President Nelson

This week has been crazy busy, and I'm about go now, so another short email, but President Nelson came TO Thailand and it was amazing! I know that he is God's prophet today! If you look on the website there is a picture of him holding a little bald boy, that boy lives in the branch that I serve in! Little Fo was so happy!  

I promise next week will be better! Maybe!  

ซิสเตอร์พีเตอร์สัน

On Mon, Apr 23, 2018, 8:09 AM Karlyn Peterson wrote:

Hello! Thank you for the lovely email!  

Yes! I saw the prophet! From far away, but the spirit was very strong! If you look at the pictures online, there is one with him holding a bald boy, that boy is from the Ayutthaya branch that I serve in and is currently doing chemo therapy. President Nelson spoke about preparing for the temple and gave some neat blessings to these people. It was the largest gather of Thai saints ever!  About 3,000 people were there. I saw some of my old investigators from Bangna that got baptised and I was so happy to see them! 

Tell Grandma Callahan I love her! Did my post card get there yet? 

Great job Emma on being such a good babysitter! Emma, you should write me another letter! 

Right now I really want pie... (peach raspberry!)

Love you all! 

On Sun, Apr 22, 2018, 10:56 PM Jerri-Lynn Peterson wrote:

Dear Karlyn
Did you get to see President Nelson? We saw the footage on him coming to Thailand and speaking there. It was so exciting and cool! What are some things that he said that you liked (besides everything)? If you did get to see the prophet did you get to shake his hand?
Yesterday Mom and Chelsea and Becky went to Time Out For Women and Emma and the boys got to help take care of Lottie and Chelsea’s girls. It was crazy busy!! Lottie was so excited to have her cousins here. She squealed and was so animated!
Emma got to put Charlotte to sleep when mom was gone the first night. Mom was so proud! So was Emma!
Mom had a great time at TOFW! She learned lots of neat things and listened to some great speakers. Later, Emma got to go play with friends but she missed out going to visit great grandma. Ben and Isaac and the little girls and mom and dad got to go and gramma was having a better day. Janae and Camilla came. Janae just had her practice hair done and looks so pretty. Shae and Alya came and Shae did grandmas nails💅🏻.

We love you!!
Love Mom and Emma
PS don’t forget to answer our questions💕👍🏻

สงกรานต์ 🌊

Today is สงกรานต์ (Songkran) which means it's the Thai new year and they celebrate by having a big water fight! I am so excited! It also means we got Pday moved to today! We're going to play at the place that has Elephants here in อยุธยา Ayutthaya.  

This week we had an awesome English class! A bunch of moms and their little girls came so Sister Smith took the kids in a desperate class and pretty much did the English class like primary singing/sharing time. Haha it was way fun. Being a primary teacher before came in handy I guess! 

On Wednesday I switched off with Sister Shaw who is from my MTC group, so that was fun! I was able to lead her around Ayutthaya and we were able to make some great contacts with people and contact some LA's and invite them to go see the Prophet! Which is happening next week!! 

After switch offs me and my companions were more motivated and we had a great day yesterday working hard! We found two new investigators and found ways to serve people and were out working hard in the heat and sun. I saw this boy sitting on some sand bags. I try taking to him but he wasn't saying anything back. We asked some more questions about what he was doing and he was moving them from one store to another little ways down. So, we just started helping him hauling sand bags running back and forth it was way fun! He didn't really respond to our message that we tried to share with him afterwards, but we still served him. 

Lately I've been wiping the hands and faces of little kids here. There was this one little kid who's mom my companions were talking to so I started talking to the kid. She was a girl but had short hair and was dressed like a boy. Her hands were so dirty. I poured my water over her hands and taught her how to properly wash her hands and then put hand sanitizer on her hands but they were still so dirty. She also had a sore on her hand. Thankfully I had rubbing alcohol and bandaids in my bag. I told her to wash her hands every time she goes to the washroom. Then I gave her a sticker and some candy. It's crazy how kids respond to just a little bit of attention and someone who will take time to talk to them and show a little bit of love. I see a lot of kids here who their parents or whoever is the person looking after them doesn't quite do that. It makes me so grateful for my parents and how loving and caring they were and at least made sure I had healthy food to eat and made sure I washed my hands and wiped my face when I was little! It sounds so basic, but not everyone does it, or takes care of children like that. I feel like my call as a missionary is so much more than just talking to people about where the church is and that we teach about Jesus Christ, but that we are to be like Christ and minister and serve the people, as well as talk to them, even the little children. 

I think this week the times that I felt the spirit most is when I was wiping the face of a little kid, or trying my best to serve an elderly woman. The gospel in action I guess! 

Love you all! 

ฃิสเตอร์พีเตอร์สัน

Transfer 7 & TRIO

Well it's been only a few days since my last email  

General Conference was amazing as always. I know that our leaders are called of God! I love President Nelson! This transfer I want to follow his counsel better! And then keep doing it! 

Sister Smith is now with us! She's from Calgary, so the two Canadians and the amazing sister Pim are a trio! So far it has been way fun! 

Yesterday we were able to serve this one potiential investigator by begging her to wash her dishes. So she sent her daughter to help us do it. I kind of like doing dishes now! Haha so we get talking with this girl (we had met her and her mother the week before and had explained prayer a little) and ask if she had the chance to pray. She thought that she was too busy to pray (everyone thinks that) and she said "I think I will be able to pray on Tuesday" haha we then were able to explain better about prayer. I'm grateful that I can prayer wherever, whenever. Then her mom and little sister came back and I had the thought to sing "I am a child of God" "ฉันลูกพระผู้เป็นเจ้า" so we all sang and the little sister loved it! The mom then said she wants her girls to go to church (it would be great if she went too, oh well it's a start!). We went through the lyrics of the song, I read them out loud to them again and explained how God is our Father and that He loves us and will lead us in life and walk beside us. 

Another experience I had this week was we were biking home far from our home and it was beginning to get dark. I stopped for a little bit and I see this lady waving at me. It was a lady I had talked to a few weeks ago and she remembered me. This time I was able to talk more about what we believe. I was able to pray with her on the spot. After she said "I feel good!" Sometimes I take for granted how I feel after I pray! I was so happy that she recognized the feeling too! 

This week is สงกรานต์ and the whole country is excited for the water fight celebrations. I am excited for that and for when President Nelson will come next week! 

"I kneel to pray, everyday. I speak to Heavenly Father. He hears and answers me when I pray in faith. I begin by saying "Dear Heavenly Father I thank him for blessings He sends" then humbly I ask Him for the things that I need, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." 

I think that primary song is so cute! 

Love you all! 

ฃิสเตอร์พีเตอร์สัน

Dare to be a Mormon

Transfer 7 is approaching me already... what?! 

Sister Pimsuwan and I are staying, BUT we are getting another companion to make a trio! And get this, she's the only other Canadian in this mission! We're way excited. 

This week I had an experience on a switch off that inspired the title of this email. I was in Don Muang and I sat down beside a man on the bus. After about a minute I said hi to him and asked him where he was going. He identified me right away as a Mormon missionary (weirdly enough, most people don't even know what a missionary is) and this guy just went off on how tithing is stupid and how I should go be a missionary somewhere else because "these people already have religion, they won't change!" Then what he said surprised me too: "Ok speak. Tell me what you want to say that will MAKE me believe." "Well, what do you want to know." "Just say whatever you want to say for yourself." All I said was that we believe in a loving Heavenly Father and we are His children. He said a few other things and asked a few questions (not sincere, all aimed at trying to get me to stumble over my Thai words). I just tried to answer simply and ask about his family. (Turns out he doesn't have one anymore/isn't in contact, so I just figure he's just bitter at the world and at God). Then he said "ok you have nothing else to say, I will watch my movie now." Then he put his headphones back in. 

In this experience, I felt my testimony "kick in", like my first line of defense had been taken down, and all I had left was my testimony of tithing, of the church, of the importance of missionary work - and I felt it keep me "standing up inside" while it was being attacked. Honestly, I learned that in that moment, if I didn't have a simple, strong testimony of the basic principles of the gospel, that man could have made me question my beliefs, why I'm here sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and more. I was reminded of the poem by President Monson (and I think it goes like this!) 

Dare to be a Mormon 

Dare to stand alone

Dare to have a purpose firm

Dare to make it known 

I dare all of you to be a Mormon. Or in other words, I invite all of you to be a better disciple of Jesus Christ, so that when all of Satan's mighty hail and storm shall beat upon You, it shall have no power....over you because of the rock upon which he are built. (Helaman 5:12) 

I know this gospel is true

I know we have a living prophet and that his words are the words of God 

I know that Jesus Christ was resurrected and lives! There is power that comes with these beliefs, more than you know. 

Love, 

ฃิสเตอร์พีเตอร์สัน

From Sister Pim :)