Sorry about last week, I basically only had time to e-mail my mission president..... He kinda called our district leader and was like, "Is everyone alive in Nong Khai? No-one e-mailed me,"
Needless to say, he was my first priority. But now I have oodles of time to spend telling you how wonderful Nong Khai is. I love, love, love it.
It's a very small branch, but there are like 200-ish members on record......... But the good thing is, most of the members know where the less active families live! So, we will be working a lot with the less actives trying to help them come back to church. I think I told you already that inviting is hard, because there are not that many people in Nong Khai. Before, in Asoke, we would walk to the church and ask hundreds of people at once if they wanted to be clean from sin or go to church, and those who wanted to would stop. Here, you have to go up to people, ask them if they want to go to church, then go find another person. There are just not as many people here, but we're working on it.
This week was kinda hard because our investigator called us the day of his interview, and told us he doesn't really want to be a member of the church. He just wants to be baptized and not have to do anything else but come to church. We have a sneaky suspicion he's worried about tithing. Also, it was hard because Sister Downs was sick, then I was sick, then she was sick. We were not terribly happy campers. (It was only a stomach bug.)
But we did have a new investigator at church! That was good. But he's only 17, so either we'll have to get permission for him to get baptized before he turns 18, or we'll have to wait.
Oh well, he seems really solid.
The mountain that we went to last week was really pretty, but I would not at any time suggest Mom go hike it. Part of the hike, you walk around the mountain on these wooden boards that someone put there. There's a hand railing, but all in all, not the safest thing I've done on my mission. I'll send pictures: you'll see. We also hiked to a waterfall. I actually got one picture of that. It was waaay slippery on the trip there - people kept falling. I fell once... and maybe ripped my pants, but it's okay! (because it wasn't terribly noticeable..... that's what I told myself.)
Oh, did someone say they wanted more pictures? Well, now I'm in an area worthy of pics, here you go:
-Me at a Buddhist statue garden
-At the mountain
-The waterfall
Yes, I look like Gigantor next to my companion. I know.
Loves!
Sister Barber
Oh!
Culture lesson: Toothpaste with salt base is popular.... and disgusting.
Spiritual fact: God loves you, and me, and actually listens to prayers.
Needless to say, he was my first priority. But now I have oodles of time to spend telling you how wonderful Nong Khai is. I love, love, love it.
It's a very small branch, but there are like 200-ish members on record......... But the good thing is, most of the members know where the less active families live! So, we will be working a lot with the less actives trying to help them come back to church. I think I told you already that inviting is hard, because there are not that many people in Nong Khai. Before, in Asoke, we would walk to the church and ask hundreds of people at once if they wanted to be clean from sin or go to church, and those who wanted to would stop. Here, you have to go up to people, ask them if they want to go to church, then go find another person. There are just not as many people here, but we're working on it.
This week was kinda hard because our investigator called us the day of his interview, and told us he doesn't really want to be a member of the church. He just wants to be baptized and not have to do anything else but come to church. We have a sneaky suspicion he's worried about tithing. Also, it was hard because Sister Downs was sick, then I was sick, then she was sick. We were not terribly happy campers. (It was only a stomach bug.)
But we did have a new investigator at church! That was good. But he's only 17, so either we'll have to get permission for him to get baptized before he turns 18, or we'll have to wait.
Oh well, he seems really solid.
The mountain that we went to last week was really pretty, but I would not at any time suggest Mom go hike it. Part of the hike, you walk around the mountain on these wooden boards that someone put there. There's a hand railing, but all in all, not the safest thing I've done on my mission. I'll send pictures: you'll see. We also hiked to a waterfall. I actually got one picture of that. It was waaay slippery on the trip there - people kept falling. I fell once... and maybe ripped my pants, but it's okay! (because it wasn't terribly noticeable..... that's what I told myself.)
Oh, did someone say they wanted more pictures? Well, now I'm in an area worthy of pics, here you go:
-Me at a Buddhist statue garden
-At the mountain
-The waterfall
Yes, I look like Gigantor next to my companion. I know.
Loves!
Sister Barber
Oh!
Culture lesson: Toothpaste with salt base is popular.... and disgusting.
Spiritual fact: God loves you, and me, and actually listens to prayers.