Sister Maisie Carrillo: Thailand/Korat- week 13 New week, New Companion!

Hello!

Well this last week just felt like the weirdest week ever. We went to the 3D Museum for p-day. It was way fun! You guys would definitely love it! We got the call right after we were emailing though of who was going to move. Only Sister Mamea was moving, which we thought was super weird because Sis. Siri and Elder Baldwin have been here a long time. I was surprised on how disappointed I was. I think because if Sis. Mamea was moving, then I wanted to move too. I was fine with everything until Wednesday morning when the AP's called and said Siri was going to move too. I was afraid of the big change that was about to happen. I'd finally gotten used to everything and now the people that I'd been with since I'd got into country were going to leave me. We got on a bus at 12 am Thursday morning and then got to Bangkok around 4:30! Everyone in my group was there! We had to all renew our visas. It was great to see everyone! It was weird because the last time we'd all been together was two transfers ago when we were just babies. The only one that was moving was Sister Johnson. Which she was really sad about because she loves Asoke! The rest of us stayed in our areas. Transfer meeting started at 11! Me and Sister Mamea started panicking because we really didn't want to leave each other. She knew she was going somewhere in Bangkok though. And Sister Mags's (from my MTC group) district had been praying for her to go to Bang Khaen. If she went anywhere I wanted her to go there to take care of Sister Mags! And that's where she got called! Sister Siri went to Bang Kapi with Elder Mayo and me and Sister Jo got put together. So now we only have two sisters in Korat! :( It was funny because when I was saying goodbye to Sister Siri I started crying and she kept telling me to stop because I was making her cry! (I seem to cry a lot now, my mission has turned me into a baby I swear!). But hopefully we'll be able to be companions sometime! It was hard to say goodbye to Sister Mamea too. I got really lucky with her, we just meshed really well. It was weird going home to the house, now it feels super empty. I keep wondering where people are! I like Sister Jo a lot though. We're really different in some ways and at first it bothered me but I'm learning to just love her and not be selfish. She's really great, she's a hard worker! It's just a change and I always struggle with change. Hopefully after my mission though I'll be a pro at this stuff. Because it's been really hard for me!

Well, we got home and got right to work! We combined two areas so we have all mine and Sister Mamea's RC's and Investigators and now all of Sister Jo's and Siri's. It's been crazy! But with all the hard work we've been doing and with how things are going, we are hopefully going to have five baptisms this coming week. We have a lot of investigators come to church yesterday! It was definitely a miracle. I always get so excited about that. And then it reminds me of why I'm here! I'm not here for myself, I'm here for them. And it just amazes me all the time how much others happiness automatically makes me happy. Which is how it works with all of us! Heavenly Father really helped me to realize this week that the thing that makes me the happiest is when I'm serving His children and helping them come unto Christ. I really have the best calling in the world. It's exhausting and sometimes so frustrating but I am so different than I was before. Because the past three months I've had absolutely nothing to lean on to for support. I didn't have my music, my movies, my books, my piano, my family. Anything to distract or help me run away from reality. All I've had is Christ and Heavenly Father. It's taken a lot of giving up my pride to handing everything over to them. Patience and charity has been the key to my surviving. And with that, I've seen how the atonement has made me so much stronger over this time. So now, when I say I have a testimony of the atonement, I really do have that testimony of how it has the power to help us overcome. I'm so grateful to be able to share that with the people here! That there is so much more to life than what they believe and know. It was such a blessing to me to grow up having a knowledge that I was a daughter of Heavenly Father. And that was one of the things that drove me to coming on a mission. Everyone deserves to know about Christ and what He did for them. And that each and everyone of us is a child of Heavenly Father.

Some exciting news! Elder Holland is coming next month! August 15th, right before transfers! Everyone in the mission gets to go down to Bangkok and listen to him speak. I'm SOOOOOO excited!!!

So you guys are in going to Ireland this week?! That's crazy! I remember you planning that trip last year! Don't forget to get me something :)

Whens the reunion? I can't believe it's the middle of the summer! I was thinking about it yesterday and it's been a year since we went to Canada. I hate doing that to myself because it just makes me upset. It's weird that that was so long ago. By the time this transfer ends, it will almost be fall again!

Also you need to send me pictures every week! I don't want to be in shock when I come home and you all look different! Dad might have gray hair! Send me pictures!! I don't care if it's just Carsen watching tv or you eating breakfast. I want pictures!!

Have a great week! I love you guys! Have fun in Ireland!

I'll be over here enjoying the Thai/missionary life. It's a crazy life but it's awesome! The church is true and this is the Lord's work!

-Sister Carrillo

Alma 32 : 27