Week 9 Chaing Mai

Dear Family and Friends

This past week was busy busy busy! We did all that we could and still managed to have a miracle! 

This past week for PDay we went to Chaing Rai to ride elephants and ostriches and I can tell you what that it was something I will never forget!

This week we had a great Zone Conference this past week. It was here in Chaing Mai. Since this was happening we had to get a lot of work done so that we would be able to try and get balanced. Now balanced are our key indicators that we put in each week. President Senior told us this past week that he doesnt want companionship key indicators. He wants district key indicators. It is to create more unity in the mission. Soon he wants us to have zone and then mission key indicators. I think and agree with president Senior when he said that this mission needs more unity! If we arent working all together then we cant get anywhere. 

At zone conference we talked about Christ. Why? Because it is almost Easter! There is a new video out on Mormon.org and on Youtube. The church is promoting a new video about Christ and it is all about Easter! You can also #Becasuehelives too. I want you all to go and check this 2-3 minute video out. It is about the Atonement and Resurrection of Christ. Christ is so important to all of us. Without Him we have no purpose to this life. I want you all to know that I testify of Jesus Christ. He is our rock and our salvation. With Him we will be able to live forever! Because of Him we all have the opportunity to live with God in His Kingdom in the next life. 

During District Conference there were about 15 Melchizedek Priesthood that were ordained. This is really necessary to us getting another stake in Thailand. We know a temple is coming so we need to do all that we can to prepare to get on. I think we have to have so many Melchizedek Priesthood holders who pay tithing and then so many who hold the Priesthood. So It is a work in progress and I hope that we will be able to get it announced by next conference. 

So yesterday Elder Tamang and I had a baptism of a girl named Dung May ( ตังเม ). She is 19 years old and was a referral from her friend from another area. She met with us about 2 weeks ago and I will tell you what we almost didnt have this baptism. We took care of the program the night before and we thought all was well. We wanted to have the baptism right about district conference. So we told the district president that we were going to have it and he forgot. He told us that there would be meetings. So we would have to push the baptism time back. Then the most important thing we forgot to do was FILL THE FONT!! The baptism was going to start in 30 minutes and we forgot to fill it. So we turned on the water and it wasnt filling fast enough. So we started to get buckets of water and pour them in and that wasnt going to do it. So we got the hose from outside and that saved our butts! It got done and filled in about 45 min. Without the hose we would have had to wait a long while to have it. It all went well. 

After the baptism when Sister Dung May had the opportunity to share her testimony she told of her conversion story. The only reason we found her is because her friend from another area was in our area for church. Her friend really wanted her to learn. So we met with her and one of the first things she tells us is that every religion teaches a person to be good. Our response was that is not enough! As we taught over the next 2 weeks she helped us teach. We taught 3 girls and we asked if they believed and they said no. She found a scripture during the lesson that she wanted to use but didnt. It was a great scripture. It talked about they dont know truth because they harden their hearts. After the lesson she said I wish they would just open their hearts to this! At that point she new that this was true. She talked about how she was thankful for her friend who brought her here, for the missionaries that taught her and the people in the ward that accepted her. At this point she was bawling and I could just feel the spirit from her! 

Sister Senior after it was all over was so touched by here testimony that she wanted to know her conversion story. She is a great person! She now knows about the Light of Christ! I am so thankful to help another one of Gods children learn about His son. I can tell you one thing all it took was a friend who loved her friend to take her to church. All it took was a small simple act that led to a big change in someones life! It was a miracle that we had the baptism. So much stuff has happened this week it is to much to write but I am thankful that I am a mission at this time for the Lord! 

I also read a great chapter in the Book of Mormon today. It is Alma 26 and I fill as this chapter will help each and everyone of us. I really liked verse 12, 22 and 27! Also this morning we played basketball with President Senior! It was a lot of fun! 

Love Elder Hinckley

Jade in front of store.

 

 

That's Elder Hinckley's ostrich waiting for him. Maybe the cloth bag over his head helps to keep him calm.

This ostrich is all smiles once the bag comes off. He sees Elder Hinckley.

Elder Hinckley enjoys the ride on ostrich!

Posing for the camera. Chiang Rai is the only place in Thailand we can ride ostriches.

The river we rode our elephants through.

The village of Chiang Rai.

Elephants waiting to be ridden upon.

Nasty business in here. Yuck!

We had to hurry and fill the font for our baptism that would be happening in 30 minutes.  We used buckets and this hose to get it done quickly. It actually took 45 minutes.

Elder Tamang baptized Dung May, March 29, 2015.

Dung May's supporters.

Jade, a great young man, was baptized 3 weeks prior.

Dung May on the right and her friend that introduced her to the gospel.

 

 

Week 8 Chiang Mai

Dear Family and Friends

This past week was full of miracles and lots of work. I dont have a lot of time to talk about everything that happened but I will give you the highlights. 

Elder Tamang and I helped some recent converts that are struggling a little bit. They came to us and told us that this church isnt for them anymore. We had a long conversation with them and in the end we bore our testimonies to them. Over the next couple of days we met with them and read scriptures with them. They are doing way better then how they were doing before. 

We were interviewed about our church or in other words we were interviewed about Mormonism. It was really interesting, why? We acted just like any other lesson. We started with a prayer and we talked about the restoration. It was pretty interesting. One girl was christian and other girl was Buddhist. The girl who was Buddhist said she had never heard of Mormons until just about last week. She asked a lot of questions. It was great! They asked questioned and we answered to the best of our abilities. We got to teach all we wanted to. By the time we were done we got to talk about the Book of Mormon and we gave them each a copy. They said they would read and pray. We asked the girl who didnt know anything about us to pray. In her prayer you could tell that she is looking for something. The only reason we got interviewed is because there to girls are doing a report on religions and they had to choose one and they chose us. I hope they felt the spirit!

Also this past week we have to fill out something called a One Drive. It is to help us keep track of our RC's. Anyways we were filling it out with the whole district and the sisters in our district came across an RC. They said hey Elder Hinckley this girl plays basketball. You should go and try to get her come back to church. I said challenge accepted! I was determined to help this person come back. We called her and she said that we could go down to the university and play with the college players. So Elder Tamang and I went down there and I can tell you what we were the only white guys in the whole building ha. Well we found the sister who is less active and we talked just for a little bit and then we started to play. I tell you what they sure didnt think that this white boy couldnt play, but they thought wrong ha. It was way fun. We got to play with the college up here and then when we were done we talked to the sister. She said I actually only have work on Sundays so I can come to church on Sundays for about an hour and get the sacrament. Which is the most important thing to take! Any ways when we left she asked us if we would come back next week and play, and we said yes. The miracle is that she came to church yesterday and she was able to renew her covenants. 

We also visited another less active this week at his work. He works at a coffee shop. We asked him why he hasnt come to church in a while. He flat out told us that he has a problem with a commandment, school and work. I asked him a very simple question, What is more important work and school or God and church? His response was I dont have time for this I have to get back to work. It was hard to talk to him. He is to much in the world. Our ward mission leader says he has seen his Facebook and has seen what he is doing. It is sad to see. I want to help everyone get back to church. 

Okay so remember Brother Jade? Well he is doing so great! He got the Aaron Priesthood yesterday! He is progressing so well and I can tell you what he will go so far with his new knowledge! He is a great member! Elder Tamang and I should be expecting a baptism on this next Sunday. We are teaching a girl who is a referral. She is progressing so well. She has a lot of faith. She will get baptized and she is someone who was prepared. I am happy to see the success that we are having here in Chaing Mai!

Last P Day we went to a long neck village! By long necks I mean long necks. We talked to these women and they said they were the rings on there necks because it is beautiful. It was cool but I still dont know why someone would want to do that to there body. I know that in the next life they will have perfect bodies. They are all very nice people. 

Well those were some of my miracles this week. They were big miracles for us. Well I hope you all have a great week. Today we are going to ride Ostriches!! 

Love Elder Hinckley 

Elder Tamang and I happened upon this long neck village. The people here wear the rings around their necks and legs because they believe it makes them beautiful.

The women here make their own cloth.

A loom making beautiful designs.

The people in this village were very kind.  I am holding a set of rings in my hands.

Look at the old style of guitar this lady is using.

The people in this village are Burmese.

The main street through town.

Not too busy in town, probably because people are working.

Very humble.

Elder Hinckley taking a rest on a bench.

The houses here are right up against the water.

A waterwheel outside of the long neck village.

Elder Tamang and I outside of the long neck village.

Utah State is my next goal.

Week 7 Chiang Mai

Dear Friends and Family,

Elder Tamang, who is my new companion, and I have been working so much! We visited a lot of less actives in the ward. This past transfer meeting we got training on family history work and also this past week we had training on it again. It is something that that Lord wants us to talk about with all that we meet. 

In the last meeting we talked about the spirit of Elijah. Why is it important? It is a welding power between us and those people in the spirit world. This is very important why because we can receive help from the other side. I can tell you that family history work helps. D&C 128:18. So after this meeting Elder Tamang and I got on our bikes and we biked to the nearest person who needed to hear the message. We talked about family history work and how this is important. Then we went to a restaurant where there are 2 less actives who we shared the message with. With all the people we talked to that day we all told them that a temple is coming to Thailand. They all asked when? We told them we dont know but how great would it be to take family names to the temple to do. We shared personal experiences and I shared about how my mom went crazy on family history work and just recently she got to do temple work for names she had found. I think it took a few months but it all paid off. My mom said that she could feel the spirit so strong! Then we went over to another members house to share the message of family history work. About half way through the message her son who speaks English said, " My mom is the family history consultant in the ward" ha this was great! We shared out thoughts on it. We want to have a great big meeting so everyone can get involved. That is a work in progress. 

Then this past week we were able to talk to the district president and our Ward Mission Leader. We talked about Temple recommends. We told them we have a vision for all people who are 12 years and up to have a temple recommend. There are two, one for baptisms and one for the more special ordinances. We told them that we want everyone to have one. Right now to get a temple in Thailand we need to have at least 1000 members hold a temple recommend and right now we only have about 700. We all need to get to work on this here or we wont have a temple! 

Right now in the mission this is what we are pushing for! I encourage you all if you havent had the chance to do some family history work and take those names to the temple. If you dont have a current temple recommend I encourage you to get one as soon as you can. It is a great privilege to go to and through the temple! I can sure tell you I miss the temple with all my heart! Elder Pilling, Elder Hosteen, Elder Cook, Elder Downs and Elder Bean and I would all go all the time. They new it was important and so did I. That is why we went every week. I dont have enough time to tell you our temple story but just know that for a temple in Thailand would bless this county. 

This past week Brother Jade told me that he had to go to Bangkok for some school stuff. He said he wouldnt be able to come on Sunday and get the Holy Ghost. So he went to Bangkok and then called me about a day and a half later and said he was coming home. I had no idea why but I knew there had to be a reason. He made it back on Friday. When I asked him why he came home he said I had revelation to come back. His first bus to Bangkok crashed and the second had a person with drugs. He said he prayed to know what to do and then he read 2 Nephi 32:3 where it talks about the words of God will tell you what to do or something close to that. So he left his school thing and bought a airplane ticket and flew straight home. He said I had to get the Holy Ghost on Sunday! Wow this guy has the spirit with him guiding him everyday! He got the Holy Ghost on Sunday and I can tell you he is a power house already! I love this guy with all my heart! He is great! 

Well do work this week everyone!

Love Elder Hinckley

This is Jade and he is holding a lantern. We have over 40 people at our English Classes. My companion and I got on Jades Motorcycle just for fun.  I found this centipede in my sink and my companion got a spatula and cut its head off and it started to crawl away and then we washed it down the sink. It was freaky!!  

 

Hanging out on the back of a Songthow with our newest convert Jade.

40 people show up for our English class.

Another Elder comes with us for dinner. Elder Tamang on the right is from Alpine Utah.

Yummy food.

,

 Centipedes are extremely dangerous in Asia. They have fangs and with one bite can kill you. They raise up like a snake and strike.  Be afraid, be very afraid!

This is Jade. He has a lantern that we are going to light and send off into the beautiful sky to celebrate his conversion and baptism into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Look mom! My newest  mode of transportation in Chiangmai.

We have the coolest ride in Thailand!

See you later! This is actually Jade's ride, but a missionary can dream, can't he?

Week 6 Chiang Mai

Dear Friends and Family

So we had transfers this past week and it was busy busy with travel and meetings! So we bought tickets to go down to Bangkok and we were waiting at the train station. We had to wait because my companion was leaving and members wanted to talk to him and give him stuff. So he was waiting for 3 other members to come and the train guy was like the train will leave in 3 minutes. So I was like Elder Chris we have to go and then the guy was like 1 minute and so at this point we had to run down the tracks to get on the train! We made it with about a minute to spare before we pulled out. That would have been way bad if we missed it! ha Anyways we get on the train and we settle in and Im about to take off my shoes and put my feet up when this girl comes over to us. She is like hey I saw you guys running down the tracks to the get on the train. I want to come talk to you guys but if you want me to leave I can leave. We said no and just talked to this girl. Then about 30 minutes later another girl comes over and starts talking to us. Then a 3rd girl comes over and starts talking to us! Okay this is weird! I just wanted to sleep thats all! ha We talked about a lot of things. They were all from England but they didnt know any of each other because they came to Thailand just got in a group to travel with. Anyways we talked about what we were doing here and all that good stuff. We talked a lot about religion. They asked a lot of questions. Like what Mormons can and cant do. It was way cool, why? I got to teach about families and family history and the Plan of Salvation. When we got done teaching this they were like I never knew about that before. You could feel the spirit so strong. I dont know what they felt but I felt so great helping other children of God know about His plan for us and that we can live with our families after this life forever! I was so happy to talk to them. It sure made the trip a little less boring! 

Anyways we got to transfers and it is always loads of fun there. I got my new companion Elder Tamang he has been out for about 14 months and is really good. He is younger then me in age but that doesnt mean anything. We have already been together for about 4 days already and we want to change the mission! We are going to shoot high this transfer! We are going to do work like crazy! Us missionaries in Chaing Mai are going to blow this mission up! They wont know what hit them. It is going to take a lot of hard work and a lot of dedication! I cant wait to see what we can do! I really hope and pray that we will be able to do the work of the Lord here in Chaing Mai. I will do all that I can for the Lord because this is the most important work there is. I love my job! I know there are times that I feel tired, thirsty and that I want to take a break but I know that it will all be worth it in the end. I know when I feel like this I can pray to my Heavenly Father and ask for help! He is always there for us. 

So over the past week we had a investigator that we found at English Class. The Zone Leaders talked to him first and then gave him to us. His name is Jade and he is Thai. He accepted our lessons and knows that this is really important! He is keeping the commandments and he is reading the Book of Mormon. He is a really a great example. He got baptized yesterday at church! He looked so good! He is such a lovable person. He is friends with like everyone at church and is so nice and kind. After the baptism we asked him to share his testimony and it was the best one that I have ever heard! He said I dont know what to say. So he pulled out his scriptures and went to some scriptures that he had marked already and we read 1 Nephi 22:25 and 2 Nephi 9:23-24. I would have never thought he would have used them. He said when Elder Hinckley asked me to come to church I thought yes, why? I felt loved! I really feel loved here and I feel like this is my family! I know that this is true! I was blown away by what he said! Jade is a great person! He is a great example! I am so happy I was able to teach one of Gods children! It is a special opportunity. 

Also before I end this email I do have to say when you are prompted to teach someone or talk to someone and you dont know why, do it. You will never know how you will impact their life if you dont talk to them. The Lord puts you in situations for a reason. Also I encourage you all to read Alma 11-12 when you have time. I learned a lot about missionary work in these chapters and what we need to do! 

Have a great week!

Love 

Elder Hinckley

 

My companion and I had to run down the tracks to catch our train.
we made it with seconds to spare.

Our tight sitting quarters.

I come out of the north country back into Bangkok and I start sweating like no tomorrow.  Man it's hot down here!

This random lizard strikes fear into the hearts of every Thai.  Creepy lizard paws on this thing.

Yummy Thai food!

Jade is our newest baptism.

My new companion, Elder Tamang and our newest convert, Jade.  Amazing young man.  I asked him to bear his testimony at his baptism and he opens up the Book of Mormon to quote a couple of scriptures.