Tears of Joy

My dear family and friends,

This week was a week of hard work, a week of tears, and a week of miracles. What an amazing opportunity it is to be a missionary. I feel so blessed to be friends and family with such amazing people who have taught me important lessons. In my spiritual thought today, I will elaborate on that, but for now - THANK YOU ALL!

Sending off Brother Ding for his mission in Ogden, Utah.

The Work: 

This is my third transfer in Thonburi, and my new companion is Elder STONE. What a stud - this guy is the man! We get along way well, and he just makes me laugh. We have a good time. The first thing he says to me at the transfer meeting: "Alright Elder, are you pumped to see some miracles?"...... Yeah, it is going to be an awesome transfer!!!!!!!!! Funny thing, he actually trained Elder Allen (my companion in the MTC). My trainer, Elder Chamberlain, went to be Elder Allen's new comp up in KhonGhen... so we just switched trainers hahahahahaha! 

NEW COMP! ELDER STONE 

Companion switch... wait WHAT?

The crew from the MTC woohoo (MIA Elder Krebs).

Many miracles happened this week. Miracles are awesome... I just love them. They are always there - because God is a God of miracles. It is just a fact. Here are a couple of them:

1. We were working with the ward clerk on some records in the middle of the day on Saturday. A man walked into the church and recognized us. He said, "Hey elders, I was an investigator like 5 years ago. I want you to come to my house and eat food... and I also want my daughter to be a member of this church." WELL OK THEN! 

2. When Elder Stone switched (Thursday), he forgot maple syrup extract at his house in KhonGhen. He was bummed because he likes to make pancakes every morning. That morning, Elder Chamberlain had moved out and stripped everything in the room, including the bed. He also eats way healthy. When we returned home at night on Thursday, there were three items on the bed. And I kid you not: a bunjee cord, a bag, and an unopened bottle of maple syurp extract. Unbelievable. Elder Stone thought it was a joke.... but no one had been home yet. We were the first ones there. WOOHOOOO thanks God! What a start to a transfer of miracles! 

3. The first two days, 27 people gave us their phone numbers so we could teach them. Amazing what obedience, faith, and a willing heart will give you. As far as investigators go, we have an awesome guy named Luck who will be getting baptized next week. Grace and Augustine are progressing bit by bit and have agreed to get baptized. YEEEHHAWWW thank you for all of your prayers.

Culture: 

1. People eat bugs here... it's casual.

Spider as big as your hand. Welcome to Thailand!

2. On notebooks they put the most hilarious captions/bad English translations on them. The other day I found one (a journal mind you), with a picture of a little rabbit on it. There was a little poem in the corner that read:  "Love is...at night, the ice weasels come." HAHAHAHAHA I have no idea what that means.

Pokemon - gotta catch 'em all! 

I found Mexican food..... and an American shake - woah! 

Funnies: 

1. Pretty good messed up translation by yours truly. The words for ice cube and wooden cross are similar in Thai. So I asked the lady at KFC to only put a little bit of crosses in my drink. Hahahaha Elder Chamberlain just died. I felt bad because that is the same word we use for the cross of Jesus. Oops... 

2. A bird pooped on me today. First time... pretty exhilirating I must say... especially when it gets in your ear :) But no worries - The guy I was talking to gave me his number, and the man in the bathroom who I was washing hands with gave me his number too... so tender mercies rock on! :)

"Hey Elder Stone, how safe is this locust?" "Probably about as safe as locusts can get.".... "Ok, I'll eat it."

Sister Parin drew this (by hand) for our district last transfer.... hahahahahaha!

Spiritual thought: 

Yesterday at church, I was sitting next to Sister Bun, who is the mother of Brother Ding (who is on a plane right now for his mission in OGDEN). We sang "God be with you till we meet again." To feel this sweet mother's love for her first child in her family to leave on a mission (their whole family converted 5 years ago...) was amazing. We were both crying tears of joy because I was reminded of my mom's incredible love for me. And how hard it must have been for you, Mom, to let me go, even though you knew God came first. Moms everywhere are a testament of incredible, unfathomable love for their children. I love you Mom! 

As I was studying the scriptures today, I came across a verse in 1 Nephi 8:37. It is talking about Lehi when he is counseling Laman and Lemuel after he sees (in his dream) that they reject the fruit and turn away from the fam. In desperation, Nephi writes that his father "did exhort them then with all the feeling of a tender parent, that they would hearken to his words." Oh how often do we not listen to the words of our wise parents? They love us so much. Both our earthly parents and our heavenly parents. You parents out there have felt this urgency when you know your child is doing something wrong - and as tenderly as your soul allows, you try to teach them the best you can... but you know in your heart, it is ultimately their decision what they want to do. God bless all parents out there. 

I love my mom and my dad more than life. They have taught me the ways of the Lord. They have taught me how to live the statutes of God. And they love me unconditionally. I feel that everyday, and I felt it more so yesterday sitting next to my sweet Sister Bun. God bless you parents everywhere. We children love you even if we don't say it. 

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH MOM 

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH DAD 

-- 

Love always,

Elder Smith-Driggs  

P.S. Mom Comment:  I realize missions are different for every person.  And for some, they are not all the missionary or parents hope for.  But I want to express how grateful I am for the eternal perspective, spiritual tuning, and family insights Abraham is obtaining in the Thailand Bangkok Mission (TBM).  I could not ask for a better experience for this great young man whom I get to call "son."

Also, I am soooooo grateful for Elder Chamberlain.  What an amazing trainer for Abraham!  Elder Chamberlain was kind enough to send me his letters each week as well.  So I got to hear about other fun adventures and spiritual encounters he and Abraham had each week. I'm posting this passage from Elder Chamberlain's letter this week because it was too good not to post about these great guys who played jazz trumpet together in Caleb Chapman's music program for four years;)  

"Trumpet Buds

Before being separated Elder Smith-Driggs convinced me that we had to at least try to get our hands on some trumpets. So after emailing and grabbing lunch on Monday we headed over to the middle school next to the church. We literally walked up, said we play trumpet and asked if we could play. They looked confused but told us we could go talk to the music teacher. We found him, talked for a minute, and before you know it we each had a trumpet in hand. 

After not touching a trumpet for over a year I'm a little bit rusty. If the trumpet professor from BYU was there he might question why he ever offered me a scholarship. Nevertheless, we had fun. It was great!"

We can still play the trumpet! Sort of...

Maze Runner

WHAT A WEEK! 

Lots of awesome and hilarious things are happening here in Thailand. I wish you were all here to experience them with me, but for now you need to rely on my mildly terrible grammar and some misspelled words for the update: LET'S DO THIS THING!

When you are too tall for the bus...

Training comes to a close this week.  It has been an absolute honor to work with such a missionary as Elder Chamberlain. 

What a STUD!

The Work: 

Recently we have been doing something I like to call "LA hunting." The title of this email reflects this "hunting" experience because Bangkok is like a giant maze. As you will see by the pictures this week, things are not exactly organized according to address. In fact, most people don't know their address. 

Panoramic shot of Thai mazes...

Mazes of Thailand

We have been running through the maze every day now for hours just trying to find members in the system who have not come to church in a while. What FUN! God places people in our path. 

In fact, just yesterday every single person we talked to on our way to finding a LA (who had moved 25 years ago), gave us their number for a follow up appointment. Miracles happen people - this is real life. 

Another miracle I would like to share. One of our dear friends, Brother Champ and his wife Fay, had the opportunity to go to Los Angeles these last two weeks. We committed them to visit the temple. 

Brother Champ

This is Champ's experience in his own words:

"I had no internet on my phone, and all I knew was that a taxi driver told me the temple was 22 kilometers away. I prayed and felt like God would make a path for me to get back home. My phone would die, but I trusted in God and hopped in the taxi. I traveled to the temple on Sunday, then found out it was closed. I have never been inside the temple before. I walked around every single gate and touched each corner of the temple just so I could feel the Spirit of God. What a powerful experience it was. A man then approached me saying his name was Brother Sean. He asked me if I needed any help. Brother Sean then drove me to the nearest church building where I attended Sunday School! What a beautiful congregation they had there. The members then offered me a ride back to my hotel. I got back safe and sound. I had promised you [Elder Chamberlain and me] that I would go, and I did. And God opened the way for me to go. This experience was a big builder of faith for me. Miracles happen." 

- Brother Champ 

I know that miracles happen. That is a miracle. Even though Champ wasn't even able to enter into the temple, he made sure he gleaned everything from it. He was able to go to church through a faithful member that followed the prompting of the Spirit and drove this random Thai man to the nearest chapel on his own time. Same thing with the members. I know that miracles happen. In Thailand, they happen every day. In the words of our mission president (President Johnson): "We pray for and expect Miracles in this mission. Because our God is a God of miracles." I know that is true.

The Culture: 

1. No one knows their address. In fact, the address is reflected by when the building was built, not where the building is located. For example, we will see (in the same street) the numbers 86,87,86,123,12, and 5. So you can see our struggle. We love the maze. 

2. People love big eyes here. They even have "big eye" contacts that almost everyone wears. It makes their eyes look rounder and bigger. IDK it is just the Asian culture I guess!

Funnies:

1. A tuk tuk driver was literally shaving with a razor while driving us to a lesson. He had shaving cream and water and everything. It takes multitasking in the car to a whole new level. And by car, I mean motor-powered Thai tricycle. 

2. I still shout random Thai phrases in my sleep, and this week I even sang a children's hymn (according to Elder Chamberlain).

3. A taxi driver thought that Elder Chamberlain and I were twins, but he said I was better looking (not in the gay way - he assured us he was straight). So BOOM Elder Chamberlain (you know I never let him live that one down).

4. A taxi driver rolled down his window and said, "Hey, it's the Mormons!!" This is funny only if you are serving a mission in Asia. NO ONE knows who Jesus is, let alone who Mormons are. So it was quite hilarious hahahahaha.

5. Some random kid asked Elder Chamberlain for his autograph while we were LA hunting. HAHAHAHAHa this picture is classic.

Spiritual thought:

My spiritual thought today goes with Brother Champ's story at the beginning of this entry. Before my mission, I didn't really think Miracles were a thing. I thought they were a logical occurrence based on mathematical probability that 1 in every 10 people that you talked to... maybe you had a chance of thinking that that one person was "prepared" to hear the gospel. It was a chance game. THAT IS NOT TRUE. I was a fool for thinking that way. As a missionary, I testify that people are being prepared all over the world for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Not some new church founded by Joseph Smith, but the original gospel principles established by our Lord and Master Jesus Christ when he taught in Jerusalem. Miracles happened then, and miracles happen now. Yes, I will acknowledge that some things happen with chance and numbers.... but not everything. May we look for miracles in our life - I know they are there... just take a step back and look for them. 

I love you all. God bless you in your quest for happiness. I know that it can be found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you want to be converted - do the basics. Do not ever substitute anything for reading the scriptures, prayer, and continual church attendance. These things are essential for conversion. 

God bless you! HAVE FUN this holiday season, and enjoy all of the SNOW! 

-- 

Love always,

Elder Smith-Driggs  

Call Me Betty Crocker

Royal Palace

This week is for you chefs out there. I will be including recipes for authentic Thai dishes we made with a Thai friend... it is up to you to find the weird ingredients at your local Asian market hahahahahaha so good luck! 

THANKS MOM FOR HALLOWEEN/THANKSGIVING. IT WAS AMAZING! I LOVEEE YOUUUUU!

Happy early Thanksgiving...

The Work: 

Some great things happened this week! Our district is killing it here in Thonburi. As a group, we work together in making sure we get a balanced missionary effort. So as a district, we have set certain goals at the beginning of the transfer, and we have done our best to accomplish them! We are working our best, and our work is paying off! It is all paying off because the Lord wants it to of course - not because we did anything special, but because certain people needed to be baptized, and certain people needed to come back to church. We are on track for 8 baptisms and 11 LAs [less actives] brought back to church for the transfer! Please pray that we can reach our goal - we are so close! Every one of these people are God's children that can eventually go to the temple and receive saving ordinances! WOOHOOOOO. There are still some hard days of course, but we never have a BAD day here in Thonburi. We can't afford to have a bad day! We are missionaries! This is the Lord's work people! A little update on some of our investigators: 

Brother Luck is doing great.  He brings his 9 year old son to every lesson, and he will be getting baptized in 2 weeks! He is really eager to learn and follows every commitment we give him! 

Sister Grace and Brother Augustine: They are doing great! A little speed bump with the whole re-baptism thing, but they are going to be ok. They love the Book of Mormon and believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet. They LOVE the "good word of God."

Culture: 

The guy that we made food with, his name is Dew. He lived and studied in LA for 10 years and lives right next to the church. His wife is Muslim, his mom is Buddhist, his dad is Christian, and he is an atheist. Do you want to know how we got an appointment to have lunch with him? You bet I pulled the ole, "Hey, if I beat you in basketball we are coming over for lunch." NAILED IT hahahaha. I play basketball with him for about 10 minutes every week - just in my missionary clothes. He comes to the church sometimes to play, so I go shoot with him. He always asks questions about the Mormon Church, so we have practically taught him the restoration, gospel of Jesus Christ, word of wisdom, law of chastity, 10 commandments, and even a little bit about eternal families. So you never know what a friendly game of 1-on-1 will do hahahahaha. He is not an investigator or anything, but now he is friends with the members at the church, and we get to cook yummy food with him! Dew is such a nice guy, and he is actually way good at basketball - not going to lie. Just a fun little story for ya ;)

HERE ARE THE RECIPES:

ผัดไท (Phad Thai)

Start with oil in a pan. This dish will be made like a stir fry (cook time: 5 minutes) 

Fresh Shrimp (cook fresh - none of that pre-cooked stuff) 

Dried Chilli Powder (Hot Thai pepper. Called prick (thai word for pepper) crush it up until it becomes a powder... this gives the dish its Thai kick ;)

Tofu 

Bean sprouts 

Tamarind sauce (made homemade but I am sure that you could find some sort of copy at an Asian market)

noodles (rice noodles)

leeks (small leeks) [Mom comment: the green things in the upper right bowl - they aren't U.S. leeks - they look more like green onions without the white onion part at the end. But Elder Smith-Driggs said Dew called them "leeks."]

1- 2 eggs at the very end 

Raddish (ham colored looking stuff in the middle of the picture... it is mashed up Thai radish)

Adding the eggs at the end here.

Usually served with fresh lime, raw leeks, and random leaves that I don't know what we call in English.  Season with salt as needed. (See picture with 2 plates below.)

Thai stir fry dish

2 large fish air bladder (commercial term: maw) - dry it out to the consistency of a soft pancake, cut it up into bite size pieces, and throw it in the pan first with oil (of course you have to put the oil in there)

Cook like a stir fry 

Garlic (fresh not powder)

Bean sprouts (a Thai staple) 

Soy sauce 

Oyster sauce 

Leeks (small... not the gigantic things you get at Costco... imagine a regular leek in America and then imagine its normal natural size at 6 inches long - that is what you want) [See Mom Comment above.]

Thai Pepper! Put a titch smacker of that bad boy in there, and you are good to go.

(See picture.)

Funnies: 

1. We got in a taxi the other day and the driver's name (romanized of course it doesn't sound like this in Thai) but his romanized name was HITRUN NOIPONG. Hahahaha Hit & Run taxi driver. You have to love that! 

2. Another Taxi driver asked me If I liked Thai girls, but I misunderstood and thought she said Samlo (which is like a 3 wheeled Tuk-Tuk)... so I answered and said, "Yes I love them so much. They are WAY fun!" Hahahahahaha Elder Chamberlain just died of laughter.

3. Halloween was an absolute blast this week and some costumes were absolutely hilarious. Hopefully I can send some pics.

Men in Black

4. MY DAD WAS GHANDI hahahahahaha for Halloween! 

Spiritual thought: 

I want everyone to go and read the talk entitled "The First Great Commandment" by Jeffrey R. Holland. I want to share my thoughts from that talk. Elder Holland talks about Jesus' interaction with Peter after He was resurrected. The apostles have gone back fishing because they don't know what to do after Jesus dies. When Jesus calls them to the shore after he has been resurrected, he basically tells Peter, "Peter do you love me? Then why Peter, are you here? Why are we back on this same shore, by these same nets, having this same conversation? If I needed to get fish I obviously can get fish. I NEED DISCIPLES - THAT IS YOUR MISSION."

I really love this message. How many times does Christ have to ask for our hearts? How many times does He need to remind us that we can't turn back to our old ways but need to continually improve? As disciples, it is our job to spread the good news. Whether you are a missionary or not. Preach the Gospel always, and when necessary use words. 

I LOVE YOU ALL! Dad your Halloween costume... I just can't ..... hahahahah wow hahahahahaha.

-- 

Love always,

Elder Smith-Driggs  

Monsoon Miracles

Hey look Elder Chamberlain.... a snake!

I know... this week the title was a little lame. I didn't get much time to search ponder and pray about it. But there was a Monstrosity of a monsoon that hit this week. Everything flooded, and we were walking in water all day so that was SWEET! 

The best pic I have of how hard it is raining right now....

Don't worry Mom - that poncho came in way handy, and we got some new investigators because I looked like a giant plastic bag - so props! 

The Work: 

Some cool things that happened this week. One of our investigators that moved to another area got baptized this Sunday! Her name is Sister Claire. She is awesome. Loves the Bible and was all about the restoration and the Book of Mormon. "I have finally found the truth." 

Another amazing thing: we finally had someone show up for their appointment, and it is a family! They want to change religions to Christian and are willing to do anything. The dad accepted a date for baptism in the future. 

Update: Grace and Augustine are doing great! We showed "The Restoration" in Urdu (their native language) and that gave them a better handle on it. They love talking about the work of God! (See picture.) 

Augustine, Munaib, and Grace at their home with Elder Chamberlain!

Something I noticed this week: Here in Thailand the first lesson is mainly focused on who God is, who Jesus Christ is, and who the Holy Ghost is. God is not a thing here in Thailand very much. Most people say they know who He is but have no idea what He has done. Think of it like if some Buddhist people came up to you in Utah and asked you if you wanted to learn about Buddha... you know who he is, but you don't understand the religion or anything. That is how we proselyte! (Except we ask if they know Jesus,... they already know Buddha hahahahahaha.) Normally our first lesson ends with teaching the investigator how to pray, rather than the restoration of the gospel. Just an interesting thought.

I had an amazing switch off with the Zone Leaders this week. I switched off with Elder Theerapong. He is absolutely a stud. An amazing example of what a representative of Jesus Christ should be at all times and in all places. He is a convert of 3 years and is the only member in his family. I love Elder T. He is a STUD! Also I taught him some hilarious English expressions during language study (we only spoke Thai so I got to teach him a little English). I can't express the feeling I got when teaching with him. He taught with boldness and with power. He asked the right questions that were prompted by the Spirit, and I learned a TON. Amazing man. 

The man, the myth, the legend: Elder Theerapong

The Culture:

1.There is a Wat (Buddhist temple) right next to our house so every morning when I shower I hear the monks chanting outside. A great wake up:) I love the culture here in Thailand! 

A former investigator whipped this up in 30 minutes!

2. There are lots of poisonous creatures here, including a centipede that I found while cleaning a member's backyard (picture not included because if I got too close, the venom would kill me).

3. They serve food at restaurants hot when it comes out. You don't normally wait for everyone else to get their food. You just start eating. Unless you are with really old people and then you wait even if your food gets cold. 

Delicious Thai treat... it was actually very good!

4. Strange thing that I found out when teaching family history this week - most KhonThais don't know their exact birthday. They don't go to hospitals or anything like that, so their birthday is usually a month of the year :) Kind of cool you could have birthday cake every week! 

They see me rollin....

Funnies:

1. Elder Chamberlain found a live cockroach in his shoe this morning hahahahahahaha. No explanation needed.

2. Our investigator Augustine said that when angels are happy, "Throngs of angels praise God. And they are happy, and they eat KFC and are even more happy." Hahahahaha KFC is a big thing here.

3. Because they use padlocks for their homes (usually), sometimes people get locked INSIDE their homes because another person has the key and has left the house already. Hahahahah cough cough Brother Ding cough cough.

Hilarious man with a Hello Kitty bike

[Mom comment: Abraham is truly a giant in Thailand.]

Spiritual Thought: 

Recently I have been studying in the New Testament and have absolutely loved the parables that are found in it. Jesus mainly taught using parables because it was easy enough for others to understand but hard enough that after a lifetime's study, the pure lesson can never be found. Each time you read a parable you get something new. I love reading the parables from the perspective of being a missionary. It is different than reading the parables as a student. Simplicity is the essence of the gospel. But it is so simple that it will take years to expound on the understating of the teaching of Christ. If you are reading this email - I want to challenge you to pick a random parable today. I want you to read it, and I want you to write down in a journal or on a phone your thoughts of what you think it means. And when you have done this, I want you to pray and ask Heavenly Father, "What lack I yet?" Each parable that Jesus teaches inspires us to be better and to do better. By asking this question to our Heavenly Father, we give him the opportunity to give us revelation personal to us. The parable is the gateway for understanding what quality we lack. I promise that when you do this, you will feel the love of God more so than ever before because you are using a principle of truth. Faith + Action. And that is the recipe for success. Read a parable, pray, ask, follow up. You can do it! I did it, and the response was AWESOME! 

I love you all so much! Here is some Thai that may lighten your mood. But no using Google translate that is cheating. 

รด่ากรสืฟนสกรด้ฟสรำืตก่สฟากืรรฟสืกรสฟยนำีำกทแนราำืหาสวฟืกวืแนกีหืสฟกาด้ำส

-- 

Love always,

Elder Smith-Driggs  

Life in COLOR

What an absolutely interesting week here in Thailand. Some ups, some downs, some all together unexplainable experiences. And so it goes.... 

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY 

The pictures selected for this week are from chalked artwork we do during our free time. (Copyright of Dream Team Productions, limited partnership with Chamberlain Photography). Any use of these pictures and images is strictly prohibited without written consent. Please enjoy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLIVIA I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!! DON'T KISS ANY BOYS. THEY ARE DANGEROUS ;) Love you sweetie. I will be thinking of you this Wednesday! 

Also... for Elder Chamberlain's birthday we took a little joy ride on the motorcycle. Happy 20th birthday amigo hahahahaha. Don't ever try this at home kids. For questions please see the white handbook ;)

Polo hired two Mormon models for their Thailand shoot

The Work: 

These last couple weeks have been very trying and interesting. In the last three weeks, we have had EVERY SINGLE new investigator appointment no-show. 14 people that we have contacted on the street, had an appointment with, confirmed the appointment to meet at a certain location... all 14 in a row have canceled/no show. This is obviously very disappointing... and I don't think Elder Chamberlain or I could have done anything more to get new investigators. So we are kind of struggling with our investigator pool right now. But that is OKAY - everything will work out. All we can do is try our best and keep going. The work here in ธนบุรี (Thonburi) is marching right along, however. The other companionships have been having great success with baptism. Every week we see people in the font, which is a great blessing. But more than that we need to make sure these new converts are converted 100% to the gospel of Jesus Christ. And in so doing, we must be well balanced missionaries. Not just baptizing, but retaining, strengthening the members, helping the branch function. There is a lot to do and so many areas to put your focus in. The vision is to be balanced.

Culture: 

1. Thai people answer the phone in any situation. If the phone rings in a lesson, they answer it and talk to the person. If a phone rings during scripture class, they answer it, put their hand to their mouth so no one can hear (but we all can hahahha) and continue to talk. It is so surprising and rude to us farangs, but to everyone else that is completely normal. 

2. If someone tells you you look like a female it is a HUGE compliment. If a male has lighter skin, nice cheekbones, and a "fair nose," they say you are very handsome because you look like a woman. Let's hope this trend doesn't continue when I get back home or else we might have some problems hahahaha. 

3. Instead of a Primary Program, they have "Kids Sacrament Meeting." After the sacrament, the Primary children (all 5 of them) lead the sacrament meeting. They announce the speakers, give talks, sing songs, address the congregation with topics... it was SO AWESOME. We should do this in the U.S for sure.  It was adorable hahahahaha. 

Chicken feet... delicious

Funnies: 

1. We have officially named our water monitor Billi. He is our friend - so long as he doesn't eat us.

2. We helped an amazing lady the other day. Her name is Sister Fie. She is a nonmember who is married to a member here in Thonburi. She is a very talented doctor and will be presenting some research in San Diego this week. She learned English from textbooks, and she hasn't had any time to practice with native speakers. So we go and help her. Last Wednesday, we helped her with the grammar in her presentation titled: 

"Multivariate Regression Analysis to Identify Factors Influencing Successful Pain Control." I learned about some very interesting research last week hahahahaha. CRAZY VOCAB

3.Every time we street contact, people ask if we are either siblings or boyfriends. No joke. Please keep in mind this is Thailand. Culture is a bit different. 

Spiritual thought: The unseen power of the Gardener

I had a very interesting personal study that I would like to share with you all. Today I studied the concept of "Garden." It peaked my interest the other day as we were teaching about the Garden of Eden and the Garden of Gethsemane. It hit me that 2 of the most important events in human history happened in gardens. So I decided to study that, and I found some amazing stuff! I want to focus on the unseen power of the Gardener (figuratively). In the notes below you will find my sources. But God is the Gardener, and we are the desert. He makes weak things become strong, yet He allows us to shrivel up and die as well. The symbolism of rebirth is fascinating. In a garden, the Gardener is responsible for tending the plants, swapping out soil, watering, uprooting and moving. Sometimes the frost comes (at least in Utah). And plants die. But there always seems to be one left standing (see Matthew 13). It lasted because it had strong roots. It was rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gardener treats all of His children equally, but it is up to us how much we want to dig down deeper for something more. Out roots are strengthened by constant scripture study, church and temple attendance, and personal prayer. Important things happen in the garden. The Master of the vineyard will never forget us...but every garden must rely on the Master.  See Isaiah 35, 2 Nephi 8:3, Jacob 5, and Matthew 13.

Photo of our garden outside our balcony... also home of Billi

I love you all! Happy Birthday Olivia! 

-- 

Love always,

Elder Smith-Driggs