Hey Everyone,
Well I am no longer in Buriram. I am now in Sisaket. Which happens to be only 3 hours away by bus. So I will let you know what this past week looked like.
Monday: A pretty normal P-Day. Elder Chapman and I cleaned the house and reorganized the furniture. Too bad I was going to be moving...oh well, the house looks way good. We were able to teach a lesson or two.
Tuesday: Well, we had our last District meeting together in Buriram. That is when I found out I was transferring to Sisaket and that Elder Campbell was transferring from Surin as well. I found out I would be companions with Elder Siripan. He is a Thai Elder from Chiang Mai. I though that was pretty cool. I finally have a Thai companion. We taught the normal English class and taught Bee afterwards.
Wednesday: Well I took a few hours to pack up all my stuff. We were able to get out and work for a few hours before having to go to the train station. I don't know why they are taking the train. It is much slower and more expensive. Oh well. So Elder Chapman went to Bangkok on the train with everyone else and then Elder Siripan was dropped off in Buriram for a bus ride in the morning.
Thursday: A nice quick 3 hour bus ride in the morning with all my stuff and I was in Sisaket. That was actually really nice to not have to go to Bangkok. But it was sad too. I didn't get to see all of my friends at the transfers meeting. It was a good day of planning, working, teaching 3 lessons and all that good stuff. They have some good investigators. Oh yeah and this used to be the ZL's area. Sisaket has 4 Elders total in the city. Elder Siripan and I whitewashed the area. That was fun :). Oh and Elder Larson in my group is now a Zone Leader in Chiang Mai. That's crazy. We have one investigator who is getting baptized on the 26th of this month.
Friday: We taught 5 lessons. That was a fun day. I really like it here and Elder Siripan is a great companion and a hard worker. This is his 4th transfer in Sisaket but his 1st in a new area. So who knows how long he could be here for. It was a full day of teaching and visiting people. The members here are great and a brother just got a mission call to Australia. There are already 2 out in Thailand from SIsaket. This branch is doing very well.
Saturday: Got the interview done for Deang (going to be baptized on the 26th). Passed with no problems. It is pretty nice to practically have a free baptism. We haven't had to do any teaching. The Zone Leaders did all that for us. :) The Zone leader area is now in Ubon. Another investigator of 9 years got interviewed for the 4th time. He is waiting First Presidency approval to be baptised. He is 69 years old and had killed someone when he was 23. It has taken a long time. We are starting the process again and really hoping we get an answer this time on if he can get baptised. He is very tired of all the waiting.
Sunday: The branch has about 80 people who go regularly. We also had 4 investigators at church from the 2 areas here in SIsaket. We taught another 4 or so lessons and found some new people to begin teaching. The other Elders here are Elder Brix, who used to be Elder Siripan's companion, and Elder Cotrell, who came from Ayutaya. It is a fun house. :)
Well that is all for this week. I love you all!
Elder Ackerman
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Week #42
Hey all,
Wow, so this was pretty good as well. Although, my companion has gone through quite the ordeal with ingrown toenails. Oh boy.
Monday: Was a fun day. Took a sweet bus ride from Surin to Ubon. It was a super nice bus. Nice big seats, massages, and food as well. It was great for a 3 hour bus ride. Took our P-Day in Ubon. Went to a really cool restaurant. It is called Peppers and is owned by an Australian guy. The Elders in Ubon usually go once a week to eat. Way good hamburgers. Then waited at the church for interviews with President Smith. After that was all done, Elder Chapman and I went out to teach a lesson or two and the first guy we talked to, we sat down and taught a way cool lesson. Plus we stayed in a hotel again. I forgot how real showers feel like. The one we have in houses are usual just electric heated and terrible pressure. Oh well, one of the sacrifices.
Tuesday: The fantastic 4 hour zone conference. We got an hour long lecture from President Smith on the Atonement. It was very cool. Reminds me of the talk "The Meaning of the Atonement", by Skousen. I suggest a look at that. Then had some really good training from the Zone Leaders. Then a fantastic lunch. We had our zone activity at a Thai historical museum and then we went bowling :) That was sweet. President Smith was totally in there bowling. Probably one of the few times he has to take a break. Then a great 3 hour bus ride to Surin for exchanges.
Wednesday: I was in Surin with Elder Mondragon. We had a really good day. Taught several lessons and gave some people baptismal dates. It was a lot of fun and really successful. They have some really cool investigators. Then for the news from Buriram with Elder Campbell and Elder Chapman. Elder Campbell called Sister Smith about Elder Chapman's ingrown toenails. So that called for a hospital visit and surgery on both toes. He couldn't walk all day on them.
Thursday: Elder Campbell called for another day of exchanges. So I was still in Surin for another day. Turned out alright. It wasn't like Wednesday for sure. A lot of our appointments fell through. Oh and my bike broke as well. Needed a new tire, the side wall collapsed. Oh well.
Friday: Back in Buriram. Well, we are having to visit the hospital everyday to get Elder Chapman's dressings changed. That is fun. The nurses at the hospital know us so well. We only got one lesson taught and he has learned with the Elders before, but like 20 years ago! That was cool. Then we had out long planning for the next week. Turned out to be a good day.
Saturday: It was a way good day here in Buriram. Saw a lot of investigators and the such. Had some really good lessons. Although they were pretty normal lessons. Nothing that really stands out. Although Bee always asks the hard questions. Specifically in 1 Nephi chapter 13 and 14. That was fun to try and explain.
Sunday: Now this was an amazing day to start out. We have 3 investigators at the beginning of church. So we are already pretty happy. Then at the last ten minutes, a teenage guy walks in, followed by another, and another, and another, and another. 5 guys walked in! Elder Chapman and I are looking that the members just shrugging our shoulders. We have no idea were they came from! Unfortunately, they only stayed for the rest of the 1st hour and the 2nd hour. We got there information and we are going to try and see them again. So we kind of had 8 investigators at church. The members were very shocked. Then the day went downhill. We took the needed trip to the hospital. Oh boy. They, the nurses, started to dig into Elder Chapman's toes and pull out left out tissue and gauze. Yeah that hurt. I had to help hold his legs down while they worked on him. There went the rest of the day. Couldn't walk again. Said it felt like they did the surgery all over again.
Well, that is my week of adventures in the Orient Thailand.
Love,
Elder Ackerman
Wow, so this was pretty good as well. Although, my companion has gone through quite the ordeal with ingrown toenails. Oh boy.
Monday: Was a fun day. Took a sweet bus ride from Surin to Ubon. It was a super nice bus. Nice big seats, massages, and food as well. It was great for a 3 hour bus ride. Took our P-Day in Ubon. Went to a really cool restaurant. It is called Peppers and is owned by an Australian guy. The Elders in Ubon usually go once a week to eat. Way good hamburgers. Then waited at the church for interviews with President Smith. After that was all done, Elder Chapman and I went out to teach a lesson or two and the first guy we talked to, we sat down and taught a way cool lesson. Plus we stayed in a hotel again. I forgot how real showers feel like. The one we have in houses are usual just electric heated and terrible pressure. Oh well, one of the sacrifices.
Tuesday: The fantastic 4 hour zone conference. We got an hour long lecture from President Smith on the Atonement. It was very cool. Reminds me of the talk "The Meaning of the Atonement", by Skousen. I suggest a look at that. Then had some really good training from the Zone Leaders. Then a fantastic lunch. We had our zone activity at a Thai historical museum and then we went bowling :) That was sweet. President Smith was totally in there bowling. Probably one of the few times he has to take a break. Then a great 3 hour bus ride to Surin for exchanges.
Wednesday: I was in Surin with Elder Mondragon. We had a really good day. Taught several lessons and gave some people baptismal dates. It was a lot of fun and really successful. They have some really cool investigators. Then for the news from Buriram with Elder Campbell and Elder Chapman. Elder Campbell called Sister Smith about Elder Chapman's ingrown toenails. So that called for a hospital visit and surgery on both toes. He couldn't walk all day on them.
Thursday: Elder Campbell called for another day of exchanges. So I was still in Surin for another day. Turned out alright. It wasn't like Wednesday for sure. A lot of our appointments fell through. Oh and my bike broke as well. Needed a new tire, the side wall collapsed. Oh well.
Friday: Back in Buriram. Well, we are having to visit the hospital everyday to get Elder Chapman's dressings changed. That is fun. The nurses at the hospital know us so well. We only got one lesson taught and he has learned with the Elders before, but like 20 years ago! That was cool. Then we had out long planning for the next week. Turned out to be a good day.
Saturday: It was a way good day here in Buriram. Saw a lot of investigators and the such. Had some really good lessons. Although they were pretty normal lessons. Nothing that really stands out. Although Bee always asks the hard questions. Specifically in 1 Nephi chapter 13 and 14. That was fun to try and explain.
Sunday: Now this was an amazing day to start out. We have 3 investigators at the beginning of church. So we are already pretty happy. Then at the last ten minutes, a teenage guy walks in, followed by another, and another, and another, and another. 5 guys walked in! Elder Chapman and I are looking that the members just shrugging our shoulders. We have no idea were they came from! Unfortunately, they only stayed for the rest of the 1st hour and the 2nd hour. We got there information and we are going to try and see them again. So we kind of had 8 investigators at church. The members were very shocked. Then the day went downhill. We took the needed trip to the hospital. Oh boy. They, the nurses, started to dig into Elder Chapman's toes and pull out left out tissue and gauze. Yeah that hurt. I had to help hold his legs down while they worked on him. There went the rest of the day. Couldn't walk again. Said it felt like they did the surgery all over again.
Well, that is my week of adventures in the Orient Thailand.
Love,
Elder Ackerman
Week #41
Hello!
Well, Thailand is doing good. I heard from a member that there was fighting between Cambodia and Thailand. Angkor Wat was built by the Thai's but is in Cambodian land. It is very old and a very famous wat. That is all that I know about it. This last week has been pretty good and this next week will be fun as well.
Monday: Just a normal preparation for the two of us here in Buriram. Went out teaching in the evening and came home without anything. For some reason lately, getting lessons Monday night has been kind of hard.
Tuesday: We went to Surin in the morning for the weekly district meeting with the other Elders in our District. It was fun and then Elder Campbell came back to Buriram with me for an exchange the rest of Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning. Taught the usual English class and taught Bee afterwards and had a really good lesson on prayer and receiving a spiritual confirmation.
Wednesday: This was a fun day. We taught and old guy, 70+ years. He was drunk and we asked the question, why do you drink? He then went into an explanation of being a soldier in the Vietnam war. If I understood right, he saw a mother and a father killed while the children watched. He broke into tears and kept saying "mai ow", which translates to "no want". It was very sad and touching and as we continued explaining about Christ and the Book of Mormon, and the Atonement, his countenance changed and was practically begging for the book. We happily gave him a copy. He went from sad to happy and hopeful. It was the most amazing change I have ever seen. Then we taught another lesson right after to a couple of guys who happen to live 20 km from that spot, each in the opposite direction. They were fairly interested, I just don't know how to get out and teach them...we only have bikes...oh well. Then another lesson with Bee. We talked about how important church is. We have been trying to get her to come to all three hours of church. So after a good conversation, we knelt down and prayed and after we had waited and pondered in silence, Elder Campbell spoke through the Spirit and practically prophesied. If she went to church all 3 hours, she would receive an answer and her restaurant would sell better than usual on a Sunday. If she did not attend all 3 hours, then the restaurant would have somehting dangerous happen and then the place would have problems. Way crazy lesson.
Thursday: Was only able to teach one lesson. We taught the old guy from the previous day and he is very hard to teach, mainly because he is old. Although he has an unconquerable faith that God exists. Pretty cool. We had the usual planning for the next week.
Friday: Taught some good lessons that day. They turned out good. Mainly lots of follow up visits and checking up on investigators. We taught one lady and her husband and beforehand we were talking about Thailand and learning the language and I was able to spit off some Loas and Cambodian that I had learned along the way. They thought that it was funny that these two weird looking white guys could do all that. Needless to say, that opened them up to our message. It was fun.
Saturday: Taught the old guy from Wednesday again and invited him to attend church and that we could have a member some pick him up if it was needed. He told us he was not ready to attend church. Interesting answer I thought and we tried to explain that we worship God and church and that we could help him do that. Still said no. Maybe next week. Also taught a cool guy that was very interested about what we had to teach. We gave him a soft baptismal commitment and that he would be baptised if it was true. It was great. Then we taught Bee again. talked some more about church and she said she would try the 3 hours.
Sunday: A good Sunday. Oh the day before we meet a kid and his mom come into the chruch just when we happened to be there. Usually the church is locked and closed. They came in and the 15 yr old kid asked what it would take to be a member. So we quickly invited him to church and that we could talk more and explain more then. He went to all 3 hours and we had a lesson afterwards and he now has a baptismal goal for the 19th of March. He had just returned form Russia as an exchange student and while there attended the Russia Orthodox church. There isn't an Orthodox church here in Buriram, so somehow, he was lead to us, just when we happened to be at the church. It was very cool. He reminds me of Nate Harris when he first moved to Eden Prairie. Then Bee went to all 3 hours as well. That was sweet. Taught another lesson during the day, went home and at 7pm got on a bus to Surin for a Tuesday Zone Conference.
That is all for this week!! I love you all!
Elder Ackerman
Well, Thailand is doing good. I heard from a member that there was fighting between Cambodia and Thailand. Angkor Wat was built by the Thai's but is in Cambodian land. It is very old and a very famous wat. That is all that I know about it. This last week has been pretty good and this next week will be fun as well.
Monday: Just a normal preparation for the two of us here in Buriram. Went out teaching in the evening and came home without anything. For some reason lately, getting lessons Monday night has been kind of hard.
Tuesday: We went to Surin in the morning for the weekly district meeting with the other Elders in our District. It was fun and then Elder Campbell came back to Buriram with me for an exchange the rest of Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning. Taught the usual English class and taught Bee afterwards and had a really good lesson on prayer and receiving a spiritual confirmation.
Wednesday: This was a fun day. We taught and old guy, 70+ years. He was drunk and we asked the question, why do you drink? He then went into an explanation of being a soldier in the Vietnam war. If I understood right, he saw a mother and a father killed while the children watched. He broke into tears and kept saying "mai ow", which translates to "no want". It was very sad and touching and as we continued explaining about Christ and the Book of Mormon, and the Atonement, his countenance changed and was practically begging for the book. We happily gave him a copy. He went from sad to happy and hopeful. It was the most amazing change I have ever seen. Then we taught another lesson right after to a couple of guys who happen to live 20 km from that spot, each in the opposite direction. They were fairly interested, I just don't know how to get out and teach them...we only have bikes...oh well. Then another lesson with Bee. We talked about how important church is. We have been trying to get her to come to all three hours of church. So after a good conversation, we knelt down and prayed and after we had waited and pondered in silence, Elder Campbell spoke through the Spirit and practically prophesied. If she went to church all 3 hours, she would receive an answer and her restaurant would sell better than usual on a Sunday. If she did not attend all 3 hours, then the restaurant would have somehting dangerous happen and then the place would have problems. Way crazy lesson.
Thursday: Was only able to teach one lesson. We taught the old guy from the previous day and he is very hard to teach, mainly because he is old. Although he has an unconquerable faith that God exists. Pretty cool. We had the usual planning for the next week.
Friday: Taught some good lessons that day. They turned out good. Mainly lots of follow up visits and checking up on investigators. We taught one lady and her husband and beforehand we were talking about Thailand and learning the language and I was able to spit off some Loas and Cambodian that I had learned along the way. They thought that it was funny that these two weird looking white guys could do all that. Needless to say, that opened them up to our message. It was fun.
Saturday: Taught the old guy from Wednesday again and invited him to attend church and that we could have a member some pick him up if it was needed. He told us he was not ready to attend church. Interesting answer I thought and we tried to explain that we worship God and church and that we could help him do that. Still said no. Maybe next week. Also taught a cool guy that was very interested about what we had to teach. We gave him a soft baptismal commitment and that he would be baptised if it was true. It was great. Then we taught Bee again. talked some more about church and she said she would try the 3 hours.
Sunday: A good Sunday. Oh the day before we meet a kid and his mom come into the chruch just when we happened to be there. Usually the church is locked and closed. They came in and the 15 yr old kid asked what it would take to be a member. So we quickly invited him to church and that we could talk more and explain more then. He went to all 3 hours and we had a lesson afterwards and he now has a baptismal goal for the 19th of March. He had just returned form Russia as an exchange student and while there attended the Russia Orthodox church. There isn't an Orthodox church here in Buriram, so somehow, he was lead to us, just when we happened to be at the church. It was very cool. He reminds me of Nate Harris when he first moved to Eden Prairie. Then Bee went to all 3 hours as well. That was sweet. Taught another lesson during the day, went home and at 7pm got on a bus to Surin for a Tuesday Zone Conference.
That is all for this week!! I love you all!
Elder Ackerman
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Week 39 in Thailand
Hey Everyone!
So life is going pretty good around here in Buriram. I can't believe how quick the time is going by. It was Christmas a month ago! Wow. I am doing well. I still have my health surpisingly. The Thai food and weather have not hurt me too bad. Although it is starting to warm up a little bit this last week. I can make a few Thai dishes already. I have had some time to practice.
Monday: Pretty normal Monday. Nothing to special going on. We went out after P-Day was over and couldn't get in on any lessons.
Tuesday: The rest of the week has turned out pretty amazing. Getting some cool new investigators and teaching lessons. Elder Chapman and I are working a lot better together teaching and finding wise. I am so glad I got another transfers with him. He is way fun. Taught the usual English class again.
Wednesday: We went to Surin for our weekly Distrcit Meeting. This week it was given by the Zone leaders. It was about accountability with our investigators and over our areas. The zone leaders are great. Came home and went out to teach a couple more lessons.
Thursday: Another day with a couple of lessons. Had the usual weekly planning session. Taught one of our former investigators. He is still doing great, just no time to meet with us. Nothing else really exciting.
Friday: Another good day. The work here in Thailand I feel is just starting to take off. President Smith's vision for the mission is the anouncement of a temple in Bangkok before he is done. I believe he is done a few transfers after I am. I firmly believe that his vision will be accomplished. It is just going great here and a temple is what Tahiland really needs.
Saturday: A little less of a good day. We managed to get ourselves lost for a little while. That was fun haha. Only taught one lesson, but we did get a return appointment from it.
Sunday: A great day. Found a sweet new investigator. We were just walking by this guys house as he was watering some sand for his kids to play in. Elder Chapman stopped in mid-sentence with me and proceeded to talk with this guy. Turns out that he loves to read and we gave him a Book of Mormon and he told us he wants to be baptised and that the next time we go back he will make sure his wife is there to listen to us as well. I would call that a miracle. It was very cool :) He is going to be great.
Well that is all for this week. Love you all!
Elder Ackerman
So life is going pretty good around here in Buriram. I can't believe how quick the time is going by. It was Christmas a month ago! Wow. I am doing well. I still have my health surpisingly. The Thai food and weather have not hurt me too bad. Although it is starting to warm up a little bit this last week. I can make a few Thai dishes already. I have had some time to practice.
Monday: Pretty normal Monday. Nothing to special going on. We went out after P-Day was over and couldn't get in on any lessons.
Tuesday: The rest of the week has turned out pretty amazing. Getting some cool new investigators and teaching lessons. Elder Chapman and I are working a lot better together teaching and finding wise. I am so glad I got another transfers with him. He is way fun. Taught the usual English class again.
Wednesday: We went to Surin for our weekly Distrcit Meeting. This week it was given by the Zone leaders. It was about accountability with our investigators and over our areas. The zone leaders are great. Came home and went out to teach a couple more lessons.
Thursday: Another day with a couple of lessons. Had the usual weekly planning session. Taught one of our former investigators. He is still doing great, just no time to meet with us. Nothing else really exciting.
Friday: Another good day. The work here in Thailand I feel is just starting to take off. President Smith's vision for the mission is the anouncement of a temple in Bangkok before he is done. I believe he is done a few transfers after I am. I firmly believe that his vision will be accomplished. It is just going great here and a temple is what Tahiland really needs.
Saturday: A little less of a good day. We managed to get ourselves lost for a little while. That was fun haha. Only taught one lesson, but we did get a return appointment from it.
Sunday: A great day. Found a sweet new investigator. We were just walking by this guys house as he was watering some sand for his kids to play in. Elder Chapman stopped in mid-sentence with me and proceeded to talk with this guy. Turns out that he loves to read and we gave him a Book of Mormon and he told us he wants to be baptised and that the next time we go back he will make sure his wife is there to listen to us as well. I would call that a miracle. It was very cool :) He is going to be great.
Well that is all for this week. Love you all!
Elder Ackerman
Monday, January 17, 2011
A little chilly this week!
Dear Everyone,
Well life has been pretty good to me here in Thailand. In the morning I about freeze myself to death getting out of bed and showering. After being here for 9 months now, the cold gets to you. I much prefer the heat now. Oh well. It has been cooler than usual and I get quite cold when we ride our bikes and there is a nice breeze. Ahh, life is good.
Monday: Pretty good Preparation Day. Got some good stuff done. Didn't teach anyone and we had to travel to Surin again for District Meeting on Tuesday. Oh and since Deang owns a food stand, she taught us how to make some dishes. I can now make a good fried rice and something called pad kra paw. It is meat, chili peppers, onion, and basil over rice. It is really good. I can also make a cool curry dish as well that is really good.
Tuesday: Good day in Surin. Had a really good District meeting by Elder Campbell once again. He is a really cool guy, but unfortunately he is a Utah fan (sorry grandpa, it is hard to pick who you associate with out here :) ). He was pretty happy about the last Utah BYU game. Oh well. We also caught a foot long lizard (me and Elder Chapman) from the Surin church. That was fun took like 25 minutes or so to get it out in the open and catch it. We caught it while Elder Campbell was doing interviews. It is called a dugkea (something like that). It can jump five feet and if it bites your finger, it will lock jaw and rip it off in a few seconds. Yeah...that was a fun experience trying to catch it. Plus we took it on an hour long bus ride to Buriram to give it a member in our branch who looks after animals. Found out the animal was worth about $200. Oh well :) It was fun! Then we had a good English class scaring everyone with the animal (Thai people are dead scared of these).
Wednesday: Had a good day teaching investigators. We have really shrunk in the amount of people we are teaching. We have Deang, Bee, Tuktaa, and Chai. Yeah...but they all have baptismal goals! It is way cool. Bee and her family own a restaurant that is really famous here in Buriram. They really like the Elders. It was a good day.
Thursday: Had the usual long planning for the next week. Takes about 2 hours usually to plan everything. Lots of fun. Found a new family to start teaching. Taught only 3 of them at first, but there are 9 people total. We will see how it goes. Another good day for us.
Friday: A not so good day. Taught only one lesson, right away in the morning to Tuktaa and Chai. They are doing good. We are trying to help Chai to stop smoking. He has a desire to stop smoking and drinking coffee, plus Tuktaa (his girlfriend), really wants him to stop too. It is great.
Saturday: It was a good day to say. Taught a couple lessons. Taught a Sergeant in the police force here in Buriram. Taught a 10 minute lesson and he wasn't really interested in learning more. Well, we did our best. He was still a good guy. Taught Deang finally again. She is doing well. Said she would go to church.
Sunday: We had only Deang go to church. Next week will be better. It was weird, the branch president sent us with the young men and didn't say why. So we had preisthood with the young men. There are the branch presidents son, 2 other sons of the second counselor, and another kid. It was fun. The branch presidents son is the first counselor of the young men and he is 18 and the president is 19 years old. It is way sweet. Still not sure why we were in the class...oh well. We got denied out teaching many times. Such is the life of a missionary.
That is all for this week folks!
Love,
Elder Ackerman
Well life has been pretty good to me here in Thailand. In the morning I about freeze myself to death getting out of bed and showering. After being here for 9 months now, the cold gets to you. I much prefer the heat now. Oh well. It has been cooler than usual and I get quite cold when we ride our bikes and there is a nice breeze. Ahh, life is good.
Monday: Pretty good Preparation Day. Got some good stuff done. Didn't teach anyone and we had to travel to Surin again for District Meeting on Tuesday. Oh and since Deang owns a food stand, she taught us how to make some dishes. I can now make a good fried rice and something called pad kra paw. It is meat, chili peppers, onion, and basil over rice. It is really good. I can also make a cool curry dish as well that is really good.
Tuesday: Good day in Surin. Had a really good District meeting by Elder Campbell once again. He is a really cool guy, but unfortunately he is a Utah fan (sorry grandpa, it is hard to pick who you associate with out here :) ). He was pretty happy about the last Utah BYU game. Oh well. We also caught a foot long lizard (me and Elder Chapman) from the Surin church. That was fun took like 25 minutes or so to get it out in the open and catch it. We caught it while Elder Campbell was doing interviews. It is called a dugkea (something like that). It can jump five feet and if it bites your finger, it will lock jaw and rip it off in a few seconds. Yeah...that was a fun experience trying to catch it. Plus we took it on an hour long bus ride to Buriram to give it a member in our branch who looks after animals. Found out the animal was worth about $200. Oh well :) It was fun! Then we had a good English class scaring everyone with the animal (Thai people are dead scared of these).
Wednesday: Had a good day teaching investigators. We have really shrunk in the amount of people we are teaching. We have Deang, Bee, Tuktaa, and Chai. Yeah...but they all have baptismal goals! It is way cool. Bee and her family own a restaurant that is really famous here in Buriram. They really like the Elders. It was a good day.
Thursday: Had the usual long planning for the next week. Takes about 2 hours usually to plan everything. Lots of fun. Found a new family to start teaching. Taught only 3 of them at first, but there are 9 people total. We will see how it goes. Another good day for us.
Friday: A not so good day. Taught only one lesson, right away in the morning to Tuktaa and Chai. They are doing good. We are trying to help Chai to stop smoking. He has a desire to stop smoking and drinking coffee, plus Tuktaa (his girlfriend), really wants him to stop too. It is great.
Saturday: It was a good day to say. Taught a couple lessons. Taught a Sergeant in the police force here in Buriram. Taught a 10 minute lesson and he wasn't really interested in learning more. Well, we did our best. He was still a good guy. Taught Deang finally again. She is doing well. Said she would go to church.
Sunday: We had only Deang go to church. Next week will be better. It was weird, the branch president sent us with the young men and didn't say why. So we had preisthood with the young men. There are the branch presidents son, 2 other sons of the second counselor, and another kid. It was fun. The branch presidents son is the first counselor of the young men and he is 18 and the president is 19 years old. It is way sweet. Still not sure why we were in the class...oh well. We got denied out teaching many times. Such is the life of a missionary.
That is all for this week folks!
Love,
Elder Ackerman
Friday, January 14, 2011
Oh, boy, week #37 in Thailand
Hey,
Wow, does the time really go by. Just 2 weeks ago I was on the phone with the family for Christmas. Crazy I tell you. And now I am a solid 20 years old.
Monday: Good Preparation day. I spent the day in Surin. We had 3 lessons planned and they all fell through. It was bad. Yaw passed his interview to be baptised on the 8th of January. He passed with flying colors according to Elder Campbell. He was like quoting the Bible and scripture masteries during the interview. Way cool :)
Tuesday: Traveled back to Buriram in the morning to have the district meeting. Taught the usual English and we were able to get a couple good lessons in.
Wednesday: Well, another swell day. Got a couple lessons taught with members. Don't think much else happened that is notable. Oh wait! Got on a bus to go to Bangkok at 11pm. That was sweet. 6 hour bus ride!
Thursday: Got to the chapel at 430 am or so. Oh man. No one was there. We waited another 20 minutes or so and another companionship showed up. That was nice. Oh forgot to say. On Tuesday we also found out who would be moving. No one. It will be the same 4 people in our district which is way sweet! All Elder Chapman and I had to do was renew our visas. At least we don't have to leave the country. Traveled to Surin to stay the night. It was an earlier bus than the one to Buriram and besides, Elder Campbell and Elder Mondragon had packages.
Friday: Quick travel in the morning over to Buriram. We also did our weekly planning and got ready for the baptism on Saturday. Had to run around and do stuff and teach a couple lessons. Had a good coordination meeting with the branch as well.
Saturday: My birthday. Good day. Went and got ice cream. It was also Kids Day in Thailand so Swensons was way busy. Oh well. It was still way good. Got stuck at the church filling up the font. Mainly the main faucet didn't work for the font. We had to get a hose for another spigot and then make sure the hose didn't slide off (it happened twice). Oh well. Only 2 hours of work lost. We did get one lesson in for the day. The baptism went great. Very good service. Deang, Owns mom came as well.
Sunday: Good day. Yaw and Own were confirmed and given the gift of the Holy Ghost. No other investigators at church. Didn't teach any lessons during the day either. Those days just happen sometimes. Pretty good week I would say.
That is all folks!
Elder Ackerman
Wow, does the time really go by. Just 2 weeks ago I was on the phone with the family for Christmas. Crazy I tell you. And now I am a solid 20 years old.
Monday: Good Preparation day. I spent the day in Surin. We had 3 lessons planned and they all fell through. It was bad. Yaw passed his interview to be baptised on the 8th of January. He passed with flying colors according to Elder Campbell. He was like quoting the Bible and scripture masteries during the interview. Way cool :)
Tuesday: Traveled back to Buriram in the morning to have the district meeting. Taught the usual English and we were able to get a couple good lessons in.
Wednesday: Well, another swell day. Got a couple lessons taught with members. Don't think much else happened that is notable. Oh wait! Got on a bus to go to Bangkok at 11pm. That was sweet. 6 hour bus ride!
Thursday: Got to the chapel at 430 am or so. Oh man. No one was there. We waited another 20 minutes or so and another companionship showed up. That was nice. Oh forgot to say. On Tuesday we also found out who would be moving. No one. It will be the same 4 people in our district which is way sweet! All Elder Chapman and I had to do was renew our visas. At least we don't have to leave the country. Traveled to Surin to stay the night. It was an earlier bus than the one to Buriram and besides, Elder Campbell and Elder Mondragon had packages.
Friday: Quick travel in the morning over to Buriram. We also did our weekly planning and got ready for the baptism on Saturday. Had to run around and do stuff and teach a couple lessons. Had a good coordination meeting with the branch as well.
Saturday: My birthday. Good day. Went and got ice cream. It was also Kids Day in Thailand so Swensons was way busy. Oh well. It was still way good. Got stuck at the church filling up the font. Mainly the main faucet didn't work for the font. We had to get a hose for another spigot and then make sure the hose didn't slide off (it happened twice). Oh well. Only 2 hours of work lost. We did get one lesson in for the day. The baptism went great. Very good service. Deang, Owns mom came as well.
Sunday: Good day. Yaw and Own were confirmed and given the gift of the Holy Ghost. No other investigators at church. Didn't teach any lessons during the day either. Those days just happen sometimes. Pretty good week I would say.
That is all folks!
Elder Ackerman
Sunday, January 9, 2011
(Sorry, I'm late in posting) Happy New Year!
Hey all,
Wow, does the time go by really quickly. It is the new year. 2011. Crazy I have to say. And my birthday is this next Saturday. Wow...
Monday: Well, a pretty normal Monday I guess you could say. We got a lot of stuff done actually for only working 3 hours out of the day. We taught 4 lessons. Turned out to be the best day of the week.
Tuesday: Went to Surin in the morning for the weekly District Meeting with Elder Campbell. It was really good as usual. Elder Campbell is a great missionary leader. Unfortunately we only got one lesson in for the day, but that was because we had travel time included and we had to teach English as well.
Wednesday: A much better day. We got 2 lessons done. One was with a 19yr old girl who making great friends with the members. She's from Surin and doesn't know Buriram. I have a feeling she is very happy to have friends in Buriram that will be a very good influence in her life. She is reading and continuing to pray about the Book of Mormon.
Thursday: Turned out to be a good day. Taught a new family that are turning out to be pretty good. Slowly reading and willing to meet with us again. Taught the family that is supposed to be baptised on the 8th of January. They are going to interview on Saturday and on Monday.
Friday: Only one lesson for the day. Actually turned out that we had to be home at around 630 pm so we weren't out after dark. We just did our morning study at that time. It was a very loud night. Everyone and their dog had fireworks. The really good kind. Lots of mortars and fireworks going off. And lots of loud music. Thankfully at midnight it got quiet and I could sleep.
Saturday: A good day for us. Elder Mondragon and Elder Campbell went out teaching while Elder Chapman and I went out to visit investigators and teach some planned appointments. Turned out okay for the day. Deang interviewed with Elder Campbell and didn't pass. She will need to wait a couple of weeks and retest. Yaw (her cousin) will interview on Monday. We are hoping he passes. If anything, we will have a baptism on the 8th for Deang's son Own.
Sunday: Well I am in Surin. Pretty weird to be in a different area for a Sunday. Oh well. The members didn't know what to do with me. Taught a couple unplanned lesons while out inviting. A relatively good day.
Well, that is all I have for this week!
Happy New Year!
Elder Ackerman
Wow, does the time go by really quickly. It is the new year. 2011. Crazy I have to say. And my birthday is this next Saturday. Wow...
Monday: Well, a pretty normal Monday I guess you could say. We got a lot of stuff done actually for only working 3 hours out of the day. We taught 4 lessons. Turned out to be the best day of the week.
Tuesday: Went to Surin in the morning for the weekly District Meeting with Elder Campbell. It was really good as usual. Elder Campbell is a great missionary leader. Unfortunately we only got one lesson in for the day, but that was because we had travel time included and we had to teach English as well.
Wednesday: A much better day. We got 2 lessons done. One was with a 19yr old girl who making great friends with the members. She's from Surin and doesn't know Buriram. I have a feeling she is very happy to have friends in Buriram that will be a very good influence in her life. She is reading and continuing to pray about the Book of Mormon.
Thursday: Turned out to be a good day. Taught a new family that are turning out to be pretty good. Slowly reading and willing to meet with us again. Taught the family that is supposed to be baptised on the 8th of January. They are going to interview on Saturday and on Monday.
Friday: Only one lesson for the day. Actually turned out that we had to be home at around 630 pm so we weren't out after dark. We just did our morning study at that time. It was a very loud night. Everyone and their dog had fireworks. The really good kind. Lots of mortars and fireworks going off. And lots of loud music. Thankfully at midnight it got quiet and I could sleep.
Saturday: A good day for us. Elder Mondragon and Elder Campbell went out teaching while Elder Chapman and I went out to visit investigators and teach some planned appointments. Turned out okay for the day. Deang interviewed with Elder Campbell and didn't pass. She will need to wait a couple of weeks and retest. Yaw (her cousin) will interview on Monday. We are hoping he passes. If anything, we will have a baptism on the 8th for Deang's son Own.
Sunday: Well I am in Surin. Pretty weird to be in a different area for a Sunday. Oh well. The members didn't know what to do with me. Taught a couple unplanned lesons while out inviting. A relatively good day.
Well, that is all I have for this week!
Happy New Year!
Elder Ackerman
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