May 23rd 2010-Bangnaa

Hi All,
Well this week has brought a number of entertaining events. I will try to say something that is good.

On Saturday I had the opportunity to interview two people for baptism. That was a pretty fun experience. The night before I was feeling kind of nervous; I was thinking about how little I know and was hoping that I would be able to understand everything and make the right decision. When I woke up on Saturday I was feeling confident that I could make the right decision. It turned out to be really easy actually!
The first guy who came in for an interview was an older man, about fifty years old. From the very first question I asked him, I received the confirmation that he wasn't ready to make covenants with the Lord. We talked for awhile and in the end I told him that more preparation would have to be done for him to qualify for baptism.
The second man came in, he was a little younger, probably in his late thirties. I asked him to say the opening prayer, and after about the first two or three words that he spoke in his prayer I received the confirmation that he was ready to be baptized. It was a great experience because it helped me realize that this is not the church of man, this is not the church of Bangnaa, this is not the church of Elder Brown, but it really is the Church of Jesus Christ. He is the one that approves people to join.

This weekend was a milestone occasion for the church in Thailand. On Saturday their were four general authorities in Thailand. Thailand has never had this many GAs in the country at the same time. Elder Oaks, Elder Hallstrom, Elder Pratt, and Elder Cohi. They came in on Saturday for a Priesthood Leadership conference that was held in Thailand and broad casted throughout all of Asia. It was actually pretty cool because the state of the country has been a little bit shaky the passed few days and the church that was chosen was in the center of most of the problems, but when the GAs showed up all of the political violence stopped. All of their meetings happened without any problems.

On Sunday Elder Hallstrom held a meeting for the entire Bangkok area so we went to that. Almost all of the talks focused on strengthening the family. It was a really good meeting and we had four investigators in attendance, so that was good. I was surprised we had four people there just because the meeting was so far away. It was about an hour in a taxi on the other side of the city. On Monday Elder Hallstrom held a meeting specifically for missionaries. It was a good opportunity to hear from a leader in the church. He gave some motivational words to help us work harder.

I am glad to report that the situation in Thailand is getting much better. I was in central Bangkok today and everything seems like it is back to normal. Almost all of the city is back open and all of the mass-transit is running.


Love,

Elder Brown