Ketchup, Sweetened Condensed Milk, Ovaltine

Deeeeearest Family.   You are the best! :)  I'm glad that everyone is doing pretty well.  The title this week... is brought to you by "things that I didn't expect to be popular in Thailand... that ARE popular in Thailand."  Yes.  It's true :)  Unexpected, but true! :)  I'm trying not to rekindle my old childhood addiction to Ovaltine :P  Haha.

Also.  Another funny thing.  Something that cracks me up sometimes here... is when people see us go by, and they just think we're so funny!  What are these white kids doing here? :)  Haha... I take it as an opportunity to be friendly, and hope that they'll want to learn more someday because they remember the missionaries who always "biked wayed" to them.  Buuuut.  My favorite is when people give us a thumbs up and say "very good."  It just makes me feel... very good.  :)  I love it! :)  I also love it when people... run out and say hello to us or something... and then are like... oh man... now they're actually coming to talk to us... noooo!  :)  But we do get a chance to talk to a lot of people because they're interested in learning English.  It's awesome!

Anyway.  This week has been a good one!  Why is it so hard to remember everything that you do in a week?  So much happens... and then it's hard to say when it did... but here goes...

This week!  We invited someone to be baptized on September 29th and she accepted the date!  Her name is Waan.  She owns a cocoa yen (yen means cool...) little shop.  And she has a daughter, and she's really great!  The Elders were teaching her before, but now we're teaching her!  She hasn't learned very much yet...but I have high hopes for her!  

Hmmm... I'm going to tell you about some more awesome members here in Phitsanulok!  Sister Amy.  Is AWESOME.  She has twin boys, named Nick and Name.  She is in her 50s I think.  And she is AWESOME! :)  Haha... she just makes me laugh so much!  I wish you could meet her!!! :)  The first time I met her she came to clean the church, and Sister Stewart told me she was kind of a less active lady... she definitely isn't less active anymore!  She calls us all the time and asks us what she can do to help us!  She LOVES coming with us to teach.  The first time she did she called us afterward and said "I LOVE SERVING.  It feels SO awesome!" annnnd today when she called us she told me "I want to serve... because I want to receive blessings... pause... and then she bursts into laughter!"  Haha.  Sister Amy is just so great.  I can't even tell you about her.  She just dyed her hair purple :) and she makes the most expressive faces ever.  And she has amazing faith, and loves to serve!  She told us this story... she said "Once... I was cleaning the church... and then afterward I was so hungry, so I prayed and said 'Heavenly Father, I'm really hungry, and I cleaned the church today.'  and then... someone just showed up at the church with food."  I LOVE it.  If only we could all have Sister Amy faith.  She also prayed that Heavenly Father would send sister missionaries to Phitasnulok.  And then He did.  We now have 4 Sisters and 2 Elders.  I love it!  She has AMAZING faith.  I'm working on having Sister Amy faith :D

Annnd.  Another thing that we do... is go visit a lot of Less Active people.  Which I really like doing I've decided :) I just want them to come back so badly!  They'll show us their baptism pictures... or tell us about their conversion.  And sometimes it's hard to help them rekindle their faith kind of!  Right now... we have this less active family, I'm DYING to come back!  Their names are Bunmii and Daw.  And I've heard they used to be strong members, and used to be so giving in their time to the missionaries, they would go everywhere, preaching the gospel, and helping the branch grow!  And now... I think there are some habits and struggles that have entered into their lives.  We've been to visit them... twice I think since we've been here!  We took the Branch President with us this week... and we sang a hymn, and taught out of Alma 5, and talked about the Savior!  (I love that chapter! It's awesome!) The spirit was there, and I KNOW they know it's true... it's just hard to help them step past whatever... fear... or problem, or whatever stumbling block is in the way!  There are some other less actives that are similar.  I just really want them to come back, and I know that they have the knowledge it's true, but they need kind of a rekindling... and hopefully through love, and direct invitations, and kind of trying to rekindle that faith, we'll get em back to church!  It's gonna happen.  I'm determined to get this couple to church!  It also makes me think... I probably didn't even think about the people that didn't come to church in our ward.  I probably didn't even know who they were.  Which is reaaaaally silly, I probably didn't even give them a second thought... besides like... man.  I wonder why they don't come to church.  Buuuuuut.  There is definitely work to be done there too!  Because it's all the same work!  

Annnnnd.  Also.  This week.  Brother Gap told us he might get baptized next month!  Which is AWESOME!  He's the great one who has been an investigator forever because of some family/cultural things that have pushed off his baptismal date!  It's really exciting!  He is so excited to be a missionary.  And he'll be a great one!  He helps us teach all the time already!  But it's awesome... as my companion pointed out to me... we talked to him about baptism... on the last day of a 40 day fast that our branch did (someone fasting everyday for 40 days, for missionary work!)!  Really awesome!

Also.  I'm getting less and less afraid of talking to people :) Haha.  Which is good.  This week I stood and sang hymns in a parkish thing... chased someone down that I thought I might want to talk to... and... I try to be friendly and cheerful to everyone I meet!  It's still kinda hard/scary to not know what people are saying back to you... buuuuuut.  :)  It's good!  :)  I love Thailand!  Woohoo! 

Love,

Sister Croft  

P.S. The guy in red is Brother Gap.