Songkran celebration

Hello Family


How are you? Well it's been a really really crazy week. I will start with the last time I wrote an email. After we wrote emails really fast we hurried and ran home and changed into our playing uniform, which is for me a Red Hawaiian shirt with rolled up kackie pants and flip flops. Next we had to find a place, which was safe for us ( meaning no drinking and no girls that aren't members and with people who know the missionary standards), to play. So we called a sister that was a return missionary and we joined up with her and several other members. Next we had to buy our weapons for the fight. Elder Jolley and I chose little black buckets for about 20 baht. We had been told by some other missionaries not to worry about buying squirt guns because they were expensive and ineffective. So after that we arrived on scene and helped the members get ready. Turns out they use all kinds of things to do stuff to the water. They place red, yellow, blue and green dyes in the water, they get powder ready to throw, they buy large blocks of ice, and they fill up large barrows of water and place them in the back of trucks. It was a lot like getting ready for a war. And then after it started getting hot, the game began.

People hopped into the back of pick-up trucks and rode around. They use buckets and squirt guns and pots and pans, and different powders, and soaked those on the side of the roads. That's where we played. We used our buckets and hoses and cold water and fought back. Each truck would only slowdown or stop for a few seconds but we would both be soaked through after the fight. I think this was one time that I was grateful for the heat here in Thailand. especially after they threw ice water on us. It was a blast.

After a few hours of this fighting going, on the group we were with loaded up a pick-up truck and took off around the town. We stayed behind and guarded the area because it would have been breaking mission rules to hop into the back of a truck. so we continued the fight for a few minutes. After a few minutes they returned, soaked. After a hour or two more they stopped the fighting between trucks because of a parade.

This is when it got really cool. The whole idea of Somkran is to be wet. Throwing water and putting powder on peoples faces is representing giving blessings to them. So the idea is who ever is the wettest and has the most powder on their face has the most blessings. So when the parade came down the street the buckets of water and hoses squirting water were aimed at the people in the parade.

They had all kinds of things. Dancers, bands, floats with women in traditional Thai Dresses (those were really fun to watch, because they would get the most wet because everyone would aim the water at them. Sometimes they had umbrellas and sometime they wouldn't. Sometimes they would have men whose job was to hold the umbrella of the women. It was really fun to watch them try to stay dry, but look elegant at the same time. And do it with a smile as well). Sometime people in the parade would come out and drop water down the back of our shirts and rub powder on our faces. Sometimes the people watching would go back into the parade and sprinkle water on the people in it. I think everyone wanted to get the white guys wet and covered in powder, because they seemed to target Elder Jolley and I a lot. There was one time several girls ran out of the parade at us. That was interesting. I have never seen Elder Jolley run so fast. LOL

The whole thing was really fun but, at night we had to go back and go to work. Needless to say nothing got done that night because we had English and we figured no one would show up, which was true. So we stayed in our house and cleaned a little bit.

The work the rest of the week was really slow and hard, because all of our investigators were either out of town or they asked not to meet us for the week so they could spend that time with their families. So we tried to do what we could. Invite where it was dried and see members. We saw a lot of members. and a lot of our recent converts. The interesting part is how Somkran turned into somkhram, which is war in Thai, for the missionaries, because we had to try our best to stay dry in between our appointments, it was tough but doable.

We did get to know some of our members really well. I got to try something that I have had my eyes set to eat since before I came to Thailand. Yesterday we went out of the main city which isn't really big, to find a less active member. His name is Brother Bong. He is a sweet guy and is in the possess of coming back into the church. We went out yesterday to get to know him a little better as well as share a few spiritual thoughts with him. At church that day he asked me if I wanted to eat any strange foods I told him what I wanted to try. He then told me he had some and would cook some up for Elder Jolley and me. Here is thing number three that I have eaten that's impossible to get in the states, It's Rat. We got there and after we taught him he BBQed some rats and gave it to us tail and all. It really didn't have much of a taste to it but it was good. I couldn't help but think of Tessa eating rats at the same time. Now I can say I have eaten the same thing that I fed my hawk. LOL

Thanks for the letter for Stu. Its good to hear from him and here whats going on in his life right now.

I got a phone call from the Zone leaders this week. They said I'll be going down to Bangkok to renew my visa so I should get the packages in 2 weeks or on the 29th.

Ok I have to go now I love you all. Thank you for all your love and support.


Elder Brandon John Holt

Happy Songkran

Hello Everyone



Well, today after a few minutes after our alarm went off to wake us up, our zone leaders called us to tell us to get out of the house and send emails as soon as possible. It seems yesterday the worst fighting in Bangkok broke out and they told us it was all over the news at home. So we are supposed to tell you that we are still ok and everything is alright. That's as much as I know:)

Anyways.... Well I'm not really sure where to start this week. Well Yesterday was my Birthday, that was strange???? I think I am 2 decades old and no longer a Teenager. Weird. ( I love these cool faces i can now put into my email) I had a good Birthday I decided. Yesterday was the start of Songkran so we spent the afternoon dodging water. I'll tell you more about that later, and we had some time to feast at Pizza Company the local pizza place in Thailand. We ordered 2 sodas, spaghetti, BBQ chicken, Garlic bread, and a large Hawaiian Pizza extra thousand Island dressing. Sounds like the appetite of two missionaries huh?? Well a strange thing happens when you haven't eaten a American meal that size for a long time. You get full to the point that you are more then sick but, I think in the end we both enjoyed it. It was a great birthday dinner.

Other then that it was a normal day of work. Most of our investigator appointments fell through due to the National Holiday and we won't be able to get back to any of them until the end of the Holiday. So we spent the day trying to invite.

Well Conference here was an interesting experience. I can't wait for the Ensign to come, to understand the talks a little bit better. It was in Thai like I predicted but, that's alright because it helped me gauge how much I have improved since six months ago. I was able to understand the basic ideas of the talks. It's a little bit harder to understand the talks of Conference because they use a higher form of Thai then normal Street talking, and then when they add in big words in English they translate a little bit funny in Thai. Its also funny to watch the action of the speakers, For example Elder Holland, and then when they get excited the translater still talks in a boring monotone voice. I however love what I understood out of Elder Holland's, President Uchtdorf's, and Presidents Monson's talks. It was really strange for the Saturday morning sessions because for the morning and afternoon we had a total of 11 people watch, and for the priesthood session we had 5, both numbers include the two Elders. Much different from the large groups of people in Utah. But I'm glad to say I feel that the branch here is starting to grow.

Last Week we taught Brother Lek, the member that got baptized a few weeks ago, about the priesthood and challenged him to go to the Branch President and ask for a interview for the Aaronic Priesthood. Elder Jolley and I both feel like he is ready to start preparing to receive the Higher priesthood. He took the challenge and I think he was interviewed after conference the other day. If we get the chance this week to see him we will follow up.

We had a sweet finding experience the other day. One of the days in the past week we were biking around at night trying to find people to invite. To me, It feels like its impossible to invite anyone after it gets dark because a lot of people go home and either sleep or drink. Both make it hard to invite. So we had been riding around for a few hours, and I had notice that we had come out of the city a little bit where there was really nothing but a gas station, With a 7-11,and a Big furniture store that was closed. I was leading and felt like we weren't really going to have any luck finding any one way out where we were so i mention this to Elder Jolley and we began to turn around. As we crossed the street, It was one of the main streets that came into Sakon Nakhon, Elder Jolley took the lead and started speeding up. As i started speeding up I heard someone shout. "Elder, Elder." I looked around and found that someone was waving from a scooter, for me to stop. So I did. It turns out the guy that stopped me had been a formal investigator in another area 6 months ago and had moved before he was able to get baptized. After we had introductions he asked "Can I be baptized." It kind of threw us back but, we said after a little reviewing he could. We grabbed his number and then went on our way. We decided to stop at the only gas station out there for a quick break then head home. As we stopped there was a guy sitting on his scooter waiting for a friend. Elder Jolley started talking to him and he was way interested. So we grabbed his number and then he left on his way. It's crazy how the Lord works on with you to help you find people that he has prepared. If We had not been out that far out of the city we would have never met those two people.

Well for today, President Smith has given us permission to "Play Songkran" as the Thais say. I'm way excited. There is no holiday in the states that I think compares. The best way for me to describe it is its like the 4th of July. Everyone stops work and plays but this is a 3 to 4 day event and everyone plays. Some people buy squirt guns, others just use buckets and pans. Some will hop into the back of a pick-up truck and others station themselves on the side of the road. Then the fighting begins. They throw water, and powder and no one is safe or will stay dry. The Uniform for the Event is a Hawaiian Shirt. So for the last few weeks there have been Hawaiian shirts sold everywhere. Elder Jolley and I bought shirts last night. And are going to buy guns this morning. Then We hopefully can find a place with the members to play. A member has invited us to ride in her Pick-up but that's breaking mission rules so that's out of the question. But it going to be a party. I'll make sure to take lots of pictures.

I haven't gotten the Birthday package and I fear I won't until I go down to Bangkok at the end of the month to renew my visa. With the German I think if you can send it Asap that would be better. Because I'm afraid that I might be moving next month so I may not get a chance to pick up any packages except for when I go to Bangkok this month.


Well I think that my time is up. I love you all. Thank you for your prayers I know they help.

This is the true church. The Book of Mormon is true and it was translated by the prophet of God, Joseph Smith. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary, to be one of the Lord's tools here in Thailand.

Love your son, Grandson, and Brother


Elder Brandon John Holt

April conference

Hello family of mine


How is everyone? I think here in Thailand, we are in the hottest months of the year. That throws me off a little bit. I forget the month a lot. It feels more like the hot weather of August then the cool spring mornings of April. So when Brother Wally, a member from Alaska in our Branch, came up and wished us a happy Easter I had totally forgot that it was Easter.

This last week we had Zone Conference in Khong Keng. President Smith talked about our purpose as a missionary. He pointed out some good points. For example we all know the missionary purpose by heart "bring others to Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his atonement, repentance, baptism, laying on the hands of the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end" but do we realize that we are the only way to salvation for the people here in Thailand. That we are the only people who will find them and teach them. It places a lot more responsibility on our shoulders when you put it that way.

It was a great zone conference, and I was able to meet up with Sister Webb, who had served in Lop Buri when I was there and ask about the investigators that I taught and the members that I worked with. It was great to here about some of them.

After Conference Elder Jolley and I hopped back on a bus and returned to Sakon Nakhon.

On Wednesday The Branch here had its first wedding ever to happen in this branch, with Vernon, the German man that I talked about last week, and another member in the branch. Elder Jolley had the privilege of being the best man, because he was translating for Vernon at the same time. It's a sweet thing when there is a wedding here because they do it the Thai way then the church way. I'm not really sure what was entailed for the Thai part of it because we didn't have time to go because of the work, but that's alright. After they had a wedding reception that we didn't make because of English class that we taught. Its funny because this was a real wedding because as it was happening it rained. Proving that no matter what country you are getting married in the weather will do all it can to stop it. We also didn't have any students show up to English class that night, so we got to go eat a good dinner at the Pizza Company.

Sorry for this Email coming so slow this week. Elder Jolley and I spent the morning cleaning our house. After the house painter had been working there for the last week it really needed it. Oh ya I don't remember if I told you, about 3 weeks ago our landlord called us and asked if they could come over to inspect the house. We said yes. They came over and told us they have some time and money and want to fix the house up. It had been 8 years or more since anything had been done with it. We were more than happy to let them do as they pleased because after 8 years of elders the house really needs some major cleaning. So this last week painters have been painting the outside and inside of our house and have been fixing up the little things. So we have had to move things around over the weekend to help them paint. Its been fun. One of the things I found interesting is one thing that Elder Jolley pointed out. The scaffolding that they use to get to the upper floor outside is just bamboo poles. They balance themselves and hang off them and do all kinds of tricks, that if I were to do I would be yelled at, to paint the house.

I'm glad that you enjoyed conference, We get to watch DVD copies of it this weekend. I'm way excited to watch it. But not so much for it being in Thai. Oh well, I guess it will be a great way to test my language skills and see how far I have improved in the last months. Last time I remember not understanding a thing. But I think it will be different this time. Would you please send me a copy of the Ensign when it comes out next month as well?


OK, my time is up for this week, but before I go I want to ask for a thing or 2. First if you can send me a copy of the new Gospel Principle manual in English I think that would help me a little more on what we are learning in church. I have a Thai copy but its hard to understand all the time. Next is one for Dad. The German guy that married the member here, has become more and more interested in the church. Yesterday I was translating for him, and he told me, " I wish I was able to understand what is going on, if I had one of those books in a language that I could understand think it would help a lot." So I was thinking, Do you think you could find a Book Of Mormon and a gospel Principles Manual in German and send it to me? That's about all I think I need for the time being, Dad maybe you could write your testimony in German as well. I think that would help him a lot.

OK I have to go. I love you all. Thank you also for all that you do. and for your love and support.


Your son and Brother


Elder Brandon John Holt

Hello family


Well for the moment the craziness of what is, Moves week is over. Yes I did get a new companion his name is Elder Jolly. Cowinncadently (OK that one is spelled wrong) He is from the same place and school Elder Blackhurst lives at, Cottonwood heights.
It all started on Wednesday last week. In the afternoon Elder Blackhurst and I hopped on a bus to Udorn, that's where the zone leaders live and met up with the other elders who are traveling down to Bangkok at the train station. There I switched off with Elder Booth and said goodbye to Elder Blackhurst. So I didn't go down to Bangkok. Elder Booth and I kept the work in Udorn moving while people were moving. we switched of Wednesday night, Thursday, and Friday morning.

On Friday morning the missionaries from Bangkok came back and I met Elder Jolly and Elder Booth met his new companion Elder Berrnet, From my MTC group.
I was way excited because Elder Jolly is the first companion that I have had that I knew before we were companions. I met him when I was with Elder Ito Way back when. He was in my zone.

In that afternoon we spent a little bit on the bus returning to Sakon Nakhon, then the rest of the day we spent the time seeing investigators and other people that we teach.

Saturday was a normal day for what missionary work is normal. but Sunday was fun.

Yes Mom I am aware of what is happening in Bangkok, it helped the events of yesterday unfold a little bit.

Yesterday morning we were the first ones to get to the church which, was strange because we came later then we normally do. So we had to unlock the church and begin setting up. After 10 minutes or so some more people arrived in this group was the Branch President's family, but not the Branch President. They have recently returned from Hong Kong where they went through the temple for the first time. woot woot. Anyways at this time it is about 10 minutes to 9. At nine everything was set up, and we had two of our newest investigators walk in, that was sweet because it was their first time. so we helped them get settled down with some members beside them. It was about this time where Elder Jolly and I wondered where the Branch President was, So we asked the Branch President's wife. She told us, "He is not coming this week. He has to go to Udorn and get ready to go Bangkok, (he is a police Officer) I thought you knew." I'm not really sure where I missed the memo. It could have been Elder Balckhurst forgot to tell me, It could have been that someone told me but, because of the lack of my skills in Thai I may have not understood it, or it could have been he forgot to tell us. It was most likely the second.

So at this point I went into panic mode. for these reasons.
1. We had no branch president
2. We have little priestood in this branch about 5 people give or take
3. Elder Jolly was new and had no idea what was going on
4. We had 2 new investigators
5. Brother Lek who was baptized last week was getting confirmed.
6. I forgot to eat breakfast and I was hungry

So thankfully Elder Jolly helped me sort things out. We quickly found Brother Hong who is the ward mission leader, we asked him to lead and confirm Brother Lek. We sat down at the sacrament table, and we had 2 members that had Aaronic priesthood pass the sacrament. And well I'm not sure how but everything sorted itself out before to much longer. Then it was a good Sunday. Brother Lek was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Our 2 new investigators said that they love coming to church and are going to try to come next week. And I got lunch made by the members after church, Sticky rice, beef and bananas.
I think the Lord helped out a lot.

So concerning the events that are unfolding in Bangkok, we know about it and are taking measures to prevent anything happening to the missionaries. they have asked us to have a 4 day supply of food in every Elders house in case there is a day or 2 that we need to stay inside. I haven't heard much about what the Elders are doing in Bangkok but last year, this same thing happened and the elders stayed in for a day or 2. I'm far enough away that it doesn't affect us. Other than some of our investigators are cops and have been on edge for the last 2 months because they have to be ready to go into Bangkok if they are called, Other then that I can't really say much because of mission rules.

I did get you package and I loved everything that was in it. Elder Blackhurst and I made cookies and brownies that past 2 weeks. And the oatmeal is all gone . Thank you :)

I don't know the next time someone is going to Bangkok but it should be in a few weeks.

I had a strange thought last week. about a year ago I turned in my papers. And now here I am on the other side of the world.

That exciting that Spencer is going to the same mission as Richard.

I learned the other day that the Rice season is July to December or some thing like that. Its the wet season.

Ok I have to go

I love you all

Elder Brandon John Holt

PS Connor kick Kearns butt.
- Show quoted text -

A small break in the weather

Hello Everyone


Well the weather here has been really strange this last week. On Tuesday they had a storm roll over and the temperature dropped to 65 or so. Everyone here threw on their cold gear as though it was going to snow but, for us Utahans we just went out in our short sleeves and ties like normal. It was a nice little break from the heat. 2 or so days later the heat came back. I think the hottest I saw it was 99 degrees. I don’t think it has broke 100 yet but, it’s going to happen soon.

This week it seems that someone has pressed the reset button on our area progress. Elder Blackhurst and I decided to drop a lot of the investigators that were not progressing at all or that we haven’t been able to get a hold of for more then a month. So we had a lot of time to go out a find new Investigators. This week we were able to report to our Zone leaders that we taught 6 new investigators. It was a lot of work but it was worth it.

On Thursday we talked to a lot of people and were able to get several return appointments for the next day. So Friday we went back out and did our favorite thing teaching. In the morning right out of the house we talked to a guy that had a stand on the side of the road selling pants and shirts. He liked what we taught him, and was willing to learn more if he has time. We hopefully will get a chance to teach him again tomorrow. Next up was a man who does the morning and evening announcements over the intercoms that are mounted on some of the telephone poles in the city.

I’m not really sure why but they have these speakers on the poles in the city. They make announcements about what is going on in the city every morning and evening. Sometimes, as we ride by them on our bike, they are playing music. Any ways he was really busy when we tried to teach him, but we were able to get an appointment with him later this week.

After that we taught a guy who is building a little store by our house. We stopped by him a few times before and when we had some extra time we helped him build a few things. Like smooth out the cement, and Hung a power cord over the street into a another building so that he can borrow power until they turn on the power in his store. That was quite an experience. He took this cord and had Elder Blackhurst take it across the street then we had to get it out of the street so the cars and scooters wouldn’t run over it. So he took a string tied to a stick and had us throw it over the power lines to lift the cord. Then we had to figure out how to hook up the cord to the power box without killing ourselves. It was fun. And no worries he asked the people if he could borrow the power for a few days. He also let us write the name of Elder (เอ็ลเตอร์) in the cement that we smoothed out. After all of this we were able to teach him. He was a really good guy. He wants to know more about what the gospel is so we set up another appointment for this week as well.

Last appointment we had a chance to go to was a at a construction site. We first invited a man and his older sister when they were making some cement for the building they were building, we made an appointment to come back and on Friday returned. They said that they were Catholics currently I like to here about Christ and other sects of religions. When we got there,it turns out that there was a whole family there ready to listen, We taught a short lesson about Heavenly father and about prayer and then they had to go back to work. They seemed pretty interested. We didn’t get the chance to set up a new appointment but we plan to call them back in a few days when we get time.

This Sunday we had Lek’s baptism. It went really well. After church we had a meeting where 2 speakers spoke, Elder Blackhurst was one of them, then one the side of the church there is a baptismal font. Lek asked Elder Blackhurst to baptize him. His wife was there to see it. Elder Blackhurst tells me that at first she was a little against the church, but this shows that she is opening her heart. I hope in a few weeks we will be able to teach her.

This week is moves meeting. We’re pretty sure that Elder Blackhusrt is moving but not yet 100 % sure. We should know tomorrow when the Zone Leaders give us a call. But we planned as if he is. So if he is moving, on Wednesday we will be traveling to Udorn Thani were I will switch off with elders there again and Elder Blackhurst will hop on a train and go down to Bangkok. That will be the last time I will see him. On Thursday they will have the moves meeting and on Friday my new companion will come back.

It’s going to make it another crazy week because we have to see all the investigators we can in 3 or 4 days. Plus I will have to introduce my new companion to everyone as well.

We didn’t get a chance to go bowling last week because the place was closed. But that’s alright we ate lunch with some members and spent the rest of the day doing some chores.

Well concerning the area, there is one branch here, it has about 45 to 50 active members in it. It’s mostly women as well. There are about 5 priesthood holders that are active. The branch president, the mission leader, the clerk and the past branch president. But our goal is to increase that number and times it by 2 in the next few months.

Our house does have a washing machine thankfully and we don’t have to use mosquito nets to sleep, although sometimes I get some good bites at night. It’s a pretty isolated area. The city is only a couple of blocks big and then you have nothing but rice fields for miles.

Ok I have to go

I love you and look forward to the next Email.

Elder Brandon John Holt

PS. Dad When did you lose your golf clubs, this is new news for me.

Yummy dog

Hello Family


Well in light of last week events I decided to follow the advice that Elder Blackhurst gave me, to write my letters in Word first then attach them in the email. That way if anything happens to the email I will still have everything because it will be in word. Although I really like this new email. It’s gmail.

Well this week has gone by really fast as Elder Blackhurst and I prepare for the next. Next week Elder Blackhurst is going to make the trip to Bangkok to renew his visa. He will be switching off with a zone leader. I on the other hand will be switching off in another area to help the work keep moving, I just wish it was in Sakon Nakhon. We will leave tomorrow and go to Udorn and from there Elder Blackhurst will ride a bus or a train for 8 to 10 hours to Bangkok and I will stay there. He’ll make the return trip on Wednesday night and we’ll leave Udorn and come back to Sakon Nakhon on Thursday morning. That’s a lot of travel in the week. It takes about 2 or 3 days out of our week and makes it way hard to keep things moving as fast as President Smith wants things to, but where there is a will, the Lord will provide the way.

This last week was filled with some great things. I think I will start with Thursday. The week before last the Zone leaders Challenged us to do 2 service projects each week. One that will benefit the community and one that will benefit a member of the branch. We have been searching long and hard for both opportunities all week. Finally on Thursday we told a member that on that day we would come over and serve him and his family even if it requires us to clean the house. So after we did the weekly planning we hopped on our bikes and rode 30 minutes to his house.

When we got there they had us wash the windows of their store, which hadn’t been washed in a long time. VERY long time. So we were glad to do it. It took us about 3 to 4 hours to wash everything inside and out. A little long for a missionary services but we were happy to get the job done. FACT: when you do not have cloth to wash windows, Newspaper is a decent substitute.

After we finished Elder Blackhurst and I were served the meal of a lifetime. Sticky Rice and you probably guessed it Dog meat. Yummy. Believe it or not it was really good. It had a similar taste to chicken, But it was a little more bony and had a lot of fat in it. If I get the chance to eat it again I’ll probably take it.

As we were eating I wondered where the dogs come from. Brother Nxng, for once in Thai, told us that the owners of the shop go around and work through different companies to catch the wild dogs that attack people and livestock and other things, then they catch them and bring them here to eat. So where in America they put problem dogs to sleep, here they just eat them. What an efficient way to take care of a dog problem.

Friday was a crazy day for us as we were trying to set up the last interviews for 2 of our investigators to get baptized. One named Lek had his interview yesterday. He had to make the trip to Udorn, which is a 4 hour trip by bus but, he has a really nice police bullet bike and did it in hour and a half to 2 hours he wouldn’t tell us. He did however say that he went close to 160 kmh and got pulled over 3 times, but because he is a police officer he got off every time. He passed, so he will be getting baptized on the 14th of this month. The other investigator will be getting interviewed on Saturday and if he passes will be baptized on the same day.

Today Elder Blackhurst and I did a thing that I think Dad might be a little jealous for. We went and played golf. Well really we just hit balls at a range because it was 95-100 degrees outside at the time. And we didn’t have a lot of time to play. But still I got to play golf in Thailand. It was fun. Elder Blackhurst played golf for the Brighton high school team, so he showed me up a little. That’s all right. He also impressed some of the employees at the range, who I think that they think he is a pro.

Sounds like the family is doing well, and life is getting busy like normal around this time of year for everyone. Please wish Nate a happy birthday. Man I can’t believe its polo season again. I’m glad Stu is a polo coach this year, I wonder how he and the Beckwiths are doing these days I haven’t gotten a letter from Stu for a while.

Well Life here is getting better. The language is getting easier to understand and we are getting more and more people to teach. I had a fun experience last week. As Elder Blackhurst and I were inviting we sat down with a group of police/soldiers that were guarding some of the government places and started a conversation with them. As we talked we found out that 2 of the men were catholic believers in a neighboring town and that one other man had had contact with the elders about 5 or so years ago. All the time as we talked none of them could believe that I had only been speaking Thai for 6 months. They kept telling me I was speaking really clearly. It’s not much of a compliment in English but in Thai I’ll take it.


Well last week before last we had zone conference were President Smith focused on inviting and the importance of always finding people to teach every week. He also told us that we are going to have a schedule mix up. Starting today we wake up at 6 am every day. Then get ready and leave our house at 7:30 am. We then work until 1:30 pm, where it is the hottest part of the day, and go home and study until 4:00. Then we leave the house and work again until 8:30 where we go back and plan and get ready for bed. We sleep at 10:00. He is working with his past experience of a missionary when he realized that nobody not even the street dogs are outside. I like it.

Well that’s about it. I never got a report on State, I can’t wait to hear about it. Also, Mom do you have a recipe for making root beer. We have root beer extract in our house and think we should put it to good use J Also I don’t remember if I asked you to send my cd player? We don’t have one here yet and can’t seem to find one to buy.


Ok I got to go

I love you all

Elder Brandon J. Holt

chinese new year

Hello Mom and Family

Happy Valentines/ new years #2. Yesterday was also Chinese New Years which is really big here in Thailand because of the culture mix. There are many people who have Chinese roots. And there is also Thai new years in April, which happens to start the day after my birthday. Its going to be my biggest birthday party ever. The whole country is going to celebrate :D.
Anyways. Its great to hear the news from home. You are correct in the English translation of the สกลนคร is Sakon Nakhon. Every providence has a capital and the capital is named after the providence. That's where the elders usually are. Bangkok however works differently. I'm not really sure but I may get a chance to figure that out in the future. There is one area that is not the capital of a providence. Its very very small .
That's great the Clecklers are starting to learn with the elders. Its funny how the Lord prepares people to receive his gospel. For example many times elders here in Thailand talk to people and get rejected straight out. Sometimes people give us the opportunity to talk to them once then tell them that they aren't interested. But from those experiences the elders are able to plant seeds. There are also times like the Cleckers case were another religion can start the spark for people to search for the truth. Then there are sometimes where I have people come up to me and ask me who I am, what I'm doing, and can I teach them more. This has happened twice in Lop Buri. It was awesome.
This last week we started teaching six new people about the gospel. One of the lessons. we found out that a family had had past encounters with the elders. We started talking about the Book of Mormon. Then they stated oh I think we have that book all ready. --Normally when we hear this response it's because they have a bible or some book for a different sect of Christianity. But to our surprise they pulled out 2 copies of the Book of Mormon. I think they said that one had been given to them by the elders a few years back and got another from their father after he had passed away.
Well last week the branch president here asked me to prepare a talk to give in sacrament meeting yesterday. It was on sacrifice. I think I did a little better than the talk I gave in Lop Buri. It was a challenge to prepare because all the materials we have are in Thai. But it goes to show that my skills in reading and understanding Thai have improved a lot.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video. I'm hoping Brother Oat, the member who made the video, places the Blooper reel on as well its got some funny stuff on it of us as well as kind of shows the humor of the Thai members there.
Oh man its strange to think that Michael McBride will be going on a mission and that Reed Terry, David Nixon, and Noni Linchon are all back. Where did the last few years go. Well I'm really hoping the next few go by a lot slower. I have a lot of stuff to do here before I get back home.
Elder Blackhurst is going down to Bangkok the 3rd of march to renew his visa. I will most likely switch off for a day with someone in a different area to keep the work going. But Elder Blackhurst will pick up any package waiting for me.
I do have some things that could be useful for the next package. If you could send up some razor blades, some of those five blades ones that I got in the mail. They don't exist here in Thailand. and I'm on my last blade now. Also I left the CD player back in Lop Buri so that Elder Hawkes could have something to listen to there. And there's no CD player here but we do have speaker to plug into. So i was thinking If you could find my old blue CD player, could you send it too me. I would say it was in one of the dressers by my bed but, Connor moved into my room and I'm not really sure where anything is anymore :P
Well that's about it for this week. I don't have any pictures to send yet. Elder Blackhurst and I are going to take a look at the festival for the Chinese new years going on in the middle of town here today. Someone told us there was all kinds of different food to buy. Thai, Vietnamese, and of course Chinese food.
Before I send this email I want everyone to know that this is the true church of the Lord. That Joseph Smith is the prophet that brought to past the restoration of the church in this dispensation. The Book of Mormon is true every word. No man can get closer to our Heavenly Father then by following the teachings of it. Through searching, pondering and praying about it anyone can receive a testimony of its truthfulness.

I love you all.
The work is moving forward
until next week may the Lord be with you

Elder Brandon John Holt