Shalom

Sent March 31:

Well.. kind of an interesting week.. we have no lessons this week! haha. We were in Khon Kaen monday-tuesday and ubon from wednesday to thursday. Friday was at the office the whole time because we had to finish the specialized training on family history and present it to President Smith. Good news, is its all done and he approved it. Gotta say.. im proud of the product we came up with. We tried to make the training simple and grounded in doctrine from the scriptures. It was kinda weird.. the night before i was kinda stressin on it cause i felt like it wasnt.. complete. I couldnt figure out what it was and i was prayin really hard to figure it out, and when i finally came to the office to type it all up, it just kinda threw itself on paper. Im confident in the product and i think its gonna really explode.

On sunday i met with the family history director of Thailand and the consultant for the branch here in Pakkret. At first it was kinda awkward and they seemed confused at why we were meeting --by the way we met in the districts family history center.. pretty impressive. For this unit, that part wont be a problem, but for outside areas.. eh, we shall see. After about ten minutes of presenting the idea (using PMG of course) the sister, named Sister Wan of the country, just seemed to get it; it just clicked. She was explaining the vision that we have to the consultant and she started to get it too. After that it was smooth sailing. Just seemd like everything after that was what theyw anted to do. The vision that i see is very simple: as missionaries we are responsible and have a part in every aspect of the work (most importantly is teaching and baptizing) including finding, teaching and baptizing, retention of new converts, and activation of less active members. They we i see it is that this covers them all. When we go into coordination meeting and do it right, we come out with plans that encompass these 4 topics. Since we are training about how to use it in finding that part will be covered. The teaching will naturally come when people ask us why we do the work of family history. My favorite here is about retention. I read in preach my gospel the other day in the section under "establishing the church" which is actually right on topic with last months training about assuring real growth (which is not just baptism, but increase in church attendance). It says that those are have testimonies are baptized and confirmed, keep covenants, and prepare actively to go to the temple. I thought about that... how can they prepare to go to the temple without names of their ancestors. Also, if they have their eyes set on the temple, its a natural thing to stay strong. I think about the converts ive seen baptized and they are not all still strong. But the ones who are are the ones who have their eyes continually set on the temple. For activation.. pretty self explanatory. A lot of people are excited about this thing and i feel its going to take Thailand in a new direction.. that is assuming of course that people hop on board. It wont be hard thats for sure.. those who are family history consultants are they because they love it! Why would they reject it right? Ive contacted every director in the country for all 7 district/stakes and am currently compiling a list of every consultant for every branch. So far ive had no negative feedback (well, some just havent responded yet haha) but only very enthusiastic responses. Yay. When i get home i might show you the clip i made and the write up too; its a beaute! Just kidding. But really.

So you remember that father i told you about? Nugune? He got offended when nobody said hi to him at church one day.. dont know if i told you that but yeah thats it. Anyway, i was super bummed because he hadnt been picking up the phone lately and today.. he called me! He really has been super busy and not able to even pick up the phone. But he called to say thanks and that hes still praying every day and reading as much as i can when free. He said hes trying to clear everything so he can come to church. Hes been reading too and understands that everything good is from Christ and been super grateful for the trials hes experienced lately. That got me stoked for him again.. i dont know when he will be able to come again, but hes trying.

We had this other investigator from English.. way nice and has a ton of questions. Hes one of those that loves to write down everything we say in lessons. Hey, not exactly my style cause im lazy, but at least we know hes listening! He said he would come tomorrow.. yay, he gets to watch me sing in sacrament. Dont get too excited Dad! I already told you i would go to choir with you! Im singing a duet with Brother Art here in the branch.. hes probably the most talented musician in the country. We are singing "How great is the miracle". Very pretty. Great lyrics too. Short, and sweet. Wish me luck.

K love you. Gotta run. I know the work is true and im excited to see where Family History will take us. Even more excited (well, maybe not more) to take this home and work there! Oh.. by the way, im registering for classes this coming week.. Thats weird.