The Book Lady and Bow

Right now I'm on a bus that we waved down at the side of the highway, coming back from riding elephants! It was so fun! I love Thailand. 

This week has been good. And fast. I am so tired, everyday is just "go go go go go!". We're learning to effectively plan in advance and there is so much to do here. Our days are jam packed (with the occasional ผิดนัด canceled appointments). Constantly biking around in the heat and sweat, trying to keep our long skirts from getting caught in the chains! There are so many people here that I've talked to that have never talked to a missionary or know anything about Jesus Christ. Which is why it threw me off when we met a Protestant Thai lady on Saturday. We shared together what we believe about Christ, and she kept saying "Oh it's all the same" even though it's not, so I was able to tell her about Prophets and the Book of Mormon. She said she might come to English Class. Me and Sister Gagarin really want to teach her the restoration! I think I've only taught the restoration to someone with a Christian background maybe twice on my mission. Since then I have loved studying more deeply about prophets and the restoration!

As we were biking, I saw a woman sitting outside her shop reading a novel. I don't usually see people reading here, usually they are on their phones! I knew I had to talk to her. We stop our bikes and walk back to where she was at and I asked her about her book. She was half way through a 700 page novel in Thai that she had begun the day before. What. Then I took that opportunity to tell her about my favourite book :) She said that a member has told her about church and Book of Mormon before (we have great members here!) But has never read it. I read the last 2 paragraphs with her, and then she just started reading the whole introduction and read it all in like a minute. We will meet with her again on Tuesday.

We have a cool new investigator named Bow. She came to English class a few weeks ago. The after the second english class Sister Gagarin invited her to church on Sunday, and she came! She came all dressed up too! She didn't understand what was going on but said that she would keep coming so that she could understand. But she did say to us "I think the praying thing is real, like it really works" we asked her why she thought that. She said that at the first english class she went to, she was there for the opening prayer, and could understand. The second week, she came late and missed the prayer and didn't understand anything. I was so happy that she made a connection like that ON HER OWN. She was able to see the baptisms of the Elders investigators  yesterday, and had great questions after and accepted a baptismal date! We love Bow. 

Happy Father's day Dad! You're awesome. Thank you for teaching the value of work and obedience. Both are essential in missionary work. I hate to say it, but thanks for making us sell chocolate almonds all those years to make money ourselves, and to "build character!" I am grateful to have a Father who loves his wife and family and is a great example of putting God first too. 

This upcoming week is the last one in the transfer - it has gone by crazy crazy fast. I will talk to you all on Wednesday. 

Go share with someone about the Book of Mormon. Or, if you haven't read it before, or if it has been a while, go read it. And read it every day with prayer.  พระคัมภีร์ มอรมอน เป็นความจริง

ซิสเตอร์พีเตอร์สัน 

Little Moments

A lot of good things happened this week, it's hard to remember them all and its also hard to put these experiences into words (especially in English because I feel like I speak English weird now). 

We had a really good lesson with a recent convert and her mom who is now learning the gospel. She was willing with no hesitations to keep the 10 commandments! I am so happy. Now we will just have to help her with the keeping the commitment part! 

We are teaching a lady who's daughter is actually a missionary at Temple Square. This lady misses her daughter and wants to know more about the message that her daughter is teaching others. She is awesome. She doesn't know a lot about Jesus Christ, but when we read the classic and amazing Alma 7:11-13 verses, she 'got it'. There was a moment where it made sense to her, I could see it in her eyes. Where I could see that she understood just a little bit more about who Jesus Christ is and what He has done for her. I know that Jesus Christ is waiting for us to "come unto" Him. I know that because of the Atonement, or suffering, that Jesus Christ went through was for each of us. We all sin and make mistakes. Through Jesus Christ, we can be forgiven, if we have faith, repent, are baptised, and endure to the end. I hope that this dear woman will ponder the scripture that she read, and want to know more about this heavenly being, her older brother, who loves her so much! 

We had the opportunity to go to a dear woman's house far away. A dear woman who has a lot of trials and hasn't been to church in a very long time. This woman has a child who is severely handicapped, naughty little neighborhood boys who run through her house, and dogs who come in her house because they are not afraid of her. Wow. It was so humbling and I felt so sad for this lady. She CLEARLY had a lot of things around her house and garden that would make a good service project. When we asked her what we can do you help her, she just very quietly and humbly said "can you Sisters pray that I can go to church somehow in the near future? I want to take the Sacrament." Out of everything she could have asked for, she just wanted us to pray so that she can go to church again. I did tell her that we would be back and that we would come and weed her garden and cut some trees down. One of the naughty street dogs that got into her yard killed one of the chickens and she just looked at it and sighed and then said "well, I guess we'll eat this for dinner." as she picked it up. I was mad at this dumb dog and wanted to shoo it away, but she just made the best out of the situation. What an example! 

I bore my testimony! I love bearing my testimony. It makes me feel happy in my heart. 

Missionary work, is hard. But God blesses me with the eyes to see every now and then little moments where I can feel a little of His love for His children and moments that are humbling that leave me a slightly different person. 

I love looking at rice fields. So beautiful. I love Thailand. 

Love, 

ซิสเตอร์ พีเตอร์สัน

Sister Peterson and the Giant Jackfruit

This week, there has been so much going on. We have had jam packed crazy days, there is so much work to do! 

I'll start off with a fun story:

We went to visit a dear old single sister in the branch this last week. She was so excited that we visited her, and asked if she could come with us to teach an investigator. As we were walking this sweet sister back home, she sees a man in his front yard about to leave his house. She pointed at the tree and then told the man to give us some fruit from his tree. Before I knew what was going on, this man comes out with THE BIGGEST FRUIT I HAVE EVER SEEN. He struggled to carry it. And then Sister Chuwen says to put it in our bike basket. She had a proud smile on her face as we walked away with the giant Ka-noon Jackfruit). We didn't know what to do with this 20 Kg thing so we asked a branch member to cut it up, and we ate it at the following sports night. 

Bike drama: Sister Gagarin's bike tire was getting a little low, so we stop and ask a guy to pump up our tires. Mine were fine, but he did mine anyways... he filled my tires so much until my tire EXPLODED like a gunshot. We were on foot after that. Yay! Curveballs in our schedule! He gave me a REALLY good deal on my new tire though. 

We were walking at a university (which usually has more people, but its on break right now I think so there are only a few) but we hear this sound kind of like a bad violin. We turn the corner, and there is this girl trying to play a traditional Thai instrument. She was wearing bottle cap glasses and was more than happy to show me how to play this instrument that she had just started learning herself. We were able to tell her about Heavenly Father and prayer and about Jesus Christ. It was a really good conversation. It turns out that she's actually going back home to a different province and won't be coming back for a while. So sad. 

We had Stake Conference and Zone conference in Roi Et last weekend, and it was so good. This last week the Elders found this girl from Cambodia who was baptized 5 months ago and didn't know there was a church here! Her name is TingTing and she came to stake conference and tried her best to speak Thai with all the members in the branch. She made friends fast, which is one of the best things to see as a missionary. We are currently teaching one of her friends who is from Cambodia here on scholarship. It will be interesting teaching in English. 

Zone conference: I learned so much (Sister Johnson gave a recap of it on Facebook, y'all can check it out and then friend me on my mission Facebook ก็ได้ 

My favourite past time while riding my bike is using no hands!! I went like 5 min on the side of a highway without using my hands (I know that sounds dangerous, but I feel safe... most of the time :P)  woo hoo! 

I have been experiencing these little moments more and more often lately, where I feel love and charity towards people very strongly. Where I feel I get a glimpse of just how much God loves them for just a second. I feel it when I listen to people express concerns and feelings, or when I'm testifying about the Book of Mormon. These little moments or glimpses are tender mercies for me. 

Another tender mercy happened. We were weekly planning, when all of the sudden a random number calls us. A woman asks if we were LDS "yes!" We respond. She then asks "How can I start learning about your church?" Mine and Sister Gagarin's mouths drop. We assured her that she called the right number. We have a plan to meet this woman tomorrow. Isn't that amazing? 

I love the Thai people so so much. The members here are so cute and willing to help! Everyone back home: go help the missionaries (or meet with the missionaries if you haven't yet!), go do your ministering, take that challenge that President Nelson gave to all the teenagers (but applicable to all) in the last Youth Devotional! I promise that you will be happy and will see miracles in your life. 

God loves you!

Love, ซิสเตอร์ พีเตอร์สัน