Why do you do what you do?

…. ever thought about that?  Take a look at the Spiritual Thought section for more ideas. Padres and Mama all around the lowg, it is good to wow with you just a titchsmacker here from whoop whoop Laos. (I just used Spanish, Chinese, Thai, Ben Driggs slang, Laotian, and Australian slang in this sentence – I have been practicing this for language study all week hahahahaha.) IT IS GOOD TO BE WITH YOU TODAY MY FRIENDS. SHALL WE BEGIN THE EMAIL SESSION OF VICTORY???!!!!!!!!!!

"I can see Thailand from my house!"

The Work: 

Going great. Great things are happening here in Laos. We have so many investigators that we cannot teach them all. It is looking good with some of the new guys coming up… hopefully they can get here soon. But as for now, we still just have 3 amigos here in this quaint country. A little difficult because we just counted our investigators… and we have 18 people who need to be taught on a weekly basis. What a blessing. The Lord is preparing people here in Laos. The members here are absolutely fantastic. Big shoutout to them for being the people they are. Their motives are pure and Christ-like. I am with some of the most humble and grateful people I have ever met in my entire life… simply amazing. 

Teaching English is going well. My students are way awesome and they like me J. It always makes me feel good when they say I am a fun teacher. Sometimes a small compliment can mean the world to someone.

The Bottom Line: 

You smell really bad at the end of the day (more than in Utah hahaha) partially because everything is really wet here. The humid climate mixed with rain is not so appealing to the nose at the end of a hard work day hahahahahahaahaha. All of you prepping to go on missions – get some deodorant that you like because you might have to re-apply half way through the day hahahahaahahaha.

The Culture: 

Donating free glasses. Big thanks to TAF and Seeing is Believing!

Delicious pastries here (because France was here not too long ago occupying the country)… so that means we have delicious baguettes everywhere. It is so awesome!

Yummy

The Funnies:

1. When my students finish their tests, I make them come up to the front and slam their test on the table as hard as they can. I call it their “physical release of energy,” meaning that they have finished their test and they did it! They completed! It is hilarious to watch their confusion when they have been told to do something so loud/rambunctious by the teacher. They look up at me like, Teacher Am… are you sure? I nod and tell them to slam it on the wooden table as hard as they can. With the glee of a 7 year old, these government officials slam the paper down with all their might and walk triumphantly back to their seats, grinning ear to ear hahahahahaahaa.

My very official teacher's desk

2. E. Morley caught a fly 3 times this week – unbelievable skill.

3. Mom you would be so proud of me. I ate my vitamins EVERY DAY THIS WEEK. BOOM

The Spiritual Thought: 

This question has stayed on my mind ever since I started university at BYU. There were some days where I would look at my life, my grades, my dating life, my family life… and just think to myself quietly – why do I do what I do? Who cares? What are my motives? I have asked the same questions to myself as a missionary. Why do I wake up every morning at 6:30 a.m, study, teach English, teach at the church… every day – it becomes almost robotic… so I ask myself, “Why do I do what I do?” The answer has come to me very simply many, many times on my mission. And the answer is always the same – I do what I do because I said I would. I promised Heavenly Father at the beginning of my service that I would do everything in my power to bring people unto Jesus, the Christ. I fall short of my word every day. I am not perfect. I make many, many, many mistakes. But Heavenly Father sees my desire, and when I have been a good boy, I get the feeling at the end of the day, “It is enough, my son.” So I understand a small portion about my purpose as a missionary… but what about the guy without the nametag? What about Abraham Smith-Driggs, 20 year old goofy kid? Why do I get up every morning at home and go to my classes, date girls, desperately try to look good on my social media accounts and feel “loved” by the online world. Why? Why do I do these things? My identity, the person I am, my character… everything is defined by my desires. In fact, our thoughts that fuel our desires physically re-code our brain to put more “desire” with the thoughts we think of the most. So take some time to re-evaluate your daily routine. Why do you do what you do? Why do you wake up in the morning? You will soon learn that your desires, or your motives, carry every fiber of your being throughout the day. Do not underestimate the power of thinking. Your thoughts can make the difference of a successful, fulfilling career, or fuel jealousy, unhappiness, and continual discouragement. I testify of the power of re-evaluation, which is honestly just a fancy word for repentance. My commitment to you all today is to re-evaluate why you do what you do. Re-evaluate with yourself and re-evaluate with God. You may be surprised to find that your motives are exactly where they need to be…. or maybe they need some spiritual seasoning. You guys rock like ACDC, and you have smiles like Julie Andrews. Thank you, thank you for your sweet emails and for your prayers!

Stay sweet ;) 

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Love the Lord and Laugh, 

ອັບຣາຮາມ ສະມິດ-ດິກສ

Abraham Smith-Driggs