May 25, 2010
Ok so I’m not exactly sure how to start this letter off. I've had a very great week but a lot has happened. I think I'll start telling you some news that we had from Thailand. I know you already know about all the stuff going on over there but this is a pretty interesting story. One day we were all waiting in class and Brother Saakha hadn't shown up yet. And when he came like 30 minutes late he was all crying and everything. So we asked him what was up. It turns out his sister was attending the university, which is in down town Bangkok. She got caught up in some of the riots and stuff so he was pretty worried. He found out the next day that she was able to get out of the city without getting hurt. But he had a hard time teaching that night. Also, one of the other Thai teachers, her name is sister Nopamos, her family works in the embassy so they were evacuated out of Thailand. she had a hard time teaching also.
I wanted to tell you last week but I forgot. You were talking about the video on LDS.org with elder Eyring. Here at the MTC we can use lds. org whenever we would like so I have seen that video a couple of times. It is really amazing. I've also listened to his talk a few times; I think there is a lot we can all take out from that. Also while I'm on the thought of talks this last week I have heard a couple of really exceptional talks that I didn't remember ever hearing. One is from Elder Holland of course. It was in April of 2009, he talks about Christ and the sacrifices of his life. It is amazing. The other is by Elder Worthlin, and it is called The Great Commandment. If you get the opportunity you should watch this one. He talks about love and charity. And in the middle of his talk you get to see somebody who has that pure love and charity. It is amazing, it is one of those talks that makes you teary. I have found a new love for Elder Worthlin since I have been in the MTC. He is an exceptional man.
Alright so last week I got a letter from you that said "hey by the way it is going to rain on Saturday" and that was very helpful. It had me mentally prepared for the rain. And it helped me come to grips with the fact that I wasn't going to be able to go play sand volleyball. I only bring this up because this week I didn't receive a letter that said "oh, by the way it is going to snow a couple of inches on Monday!" What is with this? I couldn't enjoy the last two weeks of my time in the United States with some warmth.
Alright mom and dad, I want to share an experience with you.
This week’s talk for sacrament meeting was on the topic of virtue. I hadn't really ever thought much of virtue until now. But as I sat down to write this talk I started to think what I thought virtue was really about. Now this isn't necessarily the story but it leads into the story. As I was thinking, I suppose I let my mind wander. And As I did the thoughts of my past came up. There have been times in my life where I had been able to tell when the spirit wasn't with me. But I had never really noticed the spirits of evil before. Until now. As soon as I started to let my thoughts wander I could feel Satan working his hardest. There is no doubt in my mind that he is real. And he knows every chink in our armor. I know he will always strive to make us unhappy. I had never felt a worse feeling in my life than I did at that moment. There really isn't any need for you to read too much into this. I just thought you might like to hear that experience. The whole week the only advice I could remember was what you said about how while I was out that Satan would push those buttons. And he really does.
I will end with another story. Every Sunday night we have a devotional and every Tuesday night we have a fireside. Anyway on Sunday at our devotional we had and Brother Stephen B. Allen. He is the head of the missionary department. He is probably one of my favorite speakers that isn't a 12. He just understands missionaries. I was wondering if you knew him or heard of him. If not I'm sure Uncle Cliff does and you should ask about him. He is awesome
Anyways I need to get going. I love you all. I love the packages and the stuff I have gotten this week. We didn't get our flight plans last week, I’m sure tomorrow or the next day so next Tuesday I will tell you all about my flights and what not. Only 1 week and 6 days. I probably am not ready! So pray for me this week to finally be able to speak Thai! Jk
If I think of anything else I will let you know.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Protests in Thailand
Patrice and I have been reading and following with great interets the happenings in Thailand.
We have been concerned that Christian would not be allowed to travel to Thailand as scheduled due to the civil unrest; however good news was reported in the Deseret News on 5/22/10 - Scott Taylor is the reporter.
SALT LAKE CITY — LDS Church missionaries serving in Thailand and Greece are all reported safe from ongoing anti-government protests and violence in the two countries.
In the Thailand Bangkok Mission, work has continued as normal as Red Shirt protests are contained in a relatively small area of the Thai capital.
Six missionaries serving in the affected area were reassigned several weeks ago, and two nearby meetinghouses have been closed until the conflict is resolved, said Scott Trotter, spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Missionaries continue to arrive in Thailand and depart for home as scheduled, he added.
In the church's Greece Athens Mission, missionaries are taking precautions to avoid areas of protests and demonstrations.
Missionaries there have been instructed to return to their apartments each day by 6 p.m. until the protests subside, Trotter said.
We have been concerned that Christian would not be allowed to travel to Thailand as scheduled due to the civil unrest; however good news was reported in the Deseret News on 5/22/10 - Scott Taylor is the reporter.
SALT LAKE CITY — LDS Church missionaries serving in Thailand and Greece are all reported safe from ongoing anti-government protests and violence in the two countries.
In the Thailand Bangkok Mission, work has continued as normal as Red Shirt protests are contained in a relatively small area of the Thai capital.
Six missionaries serving in the affected area were reassigned several weeks ago, and two nearby meetinghouses have been closed until the conflict is resolved, said Scott Trotter, spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Missionaries continue to arrive in Thailand and depart for home as scheduled, he added.
In the church's Greece Athens Mission, missionaries are taking precautions to avoid areas of protests and demonstrations.
Missionaries there have been instructed to return to their apartments each day by 6 p.m. until the protests subside, Trotter said.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
May 18, 2010
Like last week and pretty much every week since I’ve been here it went UBER fast. However, I took your advice and carried a little notebook around with me and every time something happened that I wanted to share, I wrote it down; which has actually given me a lot to talk about in a very short amount of time. So here it goes.
First, it was nice to hear moms letter about her watching music and the spoken word. Every Sunday our district goes and watches it in the cultural hall. It is pretty much the highlight of our week. It is amazing how before my mission I barely ever watched a minute of one, and now I don't want to miss a week.
Next, every Tuesday night we get a general authority that comes and talks to us during a fireside. It is usually a seventy but last week we got ELDER HOLLAND!!!!! It was the most amazing thing I have ever heard in my life. When the general authorities come here it is totally different than when they speak in general conference. They are even more direct here... Can you imagine Elder Holland being more direct then he already was. I will tell you my two favorite quotes of the night.
Elder Holland- "I and 14 of my best friends have not been running around for the better part of our lives, leaving our homes and families for a fairytale!"
and "You as missionaries, don't have the right to be any less than a little child would expect you to be!"
When you think about that it is totally true. Little kids always have the highest expectations for missionaries. Elder Holland’s testimony is just incredible, being in the same room with him was just amazing.
Another thing that happens in the MTC are the LGM's. That stands for large group meetings. Everybody from your area of the world meets together and has a discussion on something usually out of preach my gospel. This week it was recognizing the spirit. I wish I were one of those people who thought out of the box, I obviously am not. The kinds of things people understand just by reading a few sentences are incredible. If you ever have free time you should pull out your preach my gospels and read for a minute. They aren't just for missionaries and you can learn some incredible things.
Alright, this week my district had a bit of a fight. A BIG ONE! Big enough that people weren't even talking to each other for a couple days! During our planning session, we have one once a week as a district. We plan things like what we want to learn and what not. Half the class decided they wanted to learn one thing and the other half another. so a Huge argument broke out. Of coarse the district leader leads these meetings because he is our leader. But one of the kids in our district (Elder Iverson) Decided that he was sick of how the district leader was running things and stood up and replaced him. You know those stories about how people in the ward tell the bishop how things should be done. Yeah... it was a lot like that. I felt so out of place and uncomfortable. It got to the point where my companion and I had to get up and walk out. I can tell you one thing; the spirit was definitely not there during that plan. Wish us luck for next week.
Alright the sunglasses are awesome. We play sand volleyball everyday, so they have been coming in really handy. Not to mention I look like a stud! jk And the bubble gun was pretty awesome. I was confused at first but then I got it working and it made my whole week we had some bubble gun wars. We have already used three of the tubes of bubbles.
Hosting was terrible. We had to miss class, and you know how important class is when you only have 3 months to learn Thai. I was bored the whole time. None of the missionaries even looked like they wanted to come in. I hope I wasn't like that!
Ok, I want to be kept updated on mom's knees! Let me know how all the stuff goes. It is pretty cool that you get that much time off work though. I'm sure dad won't mind staying home and taking care of you either.
Alright so everyone in our room has been sick the last week. Things spread like wildfire in here. But any who, I have exhausted my supply of Nyquil/Dayquil. They sell it here in the book store but it is only in liquid. I was wondering, if sometime before I leave, you could send me some more. and elder McDonald loves my lava lava's so much that he wants one but the three I have I don't want to give away because they are the two Tahiti ones and the one from Hawaii so if you could send the green one I have at home so I can give him one that'd be great. There is no rush though. I don't know what else I will need I will let you know next week.
We should get our flight plans on Thursday. So in the next email I will be able to tell you when I can call. We have less then three weeks now. This is the home stretch!!
I love you all Have a great week.
First, it was nice to hear moms letter about her watching music and the spoken word. Every Sunday our district goes and watches it in the cultural hall. It is pretty much the highlight of our week. It is amazing how before my mission I barely ever watched a minute of one, and now I don't want to miss a week.
Next, every Tuesday night we get a general authority that comes and talks to us during a fireside. It is usually a seventy but last week we got ELDER HOLLAND!!!!! It was the most amazing thing I have ever heard in my life. When the general authorities come here it is totally different than when they speak in general conference. They are even more direct here... Can you imagine Elder Holland being more direct then he already was. I will tell you my two favorite quotes of the night.
Elder Holland- "I and 14 of my best friends have not been running around for the better part of our lives, leaving our homes and families for a fairytale!"
and "You as missionaries, don't have the right to be any less than a little child would expect you to be!"
When you think about that it is totally true. Little kids always have the highest expectations for missionaries. Elder Holland’s testimony is just incredible, being in the same room with him was just amazing.
Another thing that happens in the MTC are the LGM's. That stands for large group meetings. Everybody from your area of the world meets together and has a discussion on something usually out of preach my gospel. This week it was recognizing the spirit. I wish I were one of those people who thought out of the box, I obviously am not. The kinds of things people understand just by reading a few sentences are incredible. If you ever have free time you should pull out your preach my gospels and read for a minute. They aren't just for missionaries and you can learn some incredible things.
Alright, this week my district had a bit of a fight. A BIG ONE! Big enough that people weren't even talking to each other for a couple days! During our planning session, we have one once a week as a district. We plan things like what we want to learn and what not. Half the class decided they wanted to learn one thing and the other half another. so a Huge argument broke out. Of coarse the district leader leads these meetings because he is our leader. But one of the kids in our district (Elder Iverson) Decided that he was sick of how the district leader was running things and stood up and replaced him. You know those stories about how people in the ward tell the bishop how things should be done. Yeah... it was a lot like that. I felt so out of place and uncomfortable. It got to the point where my companion and I had to get up and walk out. I can tell you one thing; the spirit was definitely not there during that plan. Wish us luck for next week.
Alright the sunglasses are awesome. We play sand volleyball everyday, so they have been coming in really handy. Not to mention I look like a stud! jk And the bubble gun was pretty awesome. I was confused at first but then I got it working and it made my whole week we had some bubble gun wars. We have already used three of the tubes of bubbles.
Hosting was terrible. We had to miss class, and you know how important class is when you only have 3 months to learn Thai. I was bored the whole time. None of the missionaries even looked like they wanted to come in. I hope I wasn't like that!
Ok, I want to be kept updated on mom's knees! Let me know how all the stuff goes. It is pretty cool that you get that much time off work though. I'm sure dad won't mind staying home and taking care of you either.
Alright so everyone in our room has been sick the last week. Things spread like wildfire in here. But any who, I have exhausted my supply of Nyquil/Dayquil. They sell it here in the book store but it is only in liquid. I was wondering, if sometime before I leave, you could send me some more. and elder McDonald loves my lava lava's so much that he wants one but the three I have I don't want to give away because they are the two Tahiti ones and the one from Hawaii so if you could send the green one I have at home so I can give him one that'd be great. There is no rush though. I don't know what else I will need I will let you know next week.
We should get our flight plans on Thursday. So in the next email I will be able to tell you when I can call. We have less then three weeks now. This is the home stretch!!
I love you all Have a great week.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
May 11, 2010
Alright, I’m not sure exactly what to write about this week. I really feel like nothing new has happened. The weeks are going by so fast, I'm sure you've realized by now that I leave for Thailand in less than a month! It's even less than four weeks now!
I really loved all that I got in those two packages! The sunglasses are incredible! And the lava lava is also awesome! Everyone in my district is so jealous. I also liked getting that letter from grandma. She seems like she is doing so well. She is back to doing activities that she loves, like going out to the porch.
I guess I will tell you a little bit about what happened this week. I had the TRC again all in Thai, It went pretty well. We had to teach with two companionships in our room so that was a little different, we definitely weren't used to having so much conversation. This week we teach the plan of salvation! It is all pretty easy except for some of the vocab. But it is really nice for us because it makes us keep it simple. It is hard to go into depth with stuff when you don't know how to say it. Also something that is pretty exciting, today is the start of a new game my district is implementing. it is called Mahaa-Decadan (this is how it is pronounced, not really how it is spelled but you can't do much when the letter doesn't exist on an English keyboard). Anywho, it means master grasshopper, and to become master grasshopper you cannot speak English for the entire day (except during church functions where you have to, temple etc.). Our goal is to do it every day for the rest of the MTC. Wish us luck.
Tomorrow morning we start teaching a progressing investigator (fake) for the next four weeks. One of the Thai teachers has offered to let Elder Martins and I teach him a couple of times a week that way we can know what it really feels like to go through the lessons with one person continually. This is legit; we are keeping a teaching record and all. I am thinking it will be easy the first time, until we find out what problems he has.
Ok, you don't know how good it feels to see new people come in trying to speak your language. I don't think we speak great, but we sure have come a long way! The new Thai district is pretty awesome though. They play volleyball with us now so with just the Thai speakers we take up two volleyball courts. We have a huge zone, tomorrow we get in another English district with 10 elders/sisters. Then our zone will be up to 45. It makes for some awesome sacrament meetings. Oh yeah, this reminds me, tomorrow I am hosting. Remember all those elders that were helping the new elders come into the MTC. That is going to be me tomorrow.
Sorry this email is so short... This week has just gone by uber fast. It's like nothing has even happened. I really don't think there is anything I need; I do have a question though. While being here I have spent some of the money I came to the MTC with. Mostly only to get the essentials, like laundry soap and stamps and things like that, Do you suggest I refill my money supply before I leave? And if so, how much should I take out? I would hate to take money out and then not have enough for a bike when I get to Thailand. I think that is everything. I have some time left on my email so if I think of anything else I will let you know!
I love you all!
P.S. Did mom get my Mother’s Day letter, and how was her Mother’s Day?
I really loved all that I got in those two packages! The sunglasses are incredible! And the lava lava is also awesome! Everyone in my district is so jealous. I also liked getting that letter from grandma. She seems like she is doing so well. She is back to doing activities that she loves, like going out to the porch.
I guess I will tell you a little bit about what happened this week. I had the TRC again all in Thai, It went pretty well. We had to teach with two companionships in our room so that was a little different, we definitely weren't used to having so much conversation. This week we teach the plan of salvation! It is all pretty easy except for some of the vocab. But it is really nice for us because it makes us keep it simple. It is hard to go into depth with stuff when you don't know how to say it. Also something that is pretty exciting, today is the start of a new game my district is implementing. it is called Mahaa-Decadan (this is how it is pronounced, not really how it is spelled but you can't do much when the letter doesn't exist on an English keyboard). Anywho, it means master grasshopper, and to become master grasshopper you cannot speak English for the entire day (except during church functions where you have to, temple etc.). Our goal is to do it every day for the rest of the MTC. Wish us luck.
Tomorrow morning we start teaching a progressing investigator (fake) for the next four weeks. One of the Thai teachers has offered to let Elder Martins and I teach him a couple of times a week that way we can know what it really feels like to go through the lessons with one person continually. This is legit; we are keeping a teaching record and all. I am thinking it will be easy the first time, until we find out what problems he has.
Ok, you don't know how good it feels to see new people come in trying to speak your language. I don't think we speak great, but we sure have come a long way! The new Thai district is pretty awesome though. They play volleyball with us now so with just the Thai speakers we take up two volleyball courts. We have a huge zone, tomorrow we get in another English district with 10 elders/sisters. Then our zone will be up to 45. It makes for some awesome sacrament meetings. Oh yeah, this reminds me, tomorrow I am hosting. Remember all those elders that were helping the new elders come into the MTC. That is going to be me tomorrow.
Sorry this email is so short... This week has just gone by uber fast. It's like nothing has even happened. I really don't think there is anything I need; I do have a question though. While being here I have spent some of the money I came to the MTC with. Mostly only to get the essentials, like laundry soap and stamps and things like that, Do you suggest I refill my money supply before I leave? And if so, how much should I take out? I would hate to take money out and then not have enough for a bike when I get to Thailand. I think that is everything. I have some time left on my email so if I think of anything else I will let you know!
I love you all!
P.S. Did mom get my Mother’s Day letter, and how was her Mother’s Day?
Mother's Day
No phone call today, missionaries in the MTC do not get to call home - too many missionaries and not enough phones. Patrice received a letter that was really nice and included a great gift. Because it was a personal letter to Patrice, I am not including it in the blog.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Dam(p) cold
Alright, I have a bunch of stuff to write today, so I’m going to be especially sloppy with my grammar. That is usually the reason I don't punctuate or do anything else to my letters. I only get half an hour of time on email. Remember, I am learning a new language and they do not punctuate anything, so I am trying to embrace the culture (just kidding).
The craziest thing happened the other day, I got a letter that was addressed to a "Sister Christine Warner" and I just figured someone had messed up. But when I opened it, it was definitely to a sister. I thought nothing of it and just decided to take it to the mail room, but before I had the chance a couple of sisters came up to bear their testimonies to us. After a second of listening, she and I noticed we had the same last name. We were both amazed, so she asked where my family came from, I said “Fillmore”. She said, "me too!" It turns out that her great-great-great-great grandfather is also Orange Warner. She has the same book written about him that we have! Crazy huh?! I have a distant cousin in the MTC with me.
I thought I’d share with you about the TRC. On Wednesday of last week they changed their rules here at the MTC. You now have to have a current temple recommend to come and volunteer at the TRC. We were all pretty bummed! And it is even more terrible because the lady that we were going to teach, doesn't speak much English so regular missionaries can't go teach her. It is like the first sad experience on my mission. But I figure eventually she will find the gospel. I still taught all in Thai. and we rocked it!! I was not expecting it to go well at all, I thought we would be stumbling through it the whole time, but it was actually really smooth and awesome. I memorized the "first vision" in Thai, and I had the opportunity to quote it during the lesson. I was so ecstatic. It is like six lines longer in Thai then it is in English. Also, all the new Cambodian missionaries were in the TRC watching us, so I got to show off a bit! I cannot wait for next Saturday!
I'm really very jealous that you two are going to Monticello. Now I’m going to feel extremely left out; however, I'm going to Thailand in just over a month, so I guess you guys can be a little jealous also! Your California trip sounds awesome. Elder McDonald did that right before his mission. While we were doing the temples in Utah, he was doing the temples in California. he loved it.
I have some seriously terrible news. I cannot call home on mother’s day. They just don't have enough phones in the MTC. But I can call you guys from the airport. I have a few four hour layovers, so we will make up for it there.
I love the sunglasses! I really can't wait to get them. All the guys in my district are really jealous, but they love them too! Thank you so much. I do have a question though. In the package I got yesterday you sent me four glasses, but no drink, I was just wondering why?
I will send you home more pictures and stuff in a couple of weeks. The last little while has not been full of pictures. We have been super busy and when we go back to the dorm at night all of us just want to sleep. But our little Thai’s come in tomorrow so I’m sure I will get lots of pictures then.
It sounds like you guys had an awesome stake conference; however, I'll bet my mission conference was better! We didn't have any general authorities but the MTC president spoke and he spoke like elder Holland. He was a high ranking officer in the military, and is a pulpit pounder, but I like him. We did have Elder Perry come last Tuesday though! It was really awesome. He talked for an hour, I love him
I better explain the subject of this message or else it isn't going to be as funny. We were talking about Thailand with brother Saakha and he was trying to say it is damp and cold. But because in Thai they don't always say "and" he just said damp cold. But in Thai they also never end a word with the letter P it turns into a B. All thirteen of us were laughing ourselves sick!
Anyway, I love you all. Have a good week.
The craziest thing happened the other day, I got a letter that was addressed to a "Sister Christine Warner" and I just figured someone had messed up. But when I opened it, it was definitely to a sister. I thought nothing of it and just decided to take it to the mail room, but before I had the chance a couple of sisters came up to bear their testimonies to us. After a second of listening, she and I noticed we had the same last name. We were both amazed, so she asked where my family came from, I said “Fillmore”. She said, "me too!" It turns out that her great-great-great-great grandfather is also Orange Warner. She has the same book written about him that we have! Crazy huh?! I have a distant cousin in the MTC with me.
I thought I’d share with you about the TRC. On Wednesday of last week they changed their rules here at the MTC. You now have to have a current temple recommend to come and volunteer at the TRC. We were all pretty bummed! And it is even more terrible because the lady that we were going to teach, doesn't speak much English so regular missionaries can't go teach her. It is like the first sad experience on my mission. But I figure eventually she will find the gospel. I still taught all in Thai. and we rocked it!! I was not expecting it to go well at all, I thought we would be stumbling through it the whole time, but it was actually really smooth and awesome. I memorized the "first vision" in Thai, and I had the opportunity to quote it during the lesson. I was so ecstatic. It is like six lines longer in Thai then it is in English. Also, all the new Cambodian missionaries were in the TRC watching us, so I got to show off a bit! I cannot wait for next Saturday!
I'm really very jealous that you two are going to Monticello. Now I’m going to feel extremely left out; however, I'm going to Thailand in just over a month, so I guess you guys can be a little jealous also! Your California trip sounds awesome. Elder McDonald did that right before his mission. While we were doing the temples in Utah, he was doing the temples in California. he loved it.
I have some seriously terrible news. I cannot call home on mother’s day. They just don't have enough phones in the MTC. But I can call you guys from the airport. I have a few four hour layovers, so we will make up for it there.
I love the sunglasses! I really can't wait to get them. All the guys in my district are really jealous, but they love them too! Thank you so much. I do have a question though. In the package I got yesterday you sent me four glasses, but no drink, I was just wondering why?
I will send you home more pictures and stuff in a couple of weeks. The last little while has not been full of pictures. We have been super busy and when we go back to the dorm at night all of us just want to sleep. But our little Thai’s come in tomorrow so I’m sure I will get lots of pictures then.
It sounds like you guys had an awesome stake conference; however, I'll bet my mission conference was better! We didn't have any general authorities but the MTC president spoke and he spoke like elder Holland. He was a high ranking officer in the military, and is a pulpit pounder, but I like him. We did have Elder Perry come last Tuesday though! It was really awesome. He talked for an hour, I love him
I better explain the subject of this message or else it isn't going to be as funny. We were talking about Thailand with brother Saakha and he was trying to say it is damp and cold. But because in Thai they don't always say "and" he just said damp cold. But in Thai they also never end a word with the letter P it turns into a B. All thirteen of us were laughing ourselves sick!
Anyway, I love you all. Have a good week.
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