Culture week, Thanksgiving and more Soccer

This week was really great. We taught a lot of English, like normal. This week was a little more exciting than normal because we had Thanksgiving, which was really awesome. To show our thankfulness, the Lao Elders participated in what we called Culture Week.

To explain culture week further, we were trying to live our lives more like Lao people; to be more thankful for what we have. 

So the rules that went with culture week were:

1.  No air conditioning 

2.  No sleeping on a mattress (sleep on the floor)

3.  Budget to 30,000 kip\day ($3-4)

4.  You must use a squatter type toilet (see pictures)

5.  You must wash all clothes by hand.

6.  No speaking English, except for teaching English or when talking to someone who does not speak Lao.

7.  You have to eat Lao food (not Thai food)

8.  You have to eat all meals on the floor.

9.  Put 3 or more peppers on all of your food.

There were also some bonus rules, if you want to follow them, such as taking cold showers or eating 7 or more peppers on your food. The last day I followed all of the bonus rules as well. 

Anyway, we were doing that for a solid week from last Thursday up until Thanksgiving dinner. The only one that we didn’t follow through with completely was speaking Lao all week. We made it about 4 days on that one. It wasn’t too hard to speak Lao all day but it was pretty rough for Elder Blocker, he just arrived and nobody would speak English with him so we switched that one for his sake. 

Another fun thing was, this Wednesday, we went over to a member’s house and he cooked a bunch of food for all six of the Elders, so we ate a full dinner. Afterwards, he brings out these two giant wheels of bananas ( way larger then a bunch you would get in the states) Then he starts passing them out and keeps talking about how Elder Morley once ate 8 bananas. He mentioned that fact about 5 or 6 times. Then I decided I was going to eat 9 bananas, so I did. It was a lot of bananas.  

It was an interesting week, and now I am really grateful for Air conditioning and for mattresses and for American and Thai food. For our Thanksgiving dinner, we ate at a member’s house. It was interesting. It was all the American missionaries celebrating an American Holiday in an Australian member’s house in Laos. She was really nice and made a spectacular dinner. She even found a Turkey and cooked it. It was, by far, the highlight of the week. 

Yesterday, we played soccer again. It was a lot of fun and this time we had about 150-200 people watching the match. This game we got destroyed. We played better but they played their A team players or just some better people. The final score ended up 2 to 6 but we had most of the crowd on our side, so it was a lot of fun.

Well that was about it for this week. We still do not have a church. So we have a lot of free time. Elder Blocker is a great guy. I am having a great time being companions with him.

-- Elder Cheney 

ฉะนั้น, หากเจ้ามีความปรารถนาจะรับใช้พระผู้เป็นเจ้า เจ้าก็ได้รับเรียกมายังงาน
เอ็ลเดอร์ ชีนีย์

ແລະ ຈົ່ງເບິ່ງ, ຂ້າພະເຈົ້າບອກພວກທ່ານເຖິງເລື່ອງເຫລົ່ານີ້ເພື່ອພວກທ່ານຈະຮຽນຮູ້ກ່ຽວກັບປັນຍາ ເພື່ອພວກທ່ານຈະຮຽນຮູ້ວ່າ ເມື່ອພວກທ່ານຮັບໃຊ້ເພື່ອນມະນຸດດ້ວຍກັນ ພວກທ່ານກໍຮັບໃຊ້ພຣະເຈົ້າຂອງພວກທ່ານນັ້ນເອງ
ແອວເດີ ຈີນີ

Soccer and a New Transfer

So this week had a lot of stuff going on. First of all, Elder Morley left on Tuesday, so that was really kind of sad. He is probably at home now, having a good time with his family. My new companion is Elder Blocker. He is from California, and he has been out for about 9 months now. I did, however, have no companion for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week, which was kind of odd. I was just kind of running all over the place and it was a lot more work to cover all the teaching stuff I needed to cover. 

So this week we have gotten acquainted really well with a member here. His name is brother Mino. We recently met him at a restaurant and he recognized us. He was baptized in Australia, in Sydney, about six months ago. He was doing really well there then he came back here for a few months to be at home. Since we have met him he has enjoyed going around to a lot of different places with us. He is super awesome. 

A funny story for the week (and this may sound like the story line for some cheesy sports movie). Earlier in the week Elder Smith-Driggs was talking to these people playing soccer at this college. He kept talking and he got us committed to playing soccer against this college soccer team. At first we all thought we were going to get annihilated, but we formed a plan and did some practicing, then, as we are going to play them on Friday, one of our English students rolls up in her car (she was there when the match was set) and then she pulls out this bag of custom made soccer uniforms for us. So our confidence is getting higher and higher. The match starts and it is obvious that they are way better but we are keeping up with them just from our running a lot and being in good shape. The game goes on and we are able to make two goals before they make a single one. Then they come back and make three in a row. By halftime it was tied up at three to three. The second half was just as close. With one minute left in the match it was all tied up at eight to eight. Then with about twenty seconds left in the game they score another goal and our team loses. 

So yeah, we lost the match and our team ended up having to pay the ref. It was a lot of fun though and it could be fun to do in the future again.

-- Elder Cheney    (acheney@myldsmail.net) 

ฉะนั้น, หากเจ้ามีความปรารถนาจะรับใช้พระผู้เป็นเจ้า เจ้าก็ได้รับเรียกมายังงาน
เอ็ลเดอร์ ชีนีย์

ແລະ ຈົ່ງເບິ່ງ, ຂ້າພະເຈົ້າບອກພວກທ່ານເຖິງເລື່ອງເຫລົ່ານີ້ເພື່ອພວກທ່ານຈະຮຽນຮູ້ກ່ຽວກັບປັນຍາ ເພື່ອພວກທ່ານຈະຮຽນຮູ້ວ່າ ເມື່ອພວກທ່ານຮັບໃຊ້ເພື່ອນມະນຸດດ້ວຍກັນ ພວກທ່ານກໍຮັບໃຊ້ພຣະເຈົ້າຂອງພວກທ່ານນັ້ນເອງ
ແອວເດີ ຈີນີ

Elder Morley's Last Week, Awesome P-day

So this week we had a lot of stuff going on. Last Sunday was a great day. We had a special Sacrament Meeting for all the Lao members who hadn’t taken the sacrament in six weeks. Then we had district conference. It was really great, especially because Elder Wong from the Area Presidency was there and he did a good job at giving training. Mainly it was nice to be at church and to be with all of the Lao members. It was super awesome. Many members came packed inside this huge bus one of the members owns and those members live up in the north. It took them 5 hours to drive all the way to Thailand for District Conference.

The rest of this week, since then, has been filled with a lot of stuff. So this week was Elder Morley’s last full week as a missionary. On Monday, it was Elder Ingleton’s first day in the country, so that was exciting. We also had a fun Family Home Evening at the park with the YSA members. Later in the week, we had a lot of instances where we were eating with different classes of English Students

This week there has also been a festival called the That Luang Festival. On Friday we got to go over there and check it out it was pretty cool. That Luang is a Buddhist monument here in Laos. It was pretty and there were a lot of people there. It is fun being in large crowds of people because I can just see over all of them and then as I am walking through, they always do this thing where they look to the side then pause and look straight up and comment about how tall I am.

This Saturday was the most awesome P-day ever. We went with bunch of members to a place called Tell-a Lao. It is this gigantic lake that is made from this dam here in Laos. It is possibly the prettiest place that I have been in my life. So, since it is Elder Morley’s last P-day, we had the wonderful opportunity to go there. At the reservoir, we rented a large boat and relaxed on the lake all day. The only down side of this whole trip was not being able to swim in the lake. Other than that, it was super relaxing and a really good time being around members.

So Elder Morley is going this Friday (he is Leaving Lao tomorrow). I am going to miss him a ton. So yeah, I am getting a new companion. I will leave that cliff hanger for next week’s email.  

-- Elder Cheney   acheney@myldsmail.net

ฉะนั้น, หากเจ้ามีความปรารถนาจะรับใช้พระผู้เป็นเจ้า เจ้าก็ได้รับเรียกมายังงาน
เอ็ลเดอร์ ชีนีย์

ແລະ ຈົ່ງເບິ່ງ, ຂ້າພະເຈົ້າບອກພວກທ່ານເຖິງເລື່ອງເຫລົ່ານີ້ເພື່ອພວກທ່ານຈະຮຽນຮູ້ກ່ຽວກັບປັນຍາ ເພື່ອພວກທ່ານຈະຮຽນຮູ້ວ່າ ເມື່ອພວກທ່ານຮັບໃຊ້ເພື່ອນມະນຸດດ້ວຍກັນ ພວກທ່ານກໍຮັບໃຊ້ພຣະເຈົ້າຂອງພວກທ່ານນັ້ນເອງ
ແອວເດີ ຈີນີ

Elder Magill's last week, Mission tour, Halloween

It was another great week here in Laos. We are still without a church building, but it is getting closer. So we mainly taught English all of this week. It was also a lot of fun because we had Halloween. Also, it was Elder Magill’s last week so a lot of English students and members wanted to eat with all of us so that was a lot of fun. The reason Elder Magill is going home now is because he extended his mission one month. He was supposed to go home at the last transfer. So we have a new Elder now. His name is Elder Ingleton. He was in the MTC group that came right after my group, and he is now companions with Elder Saunders.

Halloween was a lot of fun.  So, as English teachers, we had a lot of fun in our classes giving them a culture lesson about Halloween, and teaching them about trick or treating, jack O’ lanterns and stuff like that. We even got to have them practice trick or treating and we gave them candy. It was a lot of fun. Later in the night, after our classes, on Halloween we had an activity at one of the member’s houses. We made this haunted house for them to go through. It was a pretty good haunted house too if I say so myself. My jobs in running the haunted house included pulling a piece of fishing line tied to a swing to make it appear as if the swing was moving without anyone there. Also, I hid under a couch and grabbed people’s legs while they walked by. So Halloween was a lot of fun and we got to make it a holiday even though it isn’t really a holiday here.

On Tuesday we taught the deaf kids again. This time we taught them true or false, so we would write a sentence on the board in English and explain the sentence to them in sign language. Then they would hold up their piece of paper that said True or their piece of paper that said False. It was a lot of fun, especially after they understood it well and would start doing the opposite ones as a joke. For example, we wrote the sentence; ‘I am a turtle.’ Then we translate for them and they would all hold up the True sign and then laugh. It was really funny.

So, yesterday we came over to Thailand again because we currently are having a mission tour by Elder Wong from the Asia Area Presidency. We got to hear from him. He talked a lot about teaching skills so I am really excited to use some of those this weekend and then again when we get a church. We are still here in Thailand because this weekend is District Conference (basically like Stake Conference but for District’s which are not as big as Stake’s). So we have part of that today and a good portion of that tomorrow.

So that was this week. We have also been able to keep in touch with our investigators over the phone. They are all still doing good. Two of our investigators are coming to District Conference and one is bringing his family so that is super awesome. Also, we will be able to teach them while they are here in Thailand. 

-- Elder Cheney      acheney@myldsmail.net

ฉะนั้น, หากเจ้ามีความปรารถนาจะรับใช้ พระผู้เป็นเจ้า เจ้าก็ได้รับเรียกมายังงาน
เอ็ลเดอร์ ชีนีย์

ແລະ ຈົ່ງເບິ່ງ, ຂ້າພະເຈົ້າບອກພວກທ່ານເຖິງເລື່ ອງເຫລົ່ານີ້ເພື່ອພວກທ່ານຈະຮຽນຮູ້ ກ່ຽວກັບປັນຍາ ເພື່ອພວກທ່ານຈະຮຽນຮູ້ວ່າ ເມື່ອພວກທ່ານຮັບໃຊ້ເພື່ອນມະນຸ ດດ້ວຍກັນ ພວກທ່ານກໍຮັບໃຊ້ພຣະເຈົ້ າຂອງພວກທ່ານນັ້ນເອງ
ແອວເດີ ຈີນີ

Thailand and a Branch Activity

So lately, without a church, we have not had much to do in our free time. We kind of just roam around or hang out with the deaf kids. We don't have any place to teach anyone, so we really have nothing to do a good portion of our time. This has lead us to switching this up a little bit. So we decided we would send two Elders to Thailand to work for the week and the other Elders would just work to cover the extra classes. So, I was the lucky one and got to go work in Thailand for the week. So, Elder Saunders and I went over to Nongkhai to work all week. 

It was a lot of fun to do missionary work all week. It was even more fun that Elder Parish (my trainer in Thailand) just recently moved to Nongkhai, so I got to switch off with him on Sunday. For the rest of the week Elder Saunders and I just worked together. We had some pretty good success at building up an investigator pool while we were there, and all of them came from street contacting, which is usually quite ineffective. We got this cool investigator named Fon. He has been learning with the Jehovah's witnesses for 4 straight years but has never felt any desire to join their religion. We taught him a few times and are now in the process of reading in, and praying for an answer about, the Book of Mormon. 

We got one other serious investigator while we were over there. His name is Pet. He is actually a Lao person but he is from up north so his Lao was quite hard to understand and he had a hard time understanding Elder Saunders and my 2 month version of Lao. We met with him twice and he really wants to learn everything so that he can follow the commandments and everything. The hard part is he is a little hard to keep on topic in any way, so teaching him those very things can be hard sometimes. 

Being in Thailand was kind of weird. It is pretty hard to be switching languages so frequently. It takes a little bit of effort to separate the two languages. The other Elders say after a while it will be really easy to just switch back and forth but I am not quite there yet. 

We went back to Laos on Friday. It was a good day. We got some solid contacting. In the morning we found some random service to do I helped this guy get his motorcycle running and we got to clear all of these branches and stuff out, at a Buddhist temple. Then we got to bike back to Laos. That was fun, biking over the Friendship Bridge (the bridge that runs from Laos to Thailand)

Today we went out to this waterfall river thing and met about 60 of the members there. It was awesome to see all of the members and see that everyone is still doing well. All the members were playing at this really cool river, it had a rope swing, a 15 foot platform to jump from, and a zip line that you hold on to then drop in the river. So that was fun to watch. I was a little sad that it is a rule that we can’t swim. It would have been fun to try some of the activities.

So that was this week. It was a pretty exciting and fun week. 

-- Elder Cheney

ฉะนั้น, หากเจ้ามีความปรารถนาจะรับใช้พระผู้เป็นเจ้า เจ้าก็ได้รับเรียกมายังงาน
เอ็ลเดอร์ ชีนีย์

ແລະ ຈົ່ງເບິ່ງ, ຂ້າພະເຈົ້າບອກພວກທ່ານເຖິງເລື່ອງເຫລົ່ານີ້ເພື່ອພວກທ່ານຈະຮຽນຮູ້ກ່ຽວກັບປັນຍາ ເພື່ອພວກທ່ານຈະຮຽນຮູ້ວ່າ ເມື່ອພວກທ່ານຮັບໃຊ້ເພື່ອນມະນຸດດ້ວຍກັນ ພວກທ່ານກໍຮັບໃຊ້ພຣະເຈົ້າຂອງພວກທ່ານນັ້ນເອງ
ແອວເດີ ຈີນີ