Elder Ethan Ellsworth - Bangkok, Thailand

Hello everybody!!! This week was a blast and a blur. But good on all accounts! I just wish I could be a missionary forever haha, it's the best!! So Monday, we went and tried on suits so that the next week (today) we could pick them up. I'll just say it right now, it looks same feels way good but I'm getting the pa he adjusted and so I only have the suit but man it looks good. I'm pretty pumped haha. Tuesday, we had interviews with president Johnson. Wow he is soooo awesome. I love interviews with him. He talks like God is really there while he is praying and it was in inspiration to me to make my prayers more meaningful because He really is there!!! And he loves us. After that is was pretty run of the mill because interviews went a little late and so we were at the office for a while. After that we had a way fire district meeting. I'm not sure what it is with serving in บางเขน , but I've got the best companions, districts, members and investigato...

Hello everybody!!! This week was great and always, it's great to be in Thailand!!:)  So last Monday we went and got suits cut after emailing. They aren't finished yet, but pictures will come soon. Mine is a nice blue and has a nice red holly pattern on the inside, perfect for Christmas!! Buying all the fabric and getting the cuts costs about   $95  so it's pretty sweet stuff.  Tuesday, we had no district meeting on account of zone conference on Wednesday. Add that and the fact that we had a lot of พิดนัดs made for a disappointing day. We walked around a lot and tried to find people to teach, but not much luck... We got to serve some peeps  though! Also after teaching English that night, we got s new investigator! So don't give up! If you just keep working at it, miracles can happen!! Don't quit early! Wednesday, we had a waayyyy fun Christmas zone conference. It was way awesome. We started the day off with a bunch of milk and cookies and watchi...

Hello everybody! So I have received a couple of emails about the comments I made about smartphones a while back. I figure I will clarify some misconceptions. Years ago, when President Senior was the mission president in Thailand, he received the ok to use iPads in the mission. But he decided that would not be a good idea since people here are pretty poor in some areas, and that would provide a hazard to missionaries, who would then probably be mugged to get them. So we've Samsungs for about 4ish years now in our mission, they are just really low models. This last month we went and bought higher models using our own personal funds, and these phone are ones that are 100% ours, and we can bring home after our missions, so no, now we are not the only mission in the world with smartphones, but we were a while back. So I apologize to anyone who thought that I was saying the Thailand Bangkok Mission is superior to other. Even if the initials, (TBM) stand for The Best Mission. But an...

Hello everybody!!! This week was a brand new week for me and Elder Allen. He moved from Chonburi, and he and I will serve together for this transfer, and we will have a white Christmas with plenty of baptism, so we are pumped!!!! Monday, we did not have Pday since it was transfers week, so that was a little weird to wake up after Sunday night, and know that we had a normal day of work a head of us. It was good stuff though. Gotta love missionary life!! It's the best! Unless you're sick, and then it's a long day. So I am pretty sure I had bad eggs last Saturday, and Sunday and Monday I was just miserable. I didn't eat much, and slept through most of studies. Eventually, Elder Bunker was like you need help, so we called the mission nurse and got some drugs, and I improved by the afternoon, but boy was it a long day!! We still taught some great investigators though. Tuesday, I felt sooo much better. I went to bed early the night before, and woke up feeling wa...

Hello everybody! Let the record show that though I may no longer be a greenie in the Thailand Bangkok Mission, I still miss most of what people say because I still cannot speak this language! And I'm still figuring things out haha, so maybe they are officially over, but as far as I'm concerned, I'm still in the middle of them. Anyways, so last Monday, we spent some time at a huge mall here in Bangkok called MBK, and got some way cool fabric that we will later cut into ties, hopefully before Christmas this year. It's pretty cool, and I am way excited. That evening, we didn't do too much, just made tons of calls. We needed to make some appointments for the week, and so yeah we did alot of that. Tuesday, WE MADE MISSION HISTORY! So for the record, we are the only mission in the world right now to use smart phones, and we are getting an upgrade! Each missionary will buy their own Samsung phone to use on their mission, and so we spent the day buying phones a...

Hello everybody!!! This was another great week in the land of miracles, that absolutely flew by at light speed! Monday, we had the way fun opportunity to hike up a huge mountain with literally 3,790 steps to the top, and see a way cool temple at the top. Be sure to check out the pictures. It was way fun, and exhausting, but that's ok. I don't know what else to say but it was super cool, and had a great view at the top!!! Tuesday, we had a pretty busy day. We met with a couple of LAs in our ward, and talked about coming back to church, and sharing the gospel with their friends. They were way down and it was such an exciting meeting. We got a couple of referrals, and the work is going on strong!! I think that my favorite part of working with LAs is seeing them come back, and bringing friends with them too!!! It's so awesome. After that it was a pretty normal Tuesday with district meeting and English class afterwards. I love teaching English. It's way fun, an...

This week was another great one to be in Thailand! And even if I say that in every email, just know that I mean it 100% everytime! Last Monday, Elder Bunker and I had the opportunity to go and visit the international school that he went to as a kid here in Thailand, and it was pretty fun. We met with some of his old teachers, and talked to some old coaches and stuff. We also had a chance to workout in their gym, which was waay nice since I haven't been able to do cleans and snatches here in Thailand yet. Platforms are hard to come by here... Tuesday, we had a pretty normal day. We invited on the streets some, and then had a great lesson with a potential investigator. English that night was way fun. We don't usually teach the basic level, usually it's the advanced class that we teach, but this day it was basic, and it was way fun! We taught them the song 5 little monkeys jumping on a bed, and it was waay fun. I am humbled everytime we teach by how sincere these peo...

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...