I Guess Church is 2 Hours Now? (Ch 29)

สวัสดี​ค่ะ​ทุกคน! 

Life is good here in the land of Lampang! We're just doing as we usually do--biking, inviting, teaching where we can, and trying to build this little body of Saints. Here's what happened this week:

°We were able to teach the whole Plan of Salvation to a cute grandma named Jampeng who we met last week. She told us she would read the Book of Mormon and pray every day. I think she has real faith in Christ. We taught her in her little garden, full of Thai fruits. 

°Speaking of Thai fruits, THERE ARE SO MANY. Just when I think I'm starting to get a handle on it, someone pulls out a fruit that I've never even heard of in my life. One of the more recent ones I've learned is Sowm Oh. It's an orange, but it's about the size of a grapefruit--maybe bigger. Actually, it kind of tastes like a mixture between an orange and a grapefruit, but it's not really acidic. It's SO good. I could eat it breakfast, lunch, and dinner (and I pretty much do) . 

°Still speaking about fruit (when in Thailand), one of our members opened up her smoothie shop this week. She sells the most amazing fresh fruit smoothies, and she puts homemade yogurt in them, too. There's an LA sister who works there, so we visit at least once or twice a week. The best! I think when I'm done with my mission I'll try to get a job here so I can drink Sister Jira's smoothies all day. 

°One of our members here, Sister เปิ้น​ (Bun)​ goes inviting (as in, full-on knocking doors and talking to strangers) three days a week, and tries to share the gospel with everyone she meets. Way beyond the call of duty. We're proud of her! She gave us a referral this week. Thank you to all you amazing members who are helping this great work move forward, whether through a referral, trying to fellowship a newcomer, or just sharing your testimony when the opportunity comes up. Your efforts are critical!

°We've been trying to meet with this one investigator FOREVER. She's always busy or not around. Finally, this week we caught her at her sewing shop. We were so excited! 

We were talking with her and somehow there was a natural opportunity for us to see if she'd ever thought about why there were so many Christian sects. She said, "You know, I have. I've just never asked about it." Great answer which ties perfectly into the Restoration! We started teaching with great energy, happy to finally have found a window. She was listening, too. All of the sudden, the door busted open and three women came into the shop. Meet Susie, our eccentric local bamboo soap saleswoman and her loyal crew! Susie started talking to me in English about all the many amazing properties of her bamboo soap, and all of the sudden we were the ones taking the lessons. She  kept getting closer and closer to my face. Finally, I just bought a tiny sample to get her to leave us in peace. Then she moved in on our investigator, who was actually pretty interested (yes, probably more interested than she was when we taught. Darn) . We left the shop soon after, sad that our lesson had gotten derailed. I didn't expect my companion's reaction, though. She was absolutely delighted/horrified that I had bought the soap. She couldn't stop laughing. She still talks about it every day, and she loves bringing up Susie the crazy saleswoman. We like to joke that we're going to join Susie's team and sell soap on the side while we invite. A piece of soap? 25 baht. Endless jokes about Susie and her devious ways? Priceless. No regrets with this purchase!!

To my sister Susie: You could be Susie the Soap Saleswoman someday, but I'd rather you didn't. Stay in school. Love you! 

°There's a new water purifier in the church! Goodbye, Sunday dehydration! 

The most important thing I learned this week was about God's love. I've been saying a lot of prayers to help me handle different situations I've found myself in recently. I hate to admit it, but even while most of me knew that prayer help me with my challenges, part of me didn't know how it could. I knew that the drawing on the power of the Atonement could lighten my burdens, but I wasn't what that would look exactly. After this week, though, I want to testify that God's love changes everything. His wisdom, His grace and His love are all-encompassing. He sees things that we can't--an escape route where we just see a wall. I'm sorry that I limited God's power in my mind to what I thought was possible. God's love can heal everything. Prayers have real power. Don't forget to pray whenever you need help! And then don't forget to trust in Him.

I love you all! I'm so grateful for you. I hope you have happy weeks. Actually, you can't not be happy--it's October, arguably the greatest month of the year! Enjoy the fall! 

Sending love from the land of eternal summer,

Sister Harris

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