Stank.
13 pizza takeout to Swensen's sundae jam with a tweaked grab. We stuck the
landing.
Oh Baby...I'm in Thailand.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Nongkhai 1.28.13
Hello Family.
What's happening?
Thailand is classy. Can you believe I've been a missionary for a year??
Crazy!
Well this week was pretty solid.
Humorous story of the week: E. Schad and I went off in search of a less
active man and his family. I'd been to his house once before. So we mount our
stallions and ride off in search of this lost soul. It was dark so I was a
little worried about finding his house again. We find the right street. Yes.
Then I remember his house is pink. We pull up to a pink house. Money. Pots
bang. Oh perfect someone is home. We call to them and they come and start
talking to us. It's the brother's wife (whom we've never met). She is pretty
nice but says we can't come in because her husband isn't home. Dang. So we
make an appointment to come back. Friday at 7:30. Perfect. Then I ask her if
she is a member or just her husband. She says she's not. Minor alarms go off
in my head, I was pretty positive B. Dong (the brother) said his wife was
baptized. Then I ask if her husband is a member. Nope. "Does he drive a
Tuktuk?" we ask. "No he's a teacher." Oh no. This isn't Dong's wife. I look
at the house next door. It's pink. There's a Tuktuk parked out front. Rats.
This isn't the right house. The entire time we'd been calling this lady
"sister" and referring to her husband as "brother Dong" and she didn't say
anything. She must have been so confused. We told her our mistake, laughed
together, gave her an English flyer and a pass-along card and peaced. Classic.
To make the whole thing worse, we went next door and the family we really
wanted to see wasn't home.
Yearly Reflections: This has been a crazy fast year. I look back and think
about how much has happened, how many people I've met, how many people I've
grown to love. It is nuts. Being a missionary has brought me the most joy. I
love it. Everyday I wake up and do all I can to bring people closer to Christ.
What a great calling. I'm sorry I haven't answered your year mark questions
yet. I've been slacking. But I'll repent and email them next week. Nutshell:
This year was hard. This year was fun. This year was immensely fulfilling. My
hope: This next year doesn't go quite as fast.
I love you all! Keep it Stanky.
Elder M. Riley Creer
The Only
Monday, January 21, 2013
Nongkhai 1.21.13
Family!
Nongkhai is a fiesta. I feel like the whole spirit of this branch changed. The members seem happier and more friendly towards us and our investigators. I'm not sure what caused the change but it's great. Maybe it is all the branch activities. 3 or 4 times a week, the members are getting together for something, whether its cleaning the church, coming to English Class, learning to make pizza, or coming to Piano/guitar class. We started a weekly scripture study class every Friday to help the members understand the Book of Mormon and get more out of their reading. We are getting quite a few members that come. It's awesome. Nongkhai is a party! All these activities are great for our investigators. They come and learn piano and sit and talk with the relief society while they wait for their child. It's supreme. They are giving us referrals like crazy too! One sister has brought 2 new friends to church with her 2 Sundays in a row. She is sponsored. Metaphorical Nutshell: The U.S.S. Missionary Work accelerates when the members are on board and helping.
Teaching Richard (names have been changed to protect the identity of those involved): Richard is a farang (aka he is a white man). He lives in Thailand and has 2 kids. He has had a rough life but has a firm faith in Christ. Richard is a talker. E. Tzanis and I (companion exchanges) were teaching him about the Plan of Salvation and the importance of the Atonement. Richard was explaining his beliefs regarding the Atonement. 5 minutes later he was still explaining. 3 minutes later he was still explaining. Out of the blue he exclaims, "Microwaves." He then proceeds to compare the Atonement of Christ to putting metal in the microwave. True Story. He said the microwaves can't pass through the metal. Similarly, the forces of darkness and the devil can't pass through Christ. It was pretty bizarre, and last time I checked when you put metal in a microwave it catches on fire/explodes.
Well I love you a ton. Sorry the email is short this week. Keep the faith. Stay classy. Rock hightops. จบ.
Elder M. Riley Creer
The only
Nongkhai is a fiesta. I feel like the whole spirit of this branch changed. The members seem happier and more friendly towards us and our investigators. I'm not sure what caused the change but it's great. Maybe it is all the branch activities. 3 or 4 times a week, the members are getting together for something, whether its cleaning the church, coming to English Class, learning to make pizza, or coming to Piano/guitar class. We started a weekly scripture study class every Friday to help the members understand the Book of Mormon and get more out of their reading. We are getting quite a few members that come. It's awesome. Nongkhai is a party! All these activities are great for our investigators. They come and learn piano and sit and talk with the relief society while they wait for their child. It's supreme. They are giving us referrals like crazy too! One sister has brought 2 new friends to church with her 2 Sundays in a row. She is sponsored. Metaphorical Nutshell: The U.S.S. Missionary Work accelerates when the members are on board and helping.
Teaching Richard (names have been changed to protect the identity of those involved): Richard is a farang (aka he is a white man). He lives in Thailand and has 2 kids. He has had a rough life but has a firm faith in Christ. Richard is a talker. E. Tzanis and I (companion exchanges) were teaching him about the Plan of Salvation and the importance of the Atonement. Richard was explaining his beliefs regarding the Atonement. 5 minutes later he was still explaining. 3 minutes later he was still explaining. Out of the blue he exclaims, "Microwaves." He then proceeds to compare the Atonement of Christ to putting metal in the microwave. True Story. He said the microwaves can't pass through the metal. Similarly, the forces of darkness and the devil can't pass through Christ. It was pretty bizarre, and last time I checked when you put metal in a microwave it catches on fire/explodes.
Well I love you a ton. Sorry the email is short this week. Keep the faith. Stay classy. Rock hightops. จบ.
Elder M. Riley Creer
The only
Monday, January 14, 2013
Nongkhai 1.14.13
Hello Family,
Anyway, this week was pretty epic. We began teaching S. Muay's daughters. Teaching them is pretty fun, we have to find ways to make the doctrine really simple and entertaining. We have a sweet activity planned tonight for the Plan of Salvation. I'm #lowkey stoked! We also began teaching a member's husband who recently had a miraculous recovery from some disease. He is pretty stellar. He is a little hard to understand though...he is still recovering and hasn't regained full use of his tongue yet. He has wicked desire to follow Christ though (paradox?). He says Buddhism hasn't helped him at all compared to the prayers of his wife. Yeah. Prayers work.
Saturday. Miracle on Walking Street (sly allusion to a Christmas movie I've never seen). We had planned to set up a table at the walking street (a market where vendors come and set up stands and loads of people walk up the street buying stuff). Problem 1: We didn't have a small portable table. Problem 2: We didn't know if the Crazy Officials of Walking Street (Cows for short) would even let us set up a table. We made plans to fix the problems before Saturday. We didn't (aka we forgot). So Saturday morning we were a little doubtful that it would work. But we called a member about a table. She had one we could use. Money. We still didn't know if we could do it, but we decided to try anyways. We called up some members to come help us pass out flyers and man the table and went for it. We found some empty space, set up our table and started passing out all sorts of business. Then the Cows came. Oh no. The first cow said we couldn't have a table there. Nuts. So we started gathering our table when a Bull came up and told us about an empty slot we could use. Saved by the Bull (no pun intended). So we moved to the new spot. It wasn't there. Luckily we found a guy who had some extra space on his slot and let us set up there. Blessed! Then we passed out every flyer we had. It was sweet. English Class should be a zoo tomorrow. Whatup. The best part of the night was when E. ชัด locked our bikes up. I was waiting for him about 10 yards away and could only see his head over the cars. He asked me if I had my key because he didn't have his. I did. So I said yes. So he locked our bikes and we went on our merry way to walking street. When we came back I got my key out of my pocket as we walked to the bikes. I didn't have it. Psych. Yeah I did. But E. ขัด used the wrong lock. He locked our bikes with his lock...and he didn't have his keys. He felt like an idiot. It was hilarious. So we borrowed the other elders' bikes and went home for the key. He asked if I had my key and then locked the bikes with his own lock. Classic. #spacecadetmoment
Well life is good. Choose the right. Stay classy.
Much Love,
Elder M. Riley Creer
#Hashtags:
12 letter week. #holleratyourboy! #muchosgracias
When your district leader hides your letters before you see them...#yousneakymom
Monday, January 7, 2013
Nongkhai 1.7.13
Hello Family!
This week was pretty stellar. 2 Second Highlights: Nabbing some solid tie fabric, English class showcase, Specialized Zone Training.
E. Tzanis and I are on a mission to get some sick nasty custom ties made. So after locating a super sketchy man (you know? the side-of-the-road-table-with-a-sewing-machine type)t hat says he knows how to make ties we searched the market for some worthy fabric. We found it. So we bought it. It looks AWESOME. In the process of finding the fabric, we found a new person to make the ties (she actually has a shop). So we are stoked.
English class showcase: I love these things. So fun. We played the Answer-a-question-right-shoot-a-balloon-get-a-point game. It is hilarious. The students go crazy about it. Then we taught them how to Tim Tam Slam (explanatory drawing included). It was lowkey epic. Too bad we only had a few people come...curse those new year parties.
Wedding displeasure: There was a wedding thrown on our street. Right out front our door actually. It included alcohol, a stage, a karaoke machine, amateur singers, and very loud speakers. That night we were supposed to go home early to avoid the party rocking and plan. We got home and our whole street was filled with tables full of semi-drunk wedding goers. We had to park our bikes on the main street for the night. We weaved our way through the tables to our house. Inside our house, planning was completely ineffective. The desk-rattling bass and drunken screams really invited the Spirit...psych. Sleeping was a little rough to say the least. Next time you throw a party, make sure no elders leave in the immediate vicinity.
Specialized Zone Training: It was inspiring. It was life changing. I learned a lot. I learned about more effectively finding the elect and not losing faith. We read about Peter's experience of walking on the water, sinking, and reaching to Jesus Christ to save him. It was great. The real craziness was after the training. E. Tzanis had to complete an computer assignment for P. Senior by the next morning, aka he had to spend that evening at an internet cafe. To ease E. Wilamas' boredom, we switched off who would have to sit next to him and read while E. Tzanis worked. I was with him and he was getting pretty close to finishing when his time ran out on the computer. His computer locked up like a rollie polie bug. Nuts. No big deal, E. Tzanis had been saving his files to the computer as he worked so we'll just buy some more time. The shop owner wasn't there. Yikes. We waited. The owner never came. The Dilemma: we couldn't just go to a different shop because all of the Aussie's work was saved on that particular machine. The Miracle: I hacked the computer. Holler. Yeah it's true. After much prayer and button mashing I did it. I somehow got past the software that locks the computer when the time runs out. Do I know what I did? Nope. Could I do it again? Not a chance. Was it an answer to prayers? Yes. The sad part of this story was that the files somehow got erased and E. Tzanis and to redo them anyway. Did it build my faith? Yep. Probably the most bizarre night of my mission.
Life is good. Real good. Much Love.
Elder M. Riley Creer
The Only
This week was pretty stellar. 2 Second Highlights: Nabbing some solid tie fabric, English class showcase, Specialized Zone Training.
E. Tzanis and I are on a mission to get some sick nasty custom ties made. So after locating a super sketchy man (you know? the side-of-the-road-table-with-a-sewing-machine type)t hat says he knows how to make ties we searched the market for some worthy fabric. We found it. So we bought it. It looks AWESOME. In the process of finding the fabric, we found a new person to make the ties (she actually has a shop). So we are stoked.
English class showcase: I love these things. So fun. We played the Answer-a-question-right-shoot-a-balloon-get-a-point game. It is hilarious. The students go crazy about it. Then we taught them how to Tim Tam Slam (explanatory drawing included). It was lowkey epic. Too bad we only had a few people come...curse those new year parties.
Wedding displeasure: There was a wedding thrown on our street. Right out front our door actually. It included alcohol, a stage, a karaoke machine, amateur singers, and very loud speakers. That night we were supposed to go home early to avoid the party rocking and plan. We got home and our whole street was filled with tables full of semi-drunk wedding goers. We had to park our bikes on the main street for the night. We weaved our way through the tables to our house. Inside our house, planning was completely ineffective. The desk-rattling bass and drunken screams really invited the Spirit...psych. Sleeping was a little rough to say the least. Next time you throw a party, make sure no elders leave in the immediate vicinity.
Specialized Zone Training: It was inspiring. It was life changing. I learned a lot. I learned about more effectively finding the elect and not losing faith. We read about Peter's experience of walking on the water, sinking, and reaching to Jesus Christ to save him. It was great. The real craziness was after the training. E. Tzanis had to complete an computer assignment for P. Senior by the next morning, aka he had to spend that evening at an internet cafe. To ease E. Wilamas' boredom, we switched off who would have to sit next to him and read while E. Tzanis worked. I was with him and he was getting pretty close to finishing when his time ran out on the computer. His computer locked up like a rollie polie bug. Nuts. No big deal, E. Tzanis had been saving his files to the computer as he worked so we'll just buy some more time. The shop owner wasn't there. Yikes. We waited. The owner never came. The Dilemma: we couldn't just go to a different shop because all of the Aussie's work was saved on that particular machine. The Miracle: I hacked the computer. Holler. Yeah it's true. After much prayer and button mashing I did it. I somehow got past the software that locks the computer when the time runs out. Do I know what I did? Nope. Could I do it again? Not a chance. Was it an answer to prayers? Yes. The sad part of this story was that the files somehow got erased and E. Tzanis and to redo them anyway. Did it build my faith? Yep. Probably the most bizarre night of my mission.
Life is good. Real good. Much Love.
Elder M. Riley Creer
The Only
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