This week while inviting, and in past weeks we get the brush off from people quite a lot. The excuses for not wanting to listen to us are always interesting but most are common responses. The main one is "It is not convenient". This saddens me, and also "We are busy" I sometimes get defensive and want to say, but can't, since I can't speak thai "your busy? Really? I am busy, we are all busy, we all have lives and things that take prevalence in them" When people say they are busy or it's not convenient they are really saying "I don't want to learn". Which is a lot easier to ask why to compared to why are you busy. It is difficult to clearly explain what we teach in 2 minutes and for them to make an educated choice of rejecting us. Seeing they don't know anything about us other than we teach about Jesus. I swear the word Jesus Christ creates a bad smell in the air or something because people curl their noses and wave their hands and physically turn their backs to us. I can't speak so I just give them a really confused look that hopefully communicates whats wrong with saying Jesus? Inviting is also tough because people say no so quickly. Even when we only ask for 5 or 10 minutes of their time. Maybe it's because they know if they listen to us they will feel the spirit of prophecy flowing through us and cannot deny the spirit that is so freely flowing through us. I do wonder if they see us as what we really are. Which is servants of God and representatives of Christ and His church. We have been called by a prophet of God to share what we know, I know our message is true.
Oh, I figured out why there are white floaty’s in the water. It is parasites. So exciting... but they are dead. They don't filter the water but use ultra violet lights, so the water doesn’t go through filters, just light kills the bacteria in the water so you still see the bacteria in the water. This still makes me nervous though, how I am I to know if it is alive or dead. I wish they used filters instead of light.
Scripture study and prayer- a commandment. Like everything a prophet says is a commandment. Including going to the temple, and eating healthy (the word of wisdom) etc. I then got to think "How have I done things I don't like to do or make time for but need too?" Such as exercising or making dinner, or doing laundry or reading the scriptures or saying my prayer in the morning not just night etc. And then I thought, "when I study the scriptures, do I ever think 'man, I wish I wasn't reading the scriptures right now' or after, have I ever thought 'I wish I hadn't read the scriptures today' nope, never" I assume I am not the only one who has felt this way, so when you begin to think and receive the prompting to go to study don't deny it and cover it with something else. We all have things we can do, we all have a lot of things we 'can' be doing but think what will make you the most satisfied and what will be most satisfying to God. I know as you do this you will have the blessing poured upon you, including feeling that your Father in heaven is proud of you and you are a good and faithful servant.
Culture- This week I learned in Buddhism you have to be at least 30 to teach religion. Seeing anything younger is not really an adult or mature. It seems weird that us 'kids' are coming and speaking to adults about religion, even members have said, when they first started learning with the missionaries "what can these kids teach me?" Respecting elders is a very huge part of this culture, and it is true, we are kids, and teach adults about how to obtain eternal life and how we have a prophet on the earth today, like Moses and Abraham of Old and that the church of Jesus Christ has been restored, meaning our church is the true church of God, and has every single truth of the gospel. I know whoever takes the time to listen to the missionaries, they will know, through the spirit, that this is true. I know that may sound bold, or even cocky but take me up on it if you think I am bluffing.
Yesterday I taught someone, like most people I teach who do not know God is real. We taught about prayer, and how "you can know if God is real by asking in prayer if he is real. The answer will come though the spirit or the Holy Ghost. You will know you receive an answer through the feeling in your heart. I know this is true because God loves you. He is our father in Heaven and we are his children. I know he will answer your prayer because he loves you" and I said that all in Thai. She then asked me if I pray. I thought she was saying something like she couldn't understand me so i quickly answered how long I have been in thailand. 2 months. then my companion said "she asked if you pray" I pray every day, I pray for the investigators and the members that they will pray and read the scriptures and go to church. I pray for my family at home and I pray to speak the language" I told her at the end of lesson "I have study the Thai language for 4 months, 2 in america and 2 in Thailand. I do not speak skillfully. I know it is through the Holy Ghost, or the spirt of God, that you understand me. There is no way you can understand what I am saying if I did this alone" The last sentence my companion had to help me with, the one that started with "there is no" so yeah. I really felt like Heavenly Father was helping me and really loved this person. I know that this church is true, for there is no way anyone could understand my Thai, or that anyone could speak fluently after only a few months (that has happened to others but not to me yet).
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