July 12, 2010
Sounds like a fun week, and as usual...busy! It sounds like it was a great experience for everyone; I hope I’ll be able to see it when I get home.
Colton is home! Man can you go up and smack him in the chest and tell him Hi for me!
The baptism this week went great! We had lots of people who came to see it. It so happened that after the font was filled there was a leak through a small pipe that we didn't know about. After listening to all the talks we all went over to the baptismal font opened the door and the water was gone. Everyone looked at me and I just smiled right back. To make a small story short we used buckets and in 10 minutes it was all back in order and Ton was baptized. After that he bore his testimony in front of everyone. He talked about how he found this church on his own through the internet; he talked about his conversion story and about how his life had been changed through this gospel. It was one of the most powerful testimonies I’ve ever heard. He already wants a calling and to help bring others into the church. This next week we have another baptism as well. His name is Golf; he's 19 years old and wants to convert the world to the gospel. He just got interviewed and is way excited. People come here and visit our ward and everyone thinks he's a member. I’ll send you pictures next week.
So this week we went on switch offs with the zone leaders which was awesome. We were out inviting down in some small streets when we turned down into this very small neighborhood. Okay I need to add something really quick. I’ve never seen more dogs on the streets in my life then here in Thailand. It doesn't matter where you look there are DOGS EVERYWHERE!!! Ok back to the story... I was with a Thai elder and we were talking about stuff when I saw a hole in a gate and I heard a bark. This is something I hear all day long and it's nothing unusual but for some reason all of the sudden I knew we needed to leave. The thought came into my head and a split second later I was walking backwards pushing my companion when a dog came flying out of the hole towards me. I have a small handbag I carry so I pulled it off my shoulder and brought it down on the head of the dog right as it lunged for me. This only made it madder. The Elder I was with didn't have anything so I jumped in front of him when five more dogs came out. I didn't know what I was going to do. The dogs here work like wolves sometimes to kill other dogs and stuff, so as you can imagine I was a bit on the scared side. So me and my handbag were fighting off these dogs for a while, while we were trying to back out of that neighborhood. Finally they gave up and left after they took my dictionary from my bag but we both escaped without a scratch. I couldn't believe it. If we would have kept walking we would have been stuck in that neighborhood up against a wall and probably wouldn't have been able to get out. It’s so great that God watches over his missionaries.
It's also the rainy season again here in Thailand and this last week we were just about to leave the house when it started to rain really hard. We just sighed and walked out into it. After a few minutes the streets were all flooded. We didn't have an appointment to we went inviting. While we were riding out bikes as our feet dipped in and out of the water passing people with water to their knees. But even in the midst of that all we were able to meet some people and get some return appointments. It’s such a wild experience inviting while it's flooding, but man is it ever fun.
Well I’d better go. I love you all
Tyrel
Ps. I’ll send pictures next week
Monday, July 12, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Oh that I were an angel
June 28, 2010
This week was an exciting one. I guess I’ll start with zone conference. President Smith gave an amazing talk on the Atonement. It was so powerful and inspiring. That’s something I’ve studied so much and still grasp so little of it. I have no Doubt that if people truly understood the Atonement and just what Christ went through and how much it was focused on each and every one of us, people would do everything possible in this life to follow the Savior. It's so hard to see less actives and people I meet on the street every day who really just don't understand what this life is all about, sometimes I feel like Alma when he said "Oh that I were an angel and could have the wish of mine heart...that I might declare repentance with the voice of angels..." I want so badly to show every single person the things they individually chose before this life: Christ, eternal life, heavenly direction. There are sometimes I’m talking to someone and it just kills me inside that they just can't see it. In the book "Our Search for Happiness" Elder Ballard spoke about the word "Remember", this is exactly what I spend every effort doing, helping people remember what they’re here for, who really can help them and where that all can go... when people say this is the greatest work on earth, it truly is. I honestly can’t describe in words how much I love this work and the opportunity I have to give ALL to others and my Father in Heaven.
This week we were in a meeting at the church when a huge explosion went off outside and the whole building shook. After a while we went out to see what happened. Someone had placed a bomb in a building about 50 yards from the church. When it went off there was a big gas tank that exploded with it. There was a huge cloud of fire. It ended up blowing up part of a building and killing some people. When we went to see what happened we found a man who had been in the middle of it all. I’m not going to describe it but he was as close to dead as you could be. The Police finally showed up took care of the man though.
The true test of your language ability is talking to little kids, if they can understand you and you can understand their overly fast speech then your okay. Every Tuesday we teach English at the church. There is a member who teaches the little kids and we usually teach the advanced class. This past week that member wasn’t able to make it so the Zone leaders taught the advanced class and we were given the little kid class. I knew I was in for it when I walked into a room of about 30+ little kids under the age of 12. I went in scared to death. When I walked in and they were running everywhere and talking as loud as they could. To make a long story short Elder Michell and I had one of the greatest times teaching ever. The kids were so funny there were times I couldn't stop laughing. This has been the matter of the mission. I end up doing things that are a bit scary and afterwards I love it to death. I just can't say it enough...I LOVE THIS WORK!!!!!
Well I’m out of time. I love you all
Tyrel
Ps. easy, easy... no dating for another 8 or so months...
This week was an exciting one. I guess I’ll start with zone conference. President Smith gave an amazing talk on the Atonement. It was so powerful and inspiring. That’s something I’ve studied so much and still grasp so little of it. I have no Doubt that if people truly understood the Atonement and just what Christ went through and how much it was focused on each and every one of us, people would do everything possible in this life to follow the Savior. It's so hard to see less actives and people I meet on the street every day who really just don't understand what this life is all about, sometimes I feel like Alma when he said "Oh that I were an angel and could have the wish of mine heart...that I might declare repentance with the voice of angels..." I want so badly to show every single person the things they individually chose before this life: Christ, eternal life, heavenly direction. There are sometimes I’m talking to someone and it just kills me inside that they just can't see it. In the book "Our Search for Happiness" Elder Ballard spoke about the word "Remember", this is exactly what I spend every effort doing, helping people remember what they’re here for, who really can help them and where that all can go... when people say this is the greatest work on earth, it truly is. I honestly can’t describe in words how much I love this work and the opportunity I have to give ALL to others and my Father in Heaven.
This week we were in a meeting at the church when a huge explosion went off outside and the whole building shook. After a while we went out to see what happened. Someone had placed a bomb in a building about 50 yards from the church. When it went off there was a big gas tank that exploded with it. There was a huge cloud of fire. It ended up blowing up part of a building and killing some people. When we went to see what happened we found a man who had been in the middle of it all. I’m not going to describe it but he was as close to dead as you could be. The Police finally showed up took care of the man though.
The true test of your language ability is talking to little kids, if they can understand you and you can understand their overly fast speech then your okay. Every Tuesday we teach English at the church. There is a member who teaches the little kids and we usually teach the advanced class. This past week that member wasn’t able to make it so the Zone leaders taught the advanced class and we were given the little kid class. I knew I was in for it when I walked into a room of about 30+ little kids under the age of 12. I went in scared to death. When I walked in and they were running everywhere and talking as loud as they could. To make a long story short Elder Michell and I had one of the greatest times teaching ever. The kids were so funny there were times I couldn't stop laughing. This has been the matter of the mission. I end up doing things that are a bit scary and afterwards I love it to death. I just can't say it enough...I LOVE THIS WORK!!!!!
Well I’m out of time. I love you all
Tyrel
Ps. easy, easy... no dating for another 8 or so months...
Monday, June 21, 2010
More snakes, Cool!!!
June 21, 2010
This week was great and I’m loving the new callings. I’m in charge of four elders one of which is a Thai missionary so every week I have to give training in Thai which is way fun. This past week we meet with the bishop and discussed the ward and what we could do to help it grow. This week elder Mitchell and I have been asked to give talks at a special fireside on missionary work. There’s a lot going on but I love it.
This week we have seen a lot of great progression in our area and next week should be even better. I feel so blessed, we have two investigators who will be baptized in the next month and both of them are so awesome. I just talked to one of them last night on the phone and he said I want to bring a friend to our next appointment because I want a temple here in Thailand so bad and I know if I bring my friends we will get one faster. They understand so well. I really am so amazed. Their names are: golf and don.
This week we had a meeting with some of the stake leaders and our ward. I’ve never really had a temper but this week while in that meeting we had members start lying about us to the stake leaders right in front of our faces about how we do everything wrong and aren't doing things the way we should. I was sitting there knowing that everything they were saying was false and I wanted to really defend ourselves. One of the hardest things to hear someone tell me is that I’m lazy and don't work. I wanted to say so many things, the fact is we work hard and I mean dang hard, I’ve never worked harder on anything in my whole life. But I realized that arguing would only make more problems so we just sat there and took it all. Afterwards I informed them we would try harder in those areas and left it at that. The Lord really helped me in that situation. Oh the blessings of a missionary
We went to teach a man we meet on the street last week at his house. We had a great lesson, he broke down while talking about his life and his past and how he wanted to change it. Something you never see here in Thailand is anyone crying especially a man. This was an awesome experience. We showed him exactly what would help him and bore powerful testimony. Isn’t the gospel great, in the sense that it can change lives of grief and pain into one of happiness. It’s such a blessing to see this happen every day.
This week we also went to see one of our investigators who is a snake trainer or something like that. I asked "can I see your snakes?" and he got all excited and said "of course". It was an experience. It first started when he opened a box a little bit so I could see in. I could see part of a snake but couldn't see it very well. He said get closer and take a look. I leaned over the box and when my face was only about a foot away from the box this big cobra jumped up with its head all swollen only about a foot away from my face. I moved faster than I’ve ever moved before. It started striking but didn't get me. Then he said he had some tame snakes that weighed about 140 pounds. We opened up the box and got it out to play with it, this was the biggest python I’ve ever seen. Then he said he had another one that he wanted to show us. We opened it and this other snake almost as big as the first one started striking at us. It was so CRAZY!!! I will have you know that the one I almost hit a couple weeks ago was close to the same size as these ones. I’m going to attach some videos for you.
Well I must go. I love you all
Tyrel
Ps Don't worry I didn't get bit. In all reality it came close. That really big snake trying to bite the guy went after me too, but obviously I'm still alive... it was awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love ya
Monday, June 14, 2010
Senior
June 14, 2010
Life back home sounds great. I’m so glad everything is going just peachy! I’m glad it's been decided no one will be getting married till I get home, just make sure you remember that. if you need to write it down and put it on the fridge, the mirrors, the front door, the table and everything else then so be it =)
Well it's true, I’ve moved out of my last area into a place in the upper part of Bangkok called Bankean. President Smith just called me to be a senior companion and a district leader, no pressure right! It’s great though I love it to death. My new companion -Elder Michel and I are just loving the work here. The ward is very small (maybe 30 people). We’ve got some great investigators we're teaching right now who are planning on getting baptized next month. I’ll admit, being the senior companion is a bit different then I’ve experienced before. I’m now the one in the lessons that speaks when no one knows what to say, it was always great before because if I ever got stuck before I would just turn to my companion and he would handle the situation or answer the question that I didn't understand. I really do love it though, my language ability is growing so much, and it's only going to get better. I don't know what it is about another language but it's one of the funnest things I’ve ever done. It’s incredible all the things a language can do and all the fun you can have. In Thai there are three level of speech. There is a royal level: God the king... there is the formal level: government officials, how you talk if you’re giving a talk and then the common language which is just your every day on the street language. It’s so fun because you can be talking about the same thing but depending on who you’re talking to you have to use one of three words. And sometimes of you use the wrong word...well...it's not appropriate =) but all in all life is great, in all reality it couldn't be better.
The big focus of the church right now in Thailand is preparing for a Temple. It’s something that is very important for the members. The closest temple is in Hong Kong and it takes a lot of time and money to get there. There has been a lot of training for the leaders of the church here and there is some great progression being made. President Smith wants me to build up this ward again, at one point there were lots of members that slowly disappeared. I can't wait to see the progression here.
Well I don't have a lot of time right now. I love you all so much. You’re the greatest
Tyrel
Ps. that's great about Rachel and Josh getting their mission calls. Tell them congrats for me
Life back home sounds great. I’m so glad everything is going just peachy! I’m glad it's been decided no one will be getting married till I get home, just make sure you remember that. if you need to write it down and put it on the fridge, the mirrors, the front door, the table and everything else then so be it =)
Well it's true, I’ve moved out of my last area into a place in the upper part of Bangkok called Bankean. President Smith just called me to be a senior companion and a district leader, no pressure right! It’s great though I love it to death. My new companion -Elder Michel and I are just loving the work here. The ward is very small (maybe 30 people). We’ve got some great investigators we're teaching right now who are planning on getting baptized next month. I’ll admit, being the senior companion is a bit different then I’ve experienced before. I’m now the one in the lessons that speaks when no one knows what to say, it was always great before because if I ever got stuck before I would just turn to my companion and he would handle the situation or answer the question that I didn't understand. I really do love it though, my language ability is growing so much, and it's only going to get better. I don't know what it is about another language but it's one of the funnest things I’ve ever done. It’s incredible all the things a language can do and all the fun you can have. In Thai there are three level of speech. There is a royal level: God the king... there is the formal level: government officials, how you talk if you’re giving a talk and then the common language which is just your every day on the street language. It’s so fun because you can be talking about the same thing but depending on who you’re talking to you have to use one of three words. And sometimes of you use the wrong word...well...it's not appropriate =) but all in all life is great, in all reality it couldn't be better.
The big focus of the church right now in Thailand is preparing for a Temple. It’s something that is very important for the members. The closest temple is in Hong Kong and it takes a lot of time and money to get there. There has been a lot of training for the leaders of the church here and there is some great progression being made. President Smith wants me to build up this ward again, at one point there were lots of members that slowly disappeared. I can't wait to see the progression here.
Well I don't have a lot of time right now. I love you all so much. You’re the greatest
Tyrel
Ps. that's great about Rachel and Josh getting their mission calls. Tell them congrats for me
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
The rest of the story
I’ll tell you what I told Tara about the snake: the snake story ends like this: when we were both about two feet from each other I pulled one of those moves you see in the cartoons where they start running but don't move for a minute and then they speed off. As soon as I saw the snake (HUGE AND FAST) I put my feet on the ground and started running backwards while I was still on my bike. The snake probably was scared to death and decided against whatever he had planned. Needless to say he sped off as fast as he could move which was pretty dang fast! It didn't bite me or give me a hug =) if only you knew the animals in my back yard (insert evil chuckle here) but we won't talk about those =)
There is a very good chance this is my last week here in Korat. I’ll admit I don't want to go in the least but if I’m needed somewhere else I’m more than willing to go. The members here are so great. There is one guy named dam (meaning "black") who helps us teach a lot and has a way sweet family who are way active in the gospel. I want to go on and on about all the members but it would take forever to tell you all about them.
You won't even believe what I found this past week! Last week Elder Dearden had to go down to Bangkok to extend his visa. While we were down there another elder told us about a store that had strait up American food. We went there and I found some Teddy Grahams. I wanted to grab as many boxes as I could hold, sit on the ground in the corner and just cry with joy. It’s true the price was out of the roof and going without a couple meals might be the result but I got a box of chocolate ones, and boy are they delicious.
Addressing your question of coming home. I have two options on a date to go home. There’s the middle of June and the middle of May. The group I came in with are leaving at both times. The things I’m considering is finding work, possibly taking collage classes before fall semester. It’s something that doesn't need to be decided for a few more months and I really don't know yet what I should do. If you have any thoughts or suggestions let me know.
Right now we have two people who are really close to baptism, their names are Bom and Somneuk. They have both been coming to church for a while and are doing really well. This past week Bom said he wanted to be baptized on the 27th of this month. Somneuk is giving up smoking and drinking right now but it really shouldn't be too long for him either.
I love you all, keep it up.
Tyrel
PLEASE DON'T EVEN THINK ANOUT GETTING MARRIED BEFORE I GET HOME!!!!
There is a very good chance this is my last week here in Korat. I’ll admit I don't want to go in the least but if I’m needed somewhere else I’m more than willing to go. The members here are so great. There is one guy named dam (meaning "black") who helps us teach a lot and has a way sweet family who are way active in the gospel. I want to go on and on about all the members but it would take forever to tell you all about them.
You won't even believe what I found this past week! Last week Elder Dearden had to go down to Bangkok to extend his visa. While we were down there another elder told us about a store that had strait up American food. We went there and I found some Teddy Grahams. I wanted to grab as many boxes as I could hold, sit on the ground in the corner and just cry with joy. It’s true the price was out of the roof and going without a couple meals might be the result but I got a box of chocolate ones, and boy are they delicious.
Addressing your question of coming home. I have two options on a date to go home. There’s the middle of June and the middle of May. The group I came in with are leaving at both times. The things I’m considering is finding work, possibly taking collage classes before fall semester. It’s something that doesn't need to be decided for a few more months and I really don't know yet what I should do. If you have any thoughts or suggestions let me know.
Right now we have two people who are really close to baptism, their names are Bom and Somneuk. They have both been coming to church for a while and are doing really well. This past week Bom said he wanted to be baptized on the 27th of this month. Somneuk is giving up smoking and drinking right now but it really shouldn't be too long for him either.
I love you all, keep it up.
Tyrel
PLEASE DON'T EVEN THINK ANOUT GETTING MARRIED BEFORE I GET HOME!!!!
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