Hey Everyone,
First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dad was right, we both can wish each other a happy birthday at the same time on our birthdays and it will be the other's birthday at the same instant. So I hope you had a great birthday! Everybody here thinks it is so cool that you and I have birthdays a day apart! Our district is going to meet up at the church today, make a birthday cake and play games for a while. Thanks so much for the packages everyone!
Things are going well. I do feel a little bit older. Today our group was supposed to go to Sisagate, another jungwat in the Isan, and have a zone "tiaw", which is like a zone activity. We have this every move. The whole zone gets together and play games, but last night we found out that 2 or 3 districts weren't going, so that means there would be hardly anyone there. We decided to bail too. It would have been nice to go, but I am kind of glad because that means that today I can finally get my picture discs made that I have been trying to make. I now have a ton of pictures since I didn't make them last move. There will probably be two discs full of pictures from the end of my time in Bang-na(songkrang, various activities and sites...) and lots of pictures from Ubon(tiawing by Laos, the cinco de mayo party at church, and SampaanBog "3000 holes"). I will explain about all the pictures in the letter, so dont worry, I won't leave you guys in the dark!
Well, an interesting experience happened last night. Rewind to about a month and a half ago. We met a man named Somkit, who lives in warin, he was a really nice guy. we talked to him about learning the gospel and asked him if he would be interested in that. He said he would think about it. Well, we didn't see him after that, and weren't able to get in touch with him. So, this past week, Elder Wiser, the district leader gave us a referral for a guy he met while inviting in his area. This guy's name was Komegrit, and he lives in Warin. We got a hold of him and went to meet him last night. Well, Komegrit had given us directions to his house, so we followed the directions, and came to a house that looked very familiar. A man came out and said, "hey elders" and Elder Palmer was like "wait...Somkit?!" and he said, "yeah", "its also Komegrit!" Wow! So we sat down and talked to him for a while. He is really interested in being taught so we will be meeting again soon. I think this man was meant to be found...again. What do you think?
Our area is doing really well. We have three investigators with a baptismal date, Narane and his wife Nongyaw, and a man named Chuuy. We haven't been able to meet with him lately because he has gone to Bangkok to find his son. I'm not really sure what's happening with that, but I hope he does find him. We are trying to get back with the security guard that Elder Wiser and I taught last week, because he is really good.
The Dodges (mission president and his wife) leave very soon. We had a great zone conference in Royyet last week, and their final testimonies were awesome! Everyone will miss them alot! I can't wait to meet President and Sister Smith (the new mission president and his wife).
Oh, one more thing. I talked to Anuwat this week, (mom's explanation... while traveling through Idaho on a college road trip earlier this month, Michael, William's younger brother, met Anuwat, or "Nuu" when we stopped for dinner. He found out Nuu was an exchange student from Thailand and that he had just attended "Especially For Youth" which is an awesome church camp for teenagers and that he was interested in learning more about the church and was thinking about getting baptized. He told Michael he was heading back to Thailand soon. Michael told him that he had a brother in Thailand and Nuu gave him his contact info and this is what William found out when he called him...) He is from Nakhon Sawan, which has no missionaries or church anywhere nearby, but he has been living in Rangsid, which is in Bangkok. He is living with his brother. So I called the Rangsid Elders, and they got in touch with him right away. We'll see what happens. He says he is interested in learning. I am excited for him, he seems like a really great guy!
Thanks so much for your support! It means a lot to me. I appreciate all your letters, packages, email and prayers. Take care guys.
-GodSpeed-Elder Schulte
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Hey guys!
So, its been raining alot here. It rains late at night. It rains in the afternoon. At about 8 oclock each evening there are some really cool lightning storms. This area is doing ok. We have 2 investigators with a baptismal date , Ji, a guy from Laos who has already been to church, and Chuuy, an elderly gentleman who loves having us over, he is doing really well. We taught him about the restoration recently. There is also Narane and his wife Nongyao, we haven't set a date yet, but we have taught the full restoration, and they are both doing really well.
Last week's switchoff with the zone leaders was fun. While Elder Johnson and I were together, Elder Palmer was with ElderPatrick, and Elder Palmer tried to ride a quaay, which is like a Thai buffalo, and it bucked him off its back. There is a picture of him flying off. It is really funny!!!!
We have a sports activity on friday nights, thats a lot of fun. The members really like soccer and badminton. We brought a less active member last friday and he had a blast! He's really athletic and it was great to have him at the activity. These members are really cool, some of them speak English really well but try to hide it. There are some members right now who are studying at the local university, and they are testing to get into BYU Hawaii. Sweet! This is Elder Wiser's last move. He has about 3 weeks left, but going on a switchoff with him this week was really cool. It must be amazing to be at his level, as far as progress in the mission with knowledge of language, doctrine, teaching, I really can't wait to get to that level. His Thai is incredible! Well, things are well, and they will keep getting better.
Hey fathers day is coming up. Happy Father's day Dad! and to Grandpa Buckwalter, Grandpa Schulte, and Grandpa Webb!!! Have a great Sunday!!!GodSpeed!!!Elder Schulte
So, its been raining alot here. It rains late at night. It rains in the afternoon. At about 8 oclock each evening there are some really cool lightning storms. This area is doing ok. We have 2 investigators with a baptismal date , Ji, a guy from Laos who has already been to church, and Chuuy, an elderly gentleman who loves having us over, he is doing really well. We taught him about the restoration recently. There is also Narane and his wife Nongyao, we haven't set a date yet, but we have taught the full restoration, and they are both doing really well.
Last week's switchoff with the zone leaders was fun. While Elder Johnson and I were together, Elder Palmer was with ElderPatrick, and Elder Palmer tried to ride a quaay, which is like a Thai buffalo, and it bucked him off its back. There is a picture of him flying off. It is really funny!!!!
We have a sports activity on friday nights, thats a lot of fun. The members really like soccer and badminton. We brought a less active member last friday and he had a blast! He's really athletic and it was great to have him at the activity. These members are really cool, some of them speak English really well but try to hide it. There are some members right now who are studying at the local university, and they are testing to get into BYU Hawaii. Sweet! This is Elder Wiser's last move. He has about 3 weeks left, but going on a switchoff with him this week was really cool. It must be amazing to be at his level, as far as progress in the mission with knowledge of language, doctrine, teaching, I really can't wait to get to that level. His Thai is incredible! Well, things are well, and they will keep getting better.
Hey fathers day is coming up. Happy Father's day Dad! and to Grandpa Buckwalter, Grandpa Schulte, and Grandpa Webb!!! Have a great Sunday!!!GodSpeed!!!Elder Schulte
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
The New Church Building! 6/10/09
Hey guys!
Well this last week was great! I want to tell you about the new church building. It is incredible! We had church there for the first time this past Sunday. There were 187 people in attendance and it was a great meeting. The weather was beautiful, which was awesome, because it has been raining here alot lately. This was about the first day that it hasn't in weeks! Elder Palmer and I had one of our investigators come to church and he had a great time. Our tuktuk driver came to church that day too. His name is Dune, and on Saturday night when he brought us back to our house, we told him about how Sunday would be a special day because of the first meeting in the new church. We asked him if he wanted to go, and he said yeah. He didn't have a Sunday shirt or tie or anything, so Elder Palmer gave him one of his shirts, I gave him one of my ties, and we found a pair of shoes that had been left in the house from previous missionaries, and he looked great! It was a great day at church!
These areas continue to progress. We talked about this at the DDM meeting (mom here... this must be some type of district meeting) on Monday, and what a blessing this new church is to members here. We can now see the results of years and years of missionary work and effort, and it doesn't stop, but keeps getting better and better. So also in DDM I had to give a prepared lesson on humility, a really important Christlike Attribute. In Ether 12, Moroni talks about humility, and how everyone has weaknesses, and as we humble ourselves before the Lord, and have faith in Him, he will be able to make our weaknesses into strengths. (v.23-28).
Oh, yesterday was another switchoff with the zone leaders, they both came to Warin. Elders Johnson and Patrick. Elder Johnson is the one from Orem. He knows Tony and Brittany, and Elder Patrick is from Evansville, Indiana. We had a great time Monday night. On Tuesday, Elder Johnson and I went with Elder Wiser and Webb to do a service project in Ubon. we helped make a concrete path to a member's house. It was a fun job, very long and messy, but its looking great!
Well, this week was fun ,and I really like going over to the new church building. It is beautiful and it really is a blessing for the members in this area. Thanks for reading, Elder Schulte over and out!
Well this last week was great! I want to tell you about the new church building. It is incredible! We had church there for the first time this past Sunday. There were 187 people in attendance and it was a great meeting. The weather was beautiful, which was awesome, because it has been raining here alot lately. This was about the first day that it hasn't in weeks! Elder Palmer and I had one of our investigators come to church and he had a great time. Our tuktuk driver came to church that day too. His name is Dune, and on Saturday night when he brought us back to our house, we told him about how Sunday would be a special day because of the first meeting in the new church. We asked him if he wanted to go, and he said yeah. He didn't have a Sunday shirt or tie or anything, so Elder Palmer gave him one of his shirts, I gave him one of my ties, and we found a pair of shoes that had been left in the house from previous missionaries, and he looked great! It was a great day at church!
These areas continue to progress. We talked about this at the DDM meeting (mom here... this must be some type of district meeting) on Monday, and what a blessing this new church is to members here. We can now see the results of years and years of missionary work and effort, and it doesn't stop, but keeps getting better and better. So also in DDM I had to give a prepared lesson on humility, a really important Christlike Attribute. In Ether 12, Moroni talks about humility, and how everyone has weaknesses, and as we humble ourselves before the Lord, and have faith in Him, he will be able to make our weaknesses into strengths. (v.23-28).
Oh, yesterday was another switchoff with the zone leaders, they both came to Warin. Elders Johnson and Patrick. Elder Johnson is the one from Orem. He knows Tony and Brittany, and Elder Patrick is from Evansville, Indiana. We had a great time Monday night. On Tuesday, Elder Johnson and I went with Elder Wiser and Webb to do a service project in Ubon. we helped make a concrete path to a member's house. It was a fun job, very long and messy, but its looking great!
Well, this week was fun ,and I really like going over to the new church building. It is beautiful and it really is a blessing for the members in this area. Thanks for reading, Elder Schulte over and out!
Warin- first week of 6th move 6/4/09
Hey everyone,
I made a list of things that I wanted to write about in the email this week so I don’t forget anything. First off, this area has been progressing so well! Early last move we lost some really great investigators who had had baptismal dates, so Elder Palmer and I decided that we would work like crazy. The Lord really puts people in our paths. We now have 2 investigators with a bapitsmal date, 7 progressing investigators, and many potential investigators, our board at home is getting really full, it is super exciting! Elder Palmer and I weren't able to go to the moves meeting because we are really far away from Bangkok. We will be together another move. Elder Wiser is staying here, this being his final move before he heads home, and he is just pushing forward like always. He’s a really awesome missionary, and it has been great to work with him. His new companion is Elder Webb, who was in the group ahead of me at the Missionary Training Center, so I know him pretty well. He's a fun guy. Sister Bradfield moved to another part of the Isan and Sister Wanpan’s new companion is Sister Richens. It is her 3rd move in the country.
President and Sister Dodge (the Missiona President and his wife) will be heading home halfway through this move, and our district just had interviews with him in the new church building!(which I will talk about in just a sec). President Dodge is an incredible man, with an incredible love for missionary work. It has been great to have him as president of the mission, and he will be missed greatly. Everybody here loves them a lot. President Smith will be coming in very soon, and I wondered about how a new mission president decides on who goes where in his first moves. President Dodge says that when he first experienced that 3 years ago, it was one of the most spiritual experiences ever. You rely completely on faith to decide who goes where. A mission president recieves revelation about where to send each missionary. It is true. You go where the Lord needs you to go.
Well, the new church is complete. This is an incredible church building, and we used it last night to teach English, and had interviews in it this morning. Wow, and it is big too, and very beautiful!!! I will get pictures of it to you very soon. When President Dodge flew into this area this morning, the contractors were giving him a tour of the building, and when he was done, he came over to us as we were sitting down and said, “I think it’s a keeper!”. I agree. I'm really excited to have our first church meeting here on Sunday.
Another thing that I want to tell you about is the new Thai translation of the Book of Mormon that is coming out in about 7 or 8 months. A team is working on it at the church office in Pakkret in Bangkok right now, and it is coming along really well. The first edition in Thai was translated by a woman who lives in Srinakharin( district of Bangkok) near Bang-na. She first translated the Book of Mormon in the early 70’s and it is the same edition that is used today. Elder Frischknecht and Elder Palmer both had the opportunity to meet her while they were serving in that area, and I hope I get that opportunity as well. It sounds like translating the Book of Mormon was an incredible experience. Well, also, the name of the church is going to change here in Thailand (a new translation of the name Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), about the same time the new translation of the Book of Mormon is released. So new tags, pamphlets, everything! It will be crazy, but it will be great!
We went on a trip back to Kong Jiam, the national park on the edge of the river that divides Laos from Thailand. We went rock climbing and water fall exploring. There are many incredible things to see in this part of the country.
Right now , it is the rainy season. It has been raining a little bit, and some days a lot, each day for the last 3 or 4 weeks. But its not really a problem, most nights after rain it gets very cool out. The thai people like to talk about weather a lot, as well as food, which I think is awesome! Oh, something else that is really unique here is all the elephants that walk around. There are guys that ride elephants around, and you can pay to feed the elephants sugar canes. Its a great business! So that’s all for now. I'm running low on time, but if there is anything else, let me know. I tried to get in as much as possible. Take care!God Speed!-Elder schulte
I made a list of things that I wanted to write about in the email this week so I don’t forget anything. First off, this area has been progressing so well! Early last move we lost some really great investigators who had had baptismal dates, so Elder Palmer and I decided that we would work like crazy. The Lord really puts people in our paths. We now have 2 investigators with a bapitsmal date, 7 progressing investigators, and many potential investigators, our board at home is getting really full, it is super exciting! Elder Palmer and I weren't able to go to the moves meeting because we are really far away from Bangkok. We will be together another move. Elder Wiser is staying here, this being his final move before he heads home, and he is just pushing forward like always. He’s a really awesome missionary, and it has been great to work with him. His new companion is Elder Webb, who was in the group ahead of me at the Missionary Training Center, so I know him pretty well. He's a fun guy. Sister Bradfield moved to another part of the Isan and Sister Wanpan’s new companion is Sister Richens. It is her 3rd move in the country.
President and Sister Dodge (the Missiona President and his wife) will be heading home halfway through this move, and our district just had interviews with him in the new church building!(which I will talk about in just a sec). President Dodge is an incredible man, with an incredible love for missionary work. It has been great to have him as president of the mission, and he will be missed greatly. Everybody here loves them a lot. President Smith will be coming in very soon, and I wondered about how a new mission president decides on who goes where in his first moves. President Dodge says that when he first experienced that 3 years ago, it was one of the most spiritual experiences ever. You rely completely on faith to decide who goes where. A mission president recieves revelation about where to send each missionary. It is true. You go where the Lord needs you to go.
Well, the new church is complete. This is an incredible church building, and we used it last night to teach English, and had interviews in it this morning. Wow, and it is big too, and very beautiful!!! I will get pictures of it to you very soon. When President Dodge flew into this area this morning, the contractors were giving him a tour of the building, and when he was done, he came over to us as we were sitting down and said, “I think it’s a keeper!”. I agree. I'm really excited to have our first church meeting here on Sunday.
Another thing that I want to tell you about is the new Thai translation of the Book of Mormon that is coming out in about 7 or 8 months. A team is working on it at the church office in Pakkret in Bangkok right now, and it is coming along really well. The first edition in Thai was translated by a woman who lives in Srinakharin( district of Bangkok) near Bang-na. She first translated the Book of Mormon in the early 70’s and it is the same edition that is used today. Elder Frischknecht and Elder Palmer both had the opportunity to meet her while they were serving in that area, and I hope I get that opportunity as well. It sounds like translating the Book of Mormon was an incredible experience. Well, also, the name of the church is going to change here in Thailand (a new translation of the name Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), about the same time the new translation of the Book of Mormon is released. So new tags, pamphlets, everything! It will be crazy, but it will be great!
We went on a trip back to Kong Jiam, the national park on the edge of the river that divides Laos from Thailand. We went rock climbing and water fall exploring. There are many incredible things to see in this part of the country.
Right now , it is the rainy season. It has been raining a little bit, and some days a lot, each day for the last 3 or 4 weeks. But its not really a problem, most nights after rain it gets very cool out. The thai people like to talk about weather a lot, as well as food, which I think is awesome! Oh, something else that is really unique here is all the elephants that walk around. There are guys that ride elephants around, and you can pay to feed the elephants sugar canes. Its a great business! So that’s all for now. I'm running low on time, but if there is anything else, let me know. I tried to get in as much as possible. Take care!God Speed!-Elder schulte
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