Thailand Baby!

Wow. So many emails.... I love everyone more than cake. Thank you for the birthday wishes everyone:)

What a WEEK! It all started off with mom ditching me at the computer:) Just kidding mom! 

    This week the work hastened. I felt the stress, my companion felt the stress but we have NEVER been happier in our missions than last week. All of a sudden we have a pool of potential/progressing investigators. They all poured into our life this week and about 8 of them are looking towards baptism. Not sure we can get them all in the water by next month but that is the plan for right now.... I HAVE to tell you about some of these people.... One of these girls her story is AMAZING. Her name is yim and she is 16 years old...... In our mission, President Senior has required all of the missionaries to contact for 2 hours a day every day. And it is difficult I won't lie because we don't really see the fruits of our labor through contacting but we know being obedient to President Senior's request is when we are going to see miracles... So we have done everything. We go around parks just going to go sit down with them on a mat and chatting about the gospel. And the people are great and listen so well and will give you their number but when it comes time for teaching gospel they ignore our phone calls... We have done the classic dan Jonesing of standing on a trash can and reading the book of Mormon outside of a grocery store in Thai while handing out pass along cards.... It was pretty cool because a lot of people were intrested in why we could read Thai and speak Thai. So that was successful. But something we have been doing lately is singing hymns in Thai at markets and busy street corners.... You get a lot of people staring and will come and take anything you are passing out.... So we mostly do that because we haven't had much success from contacting and we want people to feel the spirit while we pass out cards.... Anyways... This girl yim. She took one of our cards one night at a market and it was a white card with writing on the front that says "does god really know me?" and She went to Mormon.org and searched everything about our gospel......EVERYTHING.... She got in contact with a Thai sister serving in Salt Lake Temple mission and she taught her over the phone and handed her over back to us..... Okay. That's a long story but when we heard that our contacting produced fruit. We FREAKED out... We really know that God truly loves his children and President Senior is inspired.

    Anyways. Contacting this last week we found like 2 ish more investigators all wanting baptism. They are progressing well. Some more from referrals this last week that are progressing toward baptism and some from english that want to be baptized! Oh man. We have really seen miracles as Sister Carter is about to die from her mission... So keep Udon in your prayers and keep praying for our investigators!!

    This last Saturday unfortunately no baptism for Yueey. She went back home for the weekend and couldn't come back soon enough because her house in udon was in a weird situation. So this weekend we are praying for a baptism. The Elders in our branch got a baptism last saturday.... It was beautiful..... I secretly wished it was our investigator instead though. But I have told myself that I will never be one of those missionaries. Obsessing over numbers rather than bringing the people to exaltation. It's hard when all the church is numbers. So numbers are super important but people are important and the Lord's timing is most important.... Got to remember that.... Anyways. Numbers are excelling. Udon is great.

    We had zone conference this week! It was sooooo goood and healing to my soul to see lots of my MTC buddies. Sister Stack, Stevenson, Greenwood, and Elder Proctor.... There is a picture... But President is so amazing. He interviewed me and talked to me and really understood me exactly and I'm pretty sure I'm moving next transfer but I'm not sure. He is like the president of the church in 3 countries. He is busier than anyone I know. He is happy and he cares so much about me. I'm so amazed. He is so amazing. He loves his job and he is sooo jolly and hilarious.... I hope secretly I move to Bangkok to be closer and see them more often... He is great. And the training I received was great!

    Something cool this week was I was singing the spirit of God in Thai and realized the writer William W. Phelps and my name in Thai is spelt super funky and I really hated it and I just never understood why it was spelt that way but It is spelt the same way as William w. Phelps' name. I got a little emotional about it. It was pretty cool. 

    I fell in love with the Book of Mormon this week....... Never really had that point in my life where I didn't want to put the book down until this last week..... It was a really good feeling. The stories I love and understand WAY more than ever and everything is amazing. Life is good....

    Something crazy that we are struggling with in Thailand is the rain..... If it rains on sunday, no one has a testimony. haha. I'm not even joking. That is ALWAYS the excuse because everyone rides motorcycles..... I don't understand the gospel in thailand haha. I just have to laugh it off sometimes...

    Okay bummmmmmpudy bump bump. My birthday. It was legit! Saturday morning I come downstairs to all of these treats with scriptures taped to them from my companion. My favorite treats! I love them. Mmmmmm. You HAVE to tell me if they have broad beans in America. I'm obsessed. And Tamarind. I have to know! I can't ever live without them......I actually have them in my bag right now they are that important to me... She was sooooo cute and she bought me pizza. But she failed at ordering it.... But that is okay. It was the best pizza I've ever had.... mmmmmm 300 baht so worth it.... Then we did missionary work and I was stressed that I was going to be 20. I wouldn't let sister Carter talk about it.... I was like NO stop. I'm not talking about it. It was sensitive. I will never be a teenager again.... And it was hard to accept that fact that my life is completely changed since before my mission and another year older was just too much haha. But Sunday rolled around and I only told her one request for my birthday. It was to wake up to "Lord Dismiss us with thy blessing" Playing. My favorite song. And Oh man did she succeed. I get up from praying in the morning and she is standing there with a diet coke, some left over pizza with a candle in it, a little cd player of lord dismiss us with thy blessing, and some chocolate milk and vitamins...she also bought me a dress on one of her companion exchanges. Oh my... the most asian dress ever. I love it so much.... I would never wear it besides in thailand. .... I am pretty sure i'm going to say the same thing when I get a husband. I SCORED WITH A COMPANION.... hahaha. Yeah she excelled.... It was awesome... 

    Then we found this lady last week that sold lottery tickets and found out she got hit by a bus(serves her right) just kidding and we went and visited her at her house yesterday..... she was SOOOOOO cute and fed us orange juice and everything and her house was beautiful and she had a grandson that was LITERALLY THE ASIAN TWIN OF MCKAY. Everything that 2 year old boy did was exactly Mckay. I was having so much fun. The only difference is this kid wayed me. adorable.... it was literally the highlight of my day. The district leader called me and asked what the best part of my day was and I said playing with the boy who reminded my of my nephew. Thennn after that we went to church and had a lot of investigators there so that was good. Then we had a coordination missionary meeting and all of a sudden the lights turn off and I was so confused. All the Thai people started singing me happy birthday... haha. I was surprised because no one knew it was my birthday besides sister Carter.... Haha. Classic. I still don't know how that happened. But hey it was good cake with good people. I love them so much..... Then this morning my companion made me french toast out of crust we get from this delicious bakery and put them in the shape of lips..... we called it. "The crustiest French Kiss" Classic right? Haha anyways. That was my birthday..... And my email..... Sorry it was a lot of weird little things this week! 

Tell everyone congrats on their mission calls who are getting them in Murrieta and those who are leaving (keellly morrison<3)! 

Loff you all. Thank you for your support. I'm 20, and i'm definitely an adult. Erika got pregnant and had a baby at my age. Mom had a one year old at 20. Marie was married for a year. Meagan was being Meagan. Tyler wes, colby, and taylor were on a mission. And Jessica met tyler at 20. Life is weird. I joined the brothers on this mission boat.... hey i'm on a mission! 5 months down. that is weird to say.

I loveeeee youuuu !!! 

Sister Phelps

Another Week Another Email!

What up Khrab Khrua?????

    :) How is everyone? I got a lot of emails today. I'm totally in love with all of them!!! First off, Colby and Marie. I opened up that email of your kids singing me happy birthday with their anaconda squeeze and just started BALLING. In the middle of the internet cafe. I feel a little silly. I think my companion thinks I'm crazy.... Haha. It was a little hysterical crying. What can I say. I miss those munchkins. Also seeing those videos of Conner. I couldn't help but laugh so hard about his awesome mustache! I never see mustaches here because Thai people don't have hair..... But my zone leader saw a guy with a mustache and asked him how long it took for him to grow it. Needless to say, it was a great introduction to the gospel. And my zone leader TOTALLY taught him the gospel.... What was I saying? Oh yes..... This week Sister C and I got a little hasty towards each other and she was saying something depressing and I was like, are you kidding me? You are NOT allowed to be sad. You get to go home in 4 weeks and get an amazing hug from your dad and your family will just love you and you get to go meet your nephew that was born on your mission and you will be such a happy soul. I was like do you know what I would do for another hug from my dad and brothers and nephews (my whole family is implied.... I just can't hug men) . Needless to say I missed my family very much.......

    BUTTTT... This week was awesome!!!!!!! We taught some people the gospel who are VERY receptive to it. Sister Carter gave this man a book of Mormon because he looked sad and we called him a couple days later and he told us he read half of it already. We are meeting with him tonight:) We taught another lady who gained her testimony through a prayer with her Father in Heaven and is super interested in the Book of Mormon. And we helped a less active man almost get the priesthood restored to him so he can bless his wife that can't walk. That less active man we have been working with the whole time we have been here. He didn't go to church for ten years. When we got here we found out this brother wasn't going to church and found out he owned a tug tug. So we started the first couple of weeks having him drive us around and us sharing spiritual thoughts. A few weeks later he came to church for the first time and hasn't missed a meeting since. We have been over to his house 3 times to visit his wife and he is the greatest. He showed us their baptism photos and he told us we were the first missionaries to visit them after 10 years..... I'm so amazed by the spirit that told us to ask him to drive us around. He blessed the sacrament on Sunday..... He is an AMAZING member.... I say this story because I realllly need to be a better member when I get home. It has really opened our eyes that we made this man get thailand that much closer to a temple.... The bigger picture is their salvation is SAVED!!! Oh my gosh. I don't know why I love this brother and his family so much. I have never loved bringing people to Christ. And so I'm not even quite sure what drove me to serve a mission. But I knew at that big announcement the Spirit witnessed to me that I was supposed to serve a "mission" whatever that meant. It's crazy how much my life has changed in five? months? I don't know. Something like that. I think it's almost five months..... I'm just touched at the miracles I'm seeing and the feelings of joy of bringing others to church.

    So lots of cool stuff happened this week...... One. Animal lovers need to not judge me when I say this with joy but we saw a dog get CREAMED by a train...... actually I can't take credit for that. We were stopped by some train tracks and sister Carter witnessed it and yelled as soon as she saw it... Needless to say we are going back to that train station in black and sing "God be with you till we meet again." in thai. Man I really hate dogs.... Yet another dog chased me with week but the good hand of god made trains. So I feel more comfortable in this Thailand world. 

    Also this week we were eating som Thom from our som Thom lady who makes the best. And a little 3 year old boy just is naked taking a shower right next to us. Hahha. It made me so happy.. I obviously have a picture. Hahaha. classic.... 

    I ate some bon bons for marie. Obviously Missionary work is the easiest thing in the world. Just like being a mother of twin boys who get dum dumbs when they are good at swim practice (yes marie, I got the letter and was so joyful to know your boys are disiplined because in thailand, that doesn't happen) 

    I got my first beef steak at sizzler because my body is totally broken and I don't get enough protein so now I'm on a special diet where I am crazy disciplined in taking vitamins and eating protein twice a day.....but I was totally happy.

    Then I was able to have the experience of a baby kitty come up and love my leg under the dinner table at a resteraunt. It was so cute.... I couldn't say no. I just have a rash now it's okay. Just kidding. No Rash..... 

    Went to Nong Khai last week again and was able to see Laos. Pretty legit. I also went crazy and bought some sweet asian skirts like my green one for all my sisters and some pretty awesome sabbai pants..... So chill.... Still on the search for elephant thais.....  

    The pictures I added are what I talked about in my email just now..... I can't remember the order. But I'm sure you can figure them out. Also two of them are of the streets in Thailand..... Because mom wanted some of those..... Some are jungly and some are straight up buildings. It differs every street......... :)

    Thats all I have for this week. Also it's my last week of being a teenager. I'm pretty sure I don't know what immature thing I'm going to do today.... But lets just say...... It's something.... 

    Oh I forgot.... This week is zone conference on Thursday!!!. And we are having it with 2 out of the 3 zones in Thailand! It's in Udon out of all places.... so we are having 14 girls stay at our house on Wednesday! I'm excited. That means Sister Stack and Sister Stevenson and Sister Painter gets to come back and Sister Greenwood! I'm so excited. And Elder Proctor! 

Thank you for you prayers, I promise on my side they are getting answered

รัก,

ซิสเตอร์ เฟลพ์ส

What's Up!

Heyyyyooooo!!! 

    I don't really have much to say or really feel like writing much this week:) But I'll send a ton of Pictures! I'm going to non Khai today and I'm going to buy lots of asian skirts!!!!!!!!!!! For my seesters... Because I loff them.... My companion biked there this morning with another sister. I'm currently with sister Barton because biking 33 miles this morning didn't sound fun to us:) hahaha. 

    I got sick again this week! I actually went to a clinic this time with a pretty decent doctor who gave me lots of medicine and didn't even ask my name.... They were pretty intense and I remember sleeping for 2 days straight haha. Then I woke up and Sister Barton and I went and got celebratory ice cream! Swensons Ice cream... Do they have that in America? hmm. I don't know...... 

    I went to Bangkok! That's always fun. We left Monday night and came home Tuesday night..... Such long travels. But it was fun. We saw Sister Carter's aunt and uncle which I know you guys got the video! That was fun! I ate mexican food! Burritos are delicious....... Please never stop making mexican food mom, it's the promised food. Like the promised land in the scriptures, the most desired land which is america, but the most promised food is Mexican food.... It was well over 350 baht.... So expensive. But soo worth it.. I think that's what 15 dollars?? 

    Anyways. I was able to see Sister Speas from the MTC. I miss the MTC man it was soooo easy in there haha.... Also in Bangkok I went to the most amazing village.... full of white people. Sister Carter's aunt and uncle live in there..... It's two square miles, soooo clean. Everyone is white. They have an international school in there which is arguably the nicest school I've ever seen. Khoi ponds, fountains..... Owwa... Everyone drove golf carts around. Sister Carters 10 year old cousin drove us around. They live in sister Carter's last area.... They moved to Bangkok about 6 weeks ago and are staying for 3 years for he has a government  job there..... We got to their house and they had carpet... I laid down right on the carpet and almost started crying. I was like AMERICA WHERE ARE YOU....... and then the carpet whispered "right here." Oh it was awesome. I also got to watch a volleyball game. It was so relaxing.

    Then I got home and was a sick sick dog.... But good news, I didn't fall  off my bike! I have pictures from that this week. Yay..... But they most exciting news is our investigator yuueyy that we found the first week we were here accepted baptism on my birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME..... 2 weeks baby, we are exciting.... That is all I have for today! Love you all. Keep it up!

Sister Phelps!

my recent converts birthday party at the church....so funn.... I love them!

My forvorite omlette and classic chile sauce... mmmm i could eat that omlette everyday.... 30 baht... so cheap

Dinner at Sister Carter's aunt and uncle's house

my jelly shoes! I love them...

right after I fell off my bike. Classic

McDonalds and I

Mexican food and I

The giant mall and I

The MRT (underground train in Bangkok) and I

Sister Barton and I with celebratory ice cream...yes I'm slightly dying in the picture. no judment

my recent convert and I while she is wearing my name tag. She is so awesome.

Me and P and her birthday, also my rc... I love her to pieces. We are 2 weeks apart in age.... she just turned 20

Sister Carter's cousin driving us in the golf cart

Taxi leaving Sister Carter's relatives home

  

Heyyyyyyyy

    Familia! Lyla's blessing gulhhhhhh, I missed Cailyn's baptism and Lyla's blessing. I'm the worst... But I'm so happy for those ordinances and the priesthood to fulfill them. Oh so great!!! There isn't much priesthood in Thailand so I'm especially grateful to have an amazing father and brother with the priesthood in my home growing up.... You would never see that here. Such a sad thought..

    This week! Oh. What a week. I was going to start off by talking about my companion. Her genius idea was to get a table for contacting... But we ride bikes everywhere so transporting a table is pretty sketchy weaving through traffic, but she is a beast and so we went with it... so we took our time..... and bam. Destruction, the table hit her pedal and she tumbled gracefully off her bike. She damaged only the ligaments in her hand... We checked... I went with her to get x-rays and things. It was legit being in a nicer hospital and still in a country where there wasn't very many rules in the hospitals so I got to go in the back and watch her get sweet xrays.... Then after her accident we went and got LOTS of soymilk and had a soymilk party for her hand... it was all fun and I washed her hair for her and did her hair everyday this week and I just made fun of her so hard. haha. I was like ha. ha. You fell off your bike..... But thenn, I was like okay I can't wait till I get to tell my family this adventure..... Oh wait.... It gets better.... suddenly on a friday afternoon Sister Carter had a training meeting in Khon Khan and I was companions with the other sister in the house Sister Narayanan. Out of no where it starts pouring on our way to eat some food.... Then my sketchy little bike slips hard... And I knew I was going down. Next thing I remember was waking up in a hospital....just kidding. I just fell and on the ground in seconds I just remember thinking, I'm pretty sure a motorcycle just ran over me hahaha. And then I look back and Sister Narayanan is face planted in the street with her bike on top of me and she is pretty much on top of me too. Hahaha. I start laughing sooo hard... It was the funniest site but I was like, Oh crap. A human just ran over me. I'm screwed.... But I just got up... and we had some scrapes and huge bruises but... really, we were completely okay.... It was a bad fall too. haha. I am positive an angel caught us no doubt.... I'm still a little sore but my bike had most the damage. I went and got it fixed and it costed 20 baht to fix it.... Soooo cheap. less than a dollar.. haha... Anyways. I have some awesome pictures in my white shirt and tire marks on my back. But I forgot my camera.... I'm terribly sorry. Next week...

    This week was definitely solid... Taught many lessons and contacting is so much better when I can sit and have a conversation with them. This last friday was so amazing. Sister Narayanan and I wanted to give out a Book of Mormon at a park and there was this husband and wife sitting with their disabled kid and we came up to them. Sister Narayanan and I are the same mission age. She knows more vocab than I do and I can understand people and speak better than she can so we worked so well together.... Oh my gosh. 40 minute gospel conversation and we all understood each other and I get compliments on my thai every once in a while but he was like you speak so clear and your thai is so good. I was so happy. We shared with them about resurrection and we prayed with them in the middle of the park. One of the best experiences I've ever had..... I felt sooo good in my Thai and there was one word I really didn't understand and I asked him to explain the word in Thai and it was awesome. I don't know how i qualified so strongly for the gift of tongues in that instance but this family is amazing. They are such good people and you never find that anywhere. I loved it so much. I Love my mission!!! it's seriously given me new perspectives on life, how to have a relationship with a companion, how to learn to be an effective teacher and most importantly help me grow my own testimony. It's so amazing. Miracles are everywhere and I feel like I've recognized God's hand in my life more than I ever have.... So fun...

    I'm starting to become weirdly asian, I love sticky rice.... This morning I got grilled pork and sticky rice. It was soooo delicious. And they put a piece of fat at the end of the skewer.... this is my town... haha. It was amazing. And I'm starting to eat any kind of grains with sweetened condensed milk on it. Oh my gosh. Such candy. I love it so much!!! Today Sister Carter and I got up early to bike around a park as fast as we could. So awesome! I love monday morning bike rides with her... Mmmmmmmm. I don't know what is for lunch today but i'm hungry:) We are going to Bangkok tonight so I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for elephant Thais.... I'm so freaking excited. I love going to Bangkok and I love being with my mission president. He is my favorite... He always picks on me. I love it. We have an amazing relationship. My mission is perfect. I miss my family and savannah. Keep being awesome and get some extra sleep for me:) I miss those days!

Keep being awesome and keep praying

Sister Phelps

Bike Ride

pork and sticky rice <3 Also, I had McDonalds deliver to me.... Best decision ever..... mmmmmmmmmm i love it!