"I Ate Some Unidentified Meat" & "Our WML Used To Be A Buddhist Monk"

"Christmas dinner!"

Dear Family,

This week has been so insane. Tuesday temple trip! Wednesday zone conference! Friday Devotional with Elder and Sister Craig C. Christensen (he spoke at the First Presidency's Christmas devotional). After that, we split up in groups and went caroling to nursing homes and then had a big dinner at the mission office. Saturday, The Thai ward party! I learned how to eat with sticky rice (its pretty much just Asian version of the African stuff Jacob Johnson made), we read the nativity up on stage, I ate some unidentified meat, but I did not go for the cooked baby birds, so I was playing it safe. There was a ton of food and there was literally a pan full of these birds that I don’t even think were plucked that were cooked with bay leaves. Elder Frogley and I ate a pinch each of dried Thai chilies; they were Kinda hot. Lol. And, of course Sundays are always crazy.

Another cool thing real quick is that our WML (ward mission leader) used to be a Buddhist Monk and he is a huge contact for people coming here from Thailand.

To answer some of your questions, we don't know our exact address but we live with some members; maybe I can get an approximate one.  Yes, we have a car! It’s a Chevy Cruze. I have been blessed with a car almost my entire mission. You have to be super efficient and diligent with a car because you can easily find your self just driving from place to place - D&C 61:3.  And yes, we have a washer and dryer! We live in a basement apartment and the members let us use theirs; it’s pretty nice. 

I think I will only be here for a short time - we will see though. Sometimes people stay longer than normal, but generally, it’s like a normal area. Hopefully by the end of this transfer I will be able to bear my testimony, pray, and read in Thai, but for the most part we use translators. It’s all about working with members. That really is the best way to have success. If two American Elders show up on a Lao or Thai person's door, they probably won’t get very far at all. Our ward mission leader showed up with a new investigator this week and that’s how it goes mostly. We are trying to find people who are free to come with us when we are working in the Thai and Lao area. We have a referral in West Valley and one in Kaseville right now so we will contact them with ward members. From what I have seen and heard many times, the people found are super prepared. Like have dreams of the Book of Mormon before even hearing about the church. We have a baptism or maybe 2 this weekend in the Thai ward. There is a lady in the ward that is super old and has been taught by missionaries forever, been to church quite a bit, and has received all the lessons. She just finished a rehabilitation program to quit smoking and said she is ready to get baptized, "I am ready to come and stay. Never go back." That is really what it is like when we become disciples of Jesus Christ. We are going to go see her today and go over the baptismal interview questions and she may be ready to be baptized this week with Jonathan.

I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for his unyielding blessings that come as we have faith and are obedient. I have learned on my mission that sometimes faith means do all you can to make it happen, even when everyone and everything is telling you you can’t.  As we work and pour our whole soul into all the things we can control, our Heavenly Father works wonders with all the things we can't control.  I know through exercising our faith, we can as it says in Jacob 4:6, obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea.

Preston and Becca I love you! Sorry for not replying personally! The rope swing looked sick! Elder Frogley and I were wondering if you could send the Christmas shirt! That is so sweet!

Love,

Elder Moe

"Lol...Sister McKendrick and Elder Bailey.  We all came out together.  This was for her transfer journal because we haven't served around each other a lot and don't have pictures together."