2 years down, 3 weeks to go!

Hey Everyone

I'm doing great. Its really strange to think that I hit my 2 year mark last Friday. I have been a missionary for my 2 years now all it is is a 3 week paid vacation, right. Well I was on switch offs with Elder McConkie at the time and asked him about that thought, I liked his answer a lot. For a vacation there is no other place I would want to be then in Thailand and there is nothing else that I would want to do for R and R then teach the gospel. So I'm going to try to enjoy my vacation as much as possible before its time to go home.


This last week was one of the more typical weeks, nothing amazingly exciting happened. For the moment our dater M is still progressing slowly but surely. She is building a great foundation to her testimony by doing the best things anyone could do; Praying often, Reading the Book of Mormon everyday, and going to church every day. I don't think there will be much that can stop her from getting baptized.

With Doom, she is learning more and more as we teach her. The biggest thing that we talked about when we saw her was about her reading in the Book of Mormon, which she admitted that she had not been very good at. So we explained that one thing that will help her to be able to fight the trials that she is experiencing in her life is to read the Book of Mormon every day. And that will give her the power that she can only get from reading. As I was explaining that to her, the song "Scripture Power" was going through my head. If I known how to sing that in Thai that is something that I probably would have done. lol

One thing that I have learned on a mission is exactly that, its so important to do three things, because when we decide not to read, pray or go to church we miss out on the spiritual strength that we can get from doing it to help us out in our day to day life.

Oh I lied, there was something cool that happened last week. There was a day that all of our appointments fell through and so Elder Merrill and I had a free morning to tract and find new investigators. So we went to a place that I haven't personally gone before. I nick-named the place the sois of doom. They are these small alleyways that go between houses on a major street that we pass often on our way to most of our appointments. As we went in and out of the alleyways we found there were a lot of houses in between but not really a lot of people that were home. Most people had taken off for work. so we walked up and down not really having much success. In the end we came out of one alley after walking down to the end and back and was met by a lady on her scooter. She asked, "Elders, do you have investigators around here?" Normally just the fact alone that they remember our name correctly, is a shock to us. So of course we stopped and talked. She said after we asked her how she knew elder, "I am a less active member, I have not been to church for a long time, my whole family are members and my oldest daughter is a return missionary, are you coming over to my house or not?" That was a mouth full but after getting over the shock, we both said yes and ran for our bikes. Then we followed her to her house.

Luckily, she was pretty close to where we were. We sat down with her and talked for about 2 hours about her life as a member. And we talked, I mean she talked and we didn't say a thing. She has been a member since she was 8. Her whole household is less active, except for her daughter who is a RM. She lives in Salt Lake. But she explained that she has been less active before until one day about 10 years ago she was working and saw the elders pass then followed them and told them to come over to her house. Just like she did with us. She said that on that day and on the day we met her that she felt like it was time to go back and coincidentally the elders passed by on that day.

She explained to us why she went less active, she got offended and no one would help her and now she feels like she wants to come back. She also explained that she was dating a man who wasn't a member and want the elders to teach him if he opened up. We were perfectly happy to help with that one.

I think the Lord really was leading us on that day but we didn't know it. We came to the end of that alley right when she was passing by and could see us. and had we not been there we would not have known she was a member that needed help.


I know that this true is the Lord's Church and that he does love and lead our paths everyday.

OK I have to go
love you all

Elder Brandon John Holt