Busy! Week #26

We didn't get a real letter this week, mostly just answering our personal questions. She asked us to bold our questions in our emails so they'd be easier to find and answer. haha She must be busy!  She did send lots of pictures which we love!

My knee is feeling better. Just he scab is itchy. Ha ha but I got in a motorcycle accident last p-day. Sorry but probably won't have time to tell that story.

As for the people we are teaching. Nothing much to update. NO one could meet with us this week. It was a fast week full of long hot days of contacting.

We found all the LA's that I think we will be able to find. One of them has now come to church 2 weeks in a row now. She works on Sunday so she sneeks out right after the sacrament. But she is coming!!! The former we picked back up was out of town this week and couldn't meet with us... He might be going back to former. I am not sure how committed he is. We are supposed to have a member present every time we teach. If it is a male we have to have a female member. It is way hard here in Khon Kaen because all of the members work and learn all day and never have free time to help us. In Bang Khen it was so easy to get members in the lessons. We always teach at the church though. And short notice is something the missionaries can't really control. We don't know til last minute when investigators can meet with us. Its crazy for us too. We are so grateful for the members that help though. I plan to try and help the missionaries as much as I can when I get home.

This wat is about a 10 minute bike ride away. Way cool and free! Last Pday. 

This is what being a sister missionary looks like. Ha ha 

Our lovely reflector vests. Ha ha 

This is in the middle of the roundabout. Imagine if this was in the round about by draper park? Thats really what its like. 

Fixing the ceiling

The squid I tried... Not too bad but not something I would ever crave either. Ha ha

the Elder's baptism

Wipe Out! Week #25

The pictures at the end may not be for the faint of heart. If you don't like to see bloody knees, then don't scroll to the end! :)

Well it was a pretty great week here in Khon Kaen! I prayed that I would love this area because I was so sad to leave Bang Khen. And well, prayers are answered!

So this week there was a lot of pressure going on. This month is what they call Bovember because of last year and the miracles they saw in November. Thats when the baptisms really started picking up here in Thailand. This week our zone was really pushing for a balanced zone. (balanced is when you make the goals and numbers set for the mission). So that was a little scary not wanting to be the one companionship keeping our zone from balanced. So we worked really hard (Although we do every week. I don't know why because they suddenly want balanced they think we are going to magically work harder. We try for balanced every week. Ha ha). We contacted so much though really praying that we would get a new investigator. That was our biggest stress to reaching balanced. We got so many numbers this week that all seemed so solid. Finally Sunday came and we only had one investigator sitting in sacrament meeting. It was so disappointing after all the people that said they would be coming! Then miraculously this man shows up with his two young kids (the oldest is 9). He didn't even answer his phone when we called him and yet he is the only one that came! But it was a miracle for sure! I guess it was funny because in the middle of sacrament I noticed someone in the hall. So I went out and there were a few people I didn't know and said the meeting has started but you can come in. I think more people appeared as I said that and turned to walk in because this is what I heard after, "What did Sister Cott go out there and do? She came in with all these people!" I was too worried about finding seats for everyone but I guess the speaker's reaction was pretty funny. So yeah it was a great miracle watching the Elder's contact and us Sister's contact show up with family members. It really increased the number of people attending sacrament meeting. But the good news is our whole zone reached balanced and we had a 97% balanced mission!

This week we had a switch off. Sister Packard who was my STL (Sister Training Leader) my first transfer in Bang Khen is now my STL again. So we got to have another switch off together. We tried to branch out a little and find more places to contact. Well the other sisters had the bikes so we were walking. Ended up walking down this long deserted road for a stretch. Not too productive. But when we finally got back to a main road Heavenly Father blessed us for our efforts and helped us get a few easy quick numbers. We were also able to contact a former investigator. Turns out Sister Packard contacted him in Udon and gave the number to the Sisters here. So when she called he was like, "Sister Packard I know you! This is meant to be! I will come back and learn!" So Sister Grover and I taught him later that night and committed him to a date! That was pretty cool! I don't know what his problem was before but he seems pretty solid now.

So a funny story, I fell riding my bike this week. Ha ha everyone says it happens at least once. Hopefully that was the only one time I will experience. I was trying to safely turn into traffic and was inching my way and turning my head to make sure I could go. Well I hit a divet in the road and fell over. Of course it was right next to these tug tug drivers who panicked as I went down. I just laughed and biked on. (We were heading to dinner. I wasn't gonna delay that.) Turns out it wasn't just a bruise but a nice bloody scrape too. Ha ha 

Thats about anything worth writing about this week. So here is the scripture I want to share that I read during studies this week. I have been reading the New Testament to see how the Savior did his missionary work because if He is perfect, well I should learn from the best. So I finally finished the gospels this week. Here is possibly my favorite scripture from the gospels that I read just this week. John 14:18 "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you". Those are Christs words. I know that He is always there for us. We just have to chose to turn to him and He will come to us. 

I hope you all had a great week and wish you the best in your endeavors!

-Sister Nethercott

The Elder's investigator took us to this honey toast place last p-dy. Way good!!! 

The orange moon by the lake. Riding back from an FHE.

 

 Making rice stalk whistles. Fun and so annoying. Ha ha

We traded the Elder's helmets without telling them... That was fun. :) The security guard at central looked at us like we were crazy. 

A farrang eating a farrang. (farrang is what they call foreigners and it is also guava)

  Sister Her would always talk about the cactus she had that she lost moving to Bang Khen that transfer I came in. It made me really want one. This guy was selling them and so I just had to buy it. Look how cool it is! Oh and you can see the dried up rice whistle sitting there too.

 baan and beyond. I don't know why but I think it is so funny they translate it that way. house and beyond. 

 Pictures of my wipe out. Or more the results from it. And yes I did put oils on it.

Lantern Festival- bucket list check! Week #24

First full week in Khon Kaen! And it was actually pretty good. :) I am starting to really like this area. I have accepted the fact that there aren't a billion people for constant contacting. And I really love the members here! They are so great and nice. 

So I guess I will start with the baptism we had this week! Brother Bia is so great! He was already a dater when I got here but I taught him his last 3 lessons with Sister Grover. He is a pretty cool guy. He is studying law and has traveled to Japan, Germany, France, and the US. He is just a smart guy. He was asking about the priesthood and then started explaining how the church has the quorum of the seventy. I don't know how he already knew all the stuff he started going on about but he was so ready for baptism! The ceremony went so smoothly too. Nothing like in Bang Khen. Something always went weird there. Ha ha Right before the baptism we asked him who he wanted to speak and he picked me as one of the speakers. So that was fun coming up with something right on the spot to say, and in Thai. But his testimony was cool. He talked about how he felt like a new person. Good testimony. I was lucky to move into this one.

We have some other good investigators too. But one works every Sunday and says he will lose his job if he tries to get it off. We have a couple girls under 18 who can't get permission to be baptized. So the usual problem that apparently happens all over Thailand. 

This week we were able to find 5 RC's at the malls they work at. They all also work every Sunday. Well one is active still. One used to hate missionaries but now she just seems uninterested. (which in my opinion is a step up!) And one was way happy to see us and took a picture but says she works every Sunday... So yep I guess that is where they were all lost to. Well not all, we still have a few whose numbers don't work and are still missing. But now I at least know who is contactable and findable and who isn't.

This week we got to go to the Loikhatong festival! Known in America as the Tangled holiday. That was cool! We made what they called boats with the members. Just plants covered in flowers with a candle. We floated those into the lake. Then we got to send off flying lanterns! Way cool! And it was really pretty! Check for my bucket list too. :) But the members were funny. They were saying for Thai and Buddhist people this is the way they worship their dead ancestors but as Mormons we just do it to have fun.

Sunday was pretty cool too. We had a pretty empty day (which never happens on Sunday) so we rounded up the RC's that were still hanging out at the church (+1 of the Elder's investigators) and we took them contacting. We split up to cover more ground. I was with one RC named Deaf and the Elder's investigator Bon. Deaf was way good and contacting tons of people. Bon was a little more timid. This week when I was reading PMG in Thai I came across a word that means to be courageous or bold. Good timing too. So I asked him are you courageous or not? After that he was the best inviter ever! Ha ha But it was really fun to see the members get involved. And we had a pretty successful day of numbers!

So something fun about being in a young district is: everyone is young. Ha ha That last lesson we taught Bia before baptism was exciting. I had only ever sat in that lesson a couple times and just bore my testimony about how much I love the temple. Sister Grover had only sat in it once. So we had to prepare for that one. Then he went into his baptismal interview. The first one Elder Finlayson has done. Elder Finlayson had to fill out the baptismal record which is all in Thai. So luckily Brother Bia was patient with us because it kind of took a while to get it all done. Ha ha

Well that is all the exciting stuff from this week I believe. So here is the scripture I am going to share today. Alma 26:12

 "Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever."

Heavenly Father can help us to have the strength to do all things. He is capable of bringing about miracles. Trust Him and have faith that the miracles will come!

Hope everyone had a good week! Love you all!

-Sister Nethercott

The food out here is way better than in Bangkok! Plus since Sister Grover is half Thai she knows all the good stuff and orders a surprise for me every time I eat. I think it is probably the best part of the companionship. Ha ha

Some scenic views of my area...

Some church comp pics

Getting ready for the lantern festival. The boat I made. These were just flowers from outside the church. Crazy right? 

The way we travel when we don't ride out bikes

 Baptism!

Contacting with the members

lizard that Elder Finlayson caught