Bike for Dad

WELL HELLO THERE MY DEAR FAMILY -

When Christmas comes early... THANKS FAMILY!

Merry Christmas to you all! I hope this week has been magical and exciting! It sure has been for me! I just found out I will be moving from Thonburi next transfer (starts on Thursday), so I have been reflecting on the wonderful things that have happened in this area.

Goodbye Thonburi

The Work: 

This week I learned that simple testimony brings pure joy. That is the single greatest blessing being on a mission. The opportunity to testify simply and effectively is a skill I want to improve...and during this Christmas season in the burning heat, in Thailand, we get to introduce the Savior of the World. This is a very special thing. The work this week has been a lot of fun and a lot of stressful! 

Brother Luck was confirmed on Sunday, and it has been really special to see him progress. I will miss him dearly. Grace and Augustine are doing well, and they send their love. They were very sad when they found out I was leaving, but I know that the Lord will take care of them. On my mission, there have been certain people that I have connected with more than others. We understand each other because we have the same desires and wants in life. Grace and Augustine were some of those people for me. I love them very much. Man.... this is kind of weird. I have never moved out of an area before, and I don't really know how to react - I am sad and excited at the same time. Kind of like leaving for the MTC hahahahaha same kind of thing. There have been a lot of good things that have happened here in Thonburi, and God is real - so He will take care of the rest. If any missionary or person puts their trust in God, everything always works out.

I am currently rocking out to my new Christmas music - gotta love PENTATONIX! I am seriously singing and dancing to "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" in this little internet store.  Yeah, you bet it brings me home. Gotta love me some bass with the beatbox singing about Jesus Christ. AWESOME WOOHOOOOOO 

Long hard day...fell asleep with mini ball...every missionary should understand.

Mom Comment: Love the short-sleeve and watch tan lines;)

The Culture: 

1. Bike for Dad this week: All of Thailand bikes in Bangkok for the King. Every single person wears yellow, gets free flags... the whole shabang... imagine the Queen of Genovia in the "Princess Diaries"TM  but everyone is just sitting on the ground in yellow waving at the King x 100000 people. So naturally we stuck out..... and we took some pictures on the closed highways (of course.. why not right?) 

 About to watch the bikes come by!

Bike for Dad feat. Elder Stone

2. Gender in Thailand is merely a suggestion. This has led me to seriously study the family and the law of chastity. I am convinced there is more pornagraphic material here than in any area of the world. That may be false, but it has caused me to seriously study the effect that Satan has first on the individual, then on a group of people, then on the general public and acceptance of sin. I know that the Law of Chastity and the Family Proclamation are true doctrines. I have seen the effect of the opposite, and it is not beneficial for society. It will only be a matter of time when you have to question whether someone is a man or a woman all over the world. This is a real thing in Thailand. I am scared for the future, but I know that everything is in God's plan. That is why we have Jesus Christ, that is why He was born.  

The Funnies:

1. We are teaching one of our RCs right now how to be a ward missionary, so we told her to teach me as an investigator with a companion about the Restoration. She did great! Hahahaha she opened up the Book of Mormon and explained the pictures in the front of the book... also she explained the Liahona. So as an investigator, I asked if we had the ball here on the earth. And she answered and said, "Why yes we do Abraham! We have some Liahonas in the church!"... She was referring to the Liahona magazine hahahaha! It was so adorable, so we didn't tell her hahahaha.

When you play recorders in the taxi because you can...

Spiritual thought: 

Something that our mission president shared with us yesterday that I really liked:

Foundation of testimony should not be on an organization or a single gospel principle. You can have a testimony of faith all you want. You can love the Priesthood. You can know 100% that the Book of Mormon is true. But those things can be broken and split apart by the devil. He can break down the little bits of testimony that you have over time. Our focus (as it says in Helaman 5:12) should be on our Savior. He is our ROCK. And if our testimony is based on His principles and His Atonement, "WE CANNOT FAIL." I know that Jesus Christ is the center of our universe. Through Him we can be saved. Only through Him.

I love you all and am so grateful that this Christmas I get to be in Thailand. The Christmas spirit is felt all over the world because Jesus Christ is felt all over the world. I know that He lives and through Him all things are possible. God bless you all and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The Dream

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Love always,

Elder Smith-Driggs