Our investigators get Baptized.

This week our family of three was baptized, yay! They have had quite a few challenges but many blessings and miracles too. I wish I could of understood their testimonies spoken in Thai.

This week we got, what Sister Hirschi says, the closest to a golden investigator. In our intro lesson we found out that she prays everyday and reads the Book of Mormon everyday too. And if she doesn't read it at night she will place it on her pillow so she will read it in the morning. How is it that investigators, or in this case, a lady who only had 3 lessons about one year ago can be more valiant and steadfast in the faith than members?

I have been dreaming about home more and more, like everyday stuff, like baking in the kitchen or seeing my dog, Phillip, in the house, I think I am missing home. 
 
Sorry for mentioning this again, in the book "Our heritage" one story really stuck out to me this week, about a couple who saved for 7 years to go the temple, to do ordinances for themselves and on behalf of their ancestors who had passed.  While out picking up some necessities, of which the temple gave them some money to purchase they found the wife crying in an aisle holding a bottle of Shampoo, she had not purchased shampoo for 7 years.  I am not asked to make that sacrifice and neither was she.  But she did.  How can you relate this story to your life?  I think I loved this book so much because it was easier to see these people as real people. Sometimes in the scriptures (mainly old testament, basically all time actually) it’s harder to relate to the people or see them as real.
 
Also I thought this week about when I used to work at the hospital and how one coworker was so surprised "They don't pay you to go?!  ...What? and YOU have to pay to go?"  I just shrugged it off as nothing but this week the scripture came to mind of how paid ministry is a priestcraft, and I am a minster, I have a ministering license actually, signed by the prophet himself. :)  So yeah, in the church, no one is paid.  Including me. 
 
Also this week I thought about Home and Visiting Teaching, and how this has been such a blessing to my family when we had members visit and befriend us and also when I was in the YSA, how my assigned visiting teacher partner is such a great friend of mine and how those we taught we loved and had great friendships from them.  It was great, and like scripture study, I never thought when I was doing it "I wish I wasn't doing this right now" and afterwards always felt "I was glad I did that, I should do it more" (same with exercising)
 
Oh, I made a mistake with culture customs, I saved two seats in sacrament, and in front of me in the aisle was my backpack and scriptures and study journal.  I motioned the investigators to sit by me as they came in late, for some reason they wouldn’t step over my backpack, I moved it and they still stepped around my mini quad. I thought it would have been so much easier for them to just step over the little thing but then it hit me "it is disrespectful to step over things" showing the bottom of the foot/shoe is considered dirty, and if you step over anything or show the bottom of your foot to anyone it is like flipping someone off. oops! 
 


I almost lost my companion this week, we exchanged for a day. I got to be companions with a real Thai person, who spoke as much English as I did Spanish, we both took two years.  So it was tough, she would smile at me and touch my shoulder in lessons when she wanted me to speak or pay attention Lol.   I liked her smile, very warm.  Anyways, back to losing her.  For transportation here you just get the back of a truck by flagging one down (look up picture of song taw, truck bench, Thailand transportation etc). The truck started moving just as I was only half way on, and my companion was not even on yet, but I didn't notice this so half way onto the step, and on this small step, my hands are at perfect waist height, you can already tell where my hands will land, as I was stumbling on I totally get a nice grip on a strangers bottom, yeah, she was surprised, and I was too, with a different stranger grabbing my forearm to pull me up, another person points behind me to my companion, who is running down the road. I quickly buzz the buzzer to stop the moving truck and get off. I am sure it looked like I did not pay for those who did not see me get on. I then thought "for sure thinking of ways to lose your companion and escape Thailand you didn't hesitate that time"  .......
 
Well, I figured out why a mission is so hard, I probably knew all along but just didn't like the answer.  A mission is hard because you have to depend on the Lord.  You pray harder than you have ever prayed and longer  and more frequently than ever before in all my life, probably all my life prayers calculated to right before my mission versus my mission prayers. I think my prayers within the last 4 months exceed my prayers before my mission.  Tears come close too.   A mission could be the easiest thing I ever do, I thought as I prayed in Thai " I request gratitude to thank thee for the opportunity to be a missionary" and then breaking down in "I don't want to be a missionary, please give me the desire to be a missionary, I don't want to be here" I was then reminded and thought "ok, lets see, I have no friends, no drama, no boys, no family, no school, no work, a mission should be easy," look at all those stresses I don't have to deal with!  then why am I so stressed.  I then realized Heavenly Father just asks that we give our best, then anxiety stuck again, what is my best? How do I know?  I am failing to be a happy missionary!...  I don't even know if that is possible...

Frustrations of Tracting & other thoughts....

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). 

Thoughts on the Pioneers & other ponderings

Unfortunately this week I have not had time to write in my journal, so much missionary work to do and all, makes for getting home on time rare this week so writing in my physical journal was sparse and when I did write, I wrote my testimony.
 
Scripture passage I liked this week:
 
I think it is impossible that ye should be ignorant of the things which have been said concerning the coming of Christ... He should make it known unto you what ye shall do... Prepare your minds" Alma 34:2-3
 
 In missionary work there are no callings, since our call is a full time missionary, a representative of Christ and a worthy member to represent the church all combined into one, so whatever other duties are given to us are called "assignments" I have been assigned to be the English Leader, We teach English every Tuesday as a service to the community.  I am in charge of who will teach what class- Beginner, intermediate, and advanced, what the spiritual thought at the end will be and conduct the beginning meeting, and plan a showcase, held every 6 weeks, and order materials such as books and make sure all is set up and taken down in the classrooms (chairs mostly).
 
This week I hate the language as always and the culture shock increased this week too-- I swear there are more ants in the Kitchen, and my lap, and my hands, and the bathroom insects have begun to inhabit it, again, I know because at one point I cleaned it so good there weren't any, so I know they are new... since I finished the Book of Mormon I decided to start another book
 
Missionaries are allowed to read only a handful of reading material- the standard works, Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price, Preach my Gospel, and the missionary library- which consists of
"Jesus the Christ"- a 700 pg book all about Jesus, loads of references. 
"True to the Faith"- a dictionary pretty much, outlines phrases and words not usually used in every day conversation (such as salvation, atonement, eternal life, holy ghost etc)
"Our search for Happiness"- what the church is for the member and non member basically a book of understanding and
"Our Heritage"- a history of the church, the early saints/ pioneers to present time.
 
I already read "our search for happiness while reading through the Book of Mormon so began "Our Heritage" and finished it!!!  Wow, I feel better about serving in Thailand. There are many sacrifices I thought I was making that I thought were difficult, after reading some the early church member difficulties I had to say "I don't have it that bad, I am blessed" I will share a few with you 1. I do not have to travel across the plains of the US in winter and have my feet so frost bitten that when they removed my socks all the skin came with and had to get their feet removed and walk on my knees the rest of life.  2. I did not go blind from the sun for serving and working on a railroad that needed to be completed to supply much needed supplies to the saints.  3. I did not have to leave my sick stricken family to a mission that was of unknown duration with myself being ill too.  But they saw so many miracles and were greatly blessed- like all there crops being eaten by grasshoppers and fasting/praying and seagulls coming and eaten them all up thus not starving to death, and 100s of converts coming into the gospel, souls saved through missionary efforts.
 
3 favorite stories-
 
1- the prophet, Brigham Young asked a select few to leave the colonized salt lake valley and spread out further, one man already settled, had fruit trees and farm and everything was asked to leave, and he left to colonize 100+ miles away from the salt lake city the winter was so harsh many turned back to SLC but he stayed saying the prophet asked him to go and he wouldn't leave till he was asked to.  He left all his fruit trees! I don't know if I could do that, those take along time to grow, along with other crops.  Seeing his strong faith strengthen mine
 
2- A daughter of a bishop was given a newspaper from england in may. She was with the two elderly men who gave it to her asked her to give it her father, the paper contained info about his ancestry, which would be used to do work in the temple (see mormon.org "temples" ) the paper was dated May 15th, the girl received the paper in may, only a few days after it was printed! This was before planes, it takes weeks for things to be shipped, this was a miracle!  People who have passed wanted their ordinances to be done (baptism) and were very anxious for that to happen.
 
3- During the great depression the church established a welfare program and began buying and farming land and raising cattle etc, worldwide.  In Germany they were asked to share their harvest of potatoes with whom they were against war at the time, switzerland, they freely gave to their fellow brothers and sister one year- 75 tons of potatoes, the next 90 tons! They saw a need a willingly gave.
 
I then thought- these miracle and hardships seem fictional, but I know they really happened just how I know the stories in the Old and New Testament happened and everyone on the earth today is living in a time when prophets and apostles walk the earth again.  The only time miracles cease is when we don't have faith.  If we have faith, if we know we can be healed or speak thai it will happen.  Miracles cease when our faith ceases.  Do I have the faith to speak this insane Language? Do I believe, when inviting for several hours in the sun, this next person will let us in to share the message? If I believe it, it will happen.
 

Update letter to Mission President

Sister Amero wants to share her letters to the President
Dear President Smith,
I am so blessed to have the Book of Mormon in my life and the opportunity to share it with the world. I am thankful that we have a living prophet who has called me to this great and Marvelous work.

Thank you for calling me last week, I ponder often on the council you give me.

Despite being off my feet I still kept my purpose in mind. Even though the zone leaders brought over two games for us to play with all the time we had on our hands. I had so much to do. I was so close to finishing the Book of Mormon and... I FINISHED THE BOOK OF MORMON!! Woo Hoo!! 3 times now. I feel so good! The scriptures are awesome and I am on a mission because we (the world) have the Book of Mormon. I am surprised I don't pass out with joy, that my joy doesn't over take my physical frame like in Alma chapter 19.

Since I was done with the Book of Mormon I opened up the New Testament and started reading some highlighted passages one of which was 1 Cor 10:13. And I got to thinking. It doesn't say sin in it. And what does common really mean? I asked Sister Hirschi and she said all temptations are common, everyone faces them. I got to thinking no temptation is so flashy, sparkly and tempting all common and everyone is tempted. I then thought "what tempts me?" "Home. Home tempts me, it beckons me, it is such a heaven on earth, joy is there, happiness and loads and loads of peace are there. My soul hungers for this. Oh, how I desire to be there." ... This is a common temptation, "you are in Thailand" I told myself as if I forgot. But I want to think, it is not a common temptation, look around you! Look at all the valiant steadfast missionaries. I don't think they are home sick, they LOVE the work and love helping people come unto Christ and they have a smile doing it. THIS temptation is not common. Then the verse says (1 cor 10:13) there is a way to escape, I then started thinking about home, that's an escape from here, my mind goes there when I thirst for peace and comfort, when I become overwhelmed and stressed. Nope, that's not the escape it is talking about. So, let's see, other escapes- The scriptures. Scriptures always make me happy, sharing them, reading them, discussing them, delighting in them, applying them, reading them, cross referencing them, finding new meaning, finding context, oh the joy! Never once have I thought "I wish I wasn't reading them." It is satan who tells us you don't have time, they won't understand them if you try to explain." The verse in 1 Cor also says there will be a way to bear it. The scriptures are how I bear it. The scriptures give me strength and desire. I will always make them my constant companion.

Sister Amero trys Dragon Fruit

I received my recipes from home and I desire to cook them. I only have a hot plate and a microwave though. But there is an oven at the church and I can bake before district meeting on Tuesdays, maybe... So I want to make pumpkin spice cookies. Two problems though- 1 there are no choc chips here, and 2 there are no cans of pumpkin so I could blend pumpkin in a blender, if i had a blender and not use choc chips. I am just thinking, ask for family to make them and airmail them for my birthday or christmas,but that would probably cost like 50 dollars to do that. Oh well.

So I went to the doctor on Thursday, my foot was swollen and infected again. (ingrown toe nail). Lets just say Thai medicine is not American and I am SO grateful, even more than ever for the USA, and all the laws they have. I sent a full account of the Doctor office happenings by copying my 4 journal pages so they are in the mail traveling to you now. But I did not add- I asked the Doctor to wash his hands and he
told me "this is not a sterile procedure... and it would not be cost effective" seriously? cost effective? I wanted to give him 6 baht to pay for the soap and water. Then he said "it is already infected and you will be taking antibiotics so you do not need to worry" ..... So yeah that added. I did say in the Journal pages that Sister Hirschi passed out, which wouldn't be too alarming if her whole body clammed up like she was having a seizure. She had to see a neurologist and got three stitches, because the table to the ground was a high drop and her face hit first. Also when the nurses rolled her over no one supported her head, the sound of a skull SLAMMING against cement floor is an unbearable sound. She later said when she came to that the back of her head hurt. I told her lightly what they had done.

I had dragon fruit for the first time this week, it is white with black seeds on the inside and hot pink/purple on the outside and taste like the coconut jello from Hawaii that we make on the stove and cantalope- those two textures combined.

In a lesson with our baptismal daters - 2 weeks away! This is so exciting, since we started with zero investigators, due to opening an area and all. We started with nothing, so I have seen them from start to endure. On Saturdays we tend to just read the Book of Mormon with them seeing that they have never read anything like it, the language is foreign to them. So Sister Hirschi helped the Grandma read in the other room
(don't worry I could still see my companion no rules broken) and she asked me to do all the reading in Thai by myself! 2 Nephi 32. I did it. Yay! I didn't really know what they were saying when I asked "what does this verse say" "yeah that's right" also with a member who talked with no yielding so she did breathe when she talked, meaning no breath for me to say "read __ " or "yes, thank you."

We also had correlation meeting that night, like every Saturday, the new mission leader asked me to give the spiritual thought, my vocab is very small, and I don't know how to read so had Elder Murphy read 2 Nephi 32: 8. Seeing i just read that chapter hours before and talked about it the vocab was: satan, evil, prayer, not, happy, holy ghost and spirit. I said "satan tells us not to pray, the spirit of god tells us to pray, the evil spirit, or satan does not want us to pray because he knows when we pray we feel the love of god." all in Thai.

I am thankful in the MTC our class was just me and companion, yeah, we were a district of two. We had two classes a day,for just two of us, each class had to begin with a spiritual thought so we each gave one a day, in Thai.

So yeah, this week we didn't have many lessons taught or inviting because one- swollen foot and it hurt to walk, and two- Sister Hirschi had stiches so we had some time to study. I FINISHED THE BOOK OR MORMON! I LOVE THE SCRIPTURES! Read 'em, and have joy. I have read the BofM 3 times now but this time read it through highlighting "god" and "lord" and "jesus" etc and in yellow the general story. It made me really look for Jesus and once again my testimony of the gospel has increased! The book is true, it is not fictional, though the doctrine is so exciting like every time I read it, like my personal Narnia, it's such an escape which everyone can experience. Since I know the Book of Mormon is not fictional but is written by real people, it is a story of real people, the writing of prophets of old. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet because it is through the power of God that the record was translated, The Book of Mormon is not fictional but real and there is no way a man, anyone, not just Joseph smith could write such a complex book with how many cross references there are to the new and old testament and within the book itself. IT IS AMAZING and every story can help you and apply to your own struggles and trials as the people in the Book of Mormon.

Valentines Day P-Day activity

Senior sister missionaries and young sister missionaries serving in the Bangkok area met at the mission home for an activity. After introductions and a sister meeting, we made valentine’s, had lunch (including heart cookies, of course), and took many pictures. We all had a wonderful time!

Sis. Amero's Newest Message for Posting

This week my companion was sent to Laperie, and I got to stay here in Sirnakerin and was given a native Thai sister for a companion. That was an adventure but not too bad, seeing she attended BYU-Hawaii,so could speak english. Her family lives in Thailand and her first p-day she went home to unpack,because she was in Hawaii when she got her call so she had to return home to unpack and take what she did/didn't need for the mission. How weird is that? She also told me she said she wouldn't go on a mission if she got called to Thailand thinking that God would see she can speak English and her desire to learn a language. Which is opposite of what I think. I think whites shouldn't come here because the church should be sending out its own native Thai's here. It is hard to get into homes. People look at us as strangers, see us as someone they cannot relate to because we don't look like them and don't speak very well. It was so much easier inviting when you have a Thai person with you, they can relate to her and she can speak.

The Thai companion wasn't very kind to me. It made me grateful for the companion I do have. She told me not to look so bored in lessons even though she knows I don't know what is going on and I am confused. So, it isn't boredom that I feel, it's confusion. She told me to have better eye contact, and to talk louder, and be bold. I wanted to give up, and apparently she did too in her first transfer. If I lived 2 hours away I think I would be tempted too, but she said she didn't because her parents,family and friends would be sad and she cares about them so she stayed.

Religion here is considered culture. So a lot of the time people think we are trying to replace their culture with ours. It is rough. They also think that we and our parents are rich and just send us over here for an adventure or something. If I could speak I would tell them my parents are not paying for me to be here. I worked hard and it is all my own savings. And if I was so rich would I really choose to come to a third world country? (You can't even flush toilet paper down the toilet)

Bugs. A daily occurance. Every day I find at least 15 ants in the apt. and that is on a good day. If I was home I would probably freak out if I found bugs in my hair, on my clothes, on the table, desk, .. oh yeah, note to self- ants like toothpaste too. So now I roll them in between my fingers like a booger and crunch their nasty insect skeleton bodies.

I found a lizard, it lives in the table, kind of scary when you know where it is and your legs go under the table, it is the kind of lizzard that bites you and won't
let go. How you get it off is by breaking its spine to kill it. So you stay away from them, my khuu (companion) told me not to worry and they are more scared of us than we are of them. (haha right, like poisenous snakes)

I Was thinking about D&C 4 the other day and how it says the field is white and ready for harvest, referring to mission work and the plant, people, are prepared to come unto christ. I was thinking it really doesn't matter if you plant a bunch of seeds in the mission or if you are reaping the plants. Both are essential parts of the harvest, as long as you are doing one and working hard it doesn't matter how many seeds (people you invite) or how many plants you reap (baptisms/0 you get.