An Email Only a Mother Could Read (Ch 37)

Posted by Sarah January 03, 2019

An Email Only a Mother Could Read (Ch 37)

สวัสดีค่ะทุกคน

I think I reached a turning point this week!

I was reminded of a story in Numbers from the Old Testament. In this story, Moses and Aaron are leading the children of Israel through the wilderness. The Israelites begin to murmur because they are tired and hungry and thirsty. In response, the Lord commands Moses to take his rod and break open a rock to provide water for the congregation. Moses follows this command--but before he does so, he addresses the people, saying, "Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?"

The Lord chastens Moses for this speech. I'll admit, I didn't catch what was so wrong about it the first read through. You'll notice, though, that Moses uses the word "WE"--suggesting, unintentionally perhaps, that the importance of his role in this deliverance was on par with the Lord's.

Well, for a certain missionary in the Thailand Bangkok mission, the question had to be asked, "Am I using the word "we" too much in my work?" Do I esteem my own efforts too highly? Do I think that my hours of inviting, my getting out and teaching, -- the moments where I open my mouth-- are what is driving this work along?

With increased perspective, I say the following: The Lord can do His own work. If He wanted inviting cards to be blown in the wind and delivered perfectly to the doorstep of every elect soul on the earth, He could have it done. He could (and often does!) inspire people to come to Church meetings on their own. The Book of Mormon contains the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, relayed in a much neater, more powerful way than from the lips of two missionaries who are struggling to master a second language. The Lord has all power and an endless supply of resources. He does not need us to do His work-- not really.

What am I doing here, then? Why am I spending all of this time away from home if my efforts don't matter?

Well, they do matter. I'm here because the Lord is merciful. How blessed am I to have opportunities every day to bear testimony of Christ--to leave His name in the minds of everyone I come in contact with! My testimony of Him whose name I wear strengthens with each invite I extend. I'm not grinning and bearing it and going inviting because I love the Lord--I am being extended the marvelous privilege to share and strengthen and iron out my testimony because the Lord loves me! He is giving me a priceless opportunity to be an instrument in His hand. He's giving me the chance to experience some of the joy He feels when His children come unto Him. He's letting me build bonds of love with my brothers and sisters. I can be a source of support to those I love here, and they for me. All these things are done in the wisdom, and goodness, and mercy of the Lord.

So, yes, the Lord directs this work. There's no "we" here. All I can do is purify myself and take every precious moment that has been granted me. May I adopt the attitude of the Savior, who never hesitated to give all glory to His Father.

Anyway, this week has been amazing. We are teaching six new people! One of them literally walked right up to us outside of Tesco. Her name is ต้อย (Doy) and she was asking us questions right off the bat. She asked for our phone number, and was more than happy to meet with us. This. Never. Happens. It's rarer than finding a chocolate chip cookie here in Thailand (shoutout to my family, who I'm sure made batches on batches of amazing chocolate chip cookies this Christmas season. Save me some นะ) . We met with ต้อย on Sunday and it was so great! Get this--before we started our lesson she asked us to pause so she could go next door and grab her older sister. INCREDIBLE. I am so excited to be teaching her. Definitely led to us by a loving Father in Heaven.

Some quick stats from the week:

--5 pillows with General Conference quotes on them found in a little cafe near the city. Next step: find the owner (we tried unsuccessfully the first time) and recruit/reactivate/convert as the situation requires (pretty cool to teach a first lesson next to a pillow with Elder Uchtdorf's name emblazoned across it. They who be with us!!)

--2 Chiang Mai elephant jackets purchased from a special mountain market (they're all the rage for missionaries. We went up as a district and got them and then took a little Christmas card photo. Pic attached)

--0 Book of Mormons left in our house (there's a mission-wide shortage... We handed out our last one yesterday!)

--1 motorcycle accident. Elder McQuivey was biking home from a teaching appointment (singing, "Come, Come, Ye Saints") and got rear-ended by a motorcycle. He got a concussion and some torn ligaments in his legs. He's in the hospital right now--a little broken, but in good spirits. He's getting casts put on today. Catch our district in the hospital this P-Day!

--5412 oreo balls made by Sister Maughan and I this past week, <15 delivered. Chocolate+Thailand= a royal struggle. We found a simple baking project to get us into the Christmas spirit, forgetting that while, yes, the creative process is simple, the whole getting-out-of-the-door-and-delivering thing is rocket science here. We engineered a couple thermos contraptions and delivered a few. Then we left things where they were. If anyone wants oreo balls, there are probably 65 in our fridge. You just have to come and get them yourself.

Okay, that's a pretty long, boring update. It's a couple weeks overdue. But to every one of you: thank you all so much for your continued love and support and example. I am so grateful for you!!