Week 40 (<-- CRAZY) We're Staying in Sisaket!!!

ANSWERED PRAYERS, because Sister Dem and I are staying one more transfer!! This last transfer call was of vital importance because it determined who you we would be spending Songkran with! (Thailand's biggest holiday) So needless to say there were rejoicings all night after we found out--SONGKRAN IN SISAKET!  [Thai New Year celebration April 13 complete with water fights]

FAITH TO FIND

So something I have seemed to notice myself lacking recently is the faith to find. In a week we talk to hundreds of people and it just seems like no one is interested ever. Our investigators are usually found through members, English class, etc. But with my last interview with President he asked us to decide one thing we really really wanted to change--faith was mine. I started with sincere prayer...I testify that God answers prayers. It has been 1 week and my attitude has changed completely (through multiple miracles given to me)

MIRACLE #1

We were going to the church and had about 10 minutes so I decided we should invite on our bikes for a few minutes before heading into the beautifully air conditioned church. We talked with a few people, no one interested and I slowly started biking away when I saw someone out of the corner of my eye. I almost biked away but I decided to give it a shot (the spirit, trust me) I started talking to her and it went like this:

*needless intro, "how are you" stuff like that*

"So we're missionaries of Jesus Christ, have you ever heard of Him or gone to church?"

"No, but I want to!"

.....what. This is where your jaw is supposed to drop. My faith skyrocketed! There trulyare people being prepared, RIGHT NOW! I let me faith slip because of the months without success, but the second I repented and decided to change, God made up the difference!

MIRACLE #2

We had a big Open House at the church (it was way over the top--Sisaket style) but we were really scared no one would come, so the night before we went inviting specifically to invite people to that. The first people we talked to were actually a family, and I kind of chased them down but it's fine. Anyway they seemed really interested and guess what? THE NEXT DAY THEY CAME! 

"We have actually been really curious about this church and have been meaning to come for awhile, but we didn't want to come without a reason, then yesterday you gave us a reason!"

Why is God so good?! Oh my goodness. So far we haven't been able to teach any of them, but if anything these experiences were given to me as a gentle kick to the heels to pick up my faith! I am so extremely grateful for a Heavenly Father who works with imperfect people. I testify that if we recognize our weaknesses and admit them to God with a willing heart to change, HE WILL MAKE US GLORIOUS. 

So yeah, that is the work in Sisaket. Amazing. Hard. Full of Miracles. Fun. Tiring. WORTH IT.

I love you all, I love this work and my challenge is for conference this week! (secretly jealous because Asia won't get it for another 2 weeks) Anyway--pay attention to the things that stick out to you, when you notice what it is, write it down and commit yourself to change! Conference is given to help us become better, not to entertain us for 10 hours twice a year. YOU CAN DO IT! ทำได้นะ 

Much much love,

Sister Hammon

PS. So apparently you go on a mission and time doesn't stop..because I hit my 9 month mark this week! (hump dayyy) We ate cake and did a Tim Tam Slam but I'm still in denial that I am half way done considering I still don't know what I am doing half the time--life as a missionary, it's the best

Love love love this cute member—Sister Booey ปุย 

Our cute English students!

Finally got a picture with Pan!!!!

Hahaha Elder Gundry’s final wish was to hold a funeral during our last district meeting.  

He has since passed away [aka returned home from his mission]

Ice cream after district meeting

This. Is. A. Tree. House.

This kid is named Jack and he is probably my favorite member in Sisaket. 

He LOVES going inviting with us ha ha  Oh goodness I love him.

I love the kids here.

Open House in Sisaket!

So on my ‘hump day’ God gave me this sunset…best. gift. ever.

Week 39 - Stake Sports Day = Sisaket CHAMPS

This week was SO FUN. We not only had Zone Conference but also the annual Stake Sports Day...needless to say we didn't get almost anything done in our area this week but it's okay because we have 3 people with a baptismal date!!!

ZONE CONFERENCE

We are SO blessed to be given such incredible leaders to guide us through our mission...namely President and Sister Johnson. Our entire district went into the meeting with so many questions and concerns and left without a single doubt that God answers our questions through our leaders. It was amazing.

A main theme was "STRIVE." To work hard every single day so that you become what you want to become. 

So yeah zone conference is the best spiritually, BUT also they make it super fun. We have incredible zone leaders and they are so focused on unity so we all woke up at 5 AM the day of conference (everyone slept in a hotel because it was so far away from our area) So we woke up and played volleyball as a zone for 2 hours and it was SO FUN. Then we had this cup game (see pictures) where we had to flip the cups a certain way, can't really explain it, but some people got way too into it...cough Elder Gundry cough....but it's the best. Being a missionary is the best, President and Sister Johnson are the best and Thailand is BY FAR the best mission in the world.

STAKE SPORTS DAY

So every year in March the Roiet Stake has a giant sports day where almost 9 wards/branches get together and compete. Lets just say Sisaket goes HARD. They haven't lost in years so we started practicing back in January (mainly for volleyball) Matching jerseys were a must as well as a Karaoke Bus to make the 4 hour trip to Roiet. (I cannot explan to you how much Khon Thais love karaoke) But we got there and it was so fun! Everyone brought their own giant drum to cheer their team on and there were probably 250 people there! 

At the end of the day (after we had won in volleyball) they surprised us by announcing a last minute competition--tug of war. Elder Gundry determined that Sisaket would destroy, and by destroy I'm sure he meant 'defeat in a polite way,' every other team...again some people got way too into it..cough Elder Gundry cough....but in the end we won and it was so great. Sisaket is amazing and it felt more like a giant family reunion competition than a stake thing.

THAI

Just a random fact--I AM HALF WAY THROUGH THE BOOK OF MORMON IN THAI! Considering the Thai Book of Mormon has bigger pages and is more than 700 pages long this is quite the accomplishment! So crazy how my brain has now managed to not only read, but understand the language of noodle! ภาษาไทยเป็นภาษาที่ดีที่สุดในโลกนะ

Again, this email is way jumpy. Basically I love life. This past week I had one of those, 'I am so incredibly happy' moments and just made me full of gratitude that God loves me enough to let me be a missionary in Thailand. I testify that God knows you, He knows your heart your desires your dreams and your fears. Because of that He wants us to be our VERY best, just like any parent would. So do your part and STRIVE to be your best..."We become what we want to be, by consistently being what we want to become each day." (Elder Richard G Scott) Make the changes you need to and do it. เปลี่ยน

Love you all, have an incredible week STRIVING TO CHANGE

เป็นผู้สอนศาสนาทำให้ฉันมีความสุขมากเลย, พระเจ้ารักคุณมากๆ!

ร้ก มาก มาก

Sister Hammon

PS. Transfers are this week...Elder Gundry is dying (ending his mission) but we don't know what will happen with Sister Dem and I...only thing we can do is trust in God and press forward! (and pray...pray very very hard)

UBON ZONE CONFERENCE

With Sister Dem

Oh yeah. I played the flute in zone conference!

 

Said ‘cup game.’ 

I was almost taken to the floor

“Elder Gundry got way too into it…”

STAKE SPORTS DAY

Said ‘karaoke bus’… you bet they sang from 6 am until 10 the entire way there

Also my companion is basically a championship ping ping player so there’s that

Our ‘cheer squad’ haha they are all so cute

Sisaket CHAMPS

We went to a big wat last Monday and came across this!  

Not quite sure what it is…so here!

This man came to visit with his family.  He served here 20 years ago 

and was here when these members got baptized!!!

Farewell dinner For Elder Gundry

I am almost 100% sure that the members in Sisaket pride themselves in how much weight missionaries gain while serving here…2 pizzas, a box of KFC, a bag full of rice and a Tai dish…all given to us AFTER we ate at a member’s house.

 Currency

Week 38- Grateful for an Eternal Family

Kind of a quiet week with every second of the day spent finding new investigators! The first presidency has been on President Johnson's heels about getting the country ready for a temple so therefore President has been on our heels to do that! The temple was announced almost 2 years ago and we haven't heard anything since...Hong Kong is a very far (and expensive) place to go for the nearest temple so we are doing everything we can to get this temple built!

SERVICE AND HEAT

There is this super sweet member in Sisaket who is so willing to help the missionaries but unfortunately doesn't care for her yard with that same determination. Haha so we had a giant service project to help her clean it up--also she invited a bunch of her friends and 10 of them came to help!! (all non members) It. Was. So. Hot. I am now getting used sweat constantly dripping down my face. Always. Haha every time we walk outside I brace myself to be overcome with humidity and Sister Dem just looks at me and says, "the hot season is just beginning Sister" hahahaha....but really. Pray for me! (Just for the record, Khon Thai's think it's crazy hot too, they just aren't as annoyed by the sweat as falangs are)

PAN

So I don't know if you remember Pan..but yesterday we had a miracle and gave her a baptismal date for April 23rd and she accepted!!! Cannot wait to keep working with her and see these miracles happen!  [Pan is the 18 year old college student  they have been teaching since the end of January.]

WEDDING

We randomly had a wedding at the church on Wednesday..the couple wasn't from Sisaket so we had a bunch of people drive about 10 hours to make it here! They asked me to play the flute and we thought it would be fast...well staying true to Thai culture everything was very late. Haha they told everyone (including us) that it started at 6 so we would all get there on time....in reality the ceremony started at 8...and people were still late. Haha but it was good, we invited some investigators so they could see how a Christian wedding is done!

     After the ceremony we were able to visit lots of people that attended the wedding and we were able to testify of the power of a temple sealing. I love the temple, honestly miss it so much, but every time I am able to testify of eternal families I get chills. I am so overcome with the love that God has for us to bless us with temples. And I will never be able to thank Him for a family that is mine for eternity. My challenge this week is for everyone who doesn't live 2000 kilometers away from the temple. GO TO THE TEMPLE THIS WEEK. The blessings will outweigh any sacrifice, I promise you that.

Sorry this email is sporadic, but I don't really know what else to say. I love Sisaket. I can't really explain it but part of my heart will always be here. The members here have honestly become my family. Sister Dem is incredible. We have SO much fun together and I am praying that transfers next week don't change anything for us. HAVE AN AMAZING WEEK! I love this work!

Much much love,

Sister Hammon

Wedding! We were all told to wear blue and white…

apparently they do themes for the weddings here haha

How adorable. Matching ties.

Also just a fun fact—this couple does not come to the Sisaket ward…

they just kind of chose to get married here because of family.

Handmade flowers

Crazy hot service project!

So. Much. Trash.

Yay for service

Arm wrestling. This was more intense than you think it was.

Also a completely normal thing in Thailand is to have your tiny baby 

(she is 8 months old) ride your motorcycle with you, 

hanging on with her little arms…haha 

I can only imagine if someone did his in America.

But hey, teaches kids responsibility right?

 

Haha super blurry but I stole one of the kid’s bikes and rode around in style for about 5 minutes. It was the best.

ANOTHER MISSION CALL!!!!!!! California San Diego—LAO SPEAKING!!! 

Everyone is so excited!!!

Sister Den snapped this picture.

We pass this way daily so there’s Thailand for you.

[Other sites they saw last p-day]