Week 66: One Night in my Bed

So it's been a bit of an interesting week with a ton of traveling. First of all, we left Monday afternoon to Udorn for our zone conference there. So Monday night I sleep at a hotel in Udorn. Zone conference was on Tuesday and we decided to switch off at Korat the next day with the elders living there. So Tuesday night we slept at the Korat Elder's house. Wednesday we switched off and we didn't get a bus till about midnight, so we slept the entire night on a bus. Thursday we got back to our area and finally got a work day in our own area. But we had a Missionary Leadership Training on Friday in Bangkok, so Thursday night I slept on a bus and got to the APs house around 5am. Unfortunately they locked the door so we just slept outside their house until they woke up at 6:30. Then we had an awesome MLC on Friday and interviews with President afterwards. We couldn't get a bus back to our area that night so we slept in Bangkok at the Bangkhen Elder's house on Friday night and got back to our area on Saturday around 5:00pm. So sorry if that didn't make sense or if I rambled, but basically we slept in our own beds only one night this entire week. And I'm still so exhausted!

All in all, it was still a very good week and spiritually uplifting too. Regardless of all the traveling, we received some awesome training. In zone conference we talked about a ton of good things such as, sharing the gospel in normal and natural ways and having members do the same. 

We also talked about where true happiness comes from. Sister Hammond shared this acronym, which I loved:

Jesus

Others

Yourself

You will have JOY as you put Jesus first in your life, others second, and yourself last. Charity is one of the most important attributes we can obtain in this life. I know this to be true as I have experienced it in my own life. 

On Wednesday I had a sweet switch off with Elder Halversen. He is actually in my MTC group and I knew him a little bit in college. We taught some cool LAs and with one LA we shared the story of Enos. It says that Enos' soul was hungered and so I took that opportunity there to talk about food and relate this story to this man's own life. For those who are unfamiliar with the Thai culture, Thai people love their food. Anyways I ask him what type of food he likes and what his go-to food is. Then I related it to the gospel by asking him what happens if he doesn't get to eat. He said that he would be a hungry man. I said exactly and it's the same with our spirits; if we don't feed our spirits with the word of God or through prayer, our spirits will starve. We invited him to feed his spirit by going to church and by reading his scriptures starting with 1 Nephi 1. He committed to do those things so I hope he showed up to church yesterday haha. Also, sidenote the food in Korat is the bomb and not too expensive. Overall, it was such a fun day and we both learned a ton from each other. 

MLC was on Friday and we talked a lot about the direction we wanted the mission to go. We decided that taking members on the journey with us and making every member a "missionary" is going to prepare this country for the temple it will receive in 2 years. 

Last experience from this week happened on Sunday night. We are teaching this guy named โก้ (go) and กัน (gan) and they are quite the characters. I'm pretty sure กัน has no idea what is going on ever cause he is so focused on making his ส้มตำ (Somtam). But our man โก้(go) just lost his daughter about a week ago. We were able to share a little bit about the Plan of salvation and give him some hope. Eventually he said he wanted to be baptized and wanted his friends gan to be baptized too. It's such a miracle to see so many humble souls being prepared by God in this country. 

Love you all so much. Miracles are real!!

Love,

Elder Lowe

เอ็ลเดอร์โลว์

Great Missionaries

Robert and Elder Rattel

Biking in the rain

On their way

week 17

Hello สวัสดีครับ 

อาทิตย์นี้สุดยอดกระเทียมดองหรือสุดติ่งกระดิ่งแมว (this week was soooo good)! 

I know I say every week is good but I really liked this week because it was a little different. This was my first full week in Phuket and I can already feel like I am making an impact here. 

Like I have said before this place is a new area, but I know that this place is ready for the gospel. I had one very cool experience while riding my bike. Me and my companion pulled up to a stoplight and like usual I started talking with someone on a motorcycle about their day. I ended up telling them about Jesus Christ and I guess I must have been talking pretty loud because all of the people on motorcycles around me were listening and seemed interested in what I was saying. I got off my bike and started passing out our inviting cards, and I invited them all to church on Sunday and English class on Tuesday! It was sweet!!! The more people I talk to, the more success I find. I know the Lord has already began to prepare people here, so talking with everyone is probably the most important thing I can do for this area. 

So, that is what we do everyday. Me and my companion go to this park with a bunch of people. My favorite invites this week were around the basketball courts. Most of the time I just sit down next to someone that is waiting to get into a game or someone that is just watching for fun. One day I decided I was gonna hop into the game and play with these people. They absolutely loved it and they were all laughing so hard when I would cross someone up! One thing about Thai people is that when they see a foreigner they just say ฝรั่ง (falang which means foreigner) over and over. It was so fun to connect with these people by playing basketball in my church clothes. Although I got super sweaty it was worth it because afterwards I invited about 10 people to English class! 

I'm so excited for this next week because we know the miracles are just beginning. Every week for church we meet in this hotel, but next week the new building that is being constructed will be ready. I can't wait to have an actual church building. I believe it will really boost the work here immensely. Phuket has never had an English class either, but the first one starts tomorrow! It is such a great opportunity to show these people that we are here to serve and help them. 

Sunday was definitely the coolest day of the week. To start off, I was asked to give a talk in sacrament meeting. With only 25 people attending the meetings, I kind of expected that to happen eventually. I ended up giving my talk for about 15-20 minutes about the Atonement. Also, more people showed up to church this week and I got to be the translator for them. Translating is SO hard, but somehow I was able to understand and translate everything into English. If someone had asked me to give a talk in another language for 20 minutes or translate after only studying the language for 3 months I would have thought there was no way. But, the Lord truly provides a way and helps us accomplish anything he asks of us.

Well after church I got a call from this lady that said she wanted to be taught. So we rushed over to go meet her and we taught her the restoration of the gospel. She was born Buddhist and then became a Christian 3 years ago but feels like something is missing in her church. This is someone that the Lord is blessing us with to teach that is truly prepared. After we had finished the lesson we told her that the Lord has restored his church because he loves you! She burst into tears and told us how much that meant to her. It was obvious that the spirit had touched her heart more than I can explain. 

The last thing I want to say is how grateful I am to be on a mission in Thailand, and specifically in Phuket. Last p day I got to see a lot of different islands in Phuket and they are all so beautiful. I want to show everyone how beautiful this place truly is, but pictures can't do it justice. This area is remarkable and I feel so blessed to add another wonderful thing to this area...the gospel. 

I love this work and this gospel. I know the that this gospel blesses families and individuals and that's why I am on a mission. I want people to experience the joy that comes from living the gospel and sharing that joy with others. Wish me well this next week as the adventure continues! 

Love 

Elder Lowe 

1) the ocean right outside the house of one of my investigators - isn't that crazy!

2) the park during sunset (soo pretty)

3) me riding on the side of a motorcycle hiding on for dear life haha (sorry about the face...I was looking right into the sun and could see :))

4) dreaming about swimming in that ocean one day ;)

5) met up with the MTC district one last time for a while

6) boat rides around the islands with brother best...PHUKET I LOVE YOU

Betsy bauched up the Bike issue, but fixed it.

Hello Sister Lowe,

Just talked to your wonderful son….he just got your email too and knows all about his bike money.  Glad to help.

Sister Workman

From: Betsy Lowe [mailto:betsy4kids@aol.com]
Sent: Monday, November 10, 2014 11:36 AM
To: Idaho Boise Mission
Subject: Re: Christmas Packages

No worries!  Hey Elder Lowe emailed today saying his "bike" money wasn't in his checking account and he NEEDS it.  When he didn't have a bike in his last area I moved the money to his savings account.  I thought he could access both accounts but he may not know that.  Could you please get word to him that I have transferred the money back to his checking account.  I imagine he needs a bike ASAP so I hope I haven't caused any inconvenience.  Thank you for the kind words.  He loves being a missionary!!!

Sincerely, 

Betsy Lowe