interview the week before. Cool.
K so this is all i got for now.. love you all... transfers in 3 days... i gotta go down to Bangkok to renew my visa so definitely have to go the transfer meeting.. 2 people in our district our moving for sure.. dont know about Elder Tom.. we shall see.
Love, (especially today)
Elder Gudmundsen
Ooops.... Here's Feb. 7
So this week was pretty chill... we had some good lessons. We met with Brother Somchay.. the one we met at the post office? Remember? And we gave him a date.. 27th of February.. woohoo! This week was pretty much centered on him.. he talked with his protestant friend.. uh oh. His friend started going off on how the Mormons are evil and horrible and this other stuff.. saying we had plural wives and what not.. that night Brother SOmchay called us to get both sides of the story.. more than that, he was like, "i couldnt understand why he was speaking so bad about you guys.. he wasnt just telling me, he was like talking crap and using really strong words.. i was like, "wait, dont you all belive in the same god? Why do you have to speak about each other like this?" I asked him," Since the first day we met and starting learning together, can you recall even one time that we said something bad about another religion?" He quickly answered "no" and then realized how quickly he answered and was just like, "oh... thats a good point." We went on to explain that we believe what we believe and we dont need to defend ourselves with strong words. we state the facts and thats it. after that, if they want to continue arguing, well, we leave. We dont know what your friend is like, but he probably just doesnt understand.. he could have heard these things from a friend of a friend of another friend. We have nothing against them. In the end, just look at the works behind those speaking.. that speaks for itself." He had a sweet moment with Alma 32:21 as well.. when he read it he kinda jumped and was like "whoa." Hes way good.. progressing nicely. Oh yeah.. we taught the Law Of Chastity yesterday.. hahaha that was pretty funny. He was just like, "so... for example, if my friend was to... ok forget the 'example' part cause im talking about myself... so i am a dude... i have dude feelings and so i have followed those feelings before.. is that wrong?" We didnt have to ask what he was talking about but it was amusing the way he was talking very "kiddy" cause its a touchy subject... we shared 3 nephi 12 about "whoso looketh upon a woman to lust after he hath commiteth adultery already in his heart" and that made it very clear. The night before this we had given him a Chastity pamphlet and i had said, "this is probably the hardest commandment for everyone.. above all else." He didnt realize what i meant until we actually explained it with him. After we explained it we were all quiet for a while and then he said, "yeah... you were right.. definitely the hardest one." But he said he would try his best haha.
We finally met with Bunlays daughter and got her a baptismal date too.. she went to Church and is doing what we ask her too. We met her again yesterday, but outside the house.. her father locked her inside so she wouldnt go out while shes still recovering.. kinda funny. Oh and speaking of the Law of Chastity.. we gonna have a fun time with this law with his daughter (her names Apple).. she said, very bluntly i might add, "Ive had a girlfriend before." Sorry if this is in detail too much, but hey... its pretty normal out here. I think it was one of the "phases" but we will see haha.
We had a fun experience with a Leader at Jehovas witnesses... we planned to meet with the same woman we had met with a week before, and had confirmed it and everthing.. when we got there, it wasnt her, but her older sister. Her older sister was sitting at her desk, with 3 chairs in front, bible open, and a piece of paper that clearly had all of her scriptures she planned for us written down. She had that devilish "smile-through-your-teeth so that when she does finally open her mouth to speak she scares us" look goin on. It was pretty standard stuff, "revelation says there wont be any more words..." etc... you know the typical bible bashing stuff right? Yeah.. pretty standard. Every time she asked us a question she would argue it. At one point, Elder Tom stopped her and said, "in the last 30 minutes weve been here, weve been talking about our God.. yet you havent smiled one time since." After that she stopped for 2 seconds and then smiled like, "what does that have to do with anything." It was a complete interrogation on Mormon beliefs BY THE BOOKS! Everything was just so standard, yet so not standard.. standard cause its nothing special, but special because its not the standard in Thailand.. usually just buddhists. Anyway, we totally owned her.. she shared her scriptures and we shared modern day revelation. Then... when that wasnt doing anything, i put my own bible down, took HERS from her (for added POW affect) and shared a bunch of scriptures that completely shut her up and pointed to the need for a restoration.. she had nothing to say. However, in the end, it didnt do anything.. she closed her heart and her eyes. Even when we asked to pray with her, she wouldnt do it. Good experience.. i totally loved it! And i kept my cool the whole time! If i wasnt a missionary.. haha i would just totally yell at her and make her look stupid.. instead i used scriptures and made her look stupid.. hahaha. Im horrible. It really was a good experience.. helped strengthen my testimony of WHY we needed a restoration.. everything was just so MESSED UP. If only this woman would open her heart a little more and pray like we asked her too, she would experience so much joy.. sad. But we will stop by again.
Anyway, this week was fun... were trying to work with this one family that is good friends with another investigator and good friends with a new member.. if we can get all 4 of them.. WOOHOO! Glorious gratification. Anyway, its hot, and i want to go inside.. and eat.. im hungry. Hope you all are doing well! The weather is usually pretty nice.. today is kinda unusual. Also, im learning Easan! Its not too bad.. i can listen and understand most of it, but speaking is quite different. Anyway, love you all. The Restoration? Ah.. its fanTASTic.
Elder Gudmundsen
We finally met with Bunlays daughter and got her a baptismal date too.. she went to Church and is doing what we ask her too. We met her again yesterday, but outside the house.. her father locked her inside so she wouldnt go out while shes still recovering.. kinda funny. Oh and speaking of the Law of Chastity.. we gonna have a fun time with this law with his daughter (her names Apple).. she said, very bluntly i might add, "Ive had a girlfriend before." Sorry if this is in detail too much, but hey... its pretty normal out here. I think it was one of the "phases" but we will see haha.
We had a fun experience with a Leader at Jehovas witnesses... we planned to meet with the same woman we had met with a week before, and had confirmed it and everthing.. when we got there, it wasnt her, but her older sister. Her older sister was sitting at her desk, with 3 chairs in front, bible open, and a piece of paper that clearly had all of her scriptures she planned for us written down. She had that devilish "smile-through-your-teeth so that when she does finally open her mouth to speak she scares us" look goin on. It was pretty standard stuff, "revelation says there wont be any more words..." etc... you know the typical bible bashing stuff right? Yeah.. pretty standard. Every time she asked us a question she would argue it. At one point, Elder Tom stopped her and said, "in the last 30 minutes weve been here, weve been talking about our God.. yet you havent smiled one time since." After that she stopped for 2 seconds and then smiled like, "what does that have to do with anything." It was a complete interrogation on Mormon beliefs BY THE BOOKS! Everything was just so standard, yet so not standard.. standard cause its nothing special, but special because its not the standard in Thailand.. usually just buddhists. Anyway, we totally owned her.. she shared her scriptures and we shared modern day revelation. Then... when that wasnt doing anything, i put my own bible down, took HERS from her (for added POW affect) and shared a bunch of scriptures that completely shut her up and pointed to the need for a restoration.. she had nothing to say. However, in the end, it didnt do anything.. she closed her heart and her eyes. Even when we asked to pray with her, she wouldnt do it. Good experience.. i totally loved it! And i kept my cool the whole time! If i wasnt a missionary.. haha i would just totally yell at her and make her look stupid.. instead i used scriptures and made her look stupid.. hahaha. Im horrible. It really was a good experience.. helped strengthen my testimony of WHY we needed a restoration.. everything was just so MESSED UP. If only this woman would open her heart a little more and pray like we asked her too, she would experience so much joy.. sad. But we will stop by again.
Anyway, this week was fun... were trying to work with this one family that is good friends with another investigator and good friends with a new member.. if we can get all 4 of them.. WOOHOO! Glorious gratification. Anyway, its hot, and i want to go inside.. and eat.. im hungry. Hope you all are doing well! The weather is usually pretty nice.. today is kinda unusual. Also, im learning Easan! Its not too bad.. i can listen and understand most of it, but speaking is quite different. Anyway, love you all. The Restoration? Ah.. its fanTASTic.
Elder Gudmundsen
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