Sorry there wasn't an e-mail last week; I wrote the letter but the instant before I sent it, the Internet died. So, last week on Tuesday Elder Serrao called the office and found that I'd be moving outside of Bangkok. He was released as zone leader because the Bangkapi and Srinakarin zones merged. I got up early (4:00) on Wednesday and Thursday to pack and get ready. From now on I don't think I'll unpack everything, since it takes too much time to pack it all up again. Arrived at the Pakkret church at 6:45 a.m. on Thursday and found that I'd be moving to Phitsanulok. My companion is Elder Bevell, the zone leader. Phitsanulok is in the Lampang zone and is in the center of Thailand, though it's considered to be part of the north. It's also the hottest part of Thailand (and surprise, surprise, next month is the hottest month of the year :)). Elder Wong replaced me in Bangkapi, Elder Romashko replaced Elder Stevenson, and Elder Quach replaced Elder Christiansen. Elder Applegate moved down from Chiang Mai to Saphaan Mai (in Bangkhen), Elder Bloom and Elder Nelson both moved to Roi-Et, Elder McEwen moved to Chiang Rai, and Elder Pitzer moved to Ayutthaya. Since Elder Bevell had ZLTM, I went out with the other ZL companions (Elder Pitzer, Elder Walker, Elder McLelland) and with Elder McEwen (who was on the same train as I, so he had to stick around all day anyway). We went to Dairy Queen (first time since I entered the MTC) and then went out proselyting for a few hours. Lots of fun. After ZLTM ended, Elder Bevell and I took my bags to the train station and made it a couple of minutes before the train left. We were on the train with Elder Stevens, Elder Soun (both of whom were headed to Chiang Mai), Elder Miller, and Elder McEwen (Chiang Rai). The ride was about five hours long and was pretty neat. We arrived in Phitsanulok late Thursday night. Unfortunately, my helmet disappeared on the train somewhere; the Chiang Mai elders said they'd look for it when they got off in Chiang Mai (at 5:45 a.m. Friday) conference. Oh, Elder Neves was released as AP and Elder Hansen took his place. Our new mission president will be President Scott Hansen (according to the Church News last week), as of July 1 or so.

I'm really excited to be in Phitsanulok, and I moved here at just the right time, because we have district conference (kind of like stake conference) up in Chiang Mai on Sunday, and then we have zone conference there on Monday, so I'll get to stay in Chiang Mai for a couple of days. And I'll probably get to go to Lampang too, when we go on switchoffs. There are eight elders in my zone: me and Elder Bevell, Elder Segsan and Elder Burin (Phitsanulok West), Elder Sessions and Elder Dressen (Lampang), and Elder Vue and Elder Garrison (Lampang South, I think). The branch here is a lot smaller than the Bangkapi ward, but the members are sooooo awesome. I already love Phitsanulok and don't want to leave. :)

We had correlation on Saturday. In Bangkapi there were usually 10-15 people there, but here it was just us four Phitsanulok elders, Tom (our 19-year-old branch mission leader, who is an incredible guy), and Sister A (who's getting ready to go on a mission). I'm the branch pianist. Last night I taught English and then we had Family Home Evening, which was sooooo much fun. I wish they'd had FHEs in Bangkapi... About 20 people showed up, mostly the youth (who are really strong here). The really nice thing is that the church is across the street from our house. :) Very, very convenient. Ours is a 2-man house but is fairly big, since it used to be a four-man. We have to use bottled water since the tap water is dirty.

My bike didn't arrive till Monday morning, so I had to ride a member's bike, which turned out to be rather small and didn't have any brakes. It was a lot of fun, though. On Friday we went to the phone company to pay the bill, but I thought it was the post office, so I gave the lady my mail to send. She looked at me funny and said, "Um, this isn't the post office."

I learned a few things in Bangkapi that have helped me get up to speed here: learning people's names really quickly, reading the area book (which has pictures of all the members in our area), becoming friends with the members, etc. I loooooove Phitsanulok! :) It's getting really hot here (yesterday was a furnace), but it's fun. Songkran is coming up in a few weeks, which'll be neat.

Well, that's about it for now. There's a new 20-baht bill that came out a few weeks ago. Oh, back in Bangkapi last week, we found a ripped-up Book of Mormon on the stairs of the flats. We don't know who or what did it (it could have been a dog), but that was kind of sad. Opposition in all things. I know this Church is true and that no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing. Joseph Smith was indeed a prophet of God, and the Church of Jesus Christ is once again on the earth in all its glory. Take care! :-)

Sawutdee krup once more, hailing from here in Phitsanulok, the hottest part of Thailand. :) It's not *too* bad, actually -- heat doesn't bother me nearly as much as I thought it would. The work goes on because it must, regardless of heat, rain, etc. (Rather like the postal service.)

This week's big event was the district/zone conference trip up to Chiang Mai. We left Sunday morning at 1:15 for the train station. The train didn't show up till 2:30, though, and was further delayed, so we didn't arrive in Chiang Mai till 10:30. The district conference had started at 10:00, which was unfortunate, but mai pen rai -- there wasn't anything we could do about it. It was really neat to see mountains again as we passed through Lampang on our way up. Very pretty. After the district conference ended, everyone went to the church for lunch (the conference was held in a hotel conference room). That's the nice thing about Thailand -- everyone eats lunch together after church. President Slater interviewed us and then my district (Elder Segsan, Elder Burin, Elder Bevell, and I) walked around Chiang Mai, proselyting and taking pictures. It was a lot of fun.

Monday morning I had my first cold shower in Thailand. (The water heater in the four-man Chiang Mai house was broken.) We had our zone conference, which was mainly on teaching by the Spirit. The mission is now implementing Elder Ballard's recommendations (which he presented in the MTC over the past few months, starting when I was there). We're all writing our own outlines now, so that we'll be able to be more flexible when presenting the gospel. It's good and we had a really awesome discussion yesterday with a young couple, using an outline we wrote up yesterday. President Slater talked about the Restoration and how it's core to our church. I *love* the Restoration! It's so wonderful to know that God still lives, still loves us, and hasn't forgotten His children. The heavens are *not* closed. We arrived back in P-lok at 11:45 Monday night. So we're all recovering from the lack of sleep, but it shouldn't be too bad. As we were riding a tuk-tuk out to the bus station (side note: tuk-tuks are *soooooo* much fun to ride! Especially when they zip around other cars :)), Elder Bevell saw a Hebrew sign on the side of the road, so we stopped and ran to the place to see if anyone there spoke Hebrew. (He studied Hebrew for a year or two at BYU.) There was a 20-year-old guy named Yosi inside, whom we chatted with for a few minutes. I want to study Hebrew. :) But it'll have to wait till I return, since I promised to serve the Lord with all my heart, mind, might, and strength, and He didn't call me to speak Hebrew.

Last Wednesday, Elder Bevell and I spent four hours at Big C (Big C and Lotus are the two huge Walmarts here), making up a pamphlet on families to hand out to people. We teach English at the church every Tuesday and Thursday, and starting on Friday we'll teach at the Amarin Lagoon Hotel every Monday and Friday as well. Last Thursday I started teaching piano to one of the members here. Teaching piano is a *lot* harder for me than teaching the gospel or teaching English. But difficulty is not impossibility.

There are lots more motorcycles here than there were in Bangkapi, but lots less traffic. It's very nice. Did I mention that in my last letter? I can't remember; sorry if I repeat myself. People seem to be much friendlier here; at least, they say hi and smile a lot more. There are pickup trucks that drive around with huge speakers in the back, blasting advertising commercials and music. It's weird in a very funny way. I've hardly seen any snakes or spiders or anything, though -- so far the most I've seen is cockroaches in our bathroom. Oh, we did find a dead rat lying in our driveway yesterday morning. Hopefully I'll eventually have some good animal stories to tell.

Lately I've been thinking about what our goal is as missionaries. Baptisms are important, surely, but more important than that is conversion. To see even just one soul find Christ, really find Him, to see the light turn on in their eyes as they begin to love Christ more than anything else, as they yearn to read the scriptures and pray and partake of the sacrament, as they strive with all their soul to keep God's commandments and be faithful, as they cleave to the gospel -- *this* is where the real joy in missionary service is born. I can't describe how good it feels to meet people who are truly converted to Christ. It's the finest feeling in the world.

I've got a few scriptures I'd like to share. First, D&C 108:7 -- "Therefore, strengthen your brethren in all your conversation, in all your prayers, in all your exhortations, and in all your doings." Are we doing that? We're at war, spiritually, in an intense battle between good and evil. There isn't any time for tearing down; destruction is a technique of the devil. The way to win this war is by building up, by creating bonds of love that nothing can destroy. Criticism and contention sow spiritual plagues among us, and the only remedy is found in the Living Waters. Christ showed us the example; will we follow it? Helaman 5:12 -- "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." Christ is that foundation and this is His Church. I know that only through Christ can we quench the fiery darts of the adversary and find true rest unto our souls. "If ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?" (Alma 5:26) If you can't, do whatever it takes to feel it again, to set your life aright and come unto Christ. The sacrifice is worth it.

That's all. Thanks for all the support. Stay strong in the faith and remember, "every member a missionary!" Member-missionary work is soooo important. No time left. Adios.

Yesterday a horde of elephants stampeded down our road and crashed over our neighbor's car. Oops, April Fool's Day was yesterday, sorry. :) Is it really already April? Time still keeps accelerating -- this moves is already halfway over (three more weeks). The next moves period will only be five weeks, by the way.

Life is great here and it's really hot at times but not unbearable. Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven. :) We started teaching English at the hotel last Friday, and it's a lot of fun. The hotel provides the textbook (though I don't really like teaching from textbooks -- boring) and we teach their employees how to graciously and cordially look after their customers. :) Teaching English wasn't very fun when I first started, back in Bangkapi in my first few weeks in Thailand, but now it's exceedingly fun. (I suppose being able to understand the students' questions does help. :)) One other thing that's very fun is being a farang (foreigner). Everyone stares at us and all the little kids holler out, "Farang! Farang!" Some elders don't like that, but I relish it. It's also a good ice-breaker so that we can share the gospel with people that might not have talked with us had we been Thai. Elder Bevell and I are the only farangs in the branch here, which I suppose is kind of weird, but I don't feel isolated or anything -- Thais feel like family to me. I'm quite serious when I say I don't want to leave Thailand. I think I'll come back and teach English here for a semester or something.

On Thursday Elder Bevell and Elder Burin went to Lampang for switchoffs, and yesterday they went up again to do a baptismal interview. That meant Elder Segsan and I stayed here in P-lok, spending half the day in my area and half the day in his. I learned a few days ago that grunting (which is a rather coarse word for it, but I can't think of any other that fits the bill -- this kind of grunting isn't animalish, but rather like "errrrr" or "mmmm", used to mean yes or no), while being something that Thais do all the time, isn't the most proper way to speak. People may use colloquial language, slang, etc., but we're representatives of Jesus Christ and His Church and so we have to be more dignified and distinguished.

When I return to the States, I want to spend five or six hours a day reading the scriptures. We only get half an hour to an hour each day, which is good but not nearly enough. And I want to read the scriptures in other languages -- reading the Book of Mormon and Bible in Thai is very, very fun. Oh, today I'm going to get a harmonica and start learning how to play. Elder Segsan showed me his and since I can't afford to buy a piano, this is the next best thing. :) We had our regular Monday family home evening at Sister Gittiya's house this week, as usual. Her three boys were baptized a few months ago and we visit them every week. This time, we watched "Called to Serve" in Thai. It was wonderful to see the MTC again, and it really boosted my morale.

"Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not." (D&C 6:36) Do our lives center on the Savior? Does every thought, every word, every action of ours follow the Savior's pattern? It may seem difficult, but the more we strive to look unto the Lord as the Israelites looked upon the brazen serpent (2 Nephi 25:20), the more we *become* like the Lord. Following the Lord won't be something we *do* so much as something we *are*, and then it will be easy.

I was reading 3 Nephi 11 the other day and for the first time realized why the Lord says "the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one" (verse 27). After He says that, He commands that there be no contention or disputations amongst us, showing us the example of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost -- *they* don't fight and bicker amongst themselves. They are of one heart and one mind (Moses 7:18), with "hearts knit together in unity and in love one towards another." "If ye are not one ye are not mine" (D&C 38:27). How is this unity accomplished? Through charity, the "more excellent way." I don't have my Bible with me, but in 1 John (I think) John writes that if we don't love our brother, we don't love God, for God is love (or something along those lines). The core of the gospel is love. Love is power. Love is what makes life worth living. The most important kind of love is that within a family, and that is where unity is most important. "Above all things, clothe yourself with the bond of charity, as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and peace." (D&C 88:125) If we have not charity we aren't yet true followers of Christ. "Pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love." (Moroni 7:48)

Well, I'm about out of time. Stay strong in the faith and seek charity with all your heart, might, mind, and strength. Christ lives and loves each of you. Take care. :)

It's definitely getting hotter. :) Since I arrived in Thailand during the cool season, I'd completely forgotten just how hot Thailand can get. In a few days we'll be able to cool off a little, though -- Songkran starts on Sunday. Songkran is the huge water fight that goes on for several days. In fact, everyone says people will start playing on Saturday or even Friday. Everyone rides around and throws water at everyone else. I think we, being farangs, will be extremely obvious targets. :) It's a tad bit dangerous (bucketfuls of water could easily knock one off one's bike), and the transvestites apparently like to try to pinch and kiss the missionaries, so pray for us. :) Today at breakfast Elder Bevell dumped a cup of water on a teenager at the raan (restaurant) we ate at. It'll be so much fun. :) We can't go out and play with everyone, but even in the course of our work I think we'll have plenty of opportunities to enjoy Songkran.

A lot of people have been mentioning the SARS virus (though they call it "flu/cold disease"), saying people die within seven days or so. I don't know much about it, though. All the news we get is secondhand from the people on the street. Lately not many people have said anything about the war, so I guess it's getting better. When we ask people where they're from, a lot of them grin and say, "Iraq," then start laughing.

So, General Conference was last week, I hear. Outside of Bangkok, we don't get to see or hear it or anything (we have to wait for the Ensign/Liahona). Oh well, time passes fast enough that the Ensign will be here before we know it. I ate rambutan for the first time last week -- it's pretty good. I also got a harmonica, but I haven't had much time to practice. I've been in-country five months now -- weird. :) Elder Segsan and Elder Burin moved into our house last night. There's construction on the road that their house is on, and they won't have water for another month or two. Our house was originally a four-man house, so there's plenty of space. It'll be a lot of fun.

On Saturday we went out with Love (a 23-year-old guy that got baptized a year ago and brought his parents into the Church) to teach. Our appointments phidded us, though, so we did some inviting. Love kept asking us to go teach his older brother Root, and finally we gave in and he drove us over to their house (they live far away, near Lotus). We taught Root a second discussion and committed him to baptism for April 27. He's sooooo golden! His whole family is LDS already (his dad's in the branch presidency, his mom is incredibly nice and feeds us every time we go over) and so he'll have a good support system. We've been back to see him two or three times since then, and I'm amazed at how ready he his. He's wanted to be Christian for a long, long time. For the last while he's been in Bangkok, but two weeks before I got here, he moved back (for good). The Spirit was there very strongly when we taught him about repentance and baptism. Golden investigators are the best! :)

In these troubled times, the only real source of peace is the Savior. "O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm." (2 Nephi 4:34) Man is fallible; God is infallible. "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not." (D&C 6:36) If we place our hearts in the Lord's hands, all will be well, even if all is not well by the world's standards. Time is swiftly rolling to a close, the last notes of the final act are vibrating in the air, and the second hand is on the verge of midnight. "Do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end." (Alma 34:33) If there is anything not right in your lives, fix it *now*, for it will soon be too late. Don't wait till tomorrow -- we live in a time in which there may not be any tomorrow. Trust in the Lord, follow him with all your heart, might, mind, and strength, and then you'll have no need to fear, no matter what happens. The world may collapse around us, but if we stand firm on the rock of our salvation, we will emerge victorious. Take care! :-)

It has been a craaaaazy week. :) Everything was normal till Saturday afternoon. Around noon, kids started hanging around on the side of the road with water guns and little buckets, giggling as they squirted us. There were a few scattered groups of teenagers as well, but still Songkran hadn't really started. On Sunday we held church as usual, and surprisingly quite a few members showed up. We'd forgotten to fill the baptismal font, so after sacrament meeting ended, Elder Segsan and I began hauling water from our house to the baptismal font (using the trash can). Luckily we got it filled in time, with help from some of the other members and missionaries. After church was over, Brother A was baptized. His mom and brother are members (his brother is a missionary in Nong Khae right now), and he's quite golden. His girlfriend's getting baptized soon as well.

After the baptismal service, we ate lunch. Towards the end, one of the members crept up behind me and poured a cup of cooooold water down my back. Songkran thus began. :) Another member, Sister Gao, went around patting powder on people's cheeks and saying, "Sawatdee bee mai" ("Happy New Year"). Songkran is the Thai new year, by the way. :) Within two minutes everyone was outside throwing water at each other, and before long the baptismal font (which is outside the church) was almost empty.

We then went with a bunch of the members to Sister Mootagaan's house, which is on one of the more busy roads (at least for Songkran). For the next three days, that's pretty much where we stayed, other than coming home to sleep and study. During Songkran, people ride around and get wet. Lots of people carry water in pickups and "saad naam" other people, while others stand on the side of the road and throw water from there. They're also fond of mixing powder with water, often with various colors mixed in, and wiping the resulting goop on one's face. It's crazy. :) We wore our sandals the whole time. Oh, the police disabled the traffic lights, making it a free-for-all (so traffic wouldn't be impeded). The streets were *full* of people and trucks, far more jam-packed than I've ever seen anywhere.

We'd thought we'd be able to do missionary work during the three days, but everyone was out playing and no one was interested in our message, and all our investigators had gone to different provinces. On Monday Elder Bevell and Elder Burin walked around to take pictures, and Elder Segsan and I went to fax Brother A's baptismal record to the mission office. We rode our bikes to a copy place, and goodness I've never been on such a dangerous bike ride. :) Tons of people smeared the goop all over us, which is kind of fun at first but when it gets in your eyes, it's rather dangerous. My contacts clouded over from time to time and often itched, but nothing serious happened. (Incidentally, my left contact is now tinted red from all the red goop that people put on my face.) Being farangs, Elder Bevell and I were often prime and obvious targets.

There weren't many transvestites except on Sunday, but they didn't really present a problem. Some drunk guy kissed me on the cheek, though (I tried to resist but there were four other guys crowding around me and I was on my bike). Yesterday Elder Bevell and I walked around to take more pictures. On our way back, some girl tried to kiss me on the lips and was almost successful, but luckily I jerked my head back in time. Songkran fever makes people very crazy. I wore the exact same outfit Saturday through Tuesday, since the colored stuff doesn't wash out if you don't clean it out immediately, and oftentimes we didn't notice the stains until it was too late. And you're wet all day long.

So, Songkran is finally over and life is back to normal. We took tons of pictures and I don't think I could ever forget Songkran. P-lok is probably one of the biggest Songkran places, other than Chiang Mai. These last three days have helped us and the members build better relationships of trust. It was a lot of fun, too. I haven't been in a water fight since I was a little kid (and probably won't be in one of this size again for a long, long time). Hmm, is there anything else that I'm forgetting?

Thai people don't look like foreigners anymore, but farangs do. It's weird. :) I even forget that I have white skin at times (serious :)). When I first got my call to Thailand I must admit that I was a little taken back -- Thailand isn't a prominent nation nor is Thai a very popular language -- but I'm sooooo glad I'm here. Thailand is home.

Sak should be getting baptized on Saturday (we hadn't had any contact with him for the last week or two since he was in Chiang Mai, but we ran into him yesterday on the street), and Root should be getting baptized next week. We have several other good investigators as well. I love being a missionary! :) It's hard at times, especially when people fall away, and occasionally it feels like all our work is worth nothing. Retention is hard. But the gospel is still true and there are still those who will cling to Christ no matter how hard the tempest hits them, and those people make missionary work worth everything in the world. :) Onward, Christian soldiers, onward!

Here's the update on moves: only Elder Segsan is moving. We thought Elder Bevell would move (he's been here for six months), but we're both staying. Elder Segsan is moving somewhere in Bangkok. I'm veeeeeeeeeeeery glad I'm not moving. :) P-lok is the best area in the mission, hands down.

The work's going fairly well. Sak was going to get baptized last Saturday, but on Sunday he wrote us a note saying that he's not ready and isn't going to study with us further. That hurt. We're not going to give up on him, though. Root's getting baptized on May 4th. We're pretty sure that will go through; we've already talked with him about any obstacles that may get in the way, and everything's clear. Nobody else is close to baptism, though, since hardly anyone has been coming to church lately. Don and his girlfriend came on Sunday but didn't come inside because they thought they weren't dressed appropriately enough.

Songkran ended completely by Tuesday night -- there wasn't anything at all on Wednesday. Life is back to normal. :) Elder Segsan took the Thai hymnbook and children's songbook to a copy place and shrunk them down to pocket size, like the pocket-size English hymnbook. Very handy. There are a lot more naampan places here than there were in Bangkapi, I've noticed, and most of them are pretty good.

Half my shirts are 65% polyester/35% cotton, the other half 60% cotton/40% polyester. The 65/35 are nice and easy to iron, but the 60/40 feel kind of heavier and are hard to iron. If I were to do this all over again, I would buy most of my clothes here in Thailand, since they're a lot cheaper here, and they're made for this kind of weather.

Hmm, I don't really have a lot to say today. Everything's going well. I've been a little sick since last Tuesday, but nothing major (stuffy nose and a slight cough). We finished making our outlines a few weeks ago (the fifth and sixth discussions are exactly the same as in the discussions, but the others are modified). Thais really love to look at pictures (I usually show members and investigators my family pictures as part of getting acquainted).

The 2000 stripling warriors in the Book of Mormon "did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them..." (Alma 57:21) 100% obedience *is* possible, and it's what the Lord expects of us. We don't obey the Lord because we're slaves at the grindstone, but we should obey Him because we love Him, because He first loved us. One other thing: Harold B. Lee said that the commandment that is most important for us in any given moment is the one we're having the most trouble keeping right then.

Okay, out of time. Keep up the good work, stay strong in the faith, read your scriptures and pray every day so that you may be anchored to Christ and will never fall prey to the adversary.

Last week Elder Bevell and Elder Segsan went down to Bangkok for moves and ZLTM. Elder Segsan moved to Thonburi and is the new zone leader there, companions with Elder Lo. Elder Jorgensen (who used to be the office) moved here and is the district leader, and Elder Blodgett (who I replaced here) moved to the office to replace Elder Jorgensen. "It's a small world after all..." :) Elder Rock moved up to Lampang to replace Elder Dressen, so we're back in the same zone again. And Elder Houston moved to Chiang Rai. I'm not sure who else moved, but I'll try to find out.

Elder Bevell and Elder Segsan left on Wednesday night in order to get to moves on time, so Elder Burin and I were on switchoffs. Thursday morning Elder Bevell called and told us that ZLTM (zone leader training meeting) was moved to Friday, since they were showing some missionary satellite transmission down in Asoke. Thus, he and Elder Jorgensen didn't come back to Saturday at 3 a.m. Elder Jorgensen and Elder Burin moved back into their old house then, so we're back to a two-man house. Friday was a little crazy since we both had lots of appointments and most of his were quite far away, but it all worked out. Sister B (Brother A's girlfriend) was baptized on Sunday. We're seeing Root tomorrow to make sure everything's in order for his baptism.

Sunday afternoon it was really hot and we decided to go to Brother Adoon and Sister Wachariporn's house to get some water (since we couldn't buy any). To get to their house you have to enter a gate and walk past a few other houses, the first of which has four or five dogs. Usually the dogs don't present any problem, but this time they started barking as soon as we parked our bikes, and as we walked in, three of them scrambled towards me and the most vicious of the three chomped my leg. Luckily it only got a little bit; two holes in my sock and three scratches with a very tiny amount of blood. We checked with the owner and made sure the dog had been vaccinated, so I don't have to get rabies shots. (Hallelujah! :))

For the past two weeks or so I've been sleeptalking/sleepwalking virtually every night. I'm not sure why, but it seems to have gone away these past few days. At least I think so; it's kind of hard to tell since Elder Bevell sleeps through it. The only way I knew was that it scared Elder Segsan and Elder Burin almost every night (Thais are petrified of sleeptalkers) and they mentioned it last week. Occasionally I remember sleepwalking, and usually the scenario is that I'm in a room and my companion has disappeared and I have to go find him. :) After meandering about the bedroom for a few minutes, I realize that I'm still in my bedroom and that Elder Bevell is still in his bed and that I'm dreaming.

Yesterday we had a branch activity. Elder Burin gave a good lesson on Christ, and then we split into three groups and put together little plays on Moses, Joseph in Egypt, and Nephi and the brass plates. I was Moses and got to part the Red Sea. :) The members here are soooooo awesome. Brother A is a new branch missionary, joining the ranks of Tom, Por, and Kaew (who are very good and help us out immensely). I want to stay here in P-lok for the rest of my mission. :)

Elder Bevell and I speak to each other in Thai more than half the time, which has helped a lot these past six weeks. I think in Thai all the time now, and when I try to write in my journal, my mind produces Thai instead of English. :) I never realized how fun it is to be fluent in another language.

One thing I don't think I've mentioned yet is that those who ride motorcycles (and there are a lot of them) range from eight-year-old kids to eighty-year-old grandmas. It was kind of weird at first, but now it's normal. America seems so foreign now. It's bizarre -- farangs seem too white and misshapen now. :)

Here's a scripture I like, found in Helaman 3:35: "Nevertheless they [the people of Nephi] did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God." Our cry should be, "Here's my heart, Lord; take and seal it for thy courts above." ("Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing") He requires a broken heart and a contrite spirit. The thing is, in giving our hearts to the Lord, He gives us so much more in return. It's not really a sacrifice at all. Examine your lives and see where you can more fully give your heart to the Lord. Stay strong in the faith and cling to the iron rod by reading the Book of Mormon every day, praying several times a day, and doing the other things that will bring you close to God (paying tithing, going to church, attending the temple, holding FHE and family prayer/scripture study, etc.).

It really is the hot season now. :) Earlier this week I found out where everyone moved. Elder Berlin moved to Ratcha Thewi; Sister Grimmius is now in Bangkhen; Sister Kravetz moved to Bangkapi and is companions with Sister Aemon (small world :)); Elder McLelland and Elder Walker both moved to Udorn North; Elder Suttiphong moved to Bangnaa and is companions with Elder Orrock; Sister West moved to Udorn.

On Monday we got a package in the mail from the Church, a three-hour long training video on the recent change in missionary work (teaching by the Spirit). The video is mostly Elder M. Russell Ballard, Elder Richard G. Scott, and Elder Charles Didier at a table answering questions that have come in over the past few months about the adjustment, but it also has a lot of segments from others (Elder Holland, President Hinckley, MTC people, etc.). It was really nice to be in the learner's seat instead of the teacher's, and furthermore, to listen to English. :) (I do love Thai a great deal, but it's not the same.) Since then I've done a lot better teaching, more from the heart and the Spirit.

Monday night Elder Bevell and Elder Jorgensen went up to Lampang to switch off with Elder Sessions and Elder Vue (the two seniors there). So on Tuesday, Elder Burin and I worked in his area half the day and in mine half, as usual. It's nice to switch off every once in a while, to see what the other companionship's area is like and get to meet their investigators.

Last week I heard my first dookae (a lizard that makes a really weird noise, kind of like a wind-up doll that says "Googie-goo" in a gravelly, drawn-out way). Still haven't seen one, though. At first I thought it really was a doll, but that didn't make sense since we were in the apartment of a bunch of 19-year-old studly guys. :) Since then I've noticed it a lot more, even at our house.

I had a scary/disturbing experience last week, too. :) Elder Bevell and I were doing invites and came to a secluded apartment. The door to the last room was open and we could see some people sitting inside, though the light was off so we could only see their silhouettes. Elder Bevell said hi and was about to invite them, but he decided not to and went to see if any doors were open farther down. I asked them if we could do anything to help them and started to get on my bike to leave. One of them stood up but didn't say anything, so I repeated my question. They invited me to sit down and so I came to the door. The light came on and I slowly realized that the guys had makeup on, and the two people that I'd thought were girls were very manly looking. I'd just stumbled into a nest of krathoeys (transvestites). They started asking for my personal phone number and how old I was and I quickly made an exit. It felt incredibly good to get out on the main road among normal people who aren't confused over gender issues. :)

Occasionally we run into farangs, mostly Europeans. The other day we found a Scottish man named Bill and chatted with him a bit. He's an electrical engineer and has lived in Thailand for six or seven years. When we asked if he'd ever talked with us missionaries before, he said he first met us back in the 60s in Scotland, and that he's not very religious. Now, almost every single Thai person we invite says, "All religions teach us to be good." In contrast, our Scotsman (and from what I've heard from other missionaries, this is usual among Europeans) said, "Religions cause most of the world's problems." He bluntly told us that we'd be wasting our time and that he's absolutely not interested in reading the Book of Mormon, period. I don't know why, but talking with Thais feels much different, even when they reject us. I think Thais are generally nicer about it, since they don't want to hurt our feelings. And no doubt the language issue is part of it, too. Being an English-speaking missionary would be a lot harder in many ways, I think. Regardless of the difficulties, however, the fact remains that the gospel is true and it must be preached to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, till the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.

Root's getting baptized on the 21st or so. We've been teaching Sister Gittiya's nephew (or some kind of relation, I'm not sure exactly what), Boi. At first it seemed like he wasn't too interested, but when we taught him about the first principles and ordinances of the gospel last week, he lit up and started talking a lot, explaining all sorts of stuff. He said he hasn't studied with missionaries before, which is kind of weird. We set a baptismal date for the 18th, but he still has to stop drinking and smoking, so we'll wait till he's ready. Lately we haven't had many investigators come to church, but this Sunday Ohe came, which was really good.

Ack, I'm out of time. This Church is true and Christ lives!

Rainy season started a few days ago and it's not quite as hot anymore. :) Today we went to Sukothai (the old capital of Thailand, 700 years ago) and visited some of the old ruins. Pretty neat, as usual. We got back with not much time to spare and so this will be very short. The work's going well. Our two main investigators, Root and Boi, will be baptized within a few weeks. School is starting (a lot of schools have already opened) and so there are students everywhere again. This moves period has gone by very quickly -- only two more weeks left. (It's a short moves period, but even then it still flew by.) Tuesday was Elder Burin's birthday and we threw a little party for him at FHE. The work here is very hard, mainly because retention is exceedingly difficult. If I didn't know beyond doubt that this gospel was true, I certainly wouldn't spend two whole years wasting my time here to promote a less-than-worthy cause. But this gospel *is* true and so no matter how hard it is, no matter how many people are sifted by Satan and fall by the roadside, no matter how many investigators reject the message, we must press onward, ever onward.

Here's a scripture I like: Alma 44:4 (no time to type it in). I know that this Church is true and that Joseph Smith really did see God and Jesus Christ. Because it's true, the gospel is the single most important thing in life. Nothing else even comes close, though the world tries to make us think otherwise. Christ lives and through following His example we will find happiness in this life. Do you want to be more happy? Love more. It's that simple. The divine mandate is to love God first and foremost, so much that we won't have any desire to break His commandments, and then to love His children. The Book of Mormon is the word of God and if we cling to it, we'll never fall too far astray. Make daily scripture study a habit that you absolutely won't break, the appointment you don't dare miss. President Gordon B. Hinckley is God's living prophet on the earth today and we can trust him as God's mouthpiece. Isn't it wonderful, that all the signs and gifts of the Church in olden days are here with us today? We have the power of God in our midst. This Church is true! :-)

Good news: Root's getting baptized this evening! :) Elder Jorgensen (Elder Joe as they call him) and Elder Burin had an investigator get baptized this past Sunday, Bia, and within a few weeks Bia's cousin M will be baptized as well. Bad news: Boi disappeared last week and we haven't seen him since last Monday. He reportedly came back, though, and we hope to meet with him soon. We found two good families last week. Both families invited us into their homes when we started talking with them, which is almost always a really good sign. :) One of the moms (Loogkit) and two of her kids came to English last night and stayed around for family home evening, too, which was really good.

Rainy season's definitely here, though it's not quite how I imagined. Rather than a constant pouring all day long, it's more of a once-a-day occurrence. It's still only May, though, not yet to the heart of the season. The rain cools things down, which is very, very nice. :)

I've already run out of things to write. ~sigh~ Oh, every time I meet Tom and other members (which is usually almost every day), we exchange scripture references from the Book of Mormon. I really like it since it helps all of us get to know the Book of Mormon better. Here are a few selected verses that I particularly like: "And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect understanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery; yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people. Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had sworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood.... Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men." (Alma 48:11-13, 17)

Well, zone conference is on Friday (in Chiang Mai, as usual), and next week is moves, so I should have something to write about in the next issue. :) Sorry these letters are getting more boring. :) Thanks for all the support, everyone. Remember to write to missionaries! Stay strong in the faith. Take care! :-)

Moves is here again. Yesterday Elder Bevell called the APs and found that he is moving to Bangkok, Elder Burin is moving somewhere outside of Bangkok, and Elder Vue (in Lampang) is moving to Bangkok. All four of us here have to go down to moves, which means Elder Jorgensen is either ZL or trainer (he'll get a call from President Slater today to let him know which). I'm excited to get to go to Bangkok again, even for just a few hours. :) Our train leaves sometime tonight around 10:00 and will arrive in Bangkok early tomorrow morning. If my new companion is the ZL, we'll stick around for ZLTM and come back to P-lok by midnight Thursday. If he's not, then we'll leave immediately and arrive by late afternoon/early evening. I realized that my group should be going senior pretty soon -- within two or three moves.

Root was baptized on Wednesday! :) He was confirmed on Sunday, too, and everything went without a hitch. Hurray! And Boi came back yesterday, which is really good. We have another good investigator named Ohe and a few families we're teaching. I hope nobody slips through the holes during this moves. We're also seeking out a bunch of old members who have become lost (moved away, usually). Within the last few weeks I've noticed a leap in my ability to read and write Thai. I was rather surprised at that, to be honest, since I hadn't been focusing on either, but I can't really complain. :)

We had zone conference last Friday up in Chiang Mai. Left Thursday night and arrived with twenty minutes to spare (our train was an hour late). When we got to the train station Elder Bevell realized he'd left his briefcase at our house, which meant he didn't have his scriptures, his notebook, his zone lesson, or the goals/results for his ZL report. But the train pulled up right then and so we couldn't really do anything about it. Everything still turned out okay. He taught a good lesson on desire (what do we as missionaries really want?) which foreshadowed President Slater's lesson. President talked about value systems and priorities -- for example, would I walk across a tightrope between the Twin Towers if I were to receive five baht for it? Anyone in their right mind wouldn't even consider it. Ten baht? Still no. A thousand baht? No. A million dollars? No way -- I wouldn't do it for any amount of money. But suppose that my baby brother was on the other side and was about to fall off. Then yes, I'd sprint across to save him. To me, my life is worth more than money, but my brother's life is worth more than my own. President then talked about how our choices reflect our value system -- we give up 15 or 20 baht for a plate of rice without any whining, since the food is worth more to us than the money. When we wake up in the morning, we decide whether obedience or sleep is more important to us -- if obedience is, we get up before 6:30; if sleep is, we sleep in. If the Spirit is the most important thing to us, then we'll willingly give up whatever prevents us from having the Spirit. Successful people evaluate their decisions in light of their goals and eliminate whatever obstacles are in the way of reaching those goals. Being conscious of that and making the decision to place the Spirit at highest priority in my life has really made a difference, especially in being glad and willing to eliminate imperfections and blemishes that keep the Spirit away. President Slater had every companionship teach (only my district taught him at the zone conference, during lunch; everyone else had taught him the day before at interviews). I was the pianist, as usual. It was really nice to play a real piano -- we have a little electronic keyboard at P-lok, and I must admit that I've rather missed playing a real, rich-sounding piano.

"For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors." (Alma 34:32) I really like this scripture, because it applies at so many different levels. Each day we live is precious; each day could be our last. There is a fierce battle between good and evil going on every single day, and time wasted is time given to the enemy. If we wait to repent, wait to change ourselves and be better people, we may find that time has run out on us. And "behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed." *This* life is the testing ground, the proving stage; once the test is over, we can't improve our score, no matter how much we want to. Don't wait, for the coming of the Lord is nigh. As a missionary, this verse takes on new meaning. This mission of mine is the time for me to prepare to meet God; yea, behold, these two years are the day for me to perform my labors. We only have two years here in the field, which at first seems like an eternity but quickly zips by faster than lightning. I've already been out for 9 months and will soon hit my halfway mark, and I'm in utter shock that it's gone by that fast. Lately I've realized that now is the time for me to work out all the kinks and faults in my character, the best possible time in which I can get the most done. At no other time will I be able to focus 100% on things spiritual, at no other time will it be as easy to improve. If I waste away the day of my mission, when I find myself back home it will be much harder to be refined, for there will be many distractions. God is willing to take our weaknesses and turn them into strengths, if we but give Him the key to our souls.

I'm out of time. Thanks for everyone's support and prayers. Stay strong in the faith! Take care. :-)

Moves has come and gone. Wednesday night we went to the train station, as did about twenty of the members. They bid farewell to Elder Bevell and Elder Burin and we hopped on board the train. As I looked out the window at the members waving goodbye, it felt like I myself was moving and I almost burst out crying. It will be soooooo hard to say goodbye to these people. I never want to leave here. :)

We tried to sleep on the train but without much success. A loud snorer bunked above me and I think I woke up over 30 times that night. :) At five in the morning we arrived at the Don Muang airport in Bangkok. Other missionaries filtered in over the next two hours and we all got on a bus to go to the Pakkret church for moves. Elder Bevell moved to Bangnaa and is the ZL there. He's with my friend Elder Matt Turner. Elder Burin moved to Chiang Mai and is with Elder Nebeker. Elder Vue moved to Thonburi. Elder Pettit moved to Bangkapi and replaced Elder Frischknecht. Elder Serrao and Sister Aemon (along with a handful of others) joped (finished their missions). I talked with Elder Serrao a bit and he said Nat goes to church whenever she feels like it and Chaad isn't very active, but Bunying and Tu are really strong. The only missionary in my MTC group to move is Elder Hamblin, who finally left his greenie area and moved to Nong Khaem. All of the sisters in the group before me went senior or co-senior (Sister West is training a Thai in Udorn), but none of the elders did. So it'll be another two or three moves (three or four months) before my group goes senior. My new companion is Elder Jon Haase of Washington (but his family is now moving to Florida). He turns 21 tomorrow and graduated from BYU in History. For the last three months he was in Roi-Et with Elder Nelson (my trainer). He just went senior, so I'm his first junior.

The rainy season is definitely here. On Monday we taught Loogkit and her daughter (Brother A came with us) and committed them to baptism. They're sooooo good. :) Twenty minutes before we finished, it started pouring. We still had to go to Sister Gittiya's for family home evening with her three sons, so we took off in the torrential rains and boy was it fun! :) Better than Disneyland, to be sure. ;) I think I picked up a cold, though. The field outside the church was flooded a little bit when we got home that night, as was the soi to our house. There were tons and tons of frogs singing melodious sonnets. :) Tom told me yesterday that last year it flooded the church, about a foot deep. Apparently several dozen frogs clustered in the bathroom, and during sacrament meeting a two-inch thick snake slithered into the room. I can't wait to see what it'll be like this year. :)

We taught a man, Wirat, last week. When we taught him about God and Christ he said that the other day he was meditating and saw two gods, one Thai and one farang. The farang god was Jesus, and he claimed to have gone up and touched him, so he thoroughly believed in Christ. But he said he forgot to ask Jesus if God the Father was real, so he doesn't yet believe (he said he'd ask the next time it happened, though :)). I wonder just how much reality there is to visions/dreams like that...

Yesterday we went to city hall and borrowed a large (2x3 foot) map of the city, 83 pages long, and then photocopied it for 1275 baht ($30). It's extremely detailed and we're going to map out where all our members are, including the less actives. We have several addresses of less-active members but we weren't sure where exactly they lived (trying to find places can be extremely difficult here), so this morning we went to the post office and asked them to go through the addresses and show us where they were. It took a lot of smiling and patience but we were successful in the end. I was surprised at how well those postal workers knew their addresses. :)

Our investigators are doing decently well. Ohe has a few obstacles that will take time to overcome. Chaloemchai is the landlord of the dormitory on our soi and is a good honest seeker of truth, but he still hasn't received an answer. Loogkit and her daughter are the closest to baptism right now. (We're teaching her husband and son on Saturday -- we'd hoped they would be there on Monday but they didn't show up.) We do a lot of member work here, since the branch is so small.

"I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect." (3 Nephi 12:48) Through daily repentance we will indeed achieve that perfection, most likely not in this life but surely in the life to come. We can't jump straight up to perfection in one grand leap but instead must take the journey one step at a time, line upon line, precept upon precept. It's a long road, but the Savior will lead us, guide us, walk beside us if we let Him. Let the kindly light lead your life amidst the encircling gloom and come, follow Him.

It's been an interesting week. Last Thursday was Elder Haase's birthday. While we were teaching English, Sister A and Muy went out and bought a cake, and after English we all sang songs together. The members here are sooooo incredibly nice. Once we were done, I had to answer a call from Mother Nature. On my way out of the bathroom, I looked down and saw a black scorpion on the ground, alive. Sister A put it in the cake box and then Brother Boi picked it up by the tail and we took pictures. He lifted it up over my mouth and I posed for the picture, but just when Tom pressed the button, the scorpion's glistening mouth wiggled and my nerves failed me, so I freaked out and darted away. Should be a pretty good picture. ;)

Last week we were searching for a lost sheep (old member who's fallen away from the Church and whom we've lost contact with). We couldn't find the member's house, but I kept going down a tiny road, expecting it to turn back onto the main road soon. It still didn't turn, though, and several times I was about to turn back and go the way we came, but then suddenly we heard someone call out, "Elder!" It was an old member, Brother Tuy, who was baptized 12 years ago and now is into drinking and all sorts of bad stuff. He was in an old hollowed-out house with seven or eight other guys who were also drinking and playing pool. He invited us in; at first I was a little apprehensive (places like that are often dangerous), but I realized that the Lord is on my side -- what need I fear? We went in and collected all the information we could about him and then left for our next appointment.

For the last couple of months we've been visiting an old member family, President Padoongsak and his wife Phanii. They've been members for 25 years or so, and Padoongsak was the first Thai branch president here in P-lok, and then the district president. They fell away ten or so years ago, though, and so we've been going over to their house each week to help them feel the Spirit again. Last week we got a referral from the office -- the sister missionaries in Bangbuathong (Sister Jones and Sister Skidmore) have been teaching a 17-year-old girl named Ao, and Ao recently moved back here to P-lok for school. She's learned through the 4th discussion and had a baptismal date for June 1st, and her two older sisters have been members in Bangbuathong for two years now. She lives 50 kilometers away in Bangkragam, though. Padoongsak and Phanii offered to drive us there, so yesterday they picked us up and off we went. Forty-five minutes later we arrived at Ao's school (which is where she arranged for us to meet her). We expected that we'd go over her reading in the Book of Mormon and perhaps teach her a fifth, helping her prepare for baptism. Well, she said she had a few friends who were interested in the gospel and led us upstairs to her classroom. I walked into the room and found 30 students, all 16 or 17-year-olds, and only five or so were boys. Ao wanted us to teach them all, though, so I started teaching about God and the plan of salvation. It actually turned out pretty well, even though it was a teaching situation utterly unlike all others I've been in before (as a missionary, that is). At the end, Ao raised her hand and asked if she could bear her testimony to the class. She's a really good investigator but her parents won't let her get baptized yet. She's most likely going to be baptized in Bangbuathong when she goes back in October.

On June 1 the new mission president, Scott Hansen, will arrive. He served here back in 1969-70 or so, and he was the one who opened Chiang Mai for missionary work. He is a doctor by profession and was actually Elder Leggat's doctor back home. It'll be kind of weird getting a new mission president, but I'm looking forward to it.

The work's going fairly well. Loogkit and her daughter committed to be baptized, and a few other investigators are close as well. Lately we've had trouble getting investigators to come to church, though. Charoemchai has been reading the Book of Mormon and is through 2 Nephi 6 already. The other day I was buying fruit (I've been eating tons of mangoes lately -- it's my favorite fruit these days) and the lady asked me if I have a girlfriend back home (a typical question). I told her I don't. She then said, "Do you want a Thai wife?" That happens often, quite often. :) But it's always fun to say, bluntly, "No, I don't." ("May aw" if you can read phaasaa elder.) I'll miss Thailand. ;) Seriously, it's such a wonderful place here. The thought of having to go back home someday is a sad one. Speaking of home, nobody's really said much about the war lately, so I guess it's settled down. The only thing I've heard about it in weeks is that the Iraqis tried to bomb an American army camp (some lady walked in with the bomb, or something like that).

Well, that's all I have for today. This afternoon we're going to Wat Yai.

Elder Keenan, the ZL, is coming down from Lampang for a special DDM tomorrow. Stay strong in the faith. Take care! :-)

Last Thursday we had the special DDM with Elder Keenan, who came down with Elder Rock from Lampang. He talked about how we need to make ourselves available to the Lord to do His work. After the DDM was over, we went on switchoffs. I got to go with Elder Rock for four hours, which was wonderfully fun -- it's been six months since we last did switchoffs together back in Bangkapi. Time sure flies by. Yesterday we did switchoffs again, this time with Elder Jorgensen and Elder Peterson. I and Elder Pete worked in his area and did lots of invites. We did start teaching one guy who had some kind of skin disease akin to leprosy (sores all over his body, many of them bloody), but he was drunk and wasn't very interested in listening to us. On Saturday we had a family home evening with a bunch of the youth and Tom bought us salted scorpions to eat. Yum. :)

We came home last Wednesday and found that our phone line had been disconnected because we hadn't paid the bill. (We hadn't paid the bill because the bill had never come.) Had to ride out to the payphone in front of 7-Eleven to call Elder Jorgensen, and then the next morning we went to the phone company first thing to pay the bill. For the past few weeks we've been taking addresses of old members to the post office and having them show us where they are (since addresses here aren't very orderly). It's been very helpful and we're getting to know the area very, very well. There are so many old members who've slipped away and don't have any contact with the missionaries for months or even years. Elder Haase and I have made it our quest to dig up as many old members as we can, so that they won't be lost any more. The results have been good so far but none of them has come back to church yet.

Really good news: Loogkit and her daughter came to church this week! We haven't had investigators at church for over a month or so, so this was wonderful. Not only that, but one man whom we taught on Friday came as well (Brother Chin). The work's taking off in a lot of ways. Tonight we're going to try to help Loogkit set a date to get baptized. We have a lot more investigators than we did last moves, which is really good. Sister Somkhuan invited us four elders over for mango/sticky rice again, tonight at 8. :)

I'm slowly starting to realize that my time is nigh at hand to go senior. As a greenie you feel like you'll be a junior forever, so this is really quite a shock. But the time must come and it will happen within a few short months. Am I ready? I sure hope so. :) Even if I'm not, the Lord will make up for whatever I lack, as long as I do my part.

Alma 30:31 -- "And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just -- yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them -- therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God." When we see so many people wandering in strange paths, not following God's counsel, there's often a temptation to just sit them down and *make* them obey, forcing them by the sword if they're stubborn. But that's not God's way. Through hearing God's word, people's hearts will change and they will change themselves. When we try to force anyone to change, whatever good we've done won't last very long; but when people see the happiness that comes from obeying God's commandments, when they taste the fruit of the tree of life, and when they then decide that they want that happiness more than anything else, *then* are the changes permanent and then are we successful in bringing people unto Christ. We're building a covenant-keeping people who love Christ and will keep His commandments even if there aren't any missionaries around to nag them. :) I know this gospel that we're here preaching is true and is God's word, and it's wonderfully exciting to see people's lives change as they cling to the iron rod and let Christ's light into their lives. Courage, brethren, and on, on to the victory!

We just got back from a wonderful zone conference yesterday, President Slater's last in Thailand. President Hansen arrives on Tuesday and will be mission president on arrival. The one thing certain about missions is change. Investigators change (a *lot*, for good or for worse), members change, companions change, areas change, mission presidents change, the weather kind of changes (hot, hotter, and hottest :)), and we ourselves change.

So, we left P-lok on a bus Monday afternoon and arrived in Lampang around eight o'clock in the evening. It's a really pretty ride. Ate dinner at KFC at the local Big C and then rode a song thaw over to the elders' house. Elder Haase and I spent the night at Elder Garrison and Elder Jackson's house, and Elder Jorgensen and Elder Peterson stayed at Elder Keenan and Elder Rock's house. Woke up at 3:45 a.m. At 4:15 Elder Garrison and I hopped on the bikes and rode out to get a song thaw, then went to pick up the other four elders. Returned to the house and picked up Elder Haase and Elder Jackson and went to the bus station. It was another two hour ride to Chiang Mai.

We had breakfast at the Felix City Hotel, which is really close to the Chiang Mai church. There are soooo many farangs in Chiang Mai, and after spending so much time around Thais, it's a rather odd sensation to see white people. How will I ever cope with going back home to America? ;) Zone conference started at 8:00 with a good lesson on member-missionary work by Elder Keenan (our ZL). President Slater gave a wonderful talk on the last week of the Savior's life. I couldn't help but think of the parallel, Pres. Slater gathering us around him for his last few words before going back home, kind of like Christ gathering His apostles around Him at the Last Supper. Sad to see him go but sweet in that he's been a valiant servant and has been faithful to his call. We four P-lok elders did a musical number, "God of Our Fathers, Whose Almighty Hand", with me on the piano. After President's talk we took a group picture and broke for lunch. President interviewed us four P-lok elders during lunch, the usual routine (we're the farthest from Chiang Mai in the zone, so we wait until zone conference for interviews; the Lampang elders go up the day before to be interviewed with the Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai missionaries). I'll miss President. He's helped me a *lot*, through all the spiritual valleys and hills I've been through so far. After lunch the Lampang district sang "Press Forward, Saints." The APs gave a lesson on activating less-active members, those lost sheep who've fallen away from the fold. And then we were done. Took more pictures (individual pictures with Pres. and Sister Slater), then went to the bus station and left for home. It's a long bus ride and we didn't get home till 11:35, but oh well. :)

On Saturday we had a branch activity which went really well. Played lots of games outside and then had a lesson on Zion and unity within the branch, followed by dinner. Lots of people showed up, including Loogkit and Ao, our two best investigators right now. They're friends with many members already and that's made a huge difference in helping them progress. We also had a less-active member, Brother Golf, come back to church. He works offshore most of the time and only returns to P-lok for a couple weeks at a time, but we visited him last week and he came! :) We're still seeking out all the lost members and putting them on the map, gathering all the information we can find (from neighbors, relatives, etc.). It's wonderfully fun, especially since it's the kind of work I think I want to do for a living (genealogy/history). The best part is when we actually make contact with the member. This past Saturday we were doing invites near our house (just outside the shortcut behind the house), talking with a lady at a small restaurant. An old grandma cutting vegetables nearby overheard us and said that she used to go to our church with her granddaughter. Lots of people think that all of Christianity is the same and that if they go to any church they've been to ours, so we always take that with a grain of salt. On the rare occasions when they really have been to our church, it's lovely, and this was one of those. We asked what her granddaughter's name was and she said Duanggamon Kaewpraseard. I recognized the name from the old member records we've been searching through and we got Duanggamon's phone number and current location. Called her up and set up an appointment for Sunday after church to meet with her. Hurray! :) We've made actual contact with three or four old members so far, and with a few more we've located their current whereabouts (usually they've moved to Bangkok). It's amazing how many old members there are here...

Well, I'm out of time. Keep up the good work and stay strong in the faith! Take care. :-)

Is it already July? Goodness, the time is blipping by. In fact, today I have very, very little time as we just got back from Sukothai. The work is going really well, especially with Loogkit and Ao. They actually moved to a different house on Sunday, so Loogkit couldn't go to church, but she sent Ao and we were able to meet with them that evening. They're friends with lots of the members and it's really going very well. That evening Loogkit said, "I haven't seen [God], but I know it's true." It was soooo good to hear her say that. Our other investigators are doing well, too, and yesterday we taught a wonderful discussion on baptism to Non, Too, and Pepsi (yes, that really is her name :)). We had a record 55 people at church on Sunday, including seven investigators (Ao, Too, Nat and Gluay, Moo and Mali and their son). Well, I've got to go -- keep up the good work and stay strong in the faith. A longer letter will be on its way next week. Take care! :-)

Wow, so much to write about and not nearly enough time. Yesterday we went up to Lampang for a special mission tour to meet President and Sister Hansen. We left at 8:10 a.m. on a bus and arrived at one o'clock, which left us enough time to find a naamtok raan (it's Isaan food) and catch a song thaw to the church. After the traditional rendition of "Called to Serve" to open the meeting, we recited D&C 4 and the Standard of Truth. President Hansen then had each companionship introduce themselves and share a spiritual experience. Sister Hansen spoke, mentioning that in the MTC the General Authorities had said that good things are on the way for Asia. "It's Asia's time," they said, and I can't tell you how my heart leapt for joy when I heard that. It often feels like Asia is quite far behind other areas of the world in accepting the gospel, but that may be about to change. President Hansen spoke about his mission (he served 1969-71, opened Chiang Mai with five other elders, and had to leave the country every six weeks to renew his visa) and shared some thoughts with us. They then opened the time up to questions and answers, and then we were done. We took a bus back home and arrived just before midnight.

On the bus ride up I chatted with a Presbyterian minister. He told me quite frankly that he doesn't believe in Joseph Smith's experience, and that because two Mormons converted over to his church and told him all about our church, he doesn't need to know any more. We didn't argue or anything, of course. It was the first time I've talked with a Christian in Thailand who really knew his stuff. He quoted the scripture in Revelation that forbids man from adding to the Book of Revelation and it was tempting to quote him Deuteronomy 4:2 (I think that's right :)), but that's not the way to convert anyone.

We went to Sukothai last Wednesday, which was fun. Elder Jorgensen and I went up to Lampang for switchoffs on Thursday, which was fun, too. I was with Elder Rock all day and we visited some awesome members. It's hard, in a way, to meet these wonderful members and share in their spirit and then have to say goodbye, knowing that in all probability you'll never see them again in this life.

Loogkit and Ao entered the firm baptismal pool on Wednesday, which means they got an answer to their prayers, have been to church at least once, and have a baptismal date. They decided to move the date to August 9, since that's Ao's birthday. They're soooo golden. :) We have lots of other good investigators, too. We taught Moo and Mali about the Word of Wisdom and the law of chastity a few days ago. Moo used to smoke 80 cigarettes a day, but as of two days ago he was down to 1 a day. :) This last Sunday we only had two investigators at church (Loogkit and Ao), which was a let-down, but we'll get it back up again.

We've been finding a lot of lost members lately. For the past couple of months we've been trying to track down Sister Uy, who lived near the church but moved out unexpectedly. We asked her neighbors if they knew where she moved to or what her phone number was, but they knew nothing. Then, almost two weeks ago, we went to see an investigator nearby and decided to give it one more shot. The house was up for rent and we asked the elderly neighbor if we could get the phone number of the landlord. He pointed us to the next-door neighbor, and when we asked her what the phone number was, she said she didn't know. We asked her who the landlord was. She said it was Uy's mom, who lives in Bangkok. "Well, suppose we want to rent the house -- who do we call?" "There are already college students renting it," she replied. "But just pretend we want to call the landlord to get something fixed -- what number do we call?" She went inside and came out with Uy's mom's phone number. One call gave us Uy's cell phone and another got us in touch with Uy, and we visited her a week ago. She's pretty much lost her testimony but she lives five houses down from Loogkit and Ao and it won't take long to get her back.

We've been looking for a 336/14 address for a long time, but couldn't find it anywhere. A man at the post office told us which soi it was on, but we still couldn't find it. When we took the address back to the post office, the worker there said that it had been changed to 407/4, and told us exactly where it was (across from Wat Khuean Khan). The people at that house didn't recognize the name at first (Banjerd Gluayhom), but then after repeated questioning they revealed that Banjerd's older sister, Noi, lived down near Lotus. They weren't exactly sure where the house was (they hadn't been over there in ten years), but they said it was on the right-hand side of the soi, had one floor, and was about 500 meters in, and that Noi used to sell chicken. That happens to be the soi that leads to Brother Prayut's neighborhood, so after our weekly FHE with him on Monday, we started hunting around for a 30+ lady named Noi. The first two houses had no clue who she was, but then a lady at the third house pointed across the street to some apartment buildings. Just then a woman drove by on a motorcycle and said hi, then stopped in front of the apartments. We rode up and asked her if she knew Noi. She didn't, but a lady stepped out of one of the rooms on the top floor and asked who we were looking for. She knew a Noi who had moved out a long time ago, and as we continued asking questions, more and more people came outside (no doubt to see what business farangs had there :)). One young man came down the stairs and asked what name we were looking for. When we said, "Banjerd Gluayhom," he exclaimed, "Jerd?" He gave us the phone number for a friend of the family, then took us to the mouth of the soi to find more information from a lady who ran a restaurant there. She said that Jerd's little sister Ngaw (rambutan, the fruit) worked at Lotus on the top floor and had black teeth. The guy rode back into the soi and came out five minutes later with Ngaw's phone number. We went to Lotus to find her (she works at the Carlsber . At any rate, even though we haven't been able to get in touch with her yet, the Spirit surely was guiding us. And I'm now out of time. Keep up the good work, everyone! :)

Well, I'm not moving. Nor is Elder Haase. Nor is Elder Pete. But Elder Jorgensen is, to Bangkok, where he's going to be a zone leader. Elder Haase is now the district leader and a new senior (one who's turning senior this moves) will be moving up here tomorrow. Nobody in Lampang moved. Elder Jorgensen and I will leave on the train tonight at 10 p.m. and I'll come back tomorrow with Elder Pete's new companion. I get to go to Bangkok again! :) It's somewhat of a surprise that I'm not moving -- I rather expected it -- but I'm glad to stay here among these wonderful people for another month and a half. That means I'll be here to see Loogkit and Ao be baptized. :) We taught Loogkit's other daughter (Ooy) and Ooy's boyfriend the other day. Loogkit bore her testimony of how the gospel has changed her life, made her faith firm and has given her peace of mind. It was awesome. :) I was reading Alma 5 earlier this week and realized that this change of heart is really what true conversion is. That's what we're aiming for here: for the gospel to change people's lives, to bring hope and light and love into people's lives, which will lead them to Christ. Thinking of it that way made a huge difference in my perspective on missionary work and has really helped. At times we invite people who look like there's no way they could be candidates for baptism, and it's hard to have faith that they can change. But when you look at teaching as a way to help people change, then it doesn't matter what the person is like before, because the gospel will change them into what God wants them to become. There are my thoughts for the week in a nutshell. :)

The branch got a new piano last week but they haven't opened it yet. Water floods the church from time to time, so they may wait till we move to a new chapel. I went on switchoffs with Elder Pete last Friday, on Saturday we had an elders quorum activity, and on Sunday there was a baptism (Em, Elder Jo's investigator). Oh, on Saturday we were introing a man when a ten-year-old girl ran up to me and asked my name. She was half-Swedish, half-Thai, and we'd seen her a few days earlier when we introed a man in her neighborhood (she was playing with the man's daughter). I told the girl I was called Elder and she asked if I knew Lef. I couldn't think of anyone I knew with that name and told her so. She seemed fairly insistent, saying that he worked nearby and that he'd said he knew us. I asked if he were a farang or a Thai. She said he was a farang, and then the light clicked on in my head and I asked if the man was her father. She assented and wanted to take us to go see him. So we followed this little ten-year-old girl down the road, turned the corner, and found her Swedish father sitting at a table in front of his house. She jumped off her friend's motorcycle and ran to the gate, exclaiming, "Papa, Papa, they're here!" He spoke to us in English, saying that his daughter Emmely wants to be Christian and he wanted to give her a chance. We're going back to teach them (at least the kid and probably the parents too) on Saturday. We went back the other day to get their phone number and the dad (Lef Thomas Svensson) said that his wife had taken their two daughters to the wat (last week there was a Buddhist holiday), and that Emmely did *not* want to go. Quite interesting. :)

Sunday was my birthday and so after church we ate some cake that Tom and A gave me. Being 20 doesn't seem much different from being 19, to be frank. :) Oh, last week we taught a 27-year-old crippled man about baptism and committed him to be baptized, and then picked him up in Brother Bunmii's pickup on Sunday for church. His name is Aab and he's really good.

Yesterday we had quite a neat experience. We had planned to go out to Bangrakam to see Ao, but she wasn't free, so we had the whole day free (till 5 p.m.). At 4:30 or so we decided to go look for the house of an old member who had apparently moved away. Another member had drawn a map to the house (house number #267) and as we approached the area, we saw a few houses with 426 numbers on them. We've been looking for a 426/44 for a while and decided to go look for that house first. Well, after a few minutes of searching, we came to the place where 267 was and voila, it had now changed to 426/44. :) We said hello and a 20-something girl came out. We asked if she knew a Sister Gamrai; she replied that it was her older sister and that she was now in Sweden, but that she'd come back in a few months. Then we asked if she knew Sister Namphoeng. She said, "That's me!" Turns out she was baptized 12 years ago but moved to Phuket and wanted to go to church there but there isn't a branch, so she's been going to some other church. She's back here for a few months and we visited, singing "I Am a Child of God" and sharing a few verses in the Book of Mormon. She still has a testimony! :) We invited her to go to English and the family home evening an hour later and she came! She said she's going to come back to church, too. It was the highlight of the week and quite the unexpected blessing. We called up a bunch of old members from 15+ years ago as well, but they were all uninterested in coming back to church, so it was nice to find a less-active who still loves the Church. :) :) :)

That's about it. Life's going well and so is the work. Keep the faith and share the gospel! Don't keep your light under a bushel. Take care! :-)

Elder Jorgensen and I went down to Bangkok on Wednesday night for moves, arriving at 4:45 a.m. Elder Jorgensen is now a ZL in Bangnaa, replacing Elder Bevell, who moved to Srinakarin. Elder Jean-Michel Carter, who was in the MTC group before me, is now in P-lok with us. He just went senior, which means I'll probably be going senior in six weeks. Whoa, I still haven't even started working on a flipchart. :) As we put Elder Carter's luggage on the bus, the driver came up to us and said we had to pay a damage insurance fee, because we supposedly had too much stuff. He tried to scare us by saying that the police would come inspect the bus and that if we didn't pay him the 100 baht to keep us safe, we'd have to pay 300 baht or more. It was complete baloney and was the first time someone has seriously tried to rip me off here. :)

On Friday I was sick for the late afternoon and evening but was fine by Saturday morning. Elder Haase and Elder Pete went to Lampang on Saturday for DLTM (District Leader Training Meeting), so Elder Carter and I worked in my area all day. The other two elders came back at 9:45 or so, because their bus had gone to Lampang the *long* way (an additional three hours including a scenic tour of Sukothai and Tak, which is less than an hour from the Burmese border :)). Speaking of sick, Elder Pete got really sick Monday afternoon and has been bedridden since then. Elder Haase stayed with him yesterday morning and then I replaced him for the afternoon and evening, so that Elder Carter could get some work done in his area.

Church went really well, with five investigators showing up (Loogkit, Ao, Aab, Emmely, and Jessamine). We have some *really* good investigators, the best I've ever had. Emmely's the 10-year-old self-referral, a Swedish-Thai girl who really really really wants to be Christian. Elder Carter and I taught her on Saturday and she was delighted to receive the picture Book of Mormon. On Sunday she came to church (her mom dropped her off) and seemed to like it quite a lot, getting along with all the members. Later that evening when we went to teach another investigator in her neighborhood, she showed up with her Book of Mormon and Bible and hymnbook (she asked for one at the end of church) and answered a lot of the questions. She came to English and FHE and volunteered to give the closing prayer. Jessamine's her 11-year-old sister who doesn't seem quite as interested, but time and the Spirit will change that. :)

Aab's the guy with polio. Elder Haase and Elder Carter visited him yesterday and he told them that he'd gotten an answer to his prayers (about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith's vision) and decided he wants to be baptized on August 23rd. Hurray! :) Loogkit and Ao are still doing very well and are very ready to be baptized. Our other really good investigators are Moo and Mali, and we'll be visiting them tomorrow to see if they've decided on a baptismal date.

Elder Haase and Elder Carter met with the branch president (President Sawat) and the branch mission leader (Tom) last night to discuss ways to unite the branch and make it grow. We're going to have a sports hour every Saturday at 6:00, starting next week. This week the district president's coming down from Lampang to give a fireside, which will be really good, especially because he's in a wheelchair and so is Aab. Elder Haase biffed it on his bike the other day and so his knees are a bit sore, but he's okay.

Well, that's all the news. I'm amazed at how good our investigators are -- it's truly the miracle of the gospel and the Spirit. I feel like I'm able to do more and more good in the lives of these people now that I can speak Thai fairly fluently; when I was a greenie and an unexperienced junior I couldn't do a whole lot, but now I feel like I'm actually making a difference. I've learned a lot about the Spirit and the gospel, and every day my testimony of this work becomes more and more solidified. It's true! :) Take care.

Apologies for there not being an e-mail last week -- the mail servers were down all day. But life goes on. :) Last week was an interesting one, for Elder Peterson caught a mild case of dengue fever (at least that's what we think it was) and had to stay home all week. We took turns staying with him so that the work could go on in both areas. Being sick as a missionary is not a fun experience. But he's all better now and everything's back to normal. I can't really remember what I have and haven't written, but I'll do my best to keep things coherent. I found that Elder Orrock moved to Bangkapi (I think he's in my area); Elder Lo moved to Buriram; Elder Bloom moved into the office; Elder McEwen moved to Surin; Elder Hamblin moved to Khon Kaen; and Sister Craner moved to Roi-Et. Moves is already half over, though, so that feels rather long ago. :)

We got a new piano last week! :) It arrived a few weeks ago but we didn't open it till a week and a half ago. It's much nicer than the dinky little electronic toy we've been using. :) We four elders met with President Sawat (the branch president) yesterday and talked about setting up a branch choir. We're going to practice every Sunday for half an hour after church and I and Elder Carter will be leading it for the time being.

The people at the Amarin Lagoon Hotel are getting too busy with guests, so they asked us to postpone English for two or three months. So we don't teach there any more, but we're going to see if we can teach at a school. We're also looking for other service ideas. We got signs made (about teaching religion and English) and we'll stick them on our bikes yesterday. (It sounds crazy, I know, but the elders up in Lampang have been doing it and it works. :))

Moo and Mali moved to Ayutthaya last week with no notice. We went to see them and only Mali was left, and she said she was moving the next day. It was sad to see them go but Elder Pitzer will be able to continue teaching them there. Aab (·Õͪ, if Thai script goes through) is really good. He set a baptismal date for August 23rd and has been to church three times already. We taught him the last of the discussions yesterday and he wants to go to church every week for the rest of his life. It's been difficult to get him a ride to church, however, because of his wheelchair, but he has an extra one and he decided to leave it at our house, so he can now ride a motorcycle to and from church (and *everyone* has a motorcycle :)).

Loogkit (≈Ÿ°§‘¥) and Ao (ÕÈÕ) will be baptized on Saturday. Everything's going smoothly and they're quite ready. Emmely and Jasmine (the Swedish kids) have been coming to church every week and to English and are excited that Ao is getting baptized. We've been teaching a mom, Na, and her daughter, Ning, the past couple weeks. They go to the Khwaamwang (Hope) church here. Yesterday we taught a family (Stamp, Hut, Kaew, Art, and Jack) about baptism and committed them all to be baptized. Art and Jack are 16-year-old kathoeys (guys that really really really want to be girls), and tomorrow we're going to teach them all about the law of chastity.

We had a special DDM from Elder Keenan on Thursday, on love. It was good. That's not very descriptive, is it. :) Oh, last week we started a new tradition here: every Saturday at 5:00 we (the branch) gather together to play sports for a couple of hours. This past Saturday we played volleyball and quite a few people showed up. We elders now have to exercise three days a week, a half-hour per day, and so that's an easy way to do it for one of the days. (The other two, Elder Haase and I play tagraw in the field next to the church. My talent does not lie in the sports arena, I'm convinced. :))

The past few months I'm finding myself growing more and more interested in Asia. When I got my mission call I admittedly had very little interest (for example, I would much rather study Old English and Latin than Chinese or Korean), but now there is a passion growing within me, a desire to learn about China and Japan and all things Oriental. Asia fever has caught me in its grip. :) Here's a quote I like: "You can often gauge a man's ambition by whether he hates his alarm clock or considers it his best friend." (Thomas Edison) We must be diligent if we wish to claim the prize. (See Mosiah 4:27) That's all for today, folks. Write your missionaries! :) (E-mail your snail mail address to my mom and I'll write you.) Take care and endure to the end.

The time is far spent, there is little remaining. :) I will almost certainly move from P-lok in two weeks, which is sad but inevitable. On to new horizons. I'll miss P-lok dearly, especially the people. Loogkit and Ao had a wonderful baptism on Saturday. President Kanthaphong (counselor in the district presidency) baptized them and they bore short but sweet testimonies afterwards. We then had a "Hold to the Rod" activity (based on 1 Nephi 8) and played sports. Saturday was quite hectic, getting everything ready for both the baptism and the activity, but it all turned out well.

On Friday, Elder Keenan and Elder Jackson came down from Lampang to interview Loogkit and Ao for baptism. Loogkit had completely forgotten, though, so we had to send Tom and A to pick them up. :) Tuesday (yesterday) was the queen's birthday, which is the Thai Mother's Day. After the interview on Friday we went out and found policemen lining the streets. I asked one of them what was happening and they said the queen would be passing by later on. So we waited around a few minutes and at around 9:00 p.m. the queen rode by in a limo, with a large procession of vehicles following. We could see her through the windows, for about five seconds before she was out of view. It was really neat and gave me goosebumps. :) So, now I've seen both the king and the queen. All I have to do now is actually *meet* them. ;)

We had a great zone conference on Monday, our first with President and Sister Hansen. We four elders took a bus up to Lampang on Sunday afternoon and stayed the night there, then left early Monday morning for Chiang Mai. There were some policy changes this time. The main one is that we can now listen to music any day of the week, at certain times: before study, after planning and phone calls each night, during long trips, and at challenging times during our missions when we need that extra boost. I was very happy about that change. :) President interviewed us during lunch. He told me I probably won't be in P-lok after this moves and that I probably won't be going senior either, since there are five co-senior companionships and not many new missionaries coming in. That's fine with me -- no rush. I haven't even started making a flipchart yet. :) I told President about my intense desire to do genealogy and he said that they're going to start giving out printed books of remembrance to each new member, and that the missionaries will have a part in helping them fill those out. Thai genealogy seems to be quite difficult compared to Western genealogy, since there aren't as many records (at least I think it's that way). If any of you know anything about Thai genealogy, please let me know (write my mom and she'll send it to me). After the meeting was over, we eight elders from the Lampang zone hopped into the van with the APs and President and Sister Hansen (yes, it was cramped :)). We drove to see the first elder house in Chiang Mai, where President Hansen lived when he was here 30+ years ago. It's actually on the same road as the current church. Very neat. When Bruce R. McConkie came to Thailand back then to look for land to build a church, President (then Elder) Hansen and his companion drove him around. Back then Thailand was its own zone, with about 18 missionaries serving there, and the mission headquarters were in Hong Kong. Things have changed a *lot*. :) The APs dropped President and Sister Hans Lampang, where we got out and took a bus home, arriving at midnight.

The work's going well. After we taught Aab about the threefold duties of members of the Church, we came back and found that he'd written out a list of his ancestors' names. He's awesome. :) One man, Awt, called at us a few months ago and said he'd been waiting two years for a Book of Mormon. The elders apparently talked with him back then but never came back to give him the book. He was busy for a while, though, but last week he was free and we were able to teach him about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He understands everything really well and already likes Mormon standards. We're going back to see him on Sunday. Sister Namphoeng isn't going back to Phuket!!! :) She decided to stay here, which is really good (she'd probably fall away if she moved back to Phuket).

We're in the process of making a book of all the testimonies and conversion experiences of the members here. We've handed out forms and are starting to get the results back, and I think it's going to be really, really good. (Tom will type it up and we'll get it printed and bound and then give it to all the members.) On Sunday Elder Carter and I ran the first choir practice session. It went quite well and will be a wonderful addition to the Sunday meetings here.

In my experience here in P-lok I've really learned how essential charity is. We can't call ourselves disciples of Christ until we have a forgiving heart and love unconditionally. I've noticed in my own life that when I get angry or hold a grudge or get annoyed by someone else, I become that person's slave, his prisoner. Only in love are we set free. Come unto Christ and be perfected in Him, in His perfect love. Pray with all the energy of heart that you may have this love and be like Him, a window to His love. When people don't have this love, the spiritual plague breaks in and unity flees the scene. We can't force other people to have this love, of course, but our example can do what our words can't. Be quick to forgive and slow to judge, for Christ died for us all, notwithstanding our many faults. I didn't truly understand how important this is until recently.

Well, I'm out of time. Take care, write your missionaries, and have a great day! And love everyone you meet! :-) Try to be like Jesus in all that you do and say, every minute and every day of your life.

Well, I'm on my last week in P-lok, unless by some miracle I don't move. Loogkit and Ao were confirmed members of the Church on Sunday and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. Aab will be baptized this Saturday and confirmed the next week. Those three are incredibly good members/investigators and wonderfully faithful. We still visit Emmely and Jasmine (the Swedish-Thai kids) twice a week and are talking with Leif (the dad) about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. We've been working with Jenny, a mom who studied with the elders (along with her husband) two years ago and learned all six discussions. She reallys like the teachings of the Church and once she overcomes her obstacles she'll be golden.

Last week we were doing invites and came across a factory in some guy's house, where they had oyster shells drying out in the sun. When we said hi to one of the teenage kids working there, he called out to his boss, who emerged from the house with a handful of papers in hand. He walked up to us and handed us a paper, which was a photocopy of a Time magazine article from two or three years ago about a man in Phitsanulok, Tongchat Nusu, who sells bugs as food. I looked at the picture in the article and realized it was the same man who stood before me. Random things like this happen all the time. :)

Speaking of randomness, when the queen came through P-lok a couple weeks ago, we started heading to 7-Eleven before they closed off the roads. We passed the road that leads to our house and the church, and a 45-year-old lady called out to us. She handed me a picture frame with a picture of a woman and said it belonged to her dad and she wanted us to help her find him. She doesn't know who her dad is, other than that he's a farang; she suspected he was an Italian because the frame had "IL" at the top of it. So we met with her on Friday at the church. She told us she has a microchip in her head and her dad can always see her. Then she said she has two things she has to do: first, she has to marry a farang (preferably an Italian because of the "IL") and have farang babies, and second, she has to find her dad. She figured that because we're farangs we'll be able to help her find her dad. This was rather humorous because my ancestors are Italian, but she of course didn't know that (thankfully! ;)). We taught her about temples and the spirit of Elijah (this was when we thought her dad had already passed away), then taught about God and prayer and the Book of Mormon. Ever since then, the members have been teasing me incessantly about having Italian-Thai kids and having a microchip in my head. :)

We had a family move here from California: Brother Mike Mullen, his wife Anchalee, and his two daughters, Rachel and Jasmine. Bro. Mullen served here in Thailand twenty years ago, married a Thai, and now is back for a year. They live in Kamphaeng Phet, about an hour's drive from P-lok (that's where Anchalee's family lives). We were quite excited to have them move in, since they'll be a pillar of strength and help the branch tremendously. Rachel plays the piano, too, which is good because once I leave there won't be anyone to play the hymns on Sunday.

On Sunday we visited Sister Loogkit and Ao as usual, to teach the second new member discussion with Tom. Halfway through, a neighbor lady walked in, drunk. She plopped herself down next to me and said she wants to join the Church. We tried to explain the basics, but she was too drunk to understand. Alcohol is *evil*. It was kind of funny because she kept hanging on my arm, try as I might to scoot away, and finally we decided to sing a hymn together. We began singing "I Am a Child of God" and the drunk lady kept talking. Near the end of the first verse, she exclaimed, "All religions teach us to be good!" That's the famed Thai slogan -- virtually *every* Thai says it when we tell them we're missionaries. It's true, of course, but they think it means that any religion will do and that it doesn't matter which one you choose.

The branch is on the verge of having lots of good things happen, which means that Satan is working very, very, very hard to destroy it. The Church wants to build a chapel here and is looking for land, which is really good, because the current location is inconvenient and small. We elders feel the tug on both sides, the forces of good trying to build the kingdom of God here and the forces of evil trying to infest and eat away at the stone cut forth without hands. I've learned so much here in P-lok -- it's a very exciting place to serve, because of the poles of good and bad and the constant battles between the two.

Well, I'm out of things to say. Next week we'll know who's moving and so I'll have something to write. :) Keep up the good work, support your Church leaders, read your scriptures and pray every day, and have a great day! :-) Take care.

Well, it's official: I'm moving. I'm taking my bike, no less, which more than likely means I'm moving back to Bangkok. (If not Bangkok, then Ayutthaya, Lopburi, or Korat.) Nobody else from P-lok is moving, but Elder Rock and Elder Garrison from Lampang are both moving down to Bangkok with me. I woke up at 4:30 to start packing and am about halfway there. My current problem is that I have too much stuff! :) I want to just leave it all here and travel light and carefree, but a lot of it is necessary. ~sigh~ All four of us P-lok elders are going down on the train, because we have to renew our visas (apparently the person in the government who's in charge of that has been replaced and the new person wants us to renew them). I was pretty sure I'd be moving, so I've had plenty of time to say goodbye to everyone. It's hard -- the people here are like my family -- but life goes on. Change is a little scary but very exciting.

Aab was baptized on Saturday and he's awesome. He'll be confirmed this Sunday by Pres. Sawat. Loogkit and Ao are doing great and are about halfway through the new member discussions (which we're teaching with the branch missionaries). Ao was sick on Sunday and so neither went to church, but we visited them that night. Apparently Ao had a stomachache and was about to take some medicine for it, but they decided to pray first. As soon as Ao finished praying, the stomachache vanished. :) It's so wonderful to see their faith grow and blossom. None of our other investigators is anywhere close to baptism, though. All the students here are testing a *lot*, and most don't stop for another month or two (this has been going on for a month or more). Crazy and kind of frustrating but we can't do anything about it.

Whoa, my hump day was last Thursday. One year as a missionary already. Time flies by soooooo fast. I've been very lucky -- I've been in-country for almost ten months now and yet I haven't had a single bike accident. Last week at English, a schoolteacher who comes regularly asked if she could bring her class to the church for us to teach (the school is 40 kilos away, too far to ride our bikes :)). So, on Monday a pickup full of 13- and 14-year-old girls showed up. We taught them for an hour and they'll be back next Monday, hopefully with some 13- and 14-year-old boys in tow. :) Yesterday afternoon a guy rode up beside me and held out a cell phone, asking if I could make a call to Germany for him. He wanted to get in touch with a lady named Phikun but didn't know if the number he had was correct. So he dialed the number and gave me the phone and some lady answered with, "Guten tag." The problem is, she didn't speak English, and all I can remember of German is "Sprechen sie Deutsch." I tried "Sprechen sie Englisch?" but that didn't get us anywhere. :) I ended up blurting out, "Is Phikun there?" in Thai, but that didn't help either, so I said goodbye and that was that. :) It is *incredibly* hard to speak anything but Thai nowadays. English is a little easier, but it's slowly slipping out of my mind.

Well, today we're going to take sticker pictures at Topland with Tom and the other elders and then I'm going to finish packing. My testimony of the gospel has become rock-solid in this past year as a missionary. It's true. Out of time, so keep up the good work and read your scripture and pray every day. Take care! :-)