Letter

woo!

More investigators. Super stoked. right now we have 4 people lined up for baptism this week! Stoked! One of our investigators told us she thinks Barrack Obama is hot. Sort of scary. haha.

Found one new investigator walking around central last week. Most prepared person of my entire mission. Loves the things we teach. Loves the gospel. Loves everything. Yesterday he calls us that morning and asks if he needs to wear white underwear for his baptism. We had to remind him it was next week. It was so crazy how we found this guy. We were both going to get a dairy queen ice cream because we are fat and we were tired. And this guy walks up to the side of us and we both said. "Hey want to wash away your sins?" and he was like. Woah. Yes. Where when? Then we met with him and he is just gold. 30 years old. Great opportunity for priesthood. We are too happy.  He also brought his mom on sunday and she is just as golden as him. We are just in awe of miracles pouring out in Chiang Rai.

We had a crazy experience. I'm a little too lazy to right the details right now but we had some lady call us telling us she is interested in learning about christianity and we are like great.Saturday. 10 am. see you then. We get there and it was 10 schoolers doing a project on christiantiy and the come int he church and start taking pictures of everything and we felt immediatly awkward. Telling them they can't take pictures. We were calling as many members as we could to come help speak thai to 15 year olds doing a christian project. Sister Holmes and I just didn't want to say anything dangerous because. We aren't perfect at thai and sometime instead of the word "sacrament" comes out the word "porn" So we had the members come save us and the branch president. Haha. it was hilarious. We felt like such idiots. Definitely the most embarrassing moment of my life haha. I still can't speak thai. It's fine though. It's asian. 

We are just working our tails off. Loving every second. We love each other. Can't stop laughing at every second we can. And we are really bad at budgeting. The food in CHiang rai....really sucks actually. It's a secret. It's sad.... we have no where to eat except the mall.... and toast in our little toaster...... 

Transfers are this week! I think we are staying. we are hoping we both are. We pray for it every night haha. So we will see.! Crazy! Love you all. Sorry for the short email! I love my mission. It's changed my life. And made me the fattest I've been in my life.

รักนะจุ๊บๆ

Sister Phelps

exciting

inviting with members

cutest little girl ever

fish food... so good

members at fhe

purple dog

The time 9 students came to the church

hello kitty donut

tomato soup and cheese toast... mmmmm doesn't tast like america

those are chickens..... too fun

our apartment. 

baptism JEEWEE

raining..... it's fun. 

sleepovers for comp exchanges.... haha they get the floors

Rainy Season!

Banana on the roof next to our apartment. Welcome to Bangkok

What's up.

RAIIIINNNNNNYYYYY SEAAASSSOOOONNNNNN. Oh my heck. I'm so happy. The Hot season is OVER. And we get to enjoy the rain:) Even if it is a little dangerous. Having a tropical thunder storm every day is literally my favorite:) We love it.. in fact it's pouring rain right now... love:).. and We can drink hot chocolate....too bad we are poor. 

Well This week was SO much better. The Lice is gone. Thank goodness. we had a great normal week of work. Pretty much most of our days were filled with straight contacting off the streets because we literally had no one. But it was totally fine because in the end it paid off:)

Something showed me wonders this week. Talking to everyone was super important. No matter where you are. On a bus. Riding your bike. Sitting in the church waiting for an investigator to show up. Or even sitting at a stoplight waiting for the light to turn green and the truck has his window down. Well this past week. SIster homes and I were riding our bike like normal and I had a prompting in the middle of riding our bike to pull over and talk to this lady on her phone. But like... she was on a phone.... I didn't understand why I needed to talk to her because no one on the phoen listens to people like me. And I was right. She just waved her hand in my face and so I look back to see my comp talking to some serious cute old ladies. The cutest ever... One speaks english and I went back and these two ladies are totally intrested. Want baptism. They had the classic question "Where did I come from, where am I going, and why am I here?" So we set up a time and met them friday night and taught them the plan of Salvation obviously. And the LOVED it. They are like, "Sisters I never want to go to a buddist temple again." Except the members sort of ruined the baptismal date commitment but no worries. No one is perfect. They were just the cutest old ladies... And every old lady before that I've always had a bad attitutde because the NEVER listen. Or want it. But this was aweosme! I loved it! It was a great lesson...

The following sunday one of them came to church (slight bummer but still legit because the other one was sick) AND she stayed for like 8 hours haha. We had an emergency prepardness class after church, a baptism, and eating food. She pushed through all of it and fit right in. She was soooo cute dressed in her sunday outfit. The elders come up to us after and was like, "Hey who is that member. is she a less active?" Nope. Just our cute investiator that fits right in haha. It was seriously amazing... Her name is LOON. like balloon. And her Cousins name is Meow... like cat in Thai...literally called the sound it makes haha. 

ALso we found two 16 year olds so ready to jump in the water. WE are like. Sorry you have to wait a month. But they are golden. Went to church. They loved it. Took notes on everything. Want the holy ghost soooo bad. Hahah..There names are Ludaa and Naa Na .one of the girls called me on saturday and told me she talked to her mom and started crying and was telling me her mom gave her permission to get baptized...It's amazing. This girl lives on her own. 16 years old. ThaT acutally happens a LOT in thailand. Parent's will send there kids somewhere else to learn and get them there own little one room apartment... Which is more like the size of a bathroom....But We have been really blessed. Then We had two more random investigators go. One was 15. She lied to her mom to go to church. so Intrested. But we can't teach her for obvious reasons. Then a girl that just walked into the church... she was just there to worship.. but loved it.. but wouldn't commit to meet with us....

Anyways. Over all this was a great week. We learned a lot.... They always said in order for diamonds to be beautiful you have to put a lot of pressure and heat to make them that way. President was telling me that is the same for his missionaries. Lots of pressure but if we endure it well we come out a better person. I love that anology. It was awesome. I definitely feel like I did learn alot and came out on top. It was a great experience..

Last week we had an awesome dinner. At sizzler. a member (white dude) who is married to a thai wife bought us and the elders dinner... I got a steak. and Salad bar. I was in literal heaven.... soooo happy.! COuldn't be happier.... we had a good time laughing. That guys is literally the funniest guy I've ever met. So in thailand they have these hose squirters for your buttcheeks after you use the bathroom. Everyone uses them. Thai people don't use toilet paper. EVER....except to dry off and wipe there hands and they are at eevery resturaunt. and so At that dinner I found out they use there hands and the squirter to get clean. They wipe there poopy butt with there hands. And Brother Eaton was like. I can never shake a thai persons white hand and proceeds to gag at the thought. The funny thing is he has a thai wife that does the same. haha and one time he pulls a prank and puts a plastic wrap on the toilet seat and his wife did NOT think that was funny haha and he was just laughing and was like well you use your hand to wipe up your bum cheeks and she was like, well you are cleaning up the bathroom! and he was like, no problem. I have the hose. haha. It was the funniest story ever. And then. My wierd Wierd district leader proceeds to tell us that he once was in a squater potty and told us he used his hand to wipe his bum and just splashed water up and scrubbed... as he was showing us the motions... WEirdest dinner of my entire life haha.... Haha. I was probably laughing just as hard...... anyways. He wife JUST got baptized a couple weeks ago. So awesome. So excited for that family... He was super inactive but now has come back. Got his wife baptized and has a kid and stuff.... So yes.... 

He also offerered me a job if i ever come back to Thailand. They own three 7/11's a private school and are teachers and told me if I ever wanted to come back and work at a seven and if I still spoke thai he would hook me up and make us managers. what is good haha. That is the coolest thing ever.... Too bad america is the promised land and I never want to leave haha.

I love my mission. It's changing my life. The work is good. Pray for CHaing Rai:) LoVE YOU!

-Sister

Weeeek

    This last week has probably been one of the hardest on my mission..... We went to Chiang Mai and had zone conference and it was legit. I had an interview with president telling him I feel sad for not seeing a great amount of success in my area and my hope and faith (satan's discouragment) had decreased and then he helped me like a bundle. I was just stoked to get back to our area and just work hard and see success wiht this new training we recieved. Well. My head was really itchy... REALLY ITCHY..... Then. I got back to my area.... and made sister Holmes check my head.....and then I learned a new thai word for "lice"

    LICE. I'm like. My perfect luck. Now? Now??? Then we had to botch some more work days to fix this lice problem. And then...SISTER HOLMES had lice too! Oh my gosh. WE were the saddest puppies in the world. Crying. well I was. I felt so down we couldn't get to work because of stupid lice..(missionary problems).. had to disinfect our apartment and comb all the lice out of our hair. took abou 3 hours for sister holmes to do my hair and about 1 hour to do hers... But the plus side is we wore some do rags on our head and took some awesome pictures..... But yes it was definitely hard because we had no investigators to work with. Then our RC Jewie called us and told us her friend is intrested in learning... That was legit. on sunday we only had 1 investigator at church for sacrament. Then of COURSE 10 more investigators come after the sacrament meeting. haha. It was perfect... But really we felt blessed. All former investigators we didn't even call came back and brought there friends. Just a beautiful tender mercy of the Lord.

    Another tender mercy is we got rid of the lice in one and a half days.... I don't know if that ever happens.... just another tender mercy..

    I don't have much to report on..... I'm grateful to be a missionary. The adversary can only make us stronger if we fight through it. And The LORD IS ALWAYS THERE FOR US... no matter what our silly circumstance may be.

Love you all. Keep Chiang Rai in your prayers:) 

Sister Phelps

Sorry for Nothing

"Where is my supersuit." "I put it away." "but I neeeeed it!"

    I feel like this quite often. haha. But seriously. Missionary work is awesome. This week was very well. I don't know. A little discouraging. We are finding a lot of half prepared people. Still taught the restoration like 15 times this last week. I'm just like. I'M DONE TEACHING THE FIRST LESSON. Please just let me teach the other ones haha... No it's good. We are bringing a lot of people to the knowledge of the gospel it's just hard because none of them are progressing and we feel like we are doing everything we can.

    On the bright side we got dairy queen cake last week for Pday and ate it.... and I didn't get that fat. Someone at church yesterday asked if I got skinnier... I was shocked and complimented. haha. And sister Holmes and I got a stretch band for our arms because I'm just not ready to be in relief society yet.... so we have been doing that sort of work out.... I love that girl. She makes the hard days not so hard.

    hmmmm..... I'm trying to think what happened this week. OH DUH. WE GOT A BAPTISM!:) Our cute little investigator got baptized.... Love her....

    We are going to chiang mai this week! So excited for zone conference and the sisters there are doing a switch off so I can go visit my RC's :) I'm really really really excited. And we are eating the dukes:) yummmm. best burgers in thailand.

    ahh! I swear I'm happy I literally have nothing that huge happened this week! Sister Holmes and I started reading the book of mormon in english with some girls preparing to serve a mission here in the near future an hour a week. and It's awesome. We love what we do. We just REALLY dislike peoples agency haha....it gets in the way of everything! But please pray for Chiang Rai. We are seeing a ton of adversity in the work here even the elders are too. But we are working hard for these miracles. 

    So we are allowed a facebook now... and it's just to motivate our investigators and members so me and sister holmes are thinking of getting a ukelele and singing hymns(mostly her... she has the good voice) and I just play the ukelele. it seems like a good idea:)

    Last night sister Holmes and I were a little burned out and just really exhausted emotionally and physically and so we decided to go contacting at the mall right by our house for a bit just because we knew that we couldn't go home early and we were just sort of going through the motions not really feeling it and we ended up having 2 people come up to us asking for our pamphlet and telling us they have been looking for a christian church to be baptized in and are so excited.... I've literally never had that happen before....It literally just gave us the boost of hope just knowing that this isn't our work. We don't need to stress and the prepared people are looking for us. Finding finding finding. Thats what we are doing... but it's not our work... it's not a lot of peoples time... but I'm a teacher... and someone who invites others to learn.... so thats what I'm going to do for the rest of my mission:) I love it. 

I love you all. Keep your prayers here in Chiang Rai. ! <3

Sister Phelps