Week #69

Dear Everyone

This was a pretty good week. Two of our investigators were baptised.

Monday: Turned out to be a pretty normal preparation day. Got our ride out to Nong Jig to teach a couple of good lessons. The lessons were to the next 5 people to be baptised in this month. They are doing pretty well. It was a really relaxing day.

Tuesday: We were able to teach a few lessons in the morning and got ourselves a new investigator. We taught the usual English class with success. Umm yeah...

Wednesday: The only lessons we taught were the ones out in that neighborhood we go to a lot. And we go to that one a lot for a reason. Soon to be lots of members there! A good day missionary work wise. I went on exchange with Elder Christenson. He came to RoiEt and Elder Todd went to Mahasarakam.

Thursday: Oh boy. Did not get a lot done teaching and finding wise. We did have a great long planning session. A lot got accomplished and I was pretty pleased with how it went. We spent a little of the evening proselyting and that was it.

Friday: Taught a couple more lessons in the evening. While we were out at the neighborhood, we had the chance with the Branch President to give a blessing to a member. Her father could not do it yet. But he will soon be getting the Melchizedek Priesthood in the next District Conference. So that was cool to help. I was the one to do the anointing in Thai. Only the 2nd time I have done that. The hard part is remembering the full name in Thai.

Saturday: We taught a recent convert lesson to Sueb and his family. They were baptised last Saturday. They are doing really well. They understand that they are no longer Buddhist, which is good. Some members don't fully understand that yet. A really good lesson on the Priesthood and the organization of the church. It is sometimes easy to forget that the people you are teaching have not grown up in the church and that a lot things still need to be explained.

Sunday: We had 6 investigators attend church. That was pretty cool. Our investigators Cat and B were baptised after church was over. It was a great experience. They will do really well in the church. They both want to serve missions in the future. Good strong testimonies. We taught a lesson that was a referral from a member. Can I say how much I love referrals! It was a good lesson. She has been to church about 4 times already and likes it and said she will most likely keep going.

A pretty good week overall.

Love,
Elder Ackerman

Week #68

Dear All,

So I am not going to lie. The mission has really just flown by here in Thailand. I had been doing some reflecting and thinking back and it kind of just hit me how fast it has gone.

Monday: We had a pretty normal Preparation Day around here. I was sick all day, so sleeping was the highest on my list. It was pretty great. I was feeling better in the evening so we went out and taught a couple of lessons. Our investigators are doing pretty well.

Tuesday: Turned out to be a pretty good day. Elder Todd and I had a lot of time to go out and do some proselyting work. Although, thanks to this new training, I also have a different schedule to follow. From 8am to 1030am we do our regular personal, companion, and language study. Then later in the day at 330pm to 5pm we do specialized training (from me) for an hour and then have another hour of language study. But this is only for 4 out of the 7 days of the week. Needless to say, it leaves us with less time. We taught a couple of lessons from street contacting and got a new investigator. The English class was fun.

Wednesday: We had a better day. I am stilling recovering. No fever but a sore throat kicked itself in. Oh well. Just sucking on cough drops to keep it slightly numbed helps a lot. We taught 3 lessons in the afternoon. One to our family that will be getting baptised on Saturday. The other 2 were for our other 2 groups of people soon to be baptised. It was a pretty good day.

Thursday: We had an alright day. We spent the morning doing our weekly planning session. Had quite a bit to update in the area book. Being sick did not help with my effectiveness at night. Fell a little behind. We taught a couple lessons during the day.

Friday: Another day with a couple of lessons. It also happened to be Mother's Day here. It was very quiet around the city. I imagine every one went out of town to go visit their mothers. There was an activity that we attended at the church with the members. It was pretty cool.

Saturday: We taught a lesson during the day. Then it came time for the big day. Our family of 3 was baptised. It was a small program but it was really good. I was the one to baptise all 3 of them. I wish that a member would have but I am grateful for the opportunity. 2 of our other people being baptised passed their interviews with the Zone Leaders. Excellent.

Sunday: It was a pretty good day. We had 6 investigators attend church. The family of 3 was confirmed as members of the church. I spent a good part of the afternoon meeting with the Branch President with paperwork and helping the youth practice singing for District conference in Khon Kean. That was a lot of fun. I am like the only one in the branch who can kind of play the piano. So I am always on call. Oh well. We then spent an hour and a half in the car to go to another district of Roi-Et to teach a lesson. And then we spent another hour and a half going back. Pretty fun.

So we had a pretty good week. I was pleased with the results.

Love you all!
Elder Ackerman