Sunday, December 15, 2013

Asoke 12.14.13

Hola!

Phet and Fon were baptized!  Yeah!  They both shared excellent experiences about how reading the Book of Mormon and praying built their faith.  They are stellar.  The day after Fon was baptized she called us and told us she wanted to share the gospel with her family.  Her parents are in France and her brother is a province that doesn't yet have a branch.  We'll have to figure out how to get in touch with them.  It is interesting to see the change that occurs in people as they accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  This gospel is true.  It changes people in impossible ways.  How lucky are we to be involved in this?  Way lucky.

Behind Enemy Lines:  Wednesday, 1500 hours.  President Senior was thinking of opening a new area in central Thailand.  We found one province that already has a Melk. Priesthood holder there.  So he sent E. Davies and I on a reconnaissance mission.  We booked a flight leaving the next morning at 0700 hours.  The plane ride was uneventful, the greatest threat being the barely edible food they served us.  We landed in one of Thailand's ancient capitals.  The airport was tiny.  It didn't even have a control tower.  Or walls for that matter, the whole thing was open air.  The best part: next door was the zoo.  As I walked off the plane I spotted zebras.  Then giraffes.  A whole zoo.  This country amazes me.  Back to business.  We met our "associate" who acquired a car for us.  He even slapped on a rental logo sticker to make it look legit (ok... it may have been a perfectly legitimate rental car service).  Nobody would suspect a thing.  We drove the 80 kilos to the selected province to begin the recon.  We found our hotel, parked the car there and went for a stroll to scope the area out.  We quickly found Tesco Lotus.  We bought a half-dozen donuts as we perused the place, you know to keep our cover.  Next we checked out the market.  It was big.  Loaded with potential.  Perfect for Operation: Dan Jones.  Then we started the real work.  Finding a possible headquarters in the city.  We asked around.  The word on the street led us to a supreme spot.  Right on the busiest street in town.  We were taking reconnaissance photos when our contact arrived.  He showed us around the town, giving us a good feel for the place.  We checked out quite a few other possible locations before our contact couldn't take the heat anymore.  We took him back to his car so he could get some R&R.  Desperate to find a possible house, we radioed into the Big Guy for guidance (aka we prayed).  Within an hour we found the perfect place.  Close to the proposed HQ.  Close to Tesco Lotus and KFC.  To finish off the mission we headed to the local park.  It was bustling with activity.  After chatting up some locals and gathering some great intel we decided it was time to call it a night.  Suspicious that someone was tailing us we canceled our hotel reservation and drove to the next province.  Pretty sure we lost em.  We found a hotel there, it was a little bigger  and a little less glamorous than a hole in the wall.  Perfect to hide out until morning when our evac would come for us.  The next day we landed safely back in BKK, mission accomplished.  We'll have to wait and see if president decides to open this new area or not.  Transfers are next week...oh boy.  Stress emergency.  Leggo!

Messiah Monday:  The President and Sister Senior took all the elders that work in the office and the senior couples to see Handel's Messiah performed at a nearby church.  The food was hi-so.  I ordered a chocolate banana frappe.  It was heavenly.  Tasty business.  Then we headed to some Catholic church to watch the performance.  The church was ridiculous.  It looked just like a Buddhist temple except with a cross on top.  Talk about apostate.  The actual performance was pretty sweet.  I may or may not have dozed through portions of it, but I enjoyed it.  They had 5 soloists that would sing some stuff and then a huge choir that would come in on other parts.  On the program they described one of them as a countertenor.  I'd never heard of that so I was interested to hear how he sang.  Well when his part came up he stood, opened his mouth and a female's voice came out!  He sounded just like a woman.  Everyone was doing double takes.  Hilarious.  He sang really well though.  We bounced after the Hallelujah chorus.  Fun night.

I got your Christmas package.  Thanks!  Don't worry I haven't opened the wrapped stuff yet. I'll put it under our festive Christmas tree.

My P-day will be Christmas day here.  What time should I skype?  I will be free all day until about 4 PM Thailand time.  Just let me know.

So... I love you all.  A lot.  You are the best.  For real.

Elder m. riley creer

the only 

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