Time Flies

i'm being lazy and not sending a giant group email. i'm just sending ones to the people that are the mostest importantest people in my life! 

thank you for being so wonderful. for answering my frantic pleas. (wow. i don't know how to spell that word. spell check says it's ok... but... looks WAY weird.) 

thank you for all that you have done for me. for all the advice, all the wisdom... and for the motivation and support! it means sooooo much. i couldn't have done it on my own. and you were all definitely here with me the whole time. 

i can't wait to see you! it's weird to see the time pass by... whit has almost (or already) reached 6 months too! so weird. and so good! it's amazing what this does for a person... she sounds so happy. which will probably be good for me to remember and to not lose track in the hustle and bustle of new things. 

it still seems a ways away (ha. a mere 16 days?!) compared to 500+ it seems like nothing... but we will endure! and i will hug you veryyyyy soon!!!!
love you bunches!!!!
jess

I want to talk about Miracles!

so the "l" key and the ")" key don't really work. (just imagine me pounding the keyboard every time... if you need a funny image in your head to stay motivated to keep reading.)

this week... i'll probably keep it short. 

i just want to talk about miracles! 

about the person that walked in yesterday (because sister remington talked to her over a month ago...) timing. it's all timing. 

we also met with an "ex"-monk. maybe. pretty sure he's still VERY buddhist. but he likes meeting with us. and he's always got really cute like comments like, "love is giving" and gives a little bag full of two apples, two bananas, two cookies and two breath mints. pretty much the cutest thing ever! 

sister remington and i survived the hottest somtam i've eaten in our lives. (mine... maybe not.) but the lady was from the easan... so she doesn't know the meaning of "not spicy". i also did a crazy thing and got a crab in mine. (i can see you wrinkle your nose...) it was actually ok! i'm not convinced in it every time though.... the best part of the whole meal was watching sister remington pull out a few pieces of papaya... then wash them off with water. :) 

and our investigators brought their friends to church! it's the best thing. to see when they see what blessings they see from the gospel... and wanting to share it with others! (or maybe just being afraid to come to church alone...) but it still gets them there! and i know they are able to feel something different. 

other weird parts of the week. 

watching "acro-yoga" in the part. trying to figure out WHAT it actually was... to quote the guy we asked, "you just come, have fun, do a little acro-yoga and just do... whatever."

strange. 

this week for our book of mormon class, we had the class build a boat in the middle of the gym. (i would send a pic... a member liked it so much she asked to borrow my memory card...) lets just say... reenacting anything with this district... is always a hoot. 

one thing that really impressed me this week was the thought: 

we got through really hard things so that we can help someone else. 

i don't know if i've necessarily gone through REALLY hard things... but i do know of someone that did. jesus christ suffered all things so that he could help us. and if we really want to follow him, we will use our trials as a way to grow, so that one day we can help other people to see their potential, and to see past their current circumstance.

i love you all! 

keep enduring! (is this spoken more to myself? i can't tell...)

this gospel is true! and i love it with all my heart. 

see yaaaaaaa! 

A week with a List

alrighty. i came prepared today with a list. of all the stuff i did last week (so that i wouldn't forget!)

so we started the week by going to see the hmong village in the mountains. a little dress up? couldn't pass it up! it was way fun. the best part was hearing all the thai people laughing as all the white kids were running around taking pictures. and probably looking OH SOOOO WEIRD. but it was fun. we need some kind of outlet right? 

tuesday was epic. i mean... pretty much every day is an adventure in the life of sister jessica ellis (because i LIKE them that way) but this one especially memorable. why you ask? because we show up for district meeting, and get sent on a scavenger hunt based on life. the plan of salvation. and the gospel of jesus christ. all around chiang mai. fun? oh my it was a blast! but while we were running around, being obedient, getting lost, and praying (calling the district leader when we had questions about what we should do)... it really hit home. we ALL are in this experience together. and some people don't even know that they have a goal. we were running around, trying to find the other members of our district... and there were people all around us, working, fishing, having a picnic in the park... and did they know what we were doing? no! we know. and we must share it with them! this clicked when we found a clue that came from D&C 61:3: But verily I say unto you, that it is not needful for this whole company of mine elders to be moving swiftly upon the waters, whilst the inhabitants on either side are perishing in unbelief. we were then "commanded" to go out and find somebody to serve. and obviously, when we started helping people, we had an opportunity to share a message with them. this message... is the most important thing EVER! and we were just so focused... we didn't notice all the people around us. (had to repent there.) 

it's true. i'm not a perfect missionary. but god works with all of us. he helps us to grow and to become better and better and finally... perfect. 

so. in the spirit of fun activities... for our book of mormon class on wednesday night, we had another adventure!!! we were reading in 1 nephi 16. so when we found the liahona.... a strange ball appeared in the room! telling us to go outside... i do so love a field trip! 

maybe i'm just going crazy... but it was so much fun! 

other events of the week: 

taught an ex-monk named brapat. he was telling us about his job... he teaching people how to be vegetarian. but more than that - he teaches people how to change their mindset in how they think about ALL living things. even mosquitos. i agree. life is precious. but NOT when they suck MY blood. but the lesson went well. he's progressing. has a permanent smile and he's probably the cutest old-man investigator ever. 

then we got 2 new investigators last sunday. named joop-jang and yow. they came to a lesson last week... asked me all sorts of questions about christianity, the trinity, and lots of vocabulary that... i didn't know. is it important to have a member in your lessons? to testify of the things that we are teaching yes! but to answer when i have no idea what the investigator is saying? it's probably a really good check to make sure that i'm not teaching any false doctrine.........

we had a wedding on valentines day!!!! no. it wasn't mine. but it did make me veryyyy happy! funny story to this tale: i was thinking of life goals that morning in my studies. i decided that i wanted to learn to play the piano better so that i could accompany people. yes. good goal. right? about 20 minutes later i get a phone call from a member asking if i could help play for the ceremony. :O i didn't mean for it to be that immediate!!!!

i testify that god answers prayers. 

wow. 

the creepy guy (he's actually not so bad) that we contacted in the market came to church! i mean... usually when people are as agreeable as he was... they are just trying to get you to leave. but he came! yay for miracles! 

10 hours at church. got there at 9. left at 8. oh wait. that's like 11 hours. 

we had some chinese "investigators" (tourists) show up at church. they ditched out on learning the gospel so that they could go and sit in a primary class of cute thai kids. (they didn't understand a word.) 

switch off from the sisters in plok! (it's not lock... it's loge...) oh my heavens. i love sister alley! if i haven't mentioned before... i love that girl. it will be a shame i can't take her home in my suitcase with me.... 

finally. ging got baptized! 

she's been coming to church since... wow. last year sometime. waiting to get permission from her mom. originally... no one supported her. but a few weeks ago her older sister started taking the discussions with the elders up in chiang rai. and she got baptized yesterday too! 

miracles happen. god is in the details.

love you!
sister ellis

A Call to redoubled diligence

i keep wanting to send "good letters"... and i realize that i am running out of things to say. 

still have miracles.

still working.

still tired? (yep. it's totally a thing.)

nothing really new has happened since last week... since i sent my email AFTER the adventure. this week has just consisted of a trip to bangkok (for mlc - night travel on a bus, meeting, more bussing to plok, training, more travel home...) essentially it means NO sleep for a week. is it weird that i find that fun? who needs sleep anyways??? 

oh. just wanted to add a thought. spent all night on the bus listening to the wonderful man in front of me snore. how would you like to be that guy? the one that everyone else on the bus hates... but i think he got a decent nights sleep... good for him. 

this week president encouraged us to testify more. to find a way to testify to EVERYONE. so we made a list of all of the people that we talk to. from investigators, members, family, friends, uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters, people on the street, former investigators, less active members, cashiers, bus attendants, ladies selling omlettes on the side of the street..... i think my list is a little more inclusive....... 

we see SO many people every day. do i testify to most of them? probably not. but we have been trying to change that. to find a way to find something in what they say that we can link back to the gospel. because it is always there! so whether it is a teaching situation, talking with a member after church, meeting someone on the street, getting my coco ban (aka chocolate smoothie... i need to go on a diet...) or whatever other humdrum day-to-day business we have... we can always find a way to talk about what we know! of course it's awkward. i don't think i've lived a day in the past 18 months that wasn't... but is it worth it? yes. 

twice this last week we've run into members. it's funny. i don't think i've really ever been in an area where people are like "hey, it's the missionaries!" it's happened TWICE this week. which i find funny. it's funny to think of what we must look like. two REALLY tall white girls... that don't look like tourists. with a name tag and some really big smiles. sometimes riding bikes. a little bit of an odd sight. talking to everyone. with (i will say so myself) really good thai for two white girls.

but more importantly than our thai... is what we look like to everyone else. i kept thinking this week, "if you don't stand out, you aren't doing something right." that if we just looked like two more tourists... there wouldn't be any point to having us up here. there is a reason we don't wear sabay pants and tank tops. it's so that when people look at us they can think - wow! that person isn't just running around here for two weeks. they mean BUSINESS. (or religion? ha.) i know that it is more than what we wear though. it's everything about us. and the more that we portray what we believe through... everything... people will see a difference.  

one of my favorite things about the training for this week was the "call to redoubled diligence"
it comes from d&c 127:4
And again, verily thus saith the Lord: Let the work of my temple, and all the works which I have appointed unto you, be continued on and not cease; and let your diligence, and your perseverance, and patience, and your works be redoubled, and you shall in nowise lose your reward, saith the Lord of Hosts. And if they persecute you, so persecuted they the prophets and righteous men that were before you. For all this there is a reward in heaven.

what i loved about this scripture was this: he didn't say that we had to get double the baptism, or double the results of what we are doing... instead he simply asks us to redouble our diligence, our perseverance, our patience, and our works. 

it isn't a matter of the end result. as long as we are working hard, god will work through us to make "his righteous purposes" come to pass. that's it. that's all that matters. 

life is good! 

ging is getting baptized next week! (she finally got permission from her parents!!!!!) 

pray that we'll find a family to teach. (that's one of our goals for this transfer.) 

i love you all!!!

ps. they had a "flower festival" here in chiang mai. it was a photo-taking extravaganza! 

i love asia.

Miracles never crease

i was going to fix the title... because it was on accident... but the more i thought about it... the more i liked it. 

sometimes i feel like i get "hand me down" miracles. like ones that are "not as good" as someone elses... or "pity" from someone else. but the truth is... god never gives us anything that is second rate. he never goes shopping at DI or goodwill for something to give us... he wants to give us prada or gucci... or things like nike and addidas... not the fake knock-off stuff. 

something i learned this week was that miracles always come directly from god. and they are directly pertinent to our specific needs and desires. he never gives us something that is wrinkled or crumply. he wants to give us a shiny new car, or a golden investigator. 

sometimes though... we need to understand that even though a new car is nice. there are other things that are more important that our heavenly father wants to give us. sometimes we need to remember that other people have their agency. that they can choose to keep the commandments, to get baptized, to decide that they don't want what we have to give them. and we have to be ok with that. it doesn't take anything away from the miracle though. 

i've been thinking about them a lot lately. 

wondering about why god gives us miracles that don't always turn out... the way that we expect. like may. our "golden" investigator. i'm pretty sure that she still is. the timing just isn't right. was she a crumply, pitiful miracle? NO! i love her probably as much as i love the people that get baptized. maybe even more. because i know how much she wants it... and how much more it will mean to her when she resolves her problems and can get baptized. i know that god is watching over all of his children. and he loves each and every one of us. 

(end of baptism/miracle rant...)

anyway. last week. rode my bike down a mountain. it was fun. biking up the mountain... realized how pitifully out of shape i am. worth it? yes. 

on tuesday we had an awesome training with president and sister senior. they came and talked to us about families. about the importance of teaching about eternal families. (i WOULD like to add that when we DID that... we had several AWESOME lessons. obedience guys... it's a thing.) they also talked about our individual conversion. about how we all have a "vision" of what we want to be and what we want to accomplish. but that more important than the goals we set is the process that we take in getting there. are we constantly praying, studying, working... or are we sitting around and hoping that a trainer from the gym is just going to pop out of the tv and.......... the process is what is important. 

sad story. we had a miracle man show up last week to church. we kept trying to call him for our appointment on tuesday... he never showed. i was about to not call him again, but i tried on thursday. he answered. turns out he got in an accident and was in the hospital. go figure. so pray for "joe" (i don't actually know his name) and that he gets better soon. 

this week was rough. we DO have investigators.... they just struggle meeting with us. and for whatever reason... they all decided to go out of town this week. so we spent all of our time calling to confirm... learning that they weren't even in chiang mai any more. ugh. 

but we persevere! and conquer.

we went contacting with 2 recent converts on saturday night. i wasn't sure how it was going to be... paired with a 16-year-old sister... but guess who got 12 numbers? not me. the 16 year old. 

miracles. 

and on sunday we had a random guy that learned with elders once a year ago... walk into church during relief society. when we taught him about the restoration he said, "i believe it. it's just a start... but i believe it." and he accepted a date for the 15th! pray for tay. 

so... last but not least. the reason this email is coming... somewhat later than normal...

2 am wake up call this morning to go watch a sunrise on the tallest mountain in thailand. such fun! chiang mai is different from the rest of the country... because they have a lot of fruit here. a LOT more than the rest of thailand... because of the cooler weather. strawberries... they are sooooo delicious!!!

anywho. that's life. it's good. i love you! 

keep being awesome! 

miracles: A miracle is an extraordinary event caused by the power of God. Miracles are an important element in the work of Jesus Christ. They include healings, restoring the dead to life, and resurrection. Miracles are a part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Faith is necessary in order for miracles to be manifested.

god has not ceased to be a god of miracles!!! (mormon 9:10-20)

A week full of changes

as i'm sitting here, trying to figure out what to write, the man on my left is watching "miss universe"... just so you know... i didn't watch it. all i know is that columbia and usa were last... 

this week was full of changes. transfers. it always is! this one was weird because we had to stay in chiang mai. but... in retrospect... i don't think a 3 hour meeting is worth 26 hours of travelling. sad but true. it was rough to see people leave (i think rougher on sister remington... to us "seasoned" missionaries... it is just a part of life) we came home that night to a very VERY quiet house. who know it would make such a difference? it was kinda sad. but we've moved all of our stuff into their desks (so i don't have to study on a wobbly table any more) so i'm happy. 

we taught an interesting investigator named bess this week (that's as close as เบส translates into english...) it always amazes me that people choose their happiness based on the lifestyle that they choose. sometimes i think that i can just "force" myself to be happy... but in reality, the most happiness comes when we obey the commandments and walk the path that god wants us on. it doesn't come from just "choosing" to be that way. 

we also had a very long rc "lesson" about eternal marriage. it was with 3 rcs... all of which are ages from 20-24. does this sound like a lesson that would be strictly about the temple? it was... with bits of rants on boys... and crushes thrown in the mix. we kept trying to keep it somewhat focused... but what can you do? 

we also have a new investigator named wendy. she is from taiwan. such a great example to me of trusting in god no matter what. she was telling us about her life - her fight with breast cancer, her family, her desire to follow god... i knew that god had led her to the right place. god is always leading us and guiding us in the direction we need to be heading. she acts like a member already. she just needs to receive her own answer. 

that is probably the most frustrating part of missionary work. being patient enough to let people find out on their own. i wish i could say i was more patient... 

but i trust that god knows his children and he knows what they are ready to accept and when they are ready to learn. 

the biggest miracle of the week happened yesterday when 5 people showed up to church. i never thought that god would be so quick to answer prayers... but i did gain an added testimony of what happens when you WRITE down a goal. 

sister remington and i decided that we were going to make some goals for this transfer. we did. we wrote them down. and then we pasted them on the wall. (right next to the 70++ sticky notes i have) the amazing thing? i can already tell that they are going to happen. because we've written them down. we're serious about them. we're praying for them. and god's going to help us! 

another cool side-note: a member in chiang mai opened her mission call yesterday. she's going to temple square!!!

there are 2 more kids waiting for their calls now too... :) 

funny moments of the week:

working with a member on her pronunciation in english... we tried to teach her "adios amigo!" it came out "adios tomato!"

contacting at the park. made a friend. offered to buy us ice cream, water, AND sticky rice in bamboo... he finally wouldn't take no for an answer and bought us the sticky rice... 

found the coooooooolest dress store. it's all dresses. and they were adorable.... i would spend all day there if i could. 

getting letters. seeing how happy sister remington was to get "farang food"

deciding that if we passed a wat we'd go inside.... and realizing before too long how STUPID a goal that was... we'd never get anywhere! 

making a "contacting bucket list"

i love this work! 

god bless you all!!!
sister ellis

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