We make better fried chicken than KFC!!!

Elder Landon J Watkins Week 66

Week Twenty-one in Samut Prakan
Monday, September 15, 2014

What's up!

This has been another successful week down here in Samut Prakan. For the most part the inviting this week wasn't very big and we weren't having a lot of success, but man were we blessed with some new investigators. On Friday we were teaching a lesson and had a family walk in that were interested in religion. We taught them the following day and they came to church on Sunday both accepting a date to be baptized on the 21st. They are the first walk-ins I have seen my whole mission, so it was so cool. Then on Saturday a random phone number called us that we didn't know and I answered and they said I want to go to church and where is the church. So I explained it to them and the following morning we were about to follow up with her to make sure she was coming. She called us first and wanted to make sure church was all good! She came to church with her little daughter and she has a husband, but who wasn’t able to come this week, but wants to come next week. So we were blessed with another family; so cool!

This week we had our trials with the investigators we were working with for baptism! The first person we thought we were going to get baptized for sure was named Ying. She came to church Sunday and then we had a return appointment Monday we taught her and she had the best spiritual confirmation this church is true; in her prayer she even started crying. She was supposed to meet with us Tuesday, but she didn't show up. When we got a hold of her she had asked her Mom if she could change religions and she said; no. She also has a boyfriend who she was planning on marrying in about a year who is really strong into Buddhism and they aren’t up for her changing religions. They won't even let her pray at her house and she can barely read the scriptures. They keep taking her to the Buddhist temples trying to force her to stay, so that was a huge obstacle. So we will wait and see what happens with her. Now time for Sister Nid’ she is the lady who got baptized yesterday. She is so awesome! First off though she comes to English class Tuesday and after English we were planning on teaching her, but my companion goes to talk to her after English and she didn't understand what my companion was saying so she said she didn't want to learn with us and wasn’t interested in religion. We are like are you kidding me; we just lost her as an investigator. Then we were supposed to meet Sister Nuun on Wednesday and she got in a fight with her husband and he won't let her come to church; so poof, there she goes. All of our potentials for baptism gone…we thought.

Wednesday morning my companion says he is going to call Nid one last time and see if she understood him right. He calls her up and she is; like yeah, I'm interested. We are like; what!? Do you want to be baptized still; she said, yeah. We taught her on Wednesday. Then we had a member pass away this week which was really sad so on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday we had to attend the funeral sessions since they last forever here! But on Friday we had to teach Nid so in order to get her ready to be baptism we brought her to the funeral and taught her at the funeral…ha-ha! So legendary, that is the first time I can say I taught an investigator at a funeral and inside a Buddhist temple! It had to be done though there was no other way we could have done it. Saturday she met with the bishop and sure enough she passed her interview; awesome!

  

Oh, I forgot on Saturday at the funeral the Bishops wife comes up to me and said; hey do you have an appointment Monday night? I was like nope, why? She's like okay you are coming to our house for dinner because it may be the last chance you have before you leave. They love me so much so of course I'm going, they are way awesome! So that is what we are doing tonight. Last week we went and got my companion a suit cut so we are going back today to get some fittings done. We are going to go try and find dragon silk too so we can get some awesome neckties made, so I’ll let you know if I find anything awesome!

Transfers are this week always we still don't know anything, yet but everyone thinks I am moving since I've been here the longest, so we will see what happens this week! Brother Keng gets back today so I think I'll be meeting up with him!

Oh and yesterday we had 90 people at church. that was way awesome. Our companionship had 11 investigators at church so next week we are planning on two more baptisms from the walk-in family. We will see what happens though; I'm excited! We made fried chicken and sticky rice for dinner last night. I can say our fried chicken skills are nearly perfected; soooo good! We make better fried chicken than KFC! Have a great week everyone!

Love,

Elder Landon J Watkins