Almost Halfway!

I can't believe time, once again. Just when I think it's going so slow, a WHOLE WEEK has passed. Absolutely Crazy.

First of all--thank you for the packages! Eric and Maere, those cupcakes were wonderful--I wish you could've seen my companion screaming and jumping up and down when I opened it. :) Haha! Thank you! They were enjoyed over our daily planning session. Grandma Rosie and Grandma Cherrie--thank you for your letters! I love hearing how things are at home, thank you for keeping me updated. I love you both very very much! Continue to work hard! Manda, thank you for the package with pictures. I LOVE THEM. So did my companions, so thank you! Mom/Matt, thanks for getting Becs' homecoming to me. The CD you sent (Matt?) didn't work with both of the talks on it, so the tape was very welcomed. I told Bec all about it later that day--haha strange. Caleb, my District enjoyed your jokes. And thanks to Liz and Em for color coding ideas! They're being implemented as we speak, thank you so much. Oh--hahaha, Manda I was crying I was laughing so hard at Shelby's tape. Oh my heck. She's the cutest 2 year old to ever walk the planet.

All I can say about the language this week...I'm SO grateful I had choir with Mr. H. Those practices with so many vowel drills....over and over until we got the perfect one...it sounds silly, but that has probably helped me the most with this language. So Mr. H, wherever you are, thank you! It's fun to see little experience that have brought me to this point. I know I have been prepared for this, though it's very easy to doubt at times. As one of the phiithay sisters told me, "Sister Naegle, if you doubt yourself, you doubt God." I've tried to take that to heart and just work my guts out! So far, I've been greatly blessed. I've also been focusing on my time being the Lord's time--because it is. When I think about that, evey second of my day is spent entirely different. Not that I wasn't diligent before, but now ever second counts for something. I know He trusts me to plan most of my day, but I've also seen His hand guide me to accomplish goals that I thought were impossible. Prayer and lots of effort work! I've proven that this week....I'm reading the Book of Mormon without my urim and thummim (not sure about spelling, but that's the card that tells me consonants/tones/vowels). Crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!! I never thought I'd be reading all the squiggles, but turns out those squiggles make perfect sense. No offense to all you non-Thai speakers, but Thai is the prettiest language in the world. I could listen to Brother Sakkha and Sister Noppomas all day.

Last Tuesday we had a devotional with Brother Foster of the Seventy. What an answer to my prayer! He talked about the insignificance of each individual (hang on, this has a point) in the universe. We are sooooo small compared to everyone in the earth, the universe, and the billions of galaxies out there. BUT....somehow, our perfect, loving, compassionate Heavenly Father knows each one of us by name. Have you thought lately about how incredible that is? Seriously. God knows YOU. I can testify of that from several experiences this week. Please keep praying, personally/with family, and you will know His presence! Oh my goodness He's so real--I feel like I"m learning all this stuff for the first time. If only you knew how much I was changing in just these 6 weeks...I can't describe it. I love what my heart is being molded into. And because I'm working hard and praying hard, I know Heavenly Father is helping me be the best person for the people of Thailand. Speaking of which, keep praying for them! I hear things have calmed down a bit, but continue to pray.

The Phiithays left today! CRAZY! Now we are the old ones, haha. We get the new district next week. THANK YOU family for not letting me stay home another 6 weeks....I know it's not a huge difference in the long run, but I'm so glad to have started this journey already. Plus I would've been a solo sister in that district--not fun!

I officially taught my last English lesson on Friday!!! From here on out, it's Thai all the way. YES. I am so grateful.

I don't really have much else to say, other than tell you how much I love the gospel. Just as I said there's power in simple prayer, there is definitely power in simple teaching/testimony. I know that I HAVE to rely on the spirit to get my point across to who I'm teaching, because my words can't do it justice. I'll just say I've had some incredible teaching experiences already by relying on the spirit, even if they're just role plays with other companionship's. The spirit is real!

I love you all so much, thank you for the support you give me. Make it a great week, and make ever second count!!

Love,

Sister Naegle

"Let go of what isn't you, and take back all that is." --Elder Foster

What do you do in your spare time? What does it say about you? Are you a kingdom builder or do you just watch? Go out and do something today. I love you, fam. Be who God intended you to be!