The Musings of an Old Woman (Ch 30)

Hi everyone!

So, today I am twenty years old. I officially have one foot in the grave. 

Okay, okay, so two decades of life isn't a whole lot of decades, actually, but it still feels crazy. Where did the time go?

Man, I have had a pretty amazing life. I have incredible parents who have done so much for me and whom I love with all my heart, the greatest sisters in the world, the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life, and the promise of a "future as bright as my faith." If the first two decades of my life have been this joyful, I can't wait to see the rest.

Anyway, sorry to get sentimental on everyone. That's what happens when you get old. Bear with me.

This week was wonderful. I can't count on my hands the number of times I've shed quick tears of joy and gratitude these past seven days (once again, a symptom of my agedness.)

The most important thing, hands down, that happened this week was meeting Sister พลอย​ (Ploy). (To be exact, it was last week. But more on that in a minute!) 

Sister Mittavong and I were waiting for an investigator outside of a library here in Lampang. There was a woman sitting down on a bench out front, so I decided I'd go talk to her. Her name was แอน​ (Ann). We talked for a bit, and I told her about the Plan of Salvation. She listened very peacefully, only interjecting once--to tell me she had a daughter interested in Christianity. As I was finishing with Ann, her daughter actually came up to us from inside the library. I introduced myself and told her a little about what we do here. I had Ann's number, so I promised I'd call and we'd set something up later in the week.

Well, did call. We called every day of that week. Sometimes we called more than once a day, because Ann would say, "Oh, I'm driving right now. Can I call back later?" I prayed for her each day and fasted for her on Fast Sunday because I felt like the lesson we had together was special. I didn't want to give up. Finally, though, when she told us she was busy after about the sixth day of doing this, it seemed like time to move on. I told Sister Mittavong we'd call her once more and ask to meet quickly at that library from the first day, figuring that she probably goes there sometimes. If she was busy or didn't answer, we would put her on the backburner for the time being. We called her.

Amazingly, she picked up, and agreed to meet us at the library the next day. 

That following day, when we got to the library, she and her daughter were there. Ann said she was feeling sick, so we ended up teaching just her daughter, Ploy. We taught the Plan of Salvation. She absorbed it eagerly, and we set an appointment for the very next day.

The next day, we taught the Restoration. It was an incredible lesson. On Friday, Sister Ploy asked us what baptism was. It was too late at night for us to respond, but we had an appointment Saturday so we told her we'd answer more then. On Saturday, we talked to Sister Ploy about Christ's gospel and baptism. We asked her if she would be willing to follow Christ's example and get baptized when she knew for herself that what we taught was true. She told us, "I already got my answer. I want to get baptized." She told us more about her life that day--how growing up, the teachings of Buddhism had never really satisfied her soul. She had turned to Christianity on her own, studying the Bible at night by herself, trying to find truth. And, wow, I don't think I've ever met someone like her. She's amazing. Her spirit was just hungry for the nourishment of the Gospel. She came to three of the four general conference showings this weekend and even took notes. I feel confident she was someone pretty special before she came to this earth! She has a date for the 28th this month. I'm so excited for her--I can tell she is one who is genuinely converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love her! It's been such a privilege to have a role in teaching her about her Savior.

Other than that, which is hands-down the highlight of my week, things have been good! 

I ran over a snake with my bicycle the other day, which creeped me out at first but then I thought about the symbolism of it and had to laugh. Make way for the army of the Lord! Snakes beware! 

My companion got into a heated debate with an LA this week. They were talking about...wait for it... whether or not dolphins are fat. (Don't worry, we'd already given a lesson on the importance of General Conference. I don't know where this came from.) My eleven-pound Laotian companion is pretty weight conscious. Apparently she's had friends tell her that if she swims for exercise, she'll lose weight. She tells them that fish and dolphins spend all day in the water and they're still fat so she won't do it. Anyway, she was arguing about this with one of our LAs and it was so absurd. I totally lost it. I couldn't stop laughing the whole time. Guys, dolphins aren't fat, are they? I've never heard that in my life. They're just our squishy sea friends. 

Other hilarious Sister Mittavong moment from the week: here in Thailand, they have these little coconut ice cream carts that drive by sometimes. Same idea as an ice cream truck, but it's homemade coconut ice cream... so the carts are obviously kind of superior. Anyway, like with an ice cream truck, you don't know when they're coming by. Sister Mittavong and I stop them every time they do. This week, though, we went probably 5 days without seeing one. It was a long time. We were teaching one of our new investigators at a member's house the other day (the door was open) and the ice cream cart drove by. Sister Mittavong sprang up, mid-sentence, mid-lesson, yelled, "Eyesa Cream!" and went out and stopped the cart. We all got ice cream. (Here's my don't worry part, so you don't worry: the investigator didn't mind. He's a very relaxed older guy and the brother of one of our older sisters in the ward, so they were just amused.)

Okay, sorry for the super long update! Props to you if you've made it this far. 

I just want to let you all know that I know this gospel is true. If it wasn't, it would have died with Joseph Smith. If it wasn't, the missionaries would go out every day and be confounded by the many who have more worldly knowledge than us. If it wasn't, there wouldn't be so many noble, intelligent men and women willing to put so much on the line and sacrifice their time and resources to live its doctrines and foster its spread. Most importantly, if it wasn't true, we wouldn't feel the deep sense of  unity and purpose we feel when we come together as saints--at Church or during Conference time. A unity that powerful can only come when the living Christ is at the center. If it wasn't true, we wouldn't feel the whisperings of the Spirit testifying that God lives and knows us. We shouldn't ever regard that witness as inconsequential--we don't always see things correctly with our eyes, or hear things correctly with our ears, but what we feel with our hearts will never deceive us. That feeling, the quiet peace that takes over when you remember who you are and where you came from, cannot be manufactured. Believe in it! I love my Savior and I know He lives. I am sure of it. 

I love you all so much. Thank you for all that you do for me! Have great weeks. 

Love, 

Sister Harris 

Sister Harris