23 September 2013

Sister Rachel Mullen We had zone conference this week and it was SO awesome. We had to take a small suitcase of our stuff to the bus station and so I strapped it onto the back of my bike and something happened. didnt even bike ANYWHERE, and I fall. haha. but I really landed weird on my foot and pretty much had to limp for the next 2 days. It got super ugly and swollen haha. but it's all good now. The night before all the sisters from the Isan area were there at the Udon house and we pretty much had a sleepover, it was way fun! Cookie dough and talking. It was a total party for a second and I just looked around and was like... how am I to go back home and go to parties. If there isn't Mormon Tabernacle Choir playing in the background and missionary conversation. Can't do it. Will I have friends? Zone conference was amazing. We each had to recite the 10 How To Begin Teaching points in Thai to one of the AP's. Under 3 minutes... woot woot! And then we gave our talks to Sister Senior. She is always so sweet haha. She is definitely a crier and I love her for it. And she'll talk to you while you are giving her your talk. It's way funny. Had my interview with President Senior. I didn't mention Laos, but he spent that time reading one of my emails I sent him a while ago and asked if he could share it in Zone Conference on obedience. Just something about me doing what the zone leaders straight up told me to do... so it wasn't anything crazy. Oh man, and the Elders from Laos came. Seriously, when they walk among us missionaries who are serving in Thailand... it's like they're celebrities or something. way funny. But no seriously, nobody is as cool as them. And one of the missionaries said the opening prayer in Lao. Ahhh crazy the similarities and differences. The sister missionaries did NOT practice our musical number before we did it... I just had to play the piano. But the 5 or 7 key changes are what made it haha. President Senior was then comparing our difficulty in finding the key changes to the struggles saints had to fight for a temple or something like that. I was dying haha. I forgot to mention one time... but anyways. We were teaching English, started with an opening prayer... and then a bat came out of the air conditioning and starts flying around the room. Sister Stevenson and I are on the ground, screaming as we are crawling out. Once we are out of the room safely, we look back and all the Thai students are just standing there. I'm like waving to them... "COME HERE! GET OUT! SAFE YOURSELVES!" They didn't even give a care to the bat. It was the strangest most humiliating thing ever. haha When we went to go teach the Less Active that has been reading in the Book of Mormon this week, Sister Tu... She told us of an experience she had. One of her friends came by and asked what she's been up to. Long story short, she shares and gives a Book of Mormon to her friend! Example I will never forget. She always makes our day. Another is Beer. This is her actual name. Beer is one of our daters and she is one that we started with pretty much and we have seen her grow and progress and open more and more to the Gospel and it's teachings. We went to go teach her one day and she says she has received real answers and blessings from prayer and the book of mormon. But funny experience: We go to teach her word of wisdom and law of chastity. We know she has a problem with both of these. And there sitting on her desk... no joke. is a giant coffee cup and coffee flavored cake roll. Haha I was just like... oh man. perfect. And then as we were about to start law of chastity... her boyfriend walks in! it was SO funny. "it's only awkward if you make it awkward." She lives with her boyfriend but after teaching her these things and how she needs to do them to be baptized, we just saw automatically her true desire to repent and change. It is going to be hard for her because her boyfriend doesn't want her to move out and her parents don't want her to marry him, but I feel so strongly that she will do whatever she can. It was so cute because after the lesson we have been getting to know her more and she started talking about Twilight with the member that was with us. And they were talking about Jacob and how cute he was. And she was like... oh know. there I go again. Thinking she was breaking the law of chastity haha. (keeping our thoughts clean.) I think about all of these experiences and people coming closer to christ and I don't want to leave. But we have about 3 weeks left here of this transfer. Don't know who will be moving, but it really is important that we work our hardest to help these people the best we can with the sure time that we have here. Yesterday, Brother Boy did NOT wake up for church. So what did we do? That's right daddy. I shared with him, 2 Nephi 4:28. And let him know this is how you wake up for church. AWAKE! AWAKE MY SOUL! NO LONGER DROOP IN SIN... da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Be still oh my heart, give place no mooooore for the Enemy of my soul. rejoice rejoooooice. That is me singing mormon tabernacle choir. Ok that's all for now. But one thing I have learned and has motivated me this week is this: Thailand needs a temple. How lucky am I to be serving in a place where it is not yet available to the members here? We are working for not only baptisms but convert baptisms. Meaning if it suddenly rains on a Sunday, these members of the church are still going to go to church, regardless of the Thai culture saying you will get sick if a drop of rain hits you. We are here to produce real growth and sometimes the relaxed life of the people here in the Isan make it seem impossible. I have felt like it's going to take a miracle. But "God has not ceased to be a God of Miracles" Miracles are to be produced BY faith. Something amazing is going to happen and it is all dependent on my faith that I have in Him. We have the potential to see miracles people! That is straight up God's hand in our lives, and all we need to do is believe? What's the trouble. This work IS impossible. IF you do it alone. Put every effort of faith and trust and confidence in the one who designed you and let God's will take its course. Sister Mullen #1

Sister Jasmine Mullen NO! There's pictures! You have to get one of those adapters. I don't know how to get them off. but i took TONS so you guys could see them. Thank you so much for all the emails! That was such a special thing for me! I haven't read them all yet but I was sooooo excited to see them all :) Man Brian! haha thanks for the pictures. What is your calling? you're always speaking in different wards! Must be a good one. Thats so cool that Sister Moss is leaving. Could you somehow get sister linder and sister langi's email addresses for me! sister langi sent me a letter here and i want to talk with her! Being out here and having some members who are just AMAZING makes me wish i was that way to the missionaries back home. I was telling a girl in our ward today about how when them missionaries would come over looking for you i wouldnt even offer them water or anything! Shame right? We went to the temple this morning! Man but everything was going wrong. We were late, (we have to wake up at 3 to catch the train) we missed our train and the back up train, we missed our connecting train and then we got to the temple and we about to go in and then it WAS FULL. And then we were super sad because we wanted to see the new video and we started talking about how we were the unprepared 5 virgins. Haha, its funny now but man that made me feel like poop. BUT THEN! we just decided to stay until the next session, So we did and we got to see the new video. WOW. I understand SO much more just from today than I ever have. I've been praying really hard to be closer to the spirit this week so this was exactly what I needed. I feel like Joseph Smith and I've been reading his history a lot. Talking to people of different faiths is so hard sometimes because it makes me question things too. But its good because if I don't know the answer, I do exactly what my investigators do: I read and pray. OKAY SERIOUSLY. I NEED TO TELL YOU. This week was so great! So hard but amazing. Really the hardest day I've had so far on my mission was a few days ago. We were doing a car fast and Sister Hwang and I had appointments in Morayfield which is a pretty far walk so we decided to ride our bikes. WORST IDEA IN AUSTRALIA. I love riding bikes. I'm just too scared now. If you look on my memory card there's a video of a bird attacking me and sister taivei that was pretty funny. ITS NOT FUNNY ANYMORE. As i was riding my bike a magpie attacked me. like pecked me TWICE. It was already a draining day physically and mentally and then that happened. So i was frustrated and too scared to move. but then we said a prayer and my attitude was kinda like okay satan, attack me with as many magpies as you want, i'm still gonna work. i guess he heard that because then sister hwang's bike chain broke and ripped open her leg and we were locked out of our flat. but then as we were so frustrated with everything our members honked and smiled at us. don't laugh but sister hwang started crying. man it was exactly the boost we needed. I came out on a mission for Heavenly Father, but the reason its so easy to stay is because of the members. But yeah we almost have 3 baptismal dates. two are for the EDMONDS! it happened on trade offs but they called me because they knew i would be excited. Tracy and Jade will be baptized the last day of this transfer! I almost peed my skirt! And our recent convert Greta (the girl who was baptized when i first got here) her little brother wants to be baptized but we haven't set a date yet. its amazing. We have so many progressing investigators now and I know Heavenly Father is answering my prayers everyday. Thank you so much. Seriously all the support from people back home keeps me grounded. I am able to stay obedient and know always that this is the Lord's time because of you and mom and just everyone. I don't want to let the Lord down and I don't want to let you guys down. Thank you for all your prayers. Love you! Sister Mullen #2