Pictures--August 12, 2013

 This is Sister Aay (pronounced Eye) and Sister Ploy. Sister Aay is holding the flowers. Sister Slaugh says, "Sister Ploy is headed to BYU-Provo on the 26th of this month to study English for a year. Afterwards she wants to enroll in BYU for her bachelor's. We think it would be a lot of fun to be roommates when I return. Sister Aay is 16 or 17 years old so I think she has another year before she thinks about college."

 Sister Slaugh says, "Sister Orchard and I with Brother Diw and his mom after his baptism"

 "Four of my favorite people. From the left: Sister Eve, Sister Ploy, Sister Jane (member Jane, not investigator Jane), and Sister Aay"

"Sister Ning and her daughter Titie. This is at Titie's Mother's Day celebration at her school. She was really excited that we came."

Bang Kapi Letter--August 12, 2013

I am so sorry that these last three letters have been so late. My only excuse is that I've been on vacation and I didn't bring my laptop in an attempt to reduce luggage/weight. But here they all are.
Sister Slaugh gave this email the subject heading "HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!"

Hello dear family (and friends)!!

Today is the Queen's birthday and therefore Mother's Day. Yesterday at church we had a Mother's Day celebration. I guess Mother's Day in Thailand is a much bigger deal than it is in America because the celebration was about an hour long (it took place an hour to two hours after church had ended). It was nice though. They had mothers sit up in the front and we gave flowers to them. I was invited (slightly and lovingly forced) into participating as well. So this is what you do: you get this cool flower bracelet and go up to the woman who you feel close to or who you consider like a mother to you (because a lot of the members don't have mothers who were there and a lot of the mothers didn't have children who were there). You kneel in front of them, give the flower-thing, and tell them why you consider them motherly or why you love them. I am describing it very poorly but it was really really sweet. 

After the program we had a baptism!!!! Super exciting if you ask me. He was excited. We were excited. It was just happiness all around. Diw is just a sweet kid. I'm so excited for him to receive the Holy Ghost and then eventually get the Aaronic Priesthood. One of the Elders' investigators (Brother Dat) also got baptized yesterday. Super exciting. 

While I am still thinking of the King and Queen, there is something else that I am going to tell you. Last week, President Senior told all the missionaries to get a 72-hour kit. He later clarified that this is not a food storage but just to make sure we have enough food and water to be good for three days in case we couldn't leave our apartments. One of the Elders in our district had asked President Senior why and this is the gist of the response: apparently the King is currently not in the country and the Prime Minister (who hasn't been in the country for quite a while) is coming back into the country. The 72 hour kits are just in case there are some protests that would stop us from going shopping for a couple of days. The reason I tell you this is twofold: 1) feel free to tell me any news about Thailand as I have no access to it here. 2) if anything happens, know that I will be 100% okay. President Senior is in constant communication with God and will prepare us. Know that I am and will be 100% okay and protected. :) 

In other news, the work has been slow this week. We are trying to juggle finding less actives and finding new investigators. This week will be much better as now we know what we are doing. And...either this week or next week we will be moving! I had no issues with the house (because I came to Thailand expecting the worst) but apparently it is very big and not in the best condition and creepy. I agree on the last point. At night when we are trying to fall asleep I have to remind myself that the sounds of doors opening are coming from the other houses. It's almost comical. :) I think the most valid complaint about the house is that is inconvenient and could be safer. We have to cross a huge road to get to the church and to get home, we have to bike down a long road. The new apartment is much better on all accounts. 

Let's see, fun moments from this week. 

Last week while tracting we met a crazy and outspoken Thai lady. She didn't like Sister Orchard's bag or her nail polish color. And she had no issue whatsoever voicing that opinion. This week, on the way to a member's house, we had to take a different bus than the one we are used to. A random lady clarified for us which bus to get on and as it came to a stop at the bus stop, our crazy lady from the previous week looked out the window of the bus. She was bearing this really big and goofy grin. Sister Orchard and I couldn't help but laugh. This lady worked on the bus and collected the fares. Of all the buses in all of Thailand, we walked into her's (10 points to whomever can guess the movie from which I adapted the quote--ask Marissa if you need help). It was hilarious. On the bright side, she let us ride for free. 

Point number two: I am so excited that I will be able to watch Thai soap operas when I get home. Whenever we visit Sister Ning, the soap operas are playing in the background. It'll be nice when I actually get to watch them. They look even more dramatic than American ones because 1, they are in Thai and 2, every TV show or commercial in Thailand seems really overly dramatic. 

Oh, two clarifications I need to make from other weeks:

1) Last week's shopping. Don't worry, I don't go crazy when shopping. I have to exercise a lot of control when we go near the jewelry sections because everything is really cheap. But with last week, we were basically just spending time with a member and an investigator as the member prepared to go to England (for 6 months, not 3 like I previously thought). This isn't something we would usually do but Sister Yoo has helped us out so much lately. It was also good for us to spend more time with Sister Ning.

2) Cooking. When we made cookies (and then again when we made cupcakes for Brother Diw's birthday/baptism) we used the oven at the church. We don't have an oven at our house and we don't having a functioning hot stove either (we are too scared to use it). The cookies and the cupcakes were really good though. I also was reminded that things in Thailand are in Celsius and not in Fahrenheit. Let's just say it's a really good idea that my companion checked the cookies long before the timer was supposed to go off. Luckily that batch only had four cookies on it because it was the tester batch.  :)

I think that's all to really report about Thailand. Looking at the records of less actives and of former investigators makes me really sad. All these people that could be so much happierand better off. I just don't understand why they wouldn't want this in their life. This gospel is 100% good. 

Spiritual thought: I think I better understand why the scriptures say fasting is rejoicing. On Tuesday, Sister Orchard and I fasted for Sister Ning. It wasn't even hard to do so. Wednesday night we were talking to Ning and she said she had read all of Moroni. And she was understanding so much better. On Tuesday night, Sister Orchard and I were sharing a spiritual thought after English class and I felt the spirit so strongly. It didn't make sense because the people we were testifying to weren't even that interested. Sister Orchard said it was because we were fasting. Fasting helps you become so much more in tune with the Spirit. It was soo cool. 

I think that's all for now. Thanks so much for the stories about the family reunion. It sounds like it was a lot of fun! :)

And happy birthday to Jon. and happy early birthday to Mommy, Daddy. Rachel, and Uncle Leslie! And happy belated birthday to Jayson! =D I love you all very much!!!! =D

<3 much love from Thailand,

Sister Slaugh

Bang Kapi Letter--August 5, 2013

Sorry that this may be a short letter but we went apartment hunting beforehand and have a shopping appointment with Sister Ning (investigator) and Sister Yoo (amazing member who we love very very much). Sadly Sister Yoo is going to England this month but we are very excited for her.  

I would like to report that all is well here and that both Sister Orchard and I are of good health. We are of good spirits as well because we may be able to move from a house (creepy and dirty) to a new apartment (smaller and easy to maintain). We are very hopeful and very excited. It will also be closer to the church and to the supermarket and we won't have to cross the very huge street anymore. Three cheers of excitement! We will meet with the owner tonight so hopefully things will go well. 

I should have very exciting news next time I write. It resembles the news about Chris (Barbie's boyfriend, who is getting baptized soon) (which I got really excited about and almost screamed for joy. I didn't though since we are in a public place.) but it has to do with an amazing 13 year old. His mother is a recent covert (like in June) and he is going to get baptized this upcoming Sunday. He has been perfect and is really excited. He's a great kid. 

Sister Yoo is reading over my shoulder and just pointed out that I have used the word "exciting" a lot. Sorry. :)

Sister Ning is doing amazing as well. Miracles have happened with her. The Lord has truly blessed her desire to learn. Before she was having a lot of struggles understanding the scriptures but that is changing. On Friday she was sick and spent that time reading. We had given her a list (6 to 10) of scriptures about Christ and had asked her to read them. She did and then wrote a short summary of what she learned. She said she believed what she wrote down as well. Then she read through three of the pamphlets we had given her (Restoration, Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the Plan of Salvation) and answered the questions on the back. She was so excited for us to read her answers because she wanted to know if they were right. I almost started crying I was so happy. And I can feel tears forming behind my eyes right now thinking about it. She has such amazing faith. She has such an amazing desire to learn and understand and the Lord is truly helping her. Titie (in the last letter her name was spelled Ditdii, but it sounds like this are two ways of writing the name through the English alphabet) (her daughter) is a miracle as well. That 7 year-old is amazing. She wanted her own copy of the Book of Mormon so she started writing a copy for herself. When we visited Sister Ning Friday night, Sister Ning asked us to bring a Book of Mormon for Titie. When we gave it to Titie, she promptly wrote her name in it. She was really excited. That family is so truly wonderful. 

We have to go soon so I will end with something I learned/thought about from my morning studies:

I would really like to learn more about Zoram. He must have been such an amazing man with great faith to be willing to leave literally everything behind and follow Nephi. I mean, right then and there, he just followed Nephi. Nephi said that he was commanded of God and Zoram dropped all his concerns and followed Nephi. Amazing.

Point two: the book Jesus the Christ is utterly awesome and I love it. I am currently in chapter 10 (ish). So amazing! Was Talmage writing as himself or as an Apostle when he wrote it? He has some amazing insights about Christ in there

Last but not least: Alma 5:48. This is from Sister Yoo but I totally second it. I have been studying about the Tree of Life the past couple of days and I love the symbolism. I love how this verse talks about being baptized unto repentance. Repentance is not complete without baptism or without the sacrament. Sister Yoo thought of Chris when she showed me this scripture. We are all very very very happy for him ^v^ (smiley from Sister Yoo)

Well, I must depart into the world of shopping. It's great :)

Love you all very very very very very very very very much!!!!! =D

AND........ HAPPY EARLY ANNIVERSARY MOMMY AND DADDY!!!!!!!!!! =D

~Sister Slaugh <3

Bang Kapi Letter--July 29, 2013

Hey dear family! All is well here in Thailand. Thanks for the emails, I really enjoy reading them. :) The work is good here. Hard but good. Raining season is about to start but it hasn't hit quite yet. Biking in the rain hasn't been too bad and it's just really funny. I've only biked in actual rain (as opposed to spitting rain) once here. Thai people really do not like being out in the rain so seeing two white girls bike in skirts in the pouring rain must be a peculiar sight to behold. I've also only felt really hot here a couple of times and those have been right before a big rain storm when there is a lot of humidity. Apparently I just missed the hot season of Thailand. Luckily that means that I will be more accustomed to Thailand when I have the honor of dealing with that trial. :) I guess it's just because I am in the city but I haven't had to deal with too many strange things yet. No squatters yet luckily and very happily. This week I did have some strange food but nothing too bad. It'll be nice to be able to tell my kids about the foods I ate here. Monday night was my night of new foods. Any guesses? Chicken feet and pig's blood. Yup. I knew that I was eating chicken's feet because the member whose house we were at warned us about the bones. I did not learn that I was eating pig's blood until after Sister Orchard and I arrived back home. Not too bad in all honesty. Chicken feet was hard to eat though because there just isn't a lot of meat on their feet. The way to eat this delightful dish is just to stick it in your mouth--bone and all--and just suck or eat the meat off the bone. Afterwards you take the bone out. The member kept on giving me some. Oh well. :)

I guess since I already told you about Monday's dinner, I'll tell you about Monday's day. We made cookies which was a very happy process. They tasted quite good. Sister Orchard and I enjoyed eating some cookie dough as well. Sister Moo invited us over for FHE that night with herself, her daughter Ming, and another member Jane. We took half the cookies to that, saved the other half for district meeting the next day, and we still have about half the dough left. After we had made cookies, I had a headache but I accounted it to not drinking enough water. So we went to Sister Moo's house and apparently when missionaries are invited to FHE, they are the ones who are supposed to plan the activity. We wrote numbers on some Jenga pieces and made a list of questions about personal preferences (favorite flavor of ice cream, etc.) and about things of a more religious background (favorite prophet, what does *insert scripture here* mean to you, etc.). It was really fun. Sister Moo is a recent covert and has a really strong testimony. I really like her and her daughter. No idea about Sister Ming's father though. Related side-note about Thailand: single mothers are VERY VERY VERY common here. At this ward, most of the mothers are single mothers. 

Anyway, back to Monday. So you already know about what Sister Moo fed us. Different but not bad. I was a dutiful missionary and ate what I was given. The Thai people are very very happy when you eat their food. Honestly, if you want a Thai person to like you, eat the food they give you and love it. Members really like me because I am willing to eat their food and because I look like a child. I'll tell you more about that later. But so when Sister Orchard and I returned home, we went straight to planning and preparing for bed. I felt totally fine and of great health. Well, I couldn't really sleep that night due to an upset stomach. Around 12:40 I threw up. Unfortunately for my throat and my energy level, I threw up 6 more times between the hours of 1 and 6am. Not fun. On the bright side, I can now add the entry-way to the bathroom to the list of odd places I've slept. :) We aren't really sure why I had food poisoning. as Sister Orchard ate the same exact things that I ate. And I'm pretty positive it wasn't from dinner. Maybe from the cookie dough even though I have eaten cookie dough my entire life with no problem and Sister Orchard ate the same amount as I did. Who knows? Oh, another bright side. Charcoal. Honestly, it's great. It comes in a pill and you swallow it. The charcoal then surrounds all the yucky stuff in your stomach and gets it out. Very helpful. :) And I would like to remind you, I am of great health currently. Fear not, Sister Slaugh is healthy and happy and still willing to try new foods. 

Tuesday was an uneventful day full of meetings, English class, and Sister Slaugh sleeping to try and renew her energy levels. English class was good but in low attendance due to the rain right before English was suppose to start. Thai people really do not like going out in the rain. That's probably because their mode of transportation is walking, motorcycles, or public transportation (which you get to by walking). I am finally getting the hang of how to teach English. It's pretty fun. :)

Wednesday. We finally were able to get in all four hours of studying! yay! Monday we ran out of time and Tuesday I slept during the study time. The day always goes so much better when you get all your studying in. I honestly have a testimony of studying the scriptures before leaving the house for the day. Our days are always so much more productive and fulfilling when we start with studying. Things just work out during the day that you don't expect. For example: Sister Ning was free for us to teach her even though she originally did not think she would be. We were able to teach people at the post office because we had to wait for about an hour for our number to be called up. We ran into two members (Sister Ploy and Sister Jane) upon leaving the post-office who wanted to help us teach Sister Ning which was a blessing because Sister Ning has been scared to go to church because she doesn't know anyone and the member who usually teaches with us (Sister Yoo) was feeling sick. Another blessing was that we had enough time to get ice cream with Sister Ploy, Sister Jane, and another member (Sister Eve - recent covert) afterwards (Sister Ning and her son had to go home and couldn't join us) for Sister Ploy's birthday. So yeah, Wednesday was a really great day. :)

Thursday was also a good day due to getting in all the study hours. We also do our weekly planning on this day. I love weekly planning. It's so nice to be organized and to plan out what we want to teach our investigators (in Thai this word means person who is interested) and our recent converts. Weekly planning makes the week soo much smoother. Sister Gaataay (recent convert) called us and asked if we could teach her. We talked about obedience and how God gives us commandments because He loves us. I really like teaching about this because I love how it's a different way of looking at rules. God gives us commandments to keep us safe and to help us have more agency. Commandments don't restrict us. There is one scripture in the D&C that talks about how commandments prepare us for living us with God again. Oh...speaking of scriptures...um...so on Monday we were biking and when we got to the church, my scriptures were no longer in my basket. We retraced our steps multiple times and came to the conclusion that my scriptures did not fall out of my basket. Because scripture cases look like purses or bags, there have been previous instances where people have stolen scripture cases from missionaries thinking that they would find money inside. There is no money inside; only the most true and powerful book to have ever exist. But yes, I am now without scriptures. Luckily our house had an English triple from a previous missionary. I know the words inside are the same in every book. It's just sad because now I don't have access to an English Bible and I've had that same set since I was a child. So...parents...if you wouldn't mind too terribly...can you send me a new set of scriptures? Sorry maag (maag means very). I really am. Really really really.

Um... the rest of the week has been pretty good. We went inviting at a mall which was nice. People asked us questions because of our badges. Saturday night we went out to dinner with Sister Ning and her daughter who is 7. This daughter is amazing! There is definitely something to be said about the purity of children under the age of 8. Ditdii has reminded her mom to read and pray during the week. On Wednesday, Ditdii walked into her mom's room and asked her mom if she had read yet. Ning responded that she hadn't yet. Ditdii then reminded her that Sister Slaugh (Sister Orchard was teaching another lesson at the time) had said that it was really important that we read and pray every day. The amazing thing is that Ditdii had kept on walking in and out of that lesson. Miraculously, she was in the room when we were talking about the importance of reading and praying every day. That was super cool for me to hear. :) After dinner, we were going to go tracting and Ditdii really wanted to go with us. So she, Sister Ning, and Sister Yoo joined us. Ditdii is adorable to the highest degree. We are going shopping with her and Sister Ning and Sister Yoo today so I'll get a picture for next week. Tracting with two investigators and a member was a lot of fun. I really loved it. 

Well, we have to go so that means I have to end this letter. I love you much!!!!! Hope all is well in New Jersey! =D

~Sister Slaugh

Pictures--July 22, 2013

These are the bikes--"Morticia" is the black one in front

I guess this is a picture of the mall they went to, with the indoor pond

 The mall again

Sister Wiganda

Sister Wiganda and her family--Sister Slaugh was hoping Lorri might recognize them

 Sister Slaugh said, "in Thai, people try to get whiter. It's sad. This product is like sunscreen but it makes you whiter."

Bang Kapi Letter--July 22, 2013

I want to add that the subject line for this email was "I really like salads."

Can you believe that it is almost August? I certainly cannot. Where did July go?   Everything here is going well, do not worry. Life has been great and I absolutely love Thailand so much. The people here are amazing. 

So at the beginning of this week, all of us new Thais in Bangkok had to gather so sign our work permits. We were told to gather last Monday morning and to get to the place before 8. I love train of command here in Thailand but sometimes it can be frustrating. Like when we are heading to the place and it is almost 8 (we had to wake up at 5:30) and we get a call that the activity was moved to tomorrow. Someone forgot to tell our district. Yup. Oh well, I didn't mind because it meant I got to see some MTC people (some people were told and others weren't) twice. That was an amazing blessing I didn't know I needed. It was so nice to see the people I had gotten so close to and had spent 9 weeks with. 

Tuesday we taught English. I taught the advanced class by myself. All things considered, it went pretty well. Tomorrow will be easier now that I actually now what I am doing. They like learning slang so if anyone has any good slang or anything like that, I would much appreciate it. All I could think of last time was "What's up?" Pathetic, I know. :) 

On Tuesday I also taught one of my first lessons by myself. Well, not totally by myself, there were two female members there. But yeah, after activities like Sports Night (every Friday), English Class (every Tuesday), or Church, we try to teach all our investigators that came to that activity. This means that we have to split up. It's a good experience and my teaching is improving. It is also forcing me to improve my Thai if I want to understand any of the questions or comments. It was nerve-wracking at first but it's really good. I'm enjoying it. Tuesday night I taught Sister เจน (pronounced Jane) about the Atonement and about who Christ is for us (meaning our Savior). I couldn't teach much due to my limited vocabulary but I could tell her what I knew and what I felt. It was a good experience. 

Speaking of investigators, I absolutely love them. We have one dater and two other progressing investigators. We have other investigators but they are "progressing". Jane (only two years younger than myself) is one of the progressing investigators and whenever she comes to an activity at the church and sees us, she asks, "so when are you going to teach me?" or "Where are you going to teach me?" It's so nice having the investigators wanting to learn and asking us to teach them instead of us having to chase them down. We have been very blessed. :)

Wednesday was a pretty normal day. We taught, we ate, we biked, we walked, we talked to people, we had fun. Actually, now that I think about it, two amazing things happened on Wednesday. First, we went to the mall (to make copies, get dinner, and to tract). They have a pond in the middle of the mall. This pond has huge(!) fishes in it. IT WAS SO COOL! There were also parrots. Parrots! Thailand rocks! The other thing I realized: salads are absolutely divine. We went to Sizzlers and just got the salad bar. Soooooo delicious. When basically all the food here is rice or noodle based, salads are heaven sent. Soooo tastey. Sister Slaugh was soooo happy afterwards. On Monday we were at a market and met a lady that sold salads at that night market every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. You can guess where Sister Orchard and Sister Slaugh will be on those nights. And the lady made her own fruit dressings. So good. :) That night we had correlation meeting. This ward is really good at its correlation meetings. They know what they are doing and they are great at it. I am so spoiled to be serving at this ward. So spoiled :)

Thursday we had a switch-off with Sister Training Leaders (kinda like the Zone Leaders but for Sisters). So much fun! I was with Sister Wiganda (a native Thai with amazing English). She knows Lorri because Lorri served in Sister Wiganda's home branch. Sister Wiganda's nickname is Minney. It was a lot of fun serving with her and learning from her. She only has two transfers left in her mission. She is serving in Sinnakarin so that is where we are. I think that is her home branch too because her sister (like her actual sister) lives the floor above the Sister's apartment. Crazy, right? Can you imagine serving in the same branch as your family? Oh, so I had an interesting experience during that switch-off. I was sitting next to this guy (about 60 or 70 years old) on one of Thailand's modes of transportation (I don't know how to spell it). We started talking and he asked me why I was in Thailand. I said that I was here to teach anyone who was interested about Jesus Christ and I showed the man a picture of Christ. His response? "I'll follow Christ." I was just like..."what?" kinda like how Dad said he was when someone was actually interested after a couple months of no one being interested. So the man and I started talking about Christ. Apparently the man had learned about Christ when he was young. I invited him to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized. He accepted. The Sisters in Sinnakarin are now going to teach him. It's just a strong witness to me that Heavenly Father truly is preparing His children to hear His gospel. These people are ready. It's so cool to see them grow too. I saw Sister Ning (another one of our investigators) pray for the first time. And I see the change in Jane as she truly believes that Christ was her Savior. A mission truly is an amazing experience. I love it--every aspect of it--so very much. 

Friday I returned to Sister Orchard. That night we went to Sports Night after getting a salad for later. Sports Night was a lot of fun. It's nice to still be able to play volleyball. I love the ward members here. Sister Ning came and brought her children. The ward was really welcoming to her and her family. The youth are also amazing here. They are so much fun. 

Saturday was a normal day as well. We had to go the church around 4pm for Sister Orchard to practice the piano. The Bishop asked her to accompany the choir. The song is "I am a Child of God" but the Bishop arranged it himself. Apparently the Bishop used to be in a band or something like that. It's pretty cool. He's a fun guy and is really friendly. It was fun watching her play the piano. Admittedly, I got a little homesick watching and listening to her play some of John Schmidt's songs but that's okay. 

Sunday was good as per usual. Sister Jane came to church and brought two friends - Sister Jeep and ... Kartoon. Sister Jane was introduced to the church by Sister Aye so Jeep and Kartoon are her friends as well. Those four always come to Sports Night so we know Jeep and Kartoon well. One thing I love about the Thai language - the word for her or him is the same thing. So with Kartoon, I don't have to worry about figuring out what to call khaw (Thai word for him/her) because I can just say khaw. Kartoon doesn't know what gender khaw is either. Jeep and Kartoon are great though and I love them. Those four are a lot of fun. :) Sadly Sister Ning did not come to church. She was planning on it (even showed us what she was planning on wearing) but I guess something came up or something like that. Oh well. There is always next week. :) 

I went to Young Women's with Jane, Jeep, Kartoon, and Aye. We learned about the temple. I was able to show my temple recommend and explain why I love the temple. The Thai people really really want a temple. I really really want them to get one too. 

And now we are back to Monday. We are making cookies today because we weren't able to last time. There isn't really much to do here (in this area of Thailand) on P-days besides the mall and baking. We'll keep on looking though. 

Palmyra sounds like so much fun! I really glad you all got to go. When we were teaching Sister Ning about Joseph Smith, we showed her the Restoration video. It's cool having visited those locations. The video was in Thai. Let me tell you, it is so weird watching a movie of white people but hearing the Thai language. So weird. I think that's why people laugh whenever I speak to them in Thai. One, I probably have an accent. Two, it's just so weird. They are always surprised hearing us speak in Thai. Their reactions are funny. :)

Thank you to Mom for the bike name. This week I will send a picture of Morticia to all of you. She's a very good bike. Spray-painting bikes is not mandatory but it is suggested because they are more likely to be stolen if they look new. 

Speaking of family, can someone tell me where Uncle Leslie served? And Lorri too. It would be fun to see if I serve in the same areas. 

The trek dolls look really cute. Hopefully you get them all back and you can use them again. 

To Dad's comment about monks, we see them a lot here (not surprisingly), especially in the morning. I was warned not to touch them. Apparently if you touch them, they are no longer allowed to be monks - or something like that.

Well, I love you all very much and I hope all is well :) Much love!!! =D

~Sister Slaugh (ซิสเฅอร์ ซลอ) 

Bang Kapi Letter--July 15, 2013

Hey fam!

Thailand is amazing and is literally one of the best places on earth. The only thing that would make it better would be understanding the people perfectly. But then I guess trying to understand the people is one of the fun parts of being in a new country. Life is pretty normal and I haven't had a hard time with any culture shock. It's a big city which I am used to. I haven't had anything too crazy here this week though we did have dinner at a member's house this week. She promised us the food wasn't spicy but that was a total lie (she probably didn't think it was spicy but for us foreigners, it was). It was so hard to eat it because my mouth was tingling the entire time. I ate very slowly but she was very happy with the amount I ate so it's all good. I haven't really had many encounters with spicy food here luckily. And farongs (word for white-folk) aren't expected to be able to eat a lot of spicy food. They're happy when you try though. The majority of the food isn't spicy but you can add spices to it. 

This ward is absolutely amazing. The members are really helpful and they enjoy tracting and teaching with us. Sister Yoo (who I mentioned in the last letter) is going to England for 3 months (leaving next month) but afterwards is going to put her papers in to become a missionary. I got so excited and happy I wanted to cry. She will be an absolutely amazing missionary. She loves tracting with us and is really good at it. She has absolutely no fear when it comes to talking about the gospel. She just goes up to people and starts talking to them. It's a lot of fun. And my ability to talk to people has improved also. I love going on buses because that is a great time to talk to people. And the Thai people are so nice because they realize that this farong can't speak Thai but is honestly doing her best. It's so much fun. I can understand the overall topic of conversation but I miss some of the questions they ask. That's why it is always nice that Sister Orchard or Sister Yoo is right there to help me. We taught about the Plan of Salvation a lot this week and I understand basically everything that was said which was super exciting. And I was able to help teach about it. Also, I was amazed at how many people are interested in what we have to say. A lot of people have made it seem that tracting doesn't yield anyone interested in the gospel but when you do it (tracting) for two hours every day, you find a lot of people. I love knowing that no matter who someone is or what they are doing or where they are in life, the gospel can and will help them. It will improve their life and help them become happier. One of our new investigators prayed for the first time two days ago and it was soooo exciting! Think about it. That was the first time in her entire life that she talked with her Heavenly Father. I know how happy I was and I can't even imagine how happy Heavenly Father was. It's so cool! We taught Sister Ning (that investigator) with the help of Sister Yoo (who Sister Ning absolutely adores) and Sister Bua (who is actually an investigator too). They both shared why they knew what we were teaching was true. Sister Bua shared about how she first felt when she prayed and that as she prayed and read her scriptures, she developed a relationship with Heavenly Father. I love taking investigators teaching with us, it's so cool. Because the promise to us that as we share our testimony, as we share our beliefs, they will grow and strengthen applies to them as well. I'm pretty sure Sister Bua wants to be baptized but her parents aren't too supportive of it. We want to try to meet with her parents soon. It's also fun taking investigators tracting with us because it gets them to decide whether what we are teaching is true. 

Another thing that amazed me about being a missionary is that it is so easy to talk about the gospel. When I introduce myself, I say that my name is Sister Slaugh and I am a missionary (translates to people who teach) of Jesus Christ. Just like that, I can ask them about their belief in our Savior. The other day I had a cool experience on the bus. I wasn't sitting with Sister Orchard and no other member was with us so I was on my own with Thai. I started talking to this girl about the gospel. She hadn't really thought about God and whether she believed in Him before and she wants to learn more (I had to get Sister Orchard to translate for me at the end but that's okay). When we were talking with Sister Ning, we asked her what the knowledge that God exists would mean for her. She said that it would mean absolutely everything to her. She isn't learning for us and she isn't learning for Sister Yoo. She is learning for herself because she wants to know who God is and whether he is really our loving Heavenly Father. Every day I recite my purpose as a missionary: "To invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end." Our purpose as missionaries is to give people agency. They can't act and they can't make a decision if they don't have choices. If they don't know who Christ is, how could they make the choice to follow him? I love this privilege I have to teach people so that they have the ability to come unto Christ, who absolutely loves them and wants them to be happy and return to live with him and have eternal life with their families forever. I love being a missionary. It reminds me of my purpose in life: to follow Jesus Christ and to invite others to do the same. The first verb in our purpose statement, the second word, is "invite". People often have the misconception that missionaries force people to join the Church. We don't. We invite people to come unto Christ and partake of his gospel. 

I'm trying to think if there is anything else that I think you should know. There aren't any big moments, just small and simple moments everyday that make a mission amazing. I love teaching people. 

Shopping last week was a lot of fun. Everything in Bangkok is super cheap. It's great. :) 

Today Sister Orchard and I want to make cookies to give to people. At the beginning of our street there are security guards. I love our security guards. They're great. They salute us whenever we go past and like to tease us. It's great. We want to give them cookies and are also planning on finding a verse in the Book of Mormon about protection or guards to give them as well. They're fun. We also want to give cookies to some of our neighbors so we can get to know them. 

One thing about speaking a new language--you have to be okay with being wrong all the time and have to be okay with being laughed at. Laugh with the people. I laugh all the time because of that. 

So I kind of had an animal encounter this week. I think it was last Monday or Tuesday night, we came home and I was about to put something on our kitchen table when something on it moved - really fast. It was a gecko. A couple days later I entered the bathroom and something sprinted down from the ceiling to behind our mirror. Another gecko. That's all for animal encounters. No dogs have chased us (knock on wood) though they enjoy barking at us. There are two on our street that bark every time we go past. I am really grateful that that gate is always closed. I have heard the sound effects of a cat fight, though I didn't see it and it was far enough away that it wasn't an issue. Cats don't sound pretty when they are fighting. I think my biggest fear here is waking up with a gecko on me but I highly doubt that will happen. I'll keep you posted though. 

Have I told you about our house yet? It has two floors and actually isn't too bad. One of the outlets is totally broken though. I tried to toast something and the outlet started smoking. We haven't used that outlet since. The washing machine is pretty good and we have hanging racks inside to hang stuff to dry. 

I have a bike! I spray-painted it so it no longer looks new and is less likely to be stolen. It's straight black. Any suggestions for names? 

Speaking of bikes, more about the transportation in Thailand. First, Taxis. The shot-gun sit has a seat belt but the seats in the back row do not. They have the strap but nothing to buckle it into. Odd? I agree. Bus next. They don't usually pull to a completely stop so you have to be quick getting on and off. I think that is all that is new to mention. I love the transportation here. It's a lot of fun and keeps things interesting. All the drivers here are really skilled so I'm not worried. And the Lord protects His missionaries. 

Good luck with Trek! Take pictures for me. And give everyone my love. 

To Dad's comment about baptisms, we are encouraged to invite people to get baptized as soon as the Spirit feels right. I've done it twice so far during the lessons. The first guy didn't say yes but he also didn't say no. He wanted to learn more about what that meant. The second person said yes. Being transparent with people is one of the best things you can do on a mission. It tells people that you take what you have to say seriously. 

Well, I think that is all for now. I love you all! During this week I'll take more photos and will write down funny events that have happened to share with you all.

Have a fantastic week! =D

~Sister Slaugh

I forgot to mention that I was offered solidified blood the other day. Luckily it was not with a member so I didn't have to eat it. not ready to overcome that hurtle yet. 

Much love! =D