The "Connection" With Heaven

My dear brothers and sisters, this week went by like a blur. And yet again, it is P-Day! Man the time goes by fast. 

The Work: 

The Work is hard here right now. We still don't have a church building, so you can imagine how that affects the teaching situations. The members are such great sports. If any of you Lao members are reading this right now, just know that we are praying for you every day. We love and support you. God has not forgotten you. He will never forget his children in Laos. You mean the world to him. We (the Elders) all love you as well. For all of you at home, we would appreciate your prayers for the members in Lao. In General Conference, one of the apostles talked about "the freeze" somewhere in Africa... that is a very similar situation to what we have right now here in Laos. The work is difficult, but God will never forget his children. As we are patient, the Lord will work miracles here in Laos. We are visiting as many people as we can. I only have about 30 minutes to email today because we are visiting the members again today up north. So excited to see them. The Lao members show me what true discipleship is. They are truly loyal to their God. 

Sister Nuna got her mission call to Sydney Australia North mission! Congrats NUNA!!!

The Bottom Line: 

Teaching without a church is near impossible in Laos. But we will be ok :) 

The Culture: 

1. There are 2 big things coming up on Sunday and Monday. They have a big Buddhist holiday on Sunday, where (according to legend) fire literally shoots up out of the Mekong River from a giant fire breathing serpent that lurks in the river continually. Apparently there is legit fire that comes out so that will be on Sunday. On Monday, they have the boat races (imagine a big version of the East Coast boat races in Boston)...with a whole country watching. That is on Monday. All the English classes are canceled, and we will be going to watch the races!

When a student asks a question 

and we don't know the answer/can't understand them...lol

2. A big food staple here is fish. For those that didn't know, I prepared this fish dish with one of my favorite people in Laos. 

She is the mother of all the deaf kids (when I say mother I mean the general caretaker at the school). She radiates love. I love her dearly. She has taught me the most sign language out of everyone hahahahaha. She can't speak at all so it is fun to communicate with her through sign language (S/O to Jojo Savea). 

Cooking some sticky rice yummmmm

3. I ate sugar cane this week for the first time. Just break it off the pole, cut off the outside, and chew the cud on the inside to get the juice. DELICIOUS 

Such a classic Lao member-missionary photo. We love you guys!

4. The King in Thailand is dead...that is some big news. Really big news. Feel free to research it on your own if you like. That is all I will say. 

The Funnies: 

1. Elder Bouw found a 50,000 kip note on the road this week! We slammed on our breaks, and Elder Bouw got off his bike, ran and picked it up, and ran back yelling, "It’s a 50,000! 50,000 baby woohoooooo!" Hahahahaha it was a great blessing. Thanks God.

"Bae"

2. Quote from Elder Bouw as we were walking in to teach English class: "Things I need to buy today: Some bread, I need to put air in my tires.. and then buy an AC unit for the whole world." Hahahahahaha. 

Ever felt like this before?

Spiritual Thought: 

Today I want to talk about our connection to Heavenly Father through prayer. I think most of us understand that prayer is the way we communicate with our Heavenly Father. But how often do we feel connected to the conversation? In conference this last week, one of the apostles asked us this question: "When is the last time you felt that connection with heaven?" This question pierced me to my very soul as I had the opportunity to re-evaluate my prayers with my Heavenly Father. I am happy to note that the last time I felt "the connection" was last night. I am trying to make more of a connection with my Father in Heaven through sincere prayer especially in this time of hardship. God will never forget his people. I would encourage you to do the same, and to re-establish that connection with heaven if you do not have it already. For after all, God never forgets his people. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Thank you for your prayers. We sure need them. 

-- 

Love the Lord and Laugh, 

ອັບຣາຮາມ ສະມິດ-ດິກສ

Abraham Smith-Driggs