Another Wednesday P-Day (Ch 24)

สวัสดี​ค่ะ​ทุกคน

Hello from Bangkapi! This week marks five months in country and seven months out! In honor of this very significant (not that significant) milestone, I'm going to share three of the things I've learned on my mission and five facts about Thailand.

What I've Learned So Far From My Mission:

1. God loves us, and answers the prayer of faith.

I have lots of examples for this one! 

Just this last week, I prayed and asked to know how I could be the best missionary I could be, because I'd been feeling like I was a little different from some of the amazing missionary examples I see. I prayed the night before Zone Conference, and I asked the Lord to help me find an answer to my question in what the ZC speakers said. Well, I was not disappointed! The very FIRST thing Elder Homer talked about was D&C 46:10-11. He told us that we all have different gifts of the Spirit--but that all these gifts are valuable and necessary. We were all given different gifts in order to profit and learn from each other. Of course, we all need to strive to be diligent and obedient, but after that, we can work on being OUR best selves. The entire conference was just full of answers for me. I promise you, the Lord hears our prayers. 

2. The scriptures are the word of God.

There is such great power we can draw from reading the scriptures. One day this week, almost all of our plans for the afternoon fell through. I was feeling a bit stressed and discouraged. We hadn't done our studying yet for the day, but time had just opened up so we decided to go ahead and do our scripture study at a nearby Big C. After I started reading, my perspective took a 180 degree turn. The effects were actually physical. I hadn't realized it, but I sort of had a little headache going on due to feeling pressure. As I prayerfully studied my scriptures, that headache lifted, and I felt optimistic, cheerful, and ready to tackle whatever came next. I've seen that same effect every time I take the time to study my scriptures. Lesson learned! No need to run on low fuel, spiritually. The scriptures help us see things through God's eyes--and that's a much brighter picture, I promise.

3. Everyone wants to feel loved.

I love bringing investigators to Church, because they can feel the Spirit so strongly there. It's the best.

It can be a little chaotic once Sacrament Meeting ends, though! After that, we have to find everyone and make sure they get to the next class. It's tricky! If we miss them while we're helping other people, a lot of times they will duck out early and go home. However, if a member makes the effort to talk to them or help them out, they will stay. It is seriously amazing how much of a difference it makes. One single conversation can change the course of an investigator's progress--if they feel like they have friends at Church, they are much more willing to go again. Everyone wants to feel seen and needed. If there are new people in your ward--or even people who look like they could use a friend--reach out to them! You will make a difference, I promise. Ideally, we would all have strong enough testimonies that what others did or didn't do wouldn't matter. Most of the time, though, we aren't quite there yet. Don't hesitate to reach out and be a friend! You're the best! 

Okay, so now for five facts just caaaause:

1.) There are 7/11s ALL over the country, right? Well, so, for part of the year they do this special promotion thingy where you earn stamps (like postage stamps) for buying certain products. You can collect the stamps, use them as money, or trade them in for prizes. I'm collecting mine! I have about a hundred right now (yeah, we go to 7/11 an excessive number of times per day... ) The stamps have characters from a huge TV show, ออเจ้า, on them.

2.) People here don't like to answer their phones here when it rains, because they think they will get struck by lightning (through the phone). Yikes! 

3.) Thai people are super blunt. If they think you're fat, they'll tell you. If they think you're pretty, they'll tell you. They talk pretty openly about most things. They're perfectly happy to discuss stuff we shy away from, including weight, salaries, and bowel habits. 

4. Cats have weird tails here. I don't know how to explain it. Just... all the cats have strange little nub tails. At first, I thought they had all lost their tails in tiny cat accidents, but I'm not so sure now. Maybe someone walks through the streets and chops them off? Yeah, I don't know. Even the ones with longer tails are still pretty short (like 5-6 inches). It's freaky. If anyone knows why this phenomenon exists, please shoot me an email. It'll help me sleep better at night. Knowledge is power. 

5. If you need to walk between two people having a conversation here, you clap your hands together (like, little prayer hands) and duck down while you're walking. It's rad. I love it. 

Okay, there's my email! Sorry it's so long. Anyway, I love you all very much. Thanks for being the amazing people you are. You are incredible and you inspire me! I'm praying for you daily. Have great weeks! 

All my love, 

Sister Harris

Last P-Day at the crocodile farm

tons of 'em