Focusing on the Family

"This was a fun and pretty successful week. We traveled down to Bangkok for leadership training which was a super long trip. It was kind of nice seeing other Elders from my MTC group there. We were then able to go back to P-lok. Elder Calderon is serving there and I was able to do switch offs with him. It is his last transfer and it was fun to be able to serve with him this last time. He is a really good teacher. I was also able to see some members again. They want to take us sight seeing when you come to pick me up. Coming home from P-lok was terrible because we rode an old bus that was way small and we were on it for 6 hours! We then trained everyone else in the areas close to Chiang Mai, like Chiang Rai and Lampang. I like being companions with Elder Black. He is really knowledgable and knows a lot about the scriptures. We call ourselves Blacksmith. haha"

"We only had two days in our own area this week. We spent three days traveling, one day in Bangkok and one day in P-lok. Literally I am pooped from traveling. However, we have some new changes that we need to do. We now have to get two referrals and two part-member family lessons each week. It is a little tougher but possible. The training was all about focusing on families and the temple."

"We had some cool miracles happen. We were able to teach a part member family and their little girls are going to get baptized. They are 11 years old and were never baptized. The father is coming along and is starting to help out at the church. He will be the turning point for the family. On Friday morning, we came to the church to do some training and we met a guy who is a member that wanted to park his car at the church while he did some things in the area. He has been a member for 20 years but less active for quite awhile. Later that night, we were at the church again having sports night and two people walked up. I went over to greet them. It was the same guy from earlier and his girlfriend who wasn't a member. I started talking to them about baptism and missionary stuff and invited them to come inside for a little church tour. We showed them the font and then testified about families. After talking to them we prayed and Elder Black gave an example prayer. Then we asked the girl to pray and she did. When we first started teaching her, she was kind of just taking it as a joke. Then as we were testifying, she started to become more interested. While she was praying, she stopped randomly after saying about three sentences. We just all sat there in the silence for quite awhile. Then we heard sobbing sniffling sounds and the boy quickly closed the prayer for her saying in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. He asked her what was wrong and she asked who was patting her head? We answered no one. Then she asked it again. Her boyfriend just smiled and said that no one touched her. She then looked at Elder Black who bore testimony of the Holy Ghost and became very interested in what he had to say. We are going to meet with her again on Tuesday and I really hope she comes with an answer that this church is true. I'm sure she will. It was a cool experience."

"Well that was my week. We are going to a Hmong village today, so that should be fun. I love you all so much!"

Elder Jacob Smith

A Sick Week

The missionaries went to climb the highest point in Thailand, Don Inthanon Mountain, on p-day. Jake still doesn't have a camera, so we are grateful to Elder Black for sharing his pictures with us. Elder Smith looks a little cold we think.

"This week was a sick week for me. I got super sick last Tuesday. I don't know what it was but it was terrible. I'm getting better now except that I'm still really stuffed up. Sorry this email was late. We went site seeing up in the mountains here in Chiang Mai. It was really fun and way super cold! I thought I was going to freeze to death. It is the highest place in Thailand, so that was really cool. We took some pictures too that I'll try to get for you. I look terrible in them because we woke up at three in the morning to go there. haha"

"Chiang Mai is super fun. I still love it here. There are tons of white people everywhere. We have to bike really far to get to a good place to invite because President Senior has forbidden us to contact white people for awhile. There have been some little issues and they don't seem to like us being here for some reason. There are two wards here, the first and second ward. Elder Black and I are in the second ward and the other Elders are in the first. However, we join together and baptize in both wards. Our Zone is doing really well. The area is baptizing but there is a more lazy feel about it. In Bangkok, everyone is moving so fast and they are too busy. Here the people are more relaxed and take their time with everything. I still contact at least two hours a day if we have time and not traveling. Elder Black and I are going down to the mission office on Tuesday for a meeting on Wednesday, so that will be fun. It will be another 12 hours there and then 12 hours back. haha"

"We did switch-offs with the Elders in Lampang. I was with Elder Taylor. He is the tallest Elder in the mission. This is his third transfer and he is doing really good. People really listen to him because he is so monstrous! haha  We rode our bikes all over the place. We were able to teach a less active RC and we were able to help her to understand the importance of why we keep the commandments. It was a really spiritual lesson. The member that helped us teach actually knew who I was and when I came to the mission. Apparently he knows some of the other Elders and Sisters in my group that talked about me. He said that I was a really great teacher. I was happy to hear that because I was kind of going through a slump. After that, we taught an investigator who Elder Taylor bore a wonderful testimony to of how she is a child of God. This lady is like 67 years old. It was a great lesson as well. Elder Taylor is a really good Elder. We then were able to get two new investigators that are twin girls. They come from a part member family and want their Dad to baptize them. He has some Word of Wisdom problems, so he is trying to become worthy. It is really cool how many families are coming into the church here in Thailand."

"That was a cool email I got from you. I'm glad that you decided to come pick me up. I'm totally fine with staying another week after the mission. That would be fantastic! I wanted the Seahawks to win the Super Bowl. That is Elder Bassett's favorite team and I started to like them as well. haha  I love and miss you all so much and will look forward to seeing you."

Elder Jacob Smith    

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