Thai'd Up for 18 Months: These aren't just coincidences. Week #39

Hello everyone! Another great week here in P-lok! Full of many miracles too!

I'll just start with my favorite miracle this week. So on Saturday night we had this lesson with one of our investigators. She kind of came to us through a little miracle in and of itself. Sister Morgan contacted this man and got his number. We then called him and he wasn't interested. A couple days later he calls and says he has this employee that is interested and gives us her number. So we call her and teach her and she is pretty golden. As time goes on, it is impossible to get a hold of her. She doesn't have a car or anything so it was really hard to try and meet with her. So finally we realize if we pray as we call her, she picks up every time. So we finally get a lesson scheduled to go teach her at her house. We made plans to call her and have her explain to the tug tug driver (kind of like a taxi) where her house is. So we are calling and calling and she doesn't answer. Finally we realized, duh we have to pray. Immediately she picks up. She explains where she lives to the driver and then he explains to the member that was going to help us teach. So we get to where she lives and we call the member. Well that night the Elders were having a baptism (because it took a while to get a hold of our investigator and get to her house it was later than we had planned) and our member was the one baptizing the investigator that night. So we have this momentary panic of who can we quickly call to help us teach. All of a sudden this member rides right up to us on her motorcycle and says, "Sisters is there anything I can help you with?" Sister Morgan and I just look at each other and turn to her and say, "Yeah!" Its crazy too because this member is kind of LA. She's got a great testimony and wants to be a missionary but she also doesn't ever really go to church. She also doesn't answer her phone anymore either. But thats not the point. Ha ha So it is Saturday night and this member is out with her friend but instead they just both come join our lesson and she helped us teach. What a blessing! And I feel like that was the theme of the whole week. Just lots of little miracles that has let us know that Heavenly Father is not only watching out for us but He is also helping us accomplish His work.

This week was also fun because we got to go on a switch off to Lamphang. It was about a six hour bus ride north of P-Lok. Turns out P-lok is a good 6 hours away from everywhere. Chang Mai, Bangkok, Udorn. Everywhere. Anyways, we were waiting for our bus that obviously had to come late. A couple of the members were waiting with us. We told them we were scared our bus was going to be way ghetto because the tickets were cheap. One of the members said it is only bad if it is orange. She said she rode on the orange bus before and it was awful. But other than that it should be ok. So she looks at our tickets and then says, "Its Orange for sure!" So we sat there for a while terrified to get on this awful bus for a six hour drive. Luckily I think something went wrong with our bus. Because after a while some other bus came and they said this isn't going to Khon Kaean its going to Lamphang. So we get on the bus, and what a relief. It wasn't bad at all! But once Sister Morgan went to sleep I went and sat on the steps by the bus driver hoping to be able to see some of Thailand with the headlights. Well we were in a canyon, with construction, going at a decently scary speed, majority of the time on the wrong side of the road. Ha ha Although the best part was, I don't know what that scary speed was because none of the gauges on the bus worked! It didn't say how fast we were going, how hot the engine was, or how much gas we had. Ha ha Luckily we made it to Lamphang in one piece! Lamphang is pretty adorable. They live in this little house that is kind of like a cottage by the river. Its a pretty small town though.

So it was another really good week here in Thailand! Oh and it rained yesterday. I've missed the rain! Its barely rained since I have left Bangkok. Riding a bike in the rain isn't quite as fun as walking with an umbrella through it though. A little bit more wet and muddy.

This week I want to close with this spiritual thought. There is a phrase that has made it all around Thailand that says, "all churches teach good things." While that is true, the scriptures teach, "Wherefore, all things which are good cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil; for the devil is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him continually, and inviteth and enticeth to sin, and to do that which is evil continually. But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God" (Moroni 7:12-13). Even though all churches teach good things and all good things come from God there is still absolute truth in the world. In the last conference Elder Bednar said, "Absolute truth exists in a world that increasingly disdains and dismisses absolutes. In a future day,“every knee [shall] bow” and “every tongue [shall]confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10–11). Jesus the Christ absolutely is the Only Begotten Son of the Eternal Father. As members of His Church, we witness He lives and His Church has been restored in its fulness in these latterdays." I know that this is the true church. I know that if you want to know for yourself that it is true, all you have to do is ask Heavenly Father having the faith that He will answer.

I love you all!

-Sister Nethercott

Last p-day we couldn't decide what to do... Then my brilliant companion came up with the idea to get foot messages by the river! It was less than 4 dollars for an hour. How will I ever leave Thailand?