Khon Kaen

"As you already probably know, I am in Khon Kaen. I am a District Leader and training. My thoughts about this are "thank goodness!"  I love being a DL. It is less stressful and I feel that I can do more to use my ideas to help the area. After being a ZL for six months, it is nice to only have to look after one area. It is weird to not know what is going on around the mission though. My new son and companion is Elder Tyler Roberts! I already know that he is Tori's friend. He told me that he talked to her before leaving on his mission. That is really cool. He showed me pictures of him in Nitro Circus and he is so insane! Elder Roberts is doing really good and we get along great. The District is a little different than what he is use to hanging around, but he is starting to understand the humor and it is fun to see him adjust and change. haha  The other missionaries in the District are Elder Nelson, who was a Greenie in Rangsit with me, and Elder Bush. I was his ZL in Don Mueang, so I already know them and have already started to implement some ideas to help the branch here. One is to start a mutual youth program. There is also a Senior Missionary couple serving here. It is Elder and Sister Lyon. Elder Lyon was the 22nd missionary to ever serve in Thailand and he speaks Thai really well. He is also the first counselor in the branch presidency. Sister Lyon is always so happy and is really funny. She makes such delicious treats that I will get fat! I think they really like that I came in with ideas and ready to work. I really like them and will enjoy working with them. I feel like I came into this area really well. This is where Matt (Elder Boonmee) and Elder Parker served last. the members here love them. I already have people that know who I am because of them. It is really funny hearing all the stories about them. Matt was a ladies man and had some investigators fall in love with him. haha  It is really funny!"

Grandson (Elder Nielsen), Son (Elder Parker), Father (Elder Smith), Son (Elder Roberts)

"I played in Songkran, but didn't take any pictures because they would have been destroyed! It is crazy in Chiang Mai. It was way fun though and we got soaked! We only celebrated Monday and then had to go back to work which was hard. Then having to travel down for transfers took us from 6 am to 8 pm. It was the longest bus ride ever and I thought I would die! At transfers, it was weird seeing Sister Holmes go home since I saw her come in. I'll be following her out soon. This really sucks that it is so close now."

"The sister of Elder Khanakam (the first Thai Area Seventy), that we were teaching, should have been baptized, but I'll have to wait for some news on that. I'm sure she did because I told them and she was interviewed already. We did a lot to prepare her and I would have liked to be there for that."

"This last week has been great. We have really gotten a good start. This area is recovering from some bad Elders about a year ago which really hurt the branch and lost their trust. I immediately want to show all the members that we are here to lift the burden. We have the good support of Elder Lyon too and he is doing a lot. As a District, we have come up with some ideas to help the branch. I made sure that the missionaries here are focused on baptism and member relationships. I also made a goal to see as many families as we can that the Branch President wants us to. I feel that having good relations with the members will give us lots of referrals. This is what we are working on at the moment."

"I'm way happy to be in the Esan. The food is so good!!! I don't really have to learn Lao too much. It is all pretty basic. I'm sending you some pictures from my trip to Myanmar. I love you all!"

Elder Jacob Smith

   

The Lone Zone Leader

"Sorry it has taken me so long to send an email. These last two weeks have been great and so busy!"

"First, I'll tell you about my visit to Burma. We left on Tuesday morning and got there around 6:00pm. The Elders picked us up and we headed straight to the church. This is where they live. They gave us some longyis (pronounced loan-jis) to wear. It is a tube of fabric that you wrap around yourself to wear instead of pants. It is traditional Myanmar clothing. The missionaries have to wear it with a white shirt and sandals. They can't wear socks, shoes or a tie. These are considered rude because it is showing off how rich we are and doesn't help the image of the church. What was worse is that I couldn't even wear my name badge because I was only visiting and didn't have a work visa. At one point, we went to this market and it was really fun. The streets there are so insane! I almost died because no one stops for you and you have to pay attention. We helped teach English class and met a lot of members and investigators that I was able to help teach. They are really cool people and it was so fun. They told us the history of the church there and it was really interesting. At one time, the church was super successful and then went so apostate that all the members were excommunicated. I'm glad the church is back there now. Leaving was really sad." 

"Right after we got back to Thailand, Elder Black was called to be an office Elder for the last two weeks of his mission. We went to MLC which was all about preparing the people for the temple. When the announcement came, we were on our way back to Bangkok. It was midnight and everyone was freaking out. They told us to tell all of our districts, so I called everyone. They were not too happy to get woken up until they heard the good news. haha  It was way cool. Then all of a sudden, I had a confirmation that this now is crunch time. I need to do everything that I can to fight against Satan because he will be working really hard to destroy the work. We are all excited to get this temple and it makes me feel that I did something good to help this to happen. I'll be working as hard as I can this last transfer to be super consecrated to the Lord. We show our gratitude for the temple by getting to work and setting a goal to get 200 baptisms this month. That's how we celebrate here in Thailand!" 

"I am a lone Zone Leader at the moment. haha  I am in a tri-companionship with Elder Tamang and Elder Hinkley. This last week was really busy because of transfers. I had to coordinate a bunch of people by myself. Because of Songkran, President Senior doesn't want anyone that doesn't need to go to transfers to go, including the companions of missionaries as well. I have to find out who is leaving, get them a companion and get them to transfers. This is hard because tickets are sold out everywhere for Songkran. Super stressful and I am still making plans right at this moment, but I got it. haha  Also, I am moving so I don't know where I'll be going."

"Happy Songkran! I'm going out to play in the water!"

Elder Jacob Smith 

Last Zone Conference

"P-day in Chiang Rai was super fun! We rode ostriches! I almost fell off mine. haha  Those birds are evil for sure. They look at you and you know that they are going to peck you. haha  Scary! We also rode some elephants."

"We were able to get a Balanced Zone again! I had an interview with President Senior last Friday during Zone Conference. It wasn't very long because we will be talking again in another transfer for my dying interview. He told me how great our Zone was doing and that it was a really good indicator of the Zone Leaders. He said that because of me, the Zone has been doing really well. He said that I bring a lot by my example and faith which shows that I am a great leader. Then it was over. He closed by telling me he was going to kick my butt in basketball on Monday morning and he did so shoooootttttt! haha"

"When we were at the Mission Leadership Council, Elder Black was joking around and said that he had a desire to serve in the mission office. Then right in the middle of the meeting, President Senior looked at us and said that we should probably go do switch-offs in Burma first. He told us to talk to him after the training. It was crazy! He told us that he wanted us to do switch-offs in Burma and so we have been getting everything ready for this trip over the last couple weeks. We have been working with Elder Meeker with our visas and passports. We are good to go and will fly down to Bangkok and then to Burma tomorrow. We will spend all day Wednesday there and fly back on Thursday. The Burma Elders said that we will be teaching a lot. I don't know how that will go because we don't speak the language. haha  It will be the first time Zone Leaders do switch-offs in Burma. This is so exciting and wish me luck!"

"We had to do so much stuff to get ready for Zone Conference. We had to order catering and make sure that everything was in good working order. It turned out really good. We talked about the new initiative called, "Because He Lives." Do you know about it? The mission department came up with it to help with the work all over the globe. Make sure that the whole family is a part of it and work together because it is revelation from God. We also talked about the fundamentals of missionary work such as; prayer, scriptures study, church attendance, etc. The best part was that we got to watch, "Meet the Mormons." I really enjoyed that! We had members join us for the movie. I was asked to give my dying testimony because it was the last Zone Conference for me. It was a hard moment for sure. I didn't cry too much, so that was good. haha"

"We also had District Conference. It was cool to see a bunch of people who still remembered me from Phitsanulok. We had to translate for everything and we were really busy the whole time. We had to help set everything up and plan with the District President. I do pretty good at translating because I do it all the time here and get a lot of practice. It is weird to think that I am one of the oldest missionaries in the mission and oldest Zone Leader as well. Because of this, I have a lot of responsibilities that fall on my shoulders. I have to make decisions on what to do, where to go and translating. I was also able to see Elder Bannakorn again! He doesn't shave anymore and has a calling as first counselor in the branch presidency. I even met his girlfriend! Two weeks and he already has a girlfriend. haha"

"We did a short switch-off in Chiang Rai. We had bus problems so we were only able to be there from 1:00 to 5:30pm. It seems like a fun area to serve in. I helped teach a new member and shared my testimony with some investigators. One of them I met again at District Conference. She is about 24 years old and very sassy. She is a cousin of a 19 year girl who really wants to be baptized for three years now. Her mom doesn't like the church and burned her copy of the Book of Mormon. The mom has cussed out Elders and members who try to talk to her daughter. She will disown her daughter if she joins the church. Super crazy! The cousin is on her own and goes to church, so hopefully this could be a pathway to help the girl be baptized. I talked to her for awhile and taught her the importance of  what she is doing. I testified of God and that she needs to find him by truly asking in prayer. She says that she feels good after praying but that she isn't sure about the source of that feeling. I then told her about the Holy Spirit. It was a really spiritual lesson and I hope that she felt the spirit as well to help her with her answer. It will be the means of many coming into the church."

"We are teaching the Somphet family. It is Brother Somchia's younger brother's family. They all want to be baptized but have a hard time coming to church. It is frustrating. The family is very poor and last week we went to go teach them and ended up helping them build their house. It was super fun! I was welding things and walking on roof beams. haha" 

"I was asked to write a letter to this kid in Utah. His older brother came to Thailand and after sacrament meeting, he asked me to write to him. He is thinking about not serving a mission and isn't quite sure about what to do. I wrote him a letter and will send it today. Hopefully something I say will help him to make the right choice."

"Love you all so much and I'll send pictures!"

Elder Jacob Smith

A Quick Note

"I only have about ten minutes to email today. I am about to get on a bus to head up to Chiang Rai for p-day. I took about 1000 baht out for the trip. I will be with Elder Hinkley because Elder Black is staying behind with Elder Tamang. Elder Tamang has already gone and didn't want to go site-seeing, but Elder Hinkley wanted to go."

"This week was good. I'll have to tell you about it next week. Remind me to tell you about: Balanced Zone, switch-offs in Lampang, Zone Conference and District Conference coming up this weekend, and teaching the Somchai family. I also will be flying to Myanmar (Burma) on the 31st to do switch-offs with the Elders there. It was a request from President Senior. I'll have to tell you more about that."

"Until next week, I love you all!"

Elder Jacob Smith

'Til We Meet Again

"On Monday, we really didn't do anything. We got haircuts and went to buy tickets to go back to Bangkok for Mission Leadership Council. Tuesday, we had our first District Meeting with Elder Tamang. It was the first that he's done and it was really good. We then taught some RC/LA lessons and went contacting. Elder Bannakorn has a bad back so he had a hard time contacting. However, we were able to see some members too. Then we taught English class. That was fun because Elder Black and I did a little skit to help the students with their listening skills. I pretended to be Iron Man and it was really funny. Everyone had a blast. That evening we got on the bus with Sister Lam, the sister training leader, and headed to Bangkok again."

"We arrived in Bangkok around 9:00am and headed to the mission office. On the way, Sister Lam had an allergic reaction to a mosquito bite and had to make a quick stop at the hospital, but she is doing fine. She was only upset that we saw her puffy face. haha  She said that I helped her to feel better by making her laugh. At MLC, we talked about making good records and updating our area books. Then we talked about how to teach families effectively. President Senior had me get up and roll play how not to do it. haha  It was funny and totally set up. Afterwards, we headed up to P-lok to train and do switch offs. We trained Gamphengphet as well. I had to call everyone to repentance for making better records. It was probably my best training so far. Elder Black talked about the spirit of Elijah in helping us to receive help from the other side of the veil. Very powerful as well. I think the Zone really understood the importance of what we were saying. Our Zone is ready to see miracles and create miracles as well. We headed back to Chiang Mai and got home about 1:00am. The next day we trained the rest of the Zone. After the training, Elder Heiner said that I should be a motivational speaker in the future. haha  It made me feel good because all I really want to do is to inspire the missionaries to work hard. I also asked Elder Bannakorn to share his last testimony as a missionary and it was awesome!"

"That afternoon we went to teach Elder Khanakham's older sister. Elder Khanakham is the first area seventy in Thailand. His sister lives alone and likes it when people come to visit her. She is moving along slowly and we will keep working with her. We then met with another family of a strong member in our area. It is his younger brother's family. We taught a great lesson on eternal families and I used the pictures of all of us to explain my point. They all accepted dates but didn't come to church, so we still need to work with them. I have a feeling that they will be baptized as a miracle for the ward to know that their families have a chance to receive the gospel as well."

"On Saturday morning, we headed up the mountain to see Elder Bannakorn's family. It was so much fun. We met with his mom, brother, sister and Aunt. His Aunt was crying when she saw him because she was the one who took care of him when he was a child. We taught his mom and she said that she would be baptized. She just needs some time to learn. Knowing how diligent Elder Bannakorn is, I'm sure that she will be baptized. His sister is recently married to a Chinese man and lives in Taiwan. They had come down to see Elder Bannakorn. They were interested in the gospel and got some information to take to Taiwan. We took some pictures of us wearing Elder Bannakorn's mountain tribal pants. haha"

"On Sunday, Elder Bannakorn was realeased. I love that kid. We exchanged emails to stay in touch and he made me promise to come back to visit him. He is going to try to learn at BYU-Hawaii. He stayed the night with us and left this morning. He is such a great Elder. About his back; it has hurt him throughout his mission. He worked at a hotel and did a lot of heavy lifting to save money for his mission. It hurts him a lot and he can't even sit through a lesson without needing to stand up. He can't ride a bike and contacting is really hard on him. These last two weeks have almost been unbearable for him. It is worse than when I was with him in Rangsit. Traveling literally kills him. When he was released, a member asked him about his back and said that he knew someone at the Chiang Mai hospital that could help him. So they went on Sunday and he came back feeling a ton better. The weird thing is that he went to doctors many times while on his mission and nothing they did really helped him. It wasn't until he was released that his back was made better. Crazy! He endured two years with that pain. He is really happy and sad to go home. I'll miss him."

"It looks like everyone is having fun back home and I miss you a lot. Love you all!"

Elder Jacob Smith  

A Tri-Companionship

Leadership Council Meeting

"I was mostly traveling again this week, so I don't have much to tell you. We had transfer meeting in Bangkok. We left Wednesday morning and didn't get there until Thursday morning. We went straight to the church. There we had to freshen up and wash our face and brush our teeth because we knew that we wouldn't be able to shower for awhile. Elder Beebe came to find me and said that he had something to tell me. He took me outside to see Elder Bassett. They told me that they had a secret to share with me. They said, "You know how everyone you know goes to Laos?"  Then I got it! Both Elder Beebe and Elder Bassett got transfers to Laos. So crazy! My MTC companion (Elder Vance), my Trainer (Elder Johnson), my friend from home (Sister Holmes), one of my favorite companions (Elder Bassett), and one of my best friends in the mission (Elder Beebe). It's funny they all go to Laos! haha  They are all really cool missionaries and I'm happy for them. Too bad that I won't be able to see them again until after the mission. Matt wasn't at the transfer meeting because he didn't have changes. He is still DL in Khon Kaen. I am still with Elder Black and I am also now with Elder Bannakorn again! He dies in two weeks so President Senior sent him to us to help teach his mom before his mission ends. We are a tri-companionship. It is way fun being with him again. Just like old times in Rangsit. He is a really good missionary and example for the mission. Because he is dying, we had to stay an extra day in Bangkok. Elder Bannakorn had to do the his last dinner with the Seniors and all the dying stuff. We got home on Saturday."

"I think I am getting sick a lot because the hill tribes are burning their fields and there is a ton of smoke in the air. I have been getting some nose bleeds, as well, but I'm starting to wear a mask that helps with that. I think I'll be fine now."

"I really don't think that I will be companions with Matt. I hope I die here in Chiang Mai. I really love it here, but if they send me somewhere else, I'll be fine. President Senior knows I have family in Ubon. I have never had to learn the Lao language. I only know some words. I know more Northern than Lao."

"I'm starting to make a list of things I want to do before I leave, but I haven't put too much thought into that yet. I love the camera. I try to take pictures more often. I have some for you. I just need to find my card reader. I forgot it, sorry. How is Brian doing on his mission? I miss that kid and hope that he is doing great in Texas. He should give me some ideas on how to contact Christians. That could help a lot! Well, I love you all so much!"

Elder Jacob Smith 

President Senior

"We were visited by President Senior this week. He came up to meet with the District President and wanted to talk to me and Elder Black as well. He took us into a room with Sister Senior and talked about how we were doing. Then he asked us what it was we did to be able to achieve a balanced Zone. We told him that most of it was the faith of the missionaries and that we knew it was possible down to the last minute because it was revelation. We knew that God had already provided a way for it to happen. If we just kept up our faith and worked hard, then we knew we could do it. This is big news because this Zone has not done as well in the past. Big stuff! Then President Senior looked at us and asked, "Where do you think I should send everyone?" He wanted us to tell him what we think needs to happen in the mission. It was really weird. haha  Then we went with him to pick up some wooden elephants and get some ice cream. It was super cool to spend the day with President and Sister Senior."

"I was able to meet Matt's cousin. I forgot to get a picture with him, but I'll be meeting with him again on Tuesday. I think he is more interested in English right now, but hopefully he will come to the gospel. I think he really liked it, but he came and left before I had a chance to talk to him. I hope on Tuesday, I can help the family to understand the reasons we believe as we do. I really want to help them come to the gospel, but they will need help from family as well."

Chiang Mai Chapel

"We had a lot of success getting people to church this week. I got a family, a 20 year old, a 30 year old, and Matt's cousin, all from my contacting. However, I had to give them over to the other Elders so they could be balanced. It is fine because it is all the district's investigators, but I still want at least one. We are going to continually see the 20 year old. He wants to be a better person and thinks that the church's teachings can help him, but he is not willing to change religions. We will have to work with him a lot more."

Don Mueang Chapel

Asoke Chapel

"The transfer meetings are held at the Don Mueang church building. The parents who come to pick up their missionaries join in on the last transfer meeting. President Senior may ask you to say something to the missionaries. The Asoke church building is the mission house ward and closest to the office building. I'll send you pictures of the transfer meeting."

"I don't have much to talk about. I am really sick today and don't know why, but it is hard for me to think about what happened this week. haha I'll be better by tomorrow for sure."

Elder Jacob Smith