... is now in hick-ville thailand!
but seriously.
i went from the bustling streets of bangkok (a move from new york city) to kamphaengphet (to weiser, idaho)...
it was a little bit of a change.
but SO great!
the back story. i was pretty sure i was moving last monday. i could feel it in my bones. it was either that or white-washing the area... which wasn't sounding so great. so i was praying that half of our companionship would stay. sister phelps must have been praying for herself... so here i am! monday night. we get the call! (i was excited by the way...) but we didn't get to find out until thursday where we'd go. i was praying for chaing mai.... not quite. but i'm in the north. actually... it's pretty close to smack dab in the middle of the country. and quiet.
the cool thing? they opened this area last transfer. 4 stellar elders... 3 of which died this last transfer. (died = went home) and then they replaced two of them with sisters (ME! and my companion. sister mullen.) another cool factoid? her family is from here. her MOM is from this city. met her husband (sister mullens dad/return missionary from thailand that came back to visit and then met his wife) here. so we basically went to family dinner last night.
it's different from bangkok. less english. ha. international ward? i think not!
my "group" is made up of about 10 members. all recent converts in the last 2 months. except for about 2 of them that have been long-time members. how active in that time... i'm not so sure. but me and my companion are older than all but 3 of the members... such an interesting experience!
and i'm loving it.
we took a bus at 11:30 at night from bangkok. and got to kamphaengphet at 4:30 in the morning. gotta love elders and members that sacrifice their sleep that come to pick us up in their truck... or i'd probably still be dragging my suitcases to the hotel. (we live in a hotel by the way.)
my bed... kinda feels like a plywood board...
my shower... IS the bathroom. now THAT was weird. there's just a shower attached to the wall. the dilemma... do i go to the bathroom on the wet toilet or do i hold it?
i gave a talk in sacrament. apparently i'll be doing that for the next 9 weeks...
oh. and i was on the radio. our RC's have a radio station apparently...
"call in and talk to the tall farang!" i can't believe people actually took them up on that...
we did actually advertise for teaching the gospel and english.
but it was still weird.
definitely not my comfort zone. but since when has a mission EVER been in my comfort zone? i've long since decided that i gave up my ability to be afraid when i decided to serve a mission. which has been one of the hardest things to learn... and one of the greatest blessings too.
a random thought. on spiritual matters. i read 2 peter 1 today. for a whole hour. and tried to wrap my head around it. i still don't understand it... but i just loved how it seemed to build. because we have knowledge of god, we receive his promises. he promises us eternal life IF we are diligent to do the things that he commands us. he commands us to become like him. (the whole "add to faith, virtue" thing.) i need to study it more. but i'm constantly amazed at how much i learn from the scriptures. every single time i decide to do more than just let my eyes gaze over the words. when i actually try to understand... i realize how much i still don't understand. and how much more heavenly father is willing to give me. i ask... and he gives me the knowledge i need and what i desire.
well... that's it for today! i love you all tons!
sister ellis
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brother north. the coolest member ever. he would sleep in til noon and we'd call him at 10 to have him help us with lessons all the time. i'll always remember him answering the phone "hellllllllloooo???"
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you will see a trend with heights....
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