12/21/14... Jesus Christ is the greatest gift the world has ever received!

FAMILY!!! 

Where do I even begin?! This week has been action packed and I am sure you have seen lots already on Facebook, but the rumors are true, Sister Morgan and Sister Herrmann are officially companions!!

My new companion Sister Herrmann from Orem, UT

So crazy because literally Sister Croft trained her... moved to Bangnaa, trained me, then Sister Herrmann followed her here to finish my last 6 weeks of training! We were talking on Tuesday before transfers at MLC thinking about how fun it would be to be companions, but thinking it would be kind of a long shot, same trainer plus the fact that she is only 2 transfers ahead of me, but here we are, so so good! Sister Herrmann is amazing, so much excitement and love for missionary work, people, and life in general. It is going to be a great transfer. We are going to baptize all of บางนา!!

So there you have it.. I have officially finished one transfer in country, can you believe it?

My last days with my beloved Sister Croft were awesome. I am so grateful for the pace she set for my mission, her example of giving every bit of herself to this work and to everyone- our investigators, the ward members, me, in love service and hard work is something I will never forget. She is a legend and I will always smile when I think of her for SO many different reasons.Like our BTS adventures (the skyway that runs through bangkok) and picking people to race who are standing on the escalators a ways up while we run up the stairs... then realizing how stupid we probably looked two white farangs in skirts and badges (and crocs obviously) running up the stairs super fast then casually walking off hahaha maybe Sister Croft will be the only one who reads this and realizes how funny it really was... Or teaching Brother Suhmwhit together and our master lesson plans that we would create because he loves to go off on tangents. It was such a great transfer, and I am ready to take all that I learned and move the work forward. :)

Sister Herrmann and I have already seen so many miracles in บางนา! here are a few of them:

We visited Sister JaneDaa, Sister Fern and Sister Fone on Saturday to see how they were doing and to visit about them receiving the Holy Ghost the next day. As always they were so happy and good, but we left feeling a little unsure if they would actually come to church because I told them that it was so important that they come on their own every week without us picking them up. I prayed and prayed that they would be there. Sure enough as we walked up Sunday morning, they all greet us, at church early!! I almost cried...

Also Brother Suhmwhit got the Aaronic Priesthood this week, another overbearing proud parent moment over here... hahaha

Sister Amanda, the girl from China who we have been teaching in English called us last night and said that her work schedule is changing to Saturdays from Sunday! She has been progressing and her faith is increasing but she NEEDS to go to church! This is a huge answer to prayers.

So our first day in Bangnaa together we start our inviting with a prayer right outside of the gate by the church, and the first person we see is a man washing his car across the street. We walk up to him and invite him and he came to church with his son! He has a wife and a daughter who he is going to bring to our appointment on Tuesday. There is nothing better than meeting and teaching families!!! 

The cutest girl ever Pien, who comes to our english class every Tuesday, finally didnt have work on Sunday and she called us and said she wanted to come to church! We were so happy and we will be teaching her this week. 

Also getting 2 new Elders in Bangnaa!! That means we have 6 missionaries in this area, and we are all ready to work hard, it is going to be so great. Their names are Elder Davis (he is from Kaysville!) Elder Suphan (he is a khon Thai and is our district leader!) Elder Sun (he just got here from the MTC) and Elder Williams (he was in Bangnaa before) 

So many miracles, we are excited to get working together!! 

Also noteworthy.... 

The Stake Christmas Party... OH MY GOSH. It was seriously the most amazing thing. It was like Dad's halloween spook alley meets the Plan of Salvation/ the Christmas Story and takes up the entire church building! There were all of these little scenes and actors and I am totally butchering the explanation of it all, but it was SO incredibly put together and so so cool. There were so many great people there (we even met a girl who we are going to start teaching who's name happens to be SARAH!), lots of yummy food, and good good times. l truly love the Christmas season SO much!

...the Stake Christmas Party was seriously amazing...

This Christmas more than ever I realize and appreciate just how true it is that HE is the gift. That Jesus Christ is the greatest gift the world has ever received. I am grateful for the opportunity to get to know him better through being a missionary, to understand better his love and his mission on the earth. 

This morning Sister Herrmann and I finished reading the Mansion, the story that President Monson reads every Christmas. GO READ IT!!!!!

I am out of time, we are going to try to find one of those fish foot spas today so we have to get going, but I LOVE YOU ALL!!

I am glad you are all happy and healthy and enjoying the Christmas spirit with all of your parties and activities! I love all the details mom, thanks for that!

We will be talking oh so soon and I am so so excited!

all of my love, Sister Morgan

12/14/14... The best thing we can do this season is to look outward as He always did... This week was seriously SO good!

Baptism of JaneDaa, Phone and Fern

FAM!! I loved the updates! I am amazed with how much good stuff happens every week.. Brad killing it with basketball and making friends with the Australians, Mom and Dad killing it in the ward, PJ being Mr Social, and then Ty with the Provo adventures. soo good

This week was seriously SO good. I will paint you four little pics of this week....

Alright so number one... Tuesday we had our Christmas Zone Conference and it was SO good! Seriously, best day. So we started out at the Asoke chapel so Sis Croft could practice her musical number (I don't think there is anything she is not good at!) so we got to help Sister Senior set some stuff up. It was so fun to see her in action!.. Mom she reminded me of you, totally had everything all coordinated red and white and just SO cute for the little refreshment table. Then we met all the missionaries in the zone for caroling in this square, then we went and had one of the most amazing buffets I have maybe ever eaten. It was at the Hyatt... so beautiful, I think I have found the vacation spot I will return to for the rest of my life! We went back to the Asoke chapel and there were musical numbers- Including a SOLO by Sis Croft (soo amazing) and a performance by President Senior

President Senior's musical number..
Sorry this is like my only pic from Zone Conference!

himself which was equally hilarious and soo good-, games, the Seniors and a few missionaries spoke, and the dying missionaries bore their testimonies. Wow, the Seniors are just so amazing. They shared with us their family tradition where for Christmas they read from Matthew 25 about how serving those in need is in fact serving the Savior (naked and ye clothed me, hungry and ye fed me, stranger and ye took me in etc) So they read that at the beginning of the Christmas season, then each person draws out of a bag one of those things and finds their own special way to implement it during the Christmas season as a gift to the Savior. What a cool reminder that HE is the gift and that the best thing we can do this season is to look outward as He always did. They gave us each a special present including a Christmas CD (Sister Croft and I are LOVING it!!) and just really made us feel so special and loved. I am grateful to be in their stewardship and to be a part of this mission. Such a special day!!

So picture number two... We have this coolest guy in our ward who is in a wheelchair. He is probably in his 30s? but is so strong, like is there early every week to bless the sacrament etc. Well he has a super progressive disease and he can't really move his arms or legs very well and the infection has gotten so bad in one of his feet that he was going to get part of it amputated on Wednesday, so the Bishop wanted us to go visit him and have the Elders give him a priesthood blessing before the operation. This was the perfect opportunity for us to take the Senior's invitation to serve in the Savior's way as a gift to him. All day I had just been thinking about him, praying for him, and when we saw him there in his hospital bed I feel like Heavenly Father just gave me a little glimpse of how he sees and loves his children. I cannot describe the love I felt for him and the desire to just take this trial and pain from him. As we shut the curtain around his bed to have the anointing and the blessing I felt so grateful for the priesthood. So grateful for the fact that the heavens opened up a little and he was able to feel of the comfort and love from Heavenly Father. I will never forget this experience and what a special answer it was to my prayers to better understand the Savior's love than to truly feel it for someone else.

 

Lumpini Park
where President Hinckley dedicated Thailand!

Also, so cool, the hospital was right across the street from Lumpini Park where Pres Hinckley dedicated Thailand for missionary work, so Bro Boonjan (seriously BEST guy ever, he is in our bishopric, so so cool!!) insists that we go in and see it and take some pics. Of course he had the ward camera and tripod on his person so we were equipped for 900 photo ops (I guess it is like this in every ward, Thai members love taking ward pics at EVERYTHING!) I will probably never forget the image of him setting the timer on the camera and running to get in to pic himself... every baptism, conference, ward activity, anything.. so so good.

Alright number 3... So a few days before Thanksgiving we get this call from the Elders in Phakrett and they are like "Sister Morgan a family in our ward wants to invite you to a Thanksgiving dinner on December 6th" So with like no more explanation than that I was left like what?? Why did they choose me who are these people?? So this mystery dinner is just kind of in the back of my mind and we go to Stake Conference and I am talking to Elder Gage from Samoot Bragan and he is like, "Hey I heard you got invited to the dinner on the 6th! So did I!" Still neither of us had any idea why or who these people are... But obviously both of us at this time are starting to feel like so special and cool to be the chosen ones, yet slightly worrying that it is one of those murder mystery dinners from the movies where people get invited to the creepy house and it turns out to be their worst nightmare...

The Mystery Thanksgiving Dinner Crew

Well then at Zone Conference I am talking to Sis Lor from my district at the MTC and she starts telling me about how her friend Adele from BYU I lives in Thailand and she is going to her house for a Thanksgiving Dinner on the 6th! I was like hey I am going to that too! haha So I am sure the suspense I have been trying to build with this story is killing you at this point, but it turns out Adele knew Elder Gage's brother and she also knew David Gale so she thought it would be fun to invite us! MYSTERY SOLVED!! haha so random, but so much fun. They were so so nice and it was just a really great day! And mom,I totally got sweet potatoes again... spoiled huh??

Ok the grand finale... the best picture of them all, number four. It is Sunday morning, I am in the bathroom finishing getting ready. It is probably about 7:45. Radshay's wife JaneDaa and two daughters Phone and Fern are going to be baptized today so Sister Croft calls them. Fern answers and says she is the only one home and that they won't be coming to church or be getting baptized today. Sister Croft is like ok what?? She comes in and tells me and we are trying to decide what to do... This would be the third week they have been preparing for baptism and then it fell through, but even more, the ward was all prepared with speakers and everything . We try calling and calling back and there is no answer. We said a prayer, and right after Radshay calls us back.. He says JaneDaa is scared and it just isn't going to work out. Sis Croft asks to speak to her and She says she is "sabay jay and dii jay" which means calm and happy. I tell Sister Croft to tell them we are coming to get them (this is super far from the church!!) haha but next thing you know I gather some skirt options for JaneDaa to wear and Sister Croft and I are walking down the road to their house. We get there and one by one they come down ready.. Everyone except Radshay! He says he will just take a bus later... but Sister Croft and I were like, "its better if we go as a family, we will wait!" So at this

waiting to leave for church..... 

time it is about 9:05, Radshay finally comes down and we are in business! I am just like praying in my heart,

"Heavenly Father help us find a way to get them to church right away we want to take the sacrament!" Next thing you know all 8 of us are in a taxi, I am on Sister Croft's lap with my head literally smashed on the dashboard! We made it to church before the sacrament, and it was such a special day!! After the baptism Radshay came up to us and just told us how grateful he was that we came and got them this morning. I think of every good thing I have ever tried to start doing in my life or every good habit I

they are so precious!

have tried to begin, and that first time is always the hardest. That was it for them, and I am grateful for the subtle promptings and nudges of the spirit to "get walking right now because we've got a family to get to church!" 

The Baptism!  

So proud with Bro Suhmwhit

Other Sunday highlights, we had 9 investigators at church and best thing ever... Bro Suhmwhit in his white shirt and tie. Sister Croft and I feel like the over bearing over cheering parents at their kid's soccer game or preschool graduation. hahaha

 So ya, such a good week, the Lord is with us in His work, the Christmas spirit is in the air and we are loving life. 

What are the Christmas plans?? 

I sure love you guys so so much. I am so happy to be a Morgan and to have you guys for eternity... so good right?? 

here is to another good week!! we have transfers on Thursday, Sister Croft goes home and I will be getting a new companion and possibly be moving to a new area.. I know HF will have happen what needs to happen! Pray for good things for all the missionaries here!

xoxoxoxo, 

Sister Morgan

ps We are skyping in like two weeks! can you believe it???!

after running for our lives through some sprinklers...
Sis Croft, Elder Bannagon, Elder Williams and I, best district ever!

Father's Day celebration at Imperial, how cute are they?!

another one from Lumpini Park

haha look what they have here!! I didn't buy it...
super expensive and not the same as the jumbo costco bag...

there was a guy having a tennis lesson at the fitness center by Lumpini Park...
hit some tennis balls for me!

12/1/14... Get the CHRISTMAS TREE up already it is December 1st people!!

Unintentional matching!

Hey Hey Hey!! 

Thanks for all of the emails and updates and love, you guys are the best! I am glad everyone made the best of the holiday week with such fun trips and stuff! Your adventures sound so so fun, and it sounds like everyone had a happy Thanksgiving, what more could I ask for?! I am glad Heavenly Father is taking care of you so well while He is taking such good care of me. This week was another good one, I can't believe its already over, but here goes for the updates: 

The house where we had Thanksgiving

So Thanksgiving we got invited to go to this members house in a different city in Bangnaa with the Elders in our district and some other Elders in our Zone, seriously so nice! So we went to their house, it was a bunch of American families who live in Thailand now, all so nice and so cool. Well I am like talking to the people then in comes this girl and I am like "HEY I TOTALLY KNOW YOU!!!" It was Lauren Mickelsen's roommate from BYU who had just finished her mission like 2 days earlier in the Philippines and her parents came to pick her up and they were visiting her cousin in Thailand for a few days who's house we were at! Such a small world, we both recognized each other from Facebook, her name is Darryl Smart nicest cutest girl ever, but such a tender mercy from HF to make a fun connection and feel a little piece of home! 

Darryl Smart and me at Thanksgiving

It was such a fun day, the food was

so so yummy and American (YES MOM, THEY HAD RUTH'S CHRIS SWEET POTATOES :)) It was such an example and reminder to me to be on the receiving end of someones kindness and generosity of opening their home to us when it maybe would have been more convenient not to. I know as long as I live I will always make sure the missionaries are taken care of and Mom and Dad, I'm sure you are, but take care of those missionaries in Kennewick please!! :) 

This week I have learned a lot about trusting the Lord and His timing. We have been teaching Radshay's family and were preparing Fern, the 11 year old, and JaneDaa, his wife, for baptism on Sunday (yesterday) Well we met with them all week and really felt so good about their faith and everything. We interviewed them for baptism on Thursday night and they were all ready to go for Sunday, feeling good and everything. Well on Saturday they suddenly said they were not free Sunday and that they weren't sure they should get baptized. We were left feeling a little unsure because the impressions were strong that they were ready and that them getting baptized was really the right thing. 

2 of Radshay's kids and JaneDaa --
This doesnt even capture their cutness!! 

We have been really trying to help them understand how the Lord will help them and provide for them as they sacrifice to keep his commandments, especially the commandment to go to church. Radshay has been struggling to find work and we are worried that he feels like he needs to find work to be able to pay tithing and help the Lord before the Lord will help him and before they can be baptized and go to church. We are hoping and praying we can help them understand the Lord and the blessings He so willingly desires to pour on His Children if we will but obey. Mom you asked who you could pray for, pray for this family, that their faith will continue to increase, that Radshay will find work, and that they will desire to make these covenants with the Lord to help them progress as a family.When I look at this family I just envision them being sealed together one day, I want them to see it too. They are so so awesome. 

Speaking of the temple and sealing, I am SO excited about the emphasis on the temple here. We had stake conference on Saturday and Sunday and one of the things that the area authority spoke on was the significance of the sealing power on the earth in these last days, and how essential it is to Heavenly Fathers plan and overcoming the effects of the Fall. Without it, the plan could not be, we would be alone, which is not Heavenly Fathers desire for us. Families are forever through God's power on the earth, a concept that should not be taken lightly! So that being said the quote that keeps ringing out in my mind is from Elder Bednar I think, where he says, "We stand in the waters of Baptism and look towards the Temple" We have been teaching our RCs and LAs about the temple and I want them to understand how important these blessings are, and that they can truly be theirs! I have a vision of every member in Thailand having a temple recommend in their pockets as soon as they can to show the Lord that they are worthy and desire these blessings. I can't even imagine the day when the Prophet announces a Temple for Thailand. AHH!! it is oh so close...

We are working hard and having fun here in Bangnaa. Sister Croft is so fun and I am still learning a lot from her everyday. My Thai is coming little by little and I am really grateful for the Lord's help. Everyone tells me I speak so clearly but I think they say that to eveyone! hahaha then there are also the times like on the phone yesterday, calling this girl who's number I got while we were inviting and she can speak english kind of and she was just like "umm you can just speak english, its a lot easier for me to understand what you are saying" HAHAHA I am glad for the moments that keep me humble like that, because they are many. All I can do is laugh and shrug it off! In all honesty I can feel my reading getting better. The Lord is good to us, His gift of Tongues is real real real.

Other funny things/ updates:

-people say whatever they want here! haha like things that are rude or socially not acceptable are just totally free game... haha like "I have diarrhea" or "my wife used to be skinny like you, but now she is fat" or like an older Brother in the ward telling a young woman in the ward that her voice sounds "sexy" hahaha I have no idea.... its so funny

-for stake conference our choir that Sis Croft was a part of like glammed out to the max. haha it was so great, they all wore red lipstick and taffeta and tulle and drastic makeup. They are so cute and worked so so hard, I was proud watching them! Sister Croft refused to participate with the red lipstick.... 

-my shoes (yes my super cool crocs) shrink every time we take them off outside of someones house or a building (you always take your shoes off here before entering someones house and some buildings!) because it is so hot! haha usually they stretch out again, but they are feeling a little snugger these days

-we went to Central the other day which is like the Nordstroms of Thailand and it was really fun (I had to restrain my browsing hahaha) haha we also found Coldstones and they even have CAKEBATTER.... we are thinking we will maybe go back and get some since Cake batter+rainbow sprinkles is the best combo known to man. 

-I can actually tolerate blasting air conditioning in the car now! Who would have thought right? to even imagine my old ways of driving with it blaring 90 degrees even in the summer... who was I and what was I thinking?? hahaha

- we have our CHRISTMAS ZONE CONFERENCE TOMORROW! it is at the Hyatt and from what all of the missionaries have told me, the Seniors go all out for Christmas. I am so excited

Well that is all I have, I am excited to finish the transfer strong, life is so so good here. I hope you are all finding time to say your prayers a midst the travels... (hehe just kidding you guys are the best at that!!) I also hope you aren't too freezing cold... build a snowman for me, and sit in the hot tub! and I really mean it this time, get the CHRISTMAS TREE up already it is December 1st people!!

love love love you!!! 

Sister Morgan

Thanksgiving...complete with Ruth's Chris Sweet Potatoes!

They were so welcoming and kind at Thanksgiving--
I hope to return the favor to missionaries someday