CHRISTMAS ZONE CONFERENCE
Ahhh honestly best day ever. Because President and Sister Johnson love us they brought Christmas to us! We got to watch The Best Two Years (highlight), ate delicious food, played random games all day and even received a little training because we are indeed missionaries! Haha super fun and reminded me just how much I love being a missionary:)
THE STORY OF BANGMII
About 2 months ago my companion and I were waiting for an appointment and decided to get some inviting in before they came. I saw a cute girl walking up and started talking to her, then my companion took over and I talked with other people. My companion told her we had another appointment the next day, and she (Bangmii) came!!
From the very beginning she told us she wanted to find comfort in this message because she has had a rough past...her mother has recently died, her boyfriend cheated on her, she has depression and has been in other abusive relationships, not to mention made a living by dancing at a bar. From our first lesson she just wanted more and more and kept meeting with us so often. Members were there for comfort and support, miraculously finding members with almost the exact same past as hers!
She started to have this light and wanted to learn more and more. We gave her a date and it couldn't come fast enough, she was so ready. Preparing for her interview we asked her what repentance meant to her and she said "it means everything to me, because now I can actually progress." She changed her entire life to get baptized and being there to watch it happen was precious.
Yesterday she entered into the waters of baptism! It was so cute, she kept holding on to her Book of Mormon and actually took it back to the font then realized it couldn't go in, but she was glowing all day! Afterwards she shared a small testimony and said, "I can't even explain how good I feel. I've repented and words can't explain how I'm feeling. Really, I just don't know how to describe it."
One of her first Sunday's in church the Relief Society lesson was on how Christ is our Shepherd and Bangmii absolutely loved it. She kept mentioning it to us in our lessons how happy she was that Christ finds the lost sheep and brings them back to the fold..because just a few months ago she was the lost sheep, and He sent us to find her. In her baptismal service we asked her her favorite hymn and all she said was, "something about the lost sheep" so we sang 'Dear to the Heart of the Shepherd' and she could not stop smiling!
Her love for shepherds really opened my eyes and made me that much more grateful for my Savior..our Good Shepherd. Around this time of year we focus on His birth, but let us not forget His lifetime. Despite the person He went out, found them and helped them return:
"Our Good Shepherd is unchanging and feels the same way today about sin and sinners as He did when He walked the earth. He does not recoil from us because we sin, even if He on occasion must think, “But what a sheep!” He loves us so much that He provided the way for us to repent and become clean so we can return to Him and our Heavenly Father. In doing so, Jesus Christ also set the example for us to follow—to show respect to all and hatred toward none."(Dale G. Renlund)
So, this Christmas season let us go and find the lost sheep. Befriend a less active member, share a social media post, love your neighbors and serve God's children. What a wonderful time to be in the labor of His children...it is my hope and prayer that I will never tire of helping our Good Shepherd rescue His flock. I am just grateful I get to experience the joy of seeing it first hand.
I love being a missionary. I am so incredibly blessed to be among the work in Thailand. I love Christmas and know there isn't a better time to share the gospel and the Light of Christ. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! Don't forget the reason for the season!
Much much love,
ซีสเตอร์ แฮมมอน
Bangmii!! (please note the Book of Mormon in her hands)
Merry Christmas from Bangkok North
Cutest companions you ever did see
Our Christmas set up (thank you families for the packages!)
Because we’re in Thailand there are no pet laws…
so we got to hold a meerkat and some exotic fox.
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