Elder Santeco: LAST TRANSFER! Transfer #15/Thailand Week 98: Khon Kaen (ขอนแก่น)

The Work Moves On

สวัสดีครับทุกคน สบายดีไหม

It's transfers week! And I'll be staying here in Khon Kaen with Elder Rands! It'll be another great transfer.

This past week, a lot happened. Because I didn't write in my journal and have time right now... I'll do my best to recall what happened and share it with you all! :)

Last week Monday: We finally got a haircut! It was feels like long hear equals to more stress. It can get hard to manage. Especially when I wear my bicycle helmet, it molds my hair into weird shapes. Haha. That night, both of our Family Home Evenings appointments got cancelled. Usually for cancelled appointments, we would usually do street contacting as our backup plan. But as we knelt down and prayed, we felt impressed to stay home and call former investigators instead. So we did that. One by one, we started calling them. What was cool was that, although many of the former investigators were unable to get in contact with, most of the phone rang AND they answered! The discussions included a series of us and them apologizing for not getting in contact in the past, and whether they wanted to meet up or not. Several of them said they wanted to. One of them is Sister ผึ้ง.

Just as we used an hour of calling former investigators, a member, Sister Nok, called us and invited us to eat out in celebration to New Years. Problem was that we needed men to join us (ตาม missionary rules). We scrambled to call the male members from our branch. Everyone wasn't free. We really wanted to go out and have a little Family Home Evening. With not much luck, we called Sister Nok back and told her that no was available. She then suggested Brother Ton (LA). We gave him a call. He said he wasn't free but then suggested another two less-active members, Brother Boom and Brother Big. We called them and they were more than happy to meet up for a small Family Home Evening. It turned out wonderful. I find it cool seeing the connection between the members and how less active members usually knows who else is less active. Looking forward to working more closely with Brother Boom and Brother Big.

Tuesday: We worked really hard to improve our English class. It turned out great. Since yesterday, we were scrambling to get some sort of transportation down to Bangkok for a meeting. It was such a journey. Because of new years, all of the bus, train, plane services were booked for another 3 days. It was mind blowing. Elder Rands then suggested to take a taxi down instead. After a few calls, we found out that the price was just not worth it. That night after English class, we luckily managed to find one bus service willing to take us down. A usually 7 hour trip turned out to be a 12 hour bus ride. Whew.

Wednesday: I had a จบers meeting. It was very informative. I loved how Presdient Johnson really pushed for having us utilize what we learned as a missionary to when we return home. It was also the day that we received the news about President Thomas S. Monson's passing away. It was really heart warming to see all of the missionaries come together to watch the video about him and his life. As I looked upon everyone's faces, I knew what they were saying in their hearts. "Thank you, President Thomas S. Monson. We. love. you." I know that He is a prophet called of God. Even with the passing of the our beloved prophet, the work of the Lord moves on.

Sadly, it was the very same day that I lost my hearing aid. My very last one. As I started to panic, after searching for it for several hours... I remember hearing... "Elder Santeco... the work of the Lord moves on". I am still calling every once in a while hoping something will turn up. But even then, I know my purpose as a missionary. I'm here to serve the Lord and His children.

Thursday: Miracles! We went to meet up with our current investigators, Sister แต๋ว (Somehow, I thought it was นิด), and it turned out to be great! Because there was a bunch of her friends there. One of them happened to be a Less active member. His name is Brother น้อย. He was baptized in Bangkok, Asoke, then moved up here to Khon Kaen. He doesn't have a good reason to go less active, but we are definitely excited to work with him. He even encouraged all of his friends, including Sister แต๋ว, to learn with us. It was cool. Every Thursday, we now have Branch Executive Meetings. I really enjoy it now. The first time we had the meeting, it was very awkward because nothing really got done. But it's getting better and better. I love the personal inspiration that we all receive in effort to help build the Church and it's members. Khon Kaen is going on the right track.

Friday: We went back and met with Sister แต๋ว and her kids. It was a fabulous lesson. We used the Children's Book of Mormon Stories book and it worked out great. We even were able to meet up with several of Sister แต่ว's friends that we had met up yesterday. It's all about connections. :) Sports night was fun. It was good to see that those that came the previous week, returned. :)

Saturday: We went on an adventure! We had a potential investigator dropped an appointment. But it was okay, she said that she isn't ready yet and will meet with the missionaries the following Saturday. That being said, we went around and visited members around the area. We met up with Sister เล็ก/Lek and her family. She just got recently married, and it was good to talk to her husband. We will be doing our best to help her husband get baptized and in the temple as a family. :) A cool miracle was that I decided to call potential investigators from the previous transfer and invite them to church, and one of them, Sister มะขาม responded, "I'll probably be there. Wait. I'll be there." And she did! She came to church and it was great to see the members reach out to her.

Sunday: I was the conductor for Sacrament. It was fun. Throughout the day, we had meetings, taught repentance, and worked towards baptizing converts.

Monday: We reached out to our dear old friend, Brother Prasit (ประสิทธิ์). We were happy to see that he came to church yesterday, but he came in during the second hour. Elder Rands and I went in hoping to help him come to church on time. We were impressed with his great admiration for the prophet's faith. So we began discussing how we could build our faith just as the prophets of old did. I was then impressed to share the story about Nephi's great example of faith and obedience in 1 Nephi 3:4-7. After reading and discussing it, he shared how his personal desire to keep the commandments began to grow. We then asked him, what is keeping you from going to church on time... he responded, "I don't have a watch." Hahah. We told him that we'll help him with that and get a watch and an alarm clock for him. I love being a missionary. :)

We met up with Sister แต๋ว and her neighbors as well. We were able to teach her neighbors and they were really open to learning more about God. We finished the night off with Family Home Evening with Sister Lek and her family. :)

Tuesday: I would say that the miracle of the day was that we were able to find where one of the online referrals lived. His name is Donut and he requested a Book of Mormon 778 days ago. Yes. That is a very long time. But we didn't actually get the memo until we got our smart phones. After many unsuccessful attempts of trying to call him. We decided to try find his house. Keep in mind that addresses in Thailand are sometimes all over the place. We arrived at the street, said a prayer, and began biking down the street. Less than a minute, we found the house. Miracle! We went inside and found out from his family that Donut has gone to China for school and will not be back for a while. In summary, we will go back and leave a Book of Mormon for Brother Donut when he comes back. We are also hoping to be able to share more of our message with his family when we go back.

Wednesday: Today. I am tired. I will probably read the Book of Mormon for a while and then take a good nap. I am still trying to finish the Book of Mormon in Thai. That being said, I forgot to mention that Brother ภู finished reading the Book of Mormon already. He's so good! He is now reading in Doctrine and Covenants as well as Pearl of Great Price.

I am doing well. I love being a missionary. It's the best.

I know that the Lord lives!

- Elder Santeco loves you all. :)

Getting Haircuts.