Top of Chiang Rai

Date: Mon, 21 May 2012 

Hey! How are you all?

I'm super tired. Elder Susi and I got up at two this morning so that we could go out to this mountain called Phu Chi Fa to see the sunrise. The members say it's great, and I have heard it's a must if you're serving in Chiang Rai. So we went. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the sunrise. We were up in a cloud at the summit. 

But there was a quick moment when the clouds parted, and we could see down into Laos. It looked so beautiful! It was interesting. As we hiked to the summit through the clouds, we couldn't see a whole lot. Every now and again, the wind would blow the clouds away just long enough to give us a glimpse towards the top. I thought about it as we climbed. Often in life we don't clearly see the top, or the end goal. There are mists and clouds that obscure us. Somtimes mists of darkness, but other times mists that seem comparable to the veil. And every now and then, through His infinite grace and mercy, our loving Father in Heaven parts the mists enough for us to catch a glimpse of the top. To catch a glimpse of our full potential. The mountains were so beautiful, green and lush. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have been given to serve in such a wonderful place. 

The work this week was good! We were blessed with a lot of success. We have been doing a lot of tracting. It's actually really becoming enjoyable as odd as that may sound. I just think that it is so interesting to talk with all of these people, some of them have really interesting stories. Take this guy we found, for example. His name is Sit. We were just tracting.  It was our first home of the day.  We came to his door and he just lets us in. We started talking to him about prayer and how it is the process of communicating with Heavenly Father. 

To put things into perspective, we asked him if he knew any one far away. He said yes, that his family was in China. We asked him when was the last time he had talked to them. Then he started to tear up. He told us that about twenty years ago, he was forced to leave his family in China, and that he really misses them, and wonders if he can see them again. 

It's times like that that I rejoice in the perfect Plan of Happiness, which was prepared for us! For all of us, individually, and collectively! Think about that! That's the message we bring.  We are here to help God's sons and daughters understand their purpose in this life and their potential in the life to come.  Because of Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice, we can all become perfect. How much wisdom is in that plan?? I am so grateful for the knowledge of this gospel. 

We did have two investigators say no to baptism, but it's good. It was only the second lesson. I say it's good, because President Smith told me that when we have investigators say no at first, it's good because often times they will voice their concerns at that point. These two did. They wondered mostly about keeping the Sabbath day holy.  It was only their second lesson, but it's so important to figure out their concerns early. 

It's great the way Preach My Gospel has us work. This week, district meeting was on chapter 4 in Preach MY Gospel. It's all about making our prayers more meaningful. That's something that President Smith has been asking the mission--"how do we make our prayers meaningful?" He talked about the importance of kneeling. I remember when I learned the importance of kneeling. I was reading the Screwtape Letters, you know that book by C.S.Lewis. In it, Wormwood and Screwtape talk about how if they can get people not to kneel, then it affects their prayers. 

I hope you're all kneeling morning and night, thanking and petitioning God each day. If you want to imporove your prayers, I suggest that you do the prayer evaluation activity in Preach My Gospel Ch 4.

Thank you so  much for all of your love and support! You're the best!
Love
Elder Todd
Forward in Faith