First of all--CONGRATS JAMIE AND JORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's officially 4th of July. WHAT?! Time is still cruising away. Let me just say thank you thank you thank you for the emails and letters you all sent this past week. I will not lie--it was a rough week last week. But we were given plenty of opportunities to laugh and just enjoy our time, too. But...it was rough.
I will follow that up quickly by saying after the trials come the blessings. WHAT A WEEK! Just as unbelievable as last week was, this week was equally spectacular. Except in a good way.
1) Baa Yod, a 69 year old investigator we've been teaching for the past while, is really growing in her testimony. At first, it was her son and daughter and law that were mostly interested, and she'd just sit in because she's nice. She's this little grandma from the east of Thailand, who takes care of a garden here and sells vegetables. You could say they're country folk of Thailand. At first, she told us she couldn't read at all. As we've taught more and more, this past week I asked her again if she'd be willing to read a verse. She didn't say anything, just went and got her glasses in the cupboard, came back, and read the verse for us. Ever since that day, she's read nearly every day in the scriptures (sometimes just a verse a day....she reads really slow), and prayed every night. We taught repentance this past week, and committed her to think of one thing she's done in her life that she feels guilty for, and repent for it. 2 days later we went back, and one of the first things she said was, "Sister! I talked to Heavenly Father about my sin and I feel good!!" She doesn't have a very good concept of what the gospel terms are ("repentance, faith, baptism, etc), but she understands the feelings associated with it. This woman is changing, and her family is seeing it. I've attached a picture of this adorable family. Baa Yod has come to church twice, and loves it. We asked if she has friends at church, and she immediately responded, "Oh, tons!!" Haha. She is....ah. She's setting an example for her 30 yr old son who hasn't done much since we've started teaching. We're looking for a date for her this week.
2) Saturday night, we got caught in the rain. But gratefully, we've been spending most of our time in one neighborhood to be more efficient with time/teaching. We are scouring this neighborhood, pretty much going to every house to talk to them, haha. So we had a few options of people to see. We went to one house, and figured we'd stop by another woman's house (Noi, I don't know if you remember her) that lives close by. We didn't think she'd be there, but she had just come home from out of town,We went inside, and started to talk. She said she was too busy, so we didn't need to "talk religion" today. What could we say? We hadn't set up an appt or anything, but I was naturally disappointed. 20 min later, she had questions about baptism. She accepted our invititation to pray together, so we entered the realm of teaching. She felt she had to know the Book of Mormon cover to cover in order to be baptized. When we showed her the 6 questions for baptism, she was surprised that was all she needed to know! We read in the scriptures, testified, and extended the date of the 31st of July. "Oh, a month? Totally. I can do that." Dater!
3) The dater that stopped learning with us last week? Called us a couple times to further talk about his questions. We just prayed for him, gave him time, and hoped missionaries in the future would take care of him. He called us Sunday after church and asked to meet. We rearranged our schedule, and after a 3 HOUR LESSON with a really awesome member, he has a date again!!!!! He is preparing to be baptized the 23rd of July. He has lots of questions, and we're working on helping him understand the Book of Mormon and it's source. For now....he's back. And he's trying to give it an honest effort. I told him straight up yesterday, "Kib, I get nervous to teach you! You know so much about the Bible--way more than me. But I'll tell you what I do know. The Book of Mormon is true, Joseph Smith is a prophet, and this is the true church of God. You are making the right decision by following the Savior here!" He pokes fun at my saying "I don't know anything," but it's true. Ha. He'll be ready for the 23rd.
4) A little 13 year old boy comes and plays ping pong at the church often with members. We asked to go see him at his house with his mom, and long story short? He's preparing for baptism the 30th of July! He's adorable, more to come about him later. The most proper kid. He's got such a pure heart.
Needless to say, the miracles come after the trial of our faith. My companion and I are really trying to rely on each other, and our revelation we receive for our investigators. We are being led by a source much, much, much greater than our own understanding. This is the work of the Lord! THERE IS NO DOUBT IN MY MIND THAT IS THE CASE. I love the gospel! Keep pushing along, fam. I hope you had a very happy 4th of July! :) God Bless America!
All My Love,
Sister Nay
P.S. "We are all busy. It's easy to find excuses for not reaching out to others, but I imagine they will sound as hollow to our Heavenly Father as the elementary school boy who gave his teacher a note asking that he be excused from school March 30th through the 34th." --President Faust
"The Lord loves each of us too much to merely let us go on being what we now are, for he knows what we have the possibilty to become!" --Neil A. Maxwell
Pictures: 1: Our makeshift ponchos in the rainy season! It pours daily. 2: Family of Baa Yod! 3: Our 4th of July celebration today at Sizzler.
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