The Formula for Success

January 21th, 2018
7 months, 4th week
Thailand, Bangkok, Chiang Mai District

samuel.montague@myldsmail.net (I would love to hear from you)

Isaiah 57:15 states:

"For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, having a deflated means of transport, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."

What a lovely scripture. There are many which iterate the same statement on what the Lord expects of us; the well-known phrase of a broken heart, contrite spirit, and flat tire. Waiiit, y'all DID read the scripture right? Well plot twist, I added it in because it's among the latest developments in my life!

555. Ya, so my tire was just randomly flat after a teaching appointment a few days ago. We walked home (thankfully not too far) and pumped it up with air, hoping that would fix things. It was all good as we traveled to our meeting with some members, but alas a humbling experience was required, and it was flat. Things worked out fine that night and we borrowed the sister's bikes. We have since returned them. I tried to fix my tire last night, and felt like I did well with the bootlegged materials I had available. Until I was re-inflating it and I heard a pop like a gun shot. So I made a bad situation worse. Luckily, one of the food places in our neighborhood also specializes in bike repair, so our kind neighbor is helping out with the tire. 

After having read many other missionaries' emails these past couple of weeks, I have resolved to make mine better because I have realized I am currently on the lower end of literature. So that's changing. I am going to strive to be your premier source of entertainment for the day. 

Having been here in Chiang Mai for 5 months, I am tired of going to the same places for Pdays. So for last Pday I looked at a map and picked out a random destination.  Unfortunately it wasn't quite the "adventure" we thought it might be.  We went to a way lame waterfall and then on to a cave. The cave was slightly harder to find, but luckily there were some locals that happened to show up right when we needed it to provide the necessary directions. We walked through corn fields to the entrance, then went in. It was pretty fantastic to see it and just be some place that is different, but the sisters got scared and weren't willing to push deeper in to the cave to find the waterfall inside. So we decided to head on home. 

We got another miracle investigator!  Their  individual stories of us talking and teaching investigators is always so interesting as everyone seems to have their own slight twist - or spin on the Spirit guiding them to the Him.  His boss at the construction site literally told us to teach him. We find out in our second lesson that he very much related to the Joseph Smith experience- he saw all the many Christian sects and churches and was confused on what was truth. So he prayed about it earnestly, and the next day we showed up. He also throws in a few cute things, like calling us angels, and throwing his arms in the air to praise God as we were leaving when he thought we wouldn't see. I love him so much already. 

Our district is on fire - fire of the Spirit! Our district has some.of the highest number of lessons and convert baptims in the whole mission with our four companionships- and this is supposedly the "slow area of the mission. *eye roll* It's only slow if you don't depend on the Lord, and we obviously love the activity and being guided by the Spirit. We are finding people to teach like crazy, and are committing them to start coming to church like crazy, and because they are feeling the Spirit they wanna be baptized.  The people here are so humble and kind, it's wild. 

"Woah There!" you say. "Things can't get any crazier!" WRONG. Things can and they DID for me. I translated sacrament meeting yesterday for the first time for the English speakers. I've translated for other classes before, but nothing so important with so many people listening in as sacrament meeting. Before and on Sunday, I prayed so much, let me tell you. The Lord, knowing I needed some help, gave me some miracles.  Really I think it was to ensure the listeners got what they needed.  However, I happened to have read or heard the translation for all of the stories used by the 3 speakers. I was informed of the 2 scriptures used beforehand. They were in topics I had most of the vocab for, meaning I mostly understood them. I was basically stressed on the edge of my seat the whole time. But the Spirit allowed them to receive what they needed.   

We've been blessed and doing a lot of member referral lessons lately. Most of our solid investigators are member referrals, and we know that when people have a built in connection like that, the are more likely to stick with learning and changing their behaviors. As President Gordon B. Hinckley is often quoted, everyone needs a friend, responsibility, and a good nourishing of the word. We try to cover all those facets as they are baptized. 

We were recently given permission to begin teaching another miracle investigator- a friend from my elementary school who out of the blue contacted me via email after seeing me on Facebook. God has helped lead her to the Gospel through me to fill the emptiness she's feeling is missing from her life. Frankly, it's a miracle. It has strengthened my testimony that God doesn't forget any of his sons or daughters, and though we sometimes go through hard times, it may be to help us เปิดใจ and find a greater happiness than we've known before. Shout out to the friend if you're reading this!

I am currently in Alma in my Book of Mormon reading. I have just recently noticed the pattern from King Mosiah in the Nephite lands to the Kings in the Lamanite lands. One thing they all did was to establish religious freedom. The "good Nephites did it and that's kind of expected. They're the good guys. However, the two Lamanite kings, the "bad" guys, did it to. More interestingly it was the second thing they did. After conversion, the first thing they did was to have their people be taught and open to hearing the message. The second was to establish the freedom to choose a religion and not be persecuted. This is a long and winding way to say that religious freedom is just as important for you and your religion as it is to sustain others in their religions, even if it our beliefs are different.

Have a blessed week. Be happy- it is an active choice.