Week 37 - Best. Sports Night. Ever.

So good news everyone, the bike is fixed and I don't have to use one that is about to fall apart, so life is good!!!  Also for all of you that have been praying for Sisaket--IT IS WORKING. We have seen countless miracles this week including 4 NEW INVESTIGATORS! Thank you thank you, God truly hears our prayers.

WEEKLY ACTIVITIES IN THAILAND

So! Because the church is still relatively young here, the ward has almost daily activities to help members stay strong (considering they are usually the only member in their family. So I thought I would give you a run-down to explain my story:

Monday: Family Night! Missionaries almost always get invited over to member houses and have a family night with single members

Tuesday: Free English Class

Wednesday: Institute

Thursday: Scripture Class (taught by missionaries)

Friday: Sports Night!!

Basically it's the best because we can invite investigators to all of these activities so they can get better acquainted with the church without going to the more serious meetings on Sunday. 

SPORTS NIGHT

So this last Friday we were having a slow day to say the least. We headed to sports night with a little hope because we had a lesson planned right before. We taught one of our investigators at the church, came out to find the parking lot FULL of kids! Some we had just barely invited in a park not an hour earlier! One of the kids of our investigators came PLUS the investigator we just taught not only stayed, but went and got her nieces and nephews to come too! Sister Douk (recent convert) came and brought a bunch of sports equipment and it was the BEST. 

Honestly I was so happy at that point, all these non members (over 15) had a chance to meet the members and come to see that we are just normal people, focused on family that get overly competitive when we play sports! Ahhh love it, such a blessing!

Speaking of Sister Douk...her husband is not a member, but that is going to change. I KNOW that he will get baptized, give it 6 months. We are really close to their family so every time we visit I make jokes about him learning with us and Sister Douk told us that he said, "You know, I will eventually have to listen to Sister Hammon won't I?" PLUS last week he decided that alcohol was destroying his relationship with his family....SO HE QUIT AND HASN'T HAD A DRINK SINCE.

Forget 6 months, his conversion is coming, and it's coming fast. I just pray I will be here to see it!

INSIGHTS IN ETHER

So I am reading in the wonderful book of Ether and I had this little insight today--The Lord wants the Brother of Jared to come up with his own solution to have light while they travel across the ocean and his solution is rocks....honestly there is nothing more simple than a rock. But, with the Lord's help the rocks become glorious beacons of light. Just like those simple rocks, we are all simple and basic, but if we let Him, the Lord will make us glorious, just like the rocks. 

I am SO grateful for a loving Father in Heaven that not only allows, but encourages us to learn, grow and change, even though we make mistakes along the way. My challenge is for all of you to let God make the difference in you, and I promise if you do, you will become glorious, but only with His help.

Thank you so much, I love the mission, I love Thailand and I love the Lord!

Much much love,

ซิส๖อร์ แฮมมอน

Best of part of the week? Finding the park that is
only 5 minutes away from our house—inviting GOLD.
(Yet another Best Two Years moment as we practically
chase down people to tell them about Jesus.)

Something that makes this picture so much better is I was trying to contact
but the person ignored me, so I turned to contact Sister Dem as a joke
 and she had her camera out…and thus this picture was born.

Also we got to see this sunset while inviting, so Thailand isn’t too shabby.

I tried to take a lot of pictures of the houses this week-what most Thai kitchens look like

We were heading in to teach the scripture class and Elder Mac had drawn
a picture of an otter saying “today we are going to be teaching about otters” haha.
The members were so confused, it was the best.

Thailand makes the most of every vehicle and that is for sure.

SPORTS NIGHT
(Don’t worry.  They other people are behind me or inside playing ping pong.)

Inviting at the market!

Something random about Thailand—they have all this outside gym equipment for anyone to use! Makes morning workouts a lot better, let me tell you!

Randomly came upon this gorgeous lake thing right behind a park. Yay!

So this little baby is about the same age as my niece so I decided to adopt her as my Thai niece. It’s the best (except for the fact that I can’t hold her  haha)

Yay for sketchy highway bike rides!

Week 36 - Sister Hammon and Her Broken Bike

WEATHER

     So for the past 4-ish months we have been in Thailand's "cold season" which basically just means it is a comfortable temperature but a little on the hot side. This past week we started to enter into Thailand's "hot season." Let's just say it will be an exciting few months!!! (Bike riding in 37 degrees C/100 degrees F is quite the adventure) So I will keep you updated on my survival.

BROKEN BIKE

     Haha so were were racing to teach Sister Pan before English Class on Tuesday and I switched gears too fast--well actually I don't really know what I did, but all of a sudden my back tire locked. LOCKED. I started laughing so hard as we looked at what happened (see picture) The gear lock on my bike had completely twisted up and reverted in on itself. Hahaha only I could break a bike that bad. Luckily we were close to a member's house so we went there with the members that were planning on helping us teach Pan and we all gathered around my poor bike trying to fix it. Oh man, everyone said, "how did you do this??" Hahaha it was so funny! In the end after being stranded for about 2 hours I borrowed one of our Bishop's bikes because mine needs to get a 1000 baht fix... go me! Anyway I promise there is a reason I am telling you this story! *this is the moment that you all realize that a gospel analogy is coming*

      So again, since I am a missionary, I have a gospel view on everything in life. As Sister Dem and I were working on the bike our hands became covered in grease. They stayed like that for a solid hour or two while we kept trying to fix it. It was so annoying to me because I couldn't really touch anything besides my bike or it would become stained. FINALLY we got some water and started scrubbing, but sadly it did nothing. Absolutely nothing, except spread the grease around on our hands. I was so shocked, I thought the water would help for sure. Right after that, the member offered us some soap so we could get it off. It still took some scrubbing, but our hands were finally made clean.

     Just like the thick layer of grease, the sins in our life can be annoying and seem to stain everything. Sometimes we think we can just live with it, but in reality we cannot move on in life until we take care of it. We will try to use 'water' to get off, but in the end the only way we can be clean again is through soap--or the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It still takes work and it isn't immediate, but it can be done. This little insight made me so grateful for the sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and for the ability that we all have to be freed from the filth of sin. Especially being here in Thailand, everyone always says that Buddhism is enough for them. But what they don't understand is that there is no other way, only through Jesus Christ can they achieve true happiness. 

     Challenge: use the Atonement to its fullest this week and stay away from the grease in life!

THE WORK IN SISAKET

    I truly love this place with my entire heart. Recently the elders have been witnessing SO MANY MIRACLES and Sister Dem and I are just trying to keep up! Haha we can't figure out what we need to change because we are trying our hardest, but just aren't seeing the results we should be. Thankfully, we both understand that all we can do is our best and the rest is up to the Lord! Honestly so grateful for a companion like her. We are able to have so much fun together even when our 7th back up plan falls through (true story haha) Pray for the work in Sisaket please!

ร้ก มาก มาก

Sister Hammon

PS. MIRACLES ARE HAPPENING!!! After 22 weeks, the government allowed the Saints in Laos to partake of the sacrament!!!! President just sent an email to let us all know--truly the work is hastening! 

RED BIKE: that is correct, the lock thing is at the bottom

MY ORANGE BIKE: the lock thing is flipped completely around, almost to the top!

Hahaha I honestly don’t know how I did it.

How many people does it take to fix Sister Hammon’s bike?

Hahaha after our 7th back up plan failed 

we got banana chocolate shakes for our dinner hour—best decision ever.

This is a huge joke—so a member gave me this pink floral skirt 

and wanted me to wear it that day (while I had a floral shirt on already) 

so Sister Den decided the best thing to do was go full floral.  

Don’t know why but we were both rolling on our beds laughing. haha 

Oh I love her.

So I found Boise State…in Sisaket, Thailand!  Haha  Oh the things you find…

Inviting at this GORGEOUS park in Roiet 

(I need to serve in this area because it is AMAZING)

My companion for a day—Sister Tag from Bangkok!

I wanted to see this cute little pavilion (is that what it is called in English? I can’t remember) Anyway while we were there we contacted this woman who was so interested and we were able to reach her bout 20 minutes! Miracles in Roiet!

Random giant golden statue thing…welcome to Thailand

Whenever kids see me that all scream “hello” at the top of their lungs in their cute Thai accent…ah it is the most adorable thing in the world

So I have a mini dictionary I carry around with me everywhere, then Elder Gundry saw it and said, “Sister Hammon, I think you need to raise your vision” and he pulled out this GIANT dictionary he has carried around for over a year. That is dedication my friends.

8026 The stack of books is just for my language study…

haha it keeps on growing even after the MTC

Week 35 - 1 Baptism + 2 New Investigators = 1 Happy Companionship

What a week of MIRACLES. As you can see by the title, not only did Sister Douk (แม่ ตู๊ก) get baptized but we were able to contact 2 new investigators as well! (You bet Sister Dem and I took a solid minute to do a happy dance, because these are the first new investigators we have had in WEEKS)

VALENTINES DAY

     So, I'm the English Leader and last minute we decided that since Valentines Day was on Tuesday (teach free English class) it would be a great chance to have the members get to know the students that come every week! It was definitely last minute but it was a testimony to me that if you really set your heart on something (and work your tail off) you can make anything happen.

     Thanks to the AMAZING members here in Sisaket (I love them with my whole heart) and our tiny district planning all day, we pulled off an INCREDIBLE activity at night! We had SO many non members and they had a chance to meet all the members and see how great they are, ahhh. It was the best, my heart was so happy! We basically made valentines and played BINGO but they thought it was the greatest activity haha, it's all about simplicity right?

BAPTISM OF SISTER DOUK (แม่ ตู๊ก)

     So I have explained a little about her but I'll do a recap. She is the mother of one of our recent converts and she has more faith than anyone I have ever taught. It was a long road getting her to baptism, but she kept pressing forward and yesterday was able to enter the waters of baptism. As a missionary almost everything we work for is helping people change their lives so they are worthy to make a promise with God that they will follow Him and Jesus Christ their entire life, and when we actually get the opportunity to see it happen...ah. There really are no words other than Alma's, "Now have we not great reason to rejoice?" 

     After the baptism, she was able to share her thoughts and she said, "When I went down in the water I felt like I was dying, because I came up and felt like I was born again. I am a new person. Everything inside of me that was bad has now left and I feel so good." The sweetness of that moment cannot be explained but I will forever love that sweet sweet woman. All that's next is helping her husband learn with the missionaries and seeing that adorable family sealed in the BANGKOK TEMPLE in a few short years!

I just want to challenge all of you to think back to the day you were baptized (if you're not baptized yet consider this a challenge to ask yourself why you haven't taken that step yet) and remember that feeling. I feel like so many of us (myself included) have forgotten how sacred and special that day was because it happened when we were so young. Seeing an adult experience it is so special because they fully comprehend the power of the spirit and oh how blessed we are. I love this work, I love the people in Thailand and I love the Lord!

ร้ก มาก มาก

Sister Hammon

PS. Sister Cordon (of the Primary General Presidency) came to Thailand and not only gave me a shout out in her talk, but she quoted part of my last email! So basically I am 'mission famous' now haha...even if I turned bright red listening to her read it

PPS. I just found out that someone Sister Bilavanh and I started teaching (Sister Maow) in Bang Na is now getting baptized next week!!! Ah, the joy keeps on coming :)

BAPTISM

Baptism day!!!

That’s her cute grandson. (He has this adorable ancient Thai hairstyle.) 

And she told us he is going to be a missionary someday :)

Sister Douk with her daughter!!! (first member in her family)

Happy happy happy 😃

VALENTINES ENGLISH CLASS

Haha the heart shape was the Elder’s idea but everyone loved it!

Valentines BINGO!

So many people and so much food!

Haha the Bishop ate like 15 slices of watermelon and he just kept going!

ANIMAL PARK

Entrance Fee 20 baht (57 cents)

If you knew me before the mission you knew I had this obsession with otters….
this may have been the best p-day of my mission (and it happened by accident!)

HOW ADORABLE IS THIS?!?!?!?!

Seriously I can’t get over how cute the little guy is

 Happy birthday Elder Gundry! 
(notice Elder Mac's face--his first time at a sketchy หมูกะทะ and he was a little scared)

A day in the mission field in Thailand

Week 34 - NEW COMPANION- Always always always a Khon Thai!

SURPRISE! I got a new companion this week and to be frank, I adore her. 

TRANSFERS

So! Transfers in the Esan are nothing short of an adventure. We got the transfer call Tuesday night and by Wednesday night we had all of Sister Panjaree's stuff packed and we were on a bus heading to Bangkok! 

-10 hour bus ride to Bangkok

-1 hour taxi ride from bus station to mission office (always an adventure with a bike + luggage...bribes are necessary for the taxi driver to take us with that much stuff haha!)

-2 hour pit-stop at the mission office to pick up new companion and talk to everyone before the AP's kick everyone out

-1 hour taxi ride from mission office to bus station

-2 hour wait at bus station 

-10 bus ride back to SISAKET!

So by Thursday night I had spent basically 20ish/24 hours in a vehicle--whew thank goodness transfers are 6 weeks apart haha.

SISTER DEMSIRI

     I. Love. Her. She is 24, a college graduate (engineering), happy, ready to work and THAI! Could I have asked for anyone better? I keep joking with President that he doesn't think I can speak Thai yet because he keeps putting me with Khon Thais but it is SUCH A BLESSING. I have had FOUR companions to learn the language and culture from when most missionaries in Thailand only get 1 their entire mission! Not gonna lie, I really want to keep this streak and never be placed with a falang--I'll start praying;)

     ANYWAY I'm the senior companion but we have both been out the same amount of time, which is the best. We both feel like we don't really know anything/aren't amazing missionaries yet, but we have determination to TRY so with everything we do it is with the attitude of "let's go for it!" AH! This transfer will be miracle filled, mark my words.

     Also Sister Dem has only been a member 2 years so it makes her desire to be here SO STRONG. She is the only member in her family and so her testimony is rock solid. The members here in Thailand are incredible. Yes, there are some who are เฉยเฉย (go with the flow/don't really care) but they fade in comparison to others that literally dedicate their lives to the church! In Thailand most members are the only Christians in a family of Buddhists and face some persecution for their beliefs. They are surrounded by old temptations because Buddhism is literally in this country's culture, and yet they still believe and still follow their Savior Jesus Christ. I look up to and am able to learn so much from them. Honestly it is a blessing to serve these incredible incredible people.

New companion Sister Dem!!  : )

DO WHAT YOU CAN DO

So this past week has been crazy. The work in Sisaket has slowed way down and it has left Sister Dem and I to reevaluate everything and try our best to turn it around! Again, we both feel super inexperienced but it has been a testimony to me that we are not the ones working here, it is the Lord. Yesterday in church we may have found 2 people to get baptized this transfer! (Pan, who I have mentioned earlier, and a random walk-in) MIRACLES. It was so crazy to know that in just a few days, God has blessed us for our work/determination. Made me think of this quote I found from President Hinckley:

"I hope you will simply do what you can do in the best way you know. If you do so you will witness miracles come to pass."

This could not be more applicable to us! I feel so weird trying to lead the area while being the senior companion as a falang but when we tried our best, God sent the miracles. Goodness I am so grateful for a Father in Heaven that understands our circumstances. He doesn't care about numbers or statistics, but people (including his missionaries) So very blessed this week. 

I CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS TRANSFER!

Love you all, don't forget to 'do what you can do' this week, the miracles will come, I promise.

Much much love,

Sister Hammon

Farewell dinner for Sister Panjaree at the home of Sister Doug. 

ALSO HEADS UP. SHE GETS BAPTIZED NEXT WEEK!!!

Transfers

Sister Dee caught this picture of me while we were going to serve. 

This is right outside our apartment.

We had a sudden death service project the other day—

had to cut down this mango tree that has millions of red fire ants living it it.  

They.  Were.  Everywhere.

THERE WERE MILLIONS OF THEM. 

They were all over you biting you everywhere and in your shoes and socks

 and on your neck, in your hair—EVERYWHERE. Hahaha ohhhh man, memories.

So. Many. Ants.

Love service with members here because you serve for 2 hours 

then they feed you until your stomach is about to burst.

Also, I don’t know if I have mentioned this before 

but almost 80% of meals here are eaten on the floor—

this is great for my financial future 

because I will never have to buy furniture. (sarcasm people)

This is SO SPECIAL! So the Bishop’s daughters both got their mission calls. 

In Thailand it so SO special if you can go somewhere English speaking and 95% of the the Khon Thai either go to Australia or Thailand..

But these two BOTH got called to ENGLAND!!!!! 

London and Birmingham leaving the same day!!!! It was SO SPECIAL!

So. Much. Food. Dinner at the Bishop’s house on Sunday!

Will never tire of these sunsets.