"It was squishy" - Saphaan Sung, May 30, 2016

Monday, May 30 2016, it's 10am in the morning and the world is a beautiful place to live. 

Great moments of the week: The spirit is willing but the body is weak- so monday we took a rest from our labors and ping ponged it up with olympic champ brother gary isaac. Whatsup blake what you got boyyy- Gary is my idol- he's a 25 year old man stuck in a 70 year old body. This week he climbed a tree for us to prove it haha. When he cruises around on his scooter he reps this sweet doo-rag too hahaa i love this man. I was also proposed to this week too haha. 

We did switch-offs with our missionaries in Bangnaa, so i was out preaching with Elder Young on Wednesday, and then we got back that night and as Bangnaa went home we switched off with our Bangkapi elders, and I went out with Elder Gardner, and then we all met back at the house that night and I went down to Samut Prakaan to switch off with Elder Bowmeester. The week was FIRED UP and way fun, but by saturday we were just wasted. 

One really cool experience on thursday- we went to teach a 50 year old guy named Bay, and when we showed up to his place he was saying how his buddy was about to come over in a bit and then he would have to run errands and that he didn't really have time to meet. Determined we kept talking to him until i felt "just sit down with him and start teaching..." hahah. So feeling a little too bold, I sit down. We talk to him if he had been praying or read at all in the pamphlet we gave him from last time, and he hadn't. We start the lesson and begin teaching him about the Gospel, sharing this message of hope and peace, and we begin from Jesus Christ and faith in him. Inspired, we share 3 nephi 27:19-20 with him, and after he reads it he pauses and just says, "wow. what is that? that feeling, i feel like, so light and free and open... why do i feel so good and light?" We got to bear testimony of how God testifies of truth through his spirit, and we finished the lesson. He accepted to be baptized- and we left with smiles on our faces. Lesson learned- that there is no such thing as "too bold" as long as it is done with love. 

Another time as we were leaving an FHE with an investigator from a members house... our investigator, golf, was just like "thank you elders, i'm so happy." A genuine remark of a truly happy dude- and it hit me as he said that, that this gospel is so great :) we are way blessed to have a loving heavenly father who leads us, guides us, and sent his perfect son to walk beside us. 

A history making moment- one of my missionaries i switched off with is a stud! He is a super happy, loving, smart good dude, and way shy- and so his whole time while he has been here in thailand he has struggled talking to everyone. On our switch-off i never would have guessed this but he told me he had never gotten a single number from someone before... Our switch-off together was a day full of miracles. As we would travel place to place we would be talking to everyone on the street, on the buses, on the vans, on their motorcycles, in the 7/11 stores, etc. and sometimes i would be like "hey go knock on that persons car window and invite them" and though hesitant, he did haha. And so our first success of the day came as i challenged him to go invite this one dude smoking on the sidewalk and bear testimony that he can quit smoking through Christ. Hahaha it was such a great moment- he finally went and all i could see from where i was at was that the guy handed him his cigarette, and they kept talking... and then i walked up to support the words of my comp, and the guy ends up handing us all his cigarettes he had just bought, and then we handed them back to throw them away himself. Then my companion got his number- WOO! making history- hahaha afterwards he said, "Elder Chamberlin.... that was the first time i have ever touched a cigarette... in my life" I asked him how it felt, meaning how it felt to throw away the cigarette and he answered "it was squishy" haha... And then the miracles continued. We were inviting in this little indoor clothes market and as it was getting late i told him, alright elder, you have to get one more number before we leave this market. Scared that he might have to sleep in the market he mustered the courage to talk to a few people. We were there for a while until he successfully found someone whom God had prepared. He was way stoked, and i was way stoked for him. In all the switch-offs i was just so impressed by how awesome our missionaries are here. It also hyped me up for wanting to go out and train again- training is where its AT! 

Some Elder Walker wisdom: "Satan's purpose is to try and prove that man is unworthy of the gift of agency" - let that soak in for a second. So he is gonna do everything in his power to get us to use our agency poorly. He is a bitter man that wants to prove to God that he was right- that we can't handle the agency to choose for ourselves, and make it back to his presence. Just a cool little thought for you. 

We also hit up our neighborhood this last week, inviting and getting to know all our neighbors. It was different than the typical "hit the market and invite everyone to repent approach", and i don't know how effective it was but it felt good. Most of our neighbors have seen the elders a bunch of times and still don't who we are or what we share. It was nice having families, many of which are of chinese lineage, invite us into their homes and get to know their family. Some were more interested than others, but it was good and we will see this week as we go to dinner with some of them what results of our new approach ;) 

I am healthy, happy, and having a blast out here in Ladgrabang with Elder Walker- it's crazy the transfer is already over this week. We're crossing the fingers for another transfer together-

It is true my friends that God knows us individually. He knows us and loves us, and is paving the way before us. I thank him for the opportunity to serve him for my short time here in Thailand- what an adventure. I love you guys<3

your boy in thailand, elder chamberlin

My comp and I fear no man. We stop vespas, cars, trucks and vehicles of all kind on the road to invite them. And yes, we have even gotten some investigators from doing so.  The only vehicle we have yet to stop is a semi truck and a tour bus

See, if it was mango season, i could scurry right up and pick all of your mangos!" 

We jumped in on a dance work out, and invited the participants

May 9, 2016

I skyped you all today- and it was a blast<3 Love you guys to america and back! Time is short- Life is good. God is great<3

Elder Chamberlin<3

April 17, 2016 Water Festival

Well its been a quick couple days since we last talked haha- but its been good. 

The Water Festival of Roi-et Thailand 2016 was REAL. It was a good time and got some pretty cool footie of it- checkout the driveee

the next morning after all the festivities we had a solid clean the church service project. We surprised pa Jan that morning who normally does a lot of the cleaning by himself. He walked into the sacrament room while we were wiping and polishing the chairs and walls and he said "ชีวิตนี้ยังมีความหวัง" ... "This life still has hope!" Not as funny in english haha but it was way cute and he was super grateful. Service and sacrifice is the key to love. 

That was one thing i have really prominently felt as i've been thinking about my time here in roi-et... do i truly love the people im serving? I'm scared outta my pants that i'm gonna have to leave roi-et this week, and so its taken me to some serious pondering.  i came to the conclusion, YES. my greatest fear right now is that i will leave and i won't know if my beloved Investigators, and RCs, and members that i care so much about, i dont know if they will be taken care of and nurtured while i have to go on to some new area. It's a pretty somber thought. We talked about this christ-like love for our zone conf call... i love the scriptures we shared. John 15:12-13

"This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." 

How can we "lay down our life" for others? and then in verse 11: "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." 

So that is my message for you today. Ponder how you can "lay down your life" in a sense, for those around you. It reminds me of Matthew 16:24-26, and also of Elder Uchtdorf's talk for some reason (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/in-praise-of-those-who-save?lang=eng) and a quote that stuck out to me from it "divorce rarely happens when the husband and wife are happy... So be happy! And brethren, astonish your wife by doing things that make her happy." I know that as we "lay down our lives" by leaving our selfish desires behind, and give our time, attention, and love to those around us, our joy will be full, and we will be happy. 

Amidst the craziness of the week we taught a ton, and it felt great. I can still remember waking up sunday morning feeling like my mind is so fresh and rejuvinated and ready to go, and yet my body is so tired ahah. The mind is willing but the body is weak. However, the Lord increases our strength and carries us forward, a sweet blessing to those who serve Him.

One of the members from Udon was here in roi-et and surprised me here so that was fun... brother Daft, he's a stud and an inspiration. His parents won't allow him to be baptized so he has been an investigator for atleast a year now, but knows the gospel better than many. He is a good dude. An investigator randomly promised me that she and her son would be faithful to God and go to church every week even after i leave roi-et, no matter the circumstance. That was way powerful. 

Last thing i want to share- Elder Webb and I taught the young men this last week in 3rd hour. It was epic! We weren't informed in advance, we found out last second there was no teacher as we walked into the class. So i told Webb to go with Elder Gundry to go download Elder Hollands "Stay within the Lines" mormon message. I started teaching the boys, and we began by discussing what it means to be brothers with someone. Then we learned the word "brotherhood". A group of brothers that would do anything for eachother, that will be there to back eachother up in a fight, they will love eachother, they'll protect eachother, they will keep eachother out of trouble and look after one another. I explained that they are a brotherhood- they started getting way excited and chanted "brotherhood! brotherhood! brotherhood!" hahha, and then we discussed the priesthood. And what it is, and what kind of trust God has put in us young men. We talked about what God requires of us... worthiness? Then the stage was set for the video, and fortunately video was ready. If you've seen that mormon message you know how epic it is- anyways to wrap it all together... by the end of the class we were all PUMPED to go strengthen our brotherhood, so we went out in the van of brother Awht, and visited some of our boys that didn't come to church/ didnt come to 3rd hour. It was way good and way fun, as they would randomly chant "BROTHERHOOD! BROTHERHOOD!" hahaha. I love these boys. I would always give them random situations and be like- say brother so and so who normally comes to sports night doesnt come this friday....? What do you do? "We are gonna call him and then go find him and bring him!" and then i asked and why?? "because we are brotherhood!!!" hahahah. And what if someone in your brotherhood has girl problems? or what if someone is tempted to go to a party that isn't appropriate... what do you do? One kid answered he would tie his brother up so he cant go hahaha, but the overwhelming answer was they would go save him. and why? "because WE ARE BROTHERHOOD!" love those dudes<3

alright well it was a great week. i love you all. 4 nephi 1:15. I pray that is you<3 dont worry, be happy!

Elder Chamberlin

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April 13, 2016

General Conference April 2016 - And this is Life Eternal

wooohoooo! It's April and life is good! The birds are singing and the elephants are roaming. Roi-et is doing great. This week we got fly new haircuts. Haircuts=compliments, so thats been nice this week. As for my little friend on my foot- it is looking great after some visits to the nearby hospital. Looks like i'll live! Honestly it's probably a good thing i sent you guys that picture last week, because otherwise i probably never wouldv'e gone to the hospital to get it checked out- not tryna be that weenie that seems to be going to the hospital every day for this that and everything else. But P. Johnson gave it as a commandment haha so we went and it is now on its way to recovery. i don't know what it was to be honest, i don't know if they really knew either. 

Fun story from the middle of this week- there was a man walking by the church that i spotted right as we walked out of a lesson, and looked like someone just tryna get baptized. He was a very humble looking man with no shirt or shoes on. We felt like we had to help this man, so we rushed over to him and invited him into the church, and told him we had some clothes for him. Turns out he's been to church before. Long story short- we left the church looking fresh with a nice new white shirt and tie on, tucked into his jeans, and then we noticed he had no shoes on, so i slipped mine off and asked them if they fit- a perfect fit! So he took off on his wayto work a new man. We then had to ride our bikes over to the market to get me some new shoes. 100 baht for new shoes! quite the steal. The rest of our day was packed before we had to take off to Bangkok for MLC. Lots of great stuff- we have Zone Conference this thursday. Because of my crunch for time right now can't go too much into details but my favorite part- the question: What is our mission culture? Fill in the blank... In the TBM, we___________. Lots of good positive answers, some answers that showed we could maybe change our culture to be a bit better, but then president asked us, what do we want the culture to be? when we get home and people ask us what was serving in thailand like?... how was the TBM? What do we want to be able to say? Again lots of great things shared but one of my favorites was the summarizing of all that we wanted to be and do = we do His will. It made me think of the scripture in matthew 16:24-25

"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." Because of time i encourage you to open that up and study what it means to deny yourself and take up your cross :) A great lesson is waiting within. 

Another favorite couple of scriptures that i tripped upon in studies. John 17:3.  "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." What does it mean to know God??? Hmm lets peruze on over to 1 John 4. maybe verses 7-9? "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." Interesting. Lets look on to verses 20-21... "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also." So what does it mean in John 17:3 when it says that "this is life eternal, to know God...."?

Our April Fools day here was straight crazy- literally at the end of the night i thought the whole day could've just been a dream haha- but there was a lot of good from it too. Some very real lessons with many of our investigators, and some real talk with some of our RCs. I love the lesson that God taught through me that night to an investigator. The need for each of us to overcome the desires of the natural man in order to achieve a greater, and deeper happiness. No matter what our challenge, or what our obstacles are that lay in our path, ultimately its up to us to decide the way of the world or God's way. Whether it's concerns with drugs and alcohol, sabbath day observance, tithing, pornography, same-sex attraction, depression, etc. it all funnels down to our decision to trust in and follow in God's plan of Happiness that he has so lovingly layed out for us. There is no need to worry and no need to wonder what our final state will be like in the end, if we follow Him. 

This week has been great- sorry for the lack ofdetails. As for other random news about me i've been popping pills for my foot right, and when we flew down to bangkok i thought i for sure could take a pill without water, and it was the worst decision i made this week haha. I waited 2 hours with the pill stuck in my esophagus to get some water and float it down, and then by that time the plasticy taste was in my mouth all night.

PMG class, or as Bunker would call it, FMW (Future Missionaries of the World) was a hit this week. We had a lot of the youth and the bishop and hiswife and a few other adults were there too. PMG is where its at! It's not just for missionaries... if your tryna deepen your understanding of the gospel, trying to increase your level of conversion, want to strengthen your family in principles of righteousness, want to be a better teacher at church on sunday, or a better missionary with your friends, study PMG and do the activities in it! you've got no time to waste. God has big things he wants to do through you- lets go! 

Baptisms this week. Great sunday. Missiion life is great. I love God and i love his Son whom he sent to save us all. 

Love,

Elder Chamberlin

April 4, 2016