Hello!
Okay, First off thank you for all of the mail this week!
So this week was really good! More training meetings this week. I don't know if you've noticed, but we've had a meeting every week this moves. Crazy!!!
This past week we had companion exchanges with Bangkapi sisters. It was fun! I was with Sis. Oneil who is going to finish next month. She's served here before so she had a blast taking me to all these different places that I've never been to. Also rode the klong. It's a small path along the river. It was quite an adventure! And the people we met along there....
Well, as promised, here's my investigator update:
Note: In Thailand you use titles such as Mr. and Mrs. when talking to people. This is what you say:
Pii: Those who are older, but not way older than you.
Nong: Those who are younger than you.
Maa: Those who are old enough to be your mom. (not that I'm saying you're old mom)
Baa/yay: Those who are old enought to be your grandma.
If they're close to your age, you don't use a title.
Gip: Well, a little bit crazy this week because we had our meeting with the Branch President this week and we talked about how Gip is getting baptized on 10/10/10. Then he said that we couldn't do that because it's general conference day. Why they couldn't tell us this before, no one knows. Anyways, so we asked Gip what she wanted to do and we are now having it Oct. 3rd. This means I have a lot of work this week.... I'm excited though! She's really ready for it! She told us of, yes, another dream she's had with Christ in it. She hadn't read the Book of Mormon for two days. Christ in her dream came to her and told her that she's forgotten Him and she had a lot of pain. Okay, I didn't fully understand it, but basically after the dream she knew she had to read everyday. :-) Yep!
Pii Joy: Oh Joy..... words really can't describe her. Joy has a lot of pain in her life. She's been abused so much that she has a mental problem. There are 2 Joys see... one is normal, the other is some high pitched, english-speaking cartoon character about the age of 7. It's really crazy! The first time we met with her it took about 15 min. to establish what language she speaks. When she's not herself, she claims she can't speak/understand Thai. Her english is hard to understand because it's so high-pitched and mixed with Thai. It's crazy. Anyways, it's been remarkable to teach her because we have seen a vast improvement in her. She's not switching as much anymore. There's definitely more control in her life now. She even got a new job and is doing great. We love her!
Pii Rat: Okay, so I said last time that I know she received her answer, but she won't admit it, right? Well, here's the story... we watched the Restoration DVD with her and afterwards the spirit whispered to me that this was her answer. You could tell by the look on her face that she got it. Her whole countance has changed. I didn't know at the time that Sis. Homsombat received the same revelation. We asked her about it but she claimed she felt nothing. That I knew was a lie. Next visit with her I asked her about it. It was funny because she looked at me the whole lesson because she knew that I knew. She said that she did receive her answer, but she wasn't confident in it and was scared. I asked her to pray about it again about the feelings she felt in the movie. Next time we met with her, she said that it's true for reals. She's knows she's got to make a decision, either deny everything that the spirit has told her or get baptized. Hmmm... We're working on helping her let go of her fears and look at the big picture.
Pii Bu: Well, I wish we could say the same about Pii Bu. We're really struggling with her. I still feel like this is a recreational activity for her. The problem: the world. She's got her eyes on it. She's holding to the rod but earnestly looking and keeping her eyes on the great and spacious building. It's interesting to teach Pii Rat and Pii Bu together because Pii Rat even notices it. Everytime Pii Bu talks about something Pii Rat looks at her like, "Clearly you don't understand." That's the hard part for Pii Rat is seeing her friend not progressing and understanding like she is. Anyways, she definitely isn't getting baptized anytime soon unless she changes.
Nong Blithe: I've had questions about her. She's Pii Bu's daughter. They're on the same page.
Pii Oi: New investigator that walked into church the day of the Open House. She's doing good! She sincerely wants change in her life. Her family has lots of problems and she's seeking comfort and peace. She's a retired teacher. She's as sweet as honey. Last time we met with her, she had her dining room table full of food for us to eat! She's so nice!
Yay lamphay: She's Christian and just lists off these questions she has everytime! It's quite intense! It's interesting how people here don't understand that there are many different kinds of Christianity. Everyone thinks Christianity is like one church or something. So she's concerned about that.
That's all for this time! There's more, but I won't go into them right now.
So do I go tracting? haha! Yes! Almost everyday when we have no appointments because no one is home yet from school and work. In fact, this past week I ran into another family with a down's syndrome daughter. I know, go figure, right? I talked about Heather and she invited us in to her house. She loved hearing about Heather. She wasn't interested in the gospel but Heather opened the door a little bit. Her daughter reminded me of Heather too! She kept saying, " mai ow, mai ow! " Which basically means she doesn't want it or Nope! She even gave me the hand like Heather does saying "nope!" hahaha!
Well, I had my last rabies shot this week!!!! YAY!!!! I celebrated by going to the bakery and eating delicious chocolate cake. I love this bakery because everytime we order 2 slices, the owner insists that we take 3 more for free. Hey, I'm not complaining. She claims we are so cute and do so much good that we deserve it!
Love you all!!! Thanks!
Em
Sister Henderson
Monday, September 27, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Bangkok East and West Zone Conference with Elder Perkins September 2010
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Bangkok East and West zone missionaries with President and Sister Smith and Elder and Sister Perkins.jpg)
Sister missionaries serving in the Bangkok East and West zones.jpg)
Emily and Sister JolleyMonday, September 20, 2010
Another week in Thailand
Hello hello!!!
Well, this week has been an adventure! After rejuvenating my energy at Baskin Robbins (which was a trip to heaven and back), we went back to work on teaching the Thai people!
I've been chosen to be the English leader which means I get to speak English 24/7!!!!! hahahaha!!! No, I'm kidding! It means I am the leader for the way English is taught in my area. Great stuff!
Okay, so the more I'm here the more I believe that the movie, "Cats and Dogs" is true! I've mentioned that dogs randomly gather in groups and then split in all different directions randomly. This past week in the middle of Perfect neighborhood cats have been gathering together. They sit at least 7 of them in a circle on the street corner under a lamp post. Suspicious? I think so... Plus, when have cats been social animals like that?
This week was the long awaited open house. I was actually thoroughly impressed with what the members did. It was really awesome! They all worked so hard! Days literally spent at the church to get things ready. Before the open house a French lady who married a Thai came and talked to us. She's really funny! I am known as the Englishman's daughter. I mentioned that Dad is from Newcastle... Her husband studied in England for a long time. He was thrilled to talk to me about it.
Anyways, the open house had a great turnout. Even a monk from the Buddhist temple close by came. The meeting had a video of a member now living in Utah. They showed footage of Utah. That night God granted me the gift to see Utah through the eyes of the Thai people. It was quite a special experience. From that I understood how completely lucky and special I have been to grow up there. For those who are in Utah, you have no idea how privileged you are to live there. Looking at Utah made it seem like a place that was utopia. A place only really real in fairytales. It's hard to describe, but it was amazing.
Afterwards everyone rushed outside to eat. No one even looked at the building to see what the members had done. It makes me sad. They put some much work into it and no one looked at it. Oh, well!
That day was a hard one for my companion. She's from Bangkok. So, that open house was full of people she knew including her family. It would be like me being called to serve in my stake. That would be really hard! She's a trooper!
Yesterday we were out inviting when we stopped by this family who had a 6 yr. old with down syndrome. This was the first one I've seen in Thailand. I said "Hello!" To which she responded with sticking out her tongue to me. Hmmm... what a familiar response! I talked to her mom about Heather even showed a picture. She was really intrigued and showed the picture to all her friends of Heather. My guess is, she hasn't met many or zero who have a similar situation. She wasn't interested in the gospel but I made a new friend. hahaha! It just reminded me a lot of Heather. Love you Heather!!!!! This is me sticking my tongue out to you :P
Later that day we ran into a few people who were chillin' in the evening. They kept talking about how beautiful I was as they usually do. As always they asked if I had a boyfriend. Needless to say, there are many people here in Thailand holding out that I break up with Austin and marry their son. Anyways, this particular time, I was actually able to really converse with them. It was great!
Received revelation that Pii Rat has her answer but isn't telling us.... yep, she's scared.
Gip is my hero! When we taught about chastity, that night she talked to her boyfriend and the next day, she moved out. She has amazing faith!
Received another investigator who walked into the church searching for more happiness... She's amazing too!
Well, next week I'll give you an update on investigators!!!! It's going to be great!!!!
Love you all!!! Thanks for all of your support!!!
Em
Sister Henderson
Well, this week has been an adventure! After rejuvenating my energy at Baskin Robbins (which was a trip to heaven and back), we went back to work on teaching the Thai people!
I've been chosen to be the English leader which means I get to speak English 24/7!!!!! hahahaha!!! No, I'm kidding! It means I am the leader for the way English is taught in my area. Great stuff!
Okay, so the more I'm here the more I believe that the movie, "Cats and Dogs" is true! I've mentioned that dogs randomly gather in groups and then split in all different directions randomly. This past week in the middle of Perfect neighborhood cats have been gathering together. They sit at least 7 of them in a circle on the street corner under a lamp post. Suspicious? I think so... Plus, when have cats been social animals like that?
This week was the long awaited open house. I was actually thoroughly impressed with what the members did. It was really awesome! They all worked so hard! Days literally spent at the church to get things ready. Before the open house a French lady who married a Thai came and talked to us. She's really funny! I am known as the Englishman's daughter. I mentioned that Dad is from Newcastle... Her husband studied in England for a long time. He was thrilled to talk to me about it.
Anyways, the open house had a great turnout. Even a monk from the Buddhist temple close by came. The meeting had a video of a member now living in Utah. They showed footage of Utah. That night God granted me the gift to see Utah through the eyes of the Thai people. It was quite a special experience. From that I understood how completely lucky and special I have been to grow up there. For those who are in Utah, you have no idea how privileged you are to live there. Looking at Utah made it seem like a place that was utopia. A place only really real in fairytales. It's hard to describe, but it was amazing.
Afterwards everyone rushed outside to eat. No one even looked at the building to see what the members had done. It makes me sad. They put some much work into it and no one looked at it. Oh, well!
That day was a hard one for my companion. She's from Bangkok. So, that open house was full of people she knew including her family. It would be like me being called to serve in my stake. That would be really hard! She's a trooper!
Yesterday we were out inviting when we stopped by this family who had a 6 yr. old with down syndrome. This was the first one I've seen in Thailand. I said "Hello!" To which she responded with sticking out her tongue to me. Hmmm... what a familiar response! I talked to her mom about Heather even showed a picture. She was really intrigued and showed the picture to all her friends of Heather. My guess is, she hasn't met many or zero who have a similar situation. She wasn't interested in the gospel but I made a new friend. hahaha! It just reminded me a lot of Heather. Love you Heather!!!!! This is me sticking my tongue out to you :P
Later that day we ran into a few people who were chillin' in the evening. They kept talking about how beautiful I was as they usually do. As always they asked if I had a boyfriend. Needless to say, there are many people here in Thailand holding out that I break up with Austin and marry their son. Anyways, this particular time, I was actually able to really converse with them. It was great!
Received revelation that Pii Rat has her answer but isn't telling us.... yep, she's scared.
Gip is my hero! When we taught about chastity, that night she talked to her boyfriend and the next day, she moved out. She has amazing faith!
Received another investigator who walked into the church searching for more happiness... She's amazing too!
Well, next week I'll give you an update on investigators!!!! It's going to be great!!!!
Love you all!!! Thanks for all of your support!!!
Em
Sister Henderson
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Yep, it's me again!
Hello! It's me again!
So all of the food here is pretty much fried. If you're wondering whether the food is good, the answer is it's fried, yes!!! I can't tell you how many times I've had fried chicken. It's really just not the same without gravy!
We were riding our bikes home when Sis. Homsombat ran over a frog! Ew!!!! hahaha! It was hilarious!!!
Also while we were biking home (it's dark) there was a guy on the side of the road walking our direction. He was holding something that I couldn't see till I was close to it. It was a huge snake! Must've been at least 7ft. long! It was rather suprising!!!
The other day two lightbulbs in our house went out so I changed them. We went over to Pii Bu's and Rat's later and they were highly impressed. They were like,"You changed the lightbulb?! That is amazing!" What can I say? It takes major skill to change lightbulbs!!!!
Oh, FYI I have received a letter from Grandma, Holly, Catherine, Paige, McKenzie, and 2 from Austin. Thanks everyone!!! I'm a slow writer so have patience!!!!
Well, Sis. Homsombat and I were out inviting when she started humming a familiar tune. It was Zen Ma Ban from SHE. I started singing along and she about died with shock. "YOU know this song?" I'm like, "Of course!" We excitedly started talking about Asian music and TV shows. Go figure! My companion is a fan of Hana Kimi too! I would say we definitely get along!!!
So this week was full of miracles!!! It was amazing!!! Some of the most random people showed up at church. People who have flat out rejected us before have showed up! It was crazy!
Oh, and one of our new investigators, Joy, has set a baptism date too!!! Oct. 24th!!! She's awesome!!!!
Elder Perkins who is our area seventy came to visit us yesterday! It was a great meeting! Talked about a lot of things! Pretty awesome things are going on over here. I don't write about them because there would be no way to write about it. It's purely divine work being done here! I really do wish I could let all of you see it though! It's truely amazing!!!
Well, what I want to say this week is remember the lesson of Les Miserables. Jean Valjean was a criminal but had a change of heart. Everyone can experience a change of heart. Always give people 2nd chances. I've found as we give an investigator a second chance, they have a change of heart and capture joy they never knew existed in this life. Really. Miracles are happening everyday!
Love you all!!!
Em
Sis. Henderson
So all of the food here is pretty much fried. If you're wondering whether the food is good, the answer is it's fried, yes!!! I can't tell you how many times I've had fried chicken. It's really just not the same without gravy!
We were riding our bikes home when Sis. Homsombat ran over a frog! Ew!!!! hahaha! It was hilarious!!!
Also while we were biking home (it's dark) there was a guy on the side of the road walking our direction. He was holding something that I couldn't see till I was close to it. It was a huge snake! Must've been at least 7ft. long! It was rather suprising!!!
The other day two lightbulbs in our house went out so I changed them. We went over to Pii Bu's and Rat's later and they were highly impressed. They were like,"You changed the lightbulb?! That is amazing!" What can I say? It takes major skill to change lightbulbs!!!!
Oh, FYI I have received a letter from Grandma, Holly, Catherine, Paige, McKenzie, and 2 from Austin. Thanks everyone!!! I'm a slow writer so have patience!!!!
Well, Sis. Homsombat and I were out inviting when she started humming a familiar tune. It was Zen Ma Ban from SHE. I started singing along and she about died with shock. "YOU know this song?" I'm like, "Of course!" We excitedly started talking about Asian music and TV shows. Go figure! My companion is a fan of Hana Kimi too! I would say we definitely get along!!!
So this week was full of miracles!!! It was amazing!!! Some of the most random people showed up at church. People who have flat out rejected us before have showed up! It was crazy!
Oh, and one of our new investigators, Joy, has set a baptism date too!!! Oct. 24th!!! She's awesome!!!!
Elder Perkins who is our area seventy came to visit us yesterday! It was a great meeting! Talked about a lot of things! Pretty awesome things are going on over here. I don't write about them because there would be no way to write about it. It's purely divine work being done here! I really do wish I could let all of you see it though! It's truely amazing!!!
Well, what I want to say this week is remember the lesson of Les Miserables. Jean Valjean was a criminal but had a change of heart. Everyone can experience a change of heart. Always give people 2nd chances. I've found as we give an investigator a second chance, they have a change of heart and capture joy they never knew existed in this life. Really. Miracles are happening everyday!
Love you all!!!
Em
Sis. Henderson
Monday, September 6, 2010
Moves 2
Hello!
So here I am in the heart of moves 2! I'm in the same area with a different companion. I'll talk about her later.
This past week I saw my Ma, Sis. Lifferth, die. It was super depressing! I wanted to cry but decided there was no need for tears. Since she is a jobber (finishing the mission) we had 2 P-days to prepare for her departure!
It was quite a blast! I loved it! And the other sister who was jobbing too came down to our place and had quite a party.... of missionary work. We went to Brathunam (I don't know how to spell it) which is the tallest tower in
Thailand. It's the 28th tallest in the world. It was pretty intense. Saw an alien. Shopped... a lot! :-) I got my one item from move 1. It's pretty awesome. It's a vase and the interior design major helped me pick it out. The next day was
moves meeting and we saw all of the nongthais come in from the MTC. I love them! Sis. Lifferth's jobbing line (as they all get an opportunity to say their last words) "In the words of Neil Diamond, "I'm going to America, TODAY!!!!!" Job!"
hahaha! I love her!!!
Then I got my new companion. She is Thai and her name is Sis. Homsombat. She's on her 3rd move so she's not that far ahead of me.
At first I will admit, I was really nervous to get a Thai companion, but I've been really prepared for it. On the drive home she talked about how her favorite things to eat is cheese, chocolate, ice cream...
I knew immediately after that that we were going to be great friends! hahaha! She speaks English really well! Some people think she's Philipinno. We switch off in speaking to help each other improve. So every other day we speak English and switch off with Thai. It's really great! She's super dramatic too! She acts out everything for me! I love it! She should go into theatre... she also loves watching musicals.
So I'm sure many of you are dying to know how the language is going.... It's still going but I will say it has vastly improved and not by anything on my part. I'll say before my Thai was okay. It was super weird though. The instant Sis. Homsombat became my companion, my Thai improved. It is purely the gift of tongues. I understand and can talk far greater than I ever have before. It's super weird. So, I'm getting it! Really!
So Peanut Butter.... what is it with pb? When I come to Asia, I indulge in it. Eat everything with PB. I've come to find out that all the other sisters are eating the exact same way. They're all like, "I don't know, but all of the sudden I really like pb." Maybe there's something up with that.....
We had a referral lesson with the Branch president's family last night. They are soo funny! I showed our family picture and they commented how everyone looks so nice.
Our investigators are going really well especially Gip. We've become quite good friends lately. It's been a lot of fun to teach her. And we've been teaching lots of new people too! We've had a lot of people randomly walk into church on Sunday because they are curious. I must say, that's the best way to get investigators!
Sorry I don't have much news this week! There isn't a lot of news because of all the changing around everything....
I love you all!!!! Enjoy Labor Day!!!!! I'm enjoying mine!
Em
Sis. Henderson
So here I am in the heart of moves 2! I'm in the same area with a different companion. I'll talk about her later.
This past week I saw my Ma, Sis. Lifferth, die. It was super depressing! I wanted to cry but decided there was no need for tears. Since she is a jobber (finishing the mission) we had 2 P-days to prepare for her departure!
It was quite a blast! I loved it! And the other sister who was jobbing too came down to our place and had quite a party.... of missionary work. We went to Brathunam (I don't know how to spell it) which is the tallest tower in
Thailand. It's the 28th tallest in the world. It was pretty intense. Saw an alien. Shopped... a lot! :-) I got my one item from move 1. It's pretty awesome. It's a vase and the interior design major helped me pick it out. The next day was
moves meeting and we saw all of the nongthais come in from the MTC. I love them! Sis. Lifferth's jobbing line (as they all get an opportunity to say their last words) "In the words of Neil Diamond, "I'm going to America, TODAY!!!!!" Job!"
hahaha! I love her!!!
Then I got my new companion. She is Thai and her name is Sis. Homsombat. She's on her 3rd move so she's not that far ahead of me.
At first I will admit, I was really nervous to get a Thai companion, but I've been really prepared for it. On the drive home she talked about how her favorite things to eat is cheese, chocolate, ice cream...
I knew immediately after that that we were going to be great friends! hahaha! She speaks English really well! Some people think she's Philipinno. We switch off in speaking to help each other improve. So every other day we speak English and switch off with Thai. It's really great! She's super dramatic too! She acts out everything for me! I love it! She should go into theatre... she also loves watching musicals.
So I'm sure many of you are dying to know how the language is going.... It's still going but I will say it has vastly improved and not by anything on my part. I'll say before my Thai was okay. It was super weird though. The instant Sis. Homsombat became my companion, my Thai improved. It is purely the gift of tongues. I understand and can talk far greater than I ever have before. It's super weird. So, I'm getting it! Really!
So Peanut Butter.... what is it with pb? When I come to Asia, I indulge in it. Eat everything with PB. I've come to find out that all the other sisters are eating the exact same way. They're all like, "I don't know, but all of the sudden I really like pb." Maybe there's something up with that.....
We had a referral lesson with the Branch president's family last night. They are soo funny! I showed our family picture and they commented how everyone looks so nice.
Our investigators are going really well especially Gip. We've become quite good friends lately. It's been a lot of fun to teach her. And we've been teaching lots of new people too! We've had a lot of people randomly walk into church on Sunday because they are curious. I must say, that's the best way to get investigators!
Sorry I don't have much news this week! There isn't a lot of news because of all the changing around everything....
I love you all!!!! Enjoy Labor Day!!!!! I'm enjoying mine!
Em
Sis. Henderson
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