Short and Sweet!

I found a tiny mango!

Sorry but I have to keep my email short and sweet this week! But on a happy note, 2 of our investigators got baptized on Sunday!!! We were struggling ALL week to get balanced key indicators, and Sunday just was a huge miracle of faith. We not only got to see our 2 investigators enter the waters of baptism, but we also had 10 new investigators at church and committed 2 of them to baptism that day!!! Such an amazing day. It is just more and more of a testimony that prayer works if we have the faith!!!!

So about our 2 investigators who were baptized: Sister จอย (Joy) and หญิง (Ying). Sister Ying is actually the younger sister to one of our recent converts Sister แสงแก้ว (Sanggaaw). So we've had the opportunity to teach them together for the past few weeks. And both of them are super good friends with Sister Joy :) So Joy and Ying decided that they wanted to be baptized together this past Sunday, and it was such a happy day! These 2 women were soooooo warmly welcomed by the branch, and I know that they felt the spirit. As Sister Joy entered the font, she had tears streaming down her face because of how strongly the spirit testified of God's love for her. She bore a beautiful testimony of the power and healing that comes from repentance :) And sweet sweet Sister Ying said she felt like she was flying when she came up out of the water. She's never felt so light in her life. And isn't that exactly what repentance helps us do? It helps lift those heavy burdens that lay on our shoulders, and we can give them up to the Lord who has already paid the price for those burdens FOR us. Yup, I beamed all day!!!!

BAPTISMS! Our investigators love funny faces, so I thought I'd throw a few in.

Well this week was just stacked with miracles! I could go on and on about them, but sadly we are short on time today! We are finally venturing out to some hidden waterfalls with some members. I'll be sure to attach some cool photos next week!

I love and miss you all EVERYDAY! I pray for your happiness, and I pray you see the Lord's hand in your life as well :)

ever upwards,

Sister Lam

I guess that's one way to make a seatbelt....

One of the Elders is related to Lord Voldemort!

Did you know the days in February directly correspond to the days in March? crazy!

I feel like it just gets harder and harder to title my emails. But the title this week is something I learned while I went on another switch-off haha, so I thought I'd share ;)

How was everyone's week??? I hope you all got to do something fun for valentine's day!!! And if all you did was eat chocolate, well that sounds like a pretty good day to me haha.

All girl FHE at Sister พา's (Paa) house for Valentine's Day ;)

This week was a crazy busy one, but in the best way. We have been struggling with getting other lessons lately (aka street contacts) and I think it is because Heavenly Father really meant it when He changed the mission focus to families. And what a change it has been!!! We were able to teach the younger sister of one of our RC's, and now she's preparing to be baptized this next Sunday along with our other investigator Sister Joy!!!! And to top that, the other day we were walking to the church, and we randomly ran into someone I'd contacted months ago!! I obviously did not remember him, but he told me I had invited him a while back while contacting at one of the nearby malls to come to church and find greater happiness in his life. Since that time, he'd gone to the church, but because he didn't call us, the church was closed. And then we randomly contacted into him again. He was so prepared, and went with us to the church that very same day, and has accepted all the teachings of the gospel so far. And the funny thing is, this guy is just a nervous wreck. He gets what I like to call "stress sweats" when he's excited or nervous...which is all the time. But it's really cute. We're way enjoying our time with him, and hopefully he'll commit to a baptismal date soon! We already know he believes it's true, it's just down to his agency to choose the right!

Me and my RC (recent convert) Sister พา (Paa) accidentally matched at church haha

This week in my studies, I was inspired to read back in the Bible :) Got some amazing emails from the Clason Clan that made me want to relive my Jerusalem days. So I was reading one of my favorite stories in John 20, when Mary Magdalene comes across the empty tomb and believes that people have stolen the body of Christ. So she runs to tell 2 of the apostles: Peter and John. I have a picture in my scriptures depicting Peter and John running to the tomb. But instead of doubt and fear in their hearts, they run to check to see if the prophecies have come true and if the Lord truly had risen again. It is my favorite story of hope, trust, and faith in the Lord. And it inspires me every time. This is the message we have been trying to portray to our members here in Thailand. There is HOPE that they and their families can be together forever and because Christ rose again, we too will all rise again and be like Him. Like this story inspires me, we have been trying our best to visit with these families and help ignite that fire in them, that spirit of Elijah.

"When you are wiling to listen and learn, some of life's most meaningful teachings come from those who have gone before you...How much better your life will be if you will follow the noble example of the faithful followers of Christ." (M.Russell Ballard)

I know this to be true. We have amazing examples set before us from prophets and apostles that we get to read about in the scriptures, like Peter and John. But the greatest example of faith is that of our Savior Jesus Christ, who through His faith, fulfilled the great Atonement so that we all could return to live with Him and our Heavenly Father again. I encourage you all to spread that hope and love to all you come in contact with. It is through YOUR example that they will WANT what we have. And we will have the blessings of helping them come unto the fold!

Love you all!! until next time!

Sister Lam

The ridiculous things Thai people do: tightrope walking on powerlines...

Love is in the Air....aka the Love of God!!!!! ;)

Been such a busy week!!! Pretty much, me and Sister Belnap haven't been in our area at ALL because of Leadership training, which means that me and the zone leaders get to go around to all of the districts in our zone to train them on the training that President Senior gave us...so with all the traveling, it's been a really long week. Good news is though, that we still saw miracles for the 2 days we were actually in our area haha.

One of them included this sweet lady named อ้อ (Aaw) who we contacted at the mall. After we had gotten her number and info, she proceeds to say..."well are you free now? cuz I have some time, and I'd love to go to the church right now to learn!" Yup, sooooo amazing right?!?!?!?! It's like what every missionary wants to hear...but hears pretty rarely. So we literally just take her from the mall, hop onto a สองแทว (which is like a truck bus sorta thing) and bring her to the church to teach her! And boy was she prepared. So in our training with President, he focused a lot on testifying from the scriptures. So throughout my mission, I've collected a lot of favorite scriptures that have personal significance for me. And we did this activity where we didn't try to connect a gospel principle to a scripture or anything, but where we just shared and testified from our hearts over scriptures that had personal meaning for us. So that is exactly what I did in her lesson. I shared Moroni 7:48, and the spirit was so strong. This investigator started bawling, and right then and there committed to a baptismal date!!!!! 

Us with our miracle lesson Sister อ้อ

Funny part is though that after we taught her, we found out that she actually lives in one of my old Bangkok areas, Bangkapi. So we had to pass her on to the Sister missionaries there. But it's ok cuz we still got to take part in her salvation and she's still going to be baptized!!!!!!

And because it's the week of love this week, I thought I'd share some of my favorite things from a talk given by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin all on the greatest commandment. He said: "Sometimes the greatest love is not found in the dramatic scenes that poets and writers immortalize. Often, the greatest manifestations of Love are the simple acts of kindness and caring we extend to those we meet along the path of life. True love lasts forever. It is eternally patient and forgiving. It believes, hopes, and endures all things. That is the love our Heavenly Father bears for us...We see ourselves in terms of yesterdays and todays [but] our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of Forever."

I know this is true. Our Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us so much, and all He asks is that we give a little back and love our neighbor in return. It is these small acts of kindness that truly transform our character. "It takes us as men and women of the earth and refines us into men and women for the eternities."

Our mission here in Thailand is striving to create eternal families and I know that this is God's work and plan for all of us. I feel so blessed to know that I have one, and I know it is our duty to help others create eternal families as well. Share what we have been so lucky to receive with the world: the Love of the Savior :)

What it's February already?!?!?!?!??!

3 of my 4 mission "children" or as I like to call them "my lambs" :) haha

This poor bear must be dying in the Thailand heat :(

This week...was a tad harder...because we didn't have too many appointments, which meant we had a lot of time to go contacting. Up until Saturday, we were pretty beat down from the constant rejection. So we thought we'd call up our Elders Quorum president to see if he could take us around and visit some less-actives or some members that needed to be served a little more. Such a good experience!!!!! And then, Sunday rolled around...and no one came to church....soooo sooo sad. We luckily had a few late stragglers who showed up, but they sadly all had to go after first hour. So ya, at this point, we're tired, we're hungry cuz we'd been fasting, and we have no one to teach...so we're getting ready to pack up and go out contacting again, when all of a sudden one of our RC's who hadn't come to church and an investigator called us!!! They both wanted to learn with us that very day! So our investigator เกรนด้า showed up first, but guess what...he also brought a friend!!!! So we got an amazing referral who was way pumped about the gospel and reading from the Book of Mormon. Miracle number 1! And then we went to our recent convert แสแก้ว's house, and she surprised us by having us teach her younger sister AND one of our investigators who we'd already been teaching. I guess they hit it off a little while ago, and so she created a perfect teaching situation for us, where we got to teach her, our investigator จอย and a new investigator, her sister ญิง. Miracle number 2!!!

And these experiences just stressed the importance of member referral work. When we teach friends or family members of our members, these people have an automatic support system already. And not only that, but our members get to have a taste of helping someone come unto Christ!!!! 

Went on switch-off's with this awesome sister, Sister Yanisa, who is actually from my old area Bangkapi!

It reminds me of the scripture in 3 Nephi 18: 32 which reads, "Nevertheless, ye shall not cast him out of your synagogues, or your places of worship, for unto such shall ye continue to minister; for ye know not but what they will return and repent, and come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I shall heal them; and ye shall be the means of bringing salvation unto them."

At first, I thought this scripture only applied to missionaries and not giving up on our investigators. But I realized that this also applies to members, especially those in part-member families. Never give up because we never know when they will open their heart and desire to repent. And when they do, WE shall be the means of bringing salvation unto them. This is why member referrals are soooo sooo crucial to our missionary efforts! It's our families and our friends that we love so dearly that we want to take part in this beautiful gospel. And when they do, we can rejoice and be uplifted together :) so NEVER GIVE UP! Keep working hard and try to be an example to everyone you meet, and the Lord will provide an opportunity for you to share the gospel with them!

Group selfie!

Love and miss you!!!

Sister Lam