What a week...

November 24, 2013

what. a. week.
so. i'm going to work backwards. otherwise my brain might explode.
yesterday. (was a sunday here)
we had two of our investigators confirmed at church! (the same one who got stabbed the day before his last baptismal date...) they are so stinking cute. last night we had a fireside... which was so amazing. i had to sing a solo. less than amazing. but the pianist made up for it all... so i think that all
those people will still come back to church.

Saturday was crazy as well. we went to go meet the parents of one of our investigators that is 15. so she needs her parents permission to get baptized. apparently they are fairly buddist. and as of yesterday she can get baptized... when she's 18. which is better than last time apparently. (the answer then was never...) we had boat and lipi's baptism. it was so great. lipi got up to bear his testimony and i couldn't understand a single thing he said except for "tin ten" which means "excited". (i can't ever understand him for some reason...) but his smile and the spirit that i felt made up for the lack of understanding. they know it's true. they've changed a lot for the gospel. i came into their story at the very end... after they had stopped smoking, drinking, drinking coffee and tea, started living the law of chastity... and taken out all of his 5 earrings. they changed everything for the gospel. and i am so grateful that i got a chance to be even a little bit involved in their story! they are so great.

so. we have officially been "those sisters" this week. my companion, sister tilley, got sick on Saturday night. she woke up up Monday with a fever. so the official mandate from the powers that be was "let her sleep". i got in trouble for letter her sleep too late... i knew my real orders though. ;)
we got back home on Tuesday night... calling the elders to bring her some gatorade. since there was no way we were going anywhere. they show up at 10:00. yup. someone's going to be late home... they gave her a blessing... and although she didn't get up and start running around... i know it helped. her dad came on tuesday. he was here for business, and normally... family just doesn't show up in thailand. so we got to eat dinner with him. they basically adopted me as family for the night. it was a good homey feeling.

tuesday we went crazy. it was one of those days when all of our plans fell through. we literally had nothing that we could do other than contacting. so we did. and it turned out great! we ended up seeing three of our less actives and having another 7 lessons. don't even know where they came from... but it was a great day. 

 

Thursday we got to meet with our good friend puja. have i told you about her yet? she is from nepal, teaching english to business students at one of the colleges. she came to english to see how we taught english to thai people. and of course... we did what we do best and invited her to come unto christ. and because she's international... we get to teach her! she's awesome. and so spiritual. she just seems to soak in the things that we teach her. it's so great. we had an amazing lesson with her, and felt the spirit so strongly... then we went and got lunch with her afterwards. she's one of those people that i want to be friends with forever. whether or not she wants to get baptized or not. but i want her to soooooooooo bad!!!

 

we had dinner with the nelson's on Thursday night. i'm really soaking the international stuff up... because i'm probably going to go to the boonies later... where they speak NO english at all. so i'm going to live up eating the american food and speaking english...as much as i possibly can.  our investigator called us up at 7 (our appointment was for 7:30) saying that he was already at the church. the problem with bikes and thailand... is that you don't get anywhere fast. it took us another 15 minutes to get to the church. sometimes planning is a blessing... and sometimes planning... is just hopeful thinking. 

 

on the way home from our lesson... i'm cruising along  on my bike and... it feels weird. i look down... and my front tire. is flat. like absolutely no air. at all. dead. (or sia cheewid as you say in thai) so we walked about 2 miles home. good thing that it was on one of the busiest streets ever. and good thing i look like a thug. no one would even try to beat me up. 

 

that's one of the funniest things here. people don't have a problem telling you you're fat. or that that you have man-hands. (that happened AGAIN!) the first thing most people ask is "are you an atlethe?" yes... i am an "ATH-lete." they can't say it right. they do give it a good try though. 

other things i've learned:

i need to work on staying WITH the peloton... i'm not trying to be in a break away... (i get so focused on beating the wind... i forget to stay close to my companion some times...)

making chocolate chip cookies is difficult when you do not have measuring cups. 

you can finish the book of mormon really fast when you read it for an hour every day. you also tend to find it like reading a best-seller. what's going to happen in the next chapter??? is this the one when shiz's head gets chopped off? my favorite! 

9/5(c) + 32 = fahrenheit

it still feels like i'm breathing water. 

God prepares people to receive his gospel. every single day. in thailand even. even when they are sitting in their shop where they sell coconuts and you drive by and decide to stop and talk to him. he looks at you like you are nuts. you ask him to be baptized. and he says yes. (stunned look at companion - this actually happens???) alright then. 

 

it's a great work. 

i am so lucky to be here and to be able to serve.

keep up all the good work wherever you are called!!!

love you all!

sister (jess) ellis

Tomorrow is one month. In thailand.

November 17, 2013

 

so for the weekly review! 

there is a sign on the door of the internet ron (ron = store) - you basically say food-store (restaurant), internet-store... i like the simplicity of the words most of the time. 

the sign: it says... something in thai. i don't understand. but then it says 10 hours for 80 baht. that's like a little over $2. it made me think about josh and brian with $2 and unlimited internet time....

our mission has an facebook page! i know they post a lot about the new missionaries, but if anyone is interested in what's going on... you can check it out!
www.facebook.com/thailandbangkokmission

so our mission president wants us to finish the book of mormon by christmas. i'm definitely on my way to getting it done! i am in 3 nephi... which is such a great place to be. my favorite scripture the other day was 3 nephi 12:13. and thinking like a missionary.... we stand out. i used to wonder why heavenly father would send a tall blonde amazon to a land of... not-so-tall, not-so-blondes. there are always people that see us... "oh yeah! i see the two "poo-ying" (women) riding their bikes down tiwanon all the time!" yup. that's us! you teach about jesus christ? yes. ohhhhh. sometimes that's as far as it goes. other times, creepy taxi drivers ask me for my phone number. good thing i have people in the car that know more thai then i do. so they give them the number for the elders. gotta love trainers...

but we are different. we are sent somewhere to stand out. something that i've learned over this last week is that missionary work is not for a bunch of clones. it isn't because he wants us to be a specific missionary and teach a specific way. i need to come up with my own words and my own way of teaching. which, i have learned... often requires a few bumbles and "pood-pits" (things said wrong) i'm pretty sure how much everyone knows how i hate making mistakes. and how i avoid looking stupid at all costs. it isn't a commodity i get to have here. i talk to people. and i sound like a baby. a very cute baby apparently. my favorite thing was that i thought that i would get away from all of the "sweety" and "honey" type terms of endearment.... i think the fact i can't talk and just sit there  and smile makes people say it more. "na-rak" means cute/loveable... i get called it a lot. 

it's great being a missionary. it's cool when people look at you and know that you are different. that you live differently than they do. and when they WANT that too. 

 

so. being a missionary is all about the service. even when you walk into the church and get asked to do a special musical number for a wedding/funeral. you still do it. i just pray that my sub-par piano skills (of which i regret every single moment i ever wasted sitting at the piano... which is a LOT) still manage to invite the spirit. the bride was crying... so i either did a good job or i ruined her wedding. i like to think it was the first one...

we have some pretty awesome investigators. boat and lipi were supposed to get baptized... yesterday. we ended up moving it again because he had to get his cast off of his hand. (did i mention that he was shanked the first time they were going to get baptized? i don't remember.) he just got the cast off saturday. they'll be getting baptized this saturday. we told him no soccer until AFTER this baptism. just to cover our bases... then we have another investigator named cherisa. she is amazing. we gave her a date last sunday... and she is so excited to get baptized! i just can't believe that people fall into your lap like this! she's getting baptized in december. 

we had another interesting visit. with a man that wasn't so interested in the gospel.... but he sure does love uncle sam. he says that he will always put americans first. since uncle sam was so good to him. he was a hoot. and told us to call him uncle vis. alright. this really is too much. i was thinking about all of our investigators... donut. cake. boat. may. see. soup. these names here are ridiculous. but i love them so much! (the people...)

 

last night was loy krathong. it is a festival... and i don't really know much else about it. but we went and put little bread boats into the water... and sent some prayers/wishes out with them. only to watch them get devoured by gigantic catfish. there is a reason people don't swim in this water... you can't see anything... and you would most likely get eaten. but it was great. we went and sang hymns for a while and then invited people to be baptized. the whole time they had floating lanterns rising up into the air... so the sky was full of them! we sang a little "at last i see the light..." and then went back home to do some numbers. 

i can't think of a whole lot else to say... it is being a missionary! the hardest, and yet most rewarding thing i have ever done in my whole life! and i can say that with complete confidence! the only thing that i think is easier... is that i actually get 8 hours of sleep every night. with makes the rest of the stuff much more manageable! i can definitely see WHY bedtime is so important. there are nights when i know that i want to go to bed before 10:30. what is happening to me??? ;)

i love you all. thank you for your love and support! in everything! 

i'm sending prayers your way! 

sister ellis

Divine protection.

November 10, 2013

does not apply to my shoes. apparently. i didn't read the contract before... maybe i should be better about that. like reading on boxes. i just usually assume that i can't read things here without spending 20 minutes figuring out that "whole wheat" actually says "whole wheat" with thai letters. anyway. about the shoes. we were at dinner at a members house (that really ONLY happens in the international branches by the way) maybe once or twice with other members. and the husband walks in and says that someone's shoe just got eaten by the neighbors dog. they were the grey ones. oh wait. that's mine. oops. well.... i guess i'm riding home barefoot??? turns out, the dog just ate the criss-cross shoelace-type part. so with the members shoelace wrapped around my shoe... we made it home just fine. (it's not like mourning for the loss of a cat... but i did feel a little tinge of remorse.) i'm going to see if i can fix them, or if i'll be using the shoelace from now on...

i've found out that my comp loves hallmark christmas videos. sound familiar? not that we can really DO anything about that. just a fun fact that reminded me of you all. and i find it funny... a lot of the things that i thought i would miss... just don't matter. at least not in the way that i am not able to wait until february of 2015 to make it happen. but if i do pull out the christmas movies in february... don't judge. 

 

i feel a little like the little kid that is learning how to talk. "what's this?" and "this?"

lots of pointing. and giggling. and i'm sure the members think that i'm so silly for not knowing how to say "pants". but i mean really? i haven't worn pants here yet and i don't think i ever will. i sweat enough as it is. there is no way i'm going to add jeans to that problem. i actually am coming to like wearing skirts. it is an interesting talent. wearing skirts and riding bikes. not something that i thought would ever be necessary. but you make it happen! 

my companion and i were asked to speak in church. again. in the english branch. it was... wait for it... on missionary work! we were just told to come up and share a little 2 minute shpeel on 1) how missionaries can help the members and 2) how members can help the missionaries. feeding us was not on the list. ;) i really don't want to come home weighing more than when i left... that would be sad. just kidding. 

 

so. on the spiritual bizness. cuz there's a lot. i was having a kinda hard week. trying to overcome the feelings of inadequacy and stupidity and awkwardness that were not letting me speak up. it was rough. and i was constantly feeling like i was a burden to my companion. (i'm not saying it all changed at once.) but it was a hard day. we had gone to rangsit in order to help our fellow missionaries find "daters". basically... going out and asking everyone we saw if they wanted to be baptized. i kinda went into it expecting that i would just be able to walk up to people and tell them about baptism and i would be able to speak thai and they would just want to run to the church and be baptized on the spot. nope. but i learned a lot. and i left the day feeling like i never wanted to feel like that again. SO. the next day. i made it a goal just to TALK to people and stop being scared. it's a weird concept for me to realize that i really won't ever see these people again. EVER. but i tried to only think about it. and wouldn't let myself think about the future. just loving them enough to believe that this message was something that could change their life. anyway. that's what i've been working on. the language is hard. but it is coming. and i left that next day feeling sooooo much better. i just know that i feel better when i bear my testimony and tell people what i believe. it works. i know that most of them probably won't accept the gospel right away, but there ARE people that are waiting for it. there are people that want to change. and we go out and talk to everyone so that we can find that ONE. 

 

that was not the point of that story... that's the background info. anyway, a tender mercy of the lord came into my life. in the form of a letter from my dear mtc comp sister barber. she had been at the church the day before we went to rangsit... and left me a note. i didn't get it until 2 days later (the day after we had gone/bad day for sister ellis). it was amazing to read - she said she had wanted it to be all hugs and smiles... but instead felt impressed to tell me how much confidence she had in me and my ability to overcome the difficulties of this language and in being a missionary. i'm so glad someone was listening to the spirit and wrote me such a spirit-prompted answer to all of my prayers. 

another crazy story.

 

we met an investigator at church. she learned with the missionaries over a year ago, but they left and she went somewhere... and just didn't get baptized. she had a date and everything. so. are you still interested? yes. ok! we can make that work. 

so we met with her yesterday at church. she said that she hadn't met with the missionaries for a year. but had stopped reading the book of mormon about six months ago. "is it normal to cry when you read this book?" was her question to us. and then she said "i've finished it twice... i probably should start it again." and the whole time, i'm just sitting there thinking that heavenly father just plopped this amazing investigator right on my doorstep. thank you? that just seems SO inadequate! anyway. she is getting baptized in december. 

she was asking us all of these great questions - like why we say "i know the church is true" in our fast and testimony meetings, and why we don't have any pictures of heavenly father... things that i had never thought about. but she is so eager to learn and ready to accept all of the things that we have to teach her. 

 

i wrote this scripture down to share. Alma 17:3.

our mission president encouraged us all to finish the book of mormon by christmas. this is one time that i really am not stressed about being able to finish.... it was really funny. the other day during study i was wishing i had more time. and then i found myself really shocked by the fact that there were times that i "only had time" to read a verse. it's crazy the things that being a missionary will make you think. ;) i'm weird. 

 

the one thing that i think has made me appreciate missionary work more than anything else is seeing the members of our ward work together with us to make missionary work happen. i don't know if it was just me... or if it is new, but i love this kind of missionary work! it isn't up to the missionaries alone. it isn't supposed to be done that way. the best way is for people to have someone that they trust and respect show them how the gospel can bless their lives. to give them someone they can turn to when they have questions. the missionaries... are 18, 19, and 20 year olds (and some 23 year olds) that really have not had a whole lot of life experience. why listen to them? because you know them. you've seen your friends live the same things that they are teaching. and you believe that they can help you, because you've seen it in someone that you admire. 

that's the kind of missionary work that works. that's the kind of missionary work that will keep converts active and engaged. 

 

i love this work so much! 

i'm so excited for this next week!!!!

i love you all soooo much! 

thank you for your examples and your love... i know that our heavenly father loves you too and blesses you for your own sacrifices and missionary work! 

love love love love love

sister jess ellis

 

ka kret! (gah gret)

 

For Christmas: deodorant and prayers

November 3, 2013

hello all!

so. to wrap up yet another week... where did it go??? 

i actually am beginning to understand what every single missionary means. each day seems to last an eternity... and then *poof*! the week is gone. i think that the first week was the hardest. each one seems to get a little easier and a little easier. which actually scares me. because i know, that when i finally get to the point that i'm comfortable... BAM! the lord is going to throw something else at me. maybe it is a good thing that i am expecting it. i just never quite know or expect the things that he tends to ask me to do... 

 

i have a lot of time on my bike to think. i don't know if i've told you about the 40 minute bike ride that we make every single day (one way) to the church. it's pretty much a constant prayer, plus an adrenaline rush... and a lot of time to think. being the solitary person that i am, and being with someone else 24/7, the biking is definitely a necessary part of our companionship. in a good way. i had a spiritual experience a few nights ago. i had just gotten rejected by some guy at a bus stop. he was nice, had a confused face most of the time (i couldn't figure out if it was confused... or if it was a mixture of a face torn between feeling bad for the missionary speaking really bad thai, and grimacing at all of the bad tones i was making...) but he wasn't interested. sister tilley gave me some great advice. she said i was making my job harder than it needed to be. she recognizes the fact i'm a little more shy... especially when i am uncomfortable. and that i was trying to small talk my way into a lesson. which wasn't really working. she said, "they don't teach you small talk in the mtc for a reason. they teach you how to testify. so you will save yourself a lot of trouble by doing the things that you know." i'm still working on it. but i know that's what i need to be doing. i need to tell people they are children of god. i need to testify of my lord and savior, jesus christ. cuz it's a pretty awesome message. 

 

anyway. on to the bike ride. i was riding home after a rejection like this, and just beating myself up for not being a good missionary. and kind of moping because i didn't think that i could be the missionary that my heavenly father wants me to be. and then i started thinking about all the times in my life that i told myself i couldn't do something. 

the time i couldn't play basketball. i wasn't good enough.

the time i couldn't play piano.

the time i couldn't talk to people. because i was too shy.

the time i thought i couldn't date...

the time i thought i couldn't go to jerusalem.

the time i thought i couldn't be a missionary...

and i thought.

and thought.

and it finally hit me. that every time i say "i can't do something"... it's because i'm afraid. and i don't try. i thought of how i have always had help. and i remembered that i have always succeeded. i have always been able to overcome and to do the things that i thought were impossible. because they really aren't. so, as i was peddling my guts out, and pouring my heart out to god, i realized, a little bit more, why he sent me to thailand. 

i bore my testimony in church for the first time yesterday. 

it was fast sunday, and they asked me to lead the music. i'm pretty sure it was a funny sight... the new missionary up there leading the music... when she doesn't even know half of the words. i also had the hymn book about 3 inches from my nose because i was focusing so much on reading. i'm still giggling it was so funny. but i'm a missionary. i can't so no to service. i just can't. 

so. i was sitting on the stand after the sacrament, and the branch president invited the congregation up to bear their testimonies. i knew that i had to get down off the stage somehow... and rather than have to come back up (and to be "forced" to bear my testimony)... i decided that i was just going to do it. 

it probably lasted like 40 seconds. and sounded like something a 5 year old would say. 

but i did it. :)

all by myself. (a five year old would probably say that too.)

there have been a lot of things that i've learned here. in just 3 weeks. 

they DO have peanut butter here. in the import isle. :D

when it gets hot, it rains. it hasn't gotten hot enough to rain yet. 

i sweat all the time. 

they like to sing ALL of the hymns in the hymn book that i DO NOT know. especially the ones with 4 sharps and flats. 

they have 8 baht pens. (30 baht is a dollar). 

they have 10 baht mentos. 

they have sweet and salty popcorn. a lady sells them from her "store", in which she also tailors clothes. i knew that clothes and popcorn went together!

everything here has whitening cream in it. lotions, deodorant... you name it. (hence the reason i will be asking for nothing more than deodorant for christmas.)

you can find everything here. in most cases cheaper than america. except deodorant. 

Rs and Ls. apparently they sound the same. right? i don't know if i'll ever understand when someone is trying to tell me they like lice or like rice. yes. it transfers over into english as well.

everyone is nice. they want you to speak good thai. even if you mess up. a lot. like me. 

i eat 2 peppers now. maybe one day i'll graduate to 3... 

my lips don't burn like they used to... now, there is just a nice little tingle and my tummy feels all nice and warm. i wonder if food will seem bland after this. 

thanks so much for all of your emails! they really mean so much! it is so great to know that heavenly father is taking care of you all! i know he loves you!!! 

(i really just love this!) 

THE WORK IS WORKING!

:D x infinity + beyond and forever and ever and ever and ever...

(so i forgot to explain the subject line. next time i'll be better. the only thing i want for christmas is peace on earth, deodorant without whitening effects... and your prayers!)

love you all!

 

 asian notebooks and pens. not good for my obsession....

 

 

 

Pakkret baby.

October 27, 2013

alrightee. down to business.

your letters really make my whole week. well... it just happens to be a very big highlight in an already very blessed life. i feel too blessed for my own good some days. 

it has definitely been an interesting experience adjusting to missionary life. i don't have a problem waking up in the morning or going to bed at night... i think the bakery prepped me well for physical exhaustion. maybe i'll get to go to sleep when i get home. but i have learned a lot about exhaustion in every other sense of the word this week. emotional, mental, and sometimes even spiritual exhaustion.

i hate to admit this to anyone. but i cried. it was one of those really hard days. and then - for the miracle. (because right after we feel totally lousy... God always blesses us with a miracle) i turned to  philippians. of course. it's my favorite for a reason. chapter 4. verses (i think) 9 through the end. i know how to be abased and i know how to abound. for whatever reason i feel like that is especially the case as a missionary. and it all happens at exactly the same time. i feel such love from god and for my investigators... and for people in general. and yet... i feel so lacking. i feel so inadequate for the call that i have been given. and then comes verse 13. i can do all things through christ. and i can. even learn thai.
well. enough about me being a cry baby. 

on to awesome missionary stuffs. 

we were supposed to have 2 baptisms this week... but due to certain circumstances.... it was put off. mainly the fact that he hurt his hand and it couldn't get wet. which.... is a big part of getting baptized. so. baptism is still on. the church is still true. eternal salvation just has to wait a few weeks. ;) i'll stop blaspheming now. 

oh. and church. i love church. it is a little different as a missionary. for one: i don't understand most of what's going on. i understand words... but my comprehension of sentences is fairly limited. i did get asked to speak in my first sacrament... in the english branch. he he he. the topic was.... wait for it..... MISSIONARY WORK! big surprise. i know. but i have been really working on NOT scripting my talks. i am really trying to let the spirit speak through me by coming up with an outline and a lot of ideas for a talk... and then speaking with the spirit. so far... i like it. either people lied to me, or it was a pretty good talk. but can you lie to the missionaries???

i knew that missionaries were supposed to serve. but what happens when their service is sub-par? like me being asked to play the hymns in sacrament???? i mean... that's almost mean to the congregation. the branch president asked me if i could play... and i couldn't say no. i mean... it was that or accapella. but i tried to tell him i didn't know any of them and that i'd only be playing with the top hand. well. he said ok. and that's what happened. me, plunking through all of the hymns... one handed. it works i guess.

what else? we teach a LOT. you would naturally think i would teach thai people. but we have taught a man from india, a family from sri lanka, a man from ghana, a sister from the phillipines... and i can't even think of how many others in the last week! serving in an international branch is definitely fun. and always interesting. 

i was riding my bike down the road the other day and was thinking that it reminded me of premium rush. (the bike movie) nooooo... i don't do crazy stunts like that. but in a city where they have "some" speed limits... but relatively no enforcement... it is always an experience riding anywhere. driving on the left hand side of the road was weird to get used to as well. no four-way stops.... but they have occasional u-turns that you can take to flip around. there is just never a u-turn when you need it. 

so we just end up crossing 6 lanes of traffic. 

the nice man at the hotel right next to us comes and saves us with his light wand though. i feel so special making traffic stop and wait for us. kinda like you feel in 3rd grade crossing the street and holding hands. 

it has been an interesting week. the first real week as a missionary. we went contacting... and i'm not an outgoing person normally. ever. i usually don't talk to people i don't know. and now i have to do it in thai. funny. 

but then sister tilley leans over and says "be a missionary!" 

i've come to realize that they don't teach you the whole language in the mtc for a reason. you get here... and the rest of the language will come. but what is the most important thing that you have to do? you have to testify of jesus christ. they do teach you how to do that. the rest of the language will take care of itself... right now i am learning to put a lot of faith in god and believing that he will fill in the gaps where my language comes up short. because it does a LOT. 

they usually end up smiling at me (probably thinking... she's so cute for trying. but what in the world did she just say? she is a nice person. i feel good........ my bus is here.) 

i've been told this gets better. by pretty much everyone. 

maybe it's time i should start believing them... 

it's just really hard when i can't understand people and i just REALLY want to talk to them! 

frustrating.

but then there are moments that you don't need words to talk. like the cutest old man on the planet (remember him?) brings me some strange dessert with bananas... in purple juice... and gives me the cutest smile... and i don't even know what he's saying. but there is no way that i'm not going to eat this strange concoction with him smiling at me like that! 

i love thailand. 

i love this gospel! 

i love everything about this experience. even the crying. the tears. the smiles. the laughter. it is all part of it. and i wouldn't trade a single second!

i love you all! :)

keep up the good work wherever the lord calls you to serve!

sister ellis

MY FIRST ELEPHANT!

 

and earnest!

i promise i'll actually get a picture of us together soon... 

i can't get away... even in thailand. 

 

Pakkret. Spoiled. and Happy.

October 20, 2013

hello all! so. i know everyone is wondering. what is it like in thailand?

well i will gladly tell you. 

it is big. 

it is busy. 

 

i got a bike on saturday... so my trainer and i (her name is sister tilley) spent the first few days riding around in taxis. i should have relished them more. now that i have a bike... no more taxis. and no more nice ac. 

 

i hear i'm pretty spoiled. here we are over the international branch (of which there are only 2 in thailand...) and most people never serve in bangkok. so i'll get a nice city accent before i get sent to the boonies. it was really weird. i went in thinking transfers would be like off of the district. but that's a church sponsored thing... so it has to be reverent. ours was like a game show version. there was yelling and screaming... it was nuts. all the sudden my picture pops up, and another sisters picture pops up, all the sudden she is running and screaming at me and telling me she loves me and she is so excited for everything........... i just sat down. where am i going? i have no idea. i could have been going to laos for all i knew. turns out, i'm in bangkok. it's called pakkret. still don't really know where that's at.... but i figure all; in good time. 

 

i'm not fluent yet. just in case you were making bets. most of the time i listen really hard when my companion is talking. and she looks at me and asks if i'm ok. yeahhhhhh... just really super focused. then she'll ask me if i have anything to add... nope. all my thought processes were going into listening. give me a minute to think... 

 

we also teach english. every tuesday night. after member referrals, one of the main places they get referrals from is the english classes. i haven't gotten to do it yet. that's tomorrow. but we're teaching the introductory class. which is gospel-related topics. probably because that's the only thing they really teach you in the mtc. they don't want us to get too out of our league yet. 

 

so i didn't have a bike for the first few days. i think i mentioned that already. so we go to the place that they usually buy bikes from... and they don't have one tall enough for me. go figure. one of the first words i learned here was "soooooooon!" (long "oo" like food) it means tall. the longer you make the vowel, the taller it must mean you are right? it's a loooooong vowel. anyway, that was friday. the tallest bike they had was a 16". no. i don't think so. so we decided we'd wait. they were supposed to get in some 18" bikes in 5 days. so we thought we'd look around some more. later, we got a call from one of the member families in nichada (were the international/expats live) and they asked if we'd gotten the bike situation figured out yet. we told them no, and they told us about a place that they bought bikes from that the mission actually used to buy their bikes from before they started having the missionaries buy their own. we walk in there... oh it's the missionaries! it's nice to be recognized. most people don't know who christ even is, let alone the weird kids in nice clothes on bikes... but they went straight for a bike. a trek even. deal. done. next thing i know they were wheeling it in the back to get it set up with a kickstand, lights, rack and the works. i was in heaven. or really really really close. i almost asked them if they watched the tour de france, but i didn't know how to say that in thai. and i was just too much freaking out to remember. 

 

bike. check. 

it's snazzy. i love earnest. (that's it's name.)

 

so. about missionary work. i think i should at least talk a little about that eh? we study. we study a LOT. i thought it was a lot of studying in the mtc... but that was split up... now it's like boom. 4 hours. but i love it. and sister tilley is soooo good! if i can grow up (i'm a baby missionary right now) to be like her, and to speak as good as she does, i will be a very happy missionary. 

 

my first fully day here we went and taught a girl that was a friend of one of the member families. she works for them and has been having a few troubles in her life lately. we taught her about the restoration. (well... sister tilley taught most of it. she'd look at me, and i would say my few lines. then she would continue.) it is suddenly becoming apparent to me why role playing is so important. it didn't really make sense to me in the mtc. ok. we're going to teach this spoon, or this stuffed creature... now we are actually teaching a person. so it is good to thing about what that person is thinking. and it is really good to think about how i can best teach them - about the restoration, the gospel, or whatever. it's definitely an interesting experience. 

 

it has been an interesting experience for me. like everything. i remember dad telling me that motorcycles were dangerous. i think at this point they would be safer than riding my bike on the bangkok streets. at least then i would be moving at the same speed as the rest of traffic. but it gives me a lot of time to think. like a 40 minute long prayer every single day. to and from anywhere. i remember telling the lord that i wasn't brave. and you know what he said? nothing. he knows already. he knows that this is not in my comfort zone. in fact, everything about this is pushing me in every way possible. talking to people... talking to people in a language i barely understand... being afraid of sounding like an idiot, which i'm sure i do often. being afraid of not being good enough... but even with all of these fears, i have a much greater assurance of the lord's love for me. he knows all of this. and he wants me to overcome it. he gave me this chance to grow, and curling up in a ball doesn't help much. so ready or not thailand! here i come!
 

here is our activity for tonight. 

one of the brothers in the branch (cutest old thai man on the face of this planet. seriously.) wants to go inviting with me and sister tilley. it basically goes like this. we walk around. he goes up to hand someone a pass along card, and i get to do the talking. no joke. that was his request. pointing at me and saying 'she practice speaking thai!' oh boy. i'll keep you posted on that one. 

something different about thailand. everything here is tall. it reminds me of a mix between instanbul and jerusalem. tall buildings. hot. humid. we live on the 8th floor of our condo building. (it's small... but i think it might actually be bigger than brooke's apartment...) just kidding. i don't know if i've ever been in the 8th floor of anything. other than maybe a hospital. now i live 8 floors up. and bike everywhere. i said i wanted to know what city life was like. i definitely got my wish. i said i wanted to bike everywhere.... i DEFINITELY got my wish there. i think i should stop wishing for things... or maybe wish for a golf cart and a million investigators. with baptismal dates. that'd be nice. 

well... that's all for now!

my favorite quote: the work is working!

in soooo many ways! 

love you all! 

sister in pakkret. 

 

To the MISSION FIELD:

 

airplane snacks anyone?

 

downtown bangkok view from the hotel

 

my morning view now

 

 

my companion

my first KFC in Thailand

 

Missionary Arrival

October 16, 2013

 

Dear Brother and Sister Ellis:

 

We are happy to report that your daughter arrived safely in Bangkok.  She is in good spirits and is anxious to begin laboring in the Lord’s vineyard in Thailand.  I love her enthusiasm and spirit.  She will be an amazing missionary. Your daughter will be oriented today by the Office Couple Elder and Sister Jones, the Mission Assistants and also by Sister Senior and me.  She will experience her first opportunity to meet people on the street in a “Dan Jones” street contacting experience later today.    Later this evening, Sister Ellis and her group will be joining my wife and me for dinner at the Mission Home.

Sister Ellis will receive her first assignment tomorrow morning.  Preparation day will be on Monday and she will be able to email you each week.  I am sure she will have much to share regarding her experiences with Thailand, missionary activities and first Sunday in her assigned area.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions during Sister Ellis’s missionary service.

 

Sincerely,

President and Sister Senior

 

 

Mission Home Address:

THAILAND BANGKOK MISSION
1645/6 New Phetchburi Road
Makkasan, Ratchathewi
Bangkok 10400

They Love Foiling My Plans...

October 9, 2013

we don't leave early in the morning on monday. we are supposed to report to the travel office at 2. we then board the trax, go to the airport, and then we're off! so no taking great joy in making my luggage deliberately *thunk* *thunk* *thunk* down the stairs...

i hope the package gets here too! i don't really know what the mailroom does if you get mail after you leave... maybe they do a version of storage wars. they bid on the packages and hope that they get something good in them ;)

 

so what is up with the government??? we've heard things, and yet none of it makes sense. seriously. a war could have started and we probably wouldn't know... unless we received a reassignment. that's about the extent of our news here. 

 

other things of note: i got a super awesome book from aunt kathy this week! it was "it's not easy being green" by jim hensen (the creator of the muppets). such a cute book. and it had so many good thoughts about life. and about change. and about being true to who you are. a perfect book for a missionary. 

and that it's about a frog. just perfect.

so i managed to live away from home for 5 years... and never really did anything horrible to my clothes. until i came to the mtc. maybe i should have paid more attention to them... or just not brought a silk shirt with me. however it happened...i 'm just grateful that it happened now, and not in the field. (i've heard silk doesn't do so well in thailand anyways... it's probably for the best.)

 

wasn't conference fantastic? 

and being in the mtc just made it about the coolest thing ever. one of the funniest things was when they announced that the intermediate hymn would be called to serve. me and about every other missionary in the room jumped out of our chairs we were so excited! that's one that i wish i could have filmed. 

 

so sunday night for devotional... instead of hearing another speaker (i think my brain would have exploded... we had a devotional by Vocal Point! BYU's acapella group...)

it was great. 

they sang a song written by one of the members, a medley of come come ye saints and "noyana". you would love it. maybe the have it somewhere? but they did what they called a "hymn share" where certain members would give a short thought and then they'd sing a hymn. 

one of them showed us his sleeves. they were too short. (i thought i could relate)

but he gave a really good parable to the short sleeves. 

he said to not focus on how it fits. 

because the gospel fits everyone differently. 

it might feel too small

or itchy

or tight...

but just think about who's gospel it is and the name that is on your tag. 

who are you representing?

he also said "enduring to the end is not crawling to the finish line... it is doing it with a smile on your face." (my thought: even if you ARE crawling.)

my letter today might be a little bit different... 

i figured since we're nearing the end of our stay in the mtc, i might reflect a little on the things that i've learned here. (i definitely won't do all... but i'll say enough to let you know i'm actually doing SOMETHING here...)

i've learned that there are showers that drain and showers that don't... 

you eat breakfast at the temple on pdays

there are pizza days! 

they serve ice cream on wednesdays and sundays

they serve bts cake on tuesdays. 

you can make your teacher laugh by calling them a ghost (the would "you" with a different tone...), giving them half eaten cookies (sister barber says she didn't... but it looked fairly suspish...), or calling this child a challenge. when you meant to say earth. hmmmm. 

conference is just better at the mtc.

some people can just learn how to play volleyball in a month. other people it takes practicing for years. 

the secret rooms where they have printers.

where narnia is. in the bathroom. seriously. there is a bathroom with a door... and a bedroom in it. 

the lord's time travels differently than other time.

i can speak thai! not well... but still.

what page 33 of the white handbook says.

"thug khon choob cookie!" (everybody likes cookies! our teacher said that when we had cookies and wouldn't share... we asked him if he liked cookies. he gave us this look like *duh* and then said...)

the gospel and the atonement are the same thing

the spirit makes things move. even lazy people like me.

there are miracles that happen every day. and we see it first hand here.

i make the gospel too complicated. and the more i understand it... the simpler (and more complex) it seems to get.

i am not the real teacher.

this gospel requires everything we have. 

and miracles require diligence. not ability.

i love you all. 

so very very very much! 

this work is working.

in me. in all of us. 

and it is so GREAT!

:)

til next week!

(and then i'll be in thailand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

choge dii! (good luck!)

 

 

guess who I found!?

(Jessica and a friend - Marissa Lewis)

it says boo.

 

we wanted to make the 7 oclock session this morning... which means we ran out of our apartment with about 2 minutes to get ready. but what a beautiful morning!!!

 

 

 

Sifting Sand to find Gold Flakes.

October 2, 2013

1.5 weeks left! holy cow were did the time go?

 

i remember thinking that october would never come. (first august 14... now october 14...) i remember the wives of our branch presidency saying that it would just fly by. and me thinking - this was the LONGEST 3 days of my life!!! there is no way!!! and yet. here it is. 

 

i think one of the cantonese elders said it best. "before i came to the mtc, i expected to leave with this amazing testimony, a ton of doctrinal knowledge, and to speak the language fluently. now we are about ready to leave... i don't have a perfect understanding, my testimony still has a lot of room to grow, and i have to explain it all in a language that i don't even know." amen elder. 

 

so i think pretty much the whole world knows what i did this week. i sang in the conference center! (must be read using a sing-song voice). talk about amazing. i got the best seat ever. right below the biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig pipes! my feet kept vibrating when she'd play the big huge chords. i was pretty close to heaven right then. i kept praying that they'd show me on the screen for just one second. enough for you all to know i was "ok". but he was good enough to bless me with a few more. 

 

i can't even explain to you how much stress there was in preparing for it. a mulititude of make-up checks, dress checks pretty much every single day before we sang. they told us they wanted 'jeweled-toned-collared-shirts'. ummmmm. i'm going to thailand? what part of that means that i have a jewel toned collared long sleeved blouse in my suitcase? yeah. that's what i thought. but we were blessed by the old navy fairy. i knew they still had some good! i had more blush on my face then i knew what to do with... it felt like she took a drill with a blush brush attached to the end of it right to my face. and then trying to make my face as long as possible all week long so that my vowels would be nice and loooooooooooooong. just in case you didn't see the sheer concentration on my face. and then they tell us to have happy eyes. i think my brain is going to explode! ;) 

 

but by the goodness of heavenly father, he waited until the day after. i woke up the next morning with some sinus something. i didn't know a person could make that much mucous in such a short amount of time. i have a personal kleenex box on my desk. 

 

i think i have a few more favorite songs now. but it was quite an amazing experience. we didn't get to hear as much of the talks... as strange as it sounds, the conference center is built for the audience. not the singers. by the time the talks echoed back to us, there were about 4 different talks all going on at the same time. so it's a good thing they re-broadcast it to us this saturday. so we get to go watch it when the elders go to priesthood. 

 

on sunday we had mission conference. they usually do a devotional for the sisters instead of relief society (which is always amazing) but mission conference is equally as fantastic. this week, i have so many notes my hand was rebelling and refusing to hold a pen anymore. the computer is defnitely a nice change. 

president brady talked about "something that will help you learn faster, grow closer to the spirit, and change your life in ways you never imagined..." sounds pretty awesome huh? he talked about having a nightly devotional between you and the lord. a time when you can give an accounting to the lord for how you have used the time that he has given you over the course of the day. something i really liked was something he heard from a missionary "you won't have a wasted life/mission is everything EVERYDAY is right between you and the lord." he talked about it being our personal appointment with the lord. (we wouldn't be late to one of those right?) and that the answers we are seeking will come gradually as we continually approach him and live our lives more and more in harmony with his will. 

 

sister roach is one of the mtc president's wives. i really liked one thing she said. "we wait, watch and WORK for promised blessings to be fulfilled."

president roach was talking about eternal perspective. we need to stand back and look at the big picture. this helps us realize and confirm our place in the lord's plan. to keep an eternal perspective, we need to 1. know who you are 2. know your purpose and 3. strive to be diligent and obedient. he talked about what his mom said when he was on his mission - "when you are discouraged, work. when you are homesick, work. when you are sad, work. when you are happy, work." and "you only need to decide once to be obedient." he also told a story about someone giving you a handful of sand and promising that there is gold in it. what do you do? do you just throw it away? or do you sit there and sift through it, slowly turning that sand over and over again... until you finally see the flecks of gold that were there all along? :)

 

sister nally is my favorite. she gave a list of things for us (missionaries) to do in order to receive power from the lord. but i think it goes for anyone. 1. set goals. 2. be obedient. 3. be selfless. 4. be diligent. she told a story about tad r callister wrestling his children when they were younger. he would pin them to the ground and ask them if they gave up. if they would say yes, he would say "no! you never give up!" eventually they started to get it. "do you give up??" "no dad! we NEVER give up!" sister nally then said that you can see it in the eyes and faces of good missionaries. HANG IN THERE.

 

president nally got up and spoke last. i don't quite get how all of these old people can still be all googly-eyed... he told the story about samuel smith, the very first missionary. in describing effecitve missionaries, he said the lord uses dedication and effort. that they are unafraid and bold. that discomfort never interferes with their labors. and that they have an unshakeable testimony of joseph smith. 

 

i'm almost done with the book of mormon! i managed to read alma in 4 days... and most of 3 nephi in one. the speaker from yesterday talked about reading the book of mormon like a book. instead of reading simply verse by verse. but i can definitely feel the power of the book of mormon as i have been trying to understand the stories behind it. i don't know who said this, but "there is power in the book of mormon that will begin to flow into our lives the moment we begin a sincere study of it."

other random (but good) quotes of the week:

miracles come from diligency, not ability

life is good. but it is SWEET because of the gospel.

sometimes the only way out of a problem is THROUGH it.

we are rewriting the course of history. 

this sacrifice is hard for me... but it will mean the world to someone else. 

 

tonight you will hear english as it was meant to be spoken. (our speaker last night had an english accent. so awesome.) he basically told us how awesome our church is. i agree. and i am proud to be part of an amazing church that only does what the savior would do. he talked about after the earthquake in japan, missionaries going out to help clean shinto shrines. and after the tsunamis in india, helping rebuild some islamic villages... they asked us if we could help them find some more scriptures, because theirs had all been destroyed. so we bough 700 korans. it really made me aware of how i need to be as a missionary. this is god's work. i may be his missionary, but those are his children. and i need to be respectful of all of their beliefs as i go out and teach. 

 

random story. we have a plethora of bananas in our room. do i know how they got there... not really. and i don't know if i really want to. but i overheard a few of the elders debating the best method of hanging bananas. when i asked why (dangerous question) they replied that they were going to hang them from a tree. and see how long it took for someone to take them down.....

 

i have also seen an elder jeffords and sharp here. i think they recognized me before i recognized them. (maybe because my clone is running around in rexburg)

i also met a sister jamieson from nampa. small small small world!

 

and a pre-happy birthday to my little brian-man! :) happy number 12!!! love your guts! 

 

 

i love you all! 

the work is working!!! 

sister ellis

 

Life at the MTC:

 

 and isn't that companionship love right there?

 

look at the sign behind the elder. 
(Please do not sit on the... )

 

singing! :)

 

my view.  

my companions

my zone. love these girls!!

 

my sick face :(

 

An Old Fisherman's Tales

September 25, 2013


on another note, just to remind you of what i have to deal with on a daily basis... we have 6 elders in our district. they amuse themselves at dinner by slurping jello. like whole. as in like jello in a cup that is probably 16 ounces or so, full of jello. which they flip over on to their plate and then *wwfooop!* jello gone. the less successful times include a lot of gagging a choking. but a few of our elders have gotten pretty good at making the jello simply disappear. elder sugihara managed to eat 7 jellos.

yeah.

 

a couple of thoughts from this last week. there is so much to tell!

we've been singing like crazy this last week prepping for the general RS broadcast... there have been some really good times. and some less than ideal moments. like the time they told us that we all needed to wear jewel-toned collared shirts. as in the exact type of shirt i did NOT bring to go on a mission to bangkok, thailand. that was a little stressful. so the $20 charge on my card... that was the beautiful shirt i will be wearing for that. but all is well! 

 

in choir we've been talking a lot about the songs we're singing. i'm not going to spoil them for you... because they are going to be SAWEEEEEEET! but i did come away from practice this morning with one very definite thought. 

"be who and what you committed to be."

that includes going on missions, going to school, getting a job, and basically this whole entire life. we came here because we were committed to seeing it through. it's our job in life to be the people that we told god we would be. and become what we came here to become. he's gonna help us the whole time. 

 

i've been cruising through the book of mormon - it's my goal to finish the whole thing before i leave in *gasp* 2.something weeks! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! 

i made it through alma in 4 days. i think that's definitely a record for me. but it definitely has made me more aware of the story of the book of mormon. it's pretty fantastic. and i NEVER realized how completely ALL ABOUT missionary work it is! i mean... you turn around and mormon goes off telling another story about another amazing missionary! i know that i have been lapping it up. i mean, there is no better way to prepare for a mission than reading about great missionaries! i think my favorite was getting to helaman and reading about nephi and lehi. i think i just used to skip over those guys. a lot. i mean - they pretty much converted ALL of the lamanites. in the course of just a few years. and it all started with just one missionary companionship. holy cow. not that i plan on converting a whole country or anything... but it just shows you what the power of the lord can do. it also shows the importance of conversion. we keep going back to this same elder bednar talk about the "character of christ" - but he talks about conversion. he talks about the people of ammon, and how they had a knowledge of the truth (aka testimony) but it was those who had a knowledge and were converted to the gospel that never fell away. so it takes both of them. 

 

"there's no such thing as an unmoved mover"

 

our devotional last night was from don r clark (born in rexyburg idaho!) 

it was fantastic. 

he started off with a quote. 

"first you run with your heart, then you run with your mind, THEN you run with your feet."

this missionary thing is a thing of heart. 

i'm not going to get it all right the first time. i gotta leave my brain out of it and truly learn to rely on my heavenly father through all of this. 

but he gave some promises. and i think that this applies to all missionaries. with a name badge and without. 

 

D&C 84:88 he will be with us. always.

D&C 31:2-3, 100:1-2 our families will be blessed for our service.

D&C 18:15-16 real JOY. "this work only works when it is based on LOVE"
D&C 31:5, 62:3 forgiveness comes through serving God
D&C 24:12 "talk to as many people as you can each day!" - he will make us strong when we choose to open our mouths. he will put the words that we need there.
Matt 4:19 to be a great fisherman: 

 

we must know where the fish ARE, know what they NEED, know what they LIKE to eat, and know what they WANT. 

"fisherman who catch fish are the ones with their lines in at the right depth: 80% of the fish are in 10% of the water." we have to know where they are.

Heavenly Father knows where the fish are. (John 21:6)

he said something else. our nets don't have to be empty. if we ask our Heavenly Father, he will help us fill our nets. 

 

"We need you to be what is needed"

funny story. so there are some sisters here from thailand that are going to serve in temple square. they are here learning english. she was wearing a scarf yesterday. so we asked her if it was hot in thailand. her laugh sounded especially ominous. (as ominous as a cute asian high pitched laugh can sound) she went on to tell us how it is pretty good from september to january... but then told us that it is so hot from april to august. ugh. sister peterson said "i'm gonna dieeee!" then this cute little sister (who is probably 5' nothin) says "not die..... but almost!" 

how reassuring. 

 

we haven't heard anything about our visas yet... they usually don't have problems with the thai visas. we've been hearing a lot about reassignments from brazil, argentina and even some in denmark. but we don't even get out flight plans til two weeks before we leave. (Ahgsdfaafsdhshlals that's this week! maybe.) if not, we'll probably find out as it gets closer to leaving. 

alright. i think that is all for now. 

i love you tons and tons and tons! 

fight that good fight! finish strong! 

loves! 

sista ellis

 

 

too much rock for one hand