Not too eventful...

Me and Sister Namphone (a member here in Ubon who likes to help us teach)

Sorry! I feel like this is gonna be a weak email. This week we didn't really do anything crazy. We contacted for a billion hours as usual, and we taught a lot of our new investigators...but ya that's about it!

But this week I studied a lot on Integrity.

In a talk by Elder Christoffel Golden Jr., he said, "The true measure of sincere integrity and complete honesty is what you do when no one is around to know what you think, say, or do. As true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we cannot be or do less than the Savior has shown us."

And I feel like this just is something that a lot of us really don't take into account. Are our thoughts always turned to the Lord and how we can become more Christ-like in our every-day actions? Probably not. But this talk helped me see how I need to make that a greater priority in my every-day life. And hopefully all of us will try to make this a higher priority as well.

Sister Weed trying to be funny ha

Sorry this is such a short email!!! Love you all!

-Sister Lam

I got a letter from none other than Allyson Rachel Morgan!!!!

Sad to see her go!!!!

So this week one of my favorite members (can I say that?...well I did cuz she is) Shampoo (yes her name is Shampoo) is moving to Udon!!!! :( This was some of the saddest news. She is seriously such an amazing girl and member of the church! She is always the first one to volunteer to help us teach investigators, and her testimony of the Church has just shown me how amazing the members here in Thailand really are! She is the epitome of charity, and I really feel like she's my sister! So at church yesterday, we (the missionaries and the youth) just spent time with her before she has to head out. (Udon is about 8 hours away from Ubon). But don't worry, she said she'd find me no matter where I am in Thailand, so I'm sure this won't be the last I see of her ;)

Me and Sister Shampoo...yes we are quite similar haha

Me, Shampoo, and Sister Weed

Other than that, this week was full of new teaching appointments. As I previously mentioned in past emails, me and Sister Weed have been killing it when it comes to contacting. And it has paid off!! we got 7 new investigators this week, which is just insane!!!! So ya, we were teaching A TON this week, which was kind of a nice change from being on my feet for like 7 hours a day, and we have some amazing new investigators. 

Me and Sister Weed...haha we love each other

The hard part though is that the Thai people don't really like to stay in one place for very long, especially since school has ended and everyone just wants to go around Thailand and play. So we have quite a few people who we won't get to teach consistently because they will be traveling these next few months. Yes...bummer, but what have I been studying a lot about lately you might ask....PATIENCE and RESILIENCE! These are 2 things that have really been strengthening me when I foresee a trial ahead, especially when it comes to an investigator not being able to learn consistently with us, which happens A LOT.

These are the youth/young single adults in our branch! they are the best :)

One cool experience I'll share happened when we were teaching our investigator Pii. He's amazing. So we were going over the 10 commandments with him, mind you he has already been keeping the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity (yes soooo golden), and then we ask him if he's gonna come to church on Sunday. His response: "Well I mean obviously I will be at church on Sunday. I just committed to keeping the 10 Commandments, and didn't you say that meant keeping the Sabbath day holy and going to church? Duh sisters, I'm not going to break anymore commandments, so yes, I will be there."

This guy was sooooo prepared for the gospel in his life. When people tell you that there are the elect that are ready and prepared for you to teach, believe it! I don't think I truly believed it until I found Pii. And I am so grateful the Lord put him in my path! I can't wait to see him progress even further!

Some of the cute girls from the branch!

ok well that's all I got for today!!! Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the nice spring-ish weather!! It's SUPER hot and humid here, but I'm surviving...sweating a lot, but surviving. :)

Love always,

Sister Lam

First Zone Conference!

Yup, I'm sitting INSIDE PICKACHU!!! #gettinintouchwithmyasianside

This week was full of the usual contacting our butts off, but it is really paying off. We have some pretty solid investigators. There's Sister Pet, Brother Pii, Brother Donut "yup his name is donut," Sister Beam, Sister Nii, Sister Ew, and Brother Nu. So ya, we definitely have our hands full, but don't worry, we are still managing to fit in a buttload of contacting whenever there's a spare moment. Oh, to be a missionary haha, we are literally ALWAYS on the go.

Baptism!!!! (Love working with Sister Mila, she's this sweet little Filipino woman)

But this past weekend I got to experience my first zone conference. Everyone always just talks about how fun and great they are...that's all true, but I'm not gonna lie...I was WAY stressed out. We had to all prepare talks and memorize scriptures/teaching points from Preach my Gospel...ALL IN THAI because we could be called on at any point to give them in front of everyone...so ya I was stressed out. Luckily I was only called on to say the closing prayer, so I really didn't have anything to worry about, but ya I guess I just enjoy stressing myself out?

Zone Conference!

4 Sisters in the zone (Sister Bentley, Ng, me, and Weed)

Me and Sister Bentley! (We've done a few switchoffs together, and we're planning on serving together at some point #crossyourfingers)

District photo!

The theme of the conference was the talk "With God Nothing Shall be Impossible" by Elder Russell M. Nelson. And I have definitely learned that since being on my mission. Something that I really loved from the talk was how he says, "With celestial sight, trials impossible to change become possible to endure." Isn't that so true? Everything is based off of our perceptions. If we feel like we are going to be unsuccessful, then that will transmit into our work, and we will ultimately be unsuccessful. 

And I think that is something Satan really attacks on in a lot of people: those feelings of doubt and discouragement. And to those people who are feeling down-trodden and discouraged, because everyone does at some point or another, this scripture really helped me see the celestial perspective. "Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed...for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him." (2 Chronicles 32:7) So although Satan has many ways to tear us down, there are many more angels with us than with Him. Heavenly Father has our back, for lack of a better term, and he will not leave us alone, especially in times of trial.

"And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before you face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." (D&C 84:88)

But this does require that we follow the promptings and guidance of the Holy Ghost. Elder Adrian Ochoa said in this past General Conference, "The companionship of the Holy Ghost is not just a pleasant convenience--it is essential to your spiritual survival." We NEED the companionship of the Holy Ghost for our survival, it is THAT IMPORTANT! The Lord knows everything that we need, but if He just gave us all the help and answers we needed, this life on Earth would not be a test. 

"Rather than solve the problem Himself, the Lord wants us to develop the faith that will help us rely upon Him in solving our problems and trust Him." (Elder Terence M Vinson) And it is through the Holy Ghost that we can find those answers to our questions, get help, and strengthen our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Old photo from Sisters meeting in Bangkok a couple weeks ago (every single sister in the mission and President and Sister Senior)

Zone conference is awesome! I learned a ton! And hopefully what I learned will help some of you too.

Sorry such a long email today!!!!

Love always,

Sister Lam

March Madness

CONTACTING!! This has been the theme for the week...and every week. haha. Going out everyday and contacting has become just a part of my life. Yes it's soooo sooo hot and sticky outside, but it is through our contacting that we can find those choice spirits ready for the gospel. This week has been tricky though because I've found that me and my companion have quite different views on ways to contact. I gave her method a try this week, and though it is successful for her, it hasn't really worked too well for me. Her method is the weeding (funny cuz her name is weed ha) method. It's very quick, but it's effective I guess. It's very Bangkok, ha which is where she just came from...probably why she likes everything fast-paced...but here in the Essan, everything is "sabbay" (which basically means chill...and slow-paced). 

But I've learned that you can't lose yourself when you contact. The biggest way I've been able to find investigators is by actually engaging in conversation with people. When you're at a big market, it's hard, but I feel like it's that "personablity" that really gets people to stop and talk to you. So I've decided to do things differently from her, but I think it is a good thing, because everyone is different. Some people react to her quick method, and others like to talk before they commit to anything. We both find success, just in different ways.

And this is what got me to that conclusion:

"Let us have the courage to defy consensus. The courage to stand for principle. Courage, not compromise, brings the the smile of God's approval. Courage becomes a living and an attractive virtue when it is regarded not only as a willingness to die manfully, but as the determination to live decently. A moral coward is one who is afraid to do what he thinks is right because others will disapprove or laugh. Remember that all men have their fears, but those who face their fears with dignity have courage as well." (President Thomas S. Monson)

This month is really a month of madness, as President has set a goal for each companionship to get 3 baptisms...crazy, but hopefully we can find those 3 souls that have been prepared for us! Right now we are actually teaching 3 people! Craziness I know! More updates to come!

I'm really sad that I can't add pictures to this week's email! I tried really hard, but the computer place I'm at is stupid and it wouldn't read my SD card in the computer...so hopefully next week it'll work and you will get double the pictures!!! (aka I'm really sorry for the text heavy email).

Love you all!

Sister Lam

Recovering

This has probably been one of the hardest weeks of my life. I got extremely sick and couldn't keep down any food...so ya definitely missing normal American food right now (never thought I'd say that..but it's true). But me and Sister Weed have been working really hard. We contact A TON...I mean A TON. I've never been so tired and exhausted in my life..but finding the Lord's elect is not meant to be easy I suppose. I was hit with a ton of rejections these past few days, which is never fun, but it is just bringing us that much closer to those ready for the gospel!

But with all the opposition we've face this week, I always seem to learn such great lessons in my personal study. This is something I actually came upon yesterday.

"When we obey the commandments of the Lord and serve His children unselfishly, the natural consequence is power from God--power to do more than we can do by ourselves. Our insights, our talents, our abilities are expanded because we receive strength and power from the Lord." (Elder Richard G. Scott)

I know that the Lord is aware of each of us. We all have trials and tribulations, but if we try to serve unselfishly, He will provide us with divine help.

"If ye have faith ye can do all things which are expedient unto me." (Moroni 10:23)

Sooo grateful for the Book of Mormon in my life! I actually just finished it this morning, and I'm so excited to start reading from the beginning again tomorrow :)

Well that's all for this week! Hopefully I'll have cool stories for you all next week. Besides contacting...not too much to tell ha. Sorry!

love always,

Sister Lam