Monday, November 19, 2018

Week 24: Ghost stories and Monkeys

Hey yall!! Another super great week on the mission and since it is almost Thanksgiving I just want to say how grateful I am for all of my family, friends, and this beautiful country, Thailand! I feel like I have been remarkably blessed in the year 2018. I have been called to serve in the place I have always wanted to, I am a missionary for God's church, and I have so many people supporting me along the way. Thank you so much!!

Okay, I'm just gonna dive into the week. You all are probably wondering why I titled this week as Ghost stories but don't worry I haven't seen or experienced any ghosts myself. But, one night after scripture class I was whistling to myself and two of my investigators started getting pretty upset. I was not sure why, so then they told me that I was not allowed to whistle - that it was prohibited! They said after 6pm nobody is allowed to whistle or ghosts will come and get you. They went on to explain that if you sleep with your feet towards the door then the ghosts will enter into your soul as well!! I didn't know if they were just messing with me, but they were actually dead serious. So just a warning...DO NOT WHISTLE AT NIGHT IN THAILAND. 

This week we had a meeting on how to teach English more effectively. I learned a lot about focusing wholly upon each person individually and serving them to their needs and skills! Learning Thai and teaching others English has really opened my eyes about the world. I really don't know how to explain it but, I guess I just understand the world a bit differently now. 

We did a lot of good inviting this week but at the same time, unfortunately we had to drop two of the people we were teaching. They weren't progressing at all and it just breaks my heart when we have to stop visiting someone I care about. However, from English class we got some great new people and they came to scripture class, sports night, and church. I truly believe that God is working through them and softening their hearts. It is a mom and her 2 children (11 & 14). They loved church so much and have such a desire to learn! After church ended the 2 kids told me they walked there all by themselves, and believe me they live pretty far away. 

My comp and I were studying in the scriptures. We looked for a common theme in successful missionaries, specifically Alma. Alma talks about his success with visiting the poor and needy because they had humbled themselves and were meek in heart already. We decided to visit the poorest area of Phuket and it was extremely eye-opening. We went from 1st or 2nd world country to definitely 3rd world. These people had destroyed houses with no walls on some sides! They had no doors and they slept on hard wooden tables. They didn't even have the table to themselves; there were 2-3 people on each table. They just worked all day just to have food to eat that night and yet they were the nicest people. I am in awe with people that have so little and are still able to find joy in life. This Thanksgiving season I encourage all of you to be grateful for even the smallest things like drinking water, a room, food, unripped clothes, etc. We have been blessed with so many more things than so many of our fellow brothers and sisters around the world. 

I am grateful for you all. This next week, Thailand has this lantern festival called ลอยกระทง (Loi Krattong). It is similar to Thanksgiving in the way that they give thanks to the things, but they have floating lanterns, too. It's gonna be so sick. I'm so excited and can't wait to fill you in on all of it next week. That's about it for the week. Love you all!

Love, 
Elder Lowe 
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1) So grateful for this amazing time in Thailand. I'm legit in paradise 



2) The view of the ocean from a member's house


3&4) I ran into some monkeys while riding my bike...one of them stole my bananas haha. 


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Quote for the Day

"Happiness is found along the way ...
... not at the end of the road.
- Cowabunga Bay (7/30/10)