North to Chiang Mai

Jake's letters have been real short since he became a Zone Leader. Mostly he is in a hurry and will answer personal questions from his family and tell a little about an investigator or recent baptism. Although, it can be disappointing to not get a lot of information, we are comforted to know that he is happy, healthy and loving his mission.

"Well yupp, this week we had transfers and I did move. I'm still a Zone Leader and now serving with Elder Black who was my pii in the MTC. He is from Oregon. It is way cool for sure! We are all the way up North in Chiang Mai! Yepp, I'm back up North. It is really cold here. I mean like every morning I wake up freezing! haha  I'm super excited to be here and to help grow the church."

"This week was not real intense other than transfers. Traveling here took 12 hours by train. I slept most of the way. I was surprised to be transferred and didn't expect it at all. They took me out and left everyone else there. There are now three ZLs in Pakkret. I didn't really get to say good-bye to anyone, but that's ok. I did get to talk to Matt a little at transfers. He is now companions with my greenie, Elder Parker. That should be fun for them. haha" 

"We had a baptism this Sunday. He is 20 years old and lives really far away. It takes him 2 hours just to come to church and he comes faithfully once a month. There are also 4 or 5 kids here getting their mission calls right now. One opened hers yesterday and she was called to the Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission! That is where she has always wanted to go. It was way awesome to see the entire ward there to support her in her calling."

"I really don't have much to say. I spent most of the week traveling and getting to know the area. I think I may die here. I came here and everything just clicked for me. There is something here for me. I don't know what it is yet but I really like it. I already like the members, branch president and RCs. I have felt a lot of joy in being here so far. I would be just fine ending my mission in this area. I really love it. I want to make this the best area of my mission where I use all the skills I developed as a missionary. I'm excited to see how it plays out."

"I'm sorry I don't have much to talk about. I hope that you will forgive me. I sent some pictures for you. That is me in my new suit. haha  Today we are cleaning the house. We share it with Elder Christensen, who was in my group and Elder Hinkley, who is related to Gordon B. Hinkley. Also, Sister Ellis, who served with me in Pakkret and Sister Remington from Canada are here too. I love you all so much!"

Elder Jacob Smith

Happy Holidays!

We had a nice visit over Skype with Jake on Christmas Eve. It is always our favorite gift of the season. He is happy, healthy and loves being a missionary in Thailand. His language is incredible and he has a difficult time translating to English. The Elders were going to spend the day making a new suit. He mentioned that he has lost 15 lbs because his diet mostly includes som dum (papaya salad). We didn't get an email from him again until New Year's Eve when we weren't expecting to. The following is the email he sent.

"Hello family, It has been a great week! We were able to have 4 people baptized this past Sunday. One guy is really cool and disappeared for awhile but came back and we were able to teach him everything. He is 40 years old and works a lot so it took awhile. However, he is amazing and has a really great testimony. The other three people baptized was a family! It was a mom and her two children. It was really awesome and they make me so very happy. The kids love the church and all the friends that they have made here. The mother loves that the gospel is so family centered and is very happy that she was able to join the church. She received an answer that God is real and loves us. What made me so happy was that they called me the day before the baptism and the kids asked me to baptize them. We already had someone asked to do it but they begged me to do it and so I was happy to. Also we found out that the mother has been doing family history for years before she even met the Elders. She has tons of people that she can do names for in the temple! So sick!!"

"We also met a guy from California. He is a Christian and says that he loves the Mormons but that we are all deceived. He wanted to talk to us more, so we made a dinner appointment with him. He tried so hard to destroy our faith and prove us wrong. Before we left, we had him commit to reading the Book of Mormon. He is a really nice guy but will still call us up to try to get us to leave Mormonism. It is a big eye opener to experience this type of situation. Everything that he said was just lacking and I could really see how the apostasy happened. His heart is hardened and he wouldn't accept to read the Book of Mormon or to even pray and ask God. Weird. I'm glad that I have a testimony that is strong and unshakable. No matter what he said against the church, I know what I know and cannot deny it."

"We didn't do anything for New Year's. We are celebrating today by going and doing nothing. haha  Also I may need a little bit more money to get my suit. haha I love you! I'm certain your holidays are going great. I'm super glad I don't have to deal with the snow though! I miss you all."

Elder Jacob Smith

North Stake Conference

"This week I was given a new companion. His name is Elder Martin and is from California. He is really cool and a worker of miracles in the Esan. He is going to die this transfer so I am killing him. He knows so much and I want to learn all I can from him to become a better missionary."

"We had stake conference here last Sunday and we had to help get everything prepared. We had no baptisms because the Bishop and Stake President were busy. The other Elders weren't too happy about it, but that just means we will have a lot of baptisms next Sunday. We have a mission goal of 2000 baptisms in Thailand this year. Right now we have 1903 with two weeks left. We need to get about 48 baptisms each week. This is really tough but it is possible too. It is crunch time, so we will be very busy this next week."

North Stake Conference

Don Mueang Ward

"On Wednesday before transfers, we were still in Cheang so we were in charge of helping prepare the transfer meeting. We were running around doing that and trying to teach our investigators too. We were waiting for one of them to show up and then he called to cancel. We were of course disappointed and decided to go inviting again. When we were leaving the church, a car drove up and a girl got out and asked us if we spoke Thai? We said yes, and then she told us that she wanted to be Christian and what did she have to do? I could have hugged her and answered, "Well let me tell you!"  We brought her inside and taught her and she accepted a date to be baptized this Sunday! She is so amazing and so impressed with the gospel. She is ready and even brought her mother and brother already. They are not really interested, but they are supporting her. It is awesome to see the Lord work in her life. She was not satisfied with Buddhism and wanted to find the truth. She didn't know where to go. A person at the post office told her to go to this church, so she picked a day and showed up. I don't think it was a coincidence that we were there at the right moment or she would not have had anyone to talk to. God has planned everything perfectly!"

Training Meeting

"The first day with my new companion we went contacting and it was really hard. No one was listening. Then I walked up to a Monk and asked him if he would like to be baptized? He was interested, so I made an appointment with him for the next day. Would you believe it but he showed up! He was wearing his robes and everything. We had a former Buddhist man help us teach him. The Monk was really interested in the things we were talking about. He is just not able to come to church. It would be awkward while he is still a Monk. He made another appointment with us and we are determined to baptize him. He would help the church grow so much here in Thailand. We even got him to pray! It was way awesome!"

"I love you all so much! Pray for the mission!"

Elder Jacob Smith 

Power of Love

"I had a lot of fun on the mission this week. Last Sunday, we were invited to eat at the International Ward Bishop's house. His wife was so nice and so impressed by Elder Cutler and I that she invited us to be special guests at her seminary class. We talked to the kids about our experiences as missionaries and at the end they said they wanted to serve missions as well. It was really cool to see their interest in doing missionary work. Then we had the Christmas Zone Conference with President and Sister Senior. You probably already saw the video of us singing. We were also able to eat at a buffet. We had so much sushi and shashimi that you would be jealous. I was stuffed full! Then we had the devotional and I was able to sit up front. I was looking at everyone and they were looking at me and then I made a face and made them all laugh. It is funny being a Zone Leader. We got a Christmas CD from the Seniors and it is fun to listen to. It is the only Christmas music that we can listen to."

"This week I have laughed more than normal. During the Book of Mormon class this week, there was one Brother who made a really funny face at Elder Cutler. I saw it and about laughed myself to death. I had to leave the room because I was making everyone else laugh too and they couldn't read. I still laugh when I think of that look. haha  The other Elders here are such funny guys too and they make me laugh a lot. We had a Ward Christmas activity where the Bishop was sharing the funniest jokes ever. It was an amazing party, especially for the investigators to come participate in. They got to feel true happiness without having to be drunk to do it. It really helped our investigators to see what the gospel is all about."

"I have a Christmas experience to share with you. About 3 weeks ago, there was a homeless man who came to church. Apparently the Sisters had invited him, but they didn't recognize him. He was different and we had no way to contact him, so we felt that he was a lost cause. I'm sad to say that no one really wanted to teach him. As the week went on, we would run into this same man and would talk to him and ask about his family. He hasn't seen his family in years. He is very poor and lives at the Buddhist temple. We invited him to come to church whenever he wanted. We thought he wouldn't show, and surely enough, he came. This time he was shaven too. Then we had Zone Conference and President Senior talked about Matthew 25:30-41. It talks about, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." The President asked for everyone, in their own way, to try to find someone to help as the scripture describes; hungered and fed thee, thirsty and gave thee drink, a stranger and took thee in, naked and clothed thee, and sick or in prison, and visited thee. He asked us to find a way to serve God by serving someone like that. The next day, we were walking to the church late at night and we ran into this poor man again. We greeted him and noticed that he looked better then before. I shook his hand and he looked at me and asked why I shook his hand? He said that he never washes his hands and that he was dirty. I told him that it is something Americans do. haha  It then hit me that because of the class system in Thailand, he probably never gets any interaction with anyone and no one ever touches him. We then taught him about prayer and how it could help him to stop smoking. Then he bowed his head and said a prayer. When he said, "Dear Heavenly Father...," Elder Cutler and I looked at each other. Afterwards when we were walking away, I asked Elder Cutler, "Did you feel it?", and he said yes! We both felt super bad for not reintroducing this child of God to his father sooner. The moment he said, "Dear Heavenly Father", we both received an overwhelming power of love come over us and him. It changed me and Elder Cutler. We both knew that we had to help this man, no matter what his needs be. We began by showing him how to communication with his father. Then we made a plan. He came to the Christmas activity (stranger and took thee in), he ate with us (hungered and fed thee, thirsty and gave thee drink), we gave him pants and a white shirt and tie (naked and clothed thee), and we took away his cigarettes and marijuana and brought him to church (sick or in prison, and visited thee). We call him our Christmas baby. haha  It was really amazing to see that man smile and wearing a white shirt and tie. I want to give you all the same commitment. Find someone this year who is in need and help them out like in Alma 25. However big or small, it doesn't matter, but do it from your heart. This will be a great Christmas season for sure! I love you all so much!"

Elder Jacob Smith

Sacred Baptism

"This has been a great week. I was in Lopburi on a switch off with Elder Brockwell and Elder Tilaporn. They are funny Elders and we had a good day and made many new friends there. I have a couple things that I learned about to how to become an even better missionary. First, I am so happy to see the pictures from Calli's baptism. That is so cool and she is so freakin' old now! Holy Cow, I can't believe it!"

"Thanksgiving was really fun because we were able to go to a Korean member's home. We were served all American food and it was really good. We had potatoes, turkey and ham and it was just so delicious that I about died from over eating! haha  I'll tell you what though, I am really scared to go back home. I'm really awkward now around white people. I was talking to Elder Cutler about how he feels really awkward around "falangs" (white people) and I am the same way too. While we were talking, a falang walked right up and started talking to us. We both were a little awkward but I don't think that he noticed. It was really funny."

"I've learned recently that I need to become more organized than I have been with my duties as a ZL. I told this to Elder Cutler as well. One day he comes up and says, "Dude, we can get 10 baptisms if we really want to."  Then I responded with, "If we are going to have 10 baptisms, then we need to be more organized. We need to keep better records and be on the ball at all times." I feel that I have received revelation about making the ordinance of baptism more important. We are missionaries who are all about baptism and getting people baptized, but we are hypocrites when we say this and don't make sure that the baptism runs smoothly. I realize that we need to make sure that we are prepared and that the baptism is sacred and peaceful for the one who is being baptized. It should be a fantastic experience and not just craziness. We are always all over the place and started to treat the experience as not important. We sometimes would complain that the members stopped treating the baptism as something special, but then realized that we did too and that needed to change. Elder Cutler agreed. We are going to start making the baptisms a little more special from now on. This week we were able to have two baptisms. They are really nice older ladies. One was a walk in and the other was a referrral. They both have great testimonies and made a promise to everyone at the baptism that they were going to be faithful and endure to the end. It was awesome! One of the ladies lives really far away and will still come every week. It is a miracle."

"I do get to talk to President Senior a little more than I use to. I guess apparently that he told a sister that he wants me to keep my personality, so I don't quite know what that means but ok haha. I am getting better at this ZL stuff for sure. Elder Cutler and I get along great. He is a lot like Dallon. He is really cool and coming close to the end of his mission. He works really hard and loves to go contacting. I've been out in the heat a lot lately. haha  He is training me really well and I'll try to get a picture of us together to send."

"We also had a great Christmas activity at the church. It was a month early but I have no idea why. haha  Anyways it was really fun. I was able to see all my RCs from Rangsit and it was amazing to know that they are still going strong. It makes me so happy. We also had to sing in the program. We sang "Shepherds Watch Their Flocks." It was funny because no one knew the song. haha  We did ok singing though. This week was just fantastic!"

Elder Jacob Smith 

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!"