Thailand Week 54, 24 Aug 2014

Hey Family!!  

We're doing a zone sports day today so not a ton of time!  

One of my favorite scriptures to use with investigators is 1 Nephi 7:12.  "Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to him."  

This verse helps investigators understand that their problems aren't problems for God.  So all they need is faith.  I'm always so impressed with how far the Thai people will go with simple faith!  One Sister quit drinking coffee in like 2 days from 4 cups a day!  And she is now baptized!  She's from the Western part of Thailand in Ratchaburi.  She didn't have an education but can speak Burmese, Galleon, Thai, and her western dialect.  She has the craziest stories.  Like how she caught lobsters from age 13-16 to support her family and would guide her boat back home with the stars.   She has so much faith and conviction I feel like I learn from her example as much as I teach!

Mom I scored a fujifilm XP 70 for 5900 baht and it's perfect.  Everything proof and 16 mega pixels.  It's really good and I'm going to be way better at pictures!  Here's one from this week and then I have to go!  Sorry!  

Thailand Week 53, 17 Aug 2014

Hey Family!! 

This week was pretty nuts.  There were tons of blessings, but they were mixed in with a lot of trials and surprises too.  We didn't end up with a baptism this week for lots of different reasons haha.  One Sister got called on a work trip but is not going to have any problems with next week.  She is one of the most solid investigators I have ever taught and I have know doubt in her testimony.  Another Brother is in the same boat, except he got dragged away to help some family in another province on Friday night.  We're going to coordinate with the missionaries up there and help him get baptized in the church up there!  

This week we also have a good goal.  There are so many people out there and it's the greatest miracle when you are guided to someone the lord has prepared.  We met a lady that is one of those people.  She is a Thai language teacher and so she has such proper speech.  In Thai there are different levels of speaking, comparable to slang, but more interwoven into the culture and social system.  When she prays it's so sincere and she uses the more beautiful language, you can really feel the Spirit.  

Me and Elder Wright are turning our focus on qualifying for the miracles we're expecting and looking for.  For example, we learned last night we can run home from the church in about 3 minutes without too many problems!  It's useful knowledge to have haha.  

I know we "reap what we sow" as we are taught in Galatians 6.  That's our goal, to sow miracles with faith and diligence!

I'm glad I got to see the pictures of you guys at Eklutna!!  Funny thing, I was just telling Elder Wright about all the things we've done at Eklutna. All the camping and big fires and dam jumping.  

So today we're not sure what we're gonna do.  I don't think the zoo is gonna happen, but maybe we'll go find some good lunch at one of the ginormous malls here.  

Mom I'm sorry I lost my camera haha.  I was thinking that that's really just the kind of thing that would happen to me isn't it.  I'll take better care of the next one for sure.  And use it more to get you some good pictures!  I've been slacking there.  This is my lesson.

Dad what kind of food did you eat on your mission?  They're trying to push us to cook our own Thai food...but it's more expensive, takes longer, tastes worse, and is a pain.  So we made french toast instead for our mandatory homemade meal. ;)   It's the easiest for sure!

Love you all! :)

Elder Keller

Thailand Week 52, 10 Aug 2014

MIRACLES!!!!!!!!!

So the news from transfers, really not a whole lot.  Our entire house is the same, we're way pumped.  Elder Cosper, Elder Kohler, Elder Wright, and I have a ton of fun together.  Sister Ference killed off Sister Crockett (she completed her mission and went home) and is now training!  Sister Peck is the best Thai speaker I've ever heard out of the MTC.  

This week we really picked it up!  After being in the office for what is still more than half my time in Thailand I was honestly a little rusty.  I was a little bit sloppy and we didn't get as much work done as I wish we would have.  But we're picking up our game!!  This last week we went harder than ever and saw the miracles because of it!  Church attendance was looking a little iffy after calls on Saturday, not too many people confirmed but we knew it would work out because we put our effort in and prayed for the blessings.  Sunday rolls around and we start greeting our investigators at church!  We ended up with 5 people at church! And they're all so prepared!  We taught one man and he is in the perfect place for the Lord to fill in all the gaps he has in his life.  He handed over his cigarettes in the lesson and is never going back.  Another is here to be baptized and he knows it.  He watched the other baptisms that day and said "So next week you'll be the guy who says the prayer when I get baptized right?"   And then Elder Wright talked to a Sister and she liked the baptism but "didn't get a chance to do it this week, but next week right?"  Two of them were both met Saturday night practically as we were walking home.  I know the Lord is in this work and every other righteous desire of the world.  When we pray and work for miracles they will come!

Love Elder Keller

Thailand Week 51, 3 Aug 2014

Hey family!!!

I don't have a ton of time today because we're going to be running around doing some stuff.  But I definitely learned this week that missionary work has it's trials.  This last Sunday was not very successful for us as far as numbers and expectations.  Neither of our daters came to church and we only had 1 investigator there.  The lowest we've had in probably forever actually.

But there were other successes. Several recent converts who haven't been to church in a couple months came back and were fellowshipped right back in.  We were able to teach some awesome member lessons with those that came to church.

I read a talk called "The Atonement and the Missionary" ( I think) by Elder Holland today. He says that missionary work is supposed to be hard.  In order for us to really receive Christ's atonement in it's fullest we need to go through our own Gethsemane and walk the path to Calvary.

I know that Christ lives and that he will walk beside us in our trials.

Love Elder Keller

This is us riding a song taew!  We take one every day to go contacting.

Thailand Week 50, 27 July 2014

Hey Everyone!

This past week was a big faith building experience for Elder Wright and I.  This whole week we just decided to step it up a notch.  Instead of the two hour contacting minimum we decided to bump it up to 2 and a half hours, we were more diligent about calling our investigators, and just focused more in general.  And we definitely saw the results.  

One of our investigators was our most likely baptism for this week.  And it was all looking good!  But then we called him on I think Thursday, and he said he wouldn't be able to go to church because of a work trip that came up.  His first report was that he wouldn't get back until Monday.  Well we knew that wasn't going to happen, he had to be baptized.  We held up our faith and just didn't even consider that it wasn't going to work out.  On Friday, after a whole day of faith talk and praying we called him again and his schedule was changed and he was supposed to come home on Sunday morning now!  Just in time for church!!  It was such a miracle and a blessing to see him get baptized.  He had been such a quiet investigator, it was hard to gauge him sometimes.  But his testimony about how peaceful he felt chased away any doubts.  And after wards he was able to help us teach his son and it was such a spiritual lesson.  This family of 4 kids and a dad lost their mom a few years ago and now because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ they'll get to be reunited.

This week we're praying and expecting more miracles. and we're going to work even harder for them! 

It looks like you had a ton of fun in Utah!  I remember that one time we played laser tag and I think it was me that gave Hayden a gun muzzle bruise under his eye haha.  

Mom you look good!  Sister Ference looked over at picture last week and guessed that you were my older sister not my mom, true story.  We go running for like 4-5 miles in the morning a few days a week here.  I've lost some office fat I think!  My face looks thinner than before.  But then the members buy us ice cream, fried chicken, and sticky rice.  It's a hard battle.

Dad you have a sweet beard.  After shaving every single day for two straight years I'll probably have to try out a beard at least for a little bit.  It's in my blood apparently.   I definitely need to shave more now than I did at the beginning of my mission.  Dad would you rather eat a fried fish that's been sitting out on the street for like 10 hours or eat a chunk of flour deep fried and filled with stringy bean paste?  Both options are available here.

Nate your shoes are sick!!  I'm gonna need to get a new pair when I get back for sure.  Will you keep up on all the hip styles and cool doos for me?  Or else I'll just end up dressing like a Thai person with a t-shirt with a dramatic picture of a sunset in a city and a poorly translated message like "Love is our friend.  It likes to make us hurt some time but it hold our hands always."  You see that kind of thing a lot.

Natalie are you excited for Freshman year?  Did you do that freshman orientation thingy yet?  I remember doing that and it was kinda boring.  Really all you have to do in high school is not care what people think and you're good.  

Matt you're looking good! Did you like go carts or laser tag better?  I think I would like Laser Tag. I practically played go carts driving around Bangkok in that big van.  

I love you all and hope you have a good time!  :)

ด้วยความรักเอ็ลเดอร์เคลเลอร์

Love Elder Keller

Thailand Week 49, 20 July 2014

Sup Family!

It looks like you had a ton of fun down in Indiana!!  I'll be at the next one!  Maybe?  I think I go home like May 27th or something like that. So yeah that's before summer stuff really starts happening.  

This week we had a lot of good things happen!  But a lot of them not until like 20 minutes into church!  It seems like it works that way a lot.  We work hard during the week and people don't necesarily show up to church.  But then the Lord just takes care of it all.  I've found that pattern in my life as a missionary.  You work hard and see results, but maybe not all the ones you want or need.  I've found that the blessings come after the matter.  9:00am Sunday morning, church is starting and we have no one there.  But Heavenly Father always delivers, we ended up with 3 solid investigators at church!  A dad and his daughter and another guy.  We're going to do our best to help them get baptized this Sunday!  They're ready for it!  

I'm going to start doing more believing from the very beginning.  Even at first when it seems dimmer, maybe you really don't know how, who, when, what; but I am going to go through life with more faith and confidence the Lord will deliver.

We're going fishing today for some massive catfish!  There's some stocked pond somewhere I think.  This member is gonna take us.  I'll send you pictures!

Love Elder Keller


So there are pictures of this wat, this mud fish that scoots around in mud instead of swimming, a snake and a lizard, and then a bunch of us on this bridge.  

Thailand Week 48, 13 July 2014

Sup fam!  

This week was awesome!!!  We got to teach a lot of great investigators and saw one of them get baptized!!  He understands so much about the Gospel.  He read Lehi's dream in the Book of Mormon and then told us about how it made him think of the Plan of Salvation.  How the people at the tree were the Celestial Kingdom, the people wandering were in the Terrestrial Kingdom, and then those in the building were the Telestial Kingdom.  We were way impressed.  

There's so much going on in Thailand right now!  One branch got turned into a ward yesterday and there's a plan to get our ward split at the end of the year to help us qualify for a stake center here! The bishop talks about it every week.  That's our vision right now, help the ward grow so it can split!  This week there were about 150 people at church.  By the end of the year that number will hit 180 I'm sure!  That's not a specific goal or anything but it's gonna happen!

Here's a picture or two from this week!

The baptism and these kids in the back of the truck selling mangosteens