Baby Ghosts (Ch 41)

สวัสดี​ค่ะ​ทุกคน

Oh, what a week! 

Being on a mission is crazy. There are so many emotional highs and lows every day! 

Saturday night, our little eleven-year-old investigator called us and said she was coming to church. We were absolutely elated. We were walking home at that point because Sister Maughan's tire had popped and we just stopped right there next to the bogs on the side of the road and celebrated. 

The next day, half an hour before church started, the same little investigator called us and said she was too busy to come. You can imagine how sad we were! We love her so much. 

Sometimes our lessons go beautifully. This week, we had been trying to find the house of a former investigator. After a lot of asking around (neighbors, the elders who taught her first, etc.) we still weren't any closer to finding her home. (Actually, asking for directions in Thailand is hilarious. You'll say, "Do you know where Nan lives?" and someone will say, "Nan? The small girl? Who has a baby?" and you'll say, "yup" and then they'll respond, "okay, go about half a kilo and it's on this side of the road in a house with a pretty gate." And you just follow it. And mostly it's wrong. So you ask another person. And they'll say "Nan? Oh, she moved out years ago. Had a fight with her boyfriend. She's with her mom on the other side of town now." or, "Nan? Yeah, you're close! She's just one street over." After following questionable leads for a while, we decided we needed help. We said a prayer and kept biking. Finally, we saw a street that matched the one of the names recorded in the Area Book map (which--trust me--we would have used, only it was off by at least a continent). From that street, we asked a couple more neighbors, who led us to the right house!! YAY!! We talked to the woman's mom and set an an appointment for the next day. 

Well, when the next day rolled around, we were able to talk to her and she said she was still interested in learning! And it got even crazier! While we were talking, her neighbor, an older man, just walked right up and kind of stared at us. I thought he wanted us to leave. I didn't know what to do, so I started asking him questions. Eventually he came over to talk to us. Turns out, he's attended Church before but hasn't been since the person who took him died, and he's wants to keep learning. He tried to come to church this last week but got lost, actually! Isn't that a miracle way to find someone? 

Sometimes, though our lessons aren't quite as miraculous! Yesterday we had a member lesson on the schedule which was awesome(!) because they can be hard to coordinate. We were at the park with the Relief Society President, sitting in this little pavilion, waiting for our investigator and her niece to finish their yoga class. We caught them as they were heading out. We called them over and they sat down. 

"How long will this take?" our investigator demanded. Great start. 

"10-15 minutes," we promised. And then we tried to teach. Only... We were sitting right next to a pond. Thailand + evening time + standing water = more mosquitos than you've ever seen in your life. They had come to feast. I don't think our investigator heard a word we said because she was so busy slapping mosquitos off of herself and her niece (and, yes, we had offered to move...). She was slapping them super dramatically, too, like they were going to suck our souls instead of our blood. Anyway! As our member bravely bore testimony of the Book of Mormon through the ruckus, the investigator picked up a phone call and started to talk loudly. It was a fiasco. Maybe the worst lesson I've ever been in. But, you live and you learn! Note for the future: stay away from the park at dusk hours.

A highlight of this week was meeting with Brother Boy and Sister Mam one of the last times before they go to Bang Na. (And--context--we told them that we had gone to visit an investigator that day at a farm and that they had baby goats!

"Baybee Ghosts?" Brother Boy asked. "Like Casper!" "No--Babee Gowts," Sister Mam told him. And Brother Boy tried valiantly for the rest of the evening to hear the difference between ghosts and goats, with little success. The world may never know if we went to a goat farm or a ghost farm.)

In our lesson with them, Brother Boy shared his testimony. He said he knew God was looking out for him. He talked about how even though he appreciated our lessons, it was our examples that taught him more. He said he wasn't like us when he was twenty. It was super nice. One of my favorite days as a missionary.

As I've typed out a little about this week, I've been able to do some pondering. Some of the--highlights-- of Sunday had left me feeling a bit like I'd been spiritually hit by a bus. I was a little discouraged! That night for companionship study, we read in Jesus the Christ. As we read about the Savior, I couldn't stay in low spirits. My mood actually lifted as we read. There is real power in the Atonement of Jesus Christ! He is the antidote to every sickness, every sorrow, and every disappointment in our lives. He lives. He is there!

And with the eternal perspective that stems from feeling Christ's love, I can see: it's a wonderful life. It sure isn't perfect all the time--sometimes I want to swat our investigators along with the mosquitos hehe--but it's pretty great. I love where I'm at. I've been blessed over and over again and may I always have the eyes to see it!!

I love you all so much!! Thank you for everything you do for me. You are truly, truly amazing.

With love, 

Sister Harris