D&C 50:40-42-F​ear not, little children for you are mine

Hello again family!
Sounds like you all had a really fun, crazy week! I so love hearing all about eveyone's soccer adventures. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALYSSA!!! Everyone is growing up so fast! Jared is gonna be 18 soon! Nuts! I am going to be 22 in two months! AAGGHH!!! How did that happen? I still feel like a 15 year old teenager most of the time! I am so sorry that Dad has to be gone so much! That is so hard. I'm so glad you look for the silver lining, though, even when it is so hard. In Ether 12:4 it talks about hope in Christ being an anchor to our souls, and how we can hope for a better world. My companion always describes that as a better world after this life, but I like to think that when we have hope and faith in Christ we can hope that this world, this life will get better. We will recieve strength in our trials, and eventually move past them, and come out better, happier people for them with an even greater hope and faith in Christ and in God's love and His plan for us. That doesn't make the trials go away though. I wish it did sometimes. It was so great getting to talk to Dad last week, though! I missed getting to talk to you, Mama, but I am so grateful I got to talk to him. Oh, and I can't wait to get to bring you back here to Thailand and show you around! That will be so much fun! OOhh! I am so excited for the girls to get to go on trek. Both years I went were so amazing! It really is such a great experience! That is way cool that they are letting Kayla go too. Malary Trautman wrote me about it also. It is a stake trek, right? Awesome. She is way excited to get to go too.
So this week two of the older couple missionary office Elders came to visit us in Khorat because we are trying to move houses and they had to approve it and sign forms and what not. One of them is a thai Elder and he is SOOO funny. He told us the same joke like 5 times! In Thailand the year right now is 2555, not 2012. So he told us that this year is the year of song and laughter, because the words in thai for 2 and 5 are song and ha, so the year is song ha ha ha! Too funny! He thinks he is pretty clever, kinda like some other boys I know in our family! This week was way stressful. It was my 2nd to last week of training, so I had to lead all of the lessons and lead planning. It was way stressful, and I spent a lot of time crying, but I learned that I can do it! Which is good because in less than two weeks we have transfer meeting and Sister Lish will be going home and I won't be moving, so I will have to lead the area for a little while. So this week will be spent getting Sis Lish packed, visiting all the people she wants to say goodbye to and getting me ready to lead. Crazy!
Well I love you all tons! I don't have any crazy stories this week, sorry! More next week I am sure! Have an awesome week!
Love, Jess

February 5, 2012

Hello! I read this scripture this morning and it made me laugh! When things get hard, and when you are being attacked(by Satan) just do as the Nephites do and fight like a dragon! Speaking of...I forgot to tell you all...Happy New Year! A couple weeks ago it was Chinese New Year (huge in Thailand), and it is now the year of the dragon! Way cool! As for holidays, how was Groundhog day? Is spring coming early or late this year? I can't believe Jared is going to be 18 either! That is nuts! All the kids need to just quit growing up! I am not ok with it! Hahaha, as Dad would say, I'm just going to cut them all off at the knees! HAha! Wow, Alyssa's job sounds like tons of fun, and that is way awesome that you all get to go eat for free there! Way cool! Hey, I forgot to tell you, I thik it is way awesome that the prison will pay for you to get your RN! And it is awesome that you are willing to stick out this crazy job and crazy hours and still work toward getting your RN. That is way awesome! So, I found out that the Thursday before my birthday is transfer meeting.
That is way awesome that Michelle is so willing to help out! She is way awesome! Say Hi to "Aunt Shell" for me!
Sorry, I'm pretty sure I keep you working as much as or more than your four jobs! I did get the e-mail from Jeana! She is SO awesome! Love that girl, and I am glad she is doing so well!
Thailand is good. I am really starting to love it and love these people! We definately find a new adventure every day! Saturday we met this lady who makes some kind of herbal plant drink that can cure every ailment under the sun! She gave us one for free so we could try it. It was DISGUSTING!!!! Hahaha! So we just tried to sip on it a little at a time, and not puke it back up! Then later that day we met this cute little guy who runs a coffee shop, who talks a mile a minute and doesn't take a breathe and was telling us all about how he wants to travel the world someday, but He isn't sure he wants to see snow, etc. etc etc.......for like an hour straight! SO cute!
K, well I love you all! Have a wonderful week! And fight like a dragon, k?
Jess

Email from Jan. 29, 2012 - Sorry I have been so bad. The new job, I guess. I will be better!!

Hello family!
Thank you for the e-mail! It always makes my week to hear from you! Mama, it was SO great to get to chat with you last week! I miss just getting to sit adn talk to you, but it was awesome to get close to that! Are you so excited to start indoor soccer? That sounds like so much fun! It will be an awesome way for you and Jared to get some time together too! I am so proud of all of the kids for working so hard to get their grades up! It is SO worth it to put in the work and get good grades in school. I wish I would have worked harder. Please tell Kristin I am so sorry for her loss. That is so hard! put up some pictures of Christ by my bed like you suggested and it is really nice to go to bed and wake up to those. It helps me to remember that I am out here doing the work of the Lord and that He is always with me. If you can, I would love some print pictures of the family, and of the mountains! Hahaha, I never thought I would miss the view of mountains! It is funny the things you find you miss when you don't have them anymore. But it will make me more grateful for them when I come home! I am so excited for Cory and Tammy! Have they decided for sure what they want to name her yet? That is way awesome that Alyssa was able to get a job as a waitress! I think she will love it! IT is so fun! And I am SO glad Josh is still planning and working towards a mission. It will be so worth it for him! I think everyone should go on a mission if they are able! It is definately SO hard, but it has been so worth it for me to learn about myself, to come to know my Savior more personally, and to see the miracle of the gospel in people's lives and understand what an incredible blessing it is. I am sad that I have taken that blessing for granted for so long, but I am grateful for the chance now to show my gratitude. That poor man at the prison! What a crazy story! Mama, please be way careful working there. I know you will be, but still...scary!
This last Monday, Sister Lish and I got to go to the zoo here in Khorat. I have never seen such a huge zoo ever! We had to ride a golfcart around it to be able to see even half of it in two hours! SO cool though! Being there made me so grateful for Pappo and his love of nature and that he instilled that in me too! Other than that this week was spent looking for nbew investigators, which was really hard, cuz it rained...A LOT! And it isn't even rainy season yet! I have seriously never in my life seen rain like this. We were literally soaked within seconds. It is nuts! And people all think we are crazy when we are out trying to invite in the rain, which isn't super successful. But we got one really good referal. This guy is super nice and seems really interested! And he likes soccer! So it was cool for me to get to talk soccer with him for a minute. It really made him open up to us, and I actually felt kinda useful! It was so great! This week I have really been trying to work on being positive and looking for the good things in every day. I never thought that that would be hard for me. It never really was before. I have always been a pretty positive person, but it is hard for me right now. But I also know that that is Satan trying to get to me, and that if I just keep looking for the good, that is what I will find, and God will bless me for it. I have been reading the Liahona a lot lately, and found a really neat poem that Pres. Monson quoted that I LOVE!!!
"And I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year:
Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown.
And He replied:
Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the
Hand of God. That shall be to you
Better than a light and
Safer than a known way"
-M. Louise Haskins
I know that when we let God lead our lives, He will never lead us astray. And though sometimes it will still be dark, and we may not understand where He is leading us, we know that we can trust HIm, because He loves us and wants nothing more that for us to find true, eternal happiness. Even when that means we have to fight some hard battles in this life to get there.
I love you all and hope that you have a wonderful week! Miss ya tons!

Did I really not post the most recent.......shame on me. Email from Jan. 22, 2012

Hello everyone!
Mama, thank you so much for that e-mail! You always have the best advice and I feel so much better today after reading it. You just always seem to know what I need to hear. So thank you thank you thank you!!! Wow, it sounds like Dad had a really scary experience, but I am SO grateful that He is ok. I am so sorry that you have to be away from each other so much. I can only imagine how hard that is on both of you. And working four jobs? Mom! that's crazy! Are you doing ok? Are you sleeping and staying healthy? That is really nice that they are able to switch your schedule at the prison! It will be awsome for you to be able to be home (hopefully?) in the evenings! Are you really going to play soccer and basketball? Way to go! That is so awesome! But are your knees going to be ok? Please tell Dad that I miss him and love him when you talk to him next, and that I know that he is crazy busy right now, but I would love to hear from him if he gets time! Mama, i am so grateful you write me every week! I feel like I am clingy-er (is that a word?) on the other side of the world than I was at home!! Hahaha! But you don't realize how good you have it til its gone. SO I just want to say I am so sorry that I took all that you did for me for granted at home. Being so far away and only getting to e-mail once a week makes me realize how grateful I am for a mom who loves me and does so much for me, and makes me grateful for and miss just being able to sit adn talk to you while you made dinner, or call you on the phone whenever I needed to. but I am SO grateful for e-mail! I thank I would go crazy if I had to wait for letters to get all the way to Thailand!



Wow, this week was hard. But I learned so much from it by the end of the week. So we went to Bangkok at the beginning of the week for Sister Lish to renew her Visa, and I got to see Sister Farnsworth!!! IT was so great to see her! I felt like I was seeing my sister again! But, I also found out that my noongs, the group in the MTC just younger than me, two of them didn't come this week like they were supposed to. One of them went home and one of them had some kidney problems and isn't coming til next week. I am glad the one is coming but it breaks my heart that the other isn't. Anyway, this week most of oujr investigators tinged us (decided not to meet with us anymore), and NONE of them came to church. Even the ones who have baptismal dates. And there has been someone at the church stealing money out of peoples wallets, and yeah, mine was one of those. Luckily, I only had 40 baht of personal money on me (about a dollar), but there was over 600 baht of MSF mission money stolen. I felt SO bad. I shouldn't have left my bag sitting there. None, of my cards or camera or anything else was stolen though, just the money. And the Branch President wanted to take my wallet and have it finger printed and then fingerprint all of the members and investigators at the church to find out who it was (luckily, he gave up on that one). So Sunday morning I felt so overwhelmed, and went into the bathroom to pray away from eveyone, and was adking God what I am doing wrong, what I need to fix to be a better missionary and to not lose investigators. And I just started thinking about how all week I had only looked at the bad. I hadn't stopped to look at all of the ways God had blessed me that week. I also just thought that I need to be trusting in the Lord. In His timing and in His plan. SO those are my goals of things to work on for this week! Oh, and we had transfers so we got a new district leader. His name is Elder Black and he seems awesome! It will be fun to see what he can help us accomplish in Khorat!
Well, I love you all tons adn miss you as always! Hey, by the way, could you please send me some family pictures? I don't have pics of everyone. That would be way awesome! Have a great week!
Jess
P.S. I heard David Archuleta announced he is going on a mission! Is that true?

Internet Was Down.... So this is her email from January 8th

Hello all!!
I just want to say how grateful I am that you continue to e-mail me every week. It truly gives me the strength to get through the week, knowing that you all are supporting me and that the Lord is looking out for you! Mama, I got your packages!!!!! Thank you SO much!!! Not gonna lie, I cried, hahaha! Mom, I have never cried so much in all my life, it is RIDICULOUS!!! Hahahahaha! But I am just so grateful to you. It means so much that you were willing to send me packages to the MTC and to Thailand even though its expensive, and that you were willing to take the time to think of things that I would miss from America. I didn't even realized I missed some of that stuff until I got it. And the Saltines, how funny that I told you I missed those last week, and you had already sent them to me. You know me too well! Anyway, thank you so much for the packages, and for being such a wonderful mom!
Thank you for sharing that experience about tithing with me. I am so grateful that you are both such incredible examples to me and to all the other kids, and that the Lord is always so willing to bless us when we have faith! Oh and Happy Anniversary!!! Seven years? Cing Laa?!? (Really?) That is so crazy! Time flies, and yet at the same time, you have just been my Mama forever! It is hard to even remember a time before I felt that way. So crazy!
I can't believe Luke's closed down!! That makes me so sad! I was really hoping to go back and work there when I get home. Darn it! And I feel really bad for all of the people that that puts out of work, especially people like Melissa who are trying to raise kids as a single mom and finish school!
K, so last week after I e-mailed we went with the Elders and tried to get on a bus. We got to the bus station at 7 and couldn't get on a bus til 10:30, so we made it to Roi-Et at about 3am. We got up at 6:30, sister Lish went to the training meeting while I hung out with the Roi-Et sisters (SO great) then we went and got back on a bus. The bus ride is only supposed to be about 4 hours...8 and a half hours later, we finally made it back to Khorat. On the way home, we got about 15 minutes outside of this place called Maha Sarakham, and the bus (which was literally crammed with people like sardines, chairs in the middle of the aisle craziness) broke down...in the middle of nowhere, rice paddy, farmland Thailand! HAHAHA! Yeah...so we piled off the bus, and waited for 45 minutes for another bus to come get us. Got crammed like sardines on that bus and I fell asleep only to wake up to Sister Lish telling me that because of traffic, we had turned of off the highway, and she was pretty sure that we were going to bypass Khorat and head straight to Bangkok...SERIOUSLY???? I don't think I have prayed that long consistantly in a long time! Hahaha! But we did end up making it back to Khorat about 11pm. And it made for a great adventure and a great story!
So I have been praying really hard this week for a greater knowledge of my purpose here as a missionary. And the past two days have been an incredible witness to me that I am exactly where God needs me, at the exact time He needs me, doing exactly what He needs me to do. That doesn't mean that it won't be hard, cuz this is still the hardest thing I have ever done, but I sat in a lesson with one of our little 16 year old punk kid invesstigators yesterday, and saw so much hurt in this kid. He has had a really rough life and made some really bad decisions and you can tell that it kills him. He hurts so deeply, but I can see his overwhelming desire to learn about Christ and the gospel. He has such a hunger for the truth. He literally came to us asking to be baptised, which is not going to be easy. He has a lot of things to overcome before He can be baptised, but to watch the power of the Atonement begin to work in this kid is the greatest miracle I have ever seen in my life. TO watch that hurt and know that through Christ he can be healed of that is so incredible. And I am priviledged not only to witness that, but to be the one helping him to learn these things that are quite literally changing his life. I am SO grateful for that opportunity and what a testimony builder that is to me!
Anyway, I have so much to say, but so little time!!!
I love you all SO much! And I am way excited to get letters from you! Thanks for writing them!!
Love ya! Jess

Kids Day in Thailand (Email from January 16th)

Hello everyone!
K, I keep having all of these things I want to say and ask, but I never remember to say them, so hopefully I will remember them all this time.
So, you asked me a couple times about the toilet paper in our bathroom. When we shower it doesn't get wet, cuz it is back far enough, but it definately gets a little damp! How is indoor soccer going? Are you playing? How did everything work out with the job at the prison? Were you able to get the hours you wanted? Not gonna lie, you working at a prison makes me really nervous. Thank you so much for sending that poem! I love it so much! And the history is so cool!
Everything here is same as usual. Our investigators are wonderful, except we have one that seems to have dropped of the face of the planet. She won't answer any of our calls and she is never at home or at work when we try to go see her. It is making me really sad. And she is so close to her baptismal date, but she isn't going to make it now. I just love all of these people so much, and it breaks my heart when they quit progressing, because I know what they are giving up! And I know she has felt the spirit really strong, because she came to us at church and told us how she knew she needed to get baptized and that that was what God wanted her to do. How can people give up when they have had that witness. It makes me SO mad at Satan. I just want to be like, "Leave my people alone!!!!! They are so close!" But, of course that isn't how it works, and I just need to trust in God and His timing. Those who are prepared will make it through. And we have some incredible people who truly are SO prepared! I am so grateful for them!
It is starting to get into hot season here now, and man it is muggy. YUCK!!! I have never felt humidity like this and it isn't even rainy season yet! How do people breathe? Hahaha! But I will get used to it, and come home and feel like I am baking in the dry heat! OH, and guess what? They have a wan dek here in Thailand. That means Kids Day! It was on Saturday and it was HUGE!!! The whole day is just about the kids! We went and did some service at a park the morning of and passed out some flyers for our English classes. It was so much fun, and they have a huge carnival going! Carnival rides, all kinds of games and food! So cool! I think I am going to have to tell the US president that we need a wan dek in the US too! Oh, and I ate somtam again, and decided the last one was just really bad, cuz I actually enjoyed this one! And it didn't make me or Sister Lish sick! Yay!!!
Ok, well I love you all tonz and hope you have a great week!
Love ya! Jess

Starting Off 2012 With A Renewed Strength

Hello! Sawaadii pii may! (Happy New Year!)
I have a lot to say today, but not much time, so sorry if this is a little scrambled!
Mom, I just wanted to say thank you SO much for being so willing to send me packages and for asking about what I can't get here and what the kids here like. I forgot to tell you last week how much that means to me. I really truly appreciate it. I think that the things I miss most from America are things like Jolly Ranchers, Skittles, Starbursts (They don't have a lot of American candies), and crackers...like good crackers. They have Ritz but I hate Ritz. I miss things like Triscuits and Saltines. As for the kids, they love stickers and candies. Suckers and hard candies. LOVE them! Its so cute. Sister Lish tells me that they also love things you can get for under a dollar at Deseret Book. Things like bookmarks, pictures of Christ, little rubber CTR bracelets, things like that.
I haven't gotten any of my packages yet...I should be getting them on the 19th at transfer meeting. One of the zone leaders told us that our district has tons of packages waiting at the mission office, but we have to wait for someone from our district to have a reason to go down to Bangkok before we can get them. I wish they would just send them to us so we didn't have to wait forever to get them, but I understand that that would get expensive. Will you please tell grandma thank you for me and e-mail me her address so I can send a Thank You/Postcard, please? Oh, also I was wondering if you could e-mail me a copy of the poem "Footprints in the Sand". I am not sure who it is written by, but I know that Kelsey has a copy of it. I have been thinking about that poem a lot lately, because for me every day seems insurmountable (spelling?) and impossible to get through, but when I look back at the end of the day I can see all of the tender mercies God has given me. I can see the way He has carried me through the day and given me the strength I need. These past few weeks have been a huge testimony builder for me. I have a much greater understanding of the Atonement. Knowing that my Savior knows and feels everything that I feel, and that He is the only one who knows how to strengthen and succor me is very humbling, and I am so grateful for that knowledge. I am so grateful that He is so patient, and willing to grant me greater strength and faith everyday. I was also studying the Plan of Salvation this week and thought of a really neat comparison. I was thinking how the plan is like my mission. I lived at home with my family where I was happy, but I knew that there was a way I could be more happy. So I came here across the world and left the physical presence of my family. Here I am having great, and sometimes very difficult experiences, that are helping me to learn and grow. But I know that after my time here is done, I will return home to my family and have greater knowledge, faith, and happiness than I did before. Just like with the plan. We were happy with God, but knew we could be happier. So we left God's presence to come here and have trying adn wonderful experiences. But just like you all are supporting me from afar, so God is supporting us. And we also have the knowledge that after our time here is finished, we will return home to live with our Heavenly Father and have greater knowledge, faith, and happiness than we did before. I just kinda thought that was a cool briap tiap. (comparison).
I am so glad you all had such a fun new year! Ours was pretty fun too. We went out inviting most of the day, and we always meet the CRAZIEST people that way (i.e. men with crossed eyes and a thumb growing out of his thumb). I was really brave that day too. I asked someone to be baptised off the invite. He really had to stop and think about that one! It was great. Unfortunately, he said no, but he did say he would start coming to our English classes on Sundays! We had to be home by 6 pm because Thai people love to party and get crazy drunk, so we came home, ordered a pizza, set off some fireworks with our neighbors, and watched The District, a missionary training documentary. Today is the 2nd and people are still drinking and partying and setting of fireworks! Crazy! We had a way fun P-day today, though! We had a sports day, cuz all of the kids were out of school here. We all played soccer. It was SO fun. Sister Lish didn't play though, so it was just me, the Elders and a bunch of teenage boys. And all of the boys would not get anywhere near me when I had the ball, cuz they dare not touch a farang Sister missionary! It was so funny and so great. I felt bad, though, cuz I wasn't quite as riab rooy (proper?). I was kinda plowing boys over to get to the ball. Sister Lish had to remind me that I was a Sister missionary and needed to be more proper. Ooops! I was getting a little into the game! : ) Now we are e-mailing, then we are going to go get on a bus for 6 hours to Roi-Et, cuz Sister Lish has a training meeting. So I get to hang out with the Roi-Et sisters tomorrow and I am way excited!
I did set New Year's Goals yesterday! I have specific goals to read the Book of Mormon 5 times through in English and 2 times through in Thai. Then I have general goals to serve the Lord with all my heart, might, mind, and strength this year, and to have a blast doing it!!! Those are just a few that I have set.
K, well, I love you all! I promise I will send pictures next time! Have a great week and a Happy New Year!! 2012 is going to be AWESOME!!!!!
Jess