Wednesday, November 28, 2012

This week Tangled is coming to Thailand:)







Look up Looy Gratong on google. It's real!!!
 
Great news in life every day:):
 
Thanksgiving was wonderful for all of you I hope. It was fun for us! We ate with some Americans and it was DELICIOUS. Oh my and the head of the household, Sister Karony, announced for everyone to hear that I have some kind of funny dance I do (to not be named) that Jamie and Chris told her about over facebook or the phone or something....oh my. So embarrassing. In front of 8 missinoaries and 10 other members. So funnny:). I loooovvvve my family:). My cheeks blushed...which is pretty rare.
 
I followed President Monson's charge to take a blessing inventory of my life. I divided it up into the last week, month, and year. Oh my. Soo many. Tooo many!:) Most of them are spiritual...like 90 percent are just thigs I've learned and precious revelation I've received. This week we taught this lady Dang about praying and asking questions. She's believed in Heavenly Father for a long time, but she didn't know she could get answers to her prayers and actually communicate with Him. Oh my the Spirit was so strong when we taught her how to pray, to talk to Heavenly Father naturally and intently and ask questions such as, Is this message true? We promised her he would answer through feelings of peace and confidence in her heart. "Really? I thought I had to wait until the last judgment day to know which church was really the true one," she said:). Nope!!!! Isn't it such a blessing that the heavens are OPEN and that we can communicate with Heavenly Father?! Yes it is. I"m so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who wants us to KNOW and not be lost in the darkness of our own minds or thoughts or misunderstandings. We are so blessed.
 
We are teaching a very old, hilarious women named Runjit and I love her soooo much. She's old but so FILLED with faith and excited to get baptized and I can't wait for her to feel so clean and fresh and pure and free from all her sins. She loves the prophet. I think she actually has a crush on some of them, after showing her the line of Joseph Smith to Thomas S Monson. She prayed about them and asked that she have dreams about them, too:). So cute. She made everyone in the branch laugh yesterday. They invited her to attend the baptism of another investigator and she said, as she was nonchalantly walking out of the church after 4 great but long hours, "No need. I'll see my own on Friday!" Haha so funny.
 
No Christmas here:). As far as commerciality goes...Christian churches each have activities and stuff like that. Weather - on the daily it's still sunny hot and tropical:). But that's okay. Mormon Tabernacle sings me Christmas Chorals when I put on my mascara every day:).
 
Okay i love you all so dearly!
 
Sister Roper
 

Monday, November 19, 2012

I am thankful for my family.
Happy Thanksgiving! Don't forget to make a list of all the wonderful beautiful blessings of love we get every day. Make the choice to be grateful and give all the credit to Heavenly Father. 

I am thankful for this scripture: "Blessed be the name of our God; let us sing to his praise, yea, let us give thanks to his holy name, for he doth work righteousness forever." (Alma 26:8)

I am thankful for MISSION TOUR last week. President and Sister Senior and Elder Watson of the 70 came. Amazing. And it was on my favorite subject on the planet.....universe, really....can you guess?....ready????...... The Book of Mormon:):):):) So of course I was obsessed.

I am thankful for the Book of Mormon and the tool that it is to change lives. And to change hearts. And to give courage. And to give understanding for the purpose of this life. And to give strength to keep commandments and be obedient and good people and Christlike. And to use the Atonement. And to prove that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that this Church is restored and is the only true church on the earth. All in 570 something pages. Every single page of which I love. 

And am thankful for:

I am thankful that this investigator old man Ubajid has had so many deep doctrinal questions for the last two months and we would answer them and he wouldn't seem satisfied and so he'd read about the gospel principles on good Church resources but still be confused. Why? Because he wasn't reading the Book of Mormon, which we finally realized must be the reason he wasn't progressing. So we committed him to put down all the little pamphlets about the Restoration, Plan of Salvation, Gospel, various commandments, etc, and start WITH THE FOUNDATION!!! So simple. And so clear. And he did:). And now he is happy. And progressing. And his testimony is clearly growing and his pryers are sincere and he learns with his heart now instead of his smart old brain.

I am grateful for candy corn. Can you please save me two bags? Please please please for real.

I am thankful that there are two American families in Chiang Mai that are feeding us on Thursday:).

I am grateful for temple marriage and that all my siblings have done that....or are just about to.

I am thankful that Jamie and Shan and Beth and Mom can all sing and read music. Will you please sing "Olive Tree" at my homecoming? :) I can't wait to sit and listen to you four and your beautiful voices.

I am thankful that we got to take one hour and talk to people at a public park. We were so nervous before to "street contact." We felt bare and nervous before! Haha imagine that! I've been here for a year now and was still nervous!!! But the adversary was trying to dissuade us from going. It was a good fight, but he lost. Poor guy. We jumped right in there and stopped people on  their runs or on their dates lol or whatever. Sooooo OOOOO FUN so fresh so real so refreshing. such PURE missionary work. Just me and the tag and the Book of Mormon. We found four people who wanted a Book of Mormon and to learn more about the restored gospel. And we felt the Spirit so strong all 60 minutes. 

I'm thankful I get to wear this little black tag.

I'm thankful I came on a mission. I'm thankful I’m still on a mission.

I"m thankful that Brother Bank, a recent convert, sang "Called to Serve" in his falsetto....because he was trying to match the voices of us, three women. It was hilarious. I couldn't take it.. It reminded me of my second transfer when Sister Itow and I would make it through like two lines of a hymn (before teaching a lesson to an investigator) and just bust up laughing for no known reason.

I am thankful for the chance to email today. And that I have such an incredible support system. I love you all so very very much.

Love,

Sister Roper








Children of life and love.

Good news. Woke up the first day of my last transfer....dreading it the night before....but guess what? Heavenly Father totally helped me and YOUR PRAYERS ARE WORKING!! Because guess what my reaction was to the thought of going home in six weeks? I smiled! I didn't even mean to.

This has been an interesting week. I've been racing racing racing going going going my whole mission. Some people say to sprint to the finish; I feel like I've always been sprinting, and I plan to continue to do so. But I'm realizing that there is a different way to sprint right now...

I'm sprinting to draw closer to Heavenly Father and the Savior. That's the biggest intent that is in my heart. And guess how that's going to happen? 

I realized through prayer and revelation and a little friction in our companionship (though Sis Stolworthy and I love each other a lot), that I have been pushing too hard. And slowing down her development. And her language and teaching skills. And not meaning to. I'm just real real red. And she is real real white/blue. And so naturally I was just stumping her out a little....So my goal for this transfer is to be a greenie again! Crazy huh! I have a rule to not touch the phone! Ha ha so she can have that opportunity (she agrees with it, even though it is challenging for her). I feel so great...I have a hole in my tongue for how often I have to bite it. But she is in the lead! Each lesson, each idea. I make a few suggestions here and there but very little. Oh my! In just a few days she has blossomed! and been way mores stressed also ha ha but in a good, need-to-experience kind of way. 

It's crazy that sprinting for me is forcing myself to walk behind someone else. It's a great lesson for me to learn.

Also, I love you all so very much and am looking forward to seeing and hugging and loving and talking with each of you. Thank you for your endless support and prayers.

The Book of Mormon is true! Open it today if you haven't already.


Sister Roper