Let Us All Press On

So, this last week was amazing. It was also my last one. So I will be flying down to Bangkok tomorrow after church and then leaving for home Monday Morning. 

My week was great. It was full. Last Sunday and Monday we were in Udon for District and then Zone Conference. We had great training. Then, since getting back to Laos, my week has been full of visiting members and eating meals with seemingly everyone. We ate probably five times a day. Sometimes we would eat at restaurants. We even had one day where we ate at the same restaurant twice. It was a great week. 

Today was busy. We went out to visit the longest Lao member. She is the one who brought the church into Lao. She is getting old and is very sick. We also volunteered at an event that a member was running. So it turned out to be a busy day.

To summarize my mission into one email is impossible, but it really was the best two years. I have grown my personal testimony of this work immensely. I have gained a lot of friends from other missionaries, members and investigators. I am especially grateful for the recent converts that I had the opportunity to teach. Being a missionary has brought me so much happiness.      

I want to share my testimony of this Gospel. I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. I know that his church is restored on the earth again. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know these things for myself though prayer and studying the scriptures. I love this work. I know it is the work of God and it will continue to move forward. 

--Elder Cheney

ฉะนั้น, หากเจ้ามีความปรารถนาจะรับใช้พร ะผู้เป็นเจ้า เจ้าก็ได้รับเรียกมายังงาน
เอ็ลเดอร์ ชีนีย์

ແລະ ຈົ່ງເບິ່ງ, ຂ້າພະເຈົ້າບອກພວກທ່ານເຖິງເລື່ອງ ເຫລົ່ານີ້ເພື່ອພວກທ່ານຈະຮຽນຮູ້ ກ່ຽວກັບປັນຍາ ເພື່ອພວກທ່ານຈະຮຽນຮູ້ວ່າ ເມື່ອພວກທ່ານຮັບໃຊ້ເພື່ອນມະນຸ ດດ້ວຍກັນ ພວກທ່ານກໍຮັບໃຊ້ພຣະເຈົ້ າຂອງພວກທ່ານນັ້ນເອງ
ແອວເດີ ຈີນີ

Eating Food and Going to Bangkok

This week was super amazing! We were pretty busy the whole week. The first half of the week we had a lot of visiting the members. The fun part about visit members at their house is they almost always cook you food, even if you don't show up at a meal time. So we had several days this week where we ate 4-5 meals per day and the only meal we made for ourselves was breakfast. 

Our investigators are doing great. Next Sunday we will should be having 4 baptisms. Two of them are children I have been teaching and the other two are a mother/daughter that Elder Saunders has been teaching. We have lots of other investigators that are doing great. 

We had a fun Halloween party on Monday. Halloween in Laos was great. We made a haunted house at Sister Stevenson's house and had a party with a lot of members. We turned her house into a hospital sort of deal and I was a doctor in a lab coat that led all the members though the haunted house/hospital. Really, only those who know American people celebrate Halloween. The members are always excited to participate.

The two new Elders are doing great. They still really only speak Thai, but they are learning. Elder Hansen and Higginson are doing well and I think they will do a great job taking over once Elder Saunders and I leave.

On Thursday Elder Hansen and I went to Bangkok, Elder Hansen had to renew his Thai Visa. So we got into Bangkok at like 11:00 at night then got to the Elders house at 12:00. We slept there for a few hours then got to the visa place at 5:00am. It turned out good though. After that we went over to my second area Samutprakaan. We had a good time there. I had the opportunity to visit some of the people I taught. We went around to all of these different places and then slept at the Samutprakaan Elders house until like 3:00 am then we had to go to the airport and fly back to Udorn. So right now we are in Udorn and will be here till Monday. We have District Conference here this weekend then Zone Conference on Monday. So this trip into Thailand is a pretty long one. Being in Thailand is fun because we can preach the gospel. One of my favorite parts of the week was Elder Hansen and I just street contacting in Bangkok. We were being rejected by almost everyone, but it just felt so good to talk about Jesus with Strangers. 

So this week has been great!

For this week I wanted to share scripture that I ran across in my personal studies. Alma 26:22 

“Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance.”

I loved this scripture because of the vast promise that is laid out for us if we are willing to repent, exercise faith and pray without ceasing.

-- Elder Cheney

ฉะนั้น, หากเจ้ามีความปรารถนาจะรับใช้พระผู้เป็นเจ้า เจ้าก็ได้รับเรียกมายังงาน
เอ็ลเดอร์ ชีนีย์

ແລະ ຈົ່ງເບິ່ງ, ຂ້າພະເຈົ້າບອກພວກທ່ານເຖິງເລື່ອງເຫລົ່ານີ້ເພື່ອພວກທ່ານຈະຮຽນຮູ້ກ່ຽວກັບປັນຍາ ເພື່ອພວກທ່ານຈະຮຽນຮູ້ວ່າ ເມື່ອພວກທ່ານຮັບໃຊ້ເພື່ອນມະນຸດດ້ວຍກັນ ພວກທ່ານກໍຮັບໃຊ້ພຣະເຈົ້າຂອງພວກທ່ານນັ້ນເອງ
ແອວເດີ ຈີນີ