Monday, February 14, 2011
Life Presses on in Roi Et!
February 14, 2011
Dearest Family,
Life presses on in Roi Et! This week was not nearly as stressful because we started off the week with a visit to the DINOSAUR museum in Kalasin which was super awesome. That made the week a lot more relaxing. Today will be a little stressful because we probably need to start packing. We haven’t heard yet, but one of us will most likely be moving. I will miss Elder Thrap immensely as we move on, whether I move or he moves. I know that he will continue to do marvelous things in Thailand.
Roi Et will have such a special place in my heart. It's the area where I really learned how to be a missionary and where I learned how to help people progress in the Gospel. From Brother Chaang's six week transformation to Wirayud, Alum, Nxng, and everyone else in between, Roi Et is a place where I tried my hardest and saw fruit that I could clearly see. I feel so blessed to have come here and met all the wonderful members. I love all them all. It's a place where I realized that I have to rely on the Lord and never give up. I learned that I must diligently try to follow the example of Jesus Christ always, no matter how hard it is.
After serving in Thonburi, I know that we have to live our lives on God's timetable. I’ve seen that here in Roi Et. I need to be patient, love the Lord and try my hardest. That's all he expects. Isn't it amazing to know that Jesus Christ makes up the difference when we trust in Him? We will make mistakes and find problems in the journey of life. But the greatest news is that we don't have to face them alone. Brother Sirawid (a member here in Roi Et) always says, "Coming into the Church doesn't mean that we won't have challenges but it does mean that we won't have to face them alone. We will receive divine protection."
Yesterday I was called upon to give a blessing to a sister who wants to be a missionary but has hepatitis B so she needs treatment before she can go. It will take months to recover. She must learn to "อดทนด้วยดี" - endure through it well. All will work out. I am trying to do the same. We must endure diligently always. I love the Lord and I love that He always helps me.
In other good news, Aa and Naang came to Church. They are doing so well. They continue to read from the scriptures daily and they are progressing very well. We recently dropped Manob, who went to Bangkok to find money. He just needs time and to be in a less stressful situation to make this covenant. Phaybuun is a bit on the back burner right now. Party is back but he needs to be going to Church regularly before we can do much of anything with him. We also taught a young man named Park this week who was really quite good - he got an answer to his prayer in the lesson. It was a cool experience. This weekend I did exchanges in Sarakham. They don't have a lot of super interested investigators right now but they are working hard and trying their best.
May God bless you all. I love you and pray for you daily.
Love,
Elder Jacob Newman
Dearest Family,
Life presses on in Roi Et! This week was not nearly as stressful because we started off the week with a visit to the DINOSAUR museum in Kalasin which was super awesome. That made the week a lot more relaxing. Today will be a little stressful because we probably need to start packing. We haven’t heard yet, but one of us will most likely be moving. I will miss Elder Thrap immensely as we move on, whether I move or he moves. I know that he will continue to do marvelous things in Thailand.
Roi Et will have such a special place in my heart. It's the area where I really learned how to be a missionary and where I learned how to help people progress in the Gospel. From Brother Chaang's six week transformation to Wirayud, Alum, Nxng, and everyone else in between, Roi Et is a place where I tried my hardest and saw fruit that I could clearly see. I feel so blessed to have come here and met all the wonderful members. I love all them all. It's a place where I realized that I have to rely on the Lord and never give up. I learned that I must diligently try to follow the example of Jesus Christ always, no matter how hard it is.
After serving in Thonburi, I know that we have to live our lives on God's timetable. I’ve seen that here in Roi Et. I need to be patient, love the Lord and try my hardest. That's all he expects. Isn't it amazing to know that Jesus Christ makes up the difference when we trust in Him? We will make mistakes and find problems in the journey of life. But the greatest news is that we don't have to face them alone. Brother Sirawid (a member here in Roi Et) always says, "Coming into the Church doesn't mean that we won't have challenges but it does mean that we won't have to face them alone. We will receive divine protection."
Yesterday I was called upon to give a blessing to a sister who wants to be a missionary but has hepatitis B so she needs treatment before she can go. It will take months to recover. She must learn to "อดทนด้วยดี" - endure through it well. All will work out. I am trying to do the same. We must endure diligently always. I love the Lord and I love that He always helps me.
In other good news, Aa and Naang came to Church. They are doing so well. They continue to read from the scriptures daily and they are progressing very well. We recently dropped Manob, who went to Bangkok to find money. He just needs time and to be in a less stressful situation to make this covenant. Phaybuun is a bit on the back burner right now. Party is back but he needs to be going to Church regularly before we can do much of anything with him. We also taught a young man named Park this week who was really quite good - he got an answer to his prayer in the lesson. It was a cool experience. This weekend I did exchanges in Sarakham. They don't have a lot of super interested investigators right now but they are working hard and trying their best.
May God bless you all. I love you and pray for you daily.
Love,
Elder Jacob Newman
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
This Was A Challenging Week
February 7, 2011
Dearest Family,
Here in Roi Et, life rolls on as I approach my 14th moves in Thailand. It's so crazy to think how close I am to finishing my mission. Of course, it's somewhat exciting. But to be entirely honest, it's terrifying. I will miss about 1,000,000 things about Thailand, from soy dogs, coke in a bag, pharmacies on every street corner, places to buy food every 10 feet, elephants in the streets, Thai people, their language, Isaan eating mats, Bangkok nights, to everything else that's amazing about Thailand. I don't know how I feel about going back to America where I am afraid I will not be able to speak Thai every day all day long and talk to people about the Gospel all day in Thai. So it's a mixed feeling.
This past weekend we went to teach Brother Chaang with Sister Waruni and President Sutheb. I feel like they are my Thai parents. They call me their son and I call her Mom. I call him Prathaan though. Although, he might as well be dad. It's so amazing to have such an intimate connection with these people.
Our investigators were a particular challenge this week but we are working our hardest and trying our best.
Brother Phaybuun is being a little stubborn lately. He still hasn't attended Church regularly and he hasn't kept appointments lately. His baptismal date was scheduled for this week but he didn't do his part. He has only attended Church one time and he hasn't really been too diligent in keeping commitments. It's very unfortunate to see how he knows the Gospel will bless him but he doesn't act on that knowledge fully.
Brother Manob is desperately poor. He is so in debt that he has to continue to go into debt further and further to stay alive. He sells rice and noodles - a typical Thai restaurant - that sells for about 25 - 30 baht per plate. So, his life isn't going too well at this time. He feels like he can't close on Sundays because he has five debt collectors who will come to hunt him down daily - asking for funds that he just can't provide a lot of times. He still prays and reads but going to Church is a challenge. This weekend he went to Bangkok to ask to borrow more money from his older Sister.
Brother Aa, Sister Naang and Sister Naamkhaang are all struggling to get to Church and to keep the Sabbath day holy. This week they will need to attend Church in order to make their baptismal date. They are keeping other commitments very well, but Church seems to be a problem for them.
Chaysid is doing very well. He told us that the scriptures have power and that he views the Book of Mormon as a sacred book. He's a bit hard to read sometimes but he keeps commitments and has come to sacrament meeting weekly. He likes meeting with us and likes to read the scriptures. I don't know if I said this but he has also had a broken leg for the past 6 months that still hasn't healed so he's fairly homebound. But he still makes it out to Church every week. This last Sunday, he was our only investigator at Church, unfortunately.
We recently met a new investigator named Breeze and he's doing really well. This Sunday he came to Church, but didn't make it in time for the sacrament and so he came back when we were eating lunch and we taught him for the third time. He has a lot of problems in his life and wants to find peace.
Brother Nxng, however, did not come to Church on time for his confirmation and only stayed at Church for 15 minutes. This week was definitely a week of trials, as Wirayud also was still in Chiang Mai and didn't get confirmed either.
Basically, the thing that I learned this week is that not everything works out as we plan. As we live our lives according to the Gospel, we aren't guaranteed to be happy all the time but we are guaranteed that we will know where true happiness comes from and that we must live our lives in accordance with Gospel standards. Often choosing the right comes at great personal sacrifice and while it's always the right thing to do it isn't the easiest or the most pain free thing to do. The question is “are we going to live a life that is comfortable or are we going to live a life that is right?”
I love the Lord and love His work. It isn’t easy but we must press onward and be true in the faith. Missionary work isn’t always fun but it’s always worth it.
Love you all so much and pray for you daily.
Elder Jacob Newman
Dearest Family,
Here in Roi Et, life rolls on as I approach my 14th moves in Thailand. It's so crazy to think how close I am to finishing my mission. Of course, it's somewhat exciting. But to be entirely honest, it's terrifying. I will miss about 1,000,000 things about Thailand, from soy dogs, coke in a bag, pharmacies on every street corner, places to buy food every 10 feet, elephants in the streets, Thai people, their language, Isaan eating mats, Bangkok nights, to everything else that's amazing about Thailand. I don't know how I feel about going back to America where I am afraid I will not be able to speak Thai every day all day long and talk to people about the Gospel all day in Thai. So it's a mixed feeling.
This past weekend we went to teach Brother Chaang with Sister Waruni and President Sutheb. I feel like they are my Thai parents. They call me their son and I call her Mom. I call him Prathaan though. Although, he might as well be dad. It's so amazing to have such an intimate connection with these people.
Our investigators were a particular challenge this week but we are working our hardest and trying our best.
Brother Phaybuun is being a little stubborn lately. He still hasn't attended Church regularly and he hasn't kept appointments lately. His baptismal date was scheduled for this week but he didn't do his part. He has only attended Church one time and he hasn't really been too diligent in keeping commitments. It's very unfortunate to see how he knows the Gospel will bless him but he doesn't act on that knowledge fully.
Brother Manob is desperately poor. He is so in debt that he has to continue to go into debt further and further to stay alive. He sells rice and noodles - a typical Thai restaurant - that sells for about 25 - 30 baht per plate. So, his life isn't going too well at this time. He feels like he can't close on Sundays because he has five debt collectors who will come to hunt him down daily - asking for funds that he just can't provide a lot of times. He still prays and reads but going to Church is a challenge. This weekend he went to Bangkok to ask to borrow more money from his older Sister.
Brother Aa, Sister Naang and Sister Naamkhaang are all struggling to get to Church and to keep the Sabbath day holy. This week they will need to attend Church in order to make their baptismal date. They are keeping other commitments very well, but Church seems to be a problem for them.
Chaysid is doing very well. He told us that the scriptures have power and that he views the Book of Mormon as a sacred book. He's a bit hard to read sometimes but he keeps commitments and has come to sacrament meeting weekly. He likes meeting with us and likes to read the scriptures. I don't know if I said this but he has also had a broken leg for the past 6 months that still hasn't healed so he's fairly homebound. But he still makes it out to Church every week. This last Sunday, he was our only investigator at Church, unfortunately.
We recently met a new investigator named Breeze and he's doing really well. This Sunday he came to Church, but didn't make it in time for the sacrament and so he came back when we were eating lunch and we taught him for the third time. He has a lot of problems in his life and wants to find peace.
Brother Nxng, however, did not come to Church on time for his confirmation and only stayed at Church for 15 minutes. This week was definitely a week of trials, as Wirayud also was still in Chiang Mai and didn't get confirmed either.
Basically, the thing that I learned this week is that not everything works out as we plan. As we live our lives according to the Gospel, we aren't guaranteed to be happy all the time but we are guaranteed that we will know where true happiness comes from and that we must live our lives in accordance with Gospel standards. Often choosing the right comes at great personal sacrifice and while it's always the right thing to do it isn't the easiest or the most pain free thing to do. The question is “are we going to live a life that is comfortable or are we going to live a life that is right?”
I love the Lord and love His work. It isn’t easy but we must press onward and be true in the faith. Missionary work isn’t always fun but it’s always worth it.
Love you all so much and pray for you daily.
Elder Jacob Newman
Monday, January 31, 2011
This Was a Crazy Week!
January 31, 2011
This week was crazy. We had major trainings in Roi Et during the middle of the week. Some other things that came up in the week were a last minute baptism program that had several mistakes, a baptism, Elder Thrap on exchanges, some crazy changes with investigators and a stressful time at Church.
Anyway, so I like to use the word stress a lot. Stress comes from hurry I guess. I feel in a hurry to make the last bit of my time in Thailand the best time possible. I only get to do this once and who knows when I'll be back in Thailand. Leaving Thailand will be very hard.
Brother Wirayud is doing well. This weekend he went to Chiang Mai for an election that's super important. He's in a different district from the city of Chiang Mai but in the same province. It’s a place called Chiang Daaw. He is a great guy and wants his father to also join the Church. His mother who recently died was Christian in Chiang Daaw but his father is still Buddhist. He, like most Thai tribal people of that generation, cannot read Thai but can speak Thai somewhat.
So this week! Nxng was baptized. He interviewed with Elder Ritchie on Friday night and then passed and we planned his baptism on Saturday. (Brother Ball showed up at Church too. He's Nxng's friend from Amway.) Anyway, he did a great job and he has a good testimony. He was baptized along with the granddaughter of a member whose parents are both members. Her grandma and grandpa are temple endowed and sealed. Nxng has a really interesting experience. He's been an investigator on and off for a long, long time. But he's doing really well and he's keeping the commandments. He has a desire to follow Christ and to be a good example. We are now going to be trying to work with his family to open their hearts more. They live in a neighborhood that is very frequently proselytized
Church was a stressful yesterday. Let's just say a sacrament meeting with talks about the Spirit World, the gathering of Israel and signs of the second coming might be just a little intense. Some of our investigators are struggling to come to Church - Manob was too cold/didn't wake up on time - we aren't sure if that's what really happened or if it's something else. Phaybuun had a bit of an emergency with a close relative who's arm started swelling after taking the cast off. And then Art, a new investigator from English class didn't show up either. But Chaysid and Nxng both showed up. So this week we are going to be working on helping our investigators get to Church.
Elder Thrap went on exchanges since we had the MTC new curriculum trainings in Roi Et. He was with Elder Heftel and Elder Grover.It sounds like they had some funny experiences on their exchanges. (I, on the other hand, was in trainings all week about the MTC new curriculum.) They had a great time and taught a lot of lessons. They also taught Brother Chaang who continues to do well, attending all three hours and enjoying Church even if he looks bored sometimes. Most of the time he has to come straight from work but he wears a white shirt and a tie every week. Brother Chaang is a champ. He's a miracle and he will do great things for the Church in Roi Et. Sister A is so active now with him, they are such a wonderful family with Khaaw Glawng and Khaaw Faang. Khaaw Glawng wears his cute little tie. Khaaw Faang passes the sacrament. It's such a great picture of an upper-middle class Thai Mormon family.
All is going well. That doesn't mean that it's perfect but when you have an investigator who identifies himself to Heavenly Father, when you meet people who are interested or when you simply try your best, that's the best feeling of them all. I love this opportunity to be a missionary. A mission isn't the easiest thing you will do; you will face challenges that you never thought you would. The path will have pot holes and dips. But we press on, with steadfast faith in Christ. And so we press forward.
I pray for you all daily. Love you lots,
Elder Jacob Newman
This week was crazy. We had major trainings in Roi Et during the middle of the week. Some other things that came up in the week were a last minute baptism program that had several mistakes, a baptism, Elder Thrap on exchanges, some crazy changes with investigators and a stressful time at Church.
Anyway, so I like to use the word stress a lot. Stress comes from hurry I guess. I feel in a hurry to make the last bit of my time in Thailand the best time possible. I only get to do this once and who knows when I'll be back in Thailand. Leaving Thailand will be very hard.
Brother Wirayud is doing well. This weekend he went to Chiang Mai for an election that's super important. He's in a different district from the city of Chiang Mai but in the same province. It’s a place called Chiang Daaw. He is a great guy and wants his father to also join the Church. His mother who recently died was Christian in Chiang Daaw but his father is still Buddhist. He, like most Thai tribal people of that generation, cannot read Thai but can speak Thai somewhat.
So this week! Nxng was baptized. He interviewed with Elder Ritchie on Friday night and then passed and we planned his baptism on Saturday. (Brother Ball showed up at Church too. He's Nxng's friend from Amway.) Anyway, he did a great job and he has a good testimony. He was baptized along with the granddaughter of a member whose parents are both members. Her grandma and grandpa are temple endowed and sealed. Nxng has a really interesting experience. He's been an investigator on and off for a long, long time. But he's doing really well and he's keeping the commandments. He has a desire to follow Christ and to be a good example. We are now going to be trying to work with his family to open their hearts more. They live in a neighborhood that is very frequently proselytized
Church was a stressful yesterday. Let's just say a sacrament meeting with talks about the Spirit World, the gathering of Israel and signs of the second coming might be just a little intense. Some of our investigators are struggling to come to Church - Manob was too cold/didn't wake up on time - we aren't sure if that's what really happened or if it's something else. Phaybuun had a bit of an emergency with a close relative who's arm started swelling after taking the cast off. And then Art, a new investigator from English class didn't show up either. But Chaysid and Nxng both showed up. So this week we are going to be working on helping our investigators get to Church.
Elder Thrap went on exchanges since we had the MTC new curriculum trainings in Roi Et. He was with Elder Heftel and Elder Grover.It sounds like they had some funny experiences on their exchanges. (I, on the other hand, was in trainings all week about the MTC new curriculum.) They had a great time and taught a lot of lessons. They also taught Brother Chaang who continues to do well, attending all three hours and enjoying Church even if he looks bored sometimes. Most of the time he has to come straight from work but he wears a white shirt and a tie every week. Brother Chaang is a champ. He's a miracle and he will do great things for the Church in Roi Et. Sister A is so active now with him, they are such a wonderful family with Khaaw Glawng and Khaaw Faang. Khaaw Glawng wears his cute little tie. Khaaw Faang passes the sacrament. It's such a great picture of an upper-middle class Thai Mormon family.
All is going well. That doesn't mean that it's perfect but when you have an investigator who identifies himself to Heavenly Father, when you meet people who are interested or when you simply try your best, that's the best feeling of them all. I love this opportunity to be a missionary. A mission isn't the easiest thing you will do; you will face challenges that you never thought you would. The path will have pot holes and dips. But we press on, with steadfast faith in Christ. And so we press forward.
I pray for you all daily. Love you lots,
Elder Jacob Newman
Monday, January 24, 2011
I Love the Mission!
January 24, 2011
I love the mission. Oh wow, if I could really describe how blessed I feel to come to Roi Et, I don't know if I can explain it in words. Roi Et hasn't been my easiest but it's been the most worthwhile area. I know that the Lord is watching out for me and that He's helping.
Elder Thrap and I have seen so many miraculous things. From Brother Chaang (He told us he would do his home teaching, he comes for all three hours every week in a white shirt and tie, and greeted us when we went to visited him, actually excited to see us.) - to Manob (Who we started calling Brother and who told us he would abandon everything to come to know God.) - to Phaybuun (Who tells us that he was tired of being in the dark and now is in the light because of us.) I can't believe that miracles of Roi Et.
Here in Roi Et when I finally realized that our attitude is the single most important aspect in anything we do, I saw how miracles started to happen. We are teaching double digit lessons every week, we are finding people, seeing baptisms (Wirayud and Alum - turns out it's an l not an r - welcome to Thailand!) and we are also seeing people change their lives. People give up so much for the Gospel. I am so grateful for the opportunity to come to Roi Et and meet such wonderful people. I love the Lord and I love the work here in Roi Et.
Missionary work is a team effort. All those companionships who came to teach Brother Chaang were preparing him. For some reason, however, during the time that our companionship taught we saw Him bring about a mighty change of heart in him. Brother Chaang is so different. The last time we taught him before his baptism, I started to get emotional because for the first time in my mission, I felt like I had seen such a drastic change in someone that I had taught. I felt as if in some small way I had helped Sister A's family. She wanted him to be baptized so badly. She wants the blessings of the temple in her home. One day they will have them. One day Brother Chaang and Sister A, Khaaw Glawng and Khaaw Faang will go to the temple together and be sealed as an eternal family. They are such a cute family. And he's such a great dad. The Gospel has changed their family and it will continue to change their family when they make a trip to the temple.
So this week Wirayud and Alum got baptized. Wirayud is great! The branch loves him and his wife. And so that was a great moment. This next week we should have one more baptism with Brother Nxng- who's doing much better and is keeping commitments very well. He shared his testimony with Elder Thrap while I went to do exchanges in Sarakham (Mahasarkham) and I met sister Nog who knows Sister Cherry and Bishop Arun in Thonburi.
I have gained such a testimony of His Gospel while I have been here. Don't ever forget that repentance isn't something that's not convenient but is something that will bring us true joy and happiness. Don't let Satan try to tell you that you haven't repented when you have and also remember that Satan’s goal is make us miserable. I have seen this in the lives of too many people. We all have a tendency to forget about the atonement and try to hack it on our own. God wants us, with all His heart, for us to rely on Him. Please rely on Him and remember that His promises are sure. He doesn't lie and he doesn't deviate from the current course that he is taking. I love His Gospel. I am not perfect but the Savior is always there to help me.
Also always remember to VLOGROP everything you watch, read, listen to or do. We must remember that we can't just be the natural man but we must become true Saints through the atonement of Christ.
Love you all - Remember He lives.
Elder Jacob Newman
I love the mission. Oh wow, if I could really describe how blessed I feel to come to Roi Et, I don't know if I can explain it in words. Roi Et hasn't been my easiest but it's been the most worthwhile area. I know that the Lord is watching out for me and that He's helping.
Elder Thrap and I have seen so many miraculous things. From Brother Chaang (He told us he would do his home teaching, he comes for all three hours every week in a white shirt and tie, and greeted us when we went to visited him, actually excited to see us.) - to Manob (Who we started calling Brother and who told us he would abandon everything to come to know God.) - to Phaybuun (Who tells us that he was tired of being in the dark and now is in the light because of us.) I can't believe that miracles of Roi Et.
Here in Roi Et when I finally realized that our attitude is the single most important aspect in anything we do, I saw how miracles started to happen. We are teaching double digit lessons every week, we are finding people, seeing baptisms (Wirayud and Alum - turns out it's an l not an r - welcome to Thailand!) and we are also seeing people change their lives. People give up so much for the Gospel. I am so grateful for the opportunity to come to Roi Et and meet such wonderful people. I love the Lord and I love the work here in Roi Et.
Missionary work is a team effort. All those companionships who came to teach Brother Chaang were preparing him. For some reason, however, during the time that our companionship taught we saw Him bring about a mighty change of heart in him. Brother Chaang is so different. The last time we taught him before his baptism, I started to get emotional because for the first time in my mission, I felt like I had seen such a drastic change in someone that I had taught. I felt as if in some small way I had helped Sister A's family. She wanted him to be baptized so badly. She wants the blessings of the temple in her home. One day they will have them. One day Brother Chaang and Sister A, Khaaw Glawng and Khaaw Faang will go to the temple together and be sealed as an eternal family. They are such a cute family. And he's such a great dad. The Gospel has changed their family and it will continue to change their family when they make a trip to the temple.
So this week Wirayud and Alum got baptized. Wirayud is great! The branch loves him and his wife. And so that was a great moment. This next week we should have one more baptism with Brother Nxng- who's doing much better and is keeping commitments very well. He shared his testimony with Elder Thrap while I went to do exchanges in Sarakham (Mahasarkham) and I met sister Nog who knows Sister Cherry and Bishop Arun in Thonburi.
I have gained such a testimony of His Gospel while I have been here. Don't ever forget that repentance isn't something that's not convenient but is something that will bring us true joy and happiness. Don't let Satan try to tell you that you haven't repented when you have and also remember that Satan’s goal is make us miserable. I have seen this in the lives of too many people. We all have a tendency to forget about the atonement and try to hack it on our own. God wants us, with all His heart, for us to rely on Him. Please rely on Him and remember that His promises are sure. He doesn't lie and he doesn't deviate from the current course that he is taking. I love His Gospel. I am not perfect but the Savior is always there to help me.
Also always remember to VLOGROP everything you watch, read, listen to or do. We must remember that we can't just be the natural man but we must become true Saints through the atonement of Christ.
Love you all - Remember He lives.
Elder Jacob Newman
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