Did i spell that right? Oh well.. take it! Dead. I win.
So vassup? So did everyone wet themselves after, and or during the finale of Harry Potter? Friday was absent of members hahah.. everyone went and watched it. Apparently it was pretty good right? Sweet.
As far as things that matter (haha.. jk) the work in Buriram is on the up hill! So that kid i told you about last week.. wait, did i tell you about him? oh well, his name is Got. Hes 20 and hes a former investigator from Elder Charit and Elder Murphy.. it was about a year ago. He had problems with sleeping and with headaches then, and he said that he a certain amount of time where he just didnt leave his house or didnt have his phone on. So the Elders dorpped him. But, hes back and man! He has some SERIOUSly strong faith. Like, the most ive seen in a long time. We gave him a baptismal date last sunday when we first met him, but he didnt accept it because he had three things in the way: 1. was college. 2 was being a monk for his parents, and 3 was serving his country as a soldier. We asked him what he thought.. what his goal was for baptism, because he clearly had desire to be baptized, but didnt know when. He said that realistically, "about 2 or 3 years after all this is done first.". He was clearly confused at the beginning of the week, but he knew at the same time that it was the right decision. We had him pray and read the scriptures SUPA heavy before we met him on Sunday (yesterday) and then to tell us what he thought about the 20th. That was a thursday. Friday and Saturday he did so. On Sunday he came to church and we didnt ask him about it during church just because we didnt want to make him annoyed. But we knew it was what he was thinking about. After Church was done, we taught him and watched the Restoration DVD with him. He said he already knows its true because hes asked and he even said, "ive received an answer by the power of the holy ghost that these things are true". So, if i were to just stop the story right here, its already so legit! But it gets better.. we asked him again if we could organize his batpismal service on the 20th of August.. he looked at the ground for about 2 seconds and then looked up at me and said, "do it! i dont want to wait anymore.. lets get it done!". ....*Tear.. falling...*. It was so sweet. Not only that, but he basically passed the baptismal interview questions in that one lesson.. specifically the Sabbath Day holy.. more than that it was the way he answered it! He said that he has studies on Sunday, but that he "can and will cut that out of his schedule because Church is more important.". One of my favorite things that he said (yeah.. theres more!) was the part where he talked about the Word of Wisdom.. "some people need to drink, smoke, have girlfriends and just party.. for me, i dont need that.. i feel like as long as im just filled with the Holy Ghost, thats enough for me". HAH! No way... i have NEVER heard anyone say that. After that (there is yet more!) he said this very simple phrase: "I... NEED to feel of Christs love. That is straight up what i need.". So true.. if everyone could truly understand Gods love for all of us, everything would be so much easier. Oh wait! Everyone can.. hint: Read the Book of Mormon, Pray, and Go to Church! Hey.. that sounds oddly familiar... *scratch head*.. eh.
Anyway, we had a "eternal investigator" tell the relief society president that she wants to be baptized. Yeah so that was a little.. uh surprising? Yeah.. a lot! Everyone missionary for the last 4 years has tried to get her baptized and she just laughs and says, "im not ready yet!". The teaching record literally says, "unless she comes to you and says she wants to be baptized, dont teach her.". Bingo. Shes a little shy so she didnt really tell us whats up, but the RS president told us. We'll get that set up quickly.
So one of the coolest things that happened was the kid we met at a night market... we were going over there to pass out English Flyers and as we pulled in and parked, we noticed that NO ONE was there that night. we had over 800 flyers and we were just like, Uh.. no way are there enough people here. As we were about to leave, i see this guy start walking towards us, and i fugrued we were parked in front of his motorcycle.. so, like i always do i yelled, "yo whats up man!" to which most people just respond with a blank confused face.. however, this kid walks straight towards me and slaps a bro shake in my hand and is like, "yeah dude whats up bro!". ... uhhhhhhhhhh what?! I felt like those nuggest that got their arms murked off by Ammon and "were astonished exceedingly!!!". We went back to his house and got him a book of Mormon to read. He was way willing to listen and explained that he just got back from a trip to america.. it lasted a couple years, but it was a trip none the less. He said he would read so we will get back there in baptize him!
So other than this i got nother.. wait, thats not spelled right. Oh well, i have nother. Well, i do but im bored of talking to you now haha.. Just kidding. But seriously, im hungry. I love you all so much! I know the Book of Mormon is true and its got some serious "hugsba" to convince people of Jesus Christs divinity. Read it! Get referrals!
Bye :)
Elder Goodman
Monday, July 18, 2011
7-11!!
In case you didnt realize it, tomorrow is july eleventh- 7-11! Go get your free slurpees! If they do it here in thailand i will be having many a slurpee.
So.. uhh, another week for the books. But i think its better if i let you add this one to the books AFTER my mission.. im sure it will make you feel a little more at peace if i dont tell you :) hahah now arent you just dying to know!? Bummer............... dont worry, we're fine.
Of things that matter, we almost have 2 new investigators as baptismal candidates. The first, my kid and Elder Heslop from the other companionship, found while on exchanges. Before they even finished the invite he said he was intereested and let them right in. He accepted the baptismal invite, with a date, before they left, for the 21st of August. Pretty sweet eh? Yeah, until he didnt pick up his phone and wasnt there when we went back. bummer. We called a bunch and went to his house anyway (and may or may not have seen him in his house NOT opening the door) and he finally CHANGED his answering machine sunday morning to tell us hes super busy but that, "ill meet you at Church on the 21st and we'l take it from there". Yeah.. haha i think he may have misunderstood a little; you have to know what you are doing first! So, i still have yet to meet him, but from what i hear hes got some great potential. Hes a nice kid, about 19 years old, and his name is Bop. We'll keep following up and try to meet him to PREPARE him for baptism. Yesterday we meet A SEED! A SUPER sweet kid that was back in Elder Charits age.. about last year :) .. we find him just out of nowhere and he said that hes been wanting to go back to Church but just needed like an alarm to get him back into it. He pretty much asked to be baptized. The only reason he doesnt have a date yet is because he wants to let his family know what he plans to do to see how they will react.. but hes pretty set on doing it anyway. Im still not really sure what happened a year ago as to why he was dropped or stopped learning, but hes seriously golden man.. like, he knows that God lives and Jesus is his savior (and that we cant do anything in this life entirely on our own) and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God (werd). We will meet him today and solidify that date. Chill!
So other than this we had a VERY fun week.. and by fun i mean "another one for the books". hah should i jsut tell you? Nah. Its cool. Patience is a virture. Ill say simply this: 3 Nephi 22:17. Enjoy :)
So Elder Revelli and I are doing swell.. hes legit and super into the work. Hes not stubborn or disobedient so we dont have to worry about chasitzing or any unfun stuff like that.. we just work and work and work. I know for Elder Crowley, my dad, it was work with a lot of "listen to Elder Gudmundsen complain about the heat and about work, and in turn not complain to anyone and just keep it inside cause you are a saint and as patient as someone watching trees grow." Yeah.. something like that. Hes fun. We've been doing a lot of inviting and a lot of pounding pavement.. dont you just love when you are standing still and you feel that warm drop(s) of sweat fall down your back? Can i have some more? We had a hilarious little nugget obey his mom and "shut the door" very, very VERY slowly while staring at us.. he was adorable! Too bad.
Not really much else going on.. The work is great.. a little slow at times, but great. The Book of Mormon? So true.. all of it. I love it. Just let it do the teaching for me! Have fun! Go get your slurpees and enjoy Harry Potter.
Love, Elder Good
So.. uhh, another week for the books. But i think its better if i let you add this one to the books AFTER my mission.. im sure it will make you feel a little more at peace if i dont tell you :) hahah now arent you just dying to know!? Bummer............... dont worry, we're fine.
Of things that matter, we almost have 2 new investigators as baptismal candidates. The first, my kid and Elder Heslop from the other companionship, found while on exchanges. Before they even finished the invite he said he was intereested and let them right in. He accepted the baptismal invite, with a date, before they left, for the 21st of August. Pretty sweet eh? Yeah, until he didnt pick up his phone and wasnt there when we went back. bummer. We called a bunch and went to his house anyway (and may or may not have seen him in his house NOT opening the door) and he finally CHANGED his answering machine sunday morning to tell us hes super busy but that, "ill meet you at Church on the 21st and we'l take it from there". Yeah.. haha i think he may have misunderstood a little; you have to know what you are doing first! So, i still have yet to meet him, but from what i hear hes got some great potential. Hes a nice kid, about 19 years old, and his name is Bop. We'll keep following up and try to meet him to PREPARE him for baptism. Yesterday we meet A SEED! A SUPER sweet kid that was back in Elder Charits age.. about last year :) .. we find him just out of nowhere and he said that hes been wanting to go back to Church but just needed like an alarm to get him back into it. He pretty much asked to be baptized. The only reason he doesnt have a date yet is because he wants to let his family know what he plans to do to see how they will react.. but hes pretty set on doing it anyway. Im still not really sure what happened a year ago as to why he was dropped or stopped learning, but hes seriously golden man.. like, he knows that God lives and Jesus is his savior (and that we cant do anything in this life entirely on our own) and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God (werd). We will meet him today and solidify that date. Chill!
So other than this we had a VERY fun week.. and by fun i mean "another one for the books". hah should i jsut tell you? Nah. Its cool. Patience is a virture. Ill say simply this: 3 Nephi 22:17. Enjoy :)
So Elder Revelli and I are doing swell.. hes legit and super into the work. Hes not stubborn or disobedient so we dont have to worry about chasitzing or any unfun stuff like that.. we just work and work and work. I know for Elder Crowley, my dad, it was work with a lot of "listen to Elder Gudmundsen complain about the heat and about work, and in turn not complain to anyone and just keep it inside cause you are a saint and as patient as someone watching trees grow." Yeah.. something like that. Hes fun. We've been doing a lot of inviting and a lot of pounding pavement.. dont you just love when you are standing still and you feel that warm drop(s) of sweat fall down your back? Can i have some more? We had a hilarious little nugget obey his mom and "shut the door" very, very VERY slowly while staring at us.. he was adorable! Too bad.
Not really much else going on.. The work is great.. a little slow at times, but great. The Book of Mormon? So true.. all of it. I love it. Just let it do the teaching for me! Have fun! Go get your slurpees and enjoy Harry Potter.
Love, Elder Good
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Happy Independence Day
Sup. Its me. Oh you knew that already? Cool.
So yeah, another week down.. dang. This week was good. We taught a lot and we found a lot of new investigators.. its just getting people to stick thats the hard part. We taught a lot of first lessons, and almost 70 percent of those people we have yet to be able to teach a 2nd lesson. The biggest bummer of the week of course is A and M.. that couple i told you about last week? Yeah, well dont worry they are still golden, but they had to move :( theyve are suuuuppppeeerrr poor and need work.. "A" was praying and praying for week and didnt seem to find it, and then one night his "M"'s cousin called from Bangkok saying that she has a job for them.. he took it as an answer, but wanted to counsel with us first.. we simply said, counsel with the Lord first. They said that havent yet. We comitted them to pray together and decide if it was right with the lord... that if they felt iffy or 50-50 that they shouldnt go. Then after that, we wanted to make sure that once they got there and the missionaries there picked up where we left off, they wouldnt have a problem with work, so we taught the Sabbath Day holy and they said they would make sure they didnt work on Sunday. So as it turns out, the boss there said that Sundays are the day off for everyone... SO they are gone already! But, I already contacted Elder Thomson (the little ginger from my floor at May Hall) and they are prepared to receive them in Bangkok. A didnt really want to leave because he wants to be baptized here in Buriram (and keeps saying that he will come back here to be baptized) but they are desperate and needed to find work. From the way things played out and the answers they said they received in prayer, I had to respect PERSONAL revelation and not try and say "dont go, just stay here". When they said they were going to go to bangkok i was a little surprised and of course didnt want it, but i saw where my mind was going and quickly swallowed my pride because i knew part of me wanted them to stay so i could say i baptized 2 more people.. but thats false and very un-becoming of me... i remembered back to Sister Blessing in Don Muang and how she moved in the middle of teaching, but she still got baptized.. and in the end she bore her testimony saying that every branch or ward is the same and of God. Doesnt matter who baptizes them as long as its by a worthy priesthood holder. Ill just be stoked when they do get baptized.
Other than that we just invited.. A LOT. And then invited some more. It was sweet. We met a lot of people and some stuck, and some kicked us out. Glorious. Yesterday was way sweet.. i was standing outside the doors of the Church and this guy walked by drinking a soda.. i gestured for him to come in, like i usually do to people walking by, and he came in.. HAH! I was almost surprised that it was working, but when he did NOT simply ignore me and walk away, but instead turned towards me to talk to me, i went for it and pushed for him to come inside. He enjoyed it (and even thought it was funny.. i still dont understand what he thought was funny) and understood that we love him and that he needs to study more about these things. Hes kind of a vagabond though.. so we'll see how this goes.. and he doesnt have a phone, but the fact of the matter is that the experience was way cool. Just shows that teaching the gospel doesnt have to be with just our friends.. try it! Just invite some random dude off the street next sunday and see if they come in.
We met a lot of interesting people and most of them are generally interested, but once we leave their house after the first lesson, the spirit leaves too. Once we take the spirit with us, satan gets in there and starts workin on them and givin them excuses.. that 2nd lesson is so important.. if we can teach a powerful 1st lesson and actually get a 2nd lesson, im pretty confident we can baptize everyone. Once we leave after the first time they have so much time to make up excuses and "not have time".
We also had exchanges with the Zone leaders.. it was fun. Elder Furr, remember him from Don Muang? Yeah hes my zone leader.. we have fun.
Soooo i decided im bored of writing. Love you! Hope you all are doing swell and enjoying the July 4th.. wait, the 4th of July.. thats right. Im fine, having fun and sweating much. My kid has yet to meet a REAL rain storm.. just little tinkles on our heads every now and then. This morning we read a sweet verse about the Anti Nephi lehites when they bury their weapons of war for good.. we talked about how its like sin.. almost all the time we need but BURY our sin deep in the ground and throw the shovel in with it. Then take a victory bathroom break on top of the ground. Show sin whose boss (AKA show Satan whose boss).
Peace!
Elder Gudmundsen
So yeah, another week down.. dang. This week was good. We taught a lot and we found a lot of new investigators.. its just getting people to stick thats the hard part. We taught a lot of first lessons, and almost 70 percent of those people we have yet to be able to teach a 2nd lesson. The biggest bummer of the week of course is A and M.. that couple i told you about last week? Yeah, well dont worry they are still golden, but they had to move :( theyve are suuuuppppeeerrr poor and need work.. "A" was praying and praying for week and didnt seem to find it, and then one night his "M"'s cousin called from Bangkok saying that she has a job for them.. he took it as an answer, but wanted to counsel with us first.. we simply said, counsel with the Lord first. They said that havent yet. We comitted them to pray together and decide if it was right with the lord... that if they felt iffy or 50-50 that they shouldnt go. Then after that, we wanted to make sure that once they got there and the missionaries there picked up where we left off, they wouldnt have a problem with work, so we taught the Sabbath Day holy and they said they would make sure they didnt work on Sunday. So as it turns out, the boss there said that Sundays are the day off for everyone... SO they are gone already! But, I already contacted Elder Thomson (the little ginger from my floor at May Hall) and they are prepared to receive them in Bangkok. A didnt really want to leave because he wants to be baptized here in Buriram (and keeps saying that he will come back here to be baptized) but they are desperate and needed to find work. From the way things played out and the answers they said they received in prayer, I had to respect PERSONAL revelation and not try and say "dont go, just stay here". When they said they were going to go to bangkok i was a little surprised and of course didnt want it, but i saw where my mind was going and quickly swallowed my pride because i knew part of me wanted them to stay so i could say i baptized 2 more people.. but thats false and very un-becoming of me... i remembered back to Sister Blessing in Don Muang and how she moved in the middle of teaching, but she still got baptized.. and in the end she bore her testimony saying that every branch or ward is the same and of God. Doesnt matter who baptizes them as long as its by a worthy priesthood holder. Ill just be stoked when they do get baptized.
Other than that we just invited.. A LOT. And then invited some more. It was sweet. We met a lot of people and some stuck, and some kicked us out. Glorious. Yesterday was way sweet.. i was standing outside the doors of the Church and this guy walked by drinking a soda.. i gestured for him to come in, like i usually do to people walking by, and he came in.. HAH! I was almost surprised that it was working, but when he did NOT simply ignore me and walk away, but instead turned towards me to talk to me, i went for it and pushed for him to come inside. He enjoyed it (and even thought it was funny.. i still dont understand what he thought was funny) and understood that we love him and that he needs to study more about these things. Hes kind of a vagabond though.. so we'll see how this goes.. and he doesnt have a phone, but the fact of the matter is that the experience was way cool. Just shows that teaching the gospel doesnt have to be with just our friends.. try it! Just invite some random dude off the street next sunday and see if they come in.
We met a lot of interesting people and most of them are generally interested, but once we leave their house after the first lesson, the spirit leaves too. Once we take the spirit with us, satan gets in there and starts workin on them and givin them excuses.. that 2nd lesson is so important.. if we can teach a powerful 1st lesson and actually get a 2nd lesson, im pretty confident we can baptize everyone. Once we leave after the first time they have so much time to make up excuses and "not have time".
We also had exchanges with the Zone leaders.. it was fun. Elder Furr, remember him from Don Muang? Yeah hes my zone leader.. we have fun.
Soooo i decided im bored of writing. Love you! Hope you all are doing swell and enjoying the July 4th.. wait, the 4th of July.. thats right. Im fine, having fun and sweating much. My kid has yet to meet a REAL rain storm.. just little tinkles on our heads every now and then. This morning we read a sweet verse about the Anti Nephi lehites when they bury their weapons of war for good.. we talked about how its like sin.. almost all the time we need but BURY our sin deep in the ground and throw the shovel in with it. Then take a victory bathroom break on top of the ground. Show sin whose boss (AKA show Satan whose boss).
Peace!
Elder Gudmundsen
Its a boy!
So, big changes are coming to the mission.. we lost 14 missionaries, all of which held leadership positions, and now our mission went from old and very experience, to young and semi experienced haha. Speaking of semi experienced.. I got a call from President Smith on tuesday morning... i may have been taking care of some business and lets just say that when i heard the phone ring, business was cut short. Ive been called to serve as a District Leader for Buriram and Surin.... and as a trainer! Ive got a kid! Hes fresh out of the MTC but no it is not that Elder Clark that Josh mentioned.. His name is Elder Revelli and hes from... Guess? You got it, Highland Utah.. you guys are so smart! Its crazy to see the growth from a year ago to today.. President Smith said it perfectly about their tones.. which i wont repeat, but suffice it to say, i laughed. Anyway, out week was cut significantly short what with travel to Bangkok, travel back, and then we had District Conference up in Ubon (yeah, visited again already) on sunday. We had an area Asia Seventy speak, and for the life of me i cant remember his name.. He was from the Philiphines and i cant remember his name. His talk was epic. Ill get to that later.
Anyway, before Elder Gambanat peace out, to Chiang Rai as a District Leader by the way, we tried to find some new investigators for the area, and found just a few. Nobody really stuck, but what'er. The overall highlight of the week is 2 referrals from a member.. she referred them a couple weeks ago but we had just began teaching them last week. They are super legit holy crap! They are seriously a God send (literally.. i was being serious! God sent them.) and they have a date for the 30th. They are named "A" and "M" and they are a very sweet couple.. very young too. They have incredible faith and they are the ones that i told you about- christian already. He did not go to the Protestant church to get married but instead told that guy he wasnt ready. After that, they comitted, by themselves(!) that they would go ALL THE WAY UP TO UBON for the District Conference.. both days! Long story short, they got their answers. Basically, it came from the Asia area Elder who talked about the answers to our questions being in the scriptures.. "A" always has a lot of questions and we keep telling him to simply read the Book of mormon and he will find them... he of course believed us, but has yet to find the answer. It was just the whole idea that we had told him that the previous week, and then the following week he heard it again from this Elder that made it hit him to the heart. Like Corinthians says, "in the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses" will everything be established. The conference was way moving (and a little painful im sure) for everyone because they focused on things that are problems for the district. We know em already.. but speaking repetition? Its good. And its the method of Christ too.
So we hit the ground running when we hit Buriram (figurative.. it was night time so we went to sleep) and weve found some pretty sweet investigators... Workin on getting my greenie out there and calling people to repentance and baptism! Hes amped to do the work and a way better greenie than i was back in the day.. i was a stubborn little... yeah. Anyway, the highlight during inviting was that we found a really nice family! The father is a halfy - americane and thai- and speaks way good. He is catholic by birth and his 2 kids and wife are buddhist, by birth. The Mom and the daughter are particularly interested and we placed 2 books of Mormon in their house for them to read. We have yet to meet them again, but they are very nice and very willing to study and learn more.
My greenie is discovering that i cant speak english.. we were inviting and as I called from the gate, in thai of course, a foreigner came to the door.. and i FORGOT english.. everything i said came out in thai... i had to literally force myself to remember what to say! Ive never had it that bad! We walked away and Elder Revelli was like, "here, how bout this. ill take the English from now on." "Yeah that sounds good.".
So in the district conference... the Elder (and president Smith) talked about tithing and reading the scriptures. The Elder spoke very straightforward, and it was awesome! He said, "often times i got to visit homes and i see the TV is almost always on.. to that i say STOP. Stop watching TV where our habits are that when we wake up, we immediately turn it on. It is not that you cannot watch it at all.. you enjoy it, but the answers to your prayers are NOT in the TV and the answers for your brothers and sisters around you, are NOT in the TV either. Read, your, Scriptures.". I like that. Even better than the talk (not really) was the fact that his translater was BROTHER SAKHA! Yeah, hes totallyt back in the T-land and was visiting Ubon. I gave him a very large hug. Hes doing great and hes in Thailand for good. I have pictures, but im out of time.. ill send em next week. So yea.. lets read our scriptures!
All i got this week... i hit the year mark and now things are going faster than ever.. .like high gear.. its blatantly obvious too. Like the past 4 days have been the fastest of my mission by far. Kinda crazy... As a District Leader and a Trainer, we have a lot of interviews and a lot of meetings and a lot of exchanges and a lot of talking on phones! holy... night times? Yeah, like 1 second and its time for bed. No time to do anything.. its pretty sweet actually. Love it. Congratulations to everyone that had anything of some kind of significance this past weekend that i was not able to be a part of... which sounded like everyone haha. Sup Stinko... hows being a regualar joe? Love ya all. Church is true.. im scared.. ill be dead in no time!
Elder Gudmundsen!
Anyway, before Elder Gambanat peace out, to Chiang Rai as a District Leader by the way, we tried to find some new investigators for the area, and found just a few. Nobody really stuck, but what'er. The overall highlight of the week is 2 referrals from a member.. she referred them a couple weeks ago but we had just began teaching them last week. They are super legit holy crap! They are seriously a God send (literally.. i was being serious! God sent them.) and they have a date for the 30th. They are named "A" and "M" and they are a very sweet couple.. very young too. They have incredible faith and they are the ones that i told you about- christian already. He did not go to the Protestant church to get married but instead told that guy he wasnt ready. After that, they comitted, by themselves(!) that they would go ALL THE WAY UP TO UBON for the District Conference.. both days! Long story short, they got their answers. Basically, it came from the Asia area Elder who talked about the answers to our questions being in the scriptures.. "A" always has a lot of questions and we keep telling him to simply read the Book of mormon and he will find them... he of course believed us, but has yet to find the answer. It was just the whole idea that we had told him that the previous week, and then the following week he heard it again from this Elder that made it hit him to the heart. Like Corinthians says, "in the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses" will everything be established. The conference was way moving (and a little painful im sure) for everyone because they focused on things that are problems for the district. We know em already.. but speaking repetition? Its good. And its the method of Christ too.
So we hit the ground running when we hit Buriram (figurative.. it was night time so we went to sleep) and weve found some pretty sweet investigators... Workin on getting my greenie out there and calling people to repentance and baptism! Hes amped to do the work and a way better greenie than i was back in the day.. i was a stubborn little... yeah. Anyway, the highlight during inviting was that we found a really nice family! The father is a halfy - americane and thai- and speaks way good. He is catholic by birth and his 2 kids and wife are buddhist, by birth. The Mom and the daughter are particularly interested and we placed 2 books of Mormon in their house for them to read. We have yet to meet them again, but they are very nice and very willing to study and learn more.
My greenie is discovering that i cant speak english.. we were inviting and as I called from the gate, in thai of course, a foreigner came to the door.. and i FORGOT english.. everything i said came out in thai... i had to literally force myself to remember what to say! Ive never had it that bad! We walked away and Elder Revelli was like, "here, how bout this. ill take the English from now on." "Yeah that sounds good.".
So in the district conference... the Elder (and president Smith) talked about tithing and reading the scriptures. The Elder spoke very straightforward, and it was awesome! He said, "often times i got to visit homes and i see the TV is almost always on.. to that i say STOP. Stop watching TV where our habits are that when we wake up, we immediately turn it on. It is not that you cannot watch it at all.. you enjoy it, but the answers to your prayers are NOT in the TV and the answers for your brothers and sisters around you, are NOT in the TV either. Read, your, Scriptures.". I like that. Even better than the talk (not really) was the fact that his translater was BROTHER SAKHA! Yeah, hes totallyt back in the T-land and was visiting Ubon. I gave him a very large hug. Hes doing great and hes in Thailand for good. I have pictures, but im out of time.. ill send em next week. So yea.. lets read our scriptures!
All i got this week... i hit the year mark and now things are going faster than ever.. .like high gear.. its blatantly obvious too. Like the past 4 days have been the fastest of my mission by far. Kinda crazy... As a District Leader and a Trainer, we have a lot of interviews and a lot of meetings and a lot of exchanges and a lot of talking on phones! holy... night times? Yeah, like 1 second and its time for bed. No time to do anything.. its pretty sweet actually. Love it. Congratulations to everyone that had anything of some kind of significance this past weekend that i was not able to be a part of... which sounded like everyone haha. Sup Stinko... hows being a regualar joe? Love ya all. Church is true.. im scared.. ill be dead in no time!
Elder Gudmundsen!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Im over the hill!
Happy 1 year mark! Dang, that was fast. Seems like just yesterday that I was entering the MTC not knowing a thing about being a missionary. Funny, things dont change THAT much :) haha... Lol
Another week goes by and it was a rough one, again. We just cant get people to Church! We had about 7 people planned and comitted to going, and then Sunday morning rolls around and people just disappear! Phones turn off too. So thats always a bummer when you got no one at Church.. especially when members bear (is this how you spell it? ive never spelled it right) sweet testimony. We also had an interesting week with Sister Rain... i still dont know whats going on. So on monday we call just to check up and ask how her praying and reading was and she wasnt there.. her older kid picked up and said she wasnt home, but that she be home around 8 at night.. we said wed call back. That night, we call and the same kid picks up and says she went to Bangkok. Wow.. out of no where lets just peace it 7 hours south! Make a long story short, up until thursday we called and got the same story, of which we didnt believe, and her house is a LITTLE far.. but we needed to get out there and find out what was up. We get there and she says immediately that she just got back from Bangkok.. oh.. dang, we should probably repent for thinking evil. We tried to figure out what her real concerns were, or what happened, and she gave us the "tip of the iceberg". We dont know for sure whats up, but we think it has to do with family. They are too happy with her going places on sunday, other than work to get money. Rain wants to go to Church, but i think its pressure. We'll get her through it.
We have a new kid thats progressing really well. He is very humble and he is starting to believe. He of course started out by saying, "i have no reason not to believe, but im still not sure." He was willing to act on our promise that he would receive an answer and hes getting it. He keeps saying that its hard to believe that its actually happening, but he says that he feels like his life is changing. He cant really explain it, nor can any of us really, but he says that things are changing... its in the air! He says that hes never really been able to wake up, let alone read after waking up, but when he gets up and prays, he feels the desire to read. Hes been reading out of the Book of Mormon and feels a connection to Nephi and his example is obedience. Oh by the way, this kid is Times. He sees from the example of Nephi that when we obey, we will be blessed in our lives. So, hes decided to go for it. This week we comitted him to be baptized, and he said he would, just he wants to make sure that he can endure to the end. Also, hes keeping the word of wisdom. We told him that as he lived it, he would see the blessings in his life and therefore know that it is from God. Hes a sweet kid.. very humble and submissive.
The members encountered some, "difficulties" haha.. some of their friends took the book, but havent read it yet, and some straight laughed at the members.. sad no? One of the members gave the book to his friend and the friend just laughed in his face! The member was like, "no big deal. i felt good in sharing the gospel.". How right he is. Most of the people took the book, just have yet to start reading it. They didnt make it to Church either. No wurrs.. another week and the members should be getting it. We contacted a couple that is super cute.. they are way young, but super in love. They are "one" (kinda like God told Adam and Eve to be) and man are they diligent! They live way far from work and if they dont catch the train every day in the morning and/or at night, they walk. And thats usually what happens- they walk. They are Christians already at a Protestant church and last night he told us that the Paster told him to get baptized tomorrow (today). He asked us, "should i do it?" We tried to explain how it really doesnt matter because they dont have the authority or power to do it, but the member we were with got a little distracted. The lesson was all over the place, but they felt the spirit and honestly, Elder Gambanat and i think they called us over (yeah, they called us yesterday to meet us for the first time) to analyze our conduct. I think we passed :) and they trust us. They are even willing to go all the way up to ubon this coming sunday for District conference! Thats far. They are a referral from a member who was baptized by Brother Tawid.. yes, that Brother Tawid from Don Muang when he was a missionary. She absolutely loves him, and since he aboslutley loves Elder Gambanat and myself, she loves us hahah. Good stuff..
So this week i dont have much. Im tired.. เป็นพิเศษ and hungry. Love you all so much. Congratulations to you John! I would say i wish i could be there, but i dont hahah! That would mean i wouldnt be a full time missionary is thailand with a year left! ไม่เอา. This is going to be a quick year. Bummer. Congratulations to you too, Chase. You're a stud!
Today, i leave you with one thing.. it makes a huge difference: Smile! :) We got a new investigator last monday because although it was dark and raining, he saw us from the door of his house and saw that we were happy and smiling.. and he was confused. He let us in and although he is super Buddhist, he loved our message and is starting to realize this is truth. Remember to smile! We are members of Christs church and why SHOULDNT we be happy!
Love ya,
Elder Gudmundsen
Another week goes by and it was a rough one, again. We just cant get people to Church! We had about 7 people planned and comitted to going, and then Sunday morning rolls around and people just disappear! Phones turn off too. So thats always a bummer when you got no one at Church.. especially when members bear (is this how you spell it? ive never spelled it right) sweet testimony. We also had an interesting week with Sister Rain... i still dont know whats going on. So on monday we call just to check up and ask how her praying and reading was and she wasnt there.. her older kid picked up and said she wasnt home, but that she be home around 8 at night.. we said wed call back. That night, we call and the same kid picks up and says she went to Bangkok. Wow.. out of no where lets just peace it 7 hours south! Make a long story short, up until thursday we called and got the same story, of which we didnt believe, and her house is a LITTLE far.. but we needed to get out there and find out what was up. We get there and she says immediately that she just got back from Bangkok.. oh.. dang, we should probably repent for thinking evil. We tried to figure out what her real concerns were, or what happened, and she gave us the "tip of the iceberg". We dont know for sure whats up, but we think it has to do with family. They are too happy with her going places on sunday, other than work to get money. Rain wants to go to Church, but i think its pressure. We'll get her through it.
We have a new kid thats progressing really well. He is very humble and he is starting to believe. He of course started out by saying, "i have no reason not to believe, but im still not sure." He was willing to act on our promise that he would receive an answer and hes getting it. He keeps saying that its hard to believe that its actually happening, but he says that he feels like his life is changing. He cant really explain it, nor can any of us really, but he says that things are changing... its in the air! He says that hes never really been able to wake up, let alone read after waking up, but when he gets up and prays, he feels the desire to read. Hes been reading out of the Book of Mormon and feels a connection to Nephi and his example is obedience. Oh by the way, this kid is Times. He sees from the example of Nephi that when we obey, we will be blessed in our lives. So, hes decided to go for it. This week we comitted him to be baptized, and he said he would, just he wants to make sure that he can endure to the end. Also, hes keeping the word of wisdom. We told him that as he lived it, he would see the blessings in his life and therefore know that it is from God. Hes a sweet kid.. very humble and submissive.
The members encountered some, "difficulties" haha.. some of their friends took the book, but havent read it yet, and some straight laughed at the members.. sad no? One of the members gave the book to his friend and the friend just laughed in his face! The member was like, "no big deal. i felt good in sharing the gospel.". How right he is. Most of the people took the book, just have yet to start reading it. They didnt make it to Church either. No wurrs.. another week and the members should be getting it. We contacted a couple that is super cute.. they are way young, but super in love. They are "one" (kinda like God told Adam and Eve to be) and man are they diligent! They live way far from work and if they dont catch the train every day in the morning and/or at night, they walk. And thats usually what happens- they walk. They are Christians already at a Protestant church and last night he told us that the Paster told him to get baptized tomorrow (today). He asked us, "should i do it?" We tried to explain how it really doesnt matter because they dont have the authority or power to do it, but the member we were with got a little distracted. The lesson was all over the place, but they felt the spirit and honestly, Elder Gambanat and i think they called us over (yeah, they called us yesterday to meet us for the first time) to analyze our conduct. I think we passed :) and they trust us. They are even willing to go all the way up to ubon this coming sunday for District conference! Thats far. They are a referral from a member who was baptized by Brother Tawid.. yes, that Brother Tawid from Don Muang when he was a missionary. She absolutely loves him, and since he aboslutley loves Elder Gambanat and myself, she loves us hahah. Good stuff..
So this week i dont have much. Im tired.. เป็นพิเศษ and hungry. Love you all so much. Congratulations to you John! I would say i wish i could be there, but i dont hahah! That would mean i wouldnt be a full time missionary is thailand with a year left! ไม่เอา. This is going to be a quick year. Bummer. Congratulations to you too, Chase. You're a stud!
Today, i leave you with one thing.. it makes a huge difference: Smile! :) We got a new investigator last monday because although it was dark and raining, he saw us from the door of his house and saw that we were happy and smiling.. and he was confused. He let us in and although he is super Buddhist, he loved our message and is starting to realize this is truth. Remember to smile! We are members of Christs church and why SHOULDNT we be happy!
Love ya,
Elder Gudmundsen
Thursday, June 16, 2011
The Climb
I want to thank all of you for your prayers on my behalf this past week.. i felt uplifted in a really weird way this week, and now i realize i had a little help from all you. Thanks.
So, picking up from last week, which once again, was NOT the worst week a missionary can have, we "pressed forward with a steadfastness is Christ" hoping that things would get better. Of course, when i say hope i mean exercising faith.. not sitting around waiting for something to happen.
As for our daters, Sister Rain is still a dater. She didnt make to Church (in fact we had ZERO investigators at Church) but she had to go to the hospital.. good excuse. We saw her last wednesday and she is continuing to repent. She has plans to move down to Phuket after her baptism, but we emphasied that "not doing that is better". We helped her realize that her 2month old (wow im almost did it again.. ill explain "it" in a sec) child already doesnt ahve a father, and if she goes, he wont have a real mother either. Her faith is of course not incredibly strong yet, but she is still progressing towards true faith in Christ. Hey, repenting is the easiest way to feel of Christs atonement.
Thats pretty much the only investigator we had going into this past week.. actually not "pretty much", she was the ONLY investigator. We spent many a days out in the heat inviting.. and the Lord did give us success.. we met a lot of people that are actually pretty interested, just they were going out of town this weekend and we havent gotten the chance to meet again, and FINALLY.... we met some DUDES. This branch needs a serious priesthood boost, and fast (by fast i of course mean the Lords time). The guy that has the most potential right now, and is a progressor, is named "Times" as in the multipication sign (wow thats kinda cool.. i hadnt known what that meant until i asked my Companion a second ago). Our first lesson was kinda strange... we went to his house because we actually didnt have an appointment with him, but with his friends who live at the same house. His friends were "not free" so we talked with him instead. He was a really nice guy and seemed a lot different that his buddies (who are pretty much like, hooligans on steroids.. not literally(?)). When we asked if we could pray with him he was super open and told us to come right in. He shared with us some really interesting things.. i really like it.. he said hes sick of being an adult. When we asked him how he likes his life he said: "Eh.. its alright. like its not bad, but its nothing im proud of or especially like. Honestly, I miss being a kid. I want to go back to when i didnt have to really care about anything. I used to have dreams about being a famous football player, or something like that.. now its just work and im only 21!". Suffice it to say that he was pretty open to our message, and although it may not make him a football player, he can still change his life to be happier. On Sunday, he wasnt able to make it to Church, but we did meet him again and gave him a Book of Mormon. He prayed and at the end, we asked how he felt. He said. simply, "I feel hope. I feel hope that its not too late to change things". Now, for me, that was a truly unique and thoughful answer. And frankly, id never heard it before! But why shouldnt that be an answer.. we should feel hope from these things! Was really moving and we felt the spirit very abundantly, even though the sky was just dumping on us. AHH i want to baptize this guy so bad. Hes one of those that doesnt really care what other people think, but at the same time is the kind of person that WILL care what heavenly father thinks. He lives with like 8 guys from his childhood but he isnt at all like them. While they are inside the house, drinking and yelling at the TV, he was outside playing guitar in the rain. So chill.
We met a lot of many other interesting people, just no one has stuck yet. The last house we talked to last night was hilarious.. it was a very normal invite, "Hello!" "Not free" "Just 10 minutes" "Not free" "Cmon!" "NO!-------alright come on in." HAHA.. im actually being sarcastic, it usually does not happen like that. He let us in and had Lady Gaga blasting (a new song too haha) and said "okay we're sitting.. share with me!" We told him that we would take ten minutes and then leave but first the radio needs to be off. He wouldnt do it and said no problem, its fine. We didnt give in. Then his friends came home, and then he started smoking- 5 minutes passed already. "Hey man, we want to share these thing with you, but 2 things need to happen.. the radio needs to be off, and you need to stop smoking." "Seriously? Hang on a sec..." Then he started mingling with his friends - 2 minutes left... finally he came back and was like "alright well are you going to share with me or not?" "we told you, the radio needs to be off, but more than that we also said we would take 10 minutes.. now we have 1 minute, we need to go." "What?! You serious? Why?" "We said 10 minutes!" "NO! Wait! Dont leave.. hang on, you're no going anywhere.... ima turn off the radio, throw this cig out and then you are going to pray with me..." HAHAH.. he totally did it too! It was really time to go home though, so he made US commit to coming back tomorrow (today) to pray with him. Was a funny experience, but a really cool one.. he just seemed like THAT guy who would just not be interested in listening to us at all, and then just flipped completely around. Hey, it happens.
So i had the chance to exchange with my district leader, Elder McDonald (who is seriously Matt Damon) and uh.. so the 2 of us just CANT speak english.. for some reason when we talk to each other (Elder to Elder) theres no problem, but when we meet foreigners, we just cant do it! Its bad too.. like, thai mixed in, or just plain wrong english grammar.. so, with that said, we found a new neighborhood and decided to invite there all day. Guess what? Every... SINGLE... house was foreigners! Yeah, i had more trouble speaking english that when i was a greeny in thai. People look at us, and they dont speak english anyway cause they are from sweden, or france, or England (hah), and are just straight confused. They look at their thai wife, who doesnt have a clue what we are saying either, and then asks her what WE are saying in his BROKEN and impossible-to-understand-thai, to which she then looks even more confused, and then eventually everyone just says an awkward goodbye and parts ways.. hahaha we walked away laughing quite frequently.
The highlight of the work however, was sunday. We went to Church with 17 Books Of Mormon, and came home with only 3 left. We got plans from 11 members on who they will give their copy of the Book of Mormon to, and on what day. Then 3 more dont know who yet, but want to give a copy out. Its legit. When members were coming up to US and asking for a copy of the Book of Mormon to hand out to a specific friend, you gotta feel good. Legit.
ALright im done.. thanks so much for your prayers once again guys.. i feel em. Werd.
Elder Gudmundsen
So, picking up from last week, which once again, was NOT the worst week a missionary can have, we "pressed forward with a steadfastness is Christ" hoping that things would get better. Of course, when i say hope i mean exercising faith.. not sitting around waiting for something to happen.
As for our daters, Sister Rain is still a dater. She didnt make to Church (in fact we had ZERO investigators at Church) but she had to go to the hospital.. good excuse. We saw her last wednesday and she is continuing to repent. She has plans to move down to Phuket after her baptism, but we emphasied that "not doing that is better". We helped her realize that her 2month old (wow im almost did it again.. ill explain "it" in a sec) child already doesnt ahve a father, and if she goes, he wont have a real mother either. Her faith is of course not incredibly strong yet, but she is still progressing towards true faith in Christ. Hey, repenting is the easiest way to feel of Christs atonement.
Thats pretty much the only investigator we had going into this past week.. actually not "pretty much", she was the ONLY investigator. We spent many a days out in the heat inviting.. and the Lord did give us success.. we met a lot of people that are actually pretty interested, just they were going out of town this weekend and we havent gotten the chance to meet again, and FINALLY.... we met some DUDES. This branch needs a serious priesthood boost, and fast (by fast i of course mean the Lords time). The guy that has the most potential right now, and is a progressor, is named "Times" as in the multipication sign (wow thats kinda cool.. i hadnt known what that meant until i asked my Companion a second ago). Our first lesson was kinda strange... we went to his house because we actually didnt have an appointment with him, but with his friends who live at the same house. His friends were "not free" so we talked with him instead. He was a really nice guy and seemed a lot different that his buddies (who are pretty much like, hooligans on steroids.. not literally(?)). When we asked if we could pray with him he was super open and told us to come right in. He shared with us some really interesting things.. i really like it.. he said hes sick of being an adult. When we asked him how he likes his life he said: "Eh.. its alright. like its not bad, but its nothing im proud of or especially like. Honestly, I miss being a kid. I want to go back to when i didnt have to really care about anything. I used to have dreams about being a famous football player, or something like that.. now its just work and im only 21!". Suffice it to say that he was pretty open to our message, and although it may not make him a football player, he can still change his life to be happier. On Sunday, he wasnt able to make it to Church, but we did meet him again and gave him a Book of Mormon. He prayed and at the end, we asked how he felt. He said. simply, "I feel hope. I feel hope that its not too late to change things". Now, for me, that was a truly unique and thoughful answer. And frankly, id never heard it before! But why shouldnt that be an answer.. we should feel hope from these things! Was really moving and we felt the spirit very abundantly, even though the sky was just dumping on us. AHH i want to baptize this guy so bad. Hes one of those that doesnt really care what other people think, but at the same time is the kind of person that WILL care what heavenly father thinks. He lives with like 8 guys from his childhood but he isnt at all like them. While they are inside the house, drinking and yelling at the TV, he was outside playing guitar in the rain. So chill.
We met a lot of many other interesting people, just no one has stuck yet. The last house we talked to last night was hilarious.. it was a very normal invite, "Hello!" "Not free" "Just 10 minutes" "Not free" "Cmon!" "NO!-------alright come on in." HAHA.. im actually being sarcastic, it usually does not happen like that. He let us in and had Lady Gaga blasting (a new song too haha) and said "okay we're sitting.. share with me!" We told him that we would take ten minutes and then leave but first the radio needs to be off. He wouldnt do it and said no problem, its fine. We didnt give in. Then his friends came home, and then he started smoking- 5 minutes passed already. "Hey man, we want to share these thing with you, but 2 things need to happen.. the radio needs to be off, and you need to stop smoking." "Seriously? Hang on a sec..." Then he started mingling with his friends - 2 minutes left... finally he came back and was like "alright well are you going to share with me or not?" "we told you, the radio needs to be off, but more than that we also said we would take 10 minutes.. now we have 1 minute, we need to go." "What?! You serious? Why?" "We said 10 minutes!" "NO! Wait! Dont leave.. hang on, you're no going anywhere.... ima turn off the radio, throw this cig out and then you are going to pray with me..." HAHAH.. he totally did it too! It was really time to go home though, so he made US commit to coming back tomorrow (today) to pray with him. Was a funny experience, but a really cool one.. he just seemed like THAT guy who would just not be interested in listening to us at all, and then just flipped completely around. Hey, it happens.
So i had the chance to exchange with my district leader, Elder McDonald (who is seriously Matt Damon) and uh.. so the 2 of us just CANT speak english.. for some reason when we talk to each other (Elder to Elder) theres no problem, but when we meet foreigners, we just cant do it! Its bad too.. like, thai mixed in, or just plain wrong english grammar.. so, with that said, we found a new neighborhood and decided to invite there all day. Guess what? Every... SINGLE... house was foreigners! Yeah, i had more trouble speaking english that when i was a greeny in thai. People look at us, and they dont speak english anyway cause they are from sweden, or france, or England (hah), and are just straight confused. They look at their thai wife, who doesnt have a clue what we are saying either, and then asks her what WE are saying in his BROKEN and impossible-to-understand-thai, to which she then looks even more confused, and then eventually everyone just says an awkward goodbye and parts ways.. hahaha we walked away laughing quite frequently.
The highlight of the work however, was sunday. We went to Church with 17 Books Of Mormon, and came home with only 3 left. We got plans from 11 members on who they will give their copy of the Book of Mormon to, and on what day. Then 3 more dont know who yet, but want to give a copy out. Its legit. When members were coming up to US and asking for a copy of the Book of Mormon to hand out to a specific friend, you gotta feel good. Legit.
ALright im done.. thanks so much for your prayers once again guys.. i feel em. Werd.
Elder Gudmundsen
Monday, June 6, 2011
A week for the Books
Yeah... you ready? This was a CRAZY week.. just all over the place. Strap in.
First things first, Sister Blessing? Dropped. She dropped herself. Yeah, surprising isnt it? She has what Josh dubs "fake faith"- trust and love in God until you get opposition.. then throw in the towel. We taught her on Monday night to prepare her for baptism and she had to things that needed to be cleared: The sabbath, and living with her boyfriend. We gave her her options, according to the spirit (which would not let me leave until she understood EXACTLY what needed to be done), and asked her to council with Heavenly Father on what to do. What it really came down to was that she could not continue live in the same place with this man. We made it very clear that they did NOT need to break up, but that they simply needed to be in separate places until things are figured out - by that i mean, whether or not they would get married. She said she would, and when we called her on Tuesday morning to confirm our appointment, she said, "im done. its too hard and i feel like im being forced to do things. I dont like it. Im going back to Buddhism.". Surprised? Yeah i was! Verge of anger as well. She wouldnt listen to us and wouldnt even let us go over and sit and talk before she decided what to do. Actually, she DID say we could, but then when we went, she wasnt there. Purposeful. It was great! Talk about frustration and discouragement. We put it aside and went out stomping pavement to find new investigators... 3 hours of nothing. Went to the church to study and what do we get? A Church that smells like death! We couldnt find the source and instead just went upstairs to study. When we came down around 4 we decided we should probably fix that before English starts. Dead... rotting... rat carcus! Delicious. That was fun cleaning up the body along with the maggots eating it (too vivid?). Then comes english: we had hoped to have a lot of peole from the 1200 flyer hand out we did on saturday... zero people came. At least zero from the flyer hand out. A couple that had come before, and a few kids.. sweet! No help for finding investigators. By the time we went home, i think we both knew that it would be a rough week.. and so it was.
Wednesday, we continue trying to push through the utter dissapointment that came from Sister Blessings choice, and taught a few lessons to people that werent interested... or didnt listen. THe first lesson we taught on tuesday was AWESOME.... felt the spirit - both sides - but at the end, "can we come back in teach ag--" "I have no time!".. ugh... what a slap to the face. During the evening we chased down a referral from a member in Surin (not my area) and when we finally found the house, her husband wasnt home, and she had NO idea who "Elder" is. Yeah.. great! Then after that, had every appointment that was lined up fall through, with no one saying that they wouldnt be able to make it. Tried to make contact with the referrals that we received from the members on the previous sunday... nobody had made contact with any of them. We have sinced dropped every name.. members didnt understand, or we didnt explain it well enough what a referral meant.
Thursday, we met a guy from England and taught him at the Church. This, was an up. Hes a very nice guy, and very sensitive. Whenever we even mention God, he starts tearing up. Chase, you got any advice for English people? THis is your neck of the woods. Plus, i suck at speaking English.. he even Called me out on it after i said the opening prayer... "arent you American? Why does your English sound so broken?" that was amusing. "I havent prayed in English for a while!". Anyway, he has a lot of potential and he seirously needs God right now.. hes just a little hardened right now. And then he kinda dissapeared on us after Thursday... couldnt contact him, couldnt meet him. Didnt go to Church. The rest of that day was spent inviting a bunch of teenagers who were drunk, about to start drinking, or not interested... yeah, what time it was doesnt matter... 9 in the morning, or 5 after noon.. everyone was getting housed... is it a holiday? No.
Friday: epic. We contacted a former investigator that went down to the south and just returned. She said we could meet her. Her house is FFFFAAAARRRRRR away. Heres where it gets really fun. So, we biking on what might as well be the auto-bahn of Thailand (which is really any straight road that stretches out for longer than a mile) going about pretty fast.. i dont know how fast but we have 24 gears and i was on 22. Fast. As we were getting to the point where we need to turn, we had to change lanes over to the far right, from the left. I was in front, and saw Elder Gambanat changing behind me, so i started swerving over as well... okay! What happens next happens in about 3 seconds: Elder Gambanat hits the curb and almost eats it, i see it out of the corner of my eye, and dont realize im about to do the same, i look forward in front again, and my bike is already colliding with that curb.. adrenaline! SURPRISE, my hand clenches the front brake.. yeah, you see where this is going dont you? "I believe I can fly!" and boy did i ever... ejected instantly. The rest was a blur.. next thing i know, im laying on the median. I get up and have nothing but a tiny raspberry on my right palm. Ive gotten bigger raspberries from volleyball! Oh, dont forget the part where my bike got hit by a CAR! Yeah... imagine if the bike and my body switched places... done. The bike is surprisingly okay. Got up, brushed myself off, and went and taught this investigator. Her names Rain. She has a date now.. WOOHOO! Was a powerful lesson... she wasnt sure if God was there, so we asked her if she knew if the Book of Mormon was true.. she said she felt good when she read it, but doesnt know. Told her it was the key to know if hes there. Make a long story short, we had her pray right there to know.. "How to do you feel?" "Its true..." Sweet! Yeah it is. "will you be baptized on the 3rd of July?" "Yes." Legit. Spirit was so strong. THis is the real "UP" of this week: Ive felt like ive been listening to the promptings of the Spirit the MOST that i ever have. And its yielded some pretty ripe fruit. After that, well.. nothing. Bunch of close eared investigators.
Saturday: I may or may not have rabies. hahah... dont panic, i went to the hospital already. So that raspberry from the bike accident? Yeah, being the tard i am i didnt wrap it up before we left the house, so it was techincally and open wound. We were talking to a family that evening and there dog came out of nowhere and, being the 2 month old dog that it is, starting licking us and going crazy... it licked my hand. Since we were trying to listen to the family talk, we just kinda brushed the dog away, not paying attention to the OPEN WOUND on my right hand.. until a though screamed in my head: "GO TO THE HOSPITAL RIGHT NOW." Yeah.. i listened. Told Sister Smith on the way and she said, "that is absolutely what needs to be done. Go right now." They wrapped it up nicely and gave me the first of 5 shots for rabies :) Yeah.. see what i mean? Crazy week. After that we had a lesson with the other Sister Blessing... dont even get me started... suffice it to say that a member didnt understand that WE are the teachers and SHE is the one to share her testimony and be her friend. She destroyed the lesson. LIke... epicly. Shes got skills in destroying lessons. But shes so willing to help! Feel so bad to say like, "hey sister, can you shut up a little more?".. of course i wouldnt say it like that, but you know what i mean.
Sunday: wake up EXHAUSTED. Sore from falling, sore from a shot in my arm, tired and fasting, and dont forget that we're missionaries. Oh yes.. this week had suffering :) Church? Yeah we had about 7 people CONFIRM by the phone that they would be at Church by 850 in the morning... ZERO showed up. Rain went. We taught her at church, which was a very spiritual lesson in which she prayed for forgiveness, and like seriously? That spirit was insane... so thick you could cut a knife through it! Just kidding, but seirously, LOL. Then after that, about 5 hours of inviting... no one. Until the very end... went to visit one of the guys that said he would go to Church that didnt go and found his son... his son is a pretty smart kid, and already hates beer and cigarettes.. wow, what a gift. We told him about the Book Of Mormon and how it is the evidence that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. He was having trouble believing it... and that point, i got a very clear thought that simply said, "Tell him to open up to page 321 and read the first verse his eyes look at"... uhhhhh what?! Okay, "follow the spirit no matter how crazy it seems!" was part of my answer way back in the MTC. So i did. He was super hesitant to open it and was smiling saying, "whats going to happen?!" I simply smiled... because i had NO idea what was on that page hahahah.. seriously. He opened to Alma 12:15.. good verse. He read it and was like, "uh.. i have no idea what this means." "Yeah pretty intense vocabulary isnt it... how old are you?" "25" "And YOU dont understand it? How many years of schooling have you had?" "I graduated college already." "Think you could write this?" "Not really.. i dont even know these words." "Try not finishing college, high school, or anything over 3 years and then write it." His curiosity was significantly peeked. He agreed to read and pray to know if its true. However, he wouldnt make another appointment cause his schedule is never for sure.
So.. by the end of the week, NO new investigators. Suck. As we invited on this last day, sunday, it was tough for me.. i was trying not to judge others, but lets face it.. i was pretty frustrated. People give excuses that are pretty pathetic and some even straight up say they are lazy. You just get super down because all you want is to help them yet they just dont understand. Ive cooled down since and repented for being so impatient, but it was seirously a trying week.. i didnt even write EVERYTHING that happened, but this is a nice nutshell. All in all, i had to rememer and be grateful for the amazing experience that Sister Rain had, and the answer that Heavenly Father gave her right in front of us. I had to be grateful that i didnt DIE. Thats nice. ANd i had to realize that the spirit was very strong this past week. It was a GOOD week. I found solace in the scriptures and prayer once again.. helped me get through it. MY companion is a champ and our district leader really helped to. Come what may and love it. I know that this was a growth opportunity and i am grateful that he loves me, and each one of us, to "cut us down" sometimes so that we will be more humble and more reliant on him. Everyone can always be a little more humble. A little repenting and a lot of forgiving goes a long way. I always have my family too :) Love you guys. Thanks for the support and your prayers.. really feel em.
Love you,
Elder Gudmundsen
First things first, Sister Blessing? Dropped. She dropped herself. Yeah, surprising isnt it? She has what Josh dubs "fake faith"- trust and love in God until you get opposition.. then throw in the towel. We taught her on Monday night to prepare her for baptism and she had to things that needed to be cleared: The sabbath, and living with her boyfriend. We gave her her options, according to the spirit (which would not let me leave until she understood EXACTLY what needed to be done), and asked her to council with Heavenly Father on what to do. What it really came down to was that she could not continue live in the same place with this man. We made it very clear that they did NOT need to break up, but that they simply needed to be in separate places until things are figured out - by that i mean, whether or not they would get married. She said she would, and when we called her on Tuesday morning to confirm our appointment, she said, "im done. its too hard and i feel like im being forced to do things. I dont like it. Im going back to Buddhism.". Surprised? Yeah i was! Verge of anger as well. She wouldnt listen to us and wouldnt even let us go over and sit and talk before she decided what to do. Actually, she DID say we could, but then when we went, she wasnt there. Purposeful. It was great! Talk about frustration and discouragement. We put it aside and went out stomping pavement to find new investigators... 3 hours of nothing. Went to the church to study and what do we get? A Church that smells like death! We couldnt find the source and instead just went upstairs to study. When we came down around 4 we decided we should probably fix that before English starts. Dead... rotting... rat carcus! Delicious. That was fun cleaning up the body along with the maggots eating it (too vivid?). Then comes english: we had hoped to have a lot of peole from the 1200 flyer hand out we did on saturday... zero people came. At least zero from the flyer hand out. A couple that had come before, and a few kids.. sweet! No help for finding investigators. By the time we went home, i think we both knew that it would be a rough week.. and so it was.
Wednesday, we continue trying to push through the utter dissapointment that came from Sister Blessings choice, and taught a few lessons to people that werent interested... or didnt listen. THe first lesson we taught on tuesday was AWESOME.... felt the spirit - both sides - but at the end, "can we come back in teach ag--" "I have no time!".. ugh... what a slap to the face. During the evening we chased down a referral from a member in Surin (not my area) and when we finally found the house, her husband wasnt home, and she had NO idea who "Elder" is. Yeah.. great! Then after that, had every appointment that was lined up fall through, with no one saying that they wouldnt be able to make it. Tried to make contact with the referrals that we received from the members on the previous sunday... nobody had made contact with any of them. We have sinced dropped every name.. members didnt understand, or we didnt explain it well enough what a referral meant.
Thursday, we met a guy from England and taught him at the Church. This, was an up. Hes a very nice guy, and very sensitive. Whenever we even mention God, he starts tearing up. Chase, you got any advice for English people? THis is your neck of the woods. Plus, i suck at speaking English.. he even Called me out on it after i said the opening prayer... "arent you American? Why does your English sound so broken?" that was amusing. "I havent prayed in English for a while!". Anyway, he has a lot of potential and he seirously needs God right now.. hes just a little hardened right now. And then he kinda dissapeared on us after Thursday... couldnt contact him, couldnt meet him. Didnt go to Church. The rest of that day was spent inviting a bunch of teenagers who were drunk, about to start drinking, or not interested... yeah, what time it was doesnt matter... 9 in the morning, or 5 after noon.. everyone was getting housed... is it a holiday? No.
Friday: epic. We contacted a former investigator that went down to the south and just returned. She said we could meet her. Her house is FFFFAAAARRRRRR away. Heres where it gets really fun. So, we biking on what might as well be the auto-bahn of Thailand (which is really any straight road that stretches out for longer than a mile) going about pretty fast.. i dont know how fast but we have 24 gears and i was on 22. Fast. As we were getting to the point where we need to turn, we had to change lanes over to the far right, from the left. I was in front, and saw Elder Gambanat changing behind me, so i started swerving over as well... okay! What happens next happens in about 3 seconds: Elder Gambanat hits the curb and almost eats it, i see it out of the corner of my eye, and dont realize im about to do the same, i look forward in front again, and my bike is already colliding with that curb.. adrenaline! SURPRISE, my hand clenches the front brake.. yeah, you see where this is going dont you? "I believe I can fly!" and boy did i ever... ejected instantly. The rest was a blur.. next thing i know, im laying on the median. I get up and have nothing but a tiny raspberry on my right palm. Ive gotten bigger raspberries from volleyball! Oh, dont forget the part where my bike got hit by a CAR! Yeah... imagine if the bike and my body switched places... done. The bike is surprisingly okay. Got up, brushed myself off, and went and taught this investigator. Her names Rain. She has a date now.. WOOHOO! Was a powerful lesson... she wasnt sure if God was there, so we asked her if she knew if the Book of Mormon was true.. she said she felt good when she read it, but doesnt know. Told her it was the key to know if hes there. Make a long story short, we had her pray right there to know.. "How to do you feel?" "Its true..." Sweet! Yeah it is. "will you be baptized on the 3rd of July?" "Yes." Legit. Spirit was so strong. THis is the real "UP" of this week: Ive felt like ive been listening to the promptings of the Spirit the MOST that i ever have. And its yielded some pretty ripe fruit. After that, well.. nothing. Bunch of close eared investigators.
Saturday: I may or may not have rabies. hahah... dont panic, i went to the hospital already. So that raspberry from the bike accident? Yeah, being the tard i am i didnt wrap it up before we left the house, so it was techincally and open wound. We were talking to a family that evening and there dog came out of nowhere and, being the 2 month old dog that it is, starting licking us and going crazy... it licked my hand. Since we were trying to listen to the family talk, we just kinda brushed the dog away, not paying attention to the OPEN WOUND on my right hand.. until a though screamed in my head: "GO TO THE HOSPITAL RIGHT NOW." Yeah.. i listened. Told Sister Smith on the way and she said, "that is absolutely what needs to be done. Go right now." They wrapped it up nicely and gave me the first of 5 shots for rabies :) Yeah.. see what i mean? Crazy week. After that we had a lesson with the other Sister Blessing... dont even get me started... suffice it to say that a member didnt understand that WE are the teachers and SHE is the one to share her testimony and be her friend. She destroyed the lesson. LIke... epicly. Shes got skills in destroying lessons. But shes so willing to help! Feel so bad to say like, "hey sister, can you shut up a little more?".. of course i wouldnt say it like that, but you know what i mean.
Sunday: wake up EXHAUSTED. Sore from falling, sore from a shot in my arm, tired and fasting, and dont forget that we're missionaries. Oh yes.. this week had suffering :) Church? Yeah we had about 7 people CONFIRM by the phone that they would be at Church by 850 in the morning... ZERO showed up. Rain went. We taught her at church, which was a very spiritual lesson in which she prayed for forgiveness, and like seriously? That spirit was insane... so thick you could cut a knife through it! Just kidding, but seirously, LOL. Then after that, about 5 hours of inviting... no one. Until the very end... went to visit one of the guys that said he would go to Church that didnt go and found his son... his son is a pretty smart kid, and already hates beer and cigarettes.. wow, what a gift. We told him about the Book Of Mormon and how it is the evidence that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. He was having trouble believing it... and that point, i got a very clear thought that simply said, "Tell him to open up to page 321 and read the first verse his eyes look at"... uhhhhh what?! Okay, "follow the spirit no matter how crazy it seems!" was part of my answer way back in the MTC. So i did. He was super hesitant to open it and was smiling saying, "whats going to happen?!" I simply smiled... because i had NO idea what was on that page hahahah.. seriously. He opened to Alma 12:15.. good verse. He read it and was like, "uh.. i have no idea what this means." "Yeah pretty intense vocabulary isnt it... how old are you?" "25" "And YOU dont understand it? How many years of schooling have you had?" "I graduated college already." "Think you could write this?" "Not really.. i dont even know these words." "Try not finishing college, high school, or anything over 3 years and then write it." His curiosity was significantly peeked. He agreed to read and pray to know if its true. However, he wouldnt make another appointment cause his schedule is never for sure.
So.. by the end of the week, NO new investigators. Suck. As we invited on this last day, sunday, it was tough for me.. i was trying not to judge others, but lets face it.. i was pretty frustrated. People give excuses that are pretty pathetic and some even straight up say they are lazy. You just get super down because all you want is to help them yet they just dont understand. Ive cooled down since and repented for being so impatient, but it was seirously a trying week.. i didnt even write EVERYTHING that happened, but this is a nice nutshell. All in all, i had to rememer and be grateful for the amazing experience that Sister Rain had, and the answer that Heavenly Father gave her right in front of us. I had to be grateful that i didnt DIE. Thats nice. ANd i had to realize that the spirit was very strong this past week. It was a GOOD week. I found solace in the scriptures and prayer once again.. helped me get through it. MY companion is a champ and our district leader really helped to. Come what may and love it. I know that this was a growth opportunity and i am grateful that he loves me, and each one of us, to "cut us down" sometimes so that we will be more humble and more reliant on him. Everyone can always be a little more humble. A little repenting and a lot of forgiving goes a long way. I always have my family too :) Love you guys. Thanks for the support and your prayers.. really feel em.
Love you,
Elder Gudmundsen
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