December 19th Letter

Hey Family,

So this week was really good! I'm not exactly sure what to talk about, it all went pretty fast. We didn't seem to have anything really big or special happen, but it was still a fun and successful week. In the Zone we are going to be having a lot of baptisms next week, so in the last week we were doing a lot of those interviews - There are so many prepared people. Something else that was cool that happened was Elder Ackerman did a special training for all the missionaries in the Zone about the role of the Holy Ghost in conversion. I thought it went really well, but the cool thing happened after the training. President Smith had us all sing Christmas songs and then he and Sister Smith talked about their favorite Christmases as missionaries. This is their 5th Christmas in a row as missionaries, they served in Hong Kong before coming to Thailand. Anyway, their stories were really nice. It got us all excited for Christmas and put us in the Christmas spirit. I'm not sure if you remember talking about it last year, but it is really hard to get into the Christmas spirit due to the whole no snow thing and lack of people that celebrate it; however, I feel like this year is going to be a whole lot of fun. This year a few of the missionaries have a role in the district (stake) program. We are having some VIPs come to the Christmas program so they wanted to have a bigger choir so it would be really good. So, they asked for 8 missionaries to come and participate, Elder Ackerman and I are going to go sing in it along with a bunch of other people from our Zone. Elder Larson will be playing the organ - cool huh?

Yeah! how cool is that, Elder King is coming back. I actually found out last Wednesday, man I was so excited to hear it. He doesn't know it yet but he is probably going to be in my zone. So that will be way sweet I will be able to see him soon.

As for the whole skype thing; whenever you want to do it is fine I think that 9am here (7pm utah) would be best because Elder Ackerman needs to do it too (at the same time) so that way it wouldn't be so late for his family which is an hour ahead of you. I need to have you guys set me up an account on the skype thing then send me the USERNAME and PASSWORD. I think it should work just fine, all the little internet places here have the equipment and the elders that have been doing it say it works really well. Just in case you guys have the phone number.

Anyway I only have แค่นี้. I will talk to you guys next week.

Movies: US Marshals and Cast Away and I'm going to say the theme is plane crash - OH boy i'm sooooo good.

Love you guys. tell Grandma I love her. Who knows, maybe she will make it one more week.

December 12th Letter

Hello Family,

Oh boy... this week was a pretty good week. We had transfers, and I got a new companion. His name is Elder Ackerman. He is from Minnesota, I'm not sure what part though. It felt really weird to get a new companion because even though I've been in this area one transfers already, I was really only here for two and a half weeks. I feel like I really don't know the area that well and I haven't met half of the investigators that they were teaching before the floods came, but all in all it is ok - I know enough to get by. Plus I have a really good relationship with most of the members due to the fact that it is a small branch and I have been helping them clean their houses and what not for the last week or two. It has helped us really get to know the members, and it is already paying off. Last week people were introducing us to their friends and what not. We also met some less active members. This morning we went out and cleaned the outside of a home of a member that hasn't gone to church in over 10 years, and I got a return appointment to go see him next weekend. I really hope that this experience brings people closer to Christ. It is pretty much the same as with grandma. I hope that this brings some of the people in our family to understand the importance of Jesus Christ and turn closer to him (I think in the scriptures it uses the simple phrase "humble themselves"). I think the pride cycle is so interesting, we are warned about it so much in the Book of Mormon (keep commandments = prospering in the land / brake commandments = be cut out of gods presence). Even people who have read and understand the Book of Mormon find themselves in the latter half. I think that is so interesting.

Anyway other then serving people and transfers we really didn't do that much this week. We had a few good lessons with some investigators, I have an investigator who is really willing to do everything we ask. She does it all, but for some reason she still isn't being converted and I can't figure out why. I have seen the process now many times. When investigators keep commitments they gain a testimony (they progress), even though some are slower then others. This lady seems to be at a stand still and I can't figure out why. I guess I am just going to have to be patient with her and see what happens. I have had very few investigators who are as good as she is at understanding and applying the scriptures, but I think there is something else missing.

As for our Cambodian investigators. One is about to finish the Book of Mormon - probably today actually, which is impressive because just two weeks ago she was only in 2nd Nephi. The other family of Cambodians are all in Alma, which is pretty good for them too. They read it as a family every day and personally, but their kids read really really slow, and this family works so they have a lot less time. It all seems to be going really well, they should be able to be baptized next month some time.

I'm glad to hear that grandma is still kickin strong. She is such a trooper and always has been. I know that Maren will be really grateful if she is able to hang in there for Friday.

Please keep reassuring her of my love and prayers, she is always in them.

Christmas, I thought you guys were going to want to skype with me. If we skyped it would be most convenient on my Monday morning which would be your Christmas night, probably at about 7 or 8 (am) my time which would be 8 and 9 (pm) your time - I think!!! If that doesn't work we can still do it another time, the only problem with my Christmas Day is I will have church so it would probably not work until really late your time, and then here we have Christmas activities on the 23rd and the 24th, and I'm not sure when those will be. Let me know if Christmas night will work for you guys and if not we can talk about it next week.

I love you guys. Have a good week. Take good care of grandma na!

Movies: Independence Day and National Treasure, Book of Secrets. Theme: Secret underground government stuff. Maybe even just government secrets. Right?

December 5th Letter

This week, the letter was a little different. I was concerned about the news he would get in the email so I stayed up until he got on his email – the following is an email exchange that we had:

Chris:
Yo... dad never sent me a letter so let me know what’s up?

Mike:
You still there?

Chris:
Yeah... I got the letters about the winds but I didn't get a detailed letter about grandma, except for Maren’s.

Chris:
Is she still alive? Can she get my letter?

Mike:
Yes to both. I sent you an email, I will resend it now. I will never miss a letter, I love you too much to not write, I forgot to hit send. Luckily nobody touched my laptop and was still sitting there ready to send.

Chris:
Good

Chris:
It seems that Maren needs a lot of comforting. You know that she doesn’t handle these things very well.

Mike:
Mom and I are talking to her a lot and Maren was able to skype with grandma today.

Chris:
This is an email that I was typing before I got your email.

Hey,
What in the world was that about? I got a bunch of really short letters that had no detail about anything. They all just hinted at the fact that grandma was in trouble. Luckily Maren is really good at explaining her feelings. I'm really sorry to hear about grandma. I hope she isn't in too much pain or anything. I'm just really grateful that as a family we know who we are and that there is more then just this life. Just having the knowledge about the Plan of Salvation is such a great gift. I hope other then that news this week was a good one. It sounds like it is pretty interesting with the wind storms and what not. I hope nothing else falls down or gets knocked over. Those pictures are pretty crazy, there is just stuff happening all over the place lately.

I don't really have to much to report on this week. We just pretty much did what we have been doing the last little while – Serving, teaching a little bit, and then helping our branch president. It was a good week. I learned a good lesson about doing what your mission president says. As soon as we saw Brother Tan (Cambodian father), we told him he couldn't get baptized on his day. He got really sad but then told us that he was willing to do what ever it took to get baptized. And now we are seeing a lot of progression. In just 3 days he read from Jacob to Alma-ish. (We told him he needed to finish the Book of Mormon before he gets baptized. Anyway, it was a real blessing to tell him he needs to wait. Now he is working really hard and doing everything he can to prepare. Obedience always pays off.

Other than that I don't really have to much to say, this next week is transfers. We aren't sure yet what is happening, but it is likely that one of us will move so I will let you know how that turns out.

I love you guys. Have a good week. Please express my love to grandma and grandpa.

Mike:
It is 2am- good night. Now that I know you got the letter and know what is going on, I will be able to sleep. Grandma had a great day today. She was singing songs with us that we used to sing on trips. Terry and Joan and some kids, Kevin and Becky, Lee, Mom and I and Judd and Jessie were all there visiting with her. She said it was a lot of fun.

Good thing I waited for your letter this week. Have a great week, I love you.

Chris:
OK, you have a great week too. I love you, take good care of her.

November 28th Letter

Hello family.

This week has been way fun being back in my own area. It was actually a very successful week with missionary work. We only taught about 7 lessons but that is what we expected. We were able to get a lot of investigators to come to church and a lot of members came back as well. I guess everyone did a good job of spreading the word about church being open again, and we were able to give 4 people baptismal dates. 3 of the 4 are a family, they are Cambodian. We gave them a date just yesterday. They have been waiting over 4 months to get baptized, and they have come to church every single week for 4 months straight (that is better then most members). There is kind of a prejudice against Cambodians in Thailand because in the past a lot of them joined the church looking for financial support. Sometimes that is why they come into the church. Anyway, in order to baptize a Cambodian in Thailand you have to wait a few months and then get special permission from President Smith after you check all there visa work. Well, we did that and we got special permission from President Smith to give these guys dates and everything. So last night we did, and they were so happy, but then this morning we got a call from the APs telling us that President Smith isn't going to let any Cambodians get baptized for another 2 months, just to make sure they aren't wanting financial support. I see why we need to do that, but for some reason I still don't fell good about it. I don't know how to tell this family that they have to wait longer. They were so so so excited to finally get a baptismal date. It is like giving somebody a really great present and then taking it away from them. I know that if they use there faith they will endure and just wait to get baptized, and I believe they will. I fear that they or other Cambodians (right now there are about 4 families in the mission) will look at this and it will cause them to lose faith in the church or the leadership of the church. In all honesty they are just like babies in the gospel so they can't be expected to have the strongest most perfect faith. I feel like we are trying to make it harder for them to become members, just because they are from a different country. We haven't decided how we are going to tell them yet, but I’m sure we will think of some way good.

Other then that this week has been all service, and it is turning out to be really hard. Nobody wants our help. All the members and investigators say they are not ready for our help, they say probably in 2 weeks. So, right now we are kind of left hanging. We are trying to just walk around and help people, but we have a rule that we can't even step into water without permission from President Smith himself each time we want to do it (it can be dangerous). It is really hard to walk around and help people when you can't even walk to there house without calling President Smith. We are trying to find stuff to do on dry ground but the only areas that are dry are the Big streets (highways and what not) and there really isn't anybody to serve along there; however, we will keep trying. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks some of the neighborhoods will start drying and we will be able to get in and help people clean their houses.

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun this year all those people are just members of the international ward here in Thailand. I don't really know anybody well, just from being introduced as we ate food with them. None of them are in my area so I don't ever talk to them or work with them, but it was a very delicious traditional meal. Although, nothing compares with our own parents cooking.

As for this week I think this is all I have except I was talking with Elder Furr last week and he was wondering if I was planning on going to BYU after I get home because he wants to room with me. So I was wondering if you guys could look into that for me. I'm not sure if I could get in or not, but I would like to if it were possible. I'm not to sure what is necessary to get in an application.

I love you guys have a great week.

Movies. Johnny English and Austin powers the theme is British Secret Agent.

November 21st Pictures

Great opportunity for service, but the pictures break my heart.

November 21st Letter

Hello family.

Well this week was not as interesting as last week. I just spent my whole in the Elder’s house next to the mission office. We went on splits with them so we were able to do missionary work, and that was fun. I went 5 days in a row without teaching a lesson so it was a nice break to go out and talk about the gospel again. It seems weird but when you aren't teaching (even though you may be very busy doing service) you still feel very lazy.

I guess I will tell you a little about the service I did two days ago. This time I got to get up close and personal with the flood. We took a bunch food kits and packed them on boats and then went around on the boats handing them out to the people who are stuck in their houses. It was pretty different riding boats down the road where you usually ride cars. I got to see a lot of different people that where experience extreme hardships. I think the service will be a good thing because where we did that is my area right now. So, when we can go back out and find these people after the waters go down, I think they will be really interested in the gospel after they saw the service that we did. I can't wait to see the results of that.

This last Sunday we went to church in my area, It is called Bang Bua Thong(in case you can't remember). Anyway, there were only 14 people at church, 5 investigators, 2 missionaries, the branch president and about 8 kids. Elder Shipley lost his voice so I got to say both the prayers on the bread and water. We didn't have any speakers or anything, it was everyone’s very favorite kind of sacrament meeting – one that is only 20 minutes long, jealous? While we were in our area for the last two days we went and looked at our apartment to see if it was flooded. It turns out our apartment is like an island. Everywhere is flooded except for within 100 meters of our house. So we decided to go and move back in today, I'm pretty excited. I will be right in the middle of the flood, but still dry. It will be way easier to go out and serve people too because they will be closer. So I told you that I was going to tell you want I needed in my package today but it turns out that the things I need, I kind of need them today – like gym clothes and what not, you know, things I can go out and work in. I don't really think I need you to send me anything, but I think I will take that money out of the account. Don't be surprised if I do that, but don't worry I will be frugal.

Dad I want you to ask Brady if he knows an Elder Adam Bradshaw. He either served a mission in 2006 or finished in 2006, but I think it was around the same time period as Brady. Anyway, this guy is now living in Thailand teaching English. (he is the guy that planned that service activity in the boats), and we had some time to talk to him. It turns out that he is inactive, more than that he says he doesn't really believe anymore. He is a really nice guy, I just can't figure out how this happened, he was only a missionary 5 years ago. Anyway I was just wondering if Brady knew him?

As for the questions about the zone. The only person in my zone I think you guys will remember is elder Lesueur. And it is a lot of fun having him around, but he is trunky so it makes me kind of trunky. Anyway right now our zone is the 2nd largest, we have a lot of people in our zone. The only problem is right now most of them are working in other people’s areas or zones. But I think everyone will be back to their own area and what not within the next week or so. That will be good.

This Thanksgiving we will be spending it with the Gibbons family. Elder Shipley and I and 12 other missionaries, I'm pretty excited. Elder Shipley and I want to get them to do a turkey bowl, but we are not sure we can get that passed off by President Smith, but it will be worth a shot. I 'm sure he will just laugh at us. I hope they have real turkey. I really want a good thanksgiving dinner.

Anyway, I can't really tell if this is a short letter or a long one but I think this is all I have. I love you guys. Thanks for your letters. I have lots of pictures but I'm not sure if I can send them this week, if not hopefully next.

Movies: Home Alone and I don't know maybe The 6th Sense. I have no Idea what the theme is.

November 15th Letter

What is up?

Wow, today the keyboard that I am using is really bad. The space bar and the “A” key don’t work very well. If it is a really bad email I am sorry. This week has been really interesting, I was sent up to Lampang on Monday. I got up there at about 4am on Tuesday, and nobody was waiting. I had to borrower some random person’s cell phone to call Elder Shipley. Apparently, they went to the wrong place to get me. It was an interest start to an interesting week. We pretty much did nothing but inviting for all week, but that is ok because I spent the week with a greenie so I got to teach him a lot of stuff which was fun. We also had "Loy Gratong" which is a big Thai holiday. That was way fun in the north. Anyway, I stayed in Lampang until Saturday then we came back down to Bangkok because on Monday we had a Zone Conference with Elder Gong, we don’t travel on Sunday. Yes, I'm still a Zone Leader with Elder Shipley. It is kind of weird because we don't have an area and our zone members are spread out all over Bangkok. Everybody just switches off with the people they are staying with so they can get the area down. Pretty much our zone has the worst key indicators in the world, but that is ok because we are still doing a lot of service, which is just a different kind of key indicator. Yesterday I filled up bags of clean water at a water cleaning facility so that people in the floods would have something to drink.

Right now Elder Shipley and I are sleeping in a church because there is no room in any of the houses which is kind of fun, but really hard to shower. We just fill up buckets of water and dump them on ourselves – iffy huh? Today we had a zone sports day to try and lift everyone’s morale (everybody is feeling really down because nobody is teaching and so everybody is either doing service or knocking doors which is hard); however, it should get better. Everyone got rejuvenated. After today, Elder Shipley and I have no idea where we are going. Our area is still under water so they won't send us there, we might be going back to Lampang, but they don't know yet, probably just another night in the church.

As for Elder Shipley and I, we get along great. It was really cool not having to do the whole get to know you again. It was like just being sent to be companions with a really good friend. It is going really great even though it is kind of chaotic.

President Smith gave me a good compliment yesterday in our interview. He said he was glad that he has somebody experienced like me in this zone. At least he considers me experienced these days, I think that is improvement!

Anyway other than that news I don't really have a whole lot to say. It was a good Zone Conference. It was a good week, yep all in all it was good.

I hate how short my letters are getting but I have been typing really slowly because of the bad key board. I think this is all you guys are going to get this week. It sounds like you have had a good week.

I will think if I need anything and tell you next week. By the way the popcorn from popcornopolis didn’t travel well and was pretty bad, I couldn't really eat it at all; however, it was a good thought.

Movies – maybe The Village, and something else like Phantom of the Opera, I can't tell. Sorry, I know this is supposed to be an easy week, but I feel really unsure about both of those.

Tell Maren and Jessie I'm sorry but I don't have time to write this week.
I love you guys.

November 7th Letter

Ok, Dear mom and dad,

So this is going to be a short letter for sure because I might have to go soon. Turns out that I am moving today, and my new companion will be Elder Shipley. You probably remember that I was with him a lot in Thonburi because Elder King went home early. Yeah we are now going to be companions in a place called Bang Bua Thong. It should be pretty sweet. The only problem is that Bang Bua Thong is one of the areas that is currently evacuated because of the flood. So I will be going and spending a week or two up in Lampang first. That is up in the northern part of Thailand. I doubt I will be there that long before I come back to Bang Bua Thong. That area is right above Bangkok, and it touches Thonburi. That will be a fun area I think; however, I think i will probably be a pretty slow start because there hasn't been anyone working in that zone now for 3-4 weeks. It will be like opening a new zone. I'm kind of excited even though I didn't really want to go.

As for this week I really don't have a lot to talk about because we didn't do a whole lot. We just taught the people we have and tried to find a couple of new investigators. We kind of had something cool happen though. We have been teaching these two Old missionaries from a different christian sect, and we got them to attend church this past Sunday. It was there first time not going to their church in forever. I think that they are dissatisfied with somethings that are going on in their church so they are more and more open to our church every day. Also this week, Eaw was confirmed. She gets along great with the members. She already has a part in the christmas program that will be going on here. I think the ward is doing a great job with fellowshipping the investigators here. It has changed so much since when I first came. The ward really likes the missionaries now.

As for the other two elders in those pictures they are the two other elders in srinakarin. They are Elder Hess and Elder Patterson. Elder Hess is from Tremonton, Utah and Elder Patterson is from Arizona somewhere small. We didn't do a whole ton of service this week but we did spend a whole day helping with those 10000 blankets. We had to unpack them, put church fliers with them, pack them back up, and then load on to trucks and stuff. That was cool and fun. There was a KSL news reporter that came to do a report on it she was taking some video. Maybe if you look hard enough you might see a video of us doing the blankets on KSL.

Anyway I'm sorry this one is short but I have some packing to do, I need to leave in about 2 hours. I love you guys. Have a good week. Dad, I hope you your back gets feeling better. And mom, I hope you aren't too sore from doing the table. If it is any consolation I got pretty sore from doing those sand bags so I know how you feel.

Talk to you next week

October 31st Letter

Hello family,

So I am going to send a lot of pictures today because that seems to be easier. They say pictures are worth a thousand words so don't get to angry if this isn't as long as you expected, I will make up for the lack of words through pictures.

To start off, this week was a little different. We stopped all proselytizing activities and did only service. It was fun to be a service missionary for a week or so. We did a lot of lifting and sandbagging and what not, and we didn't have to wear church clothes all week - How nice is that?! Everybody is trying to get all their stuff up on the second floor of their house so when the water comes not everything gets destroyed. We did a lot of lifting, helping them get their things to higher levels. So, it was kind of a fun week in those respects, but we sure did lose a whole lot of investigators. My area hasn't flooded yet but I have seen a lot of different areas in Bangkok flood and we have been in them a little bit trying to help out. I am sending a picture where we are in the car and the water is way high, that is right outside of the airport. That is why nobody can get in or out. I am not sure if anyone has died, I think it isn't that bad yet in Bangkok because everyone had such a big warning, but It is true a lot of Thai people never learn how to swim. No there aren't snakes or alligators in the water.

As for food we have quite a bit at our houses and what not. President Smith just sent the APs out the other day to buy 20000 baht worth of MaMa, which is equivalent to 700 dollars worth of Top Ramen. Funny huh?! I think when it comes to food we should be ok, but we are still trying to eat the food on the side of the road as long as we can so just in case that runs out then we can eat the MaMa that we have saved.

The water in Bangkok has all been contaminated so we can bathe in it and what not but we can't let it get in our mouths or use it to brush teeth or wash dishes with it. We have to use bottled water for all that. Right now we are still eating regular food but we have lots of restrictions because of the water so I think I might take some more money out of the account just because we may be eating a little bit more expensive for the next couple weeks. I hope that is not a problem. My zone right now only has 12 missionaries, pretty much all the sisters were shipped out of Bangkok, I think there may still be 5 here, maybe. There really aren't that many missionaries here right now, at least in our zone. I think we are going to be having a transfer meeting on this Wednesday and Thursday so I will be excited to see what happens with that. I wonder if I will leave Bangkok or stay in this area for another transfers. I will let you know next week.

I forgot to tell you what I eat on Sundays. I always cook everyone Sticky rice and then we eat it with hot dogs and usually BBQ sauce. A little bit of American Thai mixture, but it is really good.

Oh yeah, and despite the floods we were still able to baptize Eaw. It was a way good baptism; everything went very smoothly except somebody put a sandbag in the baptismal font so it was very dirty water. She couldn't get her dress under the water so she ended up getting dunked 3 times, and Elder Iverson and I still think she wasn't under on the third time, but the two witnesses both claim that she went under, so I guess that it is sealed now. It was a nice baptism. President Smith came to church with us this week because his hotel is pretty close to here, and the APs came as well. I don't want to brag but I felt kind of like a big deal being able to baptize someone while all the big shots were here, and during a flood!

Good news, I got my package on Saturday so not only did I have a camera I could take some pictures with, I also had a present to give to President Smith when he came to my church. I wrapped the mints up with a note that said "Dear President, Enjoy EVERY Bite! Love, Elder Warner" Ha Later that night he called me and said "Thank you so much for the mints. After beating you guys so badly I thought the least I could do was eat them." Yeah - I'm sure he had to think all day to come up with that!!!

Movies: Angels in the Outfield and Angels and Demons (which I've never seen) the theme is obviously Angels.

I think I got all your questions right? I hope the pictures are self explanatory I have way more pictures than that but I figured those gave a good explanation.

Anyway I love you guys.

Have a good week.

Flood Pictures

Email that he is OK (October 27th)

Hi

So I am not breaking the rules, I was commanded by President Smith to come and tell you that I am Ok. Even though the floods are coming to surround me, and trying to stop the work from progressing, all is well in Zion. Plus I have drinking water for the rest of my mission saved away.

Love ya talk to you later,
bye bye

October 24th Letter

So Hey family,

Hey so the best news of the week first, we had an investigator get interviewed for baptism and she passed she will be baptized on Sunday! Her name is "Eaw" It is pronounced like the word ow (like when you get hit and it hurts so you say ouch or ow.)

This week was crazy! I can't even explain it. All week long we have been doing nothing but flood stuff. Apparently the flood is coming to Bangkok. It has already come into north Bangkok and flooded it out. They had to evacuate all the missionaries out of the Bangkok North Zone and move them all to the esan (which is Thai for east Thailand). Anyway we have pretty much been buying food all week and water trying to save it so when the flood hits we will have stuff to eat and drink. One day President Smith called Elder Iverson and me and was like "right now is the time to buy water." So we immediately went out and bought a ton of water, and then seriously not even a full day later every single place was out of drinkable water. You still can't find any in like 7-11 or what not, no water at all. I thought it was a pretty inspired move by President to send us all out when he did.

Other then that we didn't get a whole lot done this week because of all the preparing and what not that we had to do. The transfers were supposed to be this week but now we are not having them for at least a whole other week but maybe even 2 or more. President canceled all the missionaries that were supposed to come in from the MTC so they are stuck there for a while. (I bet they are so disappointed! I remember what it was like with the riots going on and thinking that we might not be able to come in.) Anyway President decided to send all the missionaries that were supposed to finish this week home a week early because they weren't sure if the airport was going to flood. That means that one of the AP's went home and left Elder Larson all by himself to handle this flood garbage, I'm sure he so stressed.

Elder Iverson and I had a fun few days at the airport this week. We were asked to go and pick up a senior couple that was going home. They had to fly to Bangkok to get interviewed by President Smith and then take another flight to America with all the young missionaries. Anyway, Elder Iverson and I picked them up and took them to President Smiths hotel (yeah... he has to stay in a hotel because his house has/is flooded.) That was on Friday and then the next day we got an emergency phone call from Elder Larson. One of the senior couples flights that was flying in from the MTC accidentally didn't get cancelled so they had flown in and nobody was expecting them. So they sent us to pick them up, but when we got there we couldn't find them. They decided to leave the airport and go look for a church or a place to stay. Anyway we searched for hours but we didn't find them - Bangkok is a big city. It was such a stressful day. I'm not sure if they have been found yet. I think they went to church on Sunday and found some people or missionaries but i'm not sure.

It has been such a fast and crazy week. But even through all of that I still haven't seen any flood water. Elder Iverson and I are convinced it is a hoax. Everyone we talk to talks about the flood but we haven't seen any floods. It is just like one of those stories that you hear a lot about but never get to see with your own eyes.

So on top of all that I was able to do switch offs with Elder Osborne (my LOOG). Which was really cool. He has gotten so much better at the language since when I was with him, he is a way good missionary too. The Stake Conference was way fun. The speakers were from Salt Lake actually, it was Elder Scott and Bishop Burton, along with somebody from the Young Women's presidency and then Elder Perkens the general authority in China. It was good everybody had good talks about respecting our wives and about preparing for temples and personal revelation - we had a good time.

Umm... I haven't gotten the package yet because the office has flooded so their is no way to get there. But the marshmallow popcorn in the last package was really good. It tasted just like kettle corn to be honest with you. The movies this week are RV and Dumb and Dumber, and the theme is probably "Road Trip".

Yes mom I have seen a Thai wedding, at least part of one, it was wierd. They did it in a very western kind of way, but I think the typical Thai weddings are at the buddhist temples so I haven't seen one of those. If you ask me what I remember most about the wedding is that everyone (and I mean everyone) was way drunk. Alcohol is a huge problem in this world, but it seems it is 10 times worse in Thailand.

Umm... I don't have a whole lot more time so I will answer your questions about Halloween next week and then I will try and get the pictures of Thai kids as well. I love you guys.

P.S. You probably noticed I took money out of the account, that is just in case of an emergency and I run out of money. Don't forget, I am in good hands so don't worry.

October 17th Letter

Sup family?

This week was really good. I don't feel like I'm going to have a whole lot to talk about because we didn't really do anything. The main big thing that happened was a Zone Training on "how to begin teaching". It was pretty good, I have to be honest, I thought it was pretty repetitive, but that can be a good thing. It helps engrave things on peoples minds. Anyway, we did the training a little differently. We went through the scriptures and found out how people in the scriptures begin teaching. That was an interesting study. I feel like I learned a lot but I'm not sure what to tell you guys about.

We had a good week with investigators as well. We found a lot of new ones and we were able to get a new one to church as well. One problem is that a bunch of our progressing investigators decided not to come to church - Ugh!!! We have this lady who wants to be baptized in a couple of weeks but now she has missed church twice in a row, and she knows it is a commandment. We were teaching this other investigator the other day and I asked her why she believed in God and she said that she just knew because she "felt it in her heart" and then I asked if she believed that Jesus Christ was her Savior, she said "yes because without him I will go to hell." I was so shocked I didn't know what to say. I was just like, "yes - correct!" It is funny how two months ago she didn't even know who Jesus Christ was, and now she knows perfectly how important He is to her.

Anyway that is pretty much all the big news from this week. I'm kind of looking forward to next Sunday it is a Stake Conference and it is being broadcast from china so that should be interesting. This will be my first one of these, I wonder who the speaker will be. That is way cool that they called a new bishopric. Nobody even told me that the time was coming for that. I'll bet Bishop Haskell is grateful for a brake. I don't even know who Steve Smith is, and I would have never guessed the other two in a million years. How long was the other bishop, bishop?

The flooding still hasn't come to my area in Bangkok, which means that it won't, I think. Even if it does my room is on floor seven so I don't have to be too worried, it would have to flood about 56 feet to get to my room. As for the Good and Plenty's you asked about - let me tell you, there sure were plenty of them. Man, they still aren't gone and none of the elders I'm around care for black licorice. So I have been trying to eat it all by myself, And now i'm not even so interested in them, it was soooooo much!

Anyway, I know that one of the movies is Back to the Future But I don't recognize the other movie. You will have to tell me. I've tried it just isn't clicking.

Anywho, I love you guys have a good week.

Hey kiddos,

This week was super good. Both of your emails were UBER long! That is ok I really enjoyed reading them. I will try and write fast that way I can write a lot as well. This past week seemed was really busy! We had a couple of meetings that we had to go to near the mission office so that took time out of our day and then we had 10 hours of conference to watch, all the while teaching lessons and what not. It was a lot of fun. I really talked this week up with all of our investigators and encouraged them to come listen to conference. I have really learned the importance of having a prophet in these latter days. Last month the home teaching message was about how general conference is a blessing in our lives. They told a story that I really liked about a strong member of the church who was talking to a non-member and the non-member asked the strong member "you believe that there is a living prophet of good?" and the member said "yes." Then the non member asked, "they talk to you twice a year, last time what did they say?" Anyway after that the member couldn't answer because he couldn't remember what the prophet had talked about. That story just showed me how important it is to listen to the prophets and then review what they say often. If we really believe that we have a Prophet of God that speaks to us, then NOTHING is more important than the messages we get from him. So I shared that with my investigators a lot in the last week.

I think my favorite talks that were shared were the first one from elder Scott about the scriptures and then I really liked elder Packers talk. Those were just two of my favorites. Elder Holland gave a great one during priesthood. They were all really good. It seems like they talked about missionary work a lot!

Yeah so it turns out that this year is a really REALLY bad year with flooding. So everybody is doing service stuff for the floods, I attached a picture; we are doing humanitarian bags for the victims of the floods. But yeah this year is pretty wet and floody. As for my area there isn't any floods and I doubt there will be. We are in too big of a city, but yeah up north near Ayutaha and some other places it is pretty bad, I think the elders up there might end up doing something.

It is way cool that Ryan is getting married this week. I can't believe that has already happened. Both Ryan and Kasey are married. All my friends are getting married. I'm glad to hear that everything is good with grandma and gramps. I love the two of them, they are so cute. That is too bad about Maggie, but I totally understand. I wouldn't want to live by myself in New York. I am so sad about Uncle Scott. Why doesn't he go to America? Coming from somebody who has now used a hospital outside of the U.S., I can’t see why anyone would want to if you had the choice.

Anyway, thanks for the great letters. Sorry I didn't write back on a lot of stuff buy I really enjoyed it and all the stories and stuff. Enjoy the pictures that I sent, and I think that is all I need in the package I can't think of anything else.

Love you guys,

Movies: X-men and Bourne Identity – theme: Forgotten past/amnesia.

October 3rd letter

Dear mom and dad,

This week was way good. I find it funny how things can change so much in just one week. Last week we felt like everybody was dropping us and what not, but then this week we picked everything back up. It was a really great week for missionary work. We were also busy going around and visiting all the different districts in our zone, we needed to teach some district meetings. This month the mission decided to focus on "giving commitments" so we went all around training on how to give good commitments. This has been very helpful because it is something that I was wanting to work on, and in order to train somebody else on it. You have to know how to do it yourself. It gave me a good reason to work on it.

So Elder Iverson and I have decided that everyone in our zone needs to work on a few things. We have had a lot of conversations about how we can be better missionaries and how to help others be better missionaries too so that everything can improve. Anyways, we came up with 3 things that everyone could do to make the work better than it currently is. It is Building your Faith, Charity, and Temperance. We all need to have more faith in Christ and in the help that we will receive as we try our hardest to do His work. Next we all need to have more charity for our investigators, members and other missionaries. Last but not least is temperance – you ask why? Because you can't focus too much on any one thing and not focus enough on other things. You need to have the perfect amount of everything (i.e. finding, teaching, service, working with members, etc). If you don't have temperance one of these things will suffer and the work will eventually decrease, but if you try and have temperance in all the things then I think they will feed off each other and the work will grow. Anyway we know there are probably way more things that we need to work on but those are the basics (stepping stones).

As Elder Iverson and I have implemented this into our work we have seen a lot of improvement in ourselves, in our investigators, and in the ward. I would say all together we are just happier. Now we are just trying to help everyone else incorporate it also.

It sounds like all is well at home, staying busy and all. I meant to ask you guys what talks you liked the most, but it is not too late at least next week when you answer I will be able to relate because I will get to watch it next Saturday and Sunday. And guess what else, this time will be in English! Yeah – first English conference in a year and a half, I'm so excited!

Anyway the movies this week are ง่ายๆ We have Dodgeball and Bad News Bears. I think the theme would The misfit team coming out on top. Last week I totally forgot the pacifier had the bear dance, so that is why I didn't know. Plus I was really rushed a little bit. Anyway Thanks so much for your emails. It sounds like between the wedding shower and back pain you guys were "occupied" this week. (can you say that?)

I love you have a good next week.

September 26th Letter

Howdie Krอb Khrua (Family)

Well this week was great despite the adversity which we encountered. We had 4 really important Investigators decide that they weren't interested in the gospel anymore. That includes 3 people who were going to be interviewed for baptism this week, it was a rough time. One was the lady who had a problem with tithing, she decided that it was all just too hard and she needed to take a break for a while (everyone knows, including her, that that isn't a good thing). Another one of the invetigators decided that she "liked" Elder so we ended up giving her to the sisters to teach onward (but not until after a really awkward phone call that she made). Even with this bad news we still had some good come out of it. We saw some progression with the Ward, the members saw that the investigator that has come to church 13 times now isn't being baptized. It got everyone asking why, and we were able to answer lovingly that it was because the ward wasn't helping out (that is the first step of repentance, admitting what they have previously done wasn't right). We didn't do a whole lot this week just a lot of inviting, I knocked on so many doors! You would think after a year and a half of knocking on doors I would be pretty good at it, but nope, still bad! I think it has become easier but obviously I need some improvement.

Funny story: We were in a big meeting with President Smith. He was talking about key indicators and all the numbers and what not in the mission, and then at the end he was like "But out of all the numbers that are important, this number is the most important (writing on the board) 54-10 (he is a Ute fan). Everyone was like OUCH! Always trying to rub it in!!!

I constantly feel like there is less and less to write about because I'm not doing anything different these days and nothing exciting is happening in the area. All the things I do are fun and good but it is also the mundane stuff and it really isn’t easy to write about. I feel like I will have a few stories to write about, like in the next few weeks Elder Iverson and I are going to go try some new foods, like alligator, cobra, dog and stuff, and then once we get our area back up and pumpin' we will have some people getting baptized and then I will have all kinds of stories and pictures to send home.

Anyway thanks for the letters, I love you guys. And I am so grateful for the support and the letters (I'm sorry mine are so short), but don't think that it means I love you any less.

Movies: DaVinci Code, The Pacifier, and National Treasure. Theme: Blockbuster busts, just kidding – I don't know.

I need some razors so if you could send me some that would be greatly appriciated; also I broke my camera (I think it still works a little bit) but if you have any ideas on what to do there let me know.

September 19th Letter

Well Fams
 
This week was really great. We just had a whole ton of success!  We have quite a few people who have accepted commitments to be baptized, and we even have quite a few new investigators.  I am really excited about this last week even though nothing really spectacular happened, it seems about the same as you guys – a week that wasn't too full of excitment but still good.  We are really looking forward to this next week as well; we get to go to a training thing and then pretty much just work all week. I think we will be able to get a lot of good work done if we can work in our area a lot the next few days.  I think I would like to find more families.  I know like that was something we focused on a lot back when I was a greenie, but It seems like the people that we have found in the past few days/weeks are all single.  That is ok, because we will continue to work for families.
 
I don't really have a lot to say so I guess that I will tell you of an experience that I had in teaching. This week we were teaching an investigator about the Law of the Fast. We told him that we need to fast at least once a month, and then give the offering to the Bishop.  We told him that we fast to ask for blessings and for special concerns or to give thanks, or for anything really.  Anyway, when we commited them to do it they said no... They have learned everything before. They have committed to pay tithing, they stopped working on Sunday, they stopped worshipping idols and threw them away, they gave up coffee and what not. They did all that, and in the end, the commitment they say they can't keep is the one where they don't eat food for two meals.  I find it so funny that people get caught up in the little things.  All the hard things they can do A-OK but the easy stuff they stumble on.  It is the same with all of us. I think it is usually the small stuff that keeps people out of heaven. I would bet that on really busy days these people have skipped two meals, but when we commit them to do it for God, they refuse.  It is things like this that make me stressed.  Oh well, strengthen their faith and try again. 
 
I really like that quote from Bronco how he said that as he stood in front of the cougar club he felt like he was in front of the Pharasies and the Sadducees because they forgot what our purpose is.  You know that is really true, sometimes I think people forget that the purpose of this church is to spread the gospel.  We know the truth and we want everybody to know the truth also.  We have a prophet, apostles, missionaries and all the members to help spread that message.  So I would say that even though they play football and build character and what no, it it is still the responsability of the BYU football team to spread the gospel. And we can do that whether we win or lose.
 
I totally forgot to tell you the movies last week. but I did know them. this week the movies are "Hocus Pocus" and Wizard of Oz. Theme: Witches, or even better than that sister witches.มั้ง (In your face).
 
Well I love you guys, tell the family I love them too.
 
Have a great week.
 

September 12th Letter

Dearest Family,

So this time I am really rushed to get the letters out so it probably won’t be as long or as detailed as my last letters – I know you probably thought it couldn't get less detailed, but today it probably will.

This week has been kind of fun. A little bit slower due to the fact we have fewer investigators then usual, and I got a new companion – his name is Elder Iverson. Yeah, the same Elder Iverson that was in my MTC district. I think this is the first time that president has ever put two elders from the same MTC group as companions but it is pretty sweet. We are getting along really well. The last few days have been a lot of fun. I think we have both changed a lot in the last year and a half so these days we are just the best of friends at least that is how I feel. I Hope he doesn't just think I’m an idiot!!!

Anyway, everyone else that moved into the Zone I know you won't know them because I don't even know them. It seems like everyone has been paired up ok. There were a lot of missionaries that went home and a lot that came in so I think this last move made President Smith a little stressed. All is well In Zion.

As for our investigators this week: We have a way sweet investigator that wants to be baptized, her name is Rin. She has a lot of faith and seems to get all kinds of answers through her prayers (personally I think she hears the answers because she is in touch with her feelings). She notices the Holy Spirit and it seems to be changing her heart really fast. We also have another investigator who needs to be baptized because he is practically living every principle that the church teaches, including having a year supply of food. We went to his house yesterday and he had about 50 huge bags of rice. He said he thought it was a smart idea to save up just in case. I totally know that people are prepared to meet the missionaries.

Other then that this week has just been kind of slow and boring, but the next couple of weeks the work will pick up and it will be way good. I'm glad that all is going well at home, the Stake Conference sounded like it was good. I hate going to meetings and just getting fluff. I have really come to love the simple doctrines of the gospel, repentance or the atonement or the restoration or faith. I just love the simple stuff that we can never hear too often. I feel like if we taught more of these simple doctrines in our meetings then peoples faith would be more strengthened.

Anyway, Maren sent me pictures of you guys during the party. You all looked very happy. It made me happy to see good happy family. This week I saw a bunch of broken and unhappy families this week. It really made me grateful for where I came from. (Engrish has become his second ranguage).

Ok I love you guys have a good week.

Howdie Parents,Alright, I will take you up on the taco time crispy chicken burrito bet. I LOVE MEXICAN FOOD! I miss it so much. I had it for the fist time in a year and a half last Wednesday. AH - it was so delicious, I had nachos. I also had Dr. Pepper for the fist time since I became a missionary, heaven on earth. Anyway the movies are Jumper and Batman, and the theme is... ok นึกไม่ออก (I give up)! Something about trying to capture the hero?

Well this last week was a blast. It doesn't seem like a whole lot happened but it was actually pretty eventful. Like the special meeting with Elder Gong, and dad, he did remember you. He is a very intelligent person, and a really nice guy. Pretty much the whole meeting was about virtue and moral cleanliness. He also talked a little bit about people's countenances, it was a really good meeting. It seemed to lift everybody's spirits and just give them a good spiritual boost. It was pretty cool because the other person that came is the Second Counselor in the Young Mens Presidency. He gave a good talk on his concern for the young men these days. I fell like I learned a lot.

Something else happened pretty cool yesterday, Elder Larson was called to be the next AP (Assistant to the President). He is a really good fit for AP. They need somebody that has his kind of knowledge. He is different then all the other APs that I've seen get called. Usually they are really overbearing and เเรง (I don't know how to translate this word), but Elder Larson is kind and gentle. It will be interesting to see how people react to somebody who compliments them all the time in stead of chews them out and complains. I'm excited for him.

This next Thursday is transfers so I will know who my new companion is on that day. I'm not sure who it is going to be but I think everybody is a good choice. Every zone leader area is getting a new Zone Leader called so it will be fun to be with someone who doesn't already have a preconceived notion of how a Zone Leader is supposed to be. A lot of people think that as a leader you get to slack off in your own area (because you have to worry about other areas too) but that is a bunch of bologna! I just want someone who will work twice as hard so we can get all of it done.

As for you guys it seems like everything is going well and right. I'm so happy that BYU won! Next game will be so good, I'm way nervous for both sides, I don't want either of them to lose. It is good that BYU has such a tough schedule to start the season, it is the same as life. In order to grow and get better you need some trials and adversity. If BYU wants to be a really good team for the next two years, they need to play these hard teams to help them grow. See the gospel can be likened to any part of our life, even football.

As you guys were talking about sacrament meeting, and how the bishop got up and talked about the sacradness of the sacrament because it is what needed to be said in that moment, it made me think of our bishop. Yesterday between the 3 companionships of elders and sisters we had over twenty investigators at church. That means that a third of the people who were there weren't members. Anyway, the bishop got up to bare his testimony and realized that nobody in the audience was understanding what he was saying so half way through his testimony he had to dumb it down. He ended up just promising everyone blessings if they kept the law of tithing and what not. It was pretty good but I think all the investigators thought he was asking for donations - Oops!Anyway that is all I think I have, I love you guys. Thanks for your letters and talk to you next week.

p.s. I was thinking about going and getting my eyes checked out, I think I need glasses. I figured out that everything gets blurry in my right eye, who would have thunk it. Also I'm eventually going to get around to finding a dentist, I may just kill the two birds with the one stone.

Dear Mom and Dad,

So this last week was pretty good, it just zoomed on by. It has rained every day really really really hard so all of our appointments have been canceling on us. That has made the missionary work pretty difficult, but other than that it has been going pretty well. Yes, it has been flooding quite a bit, but it isn't near our house or the church so we don't really have anything to worry about. Just to give you an Idea, two days ago it took us an our and a half to go 7 miles in a taxi, how terrible is that? There was about two feet of standing water on the road the whole way and It seemed like half the cars on the road were broken down because their engines got water in them. It was awful, but in the end I don't have to much to complain about because everything is good. We did meet with the Stake President yesterday and we told him all of our concerns, he said he would take care of it. We had a really terrible lesson on Sunday taught by that same member. It was about subjects that just aren't appropriate to talk about in a church setting, or in any setting really. Everything that was taught was speculation and not church doctrine. It was supposed to be on respecting women, but instead we talked about our Heavenly Mother and all kinds of stuff that was more than apostate. He also decided to talk about some things from the temple - way terrible. An entire hour spent and we didn't open up the scriptures once, not once! How in the world did he expect the spirit to be there? Anyway, we shared that lesson with the Stake President, he was displeased. I hope this time they can just take care of it and then we won't have to have any more issues with this guy.

How scary is that about TJ. I can't believe he is having hurricanes and tornados. I thought there was just an earthquake there last week too. That is so weird, it seems like TJ gets nothing but natural disasters on his mission. You'll have to let me know how he faired the storm. So in the next coming week it is going to be pretty exciting, except for quite a bit of our proselyting time is being taken away. Tomorrow we have a zone leader counsel because there isn't a better time to do one I guess. But after that on Tuesdays we teach English so I can't do a whole lot on that day.

On Wednesday Elder Gong (the new Area President) is going to give the missionaries in Bangkok a devotional. We are all pretty excited about that, but keeps us out of our area for a while. I will tell him hi for you, Elder Larson knows him too.

Anyway I'm really excited for the football season to start too even though I can't watch it. It will be exciting next year though. I hope that UofU loses to BYU that way I can rub it in to President Smiths, just kidding, but I probably will.

I think that is all that I have to say in this letter. I read a talk I really liked, it kind of answered my questions about being a better leader and what not. It is in the June 2007 ensign it is called "Examples of Great Teachers" it is by president Monson. It is a really good talk and I really enjoyed it. Pretty much that whole Ensign is good. If you want to look it up and read it, I would recommend it. It has some great articles on becoming better teachers and students.

The movies are Twister and Day After Tomorrow. Obviously the theme is natural disaster which is actually quite fitting for this email.Anyway, I love you guys.

Thank you for your letters and your prayers.

I have a question, when you want to turn sweetened condensed milk into caramel how long do you have to boil it?

Examples of Great Teachers
President Thomas S. Monson
First Counselor in the First Presidency

We have heard from some of the greatest teachers in the Church, who have given us wonderful insights into many of the elements and principles of good teaching.

As has been mentioned, we are all teachers in some respect, and we have a duty to teach to the best of our ability.

I should like to share with you some examples of individuals I have known who have touched my life and have taught me important and never-to-be-forgotten lessons.

Everyone Has a Story
I have been thinking of one of our emeritus General Authorities, even Elder Marion D. Hanks, who has excelled in teaching seminary, institute, and the Church generally. He has utilized many different teaching methods.

On one occasion, Elder Hanks toured a mission, interviewing each of the missionaries laboring in that particular area. I had been on an assignment in an adjoining area and was given a ride to the airport with Elder Hanks and the mission president.

Elder Hanks told the mission president what a privilege it had been to visit with and interview each of the missionaries. He said he had felt prompted to ask one sister missionary, “Please tell me about your mission and how you felt about being called as a sister missionary.

”She told him that her humble father, a farmer, had willingly sacrificed much for the Lord and His kingdom. He was already sustaining two sons on missions when he talked with her one day about her unexpressed desires to be a missionary and explained to her how the Lord had helped him to prepare to help her.

He had gone to the fields to talk with the Lord, to tell Him that he had no more material possessions to sell or sacrifice or to use as collateral for borrowing. He needed to know how he could help his daughter go on a mission. He felt the inspiration to plant onions. He thought he had misunderstood. Onions would not likely grow well in this climate; others were not growing onions; he had no experience growing onions.

After wrestling with the Lord for a time, he was again impressed to plant onions. So he borrowed money from the bank, purchased seeds, planted and nurtured, and prayed.

The elements were tempered; the onion crop prospered. He sold the crop; paid his debts to the bank, the government, and the Lord; and put the remainder in an account under his daughter’s name—enough to support her during her mission.

Elder Hanks then told the mission president, “I will not forget the story or the moment or the tears in her eyes or the sound of her voice or the feeling I had as she said, ‘Brother Hanks, I don’t have any trouble believing in a loving Heavenly Father who knows my needs and will help me according to His wisdom if I am humble enough.’

”Elder Hanks was teaching a most important lesson: each child in each classroom, each young man or young woman, each student in seminary or institute, each adult in Gospel Doctrine classes, each missionary—yes, every one of us—has a story waiting to be told. Listening is an essential element as we teach and as we learn.

“It Is More Blessed to Give Than to Receive”
It was my experience as a small boy to come under the influence of a most effective and inspired teacher who listened to us and who loved us. Her name was Lucy Gertsch. In our Sunday School class, she taught us concerning the Creation of the world, the Fall of Adam, the atoning sacrifice of Jesus. She brought to her classroom as honored guests Moses, Joshua, Peter, Thomas, Paul, and, of course, Christ. Though we did not see them, we learned to love, honor, and emulate them.

Never was her teaching so dynamic nor its impact more everlasting as one Sunday morning when she sadly announced to us the passing of a classmate’s mother. We had missed Billy that morning but did not know the reason for his absence.

The lesson featured the theme “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Midway through the lesson, our teacher closed the manual and opened our eyes and our ears and our hearts to the glory of God. She asked, “How much money do we have in our class party fund?”

Depression days prompted a proud answer: “Four dollars and seventy-five cents.”

Then ever so gently she suggested, “Billy’s family is hard pressed and grief stricken. What would you think of the possibility of visiting the family members this morning and giving to them your fund?”

Ever shall I remember the tiny band walking those three city blocks, entering Billy’s home, greeting him, his brother, sisters, and father. Noticeably absent was his mother. Always I shall treasure the tears which glistened in the eyes of all as the white envelope containing our precious party fund passed from the delicate hand of our teacher to the needy hand of a grief-stricken father.

We fairly skipped our way back to the chapel. Our hearts were lighter than they had ever been, our joy more full, our understanding more profound. A God-inspired teacher had taught her boys and girls an eternal lesson of divine truth: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Well could we have paraphrased the words of the disciples on the way to Emmaus: “Did not our heart burn within us … while [she] opened to us the scriptures?” (Luke 24:32).

Lucy Gertsch knew each of her students. She unfailingly called on those who missed a Sunday or who just didn’t come. We knew she cared about us. None of us has ever forgotten her or the lessons she taught.

Many, many years later, when Lucy was nearing the end of her life, I visited with her. We reminisced concerning those days so long before when she had been our teacher. We spoke of each member of our class and discussed what each one was now doing. Her love and caring spanned a lifetime.

The Articles of Faith
Another inspired teacher in my life was Erma Bollwinkel, a member of our stake Primary board. She constantly stressed the importance of learning the Articles of Faith. In fact, we could not graduate from Primary until we successfully recited each article of faith to her—something of a challenge for rambunctious young boys, but we persevered and succeeded. I have, throughout my life, as a result, been able to recite the Articles of Faith.

For many years as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, I had responsibility for East Germany, also known as the German Democratic Republic. In this assignment, my knowledge of the Articles of Faith was most helpful. On each of my visits throughout the 20 years I supervised this area, I always reminded our members in that area of the twelfth article of faith: “We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.

”Our meetings behind what was known as the Iron Curtain were always monitored by the communist government there. In the early 1980s, when we sought approval from the government officials to build a temple there, and later when we asked permission for young men and women from that area to serve missions throughout the world and for others to come into their country to serve missions, they listened and then said, “Elder Monson, we’ve watched you for 20 years, and we’ve learned we can trust you and your Church because you and your Church teach your members to obey the laws of the land.”

I share another example of the value of learning the Articles of Faith. Forty-five years ago I worked with a man named Sharman Hummel in the printing business in Salt Lake City. I once gave him a ride home from work and asked him how he came to receive his testimony of the gospel.

He responded, “It’s interesting, Tom, that you asked me that question, for this very week my wife, my children, and I are going to the Manti Temple, there to be sealed for all eternity.”

He continued his account: “We lived in the East. I was journeying by bus to San Francisco to establish myself in a new printing company, and then I was going to send for my wife and children. All the way from New York City to Salt Lake City the bus trip was uneventful. But in Salt Lake City a young girl entered the bus—a Primary girl—who sat next to me. She was going to Reno, Nevada, there to have a visit with her aunt. As we journeyed westward, I noticed a billboard: ‘Visit the Mormon Sunday School this week.’“

I said to the little girl, ‘I guess there are a lot of Mormons in Utah, aren’t there?’“

She replied, ‘Yes, sir.’“

Then I said to her, ‘Are you a Mormon?’“

Again her reply: ‘Yes, sir.’”

Sharman Hummell then asked, “What do Mormons believe?” And that little girl recited the first article of faith; then she talked about it. Continuing, she gave him the second article of faith and talked about it. Then she gave him the third and the fourth and the fifth and the sixth and all of the Articles of Faith and talked about all of them. She knew them consecutively.

Sharman Hummel said, “When we got to Reno, and we let that little girl off into the arms of her aunt, I was profoundly impressed.”

He said, “All the way to San Francisco I thought, ‘What is it that prompts that little girl to know her doctrine so well?’ When I arrived in San Francisco, the very first thing I did,” said Sharman, “was to look through the yellow pages for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I called the mission president, and he sent two missionaries to where I was staying. I became a member of the Church, my wife became a member, all of our children became members, in part because a Primary girl knew her Articles of Faith.”

I think of the words of the Apostle Paul: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16).

Just three months ago, the Hummel family came to Salt Lake City for the wedding of their daughter Marianne. They stopped by the office; we had a wonderful visit. All 6 daughters came, along with 4 sons-in-law and 12 grandchildren. The entire family had remained active in the Church. Each of the daughters has been to the temple. Countless are those who have been brought to a knowledge of the gospel by the members of this family—all because a young child had been taught the Articles of Faith and had the ability and the courage to proclaim the truth to one who was seeking the light of the gospel.“

Be Ready Always”
I love the Lord’s injunction found in the 88th section of the Doctrine and Covenants: “I give unto you a commandment that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom. Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you” (D&C 88:77–78).

Many years ago, as I was traveling by air to an assignment in southern California, a lovely young lady sat down in the empty seat next to me. She began reading a book. As one is inclined to do, I glanced at the title: A Marvelous Work and a Wonder.

I said to her, “Oh, you must be a Mormon.”

She responded, “Oh, no. Why would you ask?”

I replied, “Well, you’re reading a book written by a very prominent member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

She said, “Is that right? A friend gave this to me, but I don’t know much about it. However, it has aroused my curiosity.”

Then I wondered, “Should I be forward and say more about the Church?” And the words of the Apostle Peter came to mind: “Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). I decided that this was the time when I should bear my testimony.

I told her that it was my privilege years before to have assisted Elder Richards in printing A Marvelous Work and a Wonder. I told her something about that great man. I told her of the many thousands of people who had embraced the truth after reading that which he had prepared.

Then it was my privilege, all the way to Los Angeles, to answer her questions relative to the Church—intelligent questions that came from a heart which was seeking the truth. I asked if I might make arrangements for two sister missionaries to call upon her. I asked if she would like to attend our branch in San Francisco, where she lived. Her answers were affirmative.

Upon returning home, I wrote to President Irven G. Derrick of the San Francisco stake and passed along to him this information. Can you imagine my delight when, a few months later, I received a call from President Derrick in which he said, “Elder Monson, I’m calling about Yvonne Ramirez, an off-duty flight attendant, a young lady who sat next to you on a flight to Los Angeles, a young lady to whom you said that it was not coincidence that you sat next to her and that she was reading A Marvelous Work and a Wonder on that trip. Brother Monson, she has just become the newest member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She’d like to speak to you and express her gratitude.” Of course I was overjoyed. It was a wonderful call.

President McKay’s Example
An example of a master teacher was President David O. McKay, who called me to be a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He taught with love and with sensitivity. He was the epitome of what he taught. His heart was kind, and his manner was gracious. He was a teacher of truth after the pattern of the Savior.

I observed this trait when, long before I was a General Authority, I entered his office to review some printing proofs of a book that we were printing. On that particular occasion, I noticed a picture on the wall, and I said to him, “President McKay, that’s a lovely painting. Is it a rendition of your childhood home in Huntsville, Utah?”

He sat back in his chair and gave a familiar David O. McKay chuckle and said, “Let me tell you about that picture. A sweet woman came in to see me one autumn day and presented to me that beautiful painting, framed and ready to be placed on the wall. She said, ‘President McKay, I spent much of the summer painting this picture of your ancestral home.’” He said he accepted the gift and thanked her profusely.

And then he said to me, “Do you know, Brother Monson, that dear woman painted the wrong house. She painted the house next door! I didn’t have the heart to tell her she painted the wrong house.”

But then he made this comment—and here is a vital lesson for all of us. He said, “In reality, Brother Monson, she painted the right house for me, because when, as a young boy, I would lie on the bed which was on the front porch of my ancestral home, the view I had through that screened porch was of the very house she painted. She did paint the right house for me!”

Lessons about Serving Others
Some of the best lessons learned in life come from our parents. Mine taught me valuable lessons as I was growing up. Frequently those lessons had to do with serving others. I have many memories of my boyhood days. Anticipating Sunday dinner was one of them. Just as we children hovered at our so-called starvation level and sat anxiously at the table with the aroma of roast beef filling the room, Mother would say to me, “Tommy, before we eat, take this plate I’ve prepared down the street to Old Bob, and hurry back.”

I could never understand why we couldn’t first eat and later deliver his plate of food. I never questioned but would run down to his house and then wait anxiously as Bob’s aged feet brought him eventually to the door. Then I would hand him the plate of food. He would present to me the spotlessly clean plate from the previous Sunday and then offer me 10 cents as pay for my services.M

y answer was always the same: “I can’t accept the money. My mother would tan my hide.”

He would then run his wrinkled hand through my blond hair and say, “My boy, you have a wonderful mother. Tell her thank you.”

I remember too that Sunday dinner always seemed to taste a bit better after I had returned from my errand.

My mother’s father, Grandfather Thomas Condie, also taught me a powerful lesson which involved this same Old Bob, who came into our lives in an interesting way. He was a widower in his 80s when the house in which he rented a room was to be demolished. I heard him tell my grandfather his plight as the three of us sat on the old front-porch swing of my grandfather. With a plaintive voice, he said to Grandfather, “Mr. Condie, I don’t know what to do. I have no family. I have no place to go. I have little money.” I wondered how Grandfather would answer.

We just kept rocking the swing. Then Grandfather reached into his pocket and took from it an old leather purse from which, in response to my hounding, he had produced many a penny or nickel for a special treat. This time he removed a key and handed it to Old Bob.

Tenderly he said, “Bob, here is the key to that house I own next door. Take it. Move your things in. Stay as long as you like. There will be no rent to pay, and nobody will ever put you out again.”

Tears welled up in the eyes of Old Bob, coursed down his cheeks, then disappeared in his long, white beard. Grandfather’s eyes were also moist. I spoke no word, but that day my grandfather stood 10 feet tall. I was proud to bear his given name. Though I was but a boy, that lesson has had a powerful influence on my life.

These are but a few of the lessons I have learned from those who have touched my life and have taught me.Again,

I reiterate that we are all teachers. We should ever remember that we not only teach with words; we teach also by who we are and how we live our lives.

The Perfect Example
As we teach others, may we follow the example of the perfect teacher, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He left His footprints in the sands of the seashore but left His teaching principles in the hearts and in the lives of all whom He taught. He instructed His disciples of that day—and to us He speaks the same words—“Follow thou me” (John 21:22).

May we go forward in the spirit of obedient response, that it may be said of each of us as it was spoken of the Redeemer, “Thou art a teacher come from God” (John 3:2). May this be so, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

August 21st Letter

Hello family.
 
This week was a good week for the most part. We didn't have anything big to do so we just did a few exchanges.  I wish I were a better leader. I'm never exactly sure how to inspire people to be better. Not just a better teacher or finder but a better disciple. We really feel like obedience is a big problem, but I can't force somebody to be obedient, and I'm not exactly sure how to help people get it.  I want people to work hard because they are devoted to the Lord, not because their leaders are following up with them everyday. How do you get somebody to change that? I guess it has something to do with their own personal conversion to the gospel, but it is so frustrating when somebody doesn't understand, it totally puts a kink in their chain. 
 
We are also having some problems in the ward too, but I think we will be able to solve it next week when we go and meet with the Stake President.  We have this one member who thinks he is the boss even though he is not.  He is so prideful and power hungry (I realize that it is prideful to call other people prideful but this one is true).  He called a Ward Counsel meeting together yesterday while the bishop was out of town – he has no authority or responsibility to do that. The whole purpose of that meeting was to yell at the missionaries. Anyway he didn't invite me and my companion to go into the meeting; he invited the younger companionship to go in so they weren't brave enough to say anything for the twenty minutes he yelled at them.  He is sure lucky I wasn't in there, anyway he will probably be our main discussion with the Stake President next week. 
 
Other than that it was a good week. One of the senior couple missionaries in Thailand has also been called to serve on the Stake High Council, anyway he came and gave a fantastic talk on service.  He talked about the little acts of service that we do to become more Christ like.  He shared the talk about the statue in WWII that was broken and they couldn't repair Jesus hands so they made the sign "You are My hands" It was a very great talk.  I think I enjoyed it most of all because it was in English.  Elder Larson translated for him this time so I got to listen better. 
 
It sounds like your week was really nice and relaxing.  Do you guys ever work anymore?  It seems like Maren is always sad to see you guys go. If she keeps seeing you every week like this it will hardly feel like she moved away.  I think it is so good that she is in the Young Women’s. They need her, she really does have some good experiences that she can share.
 
As for the questions mom, I'm not sure what my future is going to look like.  I think I will be here until November-ish which is another two transfers, and then after that move to a new area for my last 3 transfers. I really don't want to leave Bangkok but there are only two Zone Leader areas in Bangkok so I feel like I don't have a very good chance of staying unless President releases me. Yeah I really was serious about going to BYU.  Maybe you could look into that and see what I would have to do to go there. At this point it seems like the best decision. 
 
Anyway in closing... the movies are: Lord of the Rings, and The DaVince code.  The theme is way hard but I’m going to say something about a ring. Ok I’m probably just over thinking things, I have no idea.
 
I love you guys. Have a good week. I'll talk to you next week. I'm glad you got home safely.