Well it's been a hot minute...

March 22nd, 2018
9 months, 4th week
Thailand, Bangkok, Surin Branch

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

So zone conference tomorrow, which means pday was moved to today (Wednesday). We are spending it traveling to Roi St at a ridiculous time, having our interviews with the mission president, an activity, and practicing for our musical number. It's also been very hot lately, hence the title. 

Last week was filled with a lot of long events in the morning. We visited a member who lives really far away from the town(she has kids she wants to be baptized!), did some service, had switch offs (this time I went to Buriram with Elder Bevan). We went to a post-graduation picture session thing at the university to support a member), and passed stomach issues to each other #ท้องเสีย

I'm really tired at the writing of this, and I'm on a hard-to-type bus, so this email is going to be short. 

There were some low parts of the week, but we are definitely on the rise overall. This week was better than last, and we are seeing some improvements i
n the branch. I have been personally more committed and I'm excited for both zone conference and the next working days, to really apply myself and do better. 

I found an awesome language learning activity!!! I made a game of memory using like 2 dozen words. It was fun, challenging, and I learned all the words! I'll definitely be using that in the future. 

We had a really good lesson last night with a member about our priorities. We had him write a list of anything he has ever given more importance than the gospel to (school, tv, games, work, friends...). To help him with absolute honesty, only he saw what he wrote; we didn't look at it. Then we asked him: of those things, what will still matter in 5 years? 10? 50? 1000? In eternity? Then we asked: what will actually matter in eternity? We had him write those things down on a separate list. We have him homework to go home and ponder the two lists, and to reevaluate his priorities. I challenge everyone to do this right now or tonight. The things we give importance and our attention and that we treat as a priority now will be the same in eternity. So is watching one more episode actually that important? Or should you probably read yp ur scriptures and nourish your spiritual health? Do you really need 5 hours of co outer games? How much time could be reallocated to spending time with family?

I know the Lord blesses us for TRYING to follow Him and better ourselves, which is more than we deserve. So take advantage of the blessings we are given, and soar!

I love you  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Time makes me uncomfortable

Image
May 20th, 2019 11 days remaining Thailand, Isan, Udornthani Ward  samuel.montague@myldsmail.net This week has been spectacular! I don't know why or for what reason, but the Lord has decided to bless us with a few miraculous days. We have been given more than plenty of food in times of need, people have stopped  us  and asked us about religion and English class (which is growing so fast!).  Some of the people we teach that we have been working with have opened up their hearts and are committed to change and life is just amazing! It still hasn't gone through my soul that I will be leaving Thailand next week. It causes anxiety in the moments I think about it, but I have found myself so much- discovered who I am and what makes me happy- that it is hard to think of myself not being here. Maybe I said this all last week, but it is also scary to leave a role I am now comfortable in. This upcoming week is going to be uber crazy. It is my last full week, so I am going to
Read more

อาจารย์ คิ้ว

Image
November 19th, 2018 1 year, 5 months, 4th week Thailand, Bangkok, Thonburi Ward samuel.montague @myldsmail.net (I would love to hear from you) During District Council this past week, one of the sisters made a profound statement. In discussing zone conference from the previous Saturday, Sister Christensen said that we can't truthfully love missionary work without loving all of the aspects of missionary work. One of the least desirable parts of being a missionary is going out and inviting or tracking for large periods of time. To us, it is highly ineffective, it is physically draining, emotionally trying, we face much rejection and we often do hours of it at a single time. How fortunate that we were able to try out loving the part for a 5 hour block on Wednesday 555. With a   determination to love it, I went out to make that chuck of time a fun and positive chunk of time. We made up a list of almost 50 different goals of things to say or do to start a conversation. We made i
Read more

Oh (Chiang) Mai, time goes so fast!

Image
October 2nd, 2017 4 months, 2nd week Thailand, Bangkok, Chaing Mai  District samuel.montague @myldsmail.net (I would love to hear from you) On Monday, we went to an Family Home Evening (FHE) at the same family who we visited in the hospital. This time, however, it was for Shish-kebabs and หมูกระทะ (muugratha- the meat buffet thing I had last week). The food was fantastic and it was a great fellow-shipping opportunity as we had nonmembers and recent converts there! During district meetings on Tuesdays, my District Leader (and companion) likes to start off with something fun. This week, he choose to have us do another scripture chase, which surprise- I won! Even more exciting than that though, are the airplane tickets we bought (and paid for at 7/11- you can literally pay for anything and any bill there).  On Thursday I have to go to Bangkok for my visa renewal, and nothing else would get me there early enough (on the downside, I arrive  1am ). Our English class was a lesson
Read more