Chiang Mai 9.17.12

Hey Family!

This week was an adventure. Well every week is an adventure when you are in Thailand.

English Class Fail- At the end of english class we have a 10 minute spiritual thought where we try and help the students feel the spirit so they will be interested in learning more about the Church. For the past few weeks the thought just hasn't been working. We have been trying to watch a Mormon message or some other Church video and each time something goes wrong. Well this past week we had it all worked out. The laptop was there ready to go. The projector was all set up. The video was picked. All of our ducks were in a row (as Mom would say). So we start the video. It was about the birth of Christ. The angel is appearing to the shepherds and telling them about the Baby Jesus and everything is going great. The shepherds start in to town to find Jesus and are about to find Him when the video freezes. Right before the climax of the video, the most important part, it stops. Bummer. E. Wilamas got up and tried to save it by explaining that the shepherds were about to find the Baby Jesus but everyone was still pretty confused. So what was supposed to be a spiritual thought turned into a train wreck. #goodtimesinenglishclass

This week was District Conference. Elder Gong of the Seventy was here. He is in the Asia Area Presidency. He is phenomenal. The meetings were super great and perfect for our investigators. They talked a lot about doing the basics (Reading the scrips daily, praying daily, going to church weekly, paying a full tithe) in order to prepare Thailand for a temple. These people have incredible love and appreciation for the temple. It is remarkable. The leaders are really trying to help the members understand they need to be worthy for a temple before they will receive one. It was fabulous.

#Scareoftheweek: The person who was supposed to translate for the Saturday evening session wasn't there (it was E. Mondragon (aka one of the zone leaders) and they got stuck with some business or something). I was sitting with the choir (right behind where the translator was supposed to sit). The meeting starts and the other members of the choir realize the translator isn't there, so they hand the microphone to me and tell me to start translating. Fear. Nausea. Cold Sweats. Hot Sweats. Throat Swelling. Cardiac Arrest. These are just a few of the symptoms I started experiencing. So I start moving to the front row where the microphone is, trying to comprehend the fact that I'm about to translate for Elder Gong and President Senior (they are kind of a big deal) not to mention all the other members in the audience. Luckily Sister Murray walks up and saves the day (she translates every week for sacrament meeting and is pretty baller). She asked if I was going to translate. Yeah right. So she sits down, looking just as stressed as I was until she showed up, turns to me and says pray for me. I did. Twice. She did well in the end though and the meeting was stellar. Narrowly avoided a catastrophe. #translatinghorrorstories

We had an investigator interview for baptism on Sunday. She didn't pass. It was a bummer. She has never prayed and asked God about the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith or anything really. She feels like asking God questions is sort of like challenging God. She believes everything and is willing to keep all the commandments though, she just lacks that spiritual witness. I realized how important that spiritual witness really is. When tough times come, if we don't have that spiritual witness our belief will crumble. No matter how strong we think our belief is, it can't withstand the storms of Satan. We need to build a firm foundation in Christ and to do that we need to pray and ask. When we have that spiritual witness, we can withstand the buffetings of Satan because our foundation is firm, steadfast. We also need to understand that God loves us and is waiting for us to ask. He won't upbraid us for asking, He will rejoice that we are knocking.

Well Thailand is still great. Being a missionary is supreme. I miss you all. Life is good and I am happy.

Much Love,

Elder M. Riley Creer

The Only

#hashtags:

We were going to go ride elephants today but our guy cancelled on us because it is too wet. #rainseasonstrikesagain

E. Wilamas' Favorite Phrase: "You Sneaky Mom!" #Yes

Sorry no pics this week, this computer is being a creep.

Chiang Mai 9.10.12

Dear Family,

What's up?

Life is good.

Last Pday: We went on a tour of the mountain. It was sweet. We saw a crazy Buddhist temple, lots of flowers (Bhubing Palace), and a Hmong village. It was pretty sweet. The bad news: That morning I was down to eat pizza at this almost-Italian place but E. Wilamas wanted to eat isaan food. So we go eat the isaan food and then take care of some stuff and then go meet the zone leaders to hit up the mountain tour. Well we are just having a grand ol' time taking pictures in Hmong clothes when it hits. Digestion Devastation. I'm praying there is an actual bathroom at the next destination (the Buddhist temple) so I decide to endure the winding, curving, meandering car ride. It was the longest ride of my life. The entire time I thought my insides were going to explode. I prayed hard. REAL hard. So we get to the temple and I bail out of the truck and am walking/jogging to the bathroom. I'm frantically following signs that lead me to "the bathroom." I barely made it. Toilets? Don't have em. It was a glorified hole in the ground. Talk about a quad workout. Toilet Paper? Not a chance. Next thing I know, I'm missing a couple pages from my planner and a tourist map of the Bhubing palace. Lesson Learned: never eat isaan before you go on a mountain tour of places that don't have real bathrooms.

*Note to the Editor: Whether this is appropriate for the blog is up to your discretion.*
(The Editor deleted two sentences)

เดือน got baptized on Saturday. #holler The missionaries sang a special musical number for the baptismal service. Pre-mish, singing was never a strong point of mine...well it still isn't a strong point but now I don't as embarrassed. The best part was the confirmation on Sunday. She is Hmong (Like the people we went and visited last Pday) so she wore her authentic Hmong outfit. It was SICK. We took pictures so don't even worry. It was great to see her get baptized though, she is way solid. A bunch of our investigators were able to go too, so it was just a great all over the place.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to teach a Filipino man. It was awesome. It was a testimony to how the Lord prepares people to receive this gospel. He is in Chiangmai working to provide for his kids who live with his ex-wife. He leaves near a member of our branch (also Filipino) and talked a lot about the influence she has on him. He said that whenever he is around members of the church he gets this feeling that won't go away. He said it bothers him, it keeps him up at night, it makes him want to learn more. It was amazing to hear him describe the way the Spirit is working in his life to lead him out of the darkness of sin into the light of the gospel. #epicsentence. He was so sincere, the spirit was so strong in the room. It was incredible. The Lord truly does prepare His children to hear the gospel and leads them to it.

Much Love,

Elder M. Riley Creer
The Only

#Hashtags:
No elephant rides today...the brother who trains them is sick. #NUTS
Made mac and cheese yesterday #tastybusiness. Felt like home #Amurrica.

Chiang Mai 9.3.12

Dear Family,

So Chiangmai rocks. We have a good time. There is this ancient wall with a moat that surrounds part of the city. It is way sick. When I ride by it on my bike I feel like a warrior riding my stallion into battle against the invading Hmongs...ok not really but really old walls are pretty neat.

I didn't have to teach priesthood meeting yesterday, but I did have to translate it. A canadian couple came to Thailand for a conference and came to church, so I translated for him and and also for our Filipino investigator that doesn't speak Thai. It was rough, the lesson was on home teaching. On one side of me I had our investigator who had no idea what home teaching was and on the other a guy who did. Lets just say it was stressful trying to make sure both of them got something out of the lesson. I also had to translate for the youth sunday school class. This guy who works at the US embassy just moved here and none of them speak thai. So I translated for their two sons in sunday school. Basically I don't like translating at all...it stresses me out. This is how it generally goes: I start translating a sentence/thought but don't catch it all, so my only option is to make something up and fill in the blanks. But while I'm making something up I miss the next part of the lesson so then I have to make that part up too. In the end, very little of the lesson actually gets translated. #messybusiness.

Lord Working Through Me Experience: We were teaching this lady that has been learning and coming to church forever but hasn't been baptized because of some issue with a past husband or something. We didn't plan on teaching her that day so we didn't have a commitment to give her. We were teaching about trusting in the Lord and I was trying to think of something to give her when I thought just give her a baptismal date. I sort of second guessed myself though, thinking I know she has an issue with her past husband and will probably say something like how she needs to figure that out first. Well I asked her if she'd prepare to be baptized in October and at first she wasn't so sure because of her wacky issue. But then she said she just needed to trust in the Lord and agreed to the date. It was awesome to see the Spirit working inside her, helping her apply the principle we had just taught and making a step closer to baptism. It was pretty awesome. The fact that she gave us mini donuts to eat after we taught made it pretty awesome x 2.

Yesterday was fast sunday. We forgot to start our fast until 6 pm on Saturday. Starting your fast late is the worst. Everyone else at church is eating all sorts of good stuff and we can't yet. Awful. Working on an empty stomach is no fun too. It's hard to share the gospel when you are physically drained. I feel like people took one look at us and our half-smiles (all we could manage) and peaced out. By the time it was time to go home we were both utterly exhausted and had zero energy.

Humorous Story: Friday night. I am just finishing recording the day's adventures in my journal when E. Wilamas comes in and tells me to go look at the bathroom. I go in there and there is water shooting out of the wall. There is a faucet about 3 feet off the floor (not sure why it's there) that broke when E. Wilamas turned the handle. The entire fixture snapped off. So water was streaming out of the wall. Classic. So we turned off the water and decided to fix it the next morning. Well the temporary fix was a stick wrapped in a plastic bag shoved into the broken piece of pipe to stop the water show. It worked...sort of. Yesterday E. Wilamas replaced the stick with a pipe plug thing (yeah...I dropped out of plumbing school) so now everything is good. Good times.

So yeah...life is great still. Can't believe it is September already. Peace Out.

Much Love

Elder M. Riley Creer
The Only

Sam- no elephants yet but next week we are going to go ride some. true story.
Dad- We couldn't meet the girl that brings her friends this past week but I think we have an appointment tomorrow.
Mom- Get better. Please :)
KandJ- สู้สู้.

#Hashtags:
#thingsimiss: Dishwashers, more than 2 slurpees flavors. #Amurrica
When your companion accidentally drinks green tea and your next lesson is on the Word of Wisdom #irony

Chiang Mai 8.27.12

Dear Family,

Being senior companion isn't too bad. There have been times when I wasn't sure what to do but I listened for the Spirit and was able to figure it out. The Lord truly does help us out when we rely on Him. I still am lost in Chiangmai but am slowly figuring out where stuff is.

The Sisters had a baptism last night. Woohoo. 6 of our investigators were able to go and watch, so that was pretty sweet. One of them is a sister that should be getting baptized on the 8th of September, she is stellar.

Quick Story from Last Sunday: E. Wilamas and I are talking to some members in the hall after church when the other branch's Elders Quorum president comes over and asks me to translate in their priesthood meeting. I'm awful at translating...but I say yes anyway. So I go in there and start translating for the white guy (monitors nuclear treaties, has 5 degrees, super cool). It's basic stuff at first, "We'll open with a song on page... and Brother ____ will say the opening prayer." We make it through the announcements and stuff and I'm thinking all is well. Then the president hands the time over to the teacher...and the white guy stands up and says, "Ready to teach?" Ohhh Nuts. I thought I was just going to be translating/making up some other guy's lesson! So we go up there and start teaching. Luckily it was on sharing the gospel with friends and not something with ridiculous vocabulary like the parable of the 10 Virgins. I would have died. But with some help from the priesthood brethren and from above we were able to get through the lesson.

Saturday our branch had a dinner/fireside at the Branch President's house. It was potluck. He requested we make spaghetti. We did. It was #tastybusiness. People loved it. Yep. And you all thought I could only make toast (as if spaghetti is that much harder)

So I don't know if I told you about the walk-ins we had last week or not but they are supreme. Well one of them is at least. Her name is Warii. She and her friend just showed up to church last week. Well we taught them and got a return appointment. At the return appointment, Warii came and brought her Buddhist friend. We taught them the Plan of Salvation and made another appointment. The next time Warii brought her Buddhist friend and another Christian friend. We taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ and they all accepted baptismal dates. Then they all came to church yesterday...in the rain. In Thailand when it rains people don't go outside. They think if their head gets wet they will get sick. So the fact they came even in the rain is pretty amazing. Yep.

So this other guy in the internet place is freaking out. I think he may be having a seizure...seriously. He keeps twitching violently. He doesn't seem phased by it though, he just keeps on playing his game...#toomuchdedication. No one seems to be concerned about it either...maybe game overdoses are a common occurrence in Thailand.

Much Love

Elder M. Riley Creer
The Only

#Hashtags:
That awkward moment when you try and use a new word and you find out it isn't a word...#nuts
Sometimes when I iron my shirt I pretend I'm waxing my skis #makesironinglessboring

Chiang Mai 8.20.12

DEAR FAMILY THAT I LOVE,

I got big news. I moved...to Chiangmai. #holleratyourboy. Chiangmai is in the northwest of Thailand at the foot of one of the only mountains in the country (may have just made that up). It is called 'heaven' by the missionaries. It rocks. My companion is E. Wilamas and he is Thai. Also he is on transfers 3 (i'm on 4 now) so that means I am senior companion which is #lowkey scary. Luckily he speaks thai and teaches like a boss so no worries.

On the real though, we argued last night and this morning (he is an international law student...so arguing is a hobby for him). It was bad news (that fact that it was in Thai made it extra bad news). But don't worry, we realized that all this arguing just wasn't going to work. So we talked it out, man to man, elder to elder and realized that we both need to learn something from the other. We realized that we were put together for a reason. It was a good experience that I wish I didn't have to have. I wish I was humble enough to see these types of things up front.

So in a nutshell, Chiangmai rocks. There is at least one mountain. Score. It isn't near as hot as the rest of Thailand (or maybe the hot season is finally over...not sure). Double score. And they have zoos...with tigers...that you can pet...true story. Definitely going to hit that place up. But they recently split the branch here, so the work is sort of exploding.

Other news: I became english leader here. Apparently the ZL's heard I did good stuff in Khonkaen with the english program so they made me the english leader here hoping I would do the same. The only problem is I don't remember doing anything special in Khonkaen...so pray for me.

My birthday: It was great. We all went to Swensen's for ice cream (thanks mom and dad). I bought a sick hat (see pics) and bought a shirt that I later found out was too small for my broad muscular shoulders. But the Khonkaen members bought me a mini cake and some delicious donuts. It was a pretty sweet day full of rejoicing and laughter.

Spiritual Stuff: When I found out I was going to be senior companion with a khonthai (thai person) I was freaking out. I can't speak Thai. I still don't know what I'm doing. Chiangmai is a bigger branch than Khonkaen, I won't know what to do. All these things were racing through my mind. So I did what I learned in primary and from mom and poppa smurf: I prayed. I prayed a lot. And I read in the scriptures. I was comforted by 2 Nephi 32:5. If I listen to the Holy Ghost, it will show me what I need to do. I realized that this is an opportunity to grow and develop. It will still be hard, but I know that through faith and the Spirit everything will work out. Even though I don't understand everything that is going on the lessons, I will know what to say if I listen to the spirit. Yesterday, I saw We were teaching this lady that has been learning for a while with the Elders Quorum president and his wife. She was telling us about her old husband and why she couldn't get baptized yet. I understood about 60% of what she was saying but had a thought to share Moroni 7:33. I did. Boom. She started crying and the spirit flooded the room.

Life is good. I love you all and yes I got the packages. Thanks.

Elder M. Riley Creer

The Only

#Hashtags:

Twenty Years Old #ohboy #whathappenedtomychildhood

Chiangmai has a tiger kingdom...#LEGGO

Khon Kaen 8.13.12

Hello Family!

This week was pretty sweet. 2 of our investigators committed to be baptized in September. Sweet! One of em is this 18 year old girl named Mint (#realtalk) that is supreme. She's come to church 3 times already and is friends with B. Boom and S. Sour (her name literally means sour...). The other is named คำรณ (sounds sort of like Cameron). He is in his fifties and really wants to become christian. He says he's been Buddhist all his life and hasn't seen any help from it so he wants to try Christianity. He is super funny and way good at English. So yeah...that's what's up in Khonkaen. We had another investigator with a baptismal date but we haven't been able to get a hold of her for 3 weeks so...yeah we'll pray for her.

#yikesmoment: This morning we were riding to the internet place, all four of us, when disaster struck. Not really. But it was bad. E. Siriphan and E. Olive are always messing with each other on their bikes, slapping each other, pushing off each other, putting the other's kickstand down, all this crazy business. It is hilarious watching them and sort of miraculous that they don't collide and eat it. Well this morning it finally happened. E. Siriphan pushed off E. Heslop and so E. Heslop caught up to him and tried to pull him back by grabbing his back rack...well they collided...and ate it. It was nuts. E. Olive and I were watching them laughing and then two seconds later there is a heap of bodies and bicycles in the middle of the street. So after we extracted them from the rubble we headed back to the house and bandaged up E. Heslop's scrapes (ruined both shirt and pants). That was the drama of the morning.

E. Heslop and I were studying for one of our investigating families that doesn't keep any commitments. We were trying to figure out why it was so hard for this family to read and pray. We created this sweet analogy with the help of Preach My Gospel. PMG uses Lehi's dream to help us understand our purpose. We are to be guides along the path to the tree of life. We are to help people find the rod and take those first few steps on the path. When the people we teach keep commitments they move closer to the tree, the fountain of happiness. The closer they get to the tree the more happiness they have in their life. When they don't keep them they don't move forward but actually move backwards. Lehi forgot to mention it but actually the path is a downwards escalator. We have to keep moving foward always. When we stop we slide backwards and lose progress. Yep. This paragraph is sort of messy but I'm running out of time. Oh well. #Nutshell: Spiritual progression is like walking up a downwards escalator, you must keep moving forward to make it to the top.

Well this email is way short. Sorry. But I still love you!

Much Love.

Elder M. Riley Creer

The Only

#hashtags:

E. Heslop sees a video of Sister Elaine Dalton talking to a group of girls and says, "Hey, the news lady!" #Classic

Khon Kaen 8.6.12

Hello Family.

#Lowkey jealous of the Yellowstone trip. But no worries Thailand is still treating me well.

This week I discovered something great. It is called Sweetened Condensed Non-Dairy Creamer. Thai people throw it on stuff all the time and boy is it good. Last night we made french toast for Sunday Dinner. We were almost out of syrup. Crisis. Nope not anymore: Sweetened Condensed Non-Dairy Creamer. It saved the day. Throw that mess on your french toast and it tastes like magic. An even better combo is the SCNC with some syrup. Now you're talkin. But Thai people put it on snacks all the time. They load it on âõÕ's, it is some #tastybusiness.

Yesterday we had a family come to church out of the blue. It was sweet. On the real, we sort of gave up on them. We haven't been able to meet for a while and they weren't really going anywhere but then they just came to church! SCORE. It was a grandma, her daughter, and her 2 grandsons. The grandsons are nuts. Whenever we are at their house trying to teach, they are running around playing Dino Beatdown. They are obsessed with dinosaurs, it is kind of extreme. Well sure enough they started playing Dino Beatdown in Sacrament meeting. The youngest one was sort of roaming the chapel the entire meeting and every now and again the older one would growl/screech/roar (mix of all three) and take a swipe at his bro. It was pretty hilarious. Luckily they didn't get as crazy at church as they do at home...that would have been a mess.

So the scripture thought for this week is found in Alma 14:13. This is when Alma and Amulek are preaching to the people of Ammonihah. This verse is when Alma and Amulek are watching the saints being burned alive. Amulek thinks they should try and stop the madness but Alma says the Spirit is constraining him. Then Amulek says perhaps they'll burn us too. Alma responds, "Be it according to the will of the Lord." What a champ. He might be burned to death and he basically says well if the Lord wills that we die then we die. His submissiveness to the will of the Lord is awe-inspiring. I studied Faith quite a bit this morning. Faith is so crucial. Without it we can't receive a remission of our sins (BD: Faith). I learned that it is an abiding Trust in the will of the Lord, that His will is what's best for us. I especially like Helaman 5:9-12, if we have faith we can last through the storms that beat against us. Ridiculous Metaphor: Faith is like a spiritual back brace (allusion to past events). If we build our faith it will act as a support through rough times, helping us to stand tall when the adversary is trying to break us down. Something else that hit me this morning is how we must have patience in developing our faith. In Alma 32, Alma compares faith to a seed that eventually grows into a fruit-bearing tree. Sometimes we expect our faith to sprout up bear fruit over night or in a week, but last time I checked trees take decades to grow. The same is with our faith, we won't be a spiritual redwood in a couple days but over time with diligence and patience and with help from the Lord we can become stronger than we ever thought.

Well that is enough metaphors for the month. Life is still great. The church is still true. I still love my family.

Peace.
Elder M. Riley Creer

The Only

#Hashtags:

Finish teaching a family and ask any questions. All they can ask is why one of you speaks way clearly and one of you doesn't...#ThatHurtsTheTeam

Got a shirt with a giant mustache on it...yes #missionaryswag

package requests: triscuits, chocolate, a pet turtle

Khon Kaen 7.30.12

Dearest family that I love,

This week was fast. Too fast. I feel like the days, weeks, months are zooming by. I have already been a missionary for 6 months. A quarter of my mission is done, gone, over, finished. Yikes! It is motivation to really work my hardest and make the most out of my time here because it is so short.

The highlight of this week was Zone Conference. President Senior is so dapper, so classy. But he is great, I felt motivated and energized after the conference. He sort of reminds me of President Tew. He likes to call on people at random to share testimonies and he doesn't beat around the bush, he likes straightforwardness and directness. I have only seen him 3 times now but so far that's the impression I got of him. The Zone Conference started at 9 and ended at 3 though, it was nuts. But we had some breaks (fruit break-yes, pizza break-oh heck yes) in between all the lessons/talks so it was all good. I learned a lot though and also realized that there is a lot I can improve. That is really the theme of everything I learned this week: I have a lot I can improve. Luckily, I don't have to do it alone (frankly, I couldn't do it if I was). It is comforting to know through Christ's Atonement I can receive spiritual strength to overcome challenges and change my behavior/thoughts/attitude/actions. That is something President Senior really emphasized; personally living the gospel of Jesus Christ more fully. As we exercise faith in Christ, He will help us repent, or change/improve our lives. When thinking of the gospel I really like Moroni 7:33-34. We really can do all things with faith, even the seemingly impossible task of perfecting ourselves.

#Isthisreallifemoment: Elder Heslop were inviting this street. We are inviting this family when a guy on a motorcycle rolls up and starts talking to E. Heslop. I decided to continue inviting the family. I told them about Heavenly Father and how he has a plan for our families to have more happiness in this life and then asked if we could explain more. They said yes, come on in. Score. But E. Heslop was still talking to the man on the moto. So I tried to small talk (awkwardly) while we waited. When the moto guy left we taught them and they said we could come back again. Sweet. Just a normal invite? Nope. Later that night E. Heslop told me what the guy on the moto was saying. Apparently he had found a pass-along card on the side of the road. It is the card with Jesus holding a lamb. He picked it up and read the stuff on the back about the Book of Mormon and decided he needed one. So when he was heading to work and saw E. Heslop and I he stopped and asked for one. How he knew that we were the people that have the Book of Mormon I don't know but somehow he did. Unfortunately, the only copy E. Heslop had at the time was a misprinted one with some messed up pages but we got his number so we can meet him later. So in 10 minutes we experienced a mini miracle and got in a house and found a sweet family. I sort of felt like David after his trip to the dentist, "Is this real life?"

Bad news bears. One of our investigator's wife told him if he went to church he didn't need to come home. Nuts. Apparently she hates us...but we'll fix that. We plan on teaching him how to fast and fasting with him for his wife to have a softer heart. If that doesn't work, we'll bake her cookies. Done deal.

As for my companion, E. Heslop is a boss. He has swagger out the yingyang. He is from Utah. He is an expert dancer and plays tennis. He likes hightops and the jabbawockeez. Yeah...we get along great.

Much Love,

Elder M. Riley Creer

The Only

#Hashtags:

Improving little by little #babystepstotheelevator #namethatmovie #5letterweek

New Investigator. First Visit: baptismal date #Golden. Second Visit: He doesn't want to meet anymore #Psych. #ultimate bummer

Khon Kaen 7.23.12

Hey Family.

This week was sweet.

First off, some funny things Buddhist people say/do: I was giving a baptism pass along card to a lady on a scooter at a stoplight and she completely misinterpreted the picture. Hilarious. She thought one guy was checking the other guy's pulse. I stifled my laughter and explained that he wasn't checking his vitals and that he was in fact performing a saving ordinance. I don't know if she understood any better but when the light turned green and she zoomed off E. Heslop and I busted up laughing. Second story: We gave a restoration pamphlet to an investigator we have been seeing for a while now. He learns really slow, so we just asked him to read the pamphlet and we'd go over it next time. Well the next time we get there and ask if he read it and he starts reciting it...word for word. He was trying to memorize it! I died laughing...on the inside. But it took us forever to explain that we don't want him to memorize the pamphlets we give him just read them. I guess you could say I realized this week that there is a humongous culture difference between us and Thai people. In Buddhism, everything is memorized prayers so this guy thought he had to memorize these pamphlets and the Book of Mormon. I would never even think of trying to memorize the Book of Mormon. Thai people just think differently than we do, which makes some situations hilarious.

Yes, Katie Thailand has 7-eleven. But they only have 2 slurpee flavors...Coke and Strawberry. My slurpee consumption has seriously declined since I've been here, I've only had one or two (shocking I know). But they have these delicious shake/smoothie things for pretty cheap that are way tasty. So we get those a lot.

Earlier in the week we met this guy and gave him a Book of Mormon but weren't able to teach him until yesterday. Well we go over there and he had already read 80 pages...true story. He had read the introduction and stuff about Joseph Smith about 3 or 4 times too. I was in shock. He actually recognized that the stuff in the back is an index (that never happens here!) and had already looked up some words in it. He knew that Moroni was the son of Mormon and that he had appeared to Joseph Smith. That's when my jaw dropped. So we tried to give him a baptismal date and he basically said he didn't want to change religions. Talk about a surprise ending right? But we made a return appointment and committed him to read and pray to know if it is true. We'll see where it goes.

Yes moment: We are inviting. Rejection out the wazoo. Just the usual, nothing special. Then we invite this one house. This guy walks outside and immediately says, roughly, "Welcome to my home, come on in." We taught a lesson gave him a soft baptismal commitment and made a return appointment. Yes.

Quick note about our boss of a Branch Mission Leader: He is a champion. He called one of our investigators who said she couldn't come to church because she had to study. Well on Sunday she came. We asked what he told her to get her to church and he said he asked if she had A/C at her house. Yeah true story. He asked her if she had A/C, she didn't. So he said why don't you come to church for an hour and enjoy the air conditioning. So she did. How does he do it? I don't even know but I suspect it has something to do with his great hair. E. Heslop thinks he looks like an Asian version of Link from Legend of Zelda. I think I agree.

Well life is great in the land down under.

Much Love,

Elder M. Riley Creer

The Only

#hashtags:

Gotta love that 15 minute bicycle sprint across town to get home on time. #8:59 #nailed it

Ate yellow watermelon...tastes the same as red watermelon #lowkeydisappointment

Came home to 4 letters one day #instantencouragement

Girl, I go to work. True Winnna. Jeans Skinny. #namethatsong

Khon Kaen 7.16.12

Dear Family

Yes. This week was pretty sweet. It was a bit of a roller coaster though. It started out way good, had a loop in the middle and ended crawling back to the station.

We served one of our investigators this week. She has crazy back pain so we cut her lawn (thinking of starting a landscaping company when I get back, I'll have plenty of experience). Well lawn doesn't really do her yard justice. I think jungle describes it better. The grass was as tall as me in places (not saying much). We attacked that mess with a hoe, a machete, and some pruning shears. Yeah...it took a long time. We were all so sore the next day it was ridiculous. It'd be a great ending to this story if she came to church and started gulping the gospel after we served her...but the truth is we haven't been able to meet her since. Part of the reason is because it is really hard to get male members to come help us, the other part is because the phone number she gave us was actually her 12 year old nephew's number. We'll see what happens this week though.

The loop: E. Heslop exchanged with E. Staten in Kalasin which means I got to work with E. Tzanis in Khonkaen. E. Tzanis is nuts. He is probably the funniest missionary I know. He is from Australia and freaking hilarious. We had a blast together and got some good stuff done. We taught one or our new baptismal daters and it was a stellar lesson. We were teaching Fern (yeah that's her name) about the restoration with our branch mission leader and some other members. It was nuts. The spirit was all over that business. Fern totally gets it too. It is awesome teaching her. But it was a powerful lesson full of the Spirit. The branch mission leader said he understood 95% of what I said #holleratthegiftoftongues. It was definitely the highlight of my week. I could feel the Spirit working through me, testifying to Fern.

The last two days: Saturday is when things started slowing down. I don't know if it is because I made the plans without E. Heslop (I planned with E. Tzanis) or just because crazy stuff happens. But we switched back and our streak of teaching a lot just dropped off the cliff. The appointments we had for that night canceled. So we went inviting...and didn't teach a single lesson. Yikes. So that was kind of a bummer. We were looking forward to Sunday though, we had 5 or 6 appointments planned. Well they all canceled except for one (humbling much?). So we invited until our only remaining appointment, rode our bikes across the city and find out the dad of the family isn't going to be home until 8. Nuts. The bad part is we didn't find out in time to tell sister นก (she was going to help us teach) not to come, so she rolls up right after we find out the dad isn't even home. It was a bummer. But sister นก was super cool about it. So yeah the last two days we haven't taught a single lesson. It was a real lame way to end the week. We have good plans for this next week though, it'll be sick nasty.

Scripture of the week: Ether 12:4. First of all, I really love Ether 12. It is champion status. But I think this verse is awesome. If we believe in God then we can hope for a better world, and this hope ties our souls to the gospel because if we want to reach that better world we need to live worthy of it. I'm not sure that last sentence makes sense but Moroni (at least I think he is the one talking) says it better anyway.

Keepin it real in Thailand,

Elder M. Riley Creer

The Only

Hashtags:

French Toast in a waffle maker #tastybusiness #divinerevelation

Red Tie. White Shirt. Blue Pants. #America

E. Heslop dances like a boss. #colormeimpressed

Missionary work brings joy #truestory

Khon Kaen 7.8.12

Hey family!

I have a companion! Yes. I'm not an awkward third wheel anymore. This week was madness.

#Bangkok: This city is massively crazy. We left Khonkaen Wednesday night at about 11, rode a bus all night and got to Bangkok at 4:30 am. The transfers meeting was held in a church building in the center of Bangkok. We anticipated lots of traffic. There wasn't any. We got there 3 hours early. Yikes. After the meeting was over I had to go renew my visa and work permit with a bunch of other missionaries in my MTC group. It was pretty cool to see them all again and swap embarrassing stories. Renewing the visa took for...ev...er #sandlotquote. We're talking 3 to 4 hours forever. Returning from visa mayhem was even more mayhem. It took an hour and a half to get back. #lessonlearned: never get in a taxi with missionaries that are just as young as you and expect to get through bangkok in a timely manner. When I finally got back to the church building where transfers was held the real madness starts. It's called getting luggage, bikes, and bodies to the bus station before the bus leaves. You think it wouldn't be too bad, just hop in a taxi, jerry-rig a bike to the back and go. Nope. Every taxi refused to take us to the bus station. So we hoofed it to the subway thing and rode that bad boy as close to the bus station as we could, then hopped into taxis to get us the rest of the way. We get there and I think the fun/misery is about to end. Nope. We spent the next 45 minutes cramming all this stuff on the bus. I felt pretty sorry for the luggage guy, he was under a lot of stress. He looked like he'd rather die than help all these white people get their bikes home. With some creative thinking and crazy tetris skills we got all the stuff on and headed out. We rode all night. Got home at 2:30 am. Went to bed. Up at 6:30. Nutshell: Anything involving Bangkok is automatically crazy.

Hilarious Story: We were serving a sister in our ward, just cutting her lawn...with a machete and glorified kitchen scissors, you know the usual. Sister ¹¡ wasn't there yet, so we just started. Bad idea. E. Heslop, my new companion, cut a ugly looking shrub growing out of the middle of her yard. We didn't think anything of it, actually we thought we had done her a favor (it was pretty ugly). Boy were we wrong. Turns out, her mom gave her that plant. It gets worse, the plant is really hard to find. It gets worse, her mom died recently. Nightmare. It was the perfect storm. E. Heslop felt like a monster. Sister ¹¡ was surprisingly calm about it, she didn't flip, she didn't kill us, she even gave us Swensen's ice cream after we were done serving. She was at church yesterday so I guess no real damage was done.

We were eating at an investigators house on saturday night. They said they would feed us isaan food. Score. We show up with two sisters from the branch. It's going great I'm thinking. The food is alright, no som tom but no bugs either. Then they bring out this meat that looks like straight up pooh. Seriously. It looked like pooh. It was raw meat. Sirens are going off in my mind. Salmonella, hospitals, death. I figure I'll just casually avoid it. Disaster. The dad of the house tells me to try it. #crap. So I get some on my plate and am adding rice to the spoonful when he says eat it without rice. Are you kidding? I can't get a break. I'm about to eat raw meat and I can't even eat it watered down with rice. It's like having to read a horrible novel for school and realizing they don't have sparknotes for it. #worstfeelingever. So what do i do? I eat it. Surprisingly it wasn't too bad. It was doused in enough spices that I was more concerned with my burning tongue than anything else. Crazy right? Well next they bring out snails. #realtalk #wishiwaskidding They give you a toothpick and you stab it in and twirl the little guy out of his shell...then eat him. It was awful. The most bitter thing I've ever eaten. SO gross. Don't do it. Just say no.

Life is great. Mission life rocks.

Much Love,

Elder M. Riley Creer
The Only

Hashtags:
back 2 back nights on a bus...#spareme
My new companion goes hard on the dance floor. We'll see what I can learn in 6 weeks #watchout

Khon Kaen 7.1.12

Dear Familia,

This week has been some more craziness. Before I forget, the new address is:

1645/6 New Petchaburi Road, Makkasan, Ratchathewi, Bangkok 10400

1645/6 ถนนเพชรบุรีตัดใหม่ แขวงมักกะสัน เขตราชเทวี กรุงเทพฯ 10400

As for packages Mom, I really don't need anything. It's so pricey to send stuff anyway.

No new companion yet. But I will find out tomorrow who it is. It is pretty absolute that I will stay in Khonkaen for another transfer (if I don't they would have to whitewash the area) but anything could happen. Tomorrow I meet the new mission president too! We are having a little meet and greet with our zone, the other isaan zone and President Senior and his wife. It should be a good time.

This week I gave my first blessing in Thai. This investigator was having serious back issues so we offered to give her a blessing. I thought for sure E. Grover and E. Staten (we exchanged with Kalasin that day) would do it. Nope. E. Grover anointed and asked me to do the sealing. It was cool and nuts at the same time.

We did some more traveling this week. We went to Udorn Thani, Roi Et, and Kalasin. In each place we ate Isaan food (sticky rice with spicy papaya salad stuff with assorted delicious meats), so I have eaten Isaan food in almost every city in the Isaan (Udorn was the best). In each place the zone leaders taught a district meeting, so I got to hear it 3 times. It was fabulous.

#Crazystory: Last night we had an appointment to teach some potential investigators we met by a street market. We didn't know where they lived so we agreed to meet them at a market near their home. While we wait E. Olive decides that I need to lead the lesson. So we plan it out roughly and then the guy meets us on his moped and starts leading us to their house. It was ridiculous, we were winding through all sorts of little streets. I thought for sure he had no intention of taking us to his house and was just leading us around town for a bit. Finally we get to his house and go inside. We find about 8 people, in a circle, gambling (we were only expecting to teach 2). They were pretty rowdy and may or may not have been drunk (see hashtag below). We asked if we could teach them all for about 10 minutes expecting them to tell us to come back later. Surprisingly they put their cards away, turned off the tv and circled around us to listen. We taught a little about who God is and how baptism can wash away our sins. All the while, trying to ignore their inappropriate comments and keep them under control. It was pretty nuts but E. Grover said I did pretty well. There was one lady (the one we met at the market) who was genuinely interested so hopefully we can meet her again...at the church.

These past two weeks have been pretty insane. I feel like I have learned a ton though from E. Grover and E. Olive and also from being forced to lead my area. I've had to rely on the Lord for help a lot in planning and teaching. Sometimes things didn't work out the way we planned it, but when you trust in the Lord you know that whatever happens is supposed to happen. Speaking Thai is still a challenge, but I know the Lord is helping me everyday. When we humbly ask for help, God answers and lifts us up. I know it.

I love you family. Thanks for the support. Thanks for the letters. Thanks for the prayers.

Elder M. Riley Creer

The Only

hashtags:

You know its gonna be an interesting lesson when the guy you are about to teach opens his beer bottle with his teeth. #roughcrowd

In America, I was told I looked Mexican. In Thailand, I was told I looked Indian. #apparentlywhereeveriamiamnotwhite

Saw my first Buddhist temple #kodakmoment

Khon Kaen 6.26.12

Hello Family.

This week was madness. Last Monday night E. Warren got a call from President Smith and found out he was moving to Bangkok...the next day. Since President Smith is going home soon they are moving some people around early so President Senior doesn't come in and have a stress attack. So Tuesday we stayed at home most of the day while E. Warren packed up all of his stuff and then we took him to the bus station that night. You may be wondering who my companion is...so am I. Right now I am in a threesome with E. Olive and E. Grover (the zone leaders) and it has been nuts. We are covering both their area and my area which results in lots of biking and very tired legs. But since they are zone leaders they have to travel all over the isaan visiting different districts and exchanging with the district leaders which means I get to go with them. Last week we went to Korat on Wednesday and were supposed to go to Maha Sarakam on Saturday but E. Grover got sick (probably from all the biking we've been doing). This week we are supposed to go to Roi Et tomorrow and Udon Thani on Wednesday. Crazy huh? I'm gonna see half of Thailand in 2 weeks! (not really)

But I'm learning a lot from E. Olive and E. Grover. They know LOTS of things. We have too much fun together. Every minute is an adventure.

The craziest day this week was Tuesday. We caught a dangerous animal and snubbed Pizza Company again. #allinadayswork.

Animal Planet Experience: E. Olive and E. Grover were about to leave the house Tuesday when they saw a Doogahh (totally made that spelling up) chilling by our door. They are these big lizards that make this weird noise at night time. Rumor is they can bite your finger off. E. Olive had never seen one so he flipped and told us (E. Warren and I) to come look. Then somehow we had this crazy idea to catch it...so we did. It was a hilarious process involving a mop handle, a borrowed tupperware and some old gym shorts. We threw that mess in the tupperware and then tossed it in the fridge planning on eating it that night. Well with the craziness of E. Warren leaving for Bangkok and moving furniture (all three of us have to sleep in the same room) we forgot to cook it. So the next day, E. Olive and I (E. Grover was on exchanges in Korat) tried to take the lizard to a street restaurant and have them cook it into some fried rice stuff. The restaurant lady flipped! She thought we were crazy. She couldn't tell if we were kidding or serious. We asked what she could do with it for us and she said, "Bury it." It was pretty funny. After much persuading and begging we gave up and just ate normal food and threw the lizard off the side of the road on the way home. What did I learn from this experience? If engineering doesn't work out I can always pursue a career at Animal Planet.

Battle for Pizza, Round Two: So all transfer long we have been saving our change with the intent of buying some pizzas. When we found out E. Warren was peacing out early we decided Tuesday was the day to do it. So E. Olive counted out 500 baht in one bahts, 5 bahts and 10 bahts, we threw it all in a bag, made the order and headed to the Pizza Company (different location this time). We walked in and we dropped a bag full of change on the counter. The Pizza lady was surprisingly cool about it (at least on the outside). Instead of counting it all in front of us she trusted us and gave us our pizzas. I feel like there is going to be a bulletin sent out to all pizza places in the area to beware of the white guys in white shirts and ties that like to terrorize pizza parlors. We don't mess around when it comes to pizza.

But life is good. This week has been way fun. Missionary work is amazing. The church is true. Christ is my strength and my savior.

Peace Out

Elder M. Riley Creer

The Only

Hashtags:

Last week of training #leggo

Thai language: #ohboy

sorry I didn't answer much of your questions this week...I'll repent and answer them next week.

MUCH LOVE. Oh by the way, the mission address is changing...so I hope you didn't buy those fancy printed envelopes in bulk. I'll send the new address next week.

So did you not get last weeks pictures? I definitely sent some. I'll resend it today just in case.

Khon Kaen 6.18.12

Hello Family,

This week has been pretty golden.

Last Pday: We found an ice cream buffet. Yeah. Buddy. It is 39 baht (a
dollar and some change) for all you can eat. We were trippin. After we were
sufficiently stuffed we went bowling with some members. It was great. One
sister we were with slipped as she let go of the ball and fell in the gutter.
It was classic.

English Class: The topic of the lesson was body parts (who wrote this
book?). So E. Grover made up a game where we pass out little pictures of people
with extreme injuries to the students who then have to explain the injury in
English to the paramedics (us). It was hilarious. They were in teams of two,
one person was the injured person and the other was the concerned friend. The
pictures E. Grover drew were ridiculous: Chopped in half by a throwing star,
hair on fire, crashed motorcycle into a tree... etc. We were being super
dramatic too. They'd be trying to tell us a brick fell on their friend's head
and we'd be screaming and freaking out. It was mayhem. The students'
descriptions were so funny, they were awful.

This week I exchanged with E. Tzanis (half Filipino, half Greek but from
Australia...go figure). It was way fun. All of our appointments canceled so we
did some inviting. We found the most interesting people. We were standing in
an alley and this guy comes up to us with bananas and gives them to us. Yes.
So we ate them. Then he said he'd go get some more for us. #Nowyouretalkin.
He gave us more bananas and then E. Tzanis gave him a pass-along card and told
him about what we teach. The guy wanted us to come back the next day and tell
him more. It was nuts. Probably the most random experience ever. The Lord
sure does work in strange ways.

On Saturday we had a little activity at the church with some members and
two of our investigators. We had a little spiritual thought and then played
some games (the type you play at efy and other mormon gatherings). Well I lost
one of em so I had to go first for the next one. It involved a blindfold. I
never really enjoyed being blindfolded, situations like these usually ended with
me feeling like an idiot. But then you mix in the fact that they explained the
rules for the game in Thai and we have a solid recipe for embarrassment. What
was supposed to happen: I stumble around the room swinging this rag until I hit
someone. Then I tell them an animal and they make the noise and I try to guess
who it is based on the noise they make. What actually happened: I stumble
around the room swinging this rag, banging my hand on chairs and who knows what
else, until I hit someone. Then I start making animal noises thinking they are
going to make the same noise back at me. Nope. The room busts up laughing and
I'm left entirely confused. Well in the end, after 2 unsuccessful rounds, they
had pity on me and switched me out with someone else. But the embarrassment
continues. Because I was so bad at these games I was selected for the finale.
Some others and I were placed in ridiculous poses and had to hold them for what
seemed like eternity while everyone took pictures and laughed. It was pretty
funny.

This week I came to a realization. For a while I have been concerned about
changing myself into what the Lord needs me to become. I have been worried
about changing my likes and dislikes, my hobbies -- basically my personality. I
realized that I was called to come to Thailand because of who I am, because of
my personality, so I don't need to change it. I don't need to cut away
sections of myself and become another person. I just need to be willing to do
whatever the Lord asks of me, serve him with all I have. Yep. That's what I
learned this week.

Much Love family. You guys rock. Thanks for the letters and prayers.
They make a difference.

Elder M. Riley Creer
The Only

Hashtags:
Ate my first Big Mac, the epitome of America, in Thailand.
#Tastybusiness

Khon Kaen 6.11.12

Hello family,

This week has been real great. I'm just living the life over here in Thailand, preaching the gospel by day and sleeping by night. It's pretty grand.

Funny story: Yesterday we are in the Branch Council meeting. It has been going for a while and everyone is about ready to be done. And then one of the counselors grabs his briefcase (atache? satchel? #subtlepsychquote #evensubtleralliteration) and pulls out these toy snakes. And then he starts playing with him! He was putting them in his sleeve and stuff. Super funny. It was so random though, all of us elders lost it. His name is B. Chanchai and he is so quirky it is hilarious. I just love watching him talk, he has the funniest mannerisms and does the funniest gestures with his hands. Its awesome.

On Tuesday was E. Grover's birthday. He is now 21. Wow. So we all celebrated with a TimTam Slam. Explanation: TimTam's are these weird cookie things that you can slurp milk through if you bite a 2 corners off (I really want to meet the person that came up with this). But a slam consists of a bunch of people with various milk containers slurping milk through little cookie things (See pictures). It is pretty weird. The actual slurping of milk doesn't work all that well (or I'm just an amateur) but eating the cookies after they are interlaced with milk is sublime. Apparently everyone in the mission is familiar with this bizarre practice...go figure.

The following story is not for children: E. Warren and I were eating Isaan food with some members at this street restaurant one night. It was super tasty. I was loving it. After I was sufficiently stuffed I glanced down at my plate that was covered in some of the broth/sauce/juice/spices from the food. To my surprise and horror, one of the spices got up and walked off my plate. What the! I looked closer and realized it was a bug...#awhnuts. I tried my best to not think about how many of those other spices on my plate were really something else and decided to not examine my food too closely from now on.

This morning, E. Warren and I went to get our haircut. It was an adventure. After 30 minutes of searching we found a place that was open and that knew how to cut men's hair. That's when disaster struck. I don't know about the rest of the world but I always stressed about getting my haircut in America. What do I want? What were those numbers they told me to remember last time? Well turns out I'm even worse at communicating what I want them to do when I have to do it in Thai (they didn't teach me this kind of vocabulary in the MTC!). So after 10 seconds of struggling to get my idea across I gave up and said one number pointing to the back of my head and a bigger number pointing to the top. The result: yikes. To put it simply, people may think I'm a marine instead of a missionary. I guess they both save people, so they will still understand the basics of what I do on a day to day basis.

This morning I was reading in the conference issue of the Liahona (yeah, we call em Liahona's on this side of the world). I read Elder Holland's talk "The Laborers in the Vineyard" and it was awesome. While reading it I thought of Alma 34:32 and thinking about how our purpose in this life is to work in the Lord's vineyard. It doesn't matter what we did with the rest of our day, if we come unto the Lord and work in his vineyard we will receive the same wage, eternal life. The Atonement is supreme! I don't have anything else to say...except that Elder Holland has the most epic closing sentences ever. Suggestion: Read the talk, he says it better than me.

Well...That's all folks!

Much Love,

Elder M. Riley Creer

P.S. Sorry I'm slacking on the letter writing. I'll repent and improve. Don't fret.

hashtags:

This week I answered the phone and the member had to ask which elder it was...#holleratthegiftoftongues

Went inviting. Couldn't find the area where we intended to go. Instead found a neighborhood with 95 houses full of families. #Minimiracle

Khon Kaen 5.28.12

Hey family!

This week has been bitter sweet. I got a new companion. Elder Pipat became a zone leader and was transferred. It was a bummer. He was so funny. But my new companion, Elder Warren, is sweet. He is white which makes communication 10x better. He works hard though and is teaching me a lot, so it's great. He is from Lehi, Utah and served in the army since he was 17! He is thinking of switching to the Air Force when he finishes his mission. So yeah...he's a pretty cool guy.

The beginning of the week was switch off mania! Monday night I was with Elder Grover, we passed out flyers for the english class and did some inviting. He's a great elder. I learned a lot about inviting from him. The next day I studied with Elder Grover (part of the switch off) but then exchanged with Elder Banta (his companion was waiting for an Australian visa and left earlier in the week). E. Banta and I went to Kalasin to teach english Tuesday night and gather his stuff (he got transferred too). We came back from Kalasin Wednesday morning, I studied with E. Pipat one last time and then we went out teaching. It rained like crazy. It was so fun. It was a good last day with my pa. Wednesday night the bus to Bangkok came, everybody got on it but me and my new companion (E. Warren) got off. So in a couple days I had 4 companions...wow.

On Tuesday after district meeting we went to another sushi place. It was a lot better. I found out sushi is way better if you dip it in the sauces they give you. Without the sauce it tastes alien, with the sauce it tastes great. I feel like you could dip anything in that sauce and it would be tasty though...so I'm still not sure how I feel about sushi. Everyone raves about it but I think they should really be raving about this miracle sauce that turns awful food into great food #profound.

So we taught this new family this week for the second time. The first thing the dad said when we sat down was that he wanted to get baptized. He is a rockstar. But we taught him the restoration and I feel like it was the best lesson E. Pipat and I (E. Banta was there too) taught. I feel like we were finally understanding each other enough to teach with unity and then he got transferred...#nuts. But the family is stellar.

We have one investigator with a baptismal date for the end of June. He is ÍÔ¡¤ÔÇ (EQ) and way cool. He works a ton of overtime though which makes it hard to see him. Yesterday he wasn't at church which was a bummer. We went and visited him and turns out he went but didn't see anyone outside and was too shy to come in so he left. He was so close to coming! But I'm starting to understand how foreign the church can look to an outsider. I think if I hadn't been going to church since I was a little nino and some random white guys invited me to church I probably would be really nervous about going. Investigators really just need a guide, a friend that they can turn to and ask questions, someone who will take them under their wing. This church really does have it's own culture and language.

Thai this week was ok. It's still a hard language to learn...that hasn't changed. But I know that through the Atonement I can be strengthened. One thing I have learned on my mission is that there is a lot of stuff I can't do on my own (like learning Thai). But I don't have to do it by myself. Because of the Atonement, Christ is here to help me all along the way. I love reading in Mosiah 24 about how the Savior strengthened the backs of the people to bear the burdens placed upon them.

Well I still love you all. Thailand is still awesome. The pineapple still tastes like candy.

Answer time:

Yes dad, church is all in thai. My religious vocab is pretty good so I can get the gist of talks and lessons. The worst is when they ask me a question...I'm never quite sure what they ask me. Sometimes I just throw an answer and pray that it is right. Other times another elder will translate the question for me. But not completely understanding makes gospel essentials class very interesting.

I'm eating well. I think I'm figuring out which thai food I like, so eating isn't dreaded as much. I'm getting better at handling the spicy business too.

No mom, I have not received your package...but the ZL's are going down to Bangkok next week so hopefully it is there and they can bring it back with them.

Yes I'm doing my laundry.

#Hashtags:

Found out there is a cobra village near Khonkaen...#Hittinthatupforsure

#thatmomentwhenyourealize your companion-sized GPS called Elder Pipat leaves and you have to get around town. #Yikes

New companion #Leggo

Much Love,

Elder M. Riley Creer

The Only

Khon Kaen 5.20.12

Hey Family.

This week has been full of adventure!

Firstly, I tried sushi this week. True story. It was weird. Not particularly bad or particularly good. Just weird. But apparently the place where we ate it didn't have good sushi and I guess we are going to a better place tomorrow. So stay tuned for more sushi updates! But I don't really understand how people rave about it, I thought it just tasted strange...maybe I'm just strange. Oh well. But to all you who thought I would starve in Thailand because I'm so picky: Kiss it. :)

Cool story: We are riding our bikes to an 8 pm appointment when out of no where this man on a scooter rolls up and stops E. Pipat. We met him last week while inviting and got his number and said we'd call to set up an appointment. Well he stops us and asks "Why didn't you call me? You said you'd call." So E. Pipat made and appointment for the next day and then he drove away and we continued on to our appointment. Fast Forward to next day. We go teach him and his wife. We tell him about baptism. He says he wants to be baptized! #MONEYINTHEBANK. It was sweet. It is cool how the Lord puts people who are prepared into our paths. I'm way stoked to see how he and his wife progress.

This week E. Pipat exchanged with E. Kao this week in Kalasin and E. Banta was with me in our area...which means I had to lead our area...which means I had to get us to investigators' houses and make effective plans for the next day. It was bad news bears. I was way pumped to lead the area and show everyone how good of a missionary I was and how I could lead and all that jazz...then the Lord humbled me. I forgot how to get to an investigator's house (yikes), called a member to come teach with us but forgot to confirm the appointment first (it fell through (double yikes) but luckily the member was chill about us wasting his time) and I made impossible plans for the next day (turns out serving at a government office doesn't work when they are closed). E. Pipat saw the plans I had made for the night after we switched back and just laughed. It was humorously bad. So I learned that when my eye isn't single to the glory of God I fail. I also learned that I still have a lot to learn. It was a great day.

I have made it through my first transfer. It is weird to think that it has been 6 weeks here. It is like a dream. But I love it. Teaching the gospel everyday is pretty awesome even when they don't accept it. Having one hour to read the Book of Mormon each day is amazing. The Book of Mormon is supreme, no matter where I read I learn something new and something that applies to me and my investigators. I know it is true. I know Joseph Smith translated it by the power of God. I know that by reading the Book of Mormon we come closer to Christ. That's what this life is all about I think, coming closer to Christ. That's why we go to church, pray, read, sing, go home teaching. We do it all to come closer to Christ and help others come closer as well.

Mission life is great. I recommend trying it.

Much Love,

Elder M. Riley Creer

The Only

Hashtags:

This week the house got 4 letters...and 4 of them were for me. #thanksforhollering

#thatawkwardmomentwhen: all the members are laughing and looking at you but you have no idea what they are saying...#ifonlyispokethai

One of our investigators is 50ish and dating a 17 year old girl...#eeewwwwwhhhhaaaaiiiiittt

Khon Kaen 5.14.12

Hey Family!

It was great to be able to see you and talk to you! Our family rocks!

This week has been great. I went on exchanges with E. Leyva on Tuesday. He is awesome. He and I are super similar too. It's weird. He's from Nevada too (Sparks), he does martial arts, he is SCUBA certified, he went skydiving, he loves the show White Collar. We are like identical...except he's much more ripped than I. But it was a good day, he is way funny. We taught some lessons with B. โอ (pronounced O) and then ate KFC with him. Then we did some zone conference preparation business that wasn't too exciting. But it was a fun day.

This week has had a lot of canceled appointments though...it has been kinda rough. A lot of our potential and new investigators dropped themselves too. It was a little discouraging. But then I read in Alma 26:27. Boom, spiritual encouragement. It was great. After one day of a lot of cancellations E. Pipat and I splurged and went to McDonald's for dinner. It was delicious. We met this Italian guy that has been in Thailand for 20 years! Crazy. Then we met this guy from Michigan who has been here for 3 years. His Thai knowledge level: .5. I felt like a champ knowing that I have been here for a month and could already speak better than him #holleratthegiftoftongues.

Thursday we had zone conference...5 hours of it. But it went so fast and was so good. I really enjoyed it. To make things better they gave us ice cream...in a cone. Yeah buddy.

Sunday, E. Pipat was able to see how I feel in almost every lesson. We met this farang (from London) and he invited us in to tell us the story about how he met his Thai wife (apparently he thought it was a good one). He was a really spiritual guy...sorta. He had studied a lot of religions and knew a ton about them but was covered in tattoos and drank and smoked. But he prays all the time, he said he just pours out his heart. It sounds like he has an awesome relationship with God. But his family relationship is in the garbage, he said his mom basically hates him. It was pretty sad. But E. Pipat was trying to share a scripture in english. He was introducing one about how God gives us trials to test our patience and then the farang says, "I don't really understand what your saying..." and looks at me. E. Pipat was in shock. So I translated the broken english to normal english and then read the scripture. It was pretty funny. E. Pipat got to experience the frustration I get all the time when I say something in Thai and the investigator just looks at E. Pipat waiting for clarification. It is super humbling when it happens. But Anthony wants us to come back so he can read the Book of Mormon, I think he just wants to read it so he can compare it other religions though. Hopefully the spirit will touch him though and he'll realize this is different.

That pretty much sums up my week though...

Oh nuts! I forgot about the service project on Saturday (pictures to follow). So we chopped down some trees in front of the church. It was sweet. We used one of those saws that most people only use at boy scout camps or pioneer experiences (yeah they still use those in Thailand). And then we used these machete things that were SICK! They chopped through anything. But my favorite part was the beginning...we're just standing there looking at the tree we're about to cut down and this guy takes off his flip flops, ties a rope around his waist and just starts climbing the tree. He climbed that mess like a monkey! It was crazy. But then someone tied a machete to the other end of the rope and he pulled it up and started lopping off branches left and right! It was awesome. Then he tied some ropes around it so we could guide it when it fell. Then I got to tag team the trunk with a member and the ancient saw. It was pretty epic.

That's all I got. Thailand is awesome. My mission is awesome. The gospel is awesome.

Pound it. Kiss it. Peace it. Slap it.

Elder M. Riley Creer

The Only

hashtags:

#theprideyoufeel when your grandma puts a hashtag in her email to you. #MyGmaIsHip

Feel like I'm living in a McDonald's commercial...#ImLovinIt

Khon Kaen 5.7.12

Family!
This week was great. There was a wedding. Some rain. Some more rain. Lots of canceled appointments which meant lots of inviting (#yesssssss). And an investigator who agreed to be baptized in June #yeahbuddy.

So the wedding was pretty interesting. This 50ish retired green beret married a 30ish Thai woman. It was pretty cool. The best part was the beginning though, the groom was led by a parade to the chapel. The parade carried tasty desserts with little flags stuck in them. I've never seen anything like it! And I got to be in it (pictures to come)! It was funny, I was the only white guy in the line (besides the groom of course). So I had a little taste of Thai culture this week, super cool.

The rain: CRAZY! It dumps. Saturday night we were inviting and it started and within 5 seconds we were soaked. The streets started to get huge puddles/lakes all over. One intersection was flooded with about 2 inches of water. It was sweet riding our bikes through it though, when you are already soaked puddles become a lot more fun. We road to the Fairy mall to pick up some food and were drenched. We walked inside looking like we just fell in a pool with our clothes on. Then I realized I still had my helmet on (#thathurtstheteam) so we ran back out to the bikes and then went back inside. This employee was mopping where we had just walked two seconds before and here we come, still soaked, right through her mopping job. It was bad news. She probably hated us. We left a trail of water everywhere we went, it was great.

This week Elder Pipat and I treated ourselves to dinner at Pizza Company one night. It was great (thanks mom and pops for footing the bill). But Farang food is pretty pricey (480ish baht>30 baht) so we don't get it often. But if you convert that into dollars it was a steal! We ate a 4 course meal for $16. Yeah...Thailand is pretty sweet.
The language is still coming. This morning I passed off some of the milestones (a memorization checklist the mission has) with Elder Leyva and he said I was doing really well. He was super impressed I had memorized D&C 4 in Thai this early (Elder Pipat told me to memorize it one day...so I did). He gave me some great advice though and told me some areas I can work on. So I guess I'm doing well with the memorization and stuff, the part that is super frustrating is when I can't understand investigators. I get so lost in lessons. The worst is when I teach a principle and the investigator is looking at Elder Pipat the entire time waiting for him to clarify. It is #lowkey depressing. But I'm slowly understanding more and more.

Yesterday (sunday) it rained again. It rained so hard we couldn't go out and work (apparently people don't let you in to their house if you are soaking wet...go figure). So that was a bummer, we just studied/memorized D&C 4. But after it stopped dumping we met one of our investigators named กิคิว (sounds like EQ) and taught him about finding out for himself if this gospel is true. Then we challenged him to baptism on the 26th of June and he said yes! WOOHOO. It was sweet. I'm stoked to see him progress to baptism.

The church is still true. Never forget it!

Hashtags:
The fruit here looks like it came straight out of Mario Kart. #thatgreenspikeyballisafruit? #googledurian
#thingsilove: Thunder that #literally shakes your house. Oh yeah...and Thailand.

Much Love
Elder M. Riley Creer
The only

Thailand 4.16.12

hello family!

This week has been nuts...but totally AWESOME!

Before I get into the good stuff I have one last humorous experience from
the MTC. It involves E. Gibbons. He was trying to switch his empty plate with
E. Harley's full plate while E. Harley was blessing his food. The switch went
off without a hitch and E. Gibbons thought he was in the clear but then disaster struck. He put his arm down next to his tray to block E. Harley's view of the stolen goods and in doing so he bumped his plate which started this ridiculous chain reaction (plate-->salad bowl-->water glass-->apple juice glass) resulting in his 95% full apple juice glass spilling towards him. The apple juice tidal waved over the lip of his tray soaking his lap. He was wearing a long sleeve shirt and some of the juice even went up his sleeve. It was priceless. Right after it happened he switched plates back with E. Harley, I guess he decided it wasn't going to have the same comedic affect if he kept the plate. So from E. Harley's perspective he had a plate of food, he blessed his food, opened his eyes, still had a plate of food and E. Gibbons was dripping in apple juice. So funny. And to make it worse, we were about to host new missionaries and your pants are supposed to match your suit coat. So after he changed pants, E. Gibbons was tripping that he was going to get busted for having unmatched pants.

Ok enough of that amateur MTC stuff. Monday: We left the MTC at 4:30 PM.
Flew from SLC to LAX. Waited in LAX for a couple hours then flew to Hong Kong (14 hours). Wednesday(Tuesday somehow disappeared): arrived in Hong Kong, chilled for a couple hours and then flew to Bangkok. we did some boring paper work stuff, got our blood drawn at a sketchy medical clinic, ate dinner then slept at the mission home. Thursday: we went to the moves meeting. My companion is named Elder Pipat (he's native (yes!)).

Because of Song Kran (giant water fight that is somehow a national holiday) all the buses were filled so we chilled until 8 then went to the bus station and chilled some more (until 10).
Because of the holiday everyone was traveling to see family so the station was
nuts, that's why we had to show up 2 hours early. So we get on the bus at 10
and drive all night to khon kaen (my area). Having two 14 hour journeys within 2 days of each other is horrible (not recommended). Friday: So we got to Khon Kaen and went to our house (it rocks!). Then we did some inviting and stuff and some studying. Saturday: SONG KRAN! the best thing ever. It is the Thai new year or in other words a 3 day water fight. Because everybody is in the streets playing missionary work is pretty impossible, so the mission president lets us play too! We (E. Pipat, E. Leyva, E. Grover, and I) met some members and bought some cheap squirt guns and then cruised the downtown area where all the madness was. It is like new year in Vegas, they closed down some streets and set up huge stages (one every couple hundred feet) and put barrels of water in between the stages. People go nuts! You are hearing like 7 songs at once constantly getting wet or powdered, it is mayhem. So to explain the powdering: I don't know why, but people get baby powder and water in their hands and come up and rub it on your cheeks. And since E. Leyva, Grover and I are farangs (white people) they all wanted to get our faces. It was nuts. So we left the madness at 5 and went back to our casa (curfew is pushed up to 6 for song kran, apparently it gets very sketchy at night).

Sunday: went to church, had to bear my testimony (yikes), had to read in the gospel essentials class (double yikes). After church the members fed us and had a fireside. Then we tried to go inviting. Because it was still Song Kran (Fri,Sat,Sun) it was sort of useless. Everyone was on the street partying. You'd see pick up trucks with beds full of people with a barrel of water and bowls splashing pedestrians. Because I'm a farang they would drench me and not even touch E. Pipat. We saw some teenagers try to do a wheelie on their scooter...bad news bears. They tipped backwards and crashed, both of them went rolling. They were ok though. Who tries a wheelie with someone on the back? Crazy kids. But since inviting was useless we went to visit a member's husband in the hospital. So different than american hospitals. No desk to check in at, no visitor's pass required, it was all access! We just walked in, wondered the halls until we found the right place and talked to the member a bit. The room was full of hospital beds and sick people. Some looked like they might die at any minute. I have never seen such sadness in one room. Be grateful to have good health and live in America where our impoverished are upper middle class in Thailand.

So about being able to speak Thai...definitely can't. I don't understand
anything that is being said to me. Some people will try to speak english to me
which is even worse because they're accents are so bad I think they are speaking Thai. In the end we both become confused. Having a Thai companion is sweet though, he showed me how to make Thai food already. Communication is hard but I already feel like I'm improving (just a tad). All in all, Thailand is sweet, hot but sweet. I love it. The food is great, nothing too crazy yet. E. Pipat is super sweet, I am the first farang he has trained so this is new to him too.

I love you guys!

With Swag,

Elder Matthew Riley Creer
The Only

Hashtags:
#Greenerthanakiwi
#FavoriteThaiPhrase: ไม่เข้าใจ (means "I don't understand")
#MightJustStayHere