Hello!
I've got so much to tell you! It's crazy how much happens in a week! Really!
So... last p-day we went to the mall and ate at Sizzler which quite frankly was amazing! Then we went to the hospital in Bangkok which is super nice! I really like the set-up!
You go in and register and they give you a membership card. Then they tell you where to go according to your problem. So I explained my situation and Sis. Johnson explained hers. (She has huge scabs all over her legs from mosquitoes) He told Sis. Johnson that she needs to go to the dermatology center. Then he turns to me and says, " You need to go into surgery." I'm like, "No!!! It's only a dog bite!" He's like, "You have to go into surgery right now." I kept saying over and over how I don't need surgery. He told me that it isn't what I think. Just go to the surgery center. So we go. They take me into this room and check all my vitals (I'm still alive) and then had me go sit out again. Then they had me go in again and sit at a desk with the doctor to which we had a lovely conversation. Afterwards he had me go out and asked the nurse to prepare the shot. Then they sent me to the Cashier's office which is like the DDM where they give you a number and you wait till they call you to go up and pay. Then I go back and then they gave me the shots. I have to go back 4 now 3 more times to complete the vaccine. They were super nice! It was really fast and efficient too! They just whip people through. So needless to say the "Surgery Center" isn't for surgeries. It's for small injuries. I personally think it can be translated better....
We went to the dermatology center for Sis. Johnson. It looked like a hotel. Probably because it's the same place for plastic surgery and Botox. Same drill there too. The doctor was so disgusted with her legs. It was hilarious! She kept saying over and over, "2nd bacteria infection!" She gave her like 5 medicines to clear it up! She's already doing better!
So that was a great experience. The hospital just called right now to remind me that I get to go in tomorrow for my next set! YAY!!!!
However, this news is not the highlight of my week, definitely not!!!
Pii Bu and Nong Blithe finally agreed to get baptized!!!! On 10/10/10!!! AND...... Gip too!!!!
Gip is just zooming along! She's incredible! Last night she was visited by Christ in her dreams and he took her sins away and poured water on her head (baptism). Apparently a lot of Thai people have spiritual dreams. She just kept saying over and over how true everything is.....
She's so prepared!
Pii Bu.... still doesn't understand why she needs to get married before getting baptized. We're like, "You've been with him for over 30 years. Why would there be a problem?" She doesn't want to because what if randomly we decide to split up? Then what? hahaha! She's dramatic!
So we're excited for them! They're awesome!
Pii rat wants to get baptized too but her husband is against it too! We're working on it! No worries!
Yes.... this is my last few days Sis. Lifferth. On Thursday I get a new companion! We're pretty positive that it will be a Thai sister because there literally is no one else. That's okay! I'll learn Thai!
Love you all!!!!
Thanks!
Em
Sister Henderson
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Hello! I'm alive!!!
Okay!
Sorry for the delay! The Pres. decided to have a spontaneous 3 day training for all of the trainers, district leaders, and zone leaders this week. So everything is all mixed up and crazy! I'm currently in Bangna with Sis. Johnson and JongKaew (who is Thai) so we're good! It's just a little crazy that all of the greenies have to do three days on their own. That's okay! We're surviving.... well.... we have to go to the hospital for me today!!! It's going to be great! A dog bit me yesterday. Actually not even a dog, a puppy. We were at an investigator's house and they have a new puppy going through it's teething stage. I'm so used to dogs that I didn't even think about it running around until it decided to taste my finger. No blood or anything. Didn't even hurt. Regardless, Sis. Smith said that I have to go get those rabis shots..... I'm guessing more painful than the actual dog bite itself. That's okay! I'll tell ya how that goes!
So FYI, p-days sometimes change when things are going on. Sometimes I won't have a p-day. So if you don't hear from me, don't panic. All is well, really!
So Sis. Lifferth and I had to do her shopping for gifts for everyone last week. What a crazy trip with all of the things to buy. One store we went to had tye-dye and all sorts of crazy looking clothes. I saw a sweater that very much belonged to Mrs. Weasley in the store and I thought of you Mom.
Had Zone Conference last week, obviously. It was good! Pretty much everything they emphasized in the MTC. Good stuff!
So, I've been here for a month! Crazy! Time flies friends!
Crazy stuff has happened this week:
1. I'm tanning! No joke! It truly is the weirdest thing ever! Get ready for some crazy tan lines when I get back! Oh, Pii Rat said that apparently I was so white that I looked dead with no blood when I first came. According to her, I look so much better now! hahaha!
2. Ma A is not getting baptized. Her whole family joined together in the cause and told her she needed to stop all of this nonsense. No more church. No more prayer. No more Book of Mormon. See originially she told us she'll try to just do what we've taught her already, but they said she can't do anything. And if she does, they will cut off her money supply and kick her out of the house! It's really sad! She called the other day just to say how sad she is. I hope they'll soften soon. I'm not worried about her though. She has such incredible faith! Regardless, I know that it will work out in this life or the next.
3. RAIN- I've about had it up to here with the rain story! The Thais hate rain. They refuse to do anything when it rains. When it rains, literally no one except the leaders and a few members come to church or anything else. It's funny to watch everyone when it is about to rain, though. It starts with a cold wind to which everyone starts running around trying to get to cover. Then it starts raining. It rains like it does in the movie "Notebook" when she says, "Why didn't you write to me?" Sometimes I contemplate that in the rain too! No, I'm kidding! But it really rains when it rains. In fact, this last week our church was dedicated. Everyone was there. Every strong member in Thailand. Even the lady who translated the Book of Mormon and Pres. and Sis. Smith. So, we were inviting before it when it started to rain. Needless to say, we showed up completely soaked. They made us go sit on the stand and translate for Sis. Smith. It was horrible! Mostly because of the air conditioning. hahaha! Good times.
4. Pii Bu is amazing! She got up at 4am on Sunday to do someone's hair so that she can go to church! Amazing! I'm concerned for her though. Her house used to be full of people. Now, no one is over there. We asked about it and she said that all of her friends oppose her learning about Christianity. She said she doesn't care what they think because family is what matters, not friends. Wow! It's not easy though being social queen and dropping to commoner. She'll be fine though! She expressed a desire to get baptized on Monday... Next moves I think! She'll be ready!
5. Pii Num and Bu are the new family. They are the ones that expressed that they want to change religions. Anyways, we go back for our second visit and they are like, "This church is true!" We were like, "Whoa! What happened?" Apparently Pii Num was fed up with the taxi service he was working for because it gave him no time with his family. He wanted to spend more time with his wife and kids. So they both prayed that he would find a taxi car so that he could be an independant driver. Well, literally hours later a brand spanking new one appears for sale at a low price. Naturally he got it. They're a really cute family!
6. So Pii Bu and Pii Rat wanted to learn how to make American food. The simplest thing we could think of was spaghetti. So we got the materials and made it for them. They HATED it! The kid's faces were of complete disgust! It was hilarious! The thing is, they are used to using ketchup for spaghetti, not tomato sauce. Speaking of which, Sis. Lifferth and I found this place called "Pizza Thai". We ordered a Hawaiian pizza. The pineapple was amazing! The ham turned out to be hotdog. The sauce was ketchup and.... mayonnaise?!..... It was disgusting! But the ice cream was amazing! She's my new ice cream lady!
7. Well, I have to admit, things are a bit slow here. So we both fasted this week to get things going here. Miracles always happen with fasting! This sunday a 20 yr. old named Gip randomly showed up at church. We taught her following church. She said that she just felt like coming today like she needed to. She's been reading the Bible everyday for awhile now and wants to learn more about chrisitanity. She's literally amazing! She was begging us to give her the Book of Mormon and to give her the way to repent from all the guilt she carries. We all cried in that lesson. The spirit was so strong that she could really feel it. We met with her on Monday. She explained how she didn't want to go home from church because she felt so good. She said she was literally waiting all day to meet with us. She was begging with us to meet with her everyday! Unfortunately schedule doesn't allow but we will meet with her again tomorrow. What a miracle! I can't even describe our lessons with her! She's so ontop of it and so prepared!
So Sis. Lifferth has given me the phone, given me the house money and all of this responsibility. She said that I have to because I will have to train in a matter of 1 or 2 moves. Literally no option. I have to get it now. Everyone at Zone Conference was like, "What is it like training a trainer?" Even Pres. Smith was like you need to pick it all up fast Sister! Crazy!!! I have to because all of the old sister are going home. The only ones left are the new ones.
You asked about the language. Actually, many have asked about it. It's going is all I can say. It's like Chinese, I understand more than I can speak. Plus, I've had 3 years worth of not understanding so I'm very used to it. I have to go... I'll explain later.
Love you all! And thanks for the letters this week from Virginia, Molly, Holly, and Austin! Just so you know, the mail system works!
Love,
Em
Sister Henderson
Sorry for the delay! The Pres. decided to have a spontaneous 3 day training for all of the trainers, district leaders, and zone leaders this week. So everything is all mixed up and crazy! I'm currently in Bangna with Sis. Johnson and JongKaew (who is Thai) so we're good! It's just a little crazy that all of the greenies have to do three days on their own. That's okay! We're surviving.... well.... we have to go to the hospital for me today!!! It's going to be great! A dog bit me yesterday. Actually not even a dog, a puppy. We were at an investigator's house and they have a new puppy going through it's teething stage. I'm so used to dogs that I didn't even think about it running around until it decided to taste my finger. No blood or anything. Didn't even hurt. Regardless, Sis. Smith said that I have to go get those rabis shots..... I'm guessing more painful than the actual dog bite itself. That's okay! I'll tell ya how that goes!
So FYI, p-days sometimes change when things are going on. Sometimes I won't have a p-day. So if you don't hear from me, don't panic. All is well, really!
So Sis. Lifferth and I had to do her shopping for gifts for everyone last week. What a crazy trip with all of the things to buy. One store we went to had tye-dye and all sorts of crazy looking clothes. I saw a sweater that very much belonged to Mrs. Weasley in the store and I thought of you Mom.
Had Zone Conference last week, obviously. It was good! Pretty much everything they emphasized in the MTC. Good stuff!
So, I've been here for a month! Crazy! Time flies friends!
Crazy stuff has happened this week:
1. I'm tanning! No joke! It truly is the weirdest thing ever! Get ready for some crazy tan lines when I get back! Oh, Pii Rat said that apparently I was so white that I looked dead with no blood when I first came. According to her, I look so much better now! hahaha!
2. Ma A is not getting baptized. Her whole family joined together in the cause and told her she needed to stop all of this nonsense. No more church. No more prayer. No more Book of Mormon. See originially she told us she'll try to just do what we've taught her already, but they said she can't do anything. And if she does, they will cut off her money supply and kick her out of the house! It's really sad! She called the other day just to say how sad she is. I hope they'll soften soon. I'm not worried about her though. She has such incredible faith! Regardless, I know that it will work out in this life or the next.
3. RAIN- I've about had it up to here with the rain story! The Thais hate rain. They refuse to do anything when it rains. When it rains, literally no one except the leaders and a few members come to church or anything else. It's funny to watch everyone when it is about to rain, though. It starts with a cold wind to which everyone starts running around trying to get to cover. Then it starts raining. It rains like it does in the movie "Notebook" when she says, "Why didn't you write to me?" Sometimes I contemplate that in the rain too! No, I'm kidding! But it really rains when it rains. In fact, this last week our church was dedicated. Everyone was there. Every strong member in Thailand. Even the lady who translated the Book of Mormon and Pres. and Sis. Smith. So, we were inviting before it when it started to rain. Needless to say, we showed up completely soaked. They made us go sit on the stand and translate for Sis. Smith. It was horrible! Mostly because of the air conditioning. hahaha! Good times.
4. Pii Bu is amazing! She got up at 4am on Sunday to do someone's hair so that she can go to church! Amazing! I'm concerned for her though. Her house used to be full of people. Now, no one is over there. We asked about it and she said that all of her friends oppose her learning about Christianity. She said she doesn't care what they think because family is what matters, not friends. Wow! It's not easy though being social queen and dropping to commoner. She'll be fine though! She expressed a desire to get baptized on Monday... Next moves I think! She'll be ready!
5. Pii Num and Bu are the new family. They are the ones that expressed that they want to change religions. Anyways, we go back for our second visit and they are like, "This church is true!" We were like, "Whoa! What happened?" Apparently Pii Num was fed up with the taxi service he was working for because it gave him no time with his family. He wanted to spend more time with his wife and kids. So they both prayed that he would find a taxi car so that he could be an independant driver. Well, literally hours later a brand spanking new one appears for sale at a low price. Naturally he got it. They're a really cute family!
6. So Pii Bu and Pii Rat wanted to learn how to make American food. The simplest thing we could think of was spaghetti. So we got the materials and made it for them. They HATED it! The kid's faces were of complete disgust! It was hilarious! The thing is, they are used to using ketchup for spaghetti, not tomato sauce. Speaking of which, Sis. Lifferth and I found this place called "Pizza Thai". We ordered a Hawaiian pizza. The pineapple was amazing! The ham turned out to be hotdog. The sauce was ketchup and.... mayonnaise?!..... It was disgusting! But the ice cream was amazing! She's my new ice cream lady!
7. Well, I have to admit, things are a bit slow here. So we both fasted this week to get things going here. Miracles always happen with fasting! This sunday a 20 yr. old named Gip randomly showed up at church. We taught her following church. She said that she just felt like coming today like she needed to. She's been reading the Bible everyday for awhile now and wants to learn more about chrisitanity. She's literally amazing! She was begging us to give her the Book of Mormon and to give her the way to repent from all the guilt she carries. We all cried in that lesson. The spirit was so strong that she could really feel it. We met with her on Monday. She explained how she didn't want to go home from church because she felt so good. She said she was literally waiting all day to meet with us. She was begging with us to meet with her everyday! Unfortunately schedule doesn't allow but we will meet with her again tomorrow. What a miracle! I can't even describe our lessons with her! She's so ontop of it and so prepared!
So Sis. Lifferth has given me the phone, given me the house money and all of this responsibility. She said that I have to because I will have to train in a matter of 1 or 2 moves. Literally no option. I have to get it now. Everyone at Zone Conference was like, "What is it like training a trainer?" Even Pres. Smith was like you need to pick it all up fast Sister! Crazy!!! I have to because all of the old sister are going home. The only ones left are the new ones.
You asked about the language. Actually, many have asked about it. It's going is all I can say. It's like Chinese, I understand more than I can speak. Plus, I've had 3 years worth of not understanding so I'm very used to it. I have to go... I'll explain later.
Love you all! And thanks for the letters this week from Virginia, Molly, Holly, and Austin! Just so you know, the mail system works!
Love,
Em
Sister Henderson
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Zone Conference
Sister Henderson and her companion, Sister Lifferth
Sister Henderson eating mango and sticky rice
Sister Henderson and the mission president's wife, Janis SmithFrom a letter sent to Holly:
Thailand is amazing! It's really different though! I eat rice for like every meal! It's really good! I love it!
And there are dogs everywhere! We were exercising at the park on Saturday and all of the dogs in the neighborhood were going crazy! They all met up at the park, had a meeting or something and then all ran in different directions at the same time. It was super weird!
So I've discovered that riding a bike in a skirt is not easy! My skirt is always flying up! I feel like Kiki, in the movie "Kiki's Delivery Service," when she's flying on her broomstick and her skirt is going everywhere. When we're out riding our bikes everywhere people shout out all the English they know as we pass: "Hello!" "How are you?" "I love you!" The guy at the checkpost always says, "Hello, I love you!" and opens the gate for us. It's really funny!
So I'm teaching a couple of girls your age right now with their parents. They don't get done with school till 8 P.M.! Crazy right?
Every house has a fence and gate in front because of robbers. Also no one has a front door like we do. All the doors are like our back sliding door. I quite like it. Our house is awesome right? And its only me and my companion that live here.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Hello everyone!
Okay, so as promised, I'll first share a little about each of my investigators:
Maa A: She's about 55 yrs. old and is just so lovable! We think she's one of those people who has loved Jesus for years but never admitted it because everyone is Buddhist. She said that before we came she wanted to learn about Christ but thought that she was too old to learn. hahaha! Anyways, she's the one with the baptism date. She's actually the very first person I taught here. We're kind of worried because as usual the husband doesn't like it one bit and he makes it known. She said he gave her permission, but he doesn't like it. We're worried it could be a problem so that's what we're working on this week. She's hilarious! We told her about the ten commandments and how you can't lust. She said that when she walks down the street she sees people and she just has love for them and wants to help them. (She just loves everyone) We told her that's definitely okay. Then at church she loved the music so much that she wanted a hymnbook to read when she is at home. We gave her one our many hymn books at home. We talked about having sisters help us teach investigators in relief society. Later that day Maa A called us and asked when she can help us teach. We had to explain that it's for people to come and help us teach her. We thought it was very generous of her though! We love her so much! We really hope her husband's heart is softened....
Pii Rat: A mom that has 3 kids 14yrs-5yrs. She's amazing! Always reads the scriptures each day and is just dutiful in doing her commitments. In fact, she heard rumor when she started learning from us that we don't drink coffee so she just dropped it. Amazing right? She's good in absolutely everything except keeping the sabbath day. Like most people, she works in the market on sundays. She's having a hard time having the faith to just try it out. Once she does, she'll get on that highway and stay there. She has a best friend who is our next investigator.
Pii Bu: She's someone I've talked about before. The social queen of the neighborhood. She cuts hair and is really into fashion. Has 3 kids too! She's really getting it now. Not sure what happened because over a day everything about her changed. Now she's really getting it and progressing like crazy. She hasn't set a baptism date because she's still afraid as most people are in this kind of culture. She's strong though! She can do it!
Baa gai: Baa gai is the grandma and her grandchildren: Euro, Aiko, and Namo. Never have I met such well-behaved and christ-like kids! They're incredible! They really get it! It's just hard because the grandma has twisted feet so she walks on her ankles and half of the time she can't go anywhere because it hurts. The mom was really interested but has to work now so she literally has no time.
Pii Dik: Pii Dik has 20 people in her family! We've only taught a little bit, but it's super crazy when we do!
Pii Bu and Pii Num: They're new! We found them contacting. We usually have to say that you don't have to change religions in order to learn about Christ. They have this belief that if you do anything with the Christians, you have to be Christian. Anyways so we said that and the dad was like, "We want to change religions though! " You can only imagine how that took us aback! Super cute family!
Alright, that's the most promising ones. There's more, but no time to talk about them!
Funny story! Everyone here thinks I'm only 12 or 15. They always ask my companion if she's my mom! hahaha! She doesn't like that one!
Finally had ice cream on a bun with sticky rice! Quite delicious, if you like bread! Try it!
Oh, I'm a horrible daughter and forgot to wish you mom a Happy Mother's Day!!!! It's Mother's Day when it is the Queen's birthday! Quite a celebration! Fireworks and everything. No school. No work. Sounds great right? It was great until the neighborhood speakers came on. They came on at 6 am! Wishing everyone a happy mother's day and then started playing 5 songs over and over and over for 8 and a half hours!!!!! Try studying through that! It was a fun day though! Everyone is always super nice on a holiday and super drunk.
Oh, I've noticed that the sewing machines here are ancient! No one has a nice one like you mom! They all have one's like that black one you have. Ancient!
Oh and a side note: I eat rice for every meal. If I don't have it, I'm hungry.
Hope all is well!!!
Love,
Em
Sister Henderson
Okay, so as promised, I'll first share a little about each of my investigators:
Maa A: She's about 55 yrs. old and is just so lovable! We think she's one of those people who has loved Jesus for years but never admitted it because everyone is Buddhist. She said that before we came she wanted to learn about Christ but thought that she was too old to learn. hahaha! Anyways, she's the one with the baptism date. She's actually the very first person I taught here. We're kind of worried because as usual the husband doesn't like it one bit and he makes it known. She said he gave her permission, but he doesn't like it. We're worried it could be a problem so that's what we're working on this week. She's hilarious! We told her about the ten commandments and how you can't lust. She said that when she walks down the street she sees people and she just has love for them and wants to help them. (She just loves everyone) We told her that's definitely okay. Then at church she loved the music so much that she wanted a hymnbook to read when she is at home. We gave her one our many hymn books at home. We talked about having sisters help us teach investigators in relief society. Later that day Maa A called us and asked when she can help us teach. We had to explain that it's for people to come and help us teach her. We thought it was very generous of her though! We love her so much! We really hope her husband's heart is softened....
Pii Rat: A mom that has 3 kids 14yrs-5yrs. She's amazing! Always reads the scriptures each day and is just dutiful in doing her commitments. In fact, she heard rumor when she started learning from us that we don't drink coffee so she just dropped it. Amazing right? She's good in absolutely everything except keeping the sabbath day. Like most people, she works in the market on sundays. She's having a hard time having the faith to just try it out. Once she does, she'll get on that highway and stay there. She has a best friend who is our next investigator.
Pii Bu: She's someone I've talked about before. The social queen of the neighborhood. She cuts hair and is really into fashion. Has 3 kids too! She's really getting it now. Not sure what happened because over a day everything about her changed. Now she's really getting it and progressing like crazy. She hasn't set a baptism date because she's still afraid as most people are in this kind of culture. She's strong though! She can do it!
Baa gai: Baa gai is the grandma and her grandchildren: Euro, Aiko, and Namo. Never have I met such well-behaved and christ-like kids! They're incredible! They really get it! It's just hard because the grandma has twisted feet so she walks on her ankles and half of the time she can't go anywhere because it hurts. The mom was really interested but has to work now so she literally has no time.
Pii Dik: Pii Dik has 20 people in her family! We've only taught a little bit, but it's super crazy when we do!
Pii Bu and Pii Num: They're new! We found them contacting. We usually have to say that you don't have to change religions in order to learn about Christ. They have this belief that if you do anything with the Christians, you have to be Christian. Anyways so we said that and the dad was like, "We want to change religions though! " You can only imagine how that took us aback! Super cute family!
Alright, that's the most promising ones. There's more, but no time to talk about them!
Funny story! Everyone here thinks I'm only 12 or 15. They always ask my companion if she's my mom! hahaha! She doesn't like that one!
Finally had ice cream on a bun with sticky rice! Quite delicious, if you like bread! Try it!
Oh, I'm a horrible daughter and forgot to wish you mom a Happy Mother's Day!!!! It's Mother's Day when it is the Queen's birthday! Quite a celebration! Fireworks and everything. No school. No work. Sounds great right? It was great until the neighborhood speakers came on. They came on at 6 am! Wishing everyone a happy mother's day and then started playing 5 songs over and over and over for 8 and a half hours!!!!! Try studying through that! It was a fun day though! Everyone is always super nice on a holiday and super drunk.
Oh, I've noticed that the sewing machines here are ancient! No one has a nice one like you mom! They all have one's like that black one you have. Ancient!
Oh and a side note: I eat rice for every meal. If I don't have it, I'm hungry.
Hope all is well!!!
Love,
Em
Sister Henderson
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Hello everyone from the very wet Thailand!
Okay, first and foremost a quick reminder: Don't send any packages through any service including UPS. Send it through normal mail. Or else I have to pay hefty and I mean hefty fines for it.
So, I forgot to finish my wad trip last preparation day. While we were at the temple, we had a Thai sister with us who was waiting for her visa to come through to serve in New Zealand, which cleared when we were there. She explained all of the stuff to us and it was really neat! Like, super amazing! They have the history of Thailand on this big walls. It all starts with a war in Heaven. Good vs. Evil. Good wins out. Sound familiar? Then the rest of the stories are like Bible stories combined. Weird. We walked to one of the temples that is decorated with flowers and has these strange creature statues infront of it. She told us how they believe the first people on the earth lived in a sacred garden that was guarded by these creatures who carried a sword (Garden of Eden and the cheribums with the flaming sword). Then we went to the main temple and it was so sparkly! It was like, wow! Almost felt like I was walking into a treasury or something. Anyways they had all of these statues holding their hands out and they all had dots in their hands. I asked what they are. She said that they believe someone greater than Buddha will come and he will have holes or markes in his hands. I was like, "Are you serious?"
They believe in Christ without even knowing it! Amazing! It was really cool to learn about that stuff.
The new church building is so nice! In fact I was freezing at church! It was sooo cold! There's a brother in our ward that seriously has the exact same voice of Uncle Chris but speaks Thai. It super weird! Just know that I think about ya everytime I'm at church! There's a picture in our church and I don't know why they put it in our church because the people can't relate to it at all. It's a picture of the pioneers harvesting wheat in the fields. All of the people are like, "Oh, they're harvesting rice!" "What a nice picture of the rice fields." Sis. Lifferth and I had to explain to them what wheat fields are.
We had switch-offs this last Friday. My first experience with a Thai companion! She was super nice! I felt like I didn't talk the whole day though! The experience made me very grateful for my area and my companion. The people are little bit nicer where I live. I had 4 dogs chasing us on our bikes that day! Scary!!! hahaha! The dogs are even nicer where I live! The sisters that we switched with have a super nice apartment. They're the only people living in the whole complex because it is so nice! More like a hotel really! All of the staff serve only them! Wow!
So I mentioned how wet it is here. Well, It's rained everyday this week. So much that I don't think I've really been dry at all. We show up at appointments soaked all the way through. It's great. Who needs swimming? And our neighborhood is always flooded. It makes me fell like we live at a lake house. Everyday the water is lapping up on our driveway like the ocean. It's crazy! I said we should invest in a little boat. We could actually use it in our streets! I've just gotten used to walking through water up to my knees. It's great fun!
On behalf of Gabbi I enjoyed fried ice cream this week! It's really good!!!
Well, quickly a little about our investigators:
Maa A:
Has a baptism date!!! YAY!!! 29th! The other day she stopped our lesson because she was concerned that my freckles hurt.
Oh, I'm out of time! Sorry! I'll have to do it next week....
Love you all!!!
Em/Sister Henderson
So, I forgot to finish my wad trip last preparation day. While we were at the temple, we had a Thai sister with us who was waiting for her visa to come through to serve in New Zealand, which cleared when we were there. She explained all of the stuff to us and it was really neat! Like, super amazing! They have the history of Thailand on this big walls. It all starts with a war in Heaven. Good vs. Evil. Good wins out. Sound familiar? Then the rest of the stories are like Bible stories combined. Weird. We walked to one of the temples that is decorated with flowers and has these strange creature statues infront of it. She told us how they believe the first people on the earth lived in a sacred garden that was guarded by these creatures who carried a sword (Garden of Eden and the cheribums with the flaming sword). Then we went to the main temple and it was so sparkly! It was like, wow! Almost felt like I was walking into a treasury or something. Anyways they had all of these statues holding their hands out and they all had dots in their hands. I asked what they are. She said that they believe someone greater than Buddha will come and he will have holes or markes in his hands. I was like, "Are you serious?"
They believe in Christ without even knowing it! Amazing! It was really cool to learn about that stuff.
The new church building is so nice! In fact I was freezing at church! It was sooo cold! There's a brother in our ward that seriously has the exact same voice of Uncle Chris but speaks Thai. It super weird! Just know that I think about ya everytime I'm at church! There's a picture in our church and I don't know why they put it in our church because the people can't relate to it at all. It's a picture of the pioneers harvesting wheat in the fields. All of the people are like, "Oh, they're harvesting rice!" "What a nice picture of the rice fields." Sis. Lifferth and I had to explain to them what wheat fields are.
We had switch-offs this last Friday. My first experience with a Thai companion! She was super nice! I felt like I didn't talk the whole day though! The experience made me very grateful for my area and my companion. The people are little bit nicer where I live. I had 4 dogs chasing us on our bikes that day! Scary!!! hahaha! The dogs are even nicer where I live! The sisters that we switched with have a super nice apartment. They're the only people living in the whole complex because it is so nice! More like a hotel really! All of the staff serve only them! Wow!
So I mentioned how wet it is here. Well, It's rained everyday this week. So much that I don't think I've really been dry at all. We show up at appointments soaked all the way through. It's great. Who needs swimming? And our neighborhood is always flooded. It makes me fell like we live at a lake house. Everyday the water is lapping up on our driveway like the ocean. It's crazy! I said we should invest in a little boat. We could actually use it in our streets! I've just gotten used to walking through water up to my knees. It's great fun!
On behalf of Gabbi I enjoyed fried ice cream this week! It's really good!!!
Well, quickly a little about our investigators:
Maa A:
Has a baptism date!!! YAY!!! 29th! The other day she stopped our lesson because she was concerned that my freckles hurt.
Oh, I'm out of time! Sorry! I'll have to do it next week....
Love you all!!!
Em/Sister Henderson
Monday, August 2, 2010
Week 2 in Thailand!
Hello from Thailand!
Just got back from an exciting day in Bangkok. We went to the wadpergao or something like that. It's basically the main Buddhist temple in Thailand. It was amazing! So sparkly and breathtaking! Got some good pics of the outside. We met up with Sis. Jolley and the other Bangkok sisters today. They kept shutting down the temple and wouldn't let us in. Apparently very important people, mainly the princess and some of her friends were there. We got to see her friends up close! And when we were trying to leave, they shut down all of the streets so that the princess could leave. Exciting! It was weird to be there because there were so many foreigners. In Saphaan Sung (where I am), we are like the only foriegners. So it was weird to see people like me again. Rode home on a boat! Quite exciting! It rained all day so I was already wet anyways!
This week has been so amazing! We had 13 investigators at church yesterday! It was so good! And they all got to see a baptism. The Elders had a baptism last week and will have another next week. Oh, it was so good! A little crazy though! Trying to get all the kids where they need to go and such. The new church is beautiful! I love it! Although I'm starting to turn Thai meaning the air conditioner is becoming an enemy than a friend.
Went to pii Bu's house ( the social queen of the neighborhood) for dinner this week. She is one of our investigators. She has 3 kids, one of which is autisitc like severe autistic. She's a warrior! Her husband hasn't joined us yet, but he will. Anyways we had stir-fry roman noodles and french fries and chicken wings. ( The dad likes american food). It was really good! I swear everytime we go over there there is someone new who wants to listen. A few days ago we were over there and an eleven year old was over there. We asked if everyone has been reading. Usually we have about 8 people over there when we teach. The new girl said she had already read 30 pages of the Book of Mormon and so has her mom who wasn't there. Wow! So we go over to her house the next day and find out that the dad is very much against it. Apparently the mom and daughter really want to learn so they've been reading and praying in secret. That actually happens a lot here. The dads always eventually end up converting so don't worry!
Taught English last Tuesday! It was so much fun! And all of them are amazing! They honestly all have way better handwriting than me! I was like, "Wow, I should just sit down."
Did I tell you about Maa A? She is soo cute! When we were over teaching the plan of salvation, I started to teach about this life and she started laughing outloud. Apparently I was just so cute that she couldn't get over it.... Weird, I know, but it happens a lot!
So Thailand has so many dogs on the streets. They wonder around in packs just like Lady and the Tramp or something. Buddhists don't believe in killing anything so dogs are everywhere! They're all taken care of and most are nice.
I really like this take off your shoes deal. Whenever you come to a building you leave your shoes at the door and go barefoot. Like right now, I'm in an internet cafe going barefoot! I love it! And I also love toast! The Thai's love toast here. They have shops and carts devoted to making toast and having all of this stuff to put on toast. Yummy! And also crepes. Not like normal crepes. It's like a fortune cookie that's softer and you can put anything in it: chocolate, oreo, nuts , sprinkles, gummies, etc. It's so good!
Oh, so I should say that no one actually really cooks at home here. Everyone usually buys stuff off of the street. We actually don't really have a kitchen. Only a fridge. Anyways, everyday people make some kind of food and take their stand and sell it each day. It's like Taylorsville Dayzz but everyday! Imagine putting up a booth and taking it down everyday! That's what they do! It's nice because everyone who sells is good at what they make. Really good! So, it's like everyone making the thing that they are good at and bringing it to a potluck. There's always a great selection!
Well, I need to be off! Like really!
Love you all!
Love,
Sister Henderson , Em
Just got back from an exciting day in Bangkok. We went to the wadpergao or something like that. It's basically the main Buddhist temple in Thailand. It was amazing! So sparkly and breathtaking! Got some good pics of the outside. We met up with Sis. Jolley and the other Bangkok sisters today. They kept shutting down the temple and wouldn't let us in. Apparently very important people, mainly the princess and some of her friends were there. We got to see her friends up close! And when we were trying to leave, they shut down all of the streets so that the princess could leave. Exciting! It was weird to be there because there were so many foreigners. In Saphaan Sung (where I am), we are like the only foriegners. So it was weird to see people like me again. Rode home on a boat! Quite exciting! It rained all day so I was already wet anyways!
This week has been so amazing! We had 13 investigators at church yesterday! It was so good! And they all got to see a baptism. The Elders had a baptism last week and will have another next week. Oh, it was so good! A little crazy though! Trying to get all the kids where they need to go and such. The new church is beautiful! I love it! Although I'm starting to turn Thai meaning the air conditioner is becoming an enemy than a friend.
Went to pii Bu's house ( the social queen of the neighborhood) for dinner this week. She is one of our investigators. She has 3 kids, one of which is autisitc like severe autistic. She's a warrior! Her husband hasn't joined us yet, but he will. Anyways we had stir-fry roman noodles and french fries and chicken wings. ( The dad likes american food). It was really good! I swear everytime we go over there there is someone new who wants to listen. A few days ago we were over there and an eleven year old was over there. We asked if everyone has been reading. Usually we have about 8 people over there when we teach. The new girl said she had already read 30 pages of the Book of Mormon and so has her mom who wasn't there. Wow! So we go over to her house the next day and find out that the dad is very much against it. Apparently the mom and daughter really want to learn so they've been reading and praying in secret. That actually happens a lot here. The dads always eventually end up converting so don't worry!
Taught English last Tuesday! It was so much fun! And all of them are amazing! They honestly all have way better handwriting than me! I was like, "Wow, I should just sit down."
Did I tell you about Maa A? She is soo cute! When we were over teaching the plan of salvation, I started to teach about this life and she started laughing outloud. Apparently I was just so cute that she couldn't get over it.... Weird, I know, but it happens a lot!
So Thailand has so many dogs on the streets. They wonder around in packs just like Lady and the Tramp or something. Buddhists don't believe in killing anything so dogs are everywhere! They're all taken care of and most are nice.
I really like this take off your shoes deal. Whenever you come to a building you leave your shoes at the door and go barefoot. Like right now, I'm in an internet cafe going barefoot! I love it! And I also love toast! The Thai's love toast here. They have shops and carts devoted to making toast and having all of this stuff to put on toast. Yummy! And also crepes. Not like normal crepes. It's like a fortune cookie that's softer and you can put anything in it: chocolate, oreo, nuts , sprinkles, gummies, etc. It's so good!
Oh, so I should say that no one actually really cooks at home here. Everyone usually buys stuff off of the street. We actually don't really have a kitchen. Only a fridge. Anyways, everyday people make some kind of food and take their stand and sell it each day. It's like Taylorsville Dayzz but everyday! Imagine putting up a booth and taking it down everyday! That's what they do! It's nice because everyone who sells is good at what they make. Really good! So, it's like everyone making the thing that they are good at and bringing it to a potluck. There's always a great selection!
Well, I need to be off! Like really!
Love you all!
Love,
Sister Henderson , Em
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