Siam I Am: what to write about?

August 24, 2014

wandering around in the mall?

eating ice cream at swensons?

that all feels too... "fluffy"

this week was definitely interesting.

good thoughts from district meeting: YOU HAVE ACCESS TO MORE THAN YOUR NATURAL CAPACITIES. it made me think of what we do. i remember plugging in my "learn thai" cd in the car... and turning it off when they started talking about high class, middle class, and low class tones. there is no way! but actually... there is. and it feels weird to be on the receiving end of something like "the gift of tongues". i don't really feel like it started to take effect until i had to train. then... BAM! i feel like i can actually speak thai now. maybe it's just the necessity... maybe it was just in my head all along... but whatever it is, i like it.

ps. what is borsch? (senior couple mentioned it... i just liked the sound of the name.)

this is what happens when i don't have google.

wednesday... we went an saw our adoptive mom. (well... sister brown's mom. i am like the "step-child" that just gets dragged along with the relationship. but if the perk is a free dinner... who's complaining?) it's also funny when they don't understand each other, and i hear "hey aris! blah blah blah blah blah..." my thai translating skills are getting some use! well... i feel more effective than i do translating in church. that one is ALWAYS an adventure. i think i just end up making up half of the stuff. "i think they are saying that getting baptized is good........." i mean... it is, isn't it?

as we were waiting at the mall for our new mom, we were going down the escalator, and i feel like i should talk to this guy behind me. (ps. we aren't supposed to contact in the malls. they kick us out.) so. me. being daring and turning to slyly (is that how that's spelled?) talk to this guy... i turn and "are you missionaries?"

jaw dropped.

yeah.

"i'm buddhist. but i want to be christian. can you baptize me?"

jaw hit the floor.

and we taught him. there. at the bottom of the escalator. i'm pretty sure we had some security hovering... but we didn't start the conversation!

just proves to me that God puts us where he needs us. exactly when he needs us there.

(tony is a flight attendant. goes to australia every few weeks. but he came to church yesterday! and he wants to get baptized when he comes back. boooyaa!)

my main pet peeve of the week. or actually... of being a missionary. people that give you their numbers... and hang up on you as soon as you say "hey, this is sister" or even just "hey!" or answer their phone - say they are interested AND make an appointment. then never come. just a little trying on my nerves. hopefully i expend some of that by calling them several times a day. i just wonder how they feel on the other side of the phone......

it does help to weed through all the numbers that we get.

on friday we went and met a recent convert at her house. they basically told me "soy 22" (a soy is a street) and to walk until i found the school. so i call, and her daughter answers. "i'm on soy 22! now what do i do?" then i hear a bunch of wind sounds.... so i keep walking. hopefully in the right direction. and then i hear "SISTER!" and see the cute little girl waving from the other side of the street.

yeah. we would have gotten soooooo lost. followed her... turning this corner, that corner, into a small blue gate and up a small staircase at the end of a long hallway....

yeah. it was pretty tight.

but we had a really good meeting with her mom. it just amazes me how humble these people are. how hard their lives sometimes are... and how they still manage to find faith amid it all. it seems like an analogy to life. sometimes we don't know where we are going. but we always have the spirit there... or a little girl in a blue dress... to lead us to our destination. it doesn't always speak to us. sometimes it just stays far enough ahead that we can still see it. but it is always there. and it will always show us the way.

on saturday we had a new training.

it was a little hard for me to swallow at first.

they want us to be getting 10 member lessons and 10 RCLA lessons every week. i don't know if i've ever gotten 10 member lessons my whole mission. i could feel the stress level rising... almost to the point that my head was hurting... but then i remembered. i asked for more faith. (isn't this funny how it always happens?)

i asked. i got an answer.

i know it's going to be hard. it will require a lot more work (and probably a lot more planning) than i've done up until this point. but the thing is - we can always do what is asked of us.

and SUNDAY!

it's strange how stressful they are.

and so rewarding.

BAPTISM!

our wonderful couple (that got married last monday) got baptized yesterday!

ah!

i love them so much!

so. that's the end of an epic week.