Elder Jacob Smith in Thailand: MTC Week 2

We finally got pictures this week! Jake is doing great and has been blessed with a great district. He seems to be settling into a routine and feeling more confident about learning the Thai language.

"Hello! Saawaadii!! This has been a pretty good week and much better than the last one because I'm getting use to life here at the MTC. Not much has happened, but I have to tell you a sad story pertaining to the World Wide Broadcast. On Sunday morning around 9:30, we went to a combined Sacrament meeting for the missionaries in the choir. The director made an announcement that there was a problem with the number of seats they had for the broadcast. Apparently, there were a lot more members attending than they had planned for and they didn't have enough seats for all the members of the choir. They asked that all the missionaries that had only been to two practices to please step down. I fell into that group because I wasn't here long enough to go to more than two practices, so I was not in the choir singing in the broadcast. But at least you all watched the broadcast and received spiritual guidance, so I guess it wasn't all that bad."

"Nike, our first investigator, is now our teacher. His real name is Brother Phan. He is Vietnamese but speaks Thai because he served a mission there. He is really cool but speaks really fast and that causes so much trouble with me because he is a lot harder to understand than Brother Olson. He teaches much different as well. However, I feel that I learn a lot better from him than anyone else because he teaches by the spirit. He always bears his testimony at the end of the lesson and I think that is really cool. He is by far my favorite teacher and I feel that I can talk to him. We now have two new investigators. Yesterday we taught a guy named Sam (Brother Phan) and today we taught a guy named Joe (Brother Olson) and it was scary. We cannot use the script anymore, so we have to teach with what we know already. I don't think I give myself enough credit because we actually don't do too bad. We still struggle a lot in the lessons and there are some awkward pauses, but all in all, we do pretty good. All the credit goes to the spirit though because without the spirit it would be terrible."

"My district is way awesome! They remind me of my friends back home. They are way funny and like to goof off way late, which isn't good, but ehh. Elder Vance is from California and played water polo. He is always wanting me to go do ab workouts with him...haha yeah right! Elder Beatty is really smart and already knows the whole Thai alphabet. He makes the rest of us look like idiots, but he is always willing to help us. I'm lucky that he is here because he likes to work out, so he takes Elder Vance away so that I don't have to go lifting with him. Thank Goodness!! Elder Watkins is a baseball player and loves to goof around, but also gets what needs to be done. He does the most hilarious Yoshi impression. He is so funny. Elder Keller is from Alaska and plays soccer. Haha, wouldn't you know that even when I go some place different, there are still soccer players in my life. He probably is my favorite because he wants to follow the rules and is usually the one that I talk to the most. Awesome kid. Elder Crump is very cool. He is great at memorizing and always helps me out because I have trouble with that. He is also very funny and says hilarious things thoughout the day that makes everyone laugh. I have been really blessed with a great district to help me. They are all really good people."

"My Thai is coming along. I still struggle with it, but I can understand some words and can speak a lot of gospel words. I can bear my testimony and say my prayers in Thai. I'm not dreaming in Thai yet, but hopefully I will. I am just starting to learn how to spell, but that is still far away. It is a tough language, but I am impressed on how much I know in just two weeks. Mom, you should try to learn Thai again so we can talk about everyone when I get home and they won't even know what we are saying! hahahahaha!! In all, the Lord is blessing me and I'll have good days and bad, but mostly it's been a great learning experience."

"The Provo Temple is closed from now until August 12th! Talk about a major downer. Oh well, I'll just have to wait two years. The MTC food still tastes bad. It all tastes like it has been microwaved and the eggs made my whole district sick one day. I usually eat really healthy salads with Elder Vance everyday, so no need to worry about me."

"Janice Kapp Perry came to speak to us and she was so funny. Her talk was fantastic! She talked about how we can be sanctified in the field. She also talked about how good music brings the spirit. I would listen to my ipod more, but half my room would rather not listen to music, so I don't. At one point in her talk, she shared about how her husband's first words to her was in the music room at school. He leaned over and said, "I think that your lips could be used for something a lot better than playing the clarinet." hahahahaha Then he got up and grabbed her face and kissed her in front of everyone! sooooo funny!! All the Elder missionaries stood up and gave a standing ovation. She told us that she made a family song and it was awesome! We need to make a family song. The devotionals here are for sure the best part of the MTC."

"I miss you all so much. Sometimes I lie in bed and just think about home, family and friends, and then I stop immediately because it makes me sad and I need to be positive here. I heard that Sam Holmes got called to serve in Thailand and that is so cool!! I really want her to write to me, so I can talk to her about it. Letters are very special and I want everyone to write me because I keep them and look at them every night. I want pictures of my friends as well as family. The pictures you sent made my day so much better just seeing all of your faces."

"I love you very much and keep writing!"

Elder Jacob Smith