Monday, June 6, 2016

Parental Guidance From a Kid's Perspective


What's up Family and Friends! I am still here in Roi Et, and I have a new companion! His name is Elder Ryan Young. Totally a stud - he is from Columbus, Ohio, and he is a total BOSS. He just came out of his greenie area, and we are loving working together. I have been so blessed with some amazing companions…and the trend continues. 


 Elder Young and Service

The Work:

This week was super hard. We had a lot of people cancel appointments, it rained a lot (and in Thailand that means you can’t go out of the house.. so again no appointments)... but that is OK because on Saturday and Sunday, we had STAKE CONFERENCE. Nine areas came together in Roi Et for the อุบนๅ stake conference, and so that meant all of the missionaries came to Roi Et as well! I got to see some people in my group that I hadn't seen in like 6 months... it was WAY fun.
Reunion
Also it was great to see all of the members from other areas who I have met before, and they were just so great to see... I love Thai people. They are just great hahahahaha.


President Tiger and I saving the world...sort of...
But yeah, other than that this week was hard. Sad to see Elder Smith go…he went down to Bangkok in an area called Bangkapi. He was really excited to go, but he will be missed. 

The Culture:

Here in Thailand for stake conferences people have to travel in big school buses to get to stake conference, coming from hours away... pretty cool to bike up to them and see a bunch of Mormons screaming, "Elders! Elders!" and waving hahahahaha. I am sure Utah missionaries get bored of that, but we were HYPED here in Roi Et, Thailand.


พ่อจันท์ as a young pup... to classic

The Funnies: 

1.      We visited a member this week who is handicapped because he can’t walk very well, and he had just gone to the doctor to get new pain medicine...and the medicine made him super loopy. So all he did was laugh at us the whole lesson. Hahahah when we asked what he was laughing at he was like - this medicine makes me feel really happy... and just kept laughing. It was funny. 
I found a hot dog!


2.      When Elder Young came up from Bangkok, we had to go pick him up at the bus station at 4 am...they didn't have a phone coming up, but there bus was set to come in around 4. So we got there at 4 am on our bikes in our PJs... and waited groggily. Then the TV suddenly turned on, and the World Tennis championships came on... WAIT WHAT??? 4 a.m. in Thailand? Tennis? They don't play tennis here in Thailand. I said a silent prayer thanking God for this tender mercy and watched Djokovic and Serena Williams play their matches for 2 hours until the elders finally arrived at 5:45 am hahahahaha. Thanks God! Tender mercy! 


3.      We were riding our bikes on the freeway road, and all of a sudden a cow pops out of the bushes and just walks into the middle of the road and stands there... blocking all cars and everything. Hahahahaahha it was hilarious. 


 COW: Crush of the Week

Spiritual thought:

Exodus 20:12 says, “Honour thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.”

OK so for you young adults out there (including myself)... let’s just take a look at this for a sec. Our parents gave us life, fed us and clothed us, got us out of the crib many long nights while we cried, were patient when we slept in their bed and peed on them, asked for food every 20 seconds, complained about school, and broke the rules...They have held our hands since we were babies; they sometimes have let us fall down just to show us that we can get back up; they teach and help us and are patient with us... and we still break the rules, are flippant, and don't listen to them? NOT IN GOD'S BOOK. High schoolers, middle schoolers - please listen to me when I say that your parents are not there to ruin your life. Your parents are not there (as much as you might think) to make sure you don't go to the prom. Heck guys - they have been to high school before... I guarantee you they have broken THEIR parents’ rules and seen the effects. God tells us plainly and simply to honor our father and our mother. Now... to do this YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO THEM. I am not saying to obey everything they say... that is impossible unless you are a perfect child. And if you think you are a perfect child, then you need to see a psychiatrist because something isn't right. I challenge you all to sit down with your parents (as much as you might hate it or think it is awkward)…and I want you say these words: "Mom and Dad/Parental Guardian... I know that you love me, and I am here because I know you know more than I do. But I was wondering how I can be a better daughter/son. I want to know how to have a better relationship with you as my parents. What do I need to do better?" 

Guys your parents will straight up pee their pants with excitement when they hear this... and they get to feel good for all the years you peed in their bed when you had "nightmares." It is like a payback for the parents. 

And parents - please don't start railing on your kids for doing all of the bad things... that will just make us angry. When I did this with my parents (I did it like once or twice maybe - I wish I did it more), I remember that they told me how much they loved me…and they were really good at telling me just one thing I could fix to have a better relationship with them.... As I tried to do that, I felt closer with my parents, especially with my mom. Honestly we high schoolers don’t get the picture (honestly I still don't)... but have a one-on-one council with your kid. And as you compromise together - I promise your relationship with your child will be better and be healthier. (These same principles also apply for our heavenly parents, just FYI.) 

It might work for you, it might not... but I would sure hope that all you guys will give it a go. No matter how much the school prom matters to you ;) 

Love you all and GOOD LUCK! 

--

Love the Lord and Laugh, 

เอ็ลเดอร์ สมีธ-ดริกส์

Elder Smith-Driggs  

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