Week 13 Chiang Mai

Dear Friends and Family

This past week had a few ups and downs. Just as in some things didnt go the way you planned but that is okay. Pick up your head and get back to work! Its not the end of the world. Sometimes when things dont go the way I planned I just what would have happened if they did. We might have some success, some more daters, some miracles, etc. Its okay, we will all experience this on our missions. 

This week was good though. We meet with a lady who I met about a week ago. She says she doesnt have a knowledge about Jesus but she believes. So we will help this lady have more faith in Jesus Christ. When we were teaching this lady I felt the spirit really strong and I just went with the spirit. I could feel Him talking to me and I did all I could do just to listen. It was a great lesson. The lady said okay yeah I will try this out. That is about all she said. Later that day we taught another new investigator who is 17. She goes to a Christian school. We met her last P Day. She agreed to meet. She really wants to know about if this is the true church, if God and Jesus is real and just it all I guess. She is really willing. She is reading her scriptures. I tell you what if you want to know something you have to ACT right? That is the only way you will be able to get anywhere or get answers. Her mom is okay with her learning which is a plus. She is really progression and I know there will be something in what we teach that will click for you. She is looking really good to be baptized in this next month. Will you pray for these to people, the first one is Guk and the other is Friend?

Sister Gaaw she is a lady that was baptized this past week. She got the Holy Ghost yesterday which was great! That isnt the best thing, we are teaching her daughter now. She really wants to know if Jesus is real and how he can help her. Oh boy this is a miracle. We are taking things slow enough for her so she doenst get freaked out. Why because she is a little hesitant. I am happy why because I have the opportunity to help complete a family! We are all part of Gods big family! He loves us and wants us to have happiness now and after this life as well. She for us to have eternal happiness later we need to help them have happiness now! I really hope Elder Tamang and I will be able to help her daughter Mook feel the spirit and feel His love for her! Will you please pray for this family?

Also this week we went and visited a less active member who I have been working with ever since I got to Chaing Mai. It is a man and a women who are friends who own a restaurant together. When we go to his restaurant he told me about how he is going to have surgery today to get park of his leg cut off. Years ago he got in a motorcycle accident and just hasnt been the same. He told me very hurtful things he had to get done before the surgery. Made me think of Jesus Christ knows all you pain. I asked if he wanted a blessing and he said yes. I thought it could only help this man and the surgery. He asked me to give the blessing. I was very honored to give it! It was a wonderful opportunity. After that he has not heard of the great news of Thailand. I told him that the prophet said a temple would be built here in Thailand! He said that this was an answer to his prayers! He got a huge smile on his face and was full of joy! This made me happy to see! I asked him if he wanted to go to the temple when it got here and he said yes. I said what do you have to do to go? He said I have to go back to church for starters. I said thats for sure! He said after his surgery he will start coming back to church. This made me happy and I happy to have helped someone, one of Gods children, be happy! 

I tell you that you see many many small miracles everyday, every week and those just make your day! We received some training this week. It was great. We need to focus on the Doctrine of Christ. This is so important! Everything we teach should lead back to the Doctrine of Christ. We need to when we invite we need to talk of faith, repentance, baptism and Christ! These are some of the first principles of the gospel, which are most important. I can tell you as I have started to as people to come learn about Jesus I have seen so many turn away, but many who stop and listen. I have started to ask people if they want to use their faith and come learn about Jesus Christ and they say no I dont have time, I have work, school and other stuff. I know school and work are important and that we need these things. I say if you really want to know you will use your faith and come. It might be a little hard but I am trying to be bold. Be bold but not over bearing. I am really tried hard this past week not to get into "righteous arguments" so to say. It is something that is kind of hard for me but something that I am work on. I challenge you all to be bold but not over bearing. I challenge you all to be a tool in the hands of the Lord. I know that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming fast and we need to prepare every soul! When the Lord hastens His work you have got to keep up! 

Love

Elder Hinckley

Also this week I was able to give service. Something that I love a lot!! We helped clear a room for a family to use as a house or something like that. I am not sure I just did want I was told. This guy had a lot of cool stuff! Huge spiders which I was like oh ok I am not in Idaho anymore! And these huge red ants which made a nest out of leaves! It was intense! I love giving service! Mosiah 2:17. I challenge you all to serve someone is a small simple way this week! 

Elder Khanakan of the Area Seventy came to baptize and teach.

He talked about this scripture.

Going to a members' home to do service.

They needed this room cleaned out.

Red ants using these leaves as a nest. They were big and very busy!

A dear sister using her resources to cook some food.

Week 11 Chiang Mai

Dear Family and Friends,

I was able to watch conference this past weekend with the members and investigators at the church. It was really amazing! I personally felt like it went by in just a few minutes. I learned a lot! Something I did before the conference was that I wrote down questions that I wanted answered. During the conference I was able to listen and say that he or she answered my question. Have you ever done that before? I learned that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is so real. It doesnt matter how deep the stain it can always wash it clean! It really made me feel good! I know that I have sinned in the past and Im not the most perfect person. I know that as long as I truly repent and ask forgiveness that I will get it. Also that our Heavenly Father who can do all things both in Heaven and in earth will remember them no more. I have to say that this is great! This conference talked a lot about a marriage and families. I thought is was really good as well. For all of you single returned missionaries or single people not doing anything, go on a date and find your eternal companion. I know that dating can be hard for some and easier for others but dont let that stop you from finding an eternal companion. A companion will take a special someone! You will want the best one that fits you right? That is why you need to start dating and finding now. I know that once you find your companion that person will make you happy the rest of eternity! Now I dont know anything about marriage or that other stuff but what I do know is that Heavenly Father wants us to have families. He wants us to have happiness, joy, fun, learning experiences and so much more. I know that when I get home I want to find that special someone with the hands that will fit mine ( from that one talk from conference). I still have a long time before I can really thing about marriage. Marriage is something at the back of my head right now, why? Im on my mission and I need to serve the Lord first. Know this, the Lord will provide if you make an effort. 

This past week was really good my recent convert was able to baptize someone! The baptism was for the sisters in our district and Jade was asked to give the baptism. Why? He holds the Aaronic Priesthood. Jade has been improving so much! He is only been a member for about a month now and he is reading the Book of Mormon like a champ. He is helping others with their questions. He will just pull out a scripture and I swear it fixes the problem or their question. He was really nervous to give or perform the baptism. He did great! I was so happy for him. Why, because we shouldnt just have one person do all the baptizing or get all the glory. More like we should share and let others have spiritual and learning experiences. It was great! We want everyone to participate in the work of Salvation! 

Elder Tamang and I got our transfer calls early and we will be staying in Chaing Mai for another 6 weeks. We will be getting about 4 new missionaries. Also Elder Tamang and I have been doing the best that we can for getting Heavenly Fathers children to baptism. We plan on having 3 baptisms this next Sunday! Their names are Jaab, Dia and Gaaw. The first two are a couple and they are just so nice. We met them just out of the blue kind of. I was told Elder Tamang hey go invite those two people. He did and now they are getting baptized. Dia knows a lot about Jesus Christ and that will help her along her journey. Okay so Gaaw she is a 49 year old lady and she is like okay I will follow this commandment or stop doing that. She is so sweet! She has 2 daughters who we arent teaching right now but I think we will. I think of her as a mom. Even though my mom is in America I think of this lady as a mom. After we met with her twice she was telling everyone, Im getting baptized on the 19th! Oh she is such a prepared person. All the people that we are teaching right now are prepared! I know that Gods hands are in the work and He is watching over everything. 

Please pray for Jaab, Dia, Gaaw, Oak, Jade, Dung May, Dang Moo. 

Today we get to play with all the locals in the country wide water fight! It is going to be way fun! Everyone says that is should be way way fun! I dont really know what to expect but it should be wet! 

I encourage you all to read or reread all the conference talks and try and apply them in your life and with your friends and family. 

Love 

Elder Hinckley

We celebrated the beginning of the water fight with lanterns!! A great way to start things off!

Elder Hinckley and Jade. Jade is one of Elder Hinckley's newest converts. His Elder Quorum's President gave him the Aaronic Priesthood. The Sister's in the District needed someone to baptize for them so Jade was chosen to do the baptism. He is a Priest and therefore can do this. What a great idea to have him do this.

Brother Won came all the way up to Chiang Mai from Samut Prakkaan and brought a friend for the weeks Water Celebration for the whole country of Thailand.

To jump start the Celebration a candle is lite and set off. Pretty cool!

Elder Hinckley loves FIRE!

 

 

Week 10 Chiang Mai

Dear Friends and Family

I woke up this morning to a phone call from our Zone Leader. It was about 1:30ish in the morning. My companion answered the phone. It was Elder Smith and he said that he had some news to tell us. The first thing my companion says is, " We have to evacuate Chaing Mai, dont we?" That wasnt the case. He said that he got a call from President Senior saying that a TEMPLE will be built in Thailand! I said in an almost sleepy voice, The church is true! I was so tired. So we said a prayer of thanks and then went back to bed. Well at least I did. Elder Tamang couldnt sleep. He said as he was saying a prayer about 10 min later it didnt really hit him that a temple was going to be built here. So he had to call the Zone Leaders back and ask a bunch of questions. After we woke up we started to call all the members and recent converts in the ward and tell them but it was too late. They already knew because of Facebook ha. Looks like Facebook travels faster than the phone. 

What Elder Tamang and I are going to do now is go to all the members in the ward who dont know about this. We are going to tell all the less actives in the ward. I know there is one man we are going to tell. He wanted to go to the temple back in the day but had a problem with visa stuff. He will be so happy! I know that we and all the missionaries here are going to help so many less actives come back to church. We will be able to have so many more baptisms this year then what we had last year. The numbers will sky rocket! People will come back to church and faith will be spread like wild fire! I know that God wouldnt have told President Thomas S. Monson to say there would be a temple in Thailand if it wasnt ready! Something has changed. The Lord is really hastening his work! A temple here will greatly bless so many countries, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, India and so much more! I know that the church will grow so much more now that there is a temple here. I am so thankful President Gordon B. Hinckley! He said that there would be a temple here in Thailand and his prophecy came true! We have been preparing for this for a while. We have been do as much family history work as possible, helping members get temple recommends and just telling people that there would be a temple! I am so thankful for the opportunity to be here when they announced this. 

When I was back at home before my mission I had a dream. It wasnt a fancy dream or anything. I had a dream that I was up high on some beams of some sort. I was sitting down with a saw in my hand and I was building a temple. I didnt really think much of it. I know that dream was a vision to me that I would be here to help build the temple of  Thailand! If I really get to help build the temple or not I know that I am building it in other ways. Thailand will be blessed!

In my scripture study this past week I read some of my favorite chapters from Alma! Alma 28-31. I love Alma 28:14, 29:9, 13-17, 31:37-38. Some of those scriptures relate to me as a missionary. I received a call to come to come here because of my diligence. The Lord knew that I would do all that I could here. When I think of my friends I think of 29:9, 13-17, we are instruments in the hands of God. I am so grateful for the service of my friends in other parts of the world. I know that my friends are having success in other parts of the Lords vineyard. I remember telling Elder Pilling how much work we could do if we (as all my friends ) were in the same mission. I remember Elder Pilling telling me that, the Lord knows how well we would do but He needs to separate us so that our good works and our talents could go to all four corners of the earth. It is so true. I remember how well 5 team players can play amazing together but if they get split up they will be able to influence so many more lives! I remember another experience with Matt Cook. He said," If you can do missionary work the same way you sell you will have thousands of baptism". Selling isnt easy but it is possible if you will not give up. I thank Matt for his kind words of encouragement to me. I will not give up on the Lord! The Lord has more than 84,000 missionaries on his team to help him with his work. I know that temples will be built, lives will be touched and the church will grow in ways we never would have thought. I am so thankful for the labor that my friends put into the vineyard of the Lord. I know that they cant see the fruit of their labors right now but in time they will turn around and see how much they have reaped!

I encourage you all to go to the temple this week if you havent had the chance in a while. I challenge you to invited a friend to church you havent invited yet. 

I love you all! The video is my companion Elder Tamang walking on his hands. He loves to do this.

Elder Hinckley

A motorcycle garage.

Chiang Mai at night.

One hot sweaty Elder working hard!