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 

Balanced Zone

"This has been a really successful week for our Zone. The entire Zone was balanced! This is the second time. It happened in Don Mueang as well. President Senior was surprised and super excited to hear about it. We were in constant prayer for this to happen and never lost faith even to the last minute."

 

"I was able to meet with Aunt Wan and Uncle Jeff, or should I call him Uncle Art. haha  I also found out that mom's Thai name is "mem", which is funny as well. We got to spend a couple hours with them and they took Elder Black and I out to eat. I realize that my family are such Thai people; always taking pictures and making little jokes. It is really funny. They won't be able to talk about me anymore because I can understand them now. We are going to start teaching Aunt Wan's sister's family. We will try to meet with them next Tuesday. They are really cool people and I'm hoping that they will be interested in coming unto Christ."

"On Monday, I got my feet eaten by fish! It is a certain type of massage and it tickled a lot. haha  I also went on switch-offs with the APs last Thursday. The APs are both Thai and have past girlfriends in our ward. haha I was with Elder Kris and we were friends before, so it was a totally great switch-off. When we got to the church to have BOM class, there were all these past girlfriends who came all dressed up to see them. haha  Elder Tannawat almost got hugged by one of his RCs that likes him and it was really funny. He said that he learned a lot from the switch-off, so apparently I hope it was something good. I also hope they don't make me an AP because they travel a lot more and get no sleep. I just want to die here in Chiang Mai."

"Thank you for all the family pictures. I made my family history book and it looks really good. It is helping the RCs to want to do theirs as well. Thank you for all your help. I love you so much!"

Elder Jacob Smith

Handsome Elder

"Hey Family, thank you for the pictures. We have really been focusing on family history and families in general. We have been asked to fill out a personal family booklet to use in our teaching of families, but I need pictures and cool stories of what our ancestors have done for our family. It really helps a lot in teaching and it shows a great example of the importance of families."

"I can't wait to see Uncle Jeff and Aunt Wan. I'll try to get a hold of her sister to tell them that they are coming. I hope that they will feel the power of love and family so that they will come to the gospel as well."

"It has been really nice weather here. I love it! The trip to the village was fun. We were able to see some cool things but it is mostly a touristy place. They just wanted us to buy things. I did get some cool looking Thai pants and a shirt. We went way up to the top of a mountain and the view was spectacular. The people loved the fact that we could speak Thai and would try to give us their daughters who would flirt a lot. haha"

"This week we had the opportunity to go to Kampaengphet. It is a really small area that has been open for about a year. They have maybe 30 people to church and are growing pretty well. There are 4 Elders serving there and they are doing really well. I told them that they needed to testify more and be quicker to let people know why they are there and I think it will really help them to grow the branch. They hold their meetings in a little town house place with no air conditioning and it is right across the street from a construction site. They have to leave the door open for air and it is so loud from all the noise. I suggested that they talk to someone to move the meeting house so that the spirit can be felt. They are going to do that."

"We also had a wedding in Chiang Mai. It was a cool experience. Last Sunday the bride came to me to ask if I had a suit that her fiance could borrow for the wedding. I said sure and let him use my new suit. She was so happy. She is a member who lives way up in the mountain and will come down every once in awhile when she can. The wedding was like a baptismal service. haha They had speakers and talked about the gospel of Christ. Then they kissed on the cheek. The groom was wearing my suit and everyone was complementing him about how handsome he looked all day. The next day was Sunday and the groom got up to bare his testimony. He said that he had been nervous about the future and had many questions about the gospel and tithing. When he came to church on his wedding day and saw all the saints helping with everything, free of charge, he said that it was a testimony to him of the truth of the gospel and tithing. He was then ready at that moment to be married. He then looked at me and said thank you to the handsome Elder with supplying me with some of his good looks. haha  It was funny because I was translating for him. Afterwards, he came to me and told me he was going to give me one of his traditional native shirt/vest, so I am really happy. I am also happy that I feel I may have somehow helped with his conversion. The wedding was way cool!"

"We also had a baptism. It was a mom and her son. They are so awesome. We met them on the street and they came in and loved the families in the ward and were baptized. The kid is 12 and getting ready to receive the priesthood. The mom has made some really good friends, so I think they will stay and grow in the gospel for sure. It was a great week!"

Elder Jacob Smith