Went to the crocodile farm today..... NO BIG DEAL. Thought of Noahy, Lync, Reags and Zurie. They wouldve LOVED it there....
--->Things did: Fed elephant, got elephant snot all over my bag, watched elephant dance to open gangum style, watched elephant do a head stand, walked underneath an elephant and laid on an ELEPHANT. NBD!? We were the only people @ the elephant show. So they let.. Basically just chill with the elphants.. NBD.The place wasn't just a croc farm.. It was a zoo.. So they had like.. Every type of random animal... Which was way funny.. This zoo here was like the complete oppisite of a zoo in the US.. The animals were in pretty nice enclosures but like... all fround level and separaed from the people by a chain link fence hahah! with NO security guards. So fun...... What else happened... Ummmmmm I HELD and FED a BABY TIGER. IN WHAT WORLD??? In Thailand. It was like $2 to enter the park and than like $8 to hold and feed the tiger AND get your picture taken and printed. The tiger was SO precious. Oh my word. It was so soft and cuddly.. In the pics you can see its claws like digging into my arm. <3 What else happened? Oh yeah! A WAY naughty baby monkeythat the trainers weren't watching - almost ripped my skirt off in front of a group of elders! Noahie, Reags, Lync, Zur And Char: I CAN'T WAIT TO TAKE YOU HERE! <3
--> I forgot to mention the crocodiles... THEY WERE HUGE and So scary! During the croc show... The performer put his head in the croc's mouth... Like... 5 times... And did a bunch of other way not safe stuff. haha so fun!
Tuesday 6th:
Today was SO nuts. We had 5 investigator appointments back to back. Including district meeting AND teaching English.We both ended up splitting up with a member so we could be able to teach everyone. Family. This stuff just doesn't happen. God is seriously pouring blessings all over Thailand.
Wednesday 7th:
Today was ridiculously and abnormally hot... For the past couple of weeks it has been way sabaay... Like the most perfect whether outside... breezy... cooo/warmm.. soo good. Minus today. It was crazy hot Which actually made inviting way fun! Because I was sweating like crazy! When I sweat a ton- I feel good.. Because it makes me feel like I am working extra hard.. It makes me feel like I am using HF's time the best I can. Tonight we helped 3 little girl students with an English prject. They had to interview us in English.. And wow. My English is going out the window. I am not sure how much I helped them... My grammar is serious horrid and I cannot remember how to spell words...
Thursday 8th: Mission Training! It is always way fun to have training with our zone leaders and sister training leader. Sister Adams is the training leader and her companion is Sister Lor (my faaave friend from the MTC!!)!!! It is so fun to see them. And I love Elder Bart and Elder Wahl. Both are in my district... Both are so good!!! I cannot even explain how awesome the Elders here in Samphan Suung are. I love them so much. And have felt the power of the priesthood CONSTANTLY! The priesthood is such a special thing. It helps make us feel taken care of and safe. So thankful for worthy priesthood holders. Family. Take advantage of the priesthood holders around you.Try to recognize the power in the keys they hold..... Back to the training meeting. One of the focus points was as a mission we are going to teach more towards the FAMILY. Which is SO cool and so inspired. And has really been so awesome to teach towards. BECAUSE... This church... This gospel really is all about the family. President Packer said:
"The ultimate purpose of every teaching, every teaching, every activity in the church is that parents and their children are happy at home, sealed in an eternal marriage, and linked to their generations.... The ultimate purpose of the adversary, who has 'great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time," 1 is to disrupt, disturb, and destroy the home and the family. Like a ship without a rudder, without a compass, we drift from the family values which have anchored us in the past. Now we are caught in a current so strong that unless we correct our course, civilization as we know it will surely be wrecked to pieces."
Whoa so true. Being here on my mission... I have come to realization of how much love I actually have for my family... You are all so good. I love you all so much. I love you so. SO. so much. I get to be with you forever. AH. And that is why teaching towards family is going to be so amazing. I am so excited to tell these people. They have to know! I want them so badly to know of the love and joy they can have in their families.. from having the gospel.
Friday 9th:
Celebrated WanDek (children's day)... Yeah that's a thing here. They celebrate.. Children. And they celebrate HARD too. We were invited to come to this school where all these people made TONS of every kind of Thai food and treat you can imagine and then gave it to the children for free. So we were invited to come and hand out inviting cards, pamphlets, etc... SO much good was handed out. OH my word it makes me so excited. We literally handed out HUNDREDS of Family Proclamation to World..s... If you haven't read it lately... Go read! It is SO good. Such a cool experience that was! Later at the church we were making calls and making lesson plans at the church... we went out in the hall to grab a drink when we saw that a cute member named Babe (i love her to death) and her friend were hanging out at the church too! (ALL the members in Thailand LOVE to hangout at the church... Not kidding... Every single day. So fun!).. So we talked with them for a bit... And then... Said hey.. Does your friend want to learn? Friend says... Sure why not! And.... We taught her. She is SO cute and sweet. I would not be surprised if she was baptized next week. And all because her cute friend BABE took her to the church to escape the sun for a minute. The influence of members and friends is unreal. I wish i would have known that before i was a missionary. ALL you have to do is invite a friend to come church with you. Just invite! Share what makes you so happy.
Saturday 10th:
Ate lunch @ a floating market with Sister Bruso!... at a boat restaurant... on the water... on the river... Markets here are unreal. This market was really nice too! It had a cool Pike Place Market vibe. <3 you seattle! Hello family. Drink some starbucks hot choco for me ;) Ohhhh! Here... They have iced chocolate drinks.. Called coco yens... They are a beautiful beautiful thing. I dont know why they dont have them in America. At the floating market we had coco yens made for us my this guy that would dance while making us the treat... Oh my word.. It was HILARIOUS. Sister B and I were laughing so hard... He was so serious in dance moves... pouring the coco... oh i love Thailand. Look for him in the pictures I will send. Seriously it was the best coco yen I have had yet!! I am convinced the dancing was the reason it tasted so good.
Sunday11th: Drum roll please... Mr. Shark rapped baptisima. :D He seriously is the funniest guy (see baptismt pic).. It was cool to see him sit on the stand after he was baptized... He wasn't the same person as before. And he knew it too. So cool! Sister Brown and I slammed Tim Tams that night to celebrate... Family. You need to find Tim Tams... They are bless ed australian cookie.. That you can probably find at world market... Go Slam. :) Also from today! Tuck recieved the gift of the holy ghost!!!! It was so cool sitting with her after... She kept saying... There was no way to describe how she was feeling. Attibay may tuuk cing.
Other Miracles:
-Tuck has met with us or talked to us on the phone EVERY single day now since we've met her... So 2 weeks. In that 2 weeks. She was baptized. received the Holy Ghost.. Helped us teach investigators. Planned temple trips and p days with us.... What? Unreal. She is is so cool.... I am excited to get her a CTR ring. She wants one SO bad. Is she really my RC (recent convert)? I feel so humbled... So blessed!
-Bin.. SIster Jackson and My- RC from November. Told me yesterday she wants to be a missionary.. And to call her when we teach so she can practice. Whoa... Okay?? What.
-FAMILY! Can you believe these miracles!?! What on earth. Ha I guess that's just it... It's heaven's hand.
-OH MY GOSH I ALMOST FORGOT!! Okay do you remember about a month or two ago when I emailed about the guy I contacted named Nam Leab? It was the day I went on switch offs with Sister Mamaea in Bankapi.. The day I got Red Mango!!!.... yes that day,.. Okay so that guy Nam Leab.. I had the distinct thought in my head right when I saw him "Im gonna to get his number"... And then it happened,.. I walked away thinking... Dang that was cool. And then a few days later sister mamaea said on the conference call that he came to church! Whoa yeah cool! And then I hadn't really heard anything else...... SO it turns out... A few weeks after that... HE WAS BAPTIZED... WHOA WHOA WHOA. Um That is the coolest thing ever. To this day I can still remember so clearly the thought in my head... It was my own voice saying.. I am gonna get his number... But it was the Holy ghost that put that thought there.... Whoa... Whoa... ah.. Miracles. God is so good and so real! I feel so thankful that I was in the place heavenly father need me to be in.
Stay tuned for more miracles in the week to come. They are going to come! And I am SO excited.
Love you all so much
thank you for your support
thank you for your prayers
I am praying for all of you.
Heavenly father is real!
Being a missionary is the best.
lOVE
sister Coates
PS. Transfers not this thursday but next! So This may be my last week in Saphan suung... And may be my last week with Sister Brown! :( We've had so much fun...... I really don't want to leave this area... I love these people so much. This place is magic! But I will go and do.
Chog Dii naa
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