ปกติที่​บางกะปิ​ (Ch 13)

Hope you all had an awesome week. I did! I got to meet my new companion, Sister Chappell. She's from Mississippi and she's super cool. She's probably going to make a woman out of me yet. We went to the park the other day to go inviting and Sister Chappell had me do it all by myself while she called investigators. It was scaaaary! But definitely a good thing. I think Sister Chappell is going to crush all the wimp out of me.

Here's a story! During one of our last days together, Sister Tukuafu and I went to Fashion Island to meet with an investigator, Sister Lilly. While we were there, we noticed that there was this guy kind of listening to our lesson. After Lilly left, we went up and talked to him. We asked if he was interested in learning from the missionaries. Surprisingly, he said yes immediately! He set an appointment for the next Saturday. So, this week, Sister Chappell and I went to meet him. He was there! His name is ทอม​ (Tom)​ and he works with video/AV equipment for a living. And oh my goodness, he is the bomb! He came with some really good questions. He wanted to know what the priesthood was, right off the bat. He was a smart, well-spoken guy. I'm excited to see where he's going to end up! It's a miracle that we met him-- so many little random things had to fall into place for us to be able to meet him. As usual, I know the Lord is aware of us at all times. 

Here are some (non-spiritual) lessons learned this week: the Tesco near our condo sells really good banana muffins. I didn't know how much I had missed baked goods. I'm worried that I might be their best customer pretty soon. I am my father's child, I guess #temporarybutintensefoodobsessions. Another lesson would have to be "keep a close eye on your elderly (slightly apostate) Norwegian friend when he comes to church." He just might try to heal unsuspecting ward members in a secluded classroom by channeling the power of the sun. We're going to need to have a follow up lesson with Brother Donut, who is now confused about how the priesthood works. What else? Oh, yeah. All the missionaries here speak Thaiglish. They'll say normal sentences but occasionally throw in some Thai words. Some of my favorites are "Yeah, that's way แพง​ (payng)." (It means expensive.) Or, "We were trying to get somewhere, and พอดี​ว่า​ (paw dee wah) : a taxi showed up immediately." I'm sure you got that one with context clues (which is what I pretty much do all day long), but it's used to set up a perfect set of circumstances. It's hilarious. TBM missionaries are basically trilingual: they speak Thai, English, and a funny hybrid of the two. 

Okay, okay, lest you think I didn't learn any spiritual lessons for this week... here comes a quick section about prayer. Here's what I learned about prayer this week: it works! Sometimes I feel like I'm just talking to myself when I pray, but those times don't worry me. I know Heavenly Father is always listening to me-- with no exceptions. He hears every word I say. If there are problems with communication, they're on my end. So, in times where I feel like I can't reach Him, I refocus, and remind myself that I am having conversation with my Father. Immediately, I feel the connection again. It's amazing. It's one of the best feelings we can have, I think. Prayer is the best!

Okay, that's all I have for the week! Sorry these updates are kind of scatter-brained. I hope you can tell, though, how awesome Thailand is. Missions are the best. I'm pretty lucky.

Love you all! Thanks for being the best support system a person could have. Hope everyone has an amazing week. 

Love, 

Sister Harris