Who Wants Taco Bell?

Please pay no attention to the title.  I just was feeling like some Taco Bell while writing this email. It seemed like an appropriate header ;) As Moroni explains in Ether 12:23-24, I am likewise very weak in writing. My purpose of this blog and this email list is to record the feelings of my heart...regardless of grammar. So please forgive my casualness :) 

Photo with BYU friends Sisters Liljenquist, Stone, (companion) and Sargent.

[Abraham says he doesn't have his arm around the sisters near him, "'Cause OBVIOUSLY THAT IS AGAINST THE WHITE HANDBOOK - but the picture is deceiving hahahaha."]

OOKKEYYY DOKEY - WEEK 7 MTC

A week ago Monday, we had the opportunity to Skype with members (sama chig) in Thailand! It was so fun to talk with them. Surprisingly, I could understand a little bit of what they were saying. It is a whole new ball game with natives (khon thais). It is one thing to listen to a white RM teaching your class (nothing against white people...it's just that they are white) and then to listen to a native is completely different - BUT SO AWESOME. I love the Thai people and am so excited to go to Thailand! 

Speaking of Thai people, the person who will be coming to meet with us this Thursday is the Consul General of Thailand. He is officially in charge of all foreign visas, so it is very important that we show him how much we love the Thai people and that we want to love his country. We have all these rules - especially not to offend him obviously if we ever want to go to Thailand hahahaha. I am sure everyting will go well because God is hastening His work now in Thailand.  He will not allow us to fail. But prayers would still be appreciated around 2 o'clock on Thursday, August 6th hahahahaa.

Also - the new Thailand Bangkok Mission elders came in this week! They are so awesome! 13 elders - just so stoked to be here. They looked a little overwhelmed with the langauage and all that - but they will get the rhythm soon enough. It is fun to think that we might be companions with them in the near future! 

Another S/O to Joel and Sue Nelson! I loved the wedding invitation in the mail. GOOOO EMILY! So bummed I can't be there. Gotta love those wedding invites in the mail - always a pleasure hahahaha.  Hopefully that invite won't be the last.  So...I definitely expect an invite from all of you brothers and sisters not serving if you get married - even if I can't attend ;) 

Another S/O to everyone who came in this week! I am pretty sure I was so excited to see Sister Adrianna Pouwer that I almost gave her a hug...Then I would have gotten sent home, so that would have been bad hahahaha. WELCOME TO THE MTC EVERYONE! 

Some Funnies: 

1. Got dissed by a Khon Thai (Elder Sangplae from Bangkok) going to Australia.  He called me a white boy, and I totally understood that he dissed me. I was really excited hahhaahaha. I love trying to speak Thai. I am so bad at it that it's awesome! Elder Sangplae helps me with my atrocious Thai hahahaha.  The "diss" that Elder Sangplae said wasn't exactly a diss. He just told me I was saying it wrong and then said I was white. In Thailand, they are very blunt. For instance...if one child does not learn as fast as other children in the home, they may say, "NongJo is not as smart as the others".... while he is in the room right there. They do not take offense - it is just a matter of fact thing. So when he said I was "white," I take it as a diss...but he just says it as a fact. Which it is hahahahahaha.  The Thai people are really caring and sweet.

2. Elder Allen and Elder Smith totally went off the other night on Star Wars trivia. Totally geeked out - it was so awesome. Did you know that there is a whole wikipedia database for Star Wars? it is called Wookiepedia! Awesome. The argument was about whether Qui-Gon Jinn was a sith lord the whole time.... Who knew there were conspiriacy theories about Star Wars? It was so hilarious - these elders knew their Star Wars.

3. Elder Smith (new Elder Smith, he arrived with the nong thais (new thais)). He was so excited to get ice cream on Sunday that he jumped and split his pants hahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahaha. Oh it was soooooo epic hahahahaha. It's the little things at the MTC that get you excited, right? Nothing like fast sunday ice cream bar for Elder Smith.

AANNNDDDD DRUMMROOLLL PLEASE......... SISTER MON GOT HER VISA! She headed off to Thailand last Wednesday all by herself - what a champion! I can't wait to see her in the field. She is the best! 

Next, I would like to thank all of my amazing teachers. We are truly blessed with the best. They work so hard to see us succeed, and I really appreciate their hard work. Brother Chamberlain stopped working this last week at the MTC, and Brother Thrap will be leaving us after we go to Thailand. All of our teachers - Sister Painter, Brother Yuen, Brother Saunders, Brother Hunsaker...They are so fun and so loving. WE LOVE YOU! Hopefully you get the picture of our teacher who got the kilt. It was our going away gift. The kilt that I wore for soccer has now been passed down to the one and only Brother Chamberlain...I really hope the picture comes through of Brother Chamberlain and Sister Painter.  It is awesome! 

Br. Chamberlain rocking the kilt! (Thanks Sister Painter!)

Lastly, my prayers are with the Patch family during this hard time. [Abraham's BYU bishop and his wife.] I have the marvelous opportunity here at the MTC to see Sister Patch (marvelous actress that she is) perform in many different roles of Church-made movies and Mormon messages. May God bless her as she recovers from her very difficult surgery. Bishop Patch - I love you and am thinking about you always. My prayers are with you and your family. Stay strong my friend - God loves you all sooooo much. The entire 51st Ward here at the MTC is praying for you and Tayva fervently. God bless you. 

GOD BLESS YOU ALL MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS. I sincerely hope that my emails give someone a smile and help someone's day out. Always remember that the Lord is on your side. And that each one of us has amazing talents and abilities given to us by our Heavenly Father through the Holy Ghost. My prayer is that we can develop those talents to help others come unto Christ. May we always be mindful of those around us. After all, tuk khon pen luug khong Phrabidaa Bon Sawan (Everyone is a child of Heavenly Father).

Phom rag puag khun (I love you all).

-- 

Love always,

Elder Smith-Driggs  

                                        Photo with BYU friend Elder Nick Grundell (sp?)

This Ain't No EFY!

Hosting Paul Thomas (Skyline friend) last week!

Not that I have anything against EFY at all. I loved EFY! I think I went like 4 years hahaha. But it is not very similar to the mission at all. Yes - you do feel the Holy Ghost a lot because you have magnificent speakers and lessons and role plays... but we don't have any dances or escorting... I miss that!

                                      With Elder Bradley King - friend from BYU.

Missionaries are set apart as representatives of Jesus Christ. That is something I have been thinking a lot about this last week.  How can I truly be a better representative of Jesus Christ? Well, first of all I need to change so many things about myself - the way I talk to people, how I act, how I dress. 

Elder Bednar puts it this way: "The Lord has prepared the people of your mission, so have an attitude that reflects that." I try to do that here at the MTC, but it is hard. I need to come to terms with coming down to earth to not do my own will, but the will of my Father. This is not to say I am anything at all like close to the Savior - I just use His words to illustrate my job as a missionary and as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is my duty to bring others unto Christ. 

This says, "Elder Smith-Driggs" in Thai.

Next - IF YOU ARE COMING INTO THE MTC LISTEN UP: 

I can barely remember my first day here at the MTC!  It seems like so long ago. All I can remember is people telling me what to do, but I couldn't understand a word they were saying. It was terrifying. 

Now that I look back on it, it was really hilairious.  But those first couple of days can be really stressful. I keep telling the new missionaries I host: "The MTC can either be a place of learning, laughing, and spiritual growth.... or it can be an experience that destroys your self-esteem, makes you depressed, and eventually settles fear into your heart as you enter the mission field. YOU have to decide the first day of your mission experience what you want the MTC to do for you. I chose the first option. I have seen people that indirectly chose the latter - and they go home. The mission is not for the light-hearted. But that does not mean you need to fear. Fear is of the devil. Courage is of God."

New missionaries, please read Moroni 10:32 with this thought in mind: Do I trust the Lord enough to understand that my mission is an opportunity for personal growth? When I am discouraged...will I "deny the power of my God?" NO - as representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is our duty and our privilege to love God, to love the MTC, to love our missions, to love PMG, and to love our investigators.  Anything that lets you fulfill your purpose is of God. Then, and only then, can we be sanctified and set apart as true missionaries for Jesus Christ. Good luck elders and sisters. Have faith - you can do it. For God is on our side... and the battle is already won. Do not give up hope.

Again... this ain't no EFY. (I only use "ain't" for the dramatic effect... just say it like a cowboy and you will feel really cool, and you will understand my reasons. Trust me ;) 

Alright, now for some funnies: 

Two new elders moved into our room on Wednesday. They are going to Tawian. The second night, Elder Van De Merge looks at me and says, "Elder Smith-Driggs, you know you scream Thai in your sleep, right?" I was like, "Yup. I even have nightmares in Thai." What a marvelous experience. In my dream I was in Thailand, and no one could understand me. It was sudyod(awesome)!

Elder Walker this week was trying to tell our teacher that his brain had exploded: "samong la buud"... but instead he said "samong sxxlaamog"... which literally transaltes to "head full of pornography" hahahahaha.  We had just learned the law of chastity vocab. Classic Elder Walker.

Sister Smyth ran at full speed into a pole while playing frisbee and got a concussion. Good ol' Maryn Smyth. Love her so much. I didn't see it, but she told me about it. Pretty sure it was her 3rd day. Keep her in your prayers... but just imagining the experience makes me laugh.  She said it was painful, but she would laugh at herself too.. no worries. 

On another note, we start Skyping members in Thailand tomorrow! I am soooooooo excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love and miss you all! Please keep me updated.  I haven't died...I just am on a mission people hahahahaha. Sorry there was not a lot this week - I will try to catch up with some more stuff next week. Trust in God! With Him anything is possible! 

--

Love always,

Elder Smith-Driggs  

______________________________________________________________________________

Letter plug from Mom:  Here are the DearElder instructions again from an earlier blog post.  Please send Abraham letters via DearElder!!!  It's sooo easy.  He loves reading them when they come hard copy because he doesn't have to race through them in his limited time on the computer.  

Thank you to those of you who have written!!! It keeps him happy at night to read your news.  He says he really likes hearing what people are doing.  You don't need to work hard to send him spiritual, deep thoughts - just tell him about your life.  He misses you!  It's so fun for him to hear about family and friends back home.  There are only three weeks left to use the free DearElder mail system.  After that it is snail mail or once a week emails to Thailand :(  Even though he gets emails in Thailand, like the MTC, he will rarely have time to respond online.  I think mission rules say he has to write to his mission president and home first, then friends if he has time.  I try to post all his news as fast as I can on Mondays so you can read it.  I do see you are reading it.  So many page views stats on Blogger!!!  Love you all.  Thanks for supporting Abraham.  He has such great family and friends:)

REPOST:

Instructions for DearElder.Com letters:

For those of who who do not know what DearElder.com is, I will explain.  Here is the link:  http://www.dearelder.com .  It is a free and easy way to send daily mail to missionaries at the MTC.  Whatever you send before noon (MST, M-F), gets printed out and delivered THAT DAY to Abraham.  

If you click on the link, you will see a link on the left hand side under "Send Stuff" that says, "Provo MTC (FREE)." When you click on that link,  a virtual envelope will appear.  You fill in your information on the "Return address" and Abraham's information in the main address.

His info is as follows:  

Title : Elder 

First name: Abraham

Last name: Smith-Driggs

Unit #: 55

Mission: Provo MTC (Thailand Bangkok)

Estimated MTC departure date: August 17

Then you enter your email address int he next box, and you will receive an electronic copy of what you send to Abraham.  You can leave the next box blank because Abraham doesn't read the DearElder letters online.  They clutter his email account.  

Next, you start typing the text of your email into the big box.  When you are done, you click the "Send Letter" button below.  It will ask you if you are sure, and you click OK.  You're done.  

The next screen that comes up asks if you want to donate, but you don't need to do that or click anything else.  You've already sent your letter.  I already donated, so don't worry about it.  This FREE email printing service ONLY LASTS WHILE HE'S IN THE MTC.  After that, it's regular mail.

x

God . . . and the Chancellor of Thailand

My dear family and friends! 

Some pretty BIG news this week. Our teacher just casually told us that the Chancellor of Thailand along with a general authority of the Church will be coming to visit us on August 6th. "Have a good day Elders!"

......

WAIT WHAT?

We all freaked out a little bit, wouldn't you? Our teacher told us it is our opportunity, privilege, and responsibility to show what being a missionary is to the chancellor. His decision in letting more missionaries into the country (there is a cap of 200 I believe), or even understanding why missionaries are coming to his country in the first place is CRUCIAL in spreading the gospel in Thailand. My prayer is that we can represent the Savior the best we can as we show our love through testimony and the Spirit. I have no doubt the MTC and our chat with him will be filled with the power of God, as God is hastening His work in Thailand - we have no need to fear. With God... anything is possible.

With the chancellor and a general authority coming, we have started to learn some cultural lessons in Thai. One thing I am super bummed about is that I can never cross my legs in public/anywhere in Thailand. If you point your foot out at someone (literally called "footing")... you are basically flipping them off. The good news - at least no one will be flipping me off American Style hahahahahaha. So I am just praying I don't forget that small detail while our district meets with the chancellor.... or else missionary work will end in Thailand as we know it. No pressure.

Now that we have the cool news out of the way..... it's time for bigger and better and more important things - LIKE ELIZA'S BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO Happy birthday sweetheart! I wish I could be there to wake you up at 5 a.m. screaming, "Happy Birthday"... but I can't be. Maybe you could set an alarm or something to just remind you of how much I love you! The big 17! Congratulations!  You have worked so hard for this your whole life... I knew you could do it! I miss you all so much! Love you, love you, love you!

In other news, our district has gained 105 pounds together (8 elders). That is more than what Sister Mon weighs. Does it phase us? NO. Our goal is to hit 150 by the end of the MTC..... completely muscle of course ;) When I come back from my mission, I am picturing maybe 6'5" 220 lb version of Elder Smith-Driggs. Who knows?  At this rate, I could be playing Goliath in the next Bible Message Videos.

Some funnies: 

I taught a killer lesson all by myself a couple nights ago. My Thai was flawless ... and then I woke up. Elder Allen had been listening to me in the middle of the night just giving a lesson to Brother Nxng in my sleep. God is definitlely helping me out hahahaha.

We dared Elder Walker and Elder Krebs to end their lesson with 2 Kings 2:23-24 to Brother Nxng.... and they actually did it.  Read the verse about Elijah, and you can understand why we thought it was so funny. Hahahahaha they got railed by our teacher for doing it. Definitely learned their lesson about joking around with the investigator. Luckily Brother Nxng understood. He probably thought it was funny too.

Elder Walker weekly update: 

This guy gets funnier and funnier every day.  Here are some beautiful stories.

1. "Wearing the Jersey of Jesus"

Elder Hancock was getting frustrated with translating the BOM into English with the Thai BOM. He finally just exclaimed, "Dangit! I hate translating this stupid verse.. it doesn't even mean anything cool!" Elder Walker just kindly looked up at him and said, "My friend, lucky for you I have an ENGLISH Book of Mormon right here that I could lend you. It is much easier to read." Hahahahahahaha. We all just died. Sometimes we get so caught up in how hard the language is and then we realize... we can do this in English! 

2. "Megalodon" 

There are no words to describe this story. All I can say is Elder Walker's life goal is to find Megalodon (prehistoric jurrasic ancestor of the shark). He tries to incorporate Megalodon into every lesson he teaches. It's quite funny... except I think he actually believes that Megalodon is real and is out there in the ocean. Well... good thing we can't swim on the mission hahahaha or else Elder Walker would be hunting it for 2 years. We all wonder how his kids are going to turn out... probably epicly awesome.

Trevor and Andy... so jealous you got to go with my fam to Lake Powell. I miss you guys! Listened to Noyana just a couple of days ago. Definitely felt the vibes - music can always get you feeling great about God. Great job VP - that album keeps me sane here at the MTC hahahahaha.

Speaking of music, Elder Garff expertly sang the base part with his district in a devotional for all the missionaries. He sang in Tahitian, and it was SO DOPE! I turned to the Mexican elder next to me and said, "See that elder? I know him!"  YOU ARE FAMOUS ELDER GARFF hahhahaaha love you man.

Spiritually, this week was rough. Sometimes I am sitting in class and my mind is working so hard to understand the language of the Spirit and Thai that I just shut down. It was quite scary, actually. On Saturday, Brother Thrap (one of our teachers) asked me a question in Thai. (We don't speak English in the classroom very often.) I just blanked. It took him almost 5 minutes to describe the simple sentence that I had said hundreds of times. So please pray that I can have the mental capactiy to learn Thai as well as focus on the Spirit of the Lord. I know I can do it with His help... but prayers are always a nice shot in the arm.

Our investigators, Sister Dome and Brother Nxng are progressing nicely. Sister Dome will be baptized this week by Elder Allen, and then we teach her just a couple more lessons about the temple and other doctrines before she is handed off to the ward. With Brother Nxng, he has a baptisimal date, but he hasn't told his parents about the church of Christ. He is really scared. His mom has wanted him to become a monk for his whole life. Please pray that he can have the faith and trust in the Lord to tell his parents. We think he can do it. And God knows he can do it. The Spirit is so strong in the lessons with him as both Elder Allen and I testify about the scriptures and how they help us with challenges. He is reading lots and getting strength and confidence from the story of Nephi in Nephi 3-5 and Nephi 17. When his family is against the prophet of God...God is always with the prophet if he is doing the right thing. We know he can do it. Keep him in your prayers. 

I truly love teaching about the prakitikun khong praayeesuukhrid (gospel of Jesus Christ). It is the best part about being a missionary (even in the MTC). When we teach, the Spirit is a powerful testifyer of the truth. And I pray every day to be clean and worthy to be a vessel of the Lord.  May God continue to bless me with the gift of tongues as I try to do His work with all of my heart. I love my Heavenly Father, and I know that He loves all of His children, regardless of circumstance. If you do not know that, I challenge you to pray with sincerity and real desire of heart to your God in Heaven. He will answer you. I know that because he has answered me. May God bless you all. 

Love always,

Elder Smith-Driggs

(Found this one posted on Facebook by a 51st Ward Member.  Thanks!)

Open Your Mouth and Preach!

HEELLLOOOOO dearest family and friends! 

What an amazing week it has been here at the wonderful MTC in beautiful Provo, UT. I just love it here. My thoughts this week are with President Packer's family. He was a great man. We had the opportunity to watch his funeral - what a testament to a great man of God. I cannot wait to meet him one day. 

Some great lessons learned this week - the one that tops the list would be "Open your mouth and preach"... as my title suggests. It comes from a letter I read this week from another missionary. The quote goes something like this: "If you want to punch Satan in the mouth, open your mouth and preach!"  I love that. Not just because I want to punch Satan in the mouth, but rather that the most important and crucial thing we can do to affect those around us is to share light and truth. 

One way I have learned to do this is through the Joseph Smith story of the first vision. I have almost completely memorized it in Thai, and it is an amazing testament to the power of speaking with the Holy Ghost. We are promised as missionaries that as soon as we open our mouths to speak... and actually speak the story of the first vision... the investigator and we will be filled with the Spirit of God. This is conditional on our faith and obedience, however (D&C 50:21-22). Elder Allen and I do our best to teach with the Spirit of God, as we learn time and time again that the Spirit can speak fluent Thai. 

How I study the BOM every day... I feel like Joseph Smith or something translating this langauge! 

But I can read it OK! 

Another lesson this week - confidence. I have always felt like a relatively confident person. I was reading in Alma when I realized that I need to be more confident in my God. My strength is independence... but my weakness is DEpendence. If I am confident in my God, I can do all things. If I am obedient, I can learn Thai (Moses 6:30-32). 

Now for some logistics... Sister Mon (as you can see by our adorable asian picture), is still with us!!! Her visa did not go through (she is from Myanmar, remember?), and so she is a solo sister with our district for as long as it takes her to get her visa. We love her so much, and she treates us like her little kids. We even call her Mee ("Mom" in Thai.. said like a sheep going "meeehhh"). She is awesome! But no one can compare to my awesome mom - YOU ARE THE BEST MOM I LOVE YOU. 

My dad is pretty great too.... but all the packages come from "Mom".... so who's the real hero? Idk... just a thought Dad. Step it up on those packages. Mom's already sent me a boat load of medicine that I really love and think about taking every second of the day ;) hahahahaha love you guys. 

Funny translations this week? This one TOPS THE LIST. 

One of the Cantonese elders, Elder Cox, was teaching a volunteer at the MTC. It was his first lesson. He was talking about the plan of salvation. All of a sudden, Elder Cox got very somber as he explained, "Through the plan of salvation, even though I have lost people I love, I can see them again....Have you lost anyone you love?" The investigator just bust up laughing hysterically hahahahahaha. The word for "kill" and "to lose" is very similar, just a tone difference. So Elder Cox had asked the investigator if they had killed anyone they loved hahahahah -classic Cantonese elders. KonYakcon (Peasants).

In other news, my comp got his AP scores back. We were about to get into bed, and he mutters - "Oh, Elder Smith-Driggs, I got my AP scores back today." "How did you do????" I asked.  He smiled shyly and then said casually, "I got straight fives!" "Elder... how many did you take?" "Six."  "ARE YOU KIDDING ME? RIGHT NOW MY COMPANION IS A GENIUS!"  He just chuckled......It's not even a big deal.

Final news for this week:  I now sleep talk in Thai... so that's a good thing. Those of you who know me well know that I already sleep talk, and it's super funny.  Now just imagine me calling out to my companion at night and telling him that he is a peasant (in Thai). Gotta love that language barrier hahahahaha 

Last thought for the day: I challenge you all to think about this this week. It has helped me here at the MTC quite a bit. In Luke chapter 22, we learn of the process the Savior went through in the Garden of Gethseme. A big part of the Atonement was suffering for our sins. As He comes back to His apostles, He finds them napping. He asks them, "Why sleep ye?" (Luke 22:46). 

Are we sleeping? Are we not taking advantage of this wonderful gift of the Atonement of Christ? If He has already suffered... why not take Him up on His offer of unconditional love? Have I been sleeping? I do not realize the enabling power of the Atonement... I will never understand it. But I do know it is real and that it is powerful. May we not sleep through our chance to reedem ourselves through His grace. For His grace is sufficent.

I love you all! 

God bless you! 

Love,

Elder Smith-Driggs  

Sent from my iPhone 

P.S. Abraham says to please tell everyone, "So sorry if I don't have time to write you back!"  Online time is like a race to see who can type the fastest/most mistakes for an hour and upload pictures.  Abraham doesn't respond to everybody because he runs out of time.

Photo with Sister Odom and companions.

It's the Little Things

Our whole zone - all Thai and Cantonese speaking missionaries.

Photo of Skyline MTC missionaries doing the "missionary handshake," 

courtesy of Sara Langston. 

It's the little things that count here at the MTC. You can either choose to make your experience a terrible one, or you can be positive and look for the little things each day that you can appreciate and laugh at. I'd like to think I choose the latter. The reason I talk about little things is to explain the awful video - "The School Bus." You may have found it on LDS.org, per my request... and if you watched it like I told you to, I am sincerely sorry. But you have to understand where we missionaries come from. We are sitting in a classroom all day trying to understand people in a different language. We like to appreciate the little things that make us laugh and laugh and laugh. And we like to share these things as much as possible (as every good missionary should do). 

When our zone leader, Elder Noyce, showed us "The School Bus," we were also prepared for a dazzling spiritual experience. We were intently taking notes. It ends with a total downer... and the screen goes black and says, "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." He just stood there and looked at our confused and innocent faces and laughed and laughed and laughed. We laughed too. Sometimes it is so stressful here that you need a good break. Whenever we feel like that - we watch "The School Bus" to remind ourselves of the mistakes the producers made in making a 1:30 second film that ends with a spiritual downer. I hope you can all undersstand my humor because we all think it is HILARIOUS hahahahahaha. Anyways - apologies out of the way - the MTC still rocks (as long as I find the little things) ;)

I liked this picture you sent of Daniel so much I put it on my mirror hahahahahah.  

It makes me laugh so hard.
[His cousin on July 4th about to slam dunk a watermelon into a basketball hoop.]

A couple amazing things this week! I got to host (bring the missionary in from the curb) this last Wednesday. The first person I hosted was a young man named Elder Nitchin from Micronesia. He is the first person in his family to serve a mission, and his grandfather was the first convert in Micronesia. There are only a couple wards there - and it was really amazing to see the faith of this elder. He only had a couple white shirts and 3 ties... all he could afford to come to America. He will be serving in Logan, UT. What a STUD! 

Hosting with Elders Muir and Brown(?)  

(Photo courtesy of Cate Christensen's mom who was dropping off Cate. 

She said Abraham kept bowing to them.)

Another amazing thing -  I have, for the first time ever, gained 12 pounds in just over 2 weeks. Now, for some people, that may not suprise you. But if you understand how actually skinny I am.. you will know that this truly has been a blessing from God ;). Those extra pounds keep Elder Smith-Driggs warm at night - so you bet I'm super grateful hahahaha (The Thai people talk in third person always, just fyi. Hopefully it won't get too annoying in the emails.) 

Our district had TRC this Saturday for the first time. TRC is a program that allows outside investigators (who speak their native tongue), to come to the MTC and be taught by missionaries. We had SO MUCH FUN! And surprisingly, I could understand almost everything the people told me! Teaching the phrakitikun khong phrayessukrid (gospel of Jesus Christ) is such an amazing thing. I get to learn how to do that for 9 weeks here at the MTC. What an amazing blessing. When we teach, we can feel the Holy Ghost helping us with our grammar, our tones, and our message. It is incredibly important to teach to the investigator's needs (obviously). Time and time again we learn the lesson: Teach the investigator, NOT the lesson. 

Funny things for the week? Oh you bet I had some blunders with language and tones hahahahaha. Oh boy I am going to remember these for a long time. The best one this week was Elder Smith (another Elder in my District). He walked into the investigator's house (classroom), and proudly proclamed - "We are God." Instead of - "We are missinonaries of Jesus Christ." The best thing was, he was so nervous that he didn't even realize what he had said until half way through the lesson. I bet the investigator would have been very interested in what "God" had to say. Wouldn't you be? hahahahahahahaha 

There are 5 tones in Thai, same thing as Chinese. And if you say the tone wrong, it means a completely different word. So the investigator was asking about 1 Nephi 1, and asked who Lehi was. I told him that Lehi was a prophet and was the goat of Nephi. Father (Pee) and Goat (Pee) sound exactly the same except for their tones. He looked a little confused so I kept explaining that this "goat" received revelation from God and shared it with Nephi and his human family. hahahahaha 

In the same lesson, we taught Brother Nxng about baptism. I explained the process of baptism.  But when I explained full submersion, I forgot to tell him that he would be brought back up out of the water. He looked at me in fright and said in Thai, "So, you are going to put me under the water? How long will I be down there?".... It was a very funny moment indeed hahahahaha, but the investiagor had an actual concern, and I felt so bad. He probably thought when he got baptized, he was going to be drowned *face palm*

I love the MTC. My district is awesome. The older Thais [elders and sisters who have been in the MTC longer] left this morning at 3:30 a.m to Thailand. We escorted them to the travel office and said our goodbyes (for now). The only Elder that was sent was Elder Noyce, along with two sisters: Sister Mon and Sister Yang. We will all miss them. But this means that we 8 elders now have 8 TEACHERS at our disposal. I can't wait to learn these next couple weeks. We will propbably get a lot more individual attention. [The newest batch of Thai-speaking elders do not arrive until the end of July.]

Drawings on new elders courtesy of the "older Thais" who left for Thailand this morning.

I love you all so much. Family is the best! SO sad I was not able to make the wonderful 4th of July party this weekend. I thought of you all as I watched the Stadium of Fire fireworks outside my building. God bless America! Family is the best! Getting all the pictures and letters from you all has been so encouraging! Thanks Sophie so much for your sweet note! And Eliza and Olivia - keep those Dear Elder's coming... you may think the MTC is an exhilarating place with a lot of fun things to do all day (almost like Aspen Grove)... but my favorite part of the day is reading your letters at the night time! Love you All! Pictures should be sent soon!

--

Love,

Elder Smith-Driggs  

Sent from my iPhone

My sweet phone I use for contacting investigators.

(Mom Comment: He doesn't have an iPhone. It's just another way for him to laugh at life right now.)

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From a separate email today where I asked Abraham, "Did you meet your new mission president and his wife?"

YYEEESSSS! Did I not tell you about them? 

They are soooo nice. President Johnson and his wife are super chill. I thought I sent that pic.  They are really nice. He loves basketball, and he got to play in a high school nationwide competition where he played against Michael Jordan and Karl Malone. He got 6th place in the national dunk competiion in high school. He was most likely the only white guy. He seemed way chill. We would ask him questions, and he would answer them calmly and professionaly... and Sister Johnson was so excited to meet us. She speaks absolutely NO thai. They have been in Thailand for about a week now. Keep them in your prayers

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From a final email today asking about Abraham's teacher, Sister Painter, who was a former companion to Grace Jackson from our stake:

Sister Painter was our first mock investigator, and then we found out the second week she was our teacher hahahahahaha.  It was great. These teachers must struggle with some sort of identity crisis. I feel bad for them. Keep them in your prayers please ;) lol jk love ya

Sister Painter and another teacher with the district.

Photo courtesy of Sister Painter via Grace Jackson.

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Mom Comment (aka MomCom): If you know someone who wants Abraham's blog notices who isn't getting them, please have them email me at smiggsfamily@yahoo.com, and I'll add them to the list.

Instructions for DearElder.Com letters:

For those of who who do not know what DearElder.com is, I will explain.  Here is the link:  http://www.dearelder.com .  It is a free and easy way to send daily mail to missionaries at the MTC.  Whatever you send before noon (MST, M-F), gets printed out and delivered THAT DAY to Abraham.  

If you click on the link, you will see a link on the left hand side under "Send Stuff" that says, "Provo MTC (FREE)." When you click on that link,  a virtual envelope will appear.  You fill in your information on the "Return address" and Abraham's information in the main address  It is as follows:  

Title : Elder 

First name: Abraham

Last name: Smith-Driggs

Unit #: 55

Mission: Provo MTC

Estimated MTC departure date: August 17

Then you enter your email address, and you will receive an electronic copy of what you send to Abraham.  You can leave the next box blank because Abraham doesn't read the DearElder letters online.  They clutter his email account.  Next, you start typing your email into the big box.  When you are done, you click the "Send Letter" button below.  It will ask you if you are sure, and you click OK.  You're done.  

The next screen that comes up asks if you want to donate, but you don't need to do that or click anything else.  You've already sent your letter.  I already donated, so don't worry about it.  This FREE email printing service ONLY LASTS WHILE HE'S IN THE MTC.  After that, it's regular mail.

Faith . . . and Kilts

Hello Hello Hello! Some awesome stuff happened this week. I am still loving the MTC! I am starting to get the hang of the regular schedule. It’s super funny though because we study about 9 hours every day, and the kids straight out of high school are like - "Are you kidding me? This is so hard! 9 hours a day is tough!" Me and Elder Ellis just look at each other and are like.... “You guys will have so much fun in college then hahahahaha!” Did I mention our district is 8 guys? No girls. Tbh, I kind of like it. The elders are awesome.

So. Lessons of the week: 

1. Faith

There is a sister in the Pi Thai group above us (3 people in the district). Her name is Sister Mon. She is amazing. She came here 7 weeks ago from Myanmar. She didn't speak any English or any Thai. Imagine coming to a country and when you get off the plane to go to the MTC, you have no idea what anyone is saying to you, and you have to learn two languages in 9 weeks to go preach the gospel. She bore her testimony yesterday about faith in sacrament meeting. There was not a dry eye in the room. What a powerful testimony of faith. I love Sister Mon. She said (in PERFECT English I might add), that she came to the MTC and to go on a mission because she loved her Savior, and she had faith that He would help her. She is the only member in her family. She is AMAZING.

2. Learn to have fun! 

Our district has fun. Maybe too much fun sometimes ;) The tiniest thing will get us laughing 'til we cry. We think we are so clever because we find words in Thai that sound like English, and then we totally just talk to our teachers about those words like they are part of the gospel or something. Here are a couple of them :) 

Yuu ti ni (pronouned with a high pitched voice like the jawa's in Star Wars... it means "I'm here.")

Ajan (It basically means master/sensei and every other Asian teacher is "ajan.")

Yak (Troll/monster - no joke - it’s legit part of the alphabet - hahaha gotta love Thai.) I also learned how to say "Troll in the dungeon!!” *screamed like Professor Quirell from Harry Potter. Very effective for scaring the Cantonese Elders :) 

Anyway... we have a good time. Today I am about to go play soccer in a kilt. Now, you may think this is normal, but surprisingly a lot of people here at the MTC don't wear kilts. I have gotten a couple strange looks. I got the kilt from one of the Pi Thai Elders, Elder Noyce. It is a pass down. And with great power comes great responsibility... so you KNOW I'm rockin the kilt on P-days here hahahahaha.  All I need is the kilt, my leopard chums, and the Phrawinyaad Borisud (Holy Ghost). So yeah... you could say the MTC is a big spiritual party.

Pics of Sister Pugsley and Elder Curtis (BYU friends)

3. Thai is going great! 

I am starting to pick up things from our investigators, and I practice with the Khon Thais every day (people from Thailand). I can now understand everything our teacher tells us, and Elder Allen and I speak Thai all day long to each other. The more we SYL (speak your language), the better we get, thanks to our loving Heavenly Father. I am so grateful to be a phoosonsadsanaa (missionary). It is a fantastic blessing in my life. I am so grateful to be serving a mission for Jesus Christ. I get so pumped putting his name tag on every day, and I can't wait to go to Thailand!  

I again apologize for my lack of grammatic ability and sentence structure patterns. I apologize for any split infinitives (whatever those are...). I am just writing like I would say it - because that is how personality comes out in writing. I love you all! It is so fun to hear from people! Congrats Tiffany on the mission call to Paraguay! SOOOOO AWESOME.

Alright, last thing. Spiritual thought of the week.

What does faith have to do with confidence? Read JSH 1:29 - great verse. I have been thinking a lot about how faith can turn into confidence in Christ. I can tell you that I am confident that Christ and the Holy Ghost are helping me a TON with the language. Just something to ponder over. I've been thinking about it a lot, anyway. 

Phraapuupencaw rag talood khun! (God loves all of you)

Phom rag khun! (I love you) 

Love,

Elder Smith-Driggs  

P.S. This last week was tough... but I got through it because Elder Noyce showed our district a video. I could really feel the Spirit when I watched it. Notice the end - what an amazing example of love and charity. Please watch this video and give me your feedback. It is sponsored by the Church. Enjoy! It is called - "School Bus." Search this video on LDS.org - you will love it!  I would love to hear your thoughts!