Testifying in Thailand: 8/16/15... Good times in อุดร(Udorn), some unforgettable adventures in Bangkok, a little action with an Apostle of the Lord, and so much in between.

comp love..................... we are soulll sistas. LOVE HER!

Fam!!

First things first-- a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dear old Dad!! Hope you are celebrating BIG cause you deserve it. WISH I WAS THERE

It sounds like you guys had a great week... so proud of BIG B and excited to hear what happens.

This last week totally exceeded all expectations-- so amazing! Good times in อุดร (Udorn) to start the week off, some unforgettable adventures in Bangkok, a little action with an Apostle of the Lord, and so much in between. Our P-Day was actually on Saturday for this week, so we only have an hour to give a quick hello this morning! So to your dismay-- or maybe to your pleasure HAHA, I will spare you many of the usual over detailed details and just leave it to the raw, unfluffed version/must know stuff. Here goes nothing!

Monday through Thursday we were in อุดร (Udorn) working away.

--Started the week off with some FHE at แม่ติ๋ว's (Mah Thiw's) with some yummmmmmy food, scripture, and FINGERNAIL PAINTING! sooooo funny!

fingernail paintinnnnnnnnnnnnnng

--visited แม่s (Mahs) from Branch 2 for วันแม่ (Mother's Day) out in the boonies with the fearless แม่พร (Mah Pawn) it was so much fun to see these ladies and give them some love.

แม่พร (Mah Pawn) our fearless leader! hahahaha

--Taught Nooker, who is SUCH a rockstar... he totally marks and underlines the reading assignments we give and just really understands the gospel and its importance. So cool to see the desires to follow the Savior building within him. Best part, he told us this week he is studying to be an INTERIOR DESIGNER.. never would have guessed. Soooo much swaggg!

--เล็ก (Lek) is doing so good, is keeping the Word of Wisdom 100%, was so excited about tithing, and if all goes as planned, he will be baptized this Wednesday before the end of the Transfer! (And maybe Nooker too.. pray for them!)

--Vietnamese food with พ่อศรีไทย (Pah Sii-Thay).. he has been telling us how much better these food cart Vietnamese people are than VT, our usual, and so we had a little outing with our favorite พ่อ (Pah), and the consensus of the Udorn Sisters still stands that VT peanut sauce trumps all food on the face of the earth.....

--Finished the night after Vietnamese by introducing พ่อศรีไทย(Pah Sii-Thay) to ice cream in a tube... he loved and ALSO! The LA (less active) owner was totally reading the Book of Mormon we had taken him last week when we got there... He said he is almost to 2nd Nephi and would be at church on Sunday. YES!

ice cream in a tube!

--Taught แป๋ว (Baew) the cute clothes shop owner in her little store... pray for her, she is doing so so great!

--Plans totally fell through one day and we ended up visiting an LA family of these 4 most beautiful sisters and their mom-- all of which have graduated Seminary/Institute and were so strong at one point. We felt like we should read Mosiah 3 together about the Savior and it was so so special. We left and just knew that was where we needed to be that night...the Lord's plans are always sooo much greater than ours.

Friday through Sunday we were living big in the concrete jungle, aka the เทพ (the Tabe) aka B-A-N-G-K-O-K.........so good!

busssssssssssss action...

--President wanted everyone there Friday night which meant, we left early Friday morning, which meant an ALL DAY BUS RIDE. Lots of story telling and laughs, and its safe to say the Dundie for best stories goes to Elder Visser (or to myself) hahahaha

Jeffrey R. Holland

--Holland literally blew our minds you guys, it was so special. The missionaries had a session with him Saturday morning, and his words were so inspired. Upon his arrival (which immediately filled the eyes with grateful, adoring, praising tears), he shook each of our hands after the group photo. After he began his address, he told us that it as not just to give us the chance to touch an apostle of the Lord, but that he interviews each of us in that short interaction. Suddenly I think we all felt like our very hearts and souls had been sent through one of those airport security scanners... vulnerable and ready to hear the things that we, the missionaries of the Thailand Bangkok Mission needed to hear. Fav tidbits and quotes:

"This is the most important thing on the face of the planet-- engaging in the Salvation of a Human Soul"

"Don't you DARE miss one minute of your "apostalic" moment" **you know he was pounding the pulpit speaking in that voice of his we all crave...........................sooo powerful

"We are God's investigators... You want people to change? He wants YOU to change."

"THIS IS GOD'S TRUTH" followed by a reference to the fact that he wouldn't do all he does if that wasn't the case, especially that he wouldn't miss family time, watching sporting events, or and I quote, "tennis matches". THE MAN LOVES TENNIS PEOPLE... so many bonus points.

For real though, I left humbled, invigorated, ready to continue in things that are good, improve and change the things I need to be better, and to "sign on, stay in, cause it's the greatest experience on into eternity."

--An incredible P-Day after our time with Holland Saturday exploring จตุจัก (JatuJak), the best/biggest market in Thailand! So many fun finds, a killer foot massage break, and as always the BEST company!

shoppppppin in the big city

more foot massages

--2 consecutive nights of WARM showers.. blisssss

--The Sunday Session with all the members was incredible. 2 things that I loved:

1) He started his address by inviting the members to think of you guys, the parents and families of the Thailand Bangkok missionaries- how you guys hope and pray we will be having a good experience out here. He said the greatest way they can help with this, is to give us opportunities to teach and testify. aka member referrals..... we were all sitting there like YES!!! He pointed out that the benefits are twofold: The church grows, and we will have a generation of missionaries who LOVED their mission and are strong in the church.... I could not agree more. The experiences I have had thus far on my mission have written on my heart 100% that "I'll never, no never, I'll never, no never, I'll never, no never, no never forsake".......

2) Then he gave a way cool analogy of how when we reject a gift, we are not just rejecting the gift, but the giver as well. He spoke of the temple about to be built here, but we can apply it to any of the wonderful blessings the Lord bestows upon us, and said "You and I must be DETERMINED not to reject Heavenly Father in this great gift." Super awesome awakening to all of the ways that we must consciously "accept" the gifts He so generously gives us through our righteous living thus not rejecting Him, our Father whom we love and revere. SERIOUSLY IT WAS SOOO GOOD.

--Saw RCs and members from all of my past areas... LOVE THEM ALL!

--Rode back to the church from the meeting with none other than President and Sister Johnson themselves... such a good time, we absolutely adore them!

--Waited for 10+ hours at the church for our bus only to get back to Udorn in time to begin this very Monday morning that we find ourselves living as we speak............ Oh to be a TBM missionary!!!!!!!!!!!!

So definitely an unforgettable experience this past weekend.. We are happy and healthy and ready to finish this transfer with a BOOM. Can't even believe where the time has gone, it has been a dream!

ALL OF MY LOVE,

Sister Morgan