Week 74: Halloween and the New Prince of Thailand

To everyone back home...HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I can't believe it was Halloween week and now November! I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween and got a ton of candy. For me I had been planning this Halloween for a while since it will be my last Halloween in Thailand. We are teaching this guy named Tui (ตุ้ย) and he has a ton of clothing at his house for his work. He let me borrow a prince outfit, so Elder Tu and I dressed up as princes haha. Needless to say, it was a really good Halloween and I had a ton of fun. 

Me and Elder Laurence finally finished editing the video we made and we are excited to post it soon! It looks pretty good, but it is a little long!!

On Wednesday, we had zone conference and it went really well! Elder Despain and I gave a training about following the spirit and how we can become more successful missionaries. It was way awesome!!! It was full of the spirit and President Hammond gave a strong training on prophets. I know that we have a living prophet today to guide the true church of Jesus Christ! I'm thankful for a prophet or a mouthpiece of the Lord that allows us to communicate with our Heavenly Father. We can hear the words of the Lord through his prophet. 

President Hammond also interviewed me and has inspired me to continue to find and teach families!!

Speaking of families, the one we are teaching is so good. They are so close to being baptized and they really know the things we teach to be true. We are planning for them to be baptized very soon! I'm so excited. 

I also got to do a switch off with Elder Robley and Elder Halversen from Korat! They are way cool and it's always fun to go on splits with Elder Halversen cause he is in my group from the MTC. 

Lastly, we went around on Saturday visiting a ton of members. Me and my companion probably visited 15 different houses of families or individuals! We gave them some fruit and chocolate milk just to let them know we are here to serve them and help them develop a stronger relationship with us. 

Love, 

Elder Lowe

เอ็ลเดอร์โลว์

P.S. My house has been filthy, like absolutely disgusting. No missionaries have cleaned it for so so long. So we decided to clean the house and it looks really good - good as new!!

Halloween Activity:

Sister ?, Sister Nielson, Robert and Elder Despain

Delicious

Week 53: The Rain is Coming of Down

So I know I've probably complained too much about how hot it is in Thailand over the last couple of months. Although it is still very hot, Thailand has entered into the rainy season. The summer season is ending and the rainy season is starting.  What that means is that when it rains, it pours. And it tends to pour just about every day. In addition to the pouring rain, what you need to understand is Bangkok is below sea level, so it floods every time it rains.  Honestly, I love the rain so much so this is such a blessing haha! 

So this week was so cool! We were able to teach with a bunch of members and recent converts. Also we have this person that we are teaching named C, and she is so awesome. She is really reading and pondering the scriptures and praying everyday. She came to church on Sunday and while I was sitting next to her, she was reading in the book of mormon. Then she told me that she believes this church to be true and she has a lot of faith in this church. I was so happy that she is becoming converted. However, the next thing she told me really shocked me - She told me that she asked her boss if she could get off on Sundays so she could come to church and her boss said no. So she started praying and asking God what she should do. She told me that instantly the phone rang and it was me asking her to come to church. She told me that that was her answer! ...so she quit her job on the spot and came to church immediately. It was incredible!!! This lady has so much faith and I know because of her sacrifices she will be blessed immensely!! 

I got to go on a switch off with Elder English this week, my zone leader. He is really awesome and I learned a couple of things from him. When we went to teach lessons to members, he would just talk with them and we would tell stories to build a friendship. Sometimes I just go into lessons and begin teaching and asking people to repent, but he was so good at building a relationship with the Thai people first! 

Zone conference was this week and it was centered on working with members!! President said, "As we use more time with members and strengthen them, the number of baptisms will increase, not decrease." 

Lastly the amazing BYU Vocal Point came to Bangkok Thailand to perform - WOW!!!!  It was really cool - they are amazing. I never thought I would go to a concert on my mission but the Lord truly blessed me, haha. They were way good and are such a light to the Thai people.  Search BYU Vocal Point on YouTube to see what I am talking about.

Love you all so much!!

Elder Lowe

เอ็ลเดอร์โลว์

1) random guy I contacted and helped him sweep

2) switch offs with Elder English

3 & 4) The members are the best

Week 38: Birthday week the BIG 20

Well first I want to thank everyone for wishing me a happy birthday! I cant believe I am finally 20 but I guess it had to come eventually. I'm so grateful to be in Thailand surrounded by so many loving people. Also getting to call my family on my birthday was amazing! 

So a little recap of this week...

To start, it was a HOT WEEK! I'm not sure why but in Phuket I was legit just sweating all the time. I'm so tan now that people are going to think that I'm a คนไทย (thai person) soon. 

It was a week of a lot of teaching with many packed days. We have gotten a lot of referrals lately and are teaching so many people. It is so cool to see this place where it is now from where it started. We had very few people and the branch wasn't doing that great, but nowadays the branch is doing way good and we have soooooo many people to teach Miracles!! 

In terms of funny and cool stories this week, I will start with this Russian lady we are teaching. So at church this Russian lady, who is a member, begins talking to me and asks me if my companion and I could teach her friend who is not a member. We bike quite a long time to this lady's house and once we get there we realize that her friend doesn't speak English or thai. We would speak in English and the Russian member would translate everything over. It was so funny and one of the craziest Restoration lessons I have ever taught. I'm not sure how well she will progress but she did come to church yesterday which was way awesome. 

Last week we met this man named พร (pawn) and he is quite the character. So he has gone to church in Bangkok and has read the book of mormon before we met him. We tried to teach him the restoration this week and he said he already knew it all. I asked him if he believed the book of mormon to be true and he said yes. Then I asked if he believed that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and he did. Basically he knows this church is true but doesn't want to be baptized again (with proper authority)...so we are gonna have to work on that! 

Ok last thing for this week is that our mission president gave me and my companion a project. We are supposed to make an English ad that will be used all over Thailand. We don't have any proper equipment to make a good video so I'm just gonna hope and pray that it turns out good haha. 

I love you all!! This week I was able to memorize a 10 min and 30 sec video. It's a video with talks from President Eyring and Elder Holland who are so fire! I love what Elder Holland says about this work: "when we struggle, when we are rejected, when we are spit upon, and cast out, and made a hiss and a byword we are standing shoulder to shoulder with the best life this world has ever known. The only pure and perfect missionary that ever lived." I'm so grateful to be a part of the Lord's glorious work and I know as long as "we are faithful, He is with us."

I hope everyone has a great week. 

Love,

Elder Lowe เอ็ลเดอร์โลว์

1) when teaching brother อาณาจักร (anajag), my companion took a photo. Pretty cool right!

2,4) teaching and playing with the little kids on the streets!

3,5) Branch service project. Picking up trash is the best!!

Video Chat with my family (added by mom)

Week 15: Phuket, here I come

So this week has been insane to say the least! Literally insane. Too much has happened that I honestly can't write it all. 

So there were too many miracles this week and the Lord is truly blessing me personally as well as my companion. To start, we found so many new investigators this week who seem to be ready to hear the gospel. It had been frustrating a little bit in the past weeks because it seemed like we were working so hard and none of our investigators were progressing, but we found so many new people and got so many referrals! 

ต้น is one of the referrals we got and he has been to church two weeks in a row. He doesn't really understand too much about this gospel but he has a desire to learn, which is the key. We have taught him a couple lessons and invited him to be baptized … and he accepted! He is such a cool guy to teach and I really hope he gets baptized in the near future. 

Another crazy referral this week was this older lady, ป้า ดา, who had been really sick lately. There was a good possibility that she had developed มะเร็ง (cancer). She had been to the hospital multiple times and then got a blessing from the Elders Quorum President. The next day she found out she didn't have cancer and started feeling a little better. She then said she wanted to be baptized just because of the power of that blessing. TheElders Quorum President told her she needed to take the lessons from the Elders which is where we come in. We have taught her some really great lessons and we can see how strong her faith is. We have given her another blessing and visited her at the hospital this week. I care about this old lady so much already and I barely know her. I think it's just crazy the way God opens my heart to love these people so much. 

So about 2 weeks ago we went inviting and talked to this girl for maybe 30 seconds. We invited her to come to church with us and she said she would but we never saw her after that. That was until we open the door after church on Sunday and she is just sitting on a bench right outside the church. She told us she had been looking for the church all day and was just waiting for us to teach her. It was unbelievable! We began teaching her how to pray to her Heavenly Father and she loved it. By the end of the week she accepted a baptismal date. Some people are just prepared and when the Lord just hands you these people, all I can feel is gratitude in my heart. 

Another thing I just love about Thailand is the opportunities I get to serve everyday. Especially this week we did some service projects in the hot and humid sun and I was so drenched by the end of it all. In Thailand I honestly feel like I am always wet. It's even humid in the house so after I get out of the shower I start sweating! Its awesome!!!, and I seriously love this mission and the opportunity to be a missionary to bless people's lives and serve them. 

This week there has also been such a huge progress in my language ability. I had worried about it so much in past weeks but this week I just decided to relax and forget about myself and get to work. So that's what I did and my language improved so much. I feel way more comfortable talking with people and leading lessons all of the sudden. I don't know why but the Lord is looking over me so much right now. 

Transfer stuff:

Transfers are this week! This is my first transfers in country. We were anticipating a call all of Tuesday night and eventually the President called and said that my trainer will be training someone else next transfer. What?  We didn't know if that meant I was leaving or if he was leaving. My companion kept telling me I would leave because otherwise he would whitewash an area. Finally we get a phone call and the AP says Elder Davis will be staying and that I will be staying as well...in another area lol. 

I have enjoyed this area, Chiang Rai, so much and I am going to miss it more than you can imagine. That's right...I will be leaving Chiang Rai after one transfer. I was super bummed. I have felt the love for all these people and I feel like I just got here. I truly care for and love these people with all my heart and this place will be deeply missed. I will never forget this time here in Chiang Rai. 

Well, when I got the phone call the AP said that I needed to be sitting down because he had some insane news for me. He then told me that I would be going to Phuket!! For those who don't know, Chiang Rai is the most northern part of Thailand and Phuket is the most southern. So in the next day I will be traveling to the opposite end of the country. I have heard only great things and I can't wait to get there and start working again. I know the Lord wants me in Phuket for a specific reason so I'm just going to keep trying to be the best missionary I can be and keep this work moving forward. The Phuket area was just opened up about 6 transfers ago and only 5 elders have served there. I will be the 6th and the first greenie so wish me luck! 

Love you all so much and I'm so grateful for the support. I still haven't met my new trainer but his name is Elder Tu. I have heard only great things!! I will be in Phuket next time I email and I'm ready for the adventure that will soon begin. 

Love 

Elder Lowe 

เอ็ลเดอร์โลว์

1) doing some service in the hot sun

2) talking with a person about Jesus Christ

3) the legacy of former missionaries in Chiang Rai

4) talking with people on the streets with comp

5) baptism of sister หนึ่ง

Week 74

Happy Oaks day!!!! (Kentucky holiday in may for those of you not from Kentucky)!!!

... Just kidding though but Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles came to our mission and spoke to us!!! I got to shake his hand and everything!! It was really amazing to be in the presence of an apostle. He has such a powerful testimony of the gospel and missionary work. Lots to say about it but not much time to write it. I had a lot of exchanges this week again. I feel like I rarely get to be in my area with this STL stuff. But the exchanges were great and I am so impressed with these new sisters who just came out this transfer that I've gotten to work with. In both full day exchanges I went on, we got to invite two people to be baptized that we weren't planning on doing before the lesson but then the spirit told us to, so we did and they said yes! Exchanges always bring miracles. While I was gone Sister Coakley found 3 new investigators!!! Whoot!!! she's doing so great, and we work super well together.

Funny story: We knocked this one house and when the little girl answered the door she yelled "THE MORMONS ARE HERE!!" I think the whole neighborhood heard. Well her parents (who aren't members) came to the door and we began to teach them. The parents weren't to interested but the 3 teenagers who haven't been baptized were interested in the lessons! Whoot!! We are excited to teach them.

To describe this week in one word it would be:

Rough.

We had a lot of lessons planned this week but Every. Single. One. Of. Them. Cancelled. It's like when we first meet these people they seem so interested and want us back and then we come back and they aren’t there:/ I call them flakey investigators. But as this has happened this week I reflected on how Heavenly Father feels when we let him down or turn away from him. And it is the worst feeling. I know I have been one of his flakey investigators before and now I know how he feels. But the thing is, he still loves us and is patient with us. And I am starting to feel that same Christ like love for these people even when they frustrate me or bring me heart ache. All of it is worth it because we are bringing souls unto him.

One of my favorite quotes from two conferences ago pretty much sums it up, it's by Elder Palmer, he says: "My dear brothers and sisters, now anytime you feel you are being asked to do something hard--think of the Lord beholding you, loving you, and inviting you to let it go and follow Him. And thank Him for loving you enough to invite you to do more."

I thank Heavenly Father everyday for loving me enough to invite me to do more.

Sister Lowe

1-2 exchanges with Sister Spotten

3 I GOT TO HOLD A CHICKEN
Marissa with baby chicks

4 raking leaves for service

5 Halloween parties

6 service in Huntsville when on exchanges with Sister Feeney

7 pretty sky:)

Week 73 - Corn Maze

First and foremost... HAPPY BAPTISM ANNIVERSARY TO DEVAN!!! She got baptized a whole year ago today:)) and she is the greatest! I'm so proud and happy for her!

I'm not gonna lie this week was a bit slow. All of investigators were either gone hunting, having surgery, or just wouldn't meet with us… yeah we spent most of our time tracting which is good but sometimes can be tiring.

So highlights of the week:

We met with Jospeh this week and we asked him to read and pray about the Book and he answered and said "what if I already feel it's true, do I still have to pray about it?" YEAH that was cool! He said he just feels the spirit as he reads it, so that's awesome. The only thing is that he has lots of problems with the word of wisdom. He chews tobacco, drinks alcohol, coffee, and tea... so he's a work in progress.

We had a mission conference on Friday and so I got to see all my friends in the mission! President Allred called up companionships to do 4-minute resto and of course he picked Sister Coakley and I. We did it in front of the whole mission... yeah it was nerve wrecking but I think it went over well.

I went on a bunch of exchanges this week... yay STL life! Exchanges are fun but I miss my area and comp but it's fun to be with other sisters, I always learn a lot.

This  week has been tiring for me. I just am so exhausted every night. 

We had stake conference this week and one of the talks talked about being tired. They talked about how Jesus was probably tired but he never stopped. He would go from fasting for 40 days, to teaching and preaching sermons, to being Beaton, scouraged, and stricken, to dying on the cross, to being resurrected, to preaching, teaching, and healing again.... He never stopped. He never was too tired to do anything. He pressed forward to do his fathers will. So I am going to press forward with a steadfastness in Christ and do my fathers will as will.

Love you all, have a great week!

Sister Lowe

1. Pday corn maze with my zone

2-3. Mission conference got to see Davis and Schultz

4. Fall - Halloween in UTAH

5-7 stake conference

Sister Coakley and Marissa

8-9. The valley

10. Baptism anniversary pic