Hey guys!
There's been a lot of stuff that's happened this last week. So last Monday we went to a giant trampoline place and that was cool. Today we are going to the biggest aquarium in Asia which I'm SUPER stoked for. Aquariums are the best. My district is really cool which is nice becuase they keep it interesting. We had a sleep over with the other elders in our area last P-day which I'm not exactly sure if that's allowed so don't tell anyone. My trainer is the DL so I guess technically it was approved. Also, the King of Thailand died on Thursday, which is kinda a huge deal... Everyone is wearing black (seriously everyone, it's pretty cool) and people will just break out into tears randomly. It's awesome that they love their King that much. I wonder if we'd be that upset if Trump or Hillary died. Probably not. The king ruled for 70 years and did tons of stuff for the people, kinda like King Benjamin. He was just a super down to earth guy and super helpful and caring. His face is on all of the Thai money and there are GIGANTIC pictures and statues honoring him everywhere, even before he died. There is a Buddhist prophecy that there would be 9 kings, and he was the 9th king, so now I'm fairly certain anarchy is immenent. If relations between the new government and the Church are harmed, we may have to leave Thailand, which sucks. His son who is supposed to take over as king is seriously hated by everyone so we'll see how that transition goes. I don't expect it to be super smooth and there will probably be big protests and possibly violence. Last night I thought I heard a bomb go of, but I guess it was just really really really loud thunder. Speaking of thunder, it rains a TON here. The first week I was here it rained every single day. It's fun to go out in the rain though so it's all good.
In other news, we had our first baptism yesterday!!! It was so awesome. Her name is sister แกะ (ga (short "a" like in "apple")). It was kinda crazy though because 10 minutes before the baptism was supposed to start, we realized that we forgot to fill up the font which is kinda important. We turned on the water, said a prayer, and somehow were able to do the baptism only a little late. So that was really cool. There are so many small miracles like that that happen out here in the field, it's so awesome to see all of them. This truly is the Lords work. We also have one baptism scheduled each of the next 4 weeks, so I think our goal of 4 baptisms this transfer will be met. We are aiming for 6 now. It's so awesome to see the effect of the gospel in the life of our investigators, it truly blesses thier lives.
The food is still awesome, toilets are amazing, members are super cool, and the language is still really hard but it's getting better, don't worry. I've gotten a TON better at being able to understand people so most of the time I have a decent idea of what they are trying to say. It is definitely helpful to have a companion who is fluent in the language, especially in lessons. Lessons are so much different that I thought they would be. We have members at basically every lesson and sometimes the members do more than half of the teaching and it just turns into a really great discussion. We ride around in taxis a lot because our church is a 20 minute ride away, so we have lots of opportunites to talk to the drivers. My trainer always makes me sit in the front and talk to the driver which has actually been pretty helpful. It was really awkward at first but now it's not too bad and we can mostly carry a conversation. It's still hard to contact becuase since I don't speak Thai very well people kinda just ignore me and keep walking. It's ok though, we've met some awesome people! We have some awesome investigators right now that are making progress so it's easy to be optimistic.
In your emails to me, leave some questions you have about Thailand and I'll try to answer them the best I can! This place is so amazing and so different. Missions are seriously the best, so don't be scared of them. I've already learned so much.
Quick spiritual thought...
With the death of the king, many of our investigators have been sad and feeling really down during our lessons. Me and Elder Gremmillion were able to share with them 2 Nephi 2 and Alma 60:13. Each of them talk about why God allows us good people to suffer and die. I especially love Alma 60:13 because it says that when people die, we don't need to think that they are lost because we can find comfort in knowing that they are in the rest of God. It really helped them feel better about everything and they were way cool experiences. I'm so grateful for the Plan of Salvation and the peace it can give our lives. As long as we live our lives in a way that the Savior would be proud of us, we have nothing to fear becuase we have a Father in Heaven who's just waiting to recieve us unto Him.
I love this work and I love you guys! See ya in 2 :)
Love,
เอ็ลเดอร์ วิวล์คอกส์
Elder Wilcox
This blind guy was just singing on the bridge so we got a pic.
We got bored so we burned ugly ties.
This is our pet Gila Monster. He sleeps on this tree right next to our apartment.
Some people we teach at English.
Ronald McDonald is Thai too!
Sister Ga's baptism!
This guys is playing a harp thing with spoons. We talked to him and he wanted to meet with us so we might have a new investigator!
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