Ah, I'm out! :) No, really, the office was a great experience, and I learned so many things that have enriched my mission and I'm glad I was able to serve there for six months. And now I'm here in Udorn, which will probably be the last area of my mission. My companion is Elder Daniel Allen of Hyde Park (near Logan). I actually picked him up from the airport six weeks ago -- Elder Thatcher trained him and then finished his mission, so he's still part greenie. :) I'm the district leader, with Elder Nattapon as ZL, Elder Thacker, Sister Skabelund, and her greenie, Sister Clark. Elder Orrock (my MTC companion) is training Elder Pack in the other dis trict in our zone, the infamous Kumphawapi.

So, last week we spent a lot of time getting everything ready for moves. On Wednesday we got home at 1:30 a.m. and it took me until 3 to finish packing. Everything went smoothly, though, and we arrived in Udorn at 8:00 a.m. Friday. I love it here so much! I'd often imagined what the last several months of my mission would be like, and this is as perfect as I ever hoped for. The Isaan is great, my companion and I are getting along great, the members are awesome, and we're working hard. On Friday we invited a guy named Joi and taught him a first, and then yesterday we went back to see him and taught about faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Spirit was strong and he committed to be baptized. The only hitch is that he'll be working in Nong Khay every day till April 25th, but we'll keep in touch with him every other day by phone. On Monday we had our weekly Family Home Evening at the Coxes (the senior couple who lives next-door to us).

Ah, I'm so excited to be out here working! It's the best thing in the world. I don't want to go home, really, but of course I must. ~sigh~ Well, this keyboard is stuck and typing is rather hard, so I'll leave it at this for now. I'm so glad to be a part of this marvelous work and wonder and to be able to serve in the best mission in the world. :) If you always remember our Lord, then His Spirit will be with you and your life will be full of everything that makes life meaningful. Seek that Spirit and don't let yourself get cut off from it. Keep up the good work!

Well, the time is far spent, there is little remaining. This time as a missionary is so precious. I really wish I could extend my mission for another two years (or even twelve :)). Everything's going well here, though I'd forgotten just how hard missionary work can be. :) We've been opening our mouths a lot and finding several new investigators, but it's been very hard to get them to make further appointments with us. Perhaps that's just the way the Isaan works; I don't know. At any rate, next week is Songkran and it'll be *very* hard to teach anyone at all. But we'll do our best, and after that we'll set Udorn on fire, so to speak. :) There's a lot of potential here -- in fact, Udorn's the only place outside of Bangkok that has had to split the branch because of growth. But lately the growth has been stunted a bit. Before I leave Udorn I want to help the members catch the vision of establishing Zion and building the kingdom of God and to really be on fire with the message of the gospel. I wish I had more time to be here (even if I'm here until I go home, that's only a short four months), but there's nothing I can do about that now. I'm studying Laotian right now because of some work we'll be doing with Laotian investigators in the near future. It's close enough to Thai that it's quite easy to learn and very fun. Anyway, I don't really miss being out of the office, but I do miss not knowing what's going on around the mission. :) We didn't get to watch Conference out here -- in fact, I haven't seen Conference since October 2002 when I was in the MTC. I can't wait for the Ensign to come out. Well, that's it for today. Keep up the good work, remember who you are, and have a great day! :-)

We're in the midst of Songkran now. This is the only Internet raan that was open, as pretty much everything's closed till Friday. We did switchoffs last week, with Elder Nattapon and I in his area. On Easter Sunday the Coxes had us over for a delicious dinner. Monday we had Family Home Evening as usual and Brother Cox gave a lesson on family history. We had everyone (about 20 people there) start filling out a book of remembrance there. Quite good, and they're all going to write their personal history and bring it back next Monday.

From morning till afternoon on Monday, though, there was a Songkran activity at the church, with the Udorn 1, Udorn 2, Kumphawapi, and Sakon Nakhon branches joining in on the fun. It's amazing how throwing water can be so much fun. ;) When I go back home I think I'll start a Songkran tradition at BYU. :) Today our whole zone came to the Coxes' and watched "Finding Nemo." (We can watch one Disney movie per moves.) The elderly couple from Laos came to visit for a few minutes. Exciting things are coming down the road in just a few weeks. Let's just say I'm studying Laotian and leave it at that. :) We also went to teach an investigator, a referral from Sister Kob. His name is Wichit and he's quite interested and open to learning. We're going back to see him on Saturday. With Songkran soaking this whole week, it's been hard to be able to see our investigators, but come Friday we're going to work extra hard to see everyone that's been gone. We're already halfway through the six-week moves period, which is quite crazy. The time really is far spent and there's so little remaining. I can sense a lot of good things about to happen here, provided that we work hard and have faith and do everything the Lord asks us to do. Building Zion is the most worthwhile and soul-filling activity I've ever participated in. :)

Well, not much else for today. Here's some Thai for those who've served here, assuming that it makes it through all the mail servers, because typing Thai is fun and I miss it. :)

ดีใจมาก ๆ เลยที่จะออกจากออฟฟิศและมีโอกาสมารับใช้ที่อุดรธานี สมาชิกที่นี่สุดยอดจริง ๆ ผมรู้สึกว่าไม่อยากโดนย้ายไปจากนี้เลย คิดว่าจะฉีกตั๋วเครื่องบินนะ ไม่อยากจบเป้นผู้สอนศาสนาเลย แล้วก็หวังว่าทุกคนสบายดีและมีความสุข อย่าลืมสิ่งที่คุณเรียนรู้เมื่อเป็นผู้สอนศาสนานะ (คิดว่าทุกคนที่อ่านนี้คงจะเป็นผู้สอนมั้ง) แค่นี้ก็พอแล้วโนะ โชคดีเด้อ

เอ็ลเดอร์ คราวเดอร์

This'll be very short because there's no time. We had a great zone conference yesterday and then some of us came down to Bangkok to renew our visas. I went with Elder Orrock, Elder Bloom, and Elder Simmons all day, getting suits cut (for the others), going to the hospital to check up on Elder Simmons' ingrown toenail, checking out the new Subway restaurant downtown, etc. :) I'm excited to get back to work in Udorn, though. Thanks for all the support, everyone. I haven't had a whole lot of time to write letters lately but I expect to be able to do better at it in the next few weeks. Everything's great and we're seeing miracles start to happen, really. Take care! :)

It's almost the end of moves again, which blows my mind because I just barely moved here. How does time sweep by so quickly? I want to reach out and grab it and make it stop, even just for a little while, but it fleetingly slips away and before too long these wonderful two years will be over. Thus it's all the more important that in these last few months I work hard and do the best I can to build Zion here. I wish I had more time...

So, we've been building up our investigator pool and have quite a few good investigators right now. Our best one is Joi, a Catholic salesman. We talked with him last night about the Word of Wisdom and the law of chastity and he's determined to stop drinking coffee and M-150. I can see the changes starting to take place inside of him and it's a beautiful thing, because many of our other investigators are too complacent and don't care to change at all. But lately I've had the feeling that we're starting to discover the honest in heart, those of the fold of the Master who've been waiting to hear His voice and follow His call. It's exciting and breathtaking and oh so sweet.

On our train ride back up from Bangkok last week, the conductor asked for my ministerial train pass. Because I didn't have it (I'd accidentally left it here in Udorn), I had to pay an extra 106 baht right there. That's the first time in over a year and a half that I've had to show the train pass to anyone. :) The youth here in both branches will be singing the EFY "As Sisters in Zion / We'll Bring the World His Truth" medley at district conference in two weeks and so we've been rehearsing that lately. Over the past few weeks all of my favorite fruits have come into season and are getting quite cheap: durian, rambutan, and mangostein. I wonder if there'll be a way to import Thai fruits into the States once I go home... :)

The two main things that have been impressed upon me lately in the work are the need to open our mouths and the need to be converted to the Book of Mormon. Earlier on in my mission, I didn't open my mouth as often as I should have -- the fear of man kept me clammed shut many times. In fact, it wasn't until I moved here to Udorn that I overcame that and learned how to open my mouth everywhere. It's changed my mission and opened all sorts of doors. I wish I had another two years left, now that I know how to do it right. :) As for the Book of Mormon, I'm beginning to understand just how essential it is for missionaries, for members, and for investigators. The scriptures are a good spiritual barometer -- are we truly thirsting for the word of God, with a real yearning to drink from the Book of Mormon? If we have no desire to read from the Book of Mormon, or if we read and the book seems dry, boring, bland and unexciting, then perhaps it's time to examine our spiritual life and see what we're missing, where we've fallen astray, what we need to repent of. The word of God will keep us humble and penitent before our Maker, which in turn will save us from the misery which awaits the proud and stiffnecked. I've noticed that in my life -- if I start slipping off the path, getting hardheaded and thinking about my own will instead of God's, the thing that helps me get back up on my feet is the word, especially the Book of Mormon. As I read I realize that I'm not in the right and I begin to remember all those wonderful feelings I used to feel, memories of the impressions of the Spirit. Those memories and a yearning for a return to them are the catalyst that spurns me on to repentance and brings me back into the light. Make the Book of Mormon a part of your life and you will see miracles happen.

Lots of stuff happening. First of all, yesterday we found out that Elder Nattapon and Sister Skabelund are moving to Bangkok. All six of us are going down to moves, though, because Elder Allen and Elder Thacker have to renew their visas. And I got a call from President last night issuing a call to be zone leader here, so I'll be attending ZLTM (zone leader training meeting) tomorrow as well. Oh, I got my mission call two years ago on May 1st. Wow. :)

On Friday and Saturday the other elders taught Ting, a young man from Laos who wants to be baptized. He stayed at the Coxes' and the elders taught him there. There were four people baptized in the Udorn 2 branch on Saturday, which was really good. On Sunday after church I taught a handful of members English from the Book of Mormon. We read the title page of the Book of Mormon and explained the words they didn't know. I want to use it to help them learn to love the Book of Mormon even more and to learn gospel terms in English (if they want to learn English, they may as well learn how to share the gospel in English as well :)). The interesting thing is that some of the members came up to me afterwards and said that they understood everything I said (I taught the class in English, not Thai), but that usually at English class they hardly understand at all. The Spirit then told me that it was through that Spirit which comes from reading the Book of Mormon and which witnesses of Christ that they understood. I'm really excited for this coming moves and strongly feel that we'll see some amazing miracles happen here. That's all for today. :)

'Twas the week after moves... So, moves was great. Elder Nattapon moved to Bangkhae and Sister Skabelund moved to Bangkhen. Elder Lewis (who just finished his six months as AP) moved here and is my district leader, and Sister Redd replaced Sister Skab. The new AP is Elder Blodgett, which was a bit of a surprise because he'd already been an office elder for six months. ZLTM went really well and everything's moving forward well. This Sunday we have the Udorn district conference (Udorn 1, Udorn 2, Kumphawapi, and Sakon Nakhon), and then a mini zone conference. President Dickson of the Asia Area Presidency is coming here on a mission tour on June 7 and so we're not having a usual zone conference, but instead we get mini conferences. The work is going well here and we're excited about opening our mouths and sharing the gospel with everyone. In just this past week we're already seeing some really good things happening, with several small miracles.

And now for the big news, which many of you have already heard about. President Hansen announced at moves that Laos and Burma are now officially part of the Thailand Bangkok Mission (before this they were part of the Cambodia Phnom Penh Mission). There's a branch in Vientiane, Laos, with five members and roughly 50 investigators attending church each week (and most of those have been coming for at least a year, and a handful have even been paying tithing as well). There's also a branch in Rangoon, Burma (side note: I know it's called Myanmar now but I like "Burma" better :)), with 38 members. There are five senior couples stationed in these two countries and I think it's quite likely that by the end of the year we'll have missionaries in both. I don't know a whole lot about the Burmese side, but most of the work with Laos is happening right here in my district. In fact, on Monday I'll be going to Vientiane with President Hansen and Elder Vogel. It's really exciting to be a part of this, building the foundation of the Church in Laos. In all honesty, I wish I could extend my mission another year or two. :) Pretty much everyone in Vientiane can speak, understand, read, and write Thai fluently (at least that's what Ting told us), so there isn't any language barrier right now. Ting will probably be coming back next week and I'll interview him for baptism.

That's about it for now. It's really really hot here and we're on the verge of plunging into rainy season. Durian and rambutan are getting cheap, which makes me happy. What makes me even happier is finding the honest in heart who truly want to find the Savior. :) Keep up the good work and don't forget to smile!

School has started here and so all the kids wear their student uniforms during the day. We had district conference on Saturday and Sunday and it was really good. Our youth choir sang the "As Sisters in Zion/We'll Bring the World His Truth" medley for the general session on Sunday and it was very, very good (far better than any of the practices). President and Sister Hansen and the APs were quite impressed with it. So we'll continue on with it. I think I'm going to start teaching music here for some of our service hours. On Sunday after the district conference we had a mini zone conference on staying close to the vine (Christ) and on outlines. It was really good. Interviewed with President and talked about how the work's going here and how the next three months look.

On Saturday I went on switchoffs with Elder Blodgett and taught a good first discussion to a teacher. Yesterday it was raining and we were riding our bikes around, and I felt that we should turn down a small little road. Rode down it and didn't see anyone, but I thought to myself that perhaps someone would be at the last house. So we went all the way down and as I pulled in front of the last house, a man was just going inside the door. I called to him and he came out and we ended up teaching him and his wife and her mom. The wife and her mom are Catholic. It was a pretty good discussion; we'll see how things go. This past week we've been working really hard and opening our mouths.

On Monday I went to Nong Khai with Elder Vogel and President and Sister Hansen and the APs. Elder Vogel and I stayed in Nong Khai with the van and the other four went on to Laos to meet up with the senior couple there. I didn't know I'd get to drive around Nong Khai, but I did, and it was fun. :) We went to the city center and got a map, then took the membership list (45 members) to the post office and had the postal workers draw maps to the houses of the priesthood holders. Tried to find a handful of those members and found most of the houses but none of the people were home. We checked out the district president's old house (he just moved from Nong Khai into Udorn) and it's pretty good for an elder house with church meetings on the main floor. After we picked President and the others up we showed them the house and they seemed to approve. We'll see what happens. We hear fighter planes flying over almost every day now, far more than the first few weeks I was here. There are some U.S. troops here as well. I don't know if it means anything, though.

Sorry if this is all kind of jumbled together, but right now I'm a little dizzy and my head keeps bouncing back and forth. I don't think it's anything major, though. :) Well, I'm happy where I am and I'm excited to serve the Lord and build the kingdom. Be not weary in well-doing, for we are laying the foundation of a great work. Take care! :)

Well, it's been raining for the last two or three hours and our main road here in my area is now flooded. :) It rains almost every day now. Last week I went to Kumphawapi for switchoffs with Elder Orrock, which was a really good experience. Yes, Kumphawapi really is as small as they say it is. :) Then on Saturday I interviewed Ting (from Laos) for baptism. He passed and was baptized and confirmed that afternoon. He's really good and will help a lot in building the kingdom. Our English Book of Mormon class is going quite well, and yesterday I started teaching a music class (I teach music theory the first half and then hymns in English for the second half). Today we had a little birthday party for Elder Thacker at the Pizza Company here. Bought a new phone, too, since our old one was giving us the death rattle. I don't really have much to say today. Word of advice for the week: even though it's tempting to trust in ourselves or in others, in the end only the Lord can help us. He's our Knight, riding in on a white horse to save us from the peril of death and sin. As Nephi said, we cannot trust in the arm of flesh, but instead must place our faith in Jesus Christ. He is the only one who can save us. Always remember Him.

Rainy season is definitely here: it's rained every single day for the past week or so. Lots of fun. This morning we went to the bus station with the Coxes and the other elders and sisters to pick up six people from Vientiane, Laos, who are here to learn the gospel and be baptized. There are two moms (Wii and San), a 16-year-old girl (Pou), and three 16- to 19-year-old boys (Sak, Noi, and Lit). We taught the three boys a first discussion about an hour ago and the sisters taught the three females. It went really well and we'll teach them further this evening. Other than that, well, the sisters had a baptism on Sunday (Nim) and there'll be another one (Ohe) this Sunday. Everything's going quite well and we're working very hard to build the kingdom. I look back and see how much I've really grown since I left home, especially in recognizing the Spirit and in my dedication to the Lord. Before, I thought about sharing the gospel and did a decent job at trying to keep the commandments, but I hadn't yet realized what complete consecration to the kingdom of God really means. Nor did I really understand the grandeur and all-encompassing vastness of the gospel. Now I can truly say that I'm a disciple of Christ and that I have chosen whom I will serve. I know He lives and I will follow Him to the end of my days. I've noticed that my testimony will wax and wane according to how much I share it and how sincere I am about it. Be ready to have an answer to every man that asketh of the hope that is in you (or something like that). It's such a wonderful thing to have people ask why we're so happy or so bright or whatnot and to be able to say that we're that way because we follow the Son of God. I love being a witness of Christ, standing in His footsteps in some small way. If you've taken upon yourself the name of Christ through baptism, remember the sacred responsibility you're under. Rejoice in the gospel of the Lamb and share the good news with all our brothers and sisters!

It's been an interesting and wonderful week. As I mentioned last week, we had just taught a first discussion to three young men from Vientiane, Laos. We taught them all the discussions by Friday morning. Elder Lewis interviewed Lix, Noi, and Sack (the males), and I interviewed Wii, San, and Pou (the females). All passed but Sack, and he'll come back in two weeks or so once he's ready. That afternoon we had the baptismal service and it was the best one I've ever seen in my life. After the baptism we said goodbye to our Lao friends and they went back to Vientiane. It was soooo hard to see them go -- exactly like leaving an area. They were truly honest in heart and it was one of the best experiences of my mission. Now I'll have to learn how to read and write Laotian. :)

I've been teaching music theory four times a week to the members, and they really really really like it. We've gone over the major scales and are getting to the circle of fifths and intervals. We end up reviewing a lot because new people keep joining the class, but it's good because even the regulars need the review. Once we get to the point where they can start picking apart songs (chords, inversions, chord progressions, etc.), then we'll start having some fun with the hymns.

On Monday we left at 4:00 a.m. for Khon Kaen for the mission tour. All of the missionaries in the Isaan were there. President Dickson of the Asia Area came and spoke to us and it was absolutely wonderful. What he taught was just what I needed to hear. We had a great DDM after we got back, everyone bearing testimony of our callings as missionaries. And as a result of what we learned and then applied to our work, yesterday we went to see Daaw and Ruang. They're husband and wife; Daaw's Buddhist and Ruang's Catholic. We've been teaching them for a few weeks now and Ruang's pretty interested but Daaw's still quite Buddhist. When we started talking yesterday about the need to know truth, Ruang said that several months ago she told her husband that she wanted to find the truth. She said she prayed that she'd know where it was, and then she had the feeling that some farangs (white people) would come and teach her the truth. I told them how we weren't originally going to turn into their road, but we had a feeling we should, and as we rode in, I had a feeling that there would be someone waiting at the end of the road. Just as we got to the end, Daaw was walking inside, shutting the door behind him. I called out and started talking to him. It was raining and so they invited us in and the rest is history. The Spirit was really strong, confirming that God had indeed sent us there. Experiences like this make up for all the long hours of talking with people who aren't interested at all. :)

Other than that, it's still raining quite often. The branch is getting a new piano, so they'll move the old one into the cultural hall and we'll be able to use that for teaching music. We're trying to step it up with the work -- as President Dickson taught on Monday, water boils at 100 degrees Celsius. At 99 degrees, it's only hot water. But bump it up only one more degree and you get steam, which has the power to move mountains.

Well, next week is moves. Time sure goes by fast. Thanks for all the support and letters, everyone. Take care and have a great day! :-)

Back to moves again. I got the call from the APs yesterday morning. Sister Redd and Sister Clark are staying together another moves; Elder Allen and I are together as well; and Elder Thacker's new companion will be Elder Fegert (who's in Elder Allen's MTC group, by the way). Elder Orrock is moving as well. The reason we know who Elder Thacker's companion will be is that Elder Fegert will be moving here straight from Sakon Nakhon instead of going down to Bangkok, and they will be in a threesome with Elder Allen while I go down to ZLTM. Interesting. Elder Lewis and Elder Vogel are at the end of their missions and will be back to BYU shortly. It's so weird to see people going home whom I've known since my BYU days, but it feels more normal than one would expect. This coming moves will be my last full moves, and then I'll have three extra weeks tacked on and who knows what'll happen there. We have a good district and we're all excited for this moves and the miracles that we'll see happening.

Other than that, we're still teaching music theory four days a week. I've taught about the major scale at least seven or eight times. :) (Every time I teach a different set of people shows up, so we have to keep going over it.) Yesterday we finally talked about intervals and how to analyze them (major, minor, diminished, augmented, perfect, etc.). They *loved* it.

Well, tonight we'll be heading down to Bangkok. I hope everyone's doing well and feeling the Spirit regularly. Make the Spirit a priority in your life so that the blessings of heaven can be poured out upon you. If television is more important to you than the Spirit, or if work is or school or your boyfriend/girlfriend or anything else, then the Spirit can't really help you. Examine yourself and see what is truly important in this life, and then dedicate yourself to whatever is most important. You will receive according to your desires; if you desire, you shall be the means of doing much good in this generation. Isn't that a wonderful promise? As I've been following in the Savior's footsteps over the last several years, one desire has become dominant: to do good for others. It's a precious blessing that Heavenly Father can use me in doing good for others as long as I have the desire and follow His commandments. That's what makes me happy, and it's true happiness that I've found, not the fake glitzy imitations of the world. Men are, that they might have joy. Take care and have a great day! :)

Hello, hello. Lots to talk about. First off, moves was last week. Elder Lewis and I went down with the Kumphawapi elders and the sisters. Elder Dressen and Elder Tuttle opened Nong Khai, a province just north of here. It's in our zone and so I'll be going up there on switchoffs next week. Elder Jackson moved into Kumphawapi to replace Elder Orrock, and a couple days ago he was called as 1st counselor in the branch presidency. (By the way, Aeb and Tom from P-lok were called as 1st and 2nd counselors in the branch presidency, I hear. That was some very happy news for me. :)) We're all excited to work hard this moves and make miracles happen.

Speaking of miracles, we've entered another Laotian spiritual marathon. Today at 11 we went over to the bus station and picked up the next group of those wanting to be baptized. There's Khamyom, a 48-year-old man who is Wii's husband; Mam and Becky, their 10- and 12-year-old daughters; Sack, the 18-year-old from last time; and Samniang, Sack's 19-year-old sister. The sisters will teach the girls, the other elders will teach Khamyom, and we'll take Sack out teaching with us. (Elder Thacker can't teach Sack because he'll be interviewing him.) We just had lunch with them and I'm really excited for this. Before Wii came here, she couldn't read Thai or even Lao very well, because she'd only had a year of schooling, but she prayed hard. After being baptized, she can now read both Lao and Thai, which means she can study the scriptures. :) She was called as counselor in the Primary presidency; San was called into the Relief Society presidency; and Pou was called as chorister. Both Lix and Noi passed the sacrament and they're teaching Noi how to bless the sacrament as well. Ah, life is grand. :) Wii and Lix will be coming over for the baptisms on Friday.

Other than that, our best investigator right now is a Catholic woman named Ruang. Her husband, Daaw, is studying too, but he's not terrifically interested. Ruang's a really good investigator and she has the qualities of the honest in heart. It's hard to explain, but you can tell when someone is truly humble and honest in heart -- it's in their countenance and you can just see it. I'm going to miss being a missionary. I'm starting to realize that the end really is coming and that this wonderful dream will be over in less than two months. But of course it's not really over, because life continues on and there's no end to sharing the gospel or to our friendships. (I hear the last few verses of "If Ye Could Hie to Kolob" echoing off in the distance. :)) Knowing that the end is this close makes me really really really want to work as hard as I can and to do the very best I can. At church on Sunday I suddenly with a shock realized that in just a little bit I'll be back home, for real, and that this missionary life won't just go on and on and on forever. It was kind of scary and I got the chills for a moment, but the Lord's will be done in all things. Ah, I wish I could extend my mission for another year. :)

Anyway, that's it for now. Be strong and be good examples. Take care and have a great day! :-)

It's been quite a week. Well, last week we left off after picking up the Lao people, right? We had the sisters teach the three girls and Elder Thacker and Elder Fegert teach Khamyom (the dad). Elder Allen and I took Sack out teaching with us Wednesday night and all day Thursday. He really liked it and kept talking about how much he wants to serve God. We returned to the Coxes' for meals in between our appointments. On Friday morning I interviewed Mam, Becky, and Khamyom, and Elder Thacker interviewed Sack and Samniang. Everyone passed. :) So we ate lunch, filled out baptism and confirmation records, and prepared for the service. We talked with Khamyom and Sack and they decided that they wanted to be baptized confirmed, and receive the priesthood so they could then baptize their daughters/sister. Khamyom said he wanted me to baptize him. I'd never actually baptized anyone before, but I accepted, of course, and wasn't too nervous or anything. Then when we got to the church and I changed into my white clothing, some of the senior couples suggested that I go ahead and confirm them in the water and confer the priesthood right then and there, so that they wouldn't have to come up out of the font and be all wet. I started to get quite nervous because I'd never done a confirmation before, and I'd never even seen a priesthood ordination in Thai either. But I prayed hard and the Lord was there to help me. I baptized Khamyom and then Elder Eberhardt (one of the senior missionaries in Vientiane) baptized Sack. Then I confirmed Khamyom and ordained him a priest. Elder Eberhardt did the same with Sack. I was so scared at first that I forgot Khamyom's name, but as soon as I started talking, the fear disappeared and it was one of the best experiences of my life. Sack then baptized Samniang, his older sister. It took a few times to get her all the way immersed, but he did fine and it was wonderful. Khamyom baptized Becky, his daughter, but it took about 10 times to get it right, between saying the prayer correctly and fully immersing her. He then baptized Mam. We all changed back into our clothes and I confirmed Samniang and Mam, and Elder Thacker confirmed Becky (it was his first confirmation as well). Usually we elders let the local priesthood do the confirmations and all that, but there weren't any there at first and so we were able to do it, and I'm really glad I had the opportunity. I grew a *lot*. :) Oh, Wii and Lix came too, and of course we were all ecstatic to see them. So, after the baptism we all took pictures and said goodbyes and they went back to Laos.

On Saturday we trained Brother Apiwat on how to be a branch clerk. Lots of fun because neither of us has ever been a clerk, but we've been reading the manuals and it's all good. In fact, I'm just dying to serve as a clerk someday. :) On Sunday I interviewed three Nong Khai investigators for baptism: Nat (a 13-year-old girl), Bom (a 12-year-old girl), and Chuai (a 47-year-old woman). Nat and Bom passed and will be baptized this coming Sunday, but the Spirit told me to tell Chuai to wait and to share Mosiah 3:19 with here. I didn't know why, but it was a clear answer and so we'll see what comes of it. Nat and Bom have both been coming to church for over a year now each week even though they live an hour away in Nong Khai. Most impressive.

This past Monday we four elders went over to the Relief Society president's house to move a woodpile. Underneath the wood there were six or seven adult scorpions and several babies, along with many poisonous centipedes (the centipedes here are actually quite dangerous and are a bit larger than back home). So that was fun. This Saturday the Coxes are throwing a little Independence Day party. Yesterday I went on switchoffs with Elder Thacker in his area and had some really good discussions. Tomorrow I'll be here in my area with Elder Jackson, and then on Friday I'll be up in Nong Khai with Elder Dressen. (Lesson learned: don't wait until the last week to do switchoffs, especially if you have three district leaders. :)) Somchay brought us back a few boxes of cheesecake mix from Laos. Mmm. Finally, on Friday Sister Redd and Sister Clark will be traveling down to Roi-Et to go on switchoffs with Sister Edna and Sister Fraire. (They're trying it out to see if sister switchoffs are feasible and help with the work or not.)

So, lots of stuff going on. Lately I've been really impressed with how important faith is in missionary work. I'll admit that there've been times in my mission where my faith waned a little bit, and when that happened all of the miracles of missionary work dried up and disappeared. Without faith nothing will happen, no matter how hard we work. I'm finally beginning to understand why it's the first principle of the gospel... (Isn't it wonderful that we continue learning our whole lives, and that it never stops?) Well, keep up the good work everyone and enjoy your summer. Take care and have a great day! :)

Not a lot of time today, so I'll be brief. On Sunday the 27th, President Hansen went to the branch in Laos. 73 people attended the meeting. :) We'll have another group of Laotians coming next week, possibly up to 10 or 11 people. That may be the last group that comes here to Udorn (in the future, they'll go to Nong Khai and be taught there and then be baptized in Vientiane). Everyone has callings now: Khamyom is 1st counselor in the priest quorum; Sack is 2nd counselor; Samniang is an activities worker in the Primary; Wii is a counselor in the Primary presidency; San is a Relief Society counselor; and Lix and Noi are passing the sacrament. Ting was called as branch mission leader and Tamjai (who was baptized before I came here) is now assistant branch clerk. So everything is going very well and the Church is progressing in Laos.

Went on switchoffs three times last week, first with Elder Thacker on Tuesday, then Elder Jackson on Thursday, and finally Elder Dressen on Friday. Nong Khai's pretty neat. The elders' house has a beautiful view of the Mekong River. Lots of good investigators, too. Nat and Bom were baptized on Sunday and Chuai will be baptized this Sunday. This morning at 8:00 I interviewed Seksan in Kumphawapi for baptism. He's good but needs to wait a few more weeks to be fully ready. After the interview we walked to the elders' house so Elder Allen could get a notebook he accidentally left there last Thursday. The side of the road was muddy but we thought it would be hard enough to walk on. It wasn't. :) Our feet went all the way into the mud, about a foot deep. I got out and then helped Elder Jackson out -- he was so stuck that he had to pull his feet out of his shoes to escape. :)

Only six more weeks. Not very much time at all, really. Well, keep up the good work, everyone. Take care and have a great day! :-)

Lots of stuff to write about and I'm not quite sure where to start. So we'll start with last Wednesday. We were over at the Coxes' helping with the final preparations for the English teaching curriculum when we heard some voices outside. We went to the window and there were 25-30 fourteen- and fifteen-year-old girls standing outside the Coxes' gate. Sister Cox had been sick for a few days and so they (the class she teaches at the nearby school) came over to wish her well. The Coxes invited them inside while I and Elder Allen hid upstairs. :) But they called us down and so we walked down the stairs into the midst of the squeals of 14-year-olds. As a missionary, being surrounded by thirty girls is a little intimidating, let alone thirty girls who are incredibly interested in young white men. One of the first questions they asked us was, "Which of us is prettiest?" Need I say more? :) But we survived and my nerves were restored a few hours later. :)

Then on Thursday we went to zone conference in Khon Kaen. About ten minutes before we got there, I remembered that I'd forgotten to prepare a lesson for my zone. :) So I gave an impromptu lesson on faith and attitude and it turned out really well. I also had to give my final testimony there, which was weird but the Spirit was there and it was good. Speaking of final testimonies and such, I found out this morning that perhaps I may be going home in two weeks instead of five weeks. See, the usual transfer date is July 29th, but I and Elder Lund and Elder Applegate would be going home on August 20th instead. However, it's rather a headache to keep us around (we'd most likely be serving in the office) and work out everything like that, so they may just have us go home with everyone else on the 29th. It's quite an odd feeling, because I went from having five weeks left to going home in just two short short short weeks. Whoa. I don't know what to feel, what to think. I want to stay but at the same time home is pulling at me awfully hard. We'll see -- I'll go where the Lord wants me to go, and that's that. Anyway, I had a good little birthday party last night that the missionaries and some members threw for me. Got some cake smeared in my face at the end, too. :) I feel old -- 21 years old already. Wow.

Finally, the latest group of Laotians came this morning. There's Kaew (San's husband) and his two 12- and 10-year-old daughters, Yui and Yee, and then there's Khai (Wii's older brother) and his 11-year-old daughter Ueng. Elder Allen and I are teaching the two men and the sisters are teaching the three girls. I'll fill y'all in on that next week. If I do end up going home in two weeks, then I guess there'll only be two more e-mails like this. Wow, that's really weird. At the same time it feels strangely right. Anyway, I'm going to focus with all my heart on working hard these last few weeks. See y'all around pretty soon. Take care and have a great day! :-)

I can't remember if this is actually week 85 or 86, but oh well. :) Went on switchoffs with Elder Dressen last Thursday and then went to Kumphawapi on Friday to switchoff with Elder Jackson. The APs called Friday night and said that Elder Pack and I needed to come down to Bangkok on the Monday night train instead of on Wednesday. Weird. So I prepared and left on Monday and arrived here yesterday morning. Had a special office redesign meeting with President and some of the other elders. I'll have some special assignments over the next few weeks. For now I'll be with Elder Lund and Elder Applegate in Bangbuathong, but most of the time I'll be in the office working on various sundry tasks. It'll be fun. Weird, but fun. :) There's two moves days this week -- the first was today for all those moving to Ubon or thereabouts, and the second (main) one will be tomorrow. The reason is that all the tickets to go back to Ubon were sold out (it's some Thai holiday) and so they all have to go back on the train tonight. The next three weeks will be quite different but good. I don't have a whole lot of time today, so this is all for now. Take care and see y'all in three weeks! :)

Well, last week I was moved into the office and am now in a threesome with the office elders, Elder Zaugg and Elder Edvalson. These past four or five days, however, I've been with Elder Edvalson in the office most of the time while Elder Zaugg is at the mission home singing with Sidthichon Yugsudthaay, the mission band. So, I'm back in the office again, really. And the time is going by soooo fast. Only two weeks left, and next week I'll be translating for Jim Hartley of the Church scripture department and the ecclestiastical review committee and the translators of the Book of Mormon on the final ecclesiastical review. It'll take all week and will be quite intense, as this will be the final yea or nay as to whether the new translation is approved. Also, Elder Zaugg and I will be working on some video presentations for SYS (Sidthichon Yugsudthaay) next week as well. Lots of stuff to keep me busy. I made a Vietnamese version of the Plan of Salvation and am waiting on the Cambodia Phnom Penh Mission office elders to send me a Cambodian translation so I can make that too.

Oh, everyone, don't write me via snail mail since I'll only be here two more weeks. Either wait two weeks and e-mail me or send your letters to my home address: [Ben Crowder, ...]

Hmm, writing that feels rather odd, as I've left my first name in the dusty corner of the bookshelf for the past two years and have almost forgotten about it. I may as well apologize in advance if I don't respond to "Ben" when I get home, at least for the first week or two. ;) Well, the two years is almost over. Next week will be my last e-mail home from Thailand, and then I suppose I'll have to start a new series, most likely entitled "Dating Adventures at BYU." Just kidding. ;) I'm excited to learn how to speak and write English again -- my grammar is currently on crutches and my vocabulary is in a sling. :) Thanks to everyone for your support and prayers over the past two years. The end of a mission is almost like a death of sorts -- one life ends and fades into the past as a new, brilliant one begins to rise from behind the horizon. Of course I don't want to see my mission end, but I realize it's inevitable. I'll still be able to serve the Lord and testify of the great latter-day work and build the kingdom, and many great things lie ahead. I'll be replaying my mission over in my head for the rest of my life, though. :) Well, I'll save the introspective thoughts for the last e-mail -- I still have two weeks left. Keep up the good work, everyone! Take care and I'll see y'all in a couple of weeks.

This is it. To be perfectly honest, I never thought this day would come. I'm six days away from climbing onto the bird heading east into the sunrise. There are many pleasant memories tucked away in the corners of my soul -- people I've met here, special experiences, lessons learned. My mission wasn't easy, of course, and it wasn't meant to be. But in sliding down the mountain and bouncing off slabs of rock and down through cliffs and canyons, my tiny stone has become more and more polished. And while I'm still quite imperfect, at least I can see how much I've grown. In these final days and hours, one's thoughts oft turn to whether he has made a difference in his field of labor, whether his time spent would reap any fruit. Sometimes the fruit is easy to see, but many times it's hidden behind brambles and thorns or buried underneath a desert of supposed failure, awaiting its day of appearance. At any rate, I know that the thing which has been of most worth unto me has been this mission. I wish these blessed days could continue on forever, but my days as a missionary are numbered. And yet there is the hope, the knowledge that these good things *can* continue on. They may not take exactly the same form, but the love, the Spirit, the truth, the work, the faith -- all these are eternal truths and there is no end to them.

As for this past week, I spent Monday through Thursday involved in translating for the final ecclesiastical review of the Book of Mormon. The reviewers were President Wisit, President Wisan, and President Tiparat; the translators were Sister Sasithorn, Sister Duangjai, and Brother Phornchai; and the manager of the scripture translation department of the Church was Brother James Hartley. We worked from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day (with a small number of exceptions) and reviewed the new translation. My job was to translate all the Thai bouncing around the room into intelligible English for Brother Hartley. It was a really good experience and the three reviewers approved the translation. The new Book of Mormon won't be published for another three years, however, as the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price and the Guide to the Scriptures need to be retranslated and reviewed as well.

On Wednesday after our work was done, I found that my companions were downtown working on the sound system for Sidthichon Yugsudthaay. I ended up spending the evening with President Hansen, eating hamburgers together at the mission home, doing my temple recommend interview, and picking up President Towers (of the Cambodia Phnom Penh Mission) from the airport. Pres. Towers brought a Cambodian grammar book for us and while I was sitting around there at the mission home waiting for my companions to return, I learned half the alphabet. Quite fun. :)

Other minor tidbits: Thursday was the queen's birthday, also known as Mother's Day here. We had a branch Mother's Day activity that afternoon which was fun. There are elections going on for the governor of Bangkok as well. Elder Gibson has been vacationing with his family here for the past two weeks, but when they arrived at the airport early Thursday morning, they were told that he didn't have a ticket to get on the plane. So he's back at the mission home, awaiting the first available flight to America.

Well, this is it. I'll try to get in touch with all of you as soon as I can when I get home. Thanks for being good friends. Take care and have a great day! :-)

Love,

Elder Crowder