A Week of Sickness

once upon a time... sister ellis got sick. (sounds like a nightmare doesn't it?) 

so this week has been an interesting week of sleeping, not sleeping, miracles, and tender mercies. monday we went to another mountain! this time... no riding ostriches... instead we went to a strawberry farm. anyone want to eat a red, ripe strawberry???

for district meeting on tuesday, we played jenga. the whole time, elder christensen (the district leader, or as he likes to call himself "Lord of Chiang Mai") ran around - "hey! whatcha doing?!" "don't pick that one!!!!" "CAREFUL!!!" even "I'm a distraction!" you think? he then related it to patience. i love going over the christlike attributes. i always feel like he goes over "the one" that i am struggling with... when in reality... i probably always just struggle with them all. fallen man. it's a bummer deal. but so cool to learn! i was studying about "approaching the throne of god with confidence" this morning... even though we aren't perfect, we still can manage to have confidence that we ARE doing all we can. we don't have to feel down "in the pit of despair" because we aren't perfect. but we can know that god is pleased with us! i feel like the atonement is something that i experience, but don't always understand. it is something that we almost can't understand UNTIL we experience it. 

during english on tuesday night, sister remington and i were in charge of "talking time". basically... an excuse to talk to people in ENGLISH! and you have a captive audience... so why NOT teach them a little of the gospel too??? 

i used to be afraid of talking about the gospel in normal settings. if my mission has done any ONE specific thing... it has showed me that you really can talk about the gospel ALL THE TIME. you just have to be looking far/receptive to the opportunity. 

wednesday (the beginning of my fight with sickness) we had a lot of time planned to invite. the same thing happened on thursday. we tried a "different" contacting method... which consists of us sitting on a bench and talking to people as they pass. it's nice... you don't have as many people run away from you. AND... added bonus of sister ellis doesn't have to feel like her head is going to explode. we also saw some weird asian version of power rangers in the mall? it was funny. i've never seen/heard of a childrens tv show here other than doraemon. i know feel well cultured. 

on friday... i was almost dead. we managed to get out of the house for our appointment at 1 with yoshu. he still can't come to church... but he seemed really open to trying and praying to find an opportunity to come to church on sundays. (you can pray for yoshu too.) he's a great guy. works for an orphanage and watches the kids all day sunday. believes the church is true too. 

right after yoshu we'd planned to go contacting... but another one of our investigators just happened to show up! so we taught her... and right when we were about to leave her lesson... an RC showed up at the church. so... god was definitely mindful of a sick missionary last week. he let me stay at the church most of the day and hand-delivered some investigators to us! oh yeah. he also led a chinese woman named sandy to the church. and guess what? i remembered the ONLY word in chinese that i know. BAPTISM! yeah. tender mercies. 

so we ended the week... sick. it was rough... especially to stay positive when... everything else seemed to be icky and gross and not-so-great. 

but god is still mindful of us. 

we got a call from the elders last night telling us that they were giving us a new investigator/dater... he'd just called and asked when the church was open. if he could meet that day. also had brought an LA with him to the lesson. and they gave him a date for the 8th of next month! 

it was really awesome. shows me that god sometimes (or most of the time) works through other people. 

well... the last thing!

i have a new poem. 

(sorry if you all hate them. i liked this one...)

emmaus.

on a lonely road there walked to souls,

 each one caught deep in thought.

they thought of what had just occurred,

and from heaven guidance sought.

they walked along, though silently,

they had not much to say

when a stranger they saw walking,

coming toward them on the way

he greeted them as they walked by, 

and asked what way they went

they did not know it was the lord, 

he back from heaven sent

their eyes were holden - they could not see-

they did not recognize

the savior who beside them walked, 

who stood before their eyes

he asked whom they were speaking of, 

and why their hearts were sad

who is this jesus? he who died -

what a story to be had!

art thou a stranger here? one asked.

and know not what was done?

the son of god - CHRIST the lord, 

of him our prophets sung

it was him for who we thought we looked,

from moses til today

we hoped in him the law complete,

that he'd wash our sins away

it was too sad he had to die 

before his mission done

now he lies unmoving, in a grave... 

death's another vict'ry won!

then christ asked them - why do you not

recall all that he said?

that he would die and rise anew, 

death and sin you need not dread! 

in his atonement he was the lamb,

the offering supreme

to take away man's sin and stain

to make all pure and clean

he looked as thought he was to part,

to go another way

but they called for him to eat with them, 

dark foretold the end of day

as they sat to eat he broke the bread 

and gave them to partake

to all who would receive christ's name, 

he would their sins forsake

at once they knew it was their lord -

they quickly looked to see

but he had vanished from their view

in quiet tranquility

did we not feel our hearts to burn 

while he taught us by and by?

god's promises are yet fulfilled! 

the spirit we can't deny.

they quickly ran to tell the tale 

of christ's power over strife

of his triumph over death and sins 

that leads all to celestial life

in jeru'slem he then appeared

to his disciples yet again

to the frightened soul he answered - 

peace be unto you my friend

christ called them all to feel his hands,

to ALL says "come and see"

to remind us of the price he paid 

so that we might too be free

sometimes we walk along the road, 

not knowing what's ahead

but if we follow where christ went,

to heavnly gates we will be led

love you!
sister ellis

A Week of Travel

if i could sum up this whole week in one word... i would say: travel. 

we started the week with a trip to chiang rai. (that's pretty much as far north as you can get. at least as far as "big cities" are concerned.) what did we do there? we saw a big white wat with harry potter and batman painted inside... and rode an ostrich. definitely NOT what normal people come to do when they come to thailand... but we're missionaries. nuf said. 

so monday disappeared with chiang rai. tuesday had district meeting - in which we had a great experience learning how to read "ancient hieroglyphics"... it ended with the district leader telling us that "i could have tied it into pretty much anything... but the truth is... i just wanted to do it." 

then we got on a bus for lampang, where i dropped off sister remington for the next few days. it was a couple of trainees loose in lampang for the week... 

then we hopped on a night train for bangkok. the lovely part about being an stl is the travel. i spent every single day of this last week on a train or in a bus. and the only night that i slept in MY bed for the WHOLE night was friday. for anyone that might be inclined to think that being a leader is easy... i would like to submit that you try to sleep on a bus... 

it was fun. it appealed to my sense of adventure quite well. (especially the part where the ticket booth told me to wait until a bus came... but no promises of WHEN that might occur.) sometimes i just shake my head and say, "thailand..." like it might change just for me. but then i realize that it is probably the reason that i love it so much. the craziness. the inability to know WHAT is going to happen that day. (like getting a text from our companions saying that they were both super sick and throwing up.) you never know what is going to happen. 

we went to MLC (mission leadership council) on wednesday morning. we talked about unity and family. i love learning from president and his wife. they talked a lot about how family should more of a focus in what we are doing. that baptism is an irreplaceable step... that leads on to eternal life. life with our families. that everything that we are doing to teach them now is to help them to endure to the end. anyway. i loved it. 

he also talked about improving our personal prayers. president did a role play in which he came up and just started telling the other person about his problems, what he needed, and how he wanted them NOW! it was a really good depiction to me of what my prayers are all to often prone to being... so he challenged us to not only "improve our prayers" but to "make a connection" with God. i thought that was a really interesting way of putting it. so i've been trying to "make the connection". 

thursday. train. to p-lok. (sounds like p-loge) to do a switch off and pass on the words of wisdom from president. 

it was a good day. and it wasn't as hot. so even better.

friday. we had ridden a 6 hour bus back on thursday night. trained in chiang mai on friday. taught an awesome investigator... he just needs to decide that he wants to get baptized. he likes everything we teach me. prays like a pro. we just left yochoo (i think of yoshi when i see his name) with the commitment to pray and to ask god if these things were true. unfortunately it isn't just as easy as getting the answer. we're always praying that they are willing to make the change too.

left to go to lampang to pick up our sick companions... and got back to chiang mai on friday night? or saturday morning. still not a whole nights sleep in my bed. waaaaa. (it's ok. i'll get over it.) 

saturday we went and ate at "the dukes". it's a ridiculously expensive (for a missionary) farang (western) restaurant. i got a prime-rib sandwich and about died. is this what heaven is like? possibly... 

(the reason we went and ate out was to celebrate elder paxton's 19th birthday. do i feel old....???) 

sunday was pretty normal. hectic. crazy. special musical number for the fireside... 

made me happy when i realized that the guy was talking about pregnancy, umbilical cords and diseases... and I UNDERSTOOD! fist pumps in my mind... 

the other cool thing i got from church was the idea that

THOSE WHO FEAR GOD HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR AT ALL.

god is good. 

if we side with him, we really do have nothing to fear. 

love you all!
sister ellis

New Years in Thailand

i don't remember if anyone recalls my letters from last year about new years. in thailand, new years is bigger than christmas. it's so big that they celebrate new years THREE times. once for january 1. once for china. and once for thailand. (that one is in april and that's the party that they throw water on each other ALL WEEK LONG.) i think that one is my favorite. 

so this last week was weird. pday was not monday but thursday. weirded me out. and then i just had another pday like 4 days ago. weiiiiiird. 

events of the week... or probably both (forgive me if i repeat!)

comp crashed her bike. or her bike crashed her??? anyway, she's riding, the wheel just pops out, she flies over the front handle... sister ellis is terrified and comp refuses to go to the hospital. prayed really hard. comp got a tiny scratch on her elbow. wake up the next morning. no broken bones. shock has definitely worn off and comp says, "i hurt everywhere......" that's a good sign. it was all great until she took an excessive amount of pain pills... which she then threw up 20 minutes later. oof. note to self. don't let sick people be in charge of medicating themselves. it ends up with broken angel statues (shout out to sister tilley!) or cleaning up the bathroom... 

we had an excellent district meeting. we learned a lot about charity (which was definitely in my "lacking" department) so i have decided to be more charitable. it's hard. i'm just gonna throw that one out there... but apparently charity is tied very closely to humility... and i tend to struggle with that one as well. so. someday... when i am more humble... apparently i'll be able to love people more. 

but really - it all goes back to what makes christ CHRIST. it was the way that he did things. the way that he loved people. that way that he submitted himself to his fathers will that makes him different from us. from me. it was the way that he turned outward when sister ellis always is concerned about HER thai, and HER investigators and HER hunger... i know that when i learn to think more about what God wants, and remember who's work this is... ether 12:33-34. we'll be like him.

then new years happened. it was crazy. i was suddenly in the movie tangled. 

and the world went crazy. 

someone decided to let off fireworks RIGHT outside of our house. did we sleep? i don't think so. 

they had another party on thursday too. people here REALLY love new years. did i mention that?

on friday we had a branch activity. i helped to make these delicious philippino dessert-fried-banana-eggroll thingies. ohmyheavenstheywerethebestfoodeverrrrrrrrr! i want some now. 

president senior and sister senior also came to see us in chiang mai. that had a bunch of interviews to do with some members that have put in their missionary papers... so we got to see them for the party. 

sister senior said something that really hit me. she asked what we do when we go to members houses. now... thai people LOVE their food. but she encouraged us to "make the message more important than the meal." i think that is really inspired. for everyone. (but it was really good for my stomach to hear.) 

two people also told sister remington that she looks like a barbie. 

sister senior came over and studied with us saturday morning. was that motivation to clean our house? maybe a little bit... but studies were so good! i always love it when i get to learn from president and his wife. (now i'm kicking myself for not thinking to get a picture with her...) she came and sat in on sister remington and i doing training. and... the tv died. plans... they stink. so we improvised and talked about what we WOULD HAVE seen if the movie had worked. blast. but it was a good conversation. we talked about how important members are. about the wonderful things that we had seen at the branch party the night before. we'd invited a member and she was literally swarmed by friends. it was the greatest thing ever. and she wants to get baptized. so bad. i literally felt like she was teaching ME about faith. not the other way around... 

saturday we had LOTS of plans to contact.... it... kinda turned out like we'd planned? like we went contacting. but for about a fourth of the time that we'd planned. who knows where all the rest of the time went??? i don't. 

i got a call from utah!!! from my wonderful friend sister yui in salt lake. i answered the phone and spent the next 20 minutes NOT using my library voice. i was pretty excited. 

funny story from language study. (not to pick on sister remington... it was so cute!) 

we were reading and then i was having her translate - "is this talking about the record of neemie?" ummmm. no. we also read about ewoks and had a really good time with that particular verse... 

i love her. 

now for the cherry on top of the week. suuuuuuunday. dum dum dum!

:) 

it was so fun. 

we had our investigator actually come to church! no excuses! and then god helped us get another investigator at church too! one of the RCs brought her friend. i sat down next to her and she looks at me and says - she wants to become an investigator. YES! fist pumps in my head. alone with a very brief prayer of thanks. i love god. he's way too good to us. 

ended the day with spaghetti with the district. (decided to go for a more "american" meal - my apologies to the canadian readers... i don't know what else to call it. more FARANG? that'll work.) 

this week was good! i'm happy. i hope you are all happy. if there is anyone i can pray for... just let me know! (to quote another missionary "i love speaking to my god.")

you are great! i hope that you can feel god's love for you. 

love you bunches and bunches!

sister alice in wonderland 

(i have actually been called this...)

New Years Frustrations

bah. the creative juices obviously don't work as well on thursdays as they do on monday. 

sorry for the horrible letter that i'm about to write. 

just saying.

this week. was interesting. between christmas... to new years... it's been an interesting week to be a missionary. definitely NOT normal. i'm getting pretty good at "guess the asian" game that i have to play while inviting... 

most of the time i start asking someone if they want to come to church... then they look at me and AHHHH MAN! chinese. then they give me the most confused look i've ever seen. i quickly ask them if they'll come to church. at which point they tell me that they won't be here sunday. darn. moving on! we like to frequent the parking lots of malls. because most of those people we KNOW live here. (sometimes.) but we don't walk around the cars. we walk around the scooter parking lot. it's a lot harder for people to hide from us or avoid us there. 

muahahaha.

this week was pretty extraordinary. aren't they all? but nothing really to report. other than my companions wheel popping completely off of her bike. a potential concussion... but she lived through the night! (she seemed pretty coherent... we just weren't sure if she hit her head or not!) the only real side effect is that she's a little sore. errrr... a LOT sore. 

that's about the only SUPER exciting thing this week. 

new years. lanterns.

my life is tangled. 

i had a connection with a girl in a "rot dang" (it means red truck) over rapunzel. then i invited to learn english. (don't worry... she told me she didn't want to get baptized first.) 

i eat more "farang" food than i've ever eaten in my whole life. it's probably the reason my MSF is low. 

#chiangmaiproblems

but let's just take a minute to reflect and to look forward. 

this last year. (i almost wrote week...) i've been a missionary for ALL 365 of it's days. and it has been SO rewarding. i had no idea when i started out what i was in for. but i have been blessed every single on of them. from seeing people baptized, to friends that i have made, to adventures, sadness, heartache, stress... all of it just makes this work WORTH IT! every single second of it is one that i will cherish forever. 

i think what i have learned is that life is what we choose it to be. it can be stressful, or it can HAVE stress and be joyful. it can be sad. or it can HAVE sadness and be filled with joy. we can choose what we want. and i've chosen to make my mission one where i am happy to get up every day to face the day. 

on to next year! 

สู้ๆ ต่อไป!!! (soo-soo daw bye! something like that.) 

love you all!
sister ellis

Christmas Wishes

what a wonderful day to be able to talk to all of the people i love!

it was a wonderful experience. makes me reflect on the most important things in this world... and the reasons why we give up things that are important to us... in the hopes and with faith that we will be blessed. 

it seems as though every time something has happened in my mission... i find myself having to sacrifice in some way or another. not in a bad way... life just changes and i begin to realize WHY it does. if it never changed... we'd never grow. we'd stay the same as we were when we left. i am grateful for the change. and i am so grateful for the growth. even though i might not be able to see it all right now...

something i learned this week was the power of faith. the power of total reliance on the lord. so we went inviting last week. we all got numbers. even sister remington! (she's been here for about 2 weeks now. she's pretty much fluent she's that awesome...) and she kept reminding me to call her number. we kept calling. reminding her about church. and as always, we just pray that they show up at church. for ALL of the other numbers that we'd gotten over the week... sister remington's midget was the ONLY one to come to church. yes. she's legitimately a midget. it was awesome. another thing i get to add to my list of awesome investigators. 

it's amazing to me how quickly we can go from relying completely on the lord to relying on my own strength. 

it's sad actually. 

i remember needing to rely completely on him to have the courage to speak at the beginning of my mission. then i started to understand thai. so my prayers to be able to speak... stopped. amazing how that is?! i still need his help as much as ever... and yet... i forget.

it's a blessing to me to hear from new missionaries. like sister remington. who is so dedicated in learning to speak the language. and who receives such amazing help from heavenly father daily. and then i hear from whitney (sister ellis #2 in france) who talks about the wonderful miracles that she experiences. it's amazing. god is real. he cares about each and every one of us. and he WILL answer our prayers. whatever they may be. 

we had an awesome lesson with an investigator this week. she's been told by her mother that she needs to wait to be baptized... that isn't our favorite answer in the whole world... but... the lesson started out with us wanting to change her mind (subtly yes... but that was our intent.) halfway through the lesson we felt prompted to teach about fasting. don't know where it came from... but the lesson was SO GOOD! she was fascinated by the prospect of being able to ask for the kind of help from heavenly father. it was a great lesson, with a wonderful spirit there. i know god was there, testifying to his daughter named "ging" (means branch/twig) that this is true. and that he can and will help her. 

this gospel is awesome. 

it is the best thing there is. 

i am so grateful to have such wonderful family, friends, and opportunities to share what i know with all the people that i love. even the people that sometimes make fun of my thai. (grrrrr.) still love them. and heavenly father still wants them to come to know him. 

i love this work! 

and i love you!
keep it up!!!!!

sister ellis