Sawadii Kha!
Hello from the Isaan!!! No, I am not yet a trainer, thank heavens and luckily I probably have at least 2 more transfers before that's even a possibility. Yep, I have moved yet again. Though this time I'm not a refugee. I am in a threesome again though so good thing you prepared a Christmas package for 3!
Okay, so here are the details; I am now serving in Roi Et, the small city with the largest freestanding Buddha in the world. Kind of ironic to be sharing the message of Christ in it's shadow haha. I love it so far though! I have now been to all 3 parts of the country; Bangkok, the North, and the Isaan. My companions are Sister Maxwell, who was companions with Sister Yinn and Sister Tano in the MTC and then Sister Roper who was in my group. You talked to her mom while we were in the MTC I believe. We also have Elder Todd and Elder Heap in our district, two of our phii thais from the MTC, so there are a lot of familiar faces. One of the weirdest things about this moves is that President ended up whitewashing two sister areas and one of them happened to be mine. Whitewashing is when both missionaries in the area are moved and the new missionaries have to take over with only the help of what the old missionaries left for them. Kind of intense and President usually tries to avoid it but he had to do it this transfer to make everything work. I'm glad that Sister Knight went to Saphan Sung to take care of it though. I was sad we had to leave it like that. Luckily our area book was up to date and we had time to make extra notes to help them know the investigators better. Sister Yinn also got moved to the Isaan, she is now in Ubon with Sister Carper. Two sisters from our group are now in a companionship with a Khone Thai (native). Sister Monterrosa is in Bangkapi (Bangkok) with Sister Alisa and Sister Murray is in Udon (Isaan) with Sister Rochana.
So I never thought I'd say this but the last 3 days it has been freezing here! I know, crazy! We all had to pull out our little sweaters and jackets from the bottom of our suitcases. During the day it's a comfortable 60 degrees but at night it drops to about 50. All the Thai people are walking around in their parkas and always ask us if we're cold. They say it gets a little chilly here occasionally but that it has been unusually cold this week. It seriously feels like fall or something. I love it! Thanks for the fall leaves by the way. They smelled like Utah in the fall :)
By the way, I got my Halloween package, my Christmas package and all the cards you sent. Did you say there was a seperate birthday package or did I misunderstand. If there was I haven't gotten it yet but yeah, if not then no worries!
What about Roi Et? you ask... I am so excited for this transfer! I love this place and I absolutely love the investigators here already. It's actually kind of strange how much I already love them.
There are these two, Beautiful, 17 year-old girls named Buki and Wan and I honestly adore them. They are both super mature but so fun and so amazing. Buki has a date and Wan is soooooo close. They love meeting with us and love the message. Buki is super fun-loving and likes to goof around a bit but she loves the gospel and is really gaining a testimony for herself. Then there's Wan. Wan is incredible. So smart, so beautiful, and so good at understanding the gospel. She has a testimony and has received answers but we know she is scared to recognize it. Every summer she is a monk and right from the beginning she told the sisters, she's Buddhist, she isn't going to change religion but we know she feels the Spirit every time we teach her and we know she wants to be baptized, she's even admitted it. But she is scared to admit that the feelings she has are an answer to her prayers. She's close though. We had a great lesson with them last night about the Law of Chastity and then about Baptism and we almost got her to commit. She almost gave in to the Spirit and she even told us she was scared to get an answer (see, she already knows the answer :)) but I was kind of overwhelmed by the love I felt for them in that lesson, I definitely got a little teary.
We also have an investigator named Noy and she has a date as well. Her mom is actually a recently baptized member and Noy lives with her. Noy is about 40 years old and is handicapped in some way. She doesn't really talk very much and sometimes needs help understanding but she is so sweet. Apparently she used to leave the room whenever the sisters would visit her mom and she was super shy and kind of scared of everyone but they got her out and the more they taught the happier she got. She is still really shy and kind of hesitant but she has a lot easier time answering questions and she can finally read the Book of Mormon out loud and pray without any help. I love visiting her. She's just got that purity that people like that have, that innocence. The Spirit can be so strong because of her and you can see it has made her happier.
I can definitely see a change in myself, especially when it comes to charity and humility. I know that the mission has helped me develop into a more Christlike person. I love this message that we are sharing and I know it's true. Nothing else could change people like it does.
Love you,
Sister King
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