Turnovers and Teaching

So this week has really just been a great week filled with fun activities. Last P-day we had a lot of fun going to a museum. Then Sunday was great, we had new investigators at church for us to teach. We were able to pick up two people that seem really solid. The first person’s name is Basa. She just came up to us after church and told us that she would like to learn more about Jesus Christ. The other person that is looking like she has a lot of potential is a member’s girlfriend that he brought to church. She didn't show a lot of interest at first but when we got into a lesson with her, a lot more interest and desire for the gospel came out. So that was great to get two good investigators thrown into our teaching group, especially because it was starting to shrink down with all of our other investigators getting baptized. 

All of the recently baptized people are doing great and are as strong as ever. Brother See, Brother Tone, and Brother Bounma all got the Aaronic priesthood in the last few weeks. So that is a great. The Branch President is also looking for callings for all four of the recent converts. We have been teaching all of them frequently and they are all super awesome converts to the gospel.

Our other investigators are doing well. Coco is doing great but Namsom is not doing quite as well. Her parents are a little hesitant to her getting baptized. So, we had to move the baptismal date back to the 2nd of July for both of them. Coco wants to do that and if Namsom ends up not being able to be baptized he is ready to get baptized on that date regardless.  

On Thursday and Friday we had ‘turnovers’ for bathrooms and water wells that DIC donated to a couple of different schools. It is fun to be a part of that. Our job is easy. We show up translate Lao to English casually for about 30 minutes and then translate English to Lao officially for a 5 minute speech. Then we play games with the school children. Then at the end, we get fed a bunch of food. So, we had two days of those ‘turnovers’ this week. 

Today was also a fun P-day. We went up and visited some of the members up north. We visited this super awesome family and ate lunch out there. Then afterward, the father took us around to visit a few other members in that area. In a few minutes we will be running over to a less active member to teach him English.

I am having a blast up here with Elder Saunders. He is a really fun person. 

So that’s the update for this week. Things are going well!

-- Elder Cheney

ฉะนั้น, หากเจ้ามีความปรารถนาจะรับใช้พระผู้เป็นเจ้า เจ้าก็ได้รับเรียกมายังงาน
เอ็ลเดอร์ ชีนีย์

ແລະ ຈົ່ງເບິ່ງ, ຂ້າພະເຈົ້າບອກພວກທ່ານເຖິງເລື່ອງເຫລົ່ານີ້ເພື່ອພວກທ່ານຈະຮຽນຮູ້ກ່ຽວກັບປັນຍາ ເພື່ອພວກທ່ານຈະຮຽນຮູ້ວ່າ ເມື່ອພວກທ່ານຮັບໃຊ້ເພື່ອນມະນຸດດ້ວຍກັນ ພວກທ່ານກໍຮັບໃຊ້ພຣະເຈົ້າຂອງພວກທ່ານນັ້ນເອງ
ແອວເດີ ຈີນີ

Transfers

So, this last week was transfers. There was a lot of excitement there for us as Elder Smith-Driggs finished his mission and is back home. So, my new companion is Elder Saunders. Elder Saunders and I came into the MTC at the same time and were together there at the beginning of our missions. So, we have been around each other a lot with that then we both came to Laos together last year and had like four months in the same house in Laos. So, we are good friends and are happy to be companions for the next little bit. 

Brother Bounma is doing great and will be confirmed tomorrow.  I have been able to see the change in him over the last few weeks. The gospel really does change people's lives for the better. 

Coco is doing good he and his cousin Namsom have a baptismal date for the 25th of this month. They are doing great and Brother See is doing a lot, while helping us teach.

English classes are going well, like normal. Nothing crazy there. 

Not Too much for this week. We changed our P-day to Saturday's so it was a shorter week.  

-- Elder Cheney

ฉะนั้น, หากเจ้ามีความปรารถนาจะรับใช้พระผู้เป็นเจ้า เจ้าก็ได้รับเรียกมายังงาน
เอ็ลเดอร์ ชีนีย์

ແລະ ຈົ່ງເບິ່ງ, ຂ້າພະເຈົ້າບອກພວກທ່ານເຖິງເລື່ອງເຫລົ່ານີ້ເພື່ອພວກທ່ານຈະຮຽນຮູ້ກ່ຽວກັບປັນຍາ ເພື່ອພວກທ່ານຈະຮຽນຮູ້ວ່າ ເມື່ອພວກທ່ານຮັບໃຊ້ເພື່ອນມະນຸດດ້ວຍກັນ ພວກທ່ານກໍຮັບໃຊ້ພຣະເຈົ້າຂອງພວກທ່ານນັ້ນເອງ
ແອວເດີ ຈີນີ

Busy, Busy Busy

So, this week flew by. It was Elder Smith-Driggs last full week.

So, we had lots of appointments and the highlight of the week was on Sunday, when Bounma was baptized. His brother, who is a missionary in Thailand, came to baptize him. His brother's companion, who came with him, was my MTC companion, Elder Brandner, so I got to a switch off with him for a little bit. It was fun. So now most of companions in the Thailand Bangkok Mission have been to Laos (sorry Elder Parish, and Elder Joyem).

Sorry that this is probably a shorter email today. I don't have much time. But things are going great here and the work is moving forward!

-- Elder Cheney

I will add a few extra pictures this week to make up for the shorter message.

ฉะนั้น, หากเจ้ามีความปรารถนาจะรับใช้พร ะผู้เป็นเจ้า เจ้าก็ได้รับเรียกมายังงาน
เอ็ลเดอร์ ชีนีย์

ແລະ ຈົ່ງເບິ່ງ, ຂ້າພະເຈົ້າບອກພວກທ່ານເຖິງເລື່ອງ ເຫລົ່ານີ້ເພື່ອພວກທ່ານຈະຮຽນຮູ້ກ່ ຽວກັບປັນຍາ ເພື່ອພວກທ່ານຈະຮຽນຮູ້ວ່າ ເມື່ອພວກທ່ານຮັບໃຊ້ເພື່ອນມະນຸດດ້ ວຍກັນ ພວກທ່ານກໍຮັບໃຊ້ພຣະເຈົ້າຂອງພວກທ່ ານນັ້ນເອງ
ແອວເດີ ຈີນີ

Two Baptisms and Six New Investigators

This week like every week was quite busy and fantastic. We had lots of teaching investigators this week and it was a great week for Laos.

See got confirmed a member of the church yesterday. So that was great. He is doing well. We started teaching his son Coco this week. He is as awesome as his dad and has a desire as well to be baptized and be a member. He is now working towards a baptismal date on the 18^th of this month. See also introduced us to one niece and one nephew. We taught them once and they might have some potential to progress forward as well. Brother See is just amazing! He has found the value the gospel has and is working to let everyone he knows come to learn about it.

Yesterday, Tone and Sony got baptized. It was a good service. They are happy with their decision and just want to do the best they can. They have a really cute family. They have two kids, 4 and 6 years old. I am happy that they will be able to have a family in the gospel because a family can be so much stronger than a single person.

We had some good stories from this week of old investigators coming back. Back when we lost the old church we had a few people that were progressing really well. But with the church gone for all those months, a lot of them had fallen away and were not quite ready to go to church at the new location when it came. However, this week we had two of those people meet with us. The first was Tawn. Before she was awesome and had an amazing testimony of the gospel. She hadn’t come to church since the we were in the new church but this week we were finally able to go to meet with her and talk about what was going on. It turns out her Dad is against her being Christian, but she still wants to get baptized. She also works with her Dad on Sunday so she can’t ask to leave to go to church.

The second investigator’s name is Bounma. He has an older brother serving a mission in Thailand right now. We were trying for a long time, but were not able to make much progress at getting him to church or to read his scriptures like he used to (Before we moved out of the old church he had read to 3^rd Nephi as an investigator). Anyway, this week we got an appointment with him and got permission for his brother to phone in for the lesson.  The lesson was amazing. The spirit was able to testify to him and kick him back on track. He now has a baptismal date for this coming Sunday. He has the old fire back and we are working every day with him to review all the lessons for him. Best of all, we got permission from the Mission President to have his brother come back and baptize him. So that was way cool.

This week we also had the zone leaders come do exchanges here. Usually, Zone Leaders don’t do that because they have to cross an international border. However, one of them had a visa problem that was easiest solved by them leaving Thailand and going back. We made the most out of that and got to do a companion exchange. I was with Elder Ellis. It was way fun since we were old companions. It was just like old times. Except this time, I had the upper hand in the language, since he doesn’t speak Lao. We taught Sister Tawn and got to spend the day with Tone and Sony at this children’s day festival. We also had a miracle. I need to explain some background. While Elder Ellis and I were serving together in Samutprakaan, we had these 4 recent converts that were all Lao people. They moved back to Laos and we lost contact. I have been searching around trying to find them for the last two months. I contacted one of their sister’s a while ago but she didn’t know her brothers phone number. I eventually got around to the recent convert and he got our phone number and called me right as Elder Ellis walked in for the night on the first day of the switch off. It was so perfect. We were both able to talk to him for the first time in about a year. It made my day as well as Elder Ellis’s.

This week we were also celebrating getting the new church, so we had a nice dinner with all the people that were part of making that happen from Lao and from Hong Kong. It was nice to be invited to that. We got a nice dinner with a lot of nice people.

So, this week was way great and it looks like I should have great things to write about next week as well.

-- Elder Cheney

ฉะนั้น, หากเจ้ามีความปรารถนาจะรับใช้พระผู้เป็นเจ้า เจ้าก็ได้รับเรียกมายังงาน
เอ็ลเดอร์ ชีนีย์

ແລະ ຈົ່ງເບິ່ງ, ຂ້າພະເຈົ້າບອກພວກທ່ານເຖິງເລື່ອງເຫລົ່ານີ້ເພື່ອພວກທ່ານຈະຮຽນຮູ້ກ່ຽວກັບປັນຍາ ເພື່ອພວກທ່ານຈະຮຽນຮູ້ວ່າ ເມື່ອພວກທ່ານຮັບໃຊ້ເພື່ອນມະນຸດດ້ວຍກັນ ພວກທ່ານກໍຮັບໃຊ້ພຣະເຈົ້າຂອງພວກທ່ານນັ້ນເອງ
ແອວເດີ ຈີນີ