Karsten's Adventures in the Kingdom of Thailand: Week 3 Chiang Mai

Dear Friends and Family

So during this past week my companion and I were able to go and visit some less actives in the ward. I thought about this on Monday. I told my companion that we should try and visit some less actives. I was thinking that all they needed was a few visits from the Elders to help them feel that they are loved. I sure wanted all the people to feel that they weren't forgotten. So Elder Chris and I hopped on our bikes and we followed a member to the house of this less active member. Now the member we were following didnt know exactly where this member lived but the general idea. So we followed this member on her motorcycle through this narrow corridor I guess you could call it and we followed it for what seemed like forever until we popped out the other side. The member turn us around and we followed the same path that we took and this time we took a left instead of a right. We then traveled this narrow corridor till we came to the end. We had found the members house. When we got there, there was a dog barking and these really high walls. We called for the mans name and he poked his head out the window. He came outside down the stairs. This man didnt really want us to come over, you could tell. Now before I go on I do need to tell you that I called this man a few days before to ask him to come back to church and what he told me was that he couldnt because he wasnt able to walk. He had just gotten surgery done on his leg and walking wasnt really an option for him. This is a big reason I wanted to visit him. On with the story, so some of the first words out of his mouth were, what do you want? Can I help you? I just told him we wanted to share a simple message with him. So I shared a scripture with him (2 Nephi 31:20) and told him that at times it is hard to endure to the end but we can all do it with the help of Christ. We talked more and more and my companion shared a scripture and the man was starting to warm up to us more and more. It was really cool to see! By the time we were done we were laughing and just having a good time. We invited the man to come back to church and to the wedding we would have on Saturday. The man offered a closing prayer and we were on our way. I cant tell you if we did anything for that man but what I do know is that I sure felt like I did something right. I felt like I was doing what Christ would have done if he were here. I was very thankful for the opportunity to find this man and invite him back to church.

Elder Chris and I were able to visit some other less active members who own a restaurant...well we might have to visit them more ha. We went with another member to visit these other two less actives. They are such great people! We talked about church and the priesthood and they said they pray and read often which is great. They just said that they work on Sundays but we will try and do the best we can with that. They only way we found these two less actives was through members help. We asked for a referral from a member and he told us about two less actives. That was good enough for me. Members can play a big role into helping us find those lost sheep or the ones that have just gone astray. Yesterday we had a fireside about helping bring back Melchizedek Priesthooders. It is really vital to us getting a temple in Thailand. If we can help those brothers come back and help those that dont have the priesthood prepare and receive the priesthood we will have a stronger foundation to support a temple here. It is a slow process but with the help of the members we can get the ball rolling faster!

Also this past Saturday we had a wedding, and the man that we visited came to the wedding and saw members that he had missed. That was really cool to see! I saw my first wedding in Thailand. It was at the church. Us missionaries had been helping a little to get this all set up. I think a lot of the branch was involved in. It turned out so great! I think both the people that got married were a little stunned ha. It was a great turn out. We all went into the chapel and there were two speakers and then someone in the branch presidency married them and then they kissed each other....on the checks ha. This little wedding made me think of: Families can be Together Forever. I dont know if they will be able to go through the temple soon but we believe that through temples and Heavenly Fathers plan we can live with our families forever after we die. That is a great big reason I came on my mission. To help families be together forever. I want to help complete families and those part member families as well. I am so thankful for this knowledge about families. I love my family and I am grateful that I will be able to live with them after I die. We are all one great family. He are all apart of Heavenly Fathers family. Families is where we grow, have fun, laugh, have good times and bad times, where we get to enjoy each others company and where we get to feel that sense of belonging. I truly testify that families can be together forever. I challenge you all to try and go to the temple this week and feel the love that Heavenly Father has for you in the temple.

Right now my companion and I dont have much as far as investigators. We have been having a rough little while getting people to church and new investigators. Its okay though, it doesnt mean that we are doing bad it just may mean that we need to step it up! That is what we will do! Work harder and step it up. I dont want to look back on my mission and have regrets. That will not happen. Work everyday, all day till my time is up.

Well talk to you soon. Take care and have a great week!

Love
Elder Hinckley