This week, as the subject line says, seems to have gone by the fastest on the mission yet. A lot of things happened this week, but what can I say, when you are having fun, time flies!! And side note, just a fun thing to let everyone know, as I write this email now, we have rats running around under our chairs, and this is a pretty fancy internet cafe. Thailand is not the US people. Haha good times.
Anyways, so last Monday we had a way fun Pday. Elder V chose to go to a nearby army base and we spend the better part of 4 hours shooting each other with BB guns. It was way fun. There's not really anything else to say besides that, and climbing up a wall that was way fun. It was one of those used to build team work in military groups, and it was way fun. (see pictures attached)
Tuesday, we had a sad day. It was Elder V's last full day as a missionary. Also, Elder V and I were on a switch-off with Elder Ingleton our zone leader. We studied all morning, and then ate lunch at Gorilla Grill which is a way good fried chicken place near the church. It's soooo good. And has a way funny name so we like going there for lunch and stuff. We had district meeting, and no teaching appointments until after English. And I have to say, you never realize what weird things your tongue does when you speak until you have to teach English to people who have no idea how to make the correct sounds to pronounce words. It's good times.
Wednesday, we officially killed Elder V. It was a sad day for sure. We go up this morning, and had a few teaching appointments, and had some lunch. Sizzlers here in Thailand is sooo good. We had a lunch special for Elder V's last meal in the field, and the best thing about Sizzlers is with any main entree you buy, you get unlimited salad/soup/dessert/fruit bar. So for anyone that knows me pretty well, you already know that I totally took advantage of that. It was sooo good. After that, we had some time for studies, and then Elder V got in a taxi for the mission office, and we said our good byes. He is an awesome missionary and we will miss him, but it is nice being in a normal companionship again. After that, just correlation, and that was about it for the day.
Thursday, Elder Bunker had me in charge of planning, and let me tell ya, it's not an easy thing to do! Especially when you have no appointments. Being Junior companion is so much easier. The day that I am in charge as Senior companion will be a big adjustment for sure. Imagining training is also something I don't want to think about yet either haha. I can't speak the language for one thing, and trying to lead another kid all around Bangkok, wow, that would be tough! I'm still trying to figure things out myself haha. But it was a good day anyway. We studied, and had our best weekly planning session yet. We are going to have 4 baptisms by the end of this month!!! I am so pumped! After that our plans for the evening fell apart, and so we left and just walked around inviting. We got let into this house by a guy who was outside on his phone, and told them about the restoration and it was sooo good. They had tons of good questions, and it was just awesome. If you just trust God, he will lead you to the people that are ready to hear the gospel! There are no coincidences!!
Friday, we had a great day. We did some personal study, and then walked to Gorilla Grill, and had a lunch lesson with one of our RCs. (recent convert) It was way fun. เต้ย is straight fire. Way awesome kid. He actually wants to try and serve a mission too, so kudos to him. After lunch, we walked home, and invited and stuff, found some cool Tshirts, and then studied for a bit at home. Then we changed into sports clothes for sports night, and since it was such a bad traffic jam that night we just ran to the church, and probably got there before a taxi would have anyway. Sports night here are way fun too. After our activities though, we had such a good lesson. One of our investigators, he is 16 and has been on and off our radar for a while, just keeps disappearing, and so we finally found him "coincidentally" after he crashed his motorcycle. And let's just say that this kid isn't the most innocent of people.... He's been in some pretty deep stuff, but wants to change. So we taught the gospel of Jesus Christ, and wow! What a powerful lesson that was. We bore powerful testimony of the atonement, and the spirit was sooo strong in there. He tried so hard, but could no possibly fathom that Jesus Christ felt everything he's ever felt, and through Christ, he can be totally, 100%, clean. Clean slate. He was doing the whole running his hands through his hair in disbelief. It was so awesome. The gospel changes people!!! Wow being a missionary is awesome. Sometimes you don't realize how great it is until you give it to someone who doesn't have it.
Saturday, we walked, and invited to the church, and taught a promising investigator. He was cool. After that, we headed to Sizzler's for lunch before fast Sunday (wink wink, nudge nudge) haha. Great food, I gotta say. After that, we just headed home, and studied for a bit since everyone else dropped us for the afternoon. Then we met up with one of our investigators who will be baptized this week!! She is sooo good. She will be such a strong member. She asked all of us how we came to know for ourselves the church was true, and so we basically had a testimony meeting with the four of us (Stop was there too) after a lesson on the 10 commandments, which was way a fire lesson. She's got no problems. Baptism for sure, and fire member right there.
Sunday was great. I'll go ahead, and skip church and stuff, it was good as usual, and sacrament was great. But it wasn't the best part of the day for me. We talked alot about family history and temple work in Sunday school, and priesthood, which is awesome preparation for the temple that will be here in a couple of years, but my favorite part of the day came after church. We had 3 great lessons. The first one was with a lady I apparently invited to church, but I didn't remember her at ALL, mostly because we can easily talk to 100 to 150+ people a day. But we asked her why she wanted to meet with us, and she said she had this feeling in her heart when I spoke to her, and invited her to come to church. SO HOW COOL IS THAT?!? I may speak seriously broken Thai, but that doesn't matter when you have the Spirit, and Creator of the universe on your side. So that lesson was sooo gooood. She's is getting baptized for sure, and she has four kids too! Families are the best!!!! Baptism people!! Let's go! After that, we had a lesson with another on of our investigators who is struggling to quit smoking, and we are working real hard with him. We bore more powerful of the atonement. The third lesson was good too. He is a referral, and will be baptized this month as well. The spirit is so real, it fills in the gaps for me that I could not fill with my broken Thai. And that was pretty much the week.
So for a spiritual though this week I figured I would share on the atonement, with some of my absolute favorite scriptures from the Book of Mormon.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Mosiah 14
11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.
12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.
Alma 7
In closing, I would just like to bear my testimony of the reality of the atonement. I know that through Jesus Christ we can be clean 100%. And that is a miracle. Something I cannot understand because no one has ever been perfect on this earth. But through Him, everyone who lives, who has lived, or who will ever live can be clean through Him. More than that though, and for me the more miraculous part of it is, He has FELT EVERYTHING we have. He know our pain, be it physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. He KNOWS what it's like, and so he KNOWS how to succor us. What a blessing! Not only through him can we be clean, we don't have to do it on our own! He is there EVERY step of the way, cheering us on, and experiencing the journey with us. This is a testimony I will take to my grave, because I have seen things, and felt things in mine own life that I cannot deny. I know we have a loving Father in Heaven who will do everything in his power to help us come home.
Have a great week!!!:)
Elder Ellsworth - เอ็ลเดอร์ เอ็ลสเวิร์ธ
for perfect love casteth out all fear
เพราะความรักที่บริบูรณ์ย่อมขับความกลัวออกไปสิ้น
Thailand Bangkok Mission
pics
the wall
Elder Bunker and I shooting at each other
more shooting
gorilla grill!!
Halloween!
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