525,600

The other day one of my friends, who is the girlfriend of my second trainee posted on her Facebook
"525,600 minutes". Then I realized it was his one year mark as a missionary. It's pretty insane how fast time passes. I can remember the day that I got to country in Thailand and I can remember the day that I got him. And I remember the day that I finished my mission.  It all seems just like yesterday. And so this week, I have been thinking about what has happened in a years time.

I remember where I was around this time last year. In August of last year, my first trainee has left me and I got a new companion. I remember one of our first days together, we walked down the street , sat down and ate some waterfall pork and some papaya salad. Hot. Tired. But pretending to be enthusiastic about constant rejection. It was around this time last year that Elder Perich's trainee didn't get in the taxi with him. Thailand. Thonburi. Rejection.

The year before that, I was in Bangkapi. With my Dad. And we had no investigators. We worked hard, but it never seemed like we really had investigators. I remember one day where we stopped to cut the lawn with some Isaan workers outside a gas station.

The year before that, I was at the Y, learning how to be a freshman and meeting people that were either insane or cool.

Time flies eh?

These are the moments that make all of those difficult days in Thailand worth it. I will translate later, but if you can, plug it into a translator and see what you can make of it. This is from Brother Aa one of my recent converts in Roi Et. I love this man so much!

เมื่อวันเสาร์-อาทิตย์ที่ผ่านมา ผมไปร่วมประชุมใหญ่ท้องถิ่นที่จ.ขอนแก่น ผมได้รับเรียกให้รับใช้เป็นผู้ให้คำแนะนำประวัติครอบครับจังหวัดร้อยเอ็ดคู่กับ บ. เจริญ และได้เข้าอบรมในวันเสาร์ วันอาทิตย์ ผมได้รับการเลื่อนขั้นเป็นฐานะปุโรหิตแห่งเมลคิเซเด็ค พร้อมกับ บ.เจริญ และ บ.ช้าง ผมดีใจมากและได้ให้พรแก่ภรรยาเป็นคนแรก

Both Sides New

Failed Saints

I went to the temple a little while back. The temple is a magical place. I feel that within those walls we covenant to a higher level of discipleship.

Is this higher level of discipleship easy? No. Like many things in life, these covenants are not particularly easy or convienant. I remember one time on my mission, I was teaching a young man in the small Isaan town of Yasothorn. I was on exchanges with a young, jittery but good Elder. He was talking to this investigator, a nice but highly unreliable fellow, about how he had been unable to meet with them lately. His tongue tied, he told us about how his work was extremely demanding.

I turned to him and asked "Do you think there will be a time where keeping the commandments will be convenient?"

He stumbled on his answer.

"Well after this week it should be better. I should be able to keep the commandments after that."

But that's not the way the world works is it? Keeping the commandments isn't something easy or convenient. It won't be next week or even next year. We have a conscious decision to make. Mormonism isn't about punishment. It's about the development of a Saint. Granted, we all are failing sainthood. I am not a perfect Saint. We all have sin. We all have weaknesses. But the joy of Mormonism is that weaknesses aren't sins- weaknesses are morally neutral. It is what we decide to do with these weaknesses that will lead us to Sainthood.

Rambling. Again.

Life is just that way

I love this song. This is an ode to a friend who has a struggle I never knew he had.

Sunstone Proof

This is proof that I attended Sunstone. Angel Moroni. Made from BALLOONS.

Why I love Mormonism

Today while I was sitting in on a session of the Sunstone Symposium. Upon returning home, I was in awe at the religious devotion of the presenters at the Symposium. I met the doubters, the faithful, the active, the inactive and everyone on the Mormon spectrum. But somehow, we all feel connected to this religion. And what brings about this intense connection?

As I began to write this post, I thought of the past two years on my mission in Thailand. I thought of those hot days where I walked around in the sun hearing the same response from Thai people everyday. Every religion teaches us to be good. I thought of Thonburi. And I remember how I went out with my naive greenie to convert the world. Not because I am naive myself or because I felt that the world needed saving by me. But I feel that Mormonism brings a great deal of goodness to the table. I know that there are principles which are true.

I have friends that hate the word know. They think it sounds too concrete. And maybe to some it does. Anyway. That's a topic for a different day.

Then I thought of the days I taught Elephant, a stubborn investigator. The days I taught Number One, a young man full of potential. The days I taught Promise and Full of Merit. If one speaks of knowing, I know that these people were changed by the Gospel. I saw as Elephant became less stubborn, Number One was full of love, and Promise and Full of Merit repaired their broken marriage.

And then I flashed back to Gethsemane. BYU. My friend suffering in agony, admitted to the hospital. I thought of how Mormonism, while frustrating at times to this dear friend, loved her too. Loves her too. Then I remember getting a letter from her on my mission as she struggled with the temple. And my heart ached to help her. That's Mormonism in action.

And then I thought of my own personal pains. But in the end, the beauty of Mormonism lies in the fact that it is a great journey. A journey so beautiful that I cannot begin to describe it. Sunstone taught me that we are all in various phases of that journey. I love the Gospel.