Week#74

Dear Everyone,

So this was a pretty good week. We got lots of lessons taught and even got some one baptised.

Monday: We had a pretty good evening here in ร้อยเอ็ด. Life is going smoothly with no real bumps in the road. We had a nice time to rest and prepare for the next week. We both got haircuts. We taught a few lessons in the evening with our people out in Nong Jig. They went well, but we did have to set and investigator off to the side. He was not progressing very well and told us he would let us know when he wanted to learn. That was sad.

Tuesday: We had a training meeting given by President Smith today. It was a sweet meeting. I love hearing President Smith. We spent about 4 hours in the meeting. Elder Todd and a couple other missionaries went out to do proselyting work. We taught a lesson before English, taught a quick English class, and then went and ran stuff around for the Sisters while they were both in the hospital. That was fun I guess.

Wednesday: We had our usual District Meeting and we had it in the hospital with the Sisters. I don't know if that was bad or not, but it was fun. I did an exchange with Elder Jensen afterwards and spent another hour running around doing stuff for the Sisters. It was great fun. We then taught another 4 lessons before the day of over. And it poured like crazy. We got pretty wet.

Thursday: We exchanged back and Elder Todd and I worked on our weekly planning. We taught a lesson before it rained and thankfully it stopped so we could teach a couple more. It was pretty awesome.

Friday: We had an alright day. We taught a couple lessons in the evening out at หนองจิก. Lots of fun.

Saturday: It was a pretty slow day. We were only able to teach one lesson but it was really good. After which an investigator of the Sisters was baptised. That was great. Other than that, it was good.

Sunday: We had 7 people attend church. That was pretty fantastic. It is just going really well for us here in RoiEt. Taught 4 more lessons through out the day. Ended it with a really good dinner.

That was all for this week!

Love,
Elder Ackerman

Week #73

Dear One and All,

This was a pretty good week for us here in RoiEt.

Monday: Was a pretty normal P-Day. We went out to Nong Jig as usual to teach several lessons. Nothing too exciting, just a couple of recent converts to teach and then another lesson to a referral that we got from the members out there. We also had dinner. Elder Todd ate a whole red pepper. That was pretty sweet.

Tuesday: We had a pretty good day. All of our lessons should have fallen through. Thankfully they did not. But they all went through at the last minute. It was a little stressful but pretty awesome. The English class was good.

Wednesday: It was a pretty slow day. We have to have District meeting later than usual now due to the training. So we got in maybe 2 hours of proselyting time before having to go out to Nong Jig. We had a good time out there and taught 3 more lessons.

Thursday: We had a pretty good day. Not a lot of time due to the fact that we had to weekly plan and then it rained a lot. It has been doing that lately here a lot. Oh well.

Friday: had a good day. We taught several lessons and got a couple new investigators. We are finally beginning to teach the mom of one of the girls that was baptised last month. We have just not had anytime out at the Nong Jig to teach them. Time is one thing we don't have out there. I can't get out there anymore than we are now, because we have people to teach in the city.

Saturday: A pretty bad day. A lot of dropped appointments and not a lot of people to replace them. Oh well. You have those days. But, we set up some good return appointments for on Sunday to make up for it.

Sunday: We had 5 investigators attend church as well as getting 2 more people baptismal dates. They were a couple of pretty good lessons. One of them practically gave themselves the date.

That is all for this week. Love you all!

Elder Ackerman

Week #72

Dear All,

Wow, the weeks just keep passing by here in Roi-Et.

Monday: We had a pretty full evening actually. It was crazy. Not a lot of time for much. That was mainly at night out at the usual spot. During the p-day hours, now that was a different story. It was really nice to relax and nap a little.

Tuesday: We taught a couple lessons in the afternoon and before English class. That was it for the day. Found out that Sister Itow would be training and that Elder Merrell would be moving from Mahasarakam. It really wasn't too surprising that Sister Itow would be training. She is a really good missionary. The English class was fun.

Wednesday: So normally I would have gone down to Bangkok to renew my visa. It was not to be that way this transfers. Elder Todd and I stayed up in RoiEt to work the couple of days. We taught a couple lessons in the evening and it was a pretty good day.

Thursday: We had our usual long planning session and it went really well. We went out to work in the afternoon and taught some lessons. One was a woman from English and she is turning out to be pretty good.

Friday: We taught a few good lessons through out the day. I was shocked by the first guy of the day that we sat down with. It was crazy. He was questioning our motives and frustrated by our answers. It was quite an eye opener. i had never experienced that in my year and a half as a missionary in Thailand. I guess there is a first for everything. The rest of the day turned out well though.

Saturday: We only taught one lesson during the day. It was actually our last lesson. It was really good and I am impressed with the investigator. He is 21 and always asking questions and really trying to understand what we are teaching. It is great.

Sunday: We had 5 people attend church and 2 of them came from a part member family that we are working on right now. We taught them afterwards and were able to give them baptismal dates for in November. They live and hour and a half away from the city and come to the city for church on Sundays. We can only teach them on Sundays. They are pretty sweet. We taught another 3 lessons in the afternoon to some cool investigators.

That was it for this week!

Love,
Elder Ackerman

Week #71

Dear Everyone!

So this was a pretty good week. We got a lot of good work done here in Roi-Et

Monday: We had a good day to rest and relax and prepare for the upcoming week. We went to the usual place on Monday evenings and we taught a couple good lessons to our recent converts out there. They are doing fantastic. We also had a really good dinner prepared by the members.

Tuesday: I felt that we had a pretty good day today. We did not have any lessons planned and that meant a lot of inviting time for us. We were able to teach 2 lessons and get 2 more new investigators. It was fun. We taught the usual English and it was a pretty good success for us.

Wednesday: We had our normal District meeting, after which I headed to Mahasarakam to interview a baptismal candidate. I always enjoy doing interviews. This time it was with someone that I had never met before. It was a great experience. Elder Merrell and I taught a couple of lessons as well. Found some new investigators for them as well.

Thursday: Headed back to Roi-Et in the morning and Elder Todd and I did our weekly planning. Thankfully the rain only fell while we were inside. We taught a couple lessons in the evening and got a new investigator. Not too much happened.

Friday: This was a pretty busy day. We had 6 lessons planned out to start, but as the day went on we were only able to teach half of those. They were good lessons and the ones we taught out in Nong Jig were member referrals. They are always the best. Hint Hint Oh and we also got poured on. Twice. That was a blast.

Saturday: We taught a 19 year old guy that we had met a week ago. Finally got a lesson with him. That was a great one actually. I feel that he is someone who has been prepared by the Lord. We got pizza for dinner and had ice cream too. Fun evening.

Sunday: Got up early so we could get to the church and get a ride to Khon Kean for District Conference. Elder Watson of the Seventy was there as well. That was cool. I was also chosen by the ZL's to translate part of the meeting. That was hard! We got back with a little time to proselyte. Was able to teach a lesson and get some new people.

Well, that is all for this week!

Love,
Elder Ackerman

Week #70

Dear Everyone,

Monday: It was a pretty good day here in Thailand. We had a nice short preparation day. Elder Todd and I had to travel to Mahasarakham to exchange with the Zone leaders there. Elder Todd went up to Khon Khean while I stayed here in with Elder McDonald. We had a good evening. Taught a couple of really good lessons with the investigators out at Nong Jig. We also got dinner while out there too. I got to eat a straight pepper. That was hot but not too bad.

Tuesday: We had a pretty successful day. It was me and Elder McDonald. We taught a couple lessons and got into a couple of houses. They have been some of the best lessons that I have taught. It is really nice being with someone who has been a missionary as long as I have and to teach lessons together. It was pretty fun. Way spiritual lessons. We taught English and Elder McDonald interviewed three more people of mine for baptism. They all passed with flying colors.

Wednesday: We had our weekly District meeting taught by the Zone Leaders. That turned out well. Then I chose to do a last minute exchange with Elder Christensen in Mahasarakham. That was great. I had to run to the house, grab clothes and get back pretty fast. We did not have a very successful teaching evening, but it was still really good.

Thursday: I was still in Mahasarakham for the day. We taught a couple of good lessons in the evening. There is one family that they are teaching that was I was very impressed with. Except that the kid of the family is a little brat. Oh well. It was fun. Elder Todd and Elder Merrill met us in Mahasarakham because on Friday morning we have to travel to Khon Kean for Zone Conference.

Friday: Traveled early in the morning to get to Khon Kean on time to attend Zone Conference. It was really quite fantastic this time. It was on the power of the Book of Mormon. President Smith is a fantastic teacher and mission president. We got back to RoiEt at around 630pm. Just in time to head out to Nong Jig and teach a couple of lessons.

Saturday: We taught 2 lessons in the morning and then had to hurry over to the church to do interviews with Pres. Smith. I had a really good interview with him. President Smith is a great man. The rest of the evening, we were busy with a lot of other stuff and did not have much time to do any proselyting work.

Sunday: We had 4 investigators attend church. That was really cool. As well as having 5 people walk in to the church. It was a single family. Pretty awesome. I thought that they were visiting from another branch because they looked so confident walking into the church. That was a cool experience. They are actually in the sisters area. So they taught them. We did our weekly planning as well and taught a lesson.

That is all for this week. I am glad that everyone is doing awesome!

Love,
Elder Ackerman

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