Upon a Mountain Top

"Last week we had training and there is a big push to get the entire Zones balanced throughout the whole mission. The training was really fun and the best part was we were able to eat pancakes for breakfast there. haha  We talked about how we need to build the walls of baptism and stakes around Jerusalem, aka Thailand Temple. We were asked to go and inspire the rest of our Zones. It was my first leadership meeting and I hope that I was able to show that I can contribute. There are a few missionaries that are still a little upset that I am a ZL instead of them, but I think that it is starting to go away. I have been trying really hard to show that I was called of God and that I can receive the revelation to guide the Zone. It is going really well. I was able to feel the spirit as I trained them. I love that I can see what is going on in the whole Zone and know who needs help and who to pray for. It is way cool."

"Last week we had an activity where we climbed to the top of a mountain. It was really fun and I got some of the missionaries to buy some gloves. haha  I don't know why but they were 20 baht and I felt like I needed to buy them, so the other Elders bought them with me. I actually got a picture of that. Anyways along the way up, the Elders were talking about how we are probably going to get to the top of the mountain and then the Zone Leaders were going to make it into some spiritual lesson. I laughed because well, I am the ZL! haha  When we finally got to the top, we explored a little and looked out over the entire area and then what everyone predicted to happen came true. Elder Cutler got everyone to sit down and talk. I don't think he knew what to say except that he felt guided to do it. I had to support him and got up as well. We talked about many things including how this experience was a comparison to our missions. Then we each shared about how we can use it and it was really spiritual. Then at the end, I had the impression to express my feelings. I told everyone about the importance of the vision of the mission. It is something we can obtain from working hard and not losing faith. Also it is not just for us individual missionaries, but for all missionaries in Southeast Asia. This is God's vision and it is important that we obtain it to do his work. It was very spiritual and I felt that they respected what I shared and that it inspired them. Then we said a prayer and headed down the mountain. Going down was fun because there is a bar that goes all the way down and we sat on a plastic bottle and slid down at high speed. haha"

"This week me and Elder Cutler were having a hard time with finding investigators and then on Wednesday we had a miraculous day. We got 5 member lessons and some referrals and 5 new investigators and 3 RC/LA lessons. We had no idea how to explain what happened other than that God had blessed us. I also went on my first switch off. I went with a greenie, Elder Daybell. We stayed in our area and basically had a normal day. However, it began by us not being able to get out of the building because no one gave me a key card. No one was around so we had to climb out of the window. It was funny because that was also his first switch off experience with the ZL and we had to break out. haha   Then we went to Asoke for switch offs with the APs. I was with Elder Kelly who is from Australia. He is way cool and we taught some interesting people. One was a porn magazine model. She wanted to change her life and I gave her a date for next week and she accepted and will be baptized soon. It was way cool to see her really eager to change. We also went contacting and I was able to get 16 numbers! That is a record for me and a lot of them were good numbers. I feel that I was able to show the APs that I am qualified for the calling that was given me. We now have 7 daters and about 14 investigators. 4 of the daters are really good and I'm sure will be baptized. We also had a baptism this past week. We actually got her number from someone else that we contacted on the street. Elder Cutler was just calling people and decided to call this contact who told us that she was not interested but that she had someone with her who was and gave the phone to her. She then came to church and we taught her over the phone everyday for a week and then we baptized her. She is so prepared by the Lord and it is amazing to see her testimony grow as well."

"That was pretty much our week and all that happened. It was a good week. I love you all so much!"

Elder Jacob Smith

Zone Leader!

"I was just called to be a Zone Leader in Pakkret! Can you believe that? I was only a District Leader for one transfer and now I'm a Zone Leader. It was crazy how it happened. We got a call last Tuesday from the Zone Leaders telling us that no one in our District was leaving. We told all the members that we were staying and they were pretty happy about that. I still had to go to Bangkok to renew my Visa and had the other Elders go with us because we had to pick up some supplies and it would be fun. I called the Elders in Rangsit to arrange a place for us to stay overnight and then headed there around 2:00 in the afternoon. We got there around 7:00 in the evening and met up with Elder Bassett. It was fun being back in my old area again, but I wasn't able to see any of my RCs. That night was a hard night for me. I had a hard time sleeping and woke up at 3:00am. I could not go back to sleep and something was keeping me up, but I didn't know what. In the morning, we headed down to the transfer meeting. Along the way, I got a call from the Zone Leaders telling me that I was moving and that Elder Sayavong was getting a new companion. CRAZY! I was so surprised and instantly nervous about what was going to happen. When we arrived at the building, President Senior came up to me and told me to go to a room and wait for him there. Later, he walked in with two other Elders. He told us that last night he woke up around 3:00am with a feeling that something was wrong. Then he received revelation and wanted to call us to be the new Zone Leaders. I was soooooo surprised and even more nervous now! I didn't tell anyone. When my picture came up as the new Zone Leader over Don Mueang, everyone was cheering and said, "NO WAY!" and "HOLY COW!" haha  They were all surprised too and came up to me and congratulated me saying that I was a fantastic missionary and was ready for this. I am over the areas of Don Mueang, Rangsit, Bangken, Lopburi, and Ayuthaya. Everyone that I will follow-up with is older than me in the mission. They are the senior missionaries from the MTC and some that will finish their missions in a couple transfers. I will get to follow-up with everyone everyday and see how the mission and Zone is doing. It will be nice to know what is going on everywhere. Talking to all the Districts is super fun and I want to encourage and inspire them. This will be a fun adventure for sure! It was a little frustrating too because I had to go all the way back to Phitsanulok to pack my stuff and then return here. I did a lot of traveling this week. I feel bad that I had to leave my boy, Elder Parker, but he will do great finishing his training with Elder Sayavong. They also put Sisters back there and that should be great. P-lok will do just fine."

"I am now over three wards that use the same building. They are Don Mueang, Pakkret, and Chengwattana. Chengwattana is a foreigner ward. It is super busy on Sundays trying to get every ward some investigators. I went to Sacrament meeting 3 times and was here and there and everywhere, and I still have no idea what member is in what ward. haha  Hopefully, it will come to me. I really hope Heavenly Father knows what he is doing by calling me to this. My new companion is Elder Cutler. He was my Zone Leader when I was serving in Rangsit. He is really cool and such a hard worker. He told me straight up that we are going to do work this transfer, so I looked at him and said, "Alright, as long as we stop to eat!" haha  He is from Layton, Utah and his family owns Cutler's Cookies, if you've heard of that. I'm really excited to be serving with him. He is a great speaker and an even better teacher. He also has a twin serving in the Philippines. The place I live in is huge and in the middle of Bangkok. I have everything I could ever want here. I'll just buy it. haha  I really like it and the church here is huge and very close. We already had a baptism and are constantly getting numbers from people on the streets. Everyone is so nice and the Bishop is a returned missionary who is gung-ho about getting things going better. I am excited to be an example in the mission and helping to make miracles happen."

"That is really all that happened this week. I was able to follow-up with the new Greenies and it was fun to get to talk to them and see how they are all doing. I read a verse in the scriptures about, "many are called, but few are chosen."  I will do all I can to be the one who was chosen. This was a great week with more to come for sure!"

Elder Jacob Smith

"P.S. - My camera broke. It won't turn on any more. Also, I've changed how I spell my name in Thai. I met a man whose name is Smith and he spells it a little differently. I like it better and apparently it translates to mean, success and righteousness. I thought that was way awesome as well. haha  I love you all!"

Seeking Faith

"Last week we went to go siteseeing. It was us 4 Elders and the 4 members who invited us to go. We went to a mountain and it was beautiful! We were so high that all you could see was the forest and fog. It was awesome! The weather was really nice too. It wasn't hot and the wind was blowing, so it was a great day for the trip. We took pictures, but with the other Elder's camera, so I will try to get them for you."

"This week we had zone conference. We were in Chiang Mai on Thursday and Friday. We were visited by Elder Gong. I even had a special opportunity to be interviewed by him. He is a really nice man full of love and charity. He knew me quite well and was impressed by my mission and the things that I have learned throughout. He talked to us about the Atonement of Christ, the Plan of Salvation, Plan of Redemption, and Plan of Mercy. It was truly inspiring for the entire mission. We were also visited by some church history people. I heard that there is a new exhibit in Utah on the Foundations of Faith. It sounds cool and I really want to see that."

"We had some miracles happen as well. Elder Parker and I have been trying really hard to get new investigators. This last Sunday, we had no one show up for Sacrament. We were sad but we did have one of our LAs come back, so that was great. During the second hour, two girls walked in. It was a mother and a daughter. They are from another church. We talked to them and asked if we could teach them about our church and they said yes! I found out that they are from a place out of town, but they would be here every weekend. They were looking for a church to worship and came across the Hope Church. They entered there and felt like this was not it. Then they saw our church and came in and felt great, so they decided to stay. They were very open to the things that we were teaching them, such as Prophets and the Book of Mormon. They said that they would read the book and then pray about it. We asked if we could meet them again and they said yes! We can only teach them on the weekends, but that is just fine with me. They are great and also have a son who did not come to Phitsanulok with them. They were brought here by God and we need to help them. Also, we must be doing something right for him to just send them right to us. haha"

"We also have another investigator. She is friends with some of the RCs and doesn't care about some of the problems going on, because this is her decision and she understands that. It is amazing that she is like this because it can be really hard sometimes. However, she is having a hard time with Faith. She can't believe something unless she can see it. I tell her about Faith all the time, but we are still working on it with her. The other day, she comes up and tells us that her sister is Catholic and just left to serve a mission. She was emotional and asked why God would make her sister throw away her family, if he is all about family? She asked me why I would leave my family to be a missionary? First off, we clarified that we are two different churches and then told her that her sister didn't leave her family and that they would receive many blessings because of her service. Elder Sayavong was with me and shared his experience about not being supported by his family in this decision. He brought the spirit in so well. She then told us about her mom being sick with cancer and we shared about miracles and that even miracles are an act of Faith. We then prayed with her. She was emotional and the spirit was very strong. After that day, she contacts me a lot wanting to know answers to tons of questions. I can't wait for her to finally received an answer and to understand it, so she can make the decision she needs to."

"I hope that you are doing well mom. I'll pray for you! I'll have to take some pictures of the house for you. It is nice but super messy and there is mold all over the ceiling. No one cooks. I eat khao soi a lot here. It's some northern dish and really good. I snack on chips and cookies. I don't need any white shirts, but I'll just buy them here if I need to.  I will get another suit made if that is ok? That is really cool about Andrea Wood's homecoming. I agree with her about how true the importance of following the promptings of the spirit is. I love you all so much and I'll send pictures, but it will have to be later though."

Elder Jacob Smith 

5 Baptisms in Phitsanulok!

"This letter will be short because I don't have much time today. We are going site-seeing with the members and we're leaving real early. We were able to get 5 baptisms here in Phitsanulok this week. It was a straight up miracle because of what happened earlier in the week."

"Monday, I tried talking to a recent convert who was feeling down about something. She just got up and left. I guess there is a lot of gossip that was going on in the branch. I told everyone that I didn't think that they understood what family means and then things went crazy! I said that they need to be a family and that families love each other. That night we get a call from all 6 of our daters to tell us that they were not going to get baptized or go to church. They had all gotten together and decided to drop. This put our whole district in high distress! We were up all night trying to fix it and nothing was working. I was really upset because I felt that I had failed. I cried! I did! I couldn't believe that gossip, lying, and stupid little things, could cause 6 investigators and another 5 new converts to fall away from the church. I felt that no matter what I did, it wouldn't change anything. I felt no spirit and I was frustrated with myself. I could only think to pray to God and have him fix it. And of course he did. The next two days were heck trying to talk to these emotionally wrecked teens and just tell them to stop doing what they were doing. Then God stepped in and fixed it. He got them all together and they argued for hours until they finally forgave each other. That was good."

"Then I had another new member come up to me and said that she was fed up with the church and that she was going back to her old church because the members here did not care enough for God. I talked with her a long time until she finally said her decision was made and thanked me for being a God fearing man. I had thought that she had a great testimony and was doing awesome. I can honestly say that I have never been so angry/sad/sorrowful/and who knows what other emotion. I got on my knees and cried to my Father in Heaven. I told him that I don't know what to do. I needed him. I asked where art thou? Then softly I had an answer that said, "Don't worry. I am with thee." Even though I heard the answer, I had a terrible sleepless night. The next day I get a call from that member and she tells me that she wants to come back. It was funny because in Thai she said that she wanted to go back to her old church. I thought she meant her other church. I said, "Yes, I know. You told me last night. Why are you calling me again?" She then repeated it and I gave the same response again. Then she said, "Do you know what I mean?" I said, "Yes!" and she said, "No!" haha  She meant she is coming back to our church. She had prayed that night and read in the scriptures and received confirmation again that the church is true. She is a nurse and she said that right now the church in P-lok is just sick and needs assistance. She is now good and converted and continues to come to me for advice."

"This was the miracle and chastisement that I received. I realized that I needed to rely on the Lord more and stop being so stressed. I need to use faith and listen to the promptings of the spirit. Everything is better now and yes there are still problems, but I face them differently and with more faith in the Lord. The 5 were baptized this Sunday and the other one is on the way. The ward is struggling but through faith all things are possible. I love the Lord and I know that he is real and answers every prayer. He shows us our weaknesses to make us stronger."

"Conference was great, but I didn't watch it in English, so I'm going to do that this week. I ride my bike everywhere. It's nice but my butt hurts and my bike is all rusty from not using it for the last year. There is one thing that I would really like to do. I want to come back and go to the temple with my RCs in July. They really want me to go with them, however, that requires me going to Thailand, then Hong Kong, and then home again. If that is possible, I would really like to do that. I love you all so much!"

Elder Jacob Smith   

Prepared to Lead

"We are just getting used to being in Phitsanulok. We have 4 investigators from the last Elders. They really liked Elder Tamang, so I'm trying hard to get them to trust me. We are doing really well but we haven't been able to get anyone to church this week. We will work even harder with these investigators. I had 4 baptism interviews yesterday and they all passed which was awesome! The area here is great. The branch is struggling and we have no mission leader. Also a lot of the branch presidents have gone less active. I have talked to the current branch president and with him, the Elders and other missionaries, we are determined to get this place up and running again. I'm excited to work here. I know there are a lot of prepared people for us to teach and baptize. The members are super and there are a lot of youth. We have a lot of work to do with the RCs."

  
"Elder Parker is doing great and is very skilled. I am helping him a lot with his reading and he is improving fast. I've been a little tough on him but it will help him get good with the language. We get along great and he has a good attitude about everything. He has a big desire to see a baptism and he is a fantastic missionary."

"I have a cool story that I'd like to share with you. There is a 19 year old investigator of the other Elders who has been learning for a couple months now. When I asked the Elders about her, they said that they have taught her everything but she will not be baptized. She accepted everything but just would not do it. She has been on her own since she was 12 and felt that everything that happens is by personal thought and not from the Spirit. I've talked to her and am surprised because she acts and talks like a member already. If she was a member, she would be so Boss! Well, we had a BOM class and hadn't really planned anything, so as DL, I lead the class and talked about 2 Nephi 31. It is about the Doctrine of Christ. After the lesson, she went up to the Elders and told them that she is ready and wanted to be baptized! They were so happy and asked her why she decided to do it now? She walked up to me and told me that she was going to be baptized and that it was because of what I had said when I was teaching about baptism. She said she really felt that she needed to be baptized. WOW! I didn't even plan for it! Later when the other Elders got home, they both came up to me and gave me a big hug and told me how grateful they were for me. They said that it was because of me that she decided to be baptized. I am so unworthy of the praise because I knew it was from God and not me. I was able to interview her for baptism yesterday. It was a long interview because she shared her whole conversion with me. She told me many personal and sacred experiences that she had not even shared with the other missionaries. She already feels that we are good friends and that she can trust me. She passed her interview and I will be really happy to see her baptized. It was a really good week. This experience helped me to know that I must have been prepared to be a leader and DL at this time. I love you all so much!"

Elder Jacob Smith

"P.S. - Elder Sayavong came up and told me that my English really stinks. He is a Khon Lao and said this to me. haha Then Elder Parker agreed and said that I use Thai grammar structure when speaking in English. He understands me but it is weird for him. I don't even notice it, but Elder Parker is now correcting me and it happens a lot! haha Oh well!"  

North to Phitsanulok

Chiang Mai Zone

"I don't have a lot to tell you today, but I have some big news! We had transfers and I am up North in Phitsanulok. I haven't really been too far from Bangkok, so this will be a fun experience and I am also white washing the area. Secondly, I am the district leader and my district is fantastic! Third, I am also training a new missionary and last, I am the 1st counselor in the branch presidency. Yep that's right, I went from almost no responsibility to all of them at once! It's alright though. If God called me to do it, than it must mean that I am ready to do it. We are going to rock it here in Phitsanulok!"

"Yes, I have a child here in the mission and his name is Elder Parker. He is from Holladay, Utah. He is a nice kid and loves life. He is very talkative, which is great because he will learn the language fast. He is doing awesome! White washing the area will be tough but nothing we can't handle. In no time we will be baptizing just like before. I need to be a good example for the rest of the district. It will be fun. I live with Elder Baldwin from California and Elder Sayawong who is a Khon Lao."

"Right now I am in Chiang Mai. We had a district conference here, so I haven't even really spent an entire day in Phitsanulok. I can't wait to go back but we are first having a zone activity. There isn't much to talk about because I haven't had anything happen yet. I have spent the last couple days just sleeping in buses. haha  What a change it has been. I'll have to tell you how it all goes next week. I'm super excited to train. Elder Parker will do great and I am certain that he will get along with all the members. It is my goal to get to know all the members as fast as possible. This week will be a crazy one but I'm sure it will be a great transfer. I'm ready to see the miracles that come from having the Greenie fire all the time. Areas do great when there is a Greenie around, as long as you are doing what you are suppose to. I'd love to have all your prayers this week!"

Elder Jacob Smith

Blessed to Have Served

"This week we were able to get three baptisms! We had one on Wednesday. She is about 50 years old and really has a lot of faith. She loves coming to church and is trying to come every week. We linked her to a member, so she will be taken cared of. We then had two people get baptized this Sunday. One was a 19 year old girl and the other was an 11 year old boy. They are both awesome! Their testimonies were fantastic. The girl was a tough one because she got called in to work in Korat that morning. She couldn't be baptized if she didn't attend sacrament meeting, so she went to work late to stay for sacrament and then returned after work to be baptized. I know that she had to have much faith to do that. The other kid is a boss! He understands so much for a kid. We finally got permission from President Senior to baptize him. We taught him but basically just reviewed everything because he knew it all already. His testimony is amazing! After the baptism, the members came up and told us that this kid was solid. Both of them are great. Now Elder Bassett and I have baptized every one of our investigators and we really don't have anyone left to teach. haha"

"We found out now that we can only go contacting no more and no less than 2 hours a day. It is because it is so hot right now. We also have to find one LA each week. These are new mission rules. This week I loved teaching our RCs and having them tell me that they don't want me to leave. Transfers are this Thursday and I'm not sure if I'm going but I'm probably out of here. I have also had a lot of members come and ask me not to leave. I guess they realize that I am a good missionary and not a flirt. haha  I am hard working and get things done because I started serving the members more. I've come to love the people here and it will be hard to leave. The ward mission leader pulled me aside and told me that he was blessed to have served with me and that he hopes that I go somewhere that I like. He said that no matter where I go, I will work hard and be a great leader. That made me happy and these people have been a blessing to me too."

"That was really cool that Dallon met Elder Unsworth! I really liked him a lot, but never got to be his companion. They should become good friends. I love you all so much and Happy Birthday to Dallon, Tori and Grandpa!"

Elder Jacob Smith