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April 22nd, 2018

10th month
Thailand, Bangkok, Surin Branch

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

Quote of the week:

"Stressful times are God's Miracle Grow."

-Sister Ashlee Roberts, Florida Jacksonville Mission

What a looooooooong time it's been. Prepare yourselves for a monster email. 

Let's just start with the rest of Songkran, the water festival/ Thai New year. It was amazing. Lots of cancelled appointments. But again, lots of people in the street pondering our faves and wetting us down. It was mostly down on Sunday, and we were home way early so we missed any evening craziness. 

Sunday took a hard hit. Members across the entire country were out of town, and no one went to church. Our family of miracles that we've been teaching, that we were so sure we would be baptizing soon, has stopped responding to our attempts at communication. We have faith and hope that it was just because of the holidays! 

Our Branch President called and asked us to bear a 5 minute testimony for Sunday. I was also the pianist for church that day (songs I've not played before were selected, and so i practiced all week and witnessed the miraculous transformation into decency) and while I was playing prelude music, he let me know his speaker didn't show up and now I was expected to give a 15 minute talk. Well พอดี I only had the 30 seconds used for announcements to scramble something together (opening hymn, announcement, confirmation- Kikky was finally confirmed from 2 weeks ago!!, then sacrament) and even better i was the first speaker! I quoted the talk I used quite a bit 555 but my thinking is that an Apostles words are better than mine!

Sunday holds a fun story. We wanted to go visit an recent convert at her house. She works at the Tesco Lotus neighboring the church, which is where she was taught. Members always feel special when we make the journey out to their house, especially if it's more than 3 kilos from the church building. With her permission, we decided to follow this member home after church to serve at her house and teach her parents. She said she lived about 9 kilos out from the church. Maybe 9 kilos as the bird flies. But we didn't fly. No, it turns out that we made about a 22 kilo journey, made more difficult by the fierce headwind we battled the entire way. Needless to say we were tired upon arrival. We drank a lot, tried teaching her dad (he was very old and going blind and deaf so he just didn't understand literally anything).  So we stopped and taught the recent convert.  We then acquired a ride home as we weren't about to try to make that journey again especially as there was some ominous lightning. 

I get so much more out of district meeting now; probably since I prepare so much more for them. This week we read and discussed the talk ว่า The Fourth Missionary by Lawrence Colbridge. I recommend it for my missionary friends. It provides the direction I've been seeking on how to become a better missionary: surrender my will. And if I do this one simple thing, and keep.doing It, everything else should fall into place, and the consequences are literally everything I want out of my mission. The Lord's doctrine really is so simple. 

After Tuesday though, everything just seemed like a build up to Friday. I was studying for the prophet, inviting for the prophet, helping the branch arrange to go to the prophet, getting transportation back to the prophet...

So Friday comes, right. All missionaries flew down, from all 3 countries in the mission. President Johnson was smart and they scheduled anything you'd maybe go down to Bangkok for on the day before and after the prophet (A 3-zone-in-one zone conference, Visa renewals, Missionary Leadership Council [for STLs and ZLs], and the meeting for 6-months-left missionaries). 

The closest airport to the area I'm serving in is actually in Buriram, the other area in my district. So we bussed over (1 hr) there in the morning. From there, we joined with those elders and took a รถตู้ to the airport (another hour long ride in a carpool van thing). We waited for a few hours, taught some random person like a 6 min walk away (I got bored so we walked out. The place was in the middle of nowhere, yet we still found someone so ready to listen), then took an hour long flight to Bangkok (it felt like 20 min though). We then taxied to the MRT, the underground train, which we took straight to the center. 

It was reunion palooza. It was like transfer days but on steroids, because ALL missionaries were there, and tons of members from all of everyone's areas (I had great unions with old friends I haven't seen in forever from my other 2 areas, บางนา และ เชียงใหม่).

And then it was time. Tragically because of how the schedule worked out and because of translation, only Elder Holland and President Nelson spoke (in that order). Then again, a bomb apostle from the Quorum of the 12 and the literal Prophet, Seer, Revelatory, President, mouthpiece of God, etc. literally came and spoke to Thailand. 

Elder Holland gave a beautiful testimony and spoke on how sometimes we might not realize it, but we are actually living iin a time of miracles and we are making history. He spoke in great detail of the Lord's visit to the America's, especially day 1 (พอดี I just read that section in my daily readings). I really enjoyed his talk.

President Nelson spoke the words this country needed to hear. At first, I was (selfishly) sad it didn't particularly pertain to me, but after further reflection and some cross referencing, the Lord kept it way relevant. He spoke mainly of the temple that is on it's way here, and the magnificence of a time it is, and how to prepare. I had RCs(!!!!) at this event, and a few LAs I worked with as well that I just know were bolstered by these 2 men's words. What an exciting and historic day! And I felt so much Christlike love for others during the event, which was a random side effect of being in the prophet's presence I guess. 

We took an overnight bus back home. It was a nicer one with snacks and other perks, but the one we booked left way late. So I had 4-5 hours of sleep. Saturday was a small trial that was definitely worth it. 

BAPTISM. 

We're unsure of whether or not บ. ซึยะ (B. Suya), a 10 year old, would get baptized before going home to Bangkok in a few weeks. Right now, he is staying with his aunt, uncle, and cousin- who all happen to be recent converts. He came out for "summer break", so he's been here for about 2 months. He's come here during other breaks as well, because he's gone to church a lot. And he lives it. We've taught him and he believes. We had his aunt call her sister to ask for permission to baptize, and she said to wait. We were like, hmmm you're too golden. So we met with them again to discern his level of faith. Turns out he really does have faith and wants to be baptized. With this confirmation of a testimony, we called up his mom again. She worked out the logistics with her sister (He was going to go home early this weekend, but they talked out how to postpone!) and gave him the green light!

And so he was baptized. His uncle did it. I spoke in it. The little "punk: went around telling all of the young men he choose them as speakers about 2 minutes before the service started so they were all freaking out 555.

It's been a few weeks since we've used the font and it's rained since. Our font is outside with a metal cover (that has lots of books and crannies for dirt enter through). It was the nastiest I've  ever seen before I started cleaning it. And it took forever to clean and get the dirt out, because the drain is slow. But as I cleaned it I thought of how directly it parallels to what goes on in the font:

We are all "dirty" or sinful before baptism. After we become accountable at age 8, the บาป starts accruing. No matter how hard we try we are imperfect and a fallen people. We can be baptized and receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, a shield or "cover" to help protect us even further. But the adversary will not stop his assault. And we are still not perfect. Luckily, the Lord has provided a way to clean ourselves. No matter how dirty we become, how much filth we are filled with, Christ performed the Atonement for ALL of our sins. As long as we are willing to put in the work, He stands to the side with pants rolled up and supplies all ready waiting to hop in and scrub. And we have a beautiful opportunity for a cleansing each week when we partake of the sacrament. Our mortal experience was supposed to be filled with failures. It's supposed to be hard. We are supposed to choose and sometimes choose wrong. Because this is how we learn. Even still we've been charged to strive for perfection and Christlike-ness (see Matthew 5, esp. verse 48). We won't achieve it in this life. But we can try. We can change our natures. And we can choose Christ. 

This is the power and invitation of the Atonement, already extended to everyone. I invite y'all to ponder how to better accept the Atonement into your lives. Maybe it's a sin you've got to have forgiven. Or a person you ought to forgive. It could be the knowledge that Christ understands and can help. Whatever it is, think it over and accept God more fully into your lives. 

I love y'all and hope y'all had a fun time reading so much🤠