"It has been an awesome week! Monday, we sat at home and watched movies like "The Testaments". The Elders from Bangkapi came over and we went over to Lat Phrao for family home evening. They really helped us out. The Sisters also came to play games like charades, but the opposite where everyone gets up and tries to act it out. It was really funny because we used a lot of words that the Thai people didn't really know. haha Brother Graph was the funniest!"
"Tuesday we met with the Bishop like normal and then were taught by a Khon Thai that serves in Bangkapi. She taught me a lot of things that I didn't quite know. It was really good. After that, we met with the Bangkapi members to plan Thanksgiving dinner. They asked if anyone knew how to make pie and I said I could if you give me a recipe. They all just laughed at me. Then I said I'd make jello and I thought I knew how, but I think I'm mistaken. haha We headed over to English class where we had a good lesson on communication. I love to teach English because we always have fun and laugh a lot. They will ask the weirdest questions sometimes. haha We watched our production of Johnny Lingo and it made everyone laugh. It was so bad and I am a terrible actor! haha"
"Wednesday was Brother Oat's baptism interview. We had district meeting where we talked about corrupt communication and how we could apply this talk in the Lat Phrao Ward. It was really good and I really love Elder Yuen. He is such a good leader and reminds me a lot of Dallon. We went to buy the jello we had to make from Tesco. We couldn't really boil the water, so we put it in the microwave for awhile and then added the mix. We stirred it, put it in the fridge and then headed out to teach Sister Yuy. We then went to Bangkapi for coordination meeting and Brother Oat's interview. I said a prayer that he would pass and he did!!! It was such a great feeling and he could get baptized this Saturday!"
"Thursday was Thanksgiving! We cleaned the apartment which was sooooo dirty and nasty and I just had to clean it. Then I checked the jello and it was liquid. I just said, "Yupp", and put it back. haha We weren't even phased. We knew that the jello wasn't going to work. We went to teach Sister Yuy and pick up Brother Oat and take them to the Thanksgiving activity. It was so fun. We told the story of the Pilgrims and made puppets with members faces on them. It made everyone laugh and we used them to tell the story of the first Thanksgiving. I like what they call it in Thai. They call it "Thank you God Day". We ate lots of chicken and some pie and a Chinese dish that I didn't know what it was. We also had mashed potatoes and ice cream with corn in it. It was a nice meal."
"Friday was mission zone conference, so we headed to Saponsune. We had a member of the 70 speak to us about using the Book of Mormon the most effective way. They told us something awesome, which was that our mission got 100 baptisms in one month and still more because the week wasn't over yet. Normally it is about 40 baptisms a month, so it is a big improvement! We then were fed Spaghetti. It was awful! Thai version of American spaghetti. That's not right! We didn't get home until about 6 and then we had a lesson with Sister Yuy. The President also gave us two cds to listen to. One was a Christmas cd that we can only listen to until the 31st and then it has to be destroyed. haha The other was church music and it wasn't the Mormon Tabernacle Choir! haha"
"Saturday was a way awesome day! That morning we had a service project at a members house where we helped make her classroom nicer. We painted and found out that her roof was about to collapse because of termites. It was bad. Then we went to the white man neighborhood where Elder Hartman was born to have Thanksgiving with his family friends. It was like being in Utah! White people everywhere, a nice toilet, carpet, couches and everything. It was so nice! The food was amazing and I got so stuffed. We finally left to go to Brother Oat's baptism. It took us 30 minutes to get there and we were stopped dead in traffic at one time. I said a prayer to ask God if he would separate the cars like he did the sea for Moses and after that we started to move. I was so happy! God really does answer prayers and sometimes not like you want him to. We made it just in time and I gave a talk on Faith. Apparently, it was the best speaking I've ever done. Then Brother Oat was baptized and it was the most amazing thing. The blessing of seeing him grow and be baptized made me so very happy. Another soul saved and I felt that God was proud of us. It was so cool!"
"Sunday we taught enough lessons to get balanced this week. This has been a really successful week. I asked the district to give me a blessing to help me to understand the language and Elder Calderon did it for me. I've been feeling discouraged and now I feel much better. I know I can do this with Heavenly Father's help. I love you and can't wait to talk to you at Christmas!"
Elder Jacob Smith
