Sister Maisie Carrillo

Sister Maisie Carrillo

Monday, April 25, 2016

Thailand/Chaengwattana week 54..... Same place, new companion!

Hey FamBam, 
This week I have more time to write thankfully. It was such a great one. First off, I got to stay here in Chaengwattana and my new companion is Sister Olsen. If you remember her, she was one of the sisters that was with me in the MTC. We are reunited! We are so ready for this transfer to work hard and see some miracles! My new district is awesome, I'm serving with Elder Quinn and Parker who I'd served with in Lampang. Way excited!! It's been fun serving in a district with eight people.
My new companion!! We are going to have so much fun together!!

This last week me and Sister Olsen made a really big decision and decided that we were just going to focus on our Chaengwatta ward. We're just going to focus on the international people which is going to be hard because we're in Thailand, but we felt that this is something that the Lord wants us to do. I really loved the talk you sent me Mom about having faith in the Lord even when the blessings and the reason for us following and trusting in the Lord seem so far away. I think that is something that I have learned throughout my mission. Even when things don't make sense to us and we can't see the point, we do things because we love the Lord and we trust in Him. With our new focus, it seems a little crazy to us and might be a struggle, and we might not even be here to see the blessings. But I have faith in the Lord that He has a greater plan. So we've been trying to share our faith and now we run up and talk to every white person we meet which has been fun. I've learned that white people are definitely not as friendly as khon Thai's hahaha! And we've been asking members for referrals and people they know that we could serve. It's been really fun. I feel like I'm going to learn a lot this transfer, I'm excited! 


Michael has been doing so great. His testimony just grows more and more every time I see him. I'm so proud of him! My testimony of the atonement just grows the more I'm around these recent converts, they are so amazing!! 

I'm excited for this next week! We are going to Korat to switch off with the sisters there. It will be my first time going back to my greenie area! 

Some fun things from my life: 
We've had to run home (like literally sprint) because we sometimes get distracted by inviting. I'm so out of shape. Anyways, we'd have two minutes left so we'd run all the way home and somehow made it there at exactly 9:00. Blessings for trying to be obedient haha! 
It's mango season, I eat them like crazy
It's also hot season. I look like I just took a shower most of the day. 
I still can't eat their super spicy food, so I still get made fun of. But it's ok, it gets me out of eating a lot of really weird things :) 

I've learned this week how evil Satan is and how very real he is. There are so many sad things that I've seen go on within families and how many have given their will over to him. But I have also seen the power of the atonement and how much greater power it has. Satan will never triumph. The light always outshines the darkness that we feel in our lives. I know personally that there is always a silver lining and there is always hope. Satan is evil but God will always be greater. I know that Christ lives and that it's through that knowledge that we have home in this life. That's how we overcome the evil and dark days. Remember that Christ lives and He has already overcome the world. 

Love you guys, keep sharing the gospel with your friends and those around you. Just as Joseph Smith said,“After all that has been said, the greatest and most important duty is to preach the Gospel.” 

Remember that!! 

Have a great week! :)

ซิสเตอร์ ริโย

"And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise." Moroni 7: 41

Elder Khanakham! He and his wife invited us missionaries over for lunch.
 It was such a special treat. This is him teaching 
us about the story of the widows mite.
I got to meet Sister Rem's Family.  That was fun!
My last selfie with Sister Rem, I'm going to miss her.
 It feels like it was just yesterday we were biking
 around crazy Lampang. Time flies!

Monday, April 18, 2016

Thailand/ Chaengwattana week 53

Hey Family!!! 
I'm sorry that I have absolutely no time today. Good thing I wrote you guys like two days ago :) Songkran was the FUNNEST THING EVER!!!! Not sure why we don't play in America.

The foam pit, Sister Belnap didn't really like it haha!



Brother Michael got the Holy Ghost, and in his blessing it said he's going to go to the temple!!! Ahhhh! I'm so excited for him. This week is transfers. Sister Bel is dying and so I'm probably going to stay here. Which I'm way happy about :) Time goes by so fast. 
Faith, it's trusting in the Lord and pressing forward even when the world seems dark and all odds seem to be against us. It's our hope and light in this life. I believe in Christ, and I know that no matter how hard times seem or how hopeless it seems, there's always a light at the end of the tunnel. I believe in miracles. 
Love you guys! Have a great week! :) 
Sister Rio
Iranian, American, Chinese, and Filipino, all united through the gospel :)
Riding bikes to Sister Job's house!

We also had to take a boat to get there. 
It was a lot of traveling but so fun!!

Sister Job's House
This is Sister Job, she's one of the most dedicated members I have ever met. 
While we were teaching her, she just looked at us and 
said, "Sisters, I know that if I keep the 
commandments, the Lord will bless me. I know this."
Visiting members with little Jessie! :)

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Thailand/ Chaengwattana Week 52

Hey Fam, 

This last week and a half was CRAZY! But let's just say that this week is Songkran and I've only been sprayed once with water. Walking on the way home from Zone Conference a little kid on his bike took a water gun to us. It was funny, like the first snow fall! Haha. I think I've gotten a little used to the heat. I'm not dying AS MUCH as I did last year. Only a little. We are going to play today at Central World. I have no idea what that means but I'm going to find out! 
North Bangkok Zone Conference
Some of our MTC group at Zone Conference! 
We hit our year mark in country today. I love these people!

We've been teaching a lot. We're trying to meet with our investigators and members families. There's a lot of people here that go to church by themselves, they're the only members in their family. It makes me so sad. We're preparing for them to get a temple. We are not suppose to go to the temple by ourselves, we go with our families. Thailand is still young in the church, but we want the families. Families are so important. It made me really grateful for the way that I grew up. I didn't know how blessed I was to go to church every Sunday with my family, go to young women's with my friends, have family home evenings, watch general conference, all the things I think I really took for granted. I'm really grateful for those things now. Let's just say, I understand now just how much of an impact it had on my life. 

I have so much hope for the future! Despite all the bad that we meet and all the hardships, I know who I am and I know that God won't allow us to suffer. Why? Because we are His children. One of my favorite things I learned from conference was that the greatest commandment of eternity is that we love God with all our heart, might, mind, and strength but the greatest truth of eternity is that God loves us with all His heart, might, mind and strength. Elder Holland said, "That love is the foundation stone of eternity, and it should be the foundation stone of our daily life." I find so much joy in telling the people of Thailand that. That is one of the first things that I tell everyone I invite. That God is our loving Heavenly Father and He loves them. He really does. I feel that in my heart every time I share it. And with knowing that, how can I ever be sad? How can I ever lose hope or feel weary? Have faith and know that God is on your side. We are never alone! He has never left our side and He never will. 

I love Heavenly Father and His children. I love the people here in Thailand. I've had that confirming witness that I have been sent here for them, to serve them and to bring the blessings of the gospel to them. This gospel is real, it's real life. Let's not forget it in our daily lives. Let's remember Christ in all that we do! 

Remember who you are and to choose "harder right, not the easier wrong." -President Monson. Make the choice to follow Him today :) 

I love you all, I'm so grateful that I'm able to be apart of this family. I have been so blessed. 

Sister Carrillo 

"Forever - is composed of nows."
This is Jenny! One of the members brought her to church 
and we had the great privilege of getting to teach her before 
she went home to Buriram. She's going to get baptized!
This cute old lady! She would come up and wai us and
 just say thank you over and over. She was so sweet. She wanted a picture with us.
We went and volunteered at the homeless shelter 
with some of the members from the Chaengwattana ward. 
These are some of the cute kids that were there. Probably the saddest place I've ever been to!
Just sharing the gospel with others while taking a train ride in Central!
Sister Sirikwan! Got to switch off with this girl. I just love her face!
Brother Michael LOVES President Johnson haha. 
I just had to get a picture. 






Monday, April 4, 2016

Thailand/Chaengwattana week 51... Batispm, Watts, Fish, and Snakes... Its been a Great week!!

Hey Fam Bam!
My week was oh so great! First off, we had an awesome MLC. I learned about a lot of things that I want to change in myself. Not really from what anyone said, but I just received answers to prayers and revelation just from being there. It's so amazing how revelation works. Just from being in there and listening, ideas and thoughts came to my mind. The Holy Ghost is so subtle with it's promptings and if you're not listening or paying attention, you can miss it. That's something that we're trying to teach our investigators. I think a lot of us don't really know how to receive answers to our prayers because we make it so hard and complicated. The Lord works according to our understanding and gives us those answers in His own inspired time. Don't forget to pay attention to the little thoughts and feelings we receive. The Lord answers our prayers, that I am sure of! 
Michael got interviewed by President Johnson on Wednesday and he passed! He got baptized yesterday and I got to speak at the service. He was so excited! 
He's been waiting for this day forever, I don't think I've ever seen someone so excited to get baptized! I'm really grateful for the opportunity I had to teach Michael. He taught me a lot about humility and being submissive to the Lord. He was willing to give up anything if it separated him from God. He tried to get me to listen to a song on his phone and I told him we couldn't listen to that stuff. And then he started putting it away and saying he'd never listen to music again. He was willing to give up his music! Haha. We corrected him though and told him it was just us missionaries that couldn't listen to anything but the MoTab! He was pretty relieved haha. 
Today we went to Ayutthaya, I have wanted to go since I got here and finally my wishes came true! I got my feet eaten by fish, climbed an ancient wat, and held a gigantic snake (I swear that thing was going to eat me). 
Guys, I held this giant snake!! And I thought I was going to die!
That smile on my face is fake!
Getting my dead skin chewed off by little fish. Gross. But so fun! 

Me and my cute companion!
The Wat!!



Also learned some great news this last week. Apparently my RC, Brother Miit from Korat, is getting married to one of the members! And they're going to the temple next year!! Ahhhh best news ever! There's nothing greater than hearing that the people you taught of enjoying the blessings of the gospel. It was just a great week, I am so happy, so blessed to be apart of this mission and be in this part of the world. 



A great lesson that I have learned from this last week: how simple the gospel is. I think I've talked about this before but this last week I felt like it was really emphasized again for me. Sometimes I think we make the gospel harder and more complicated than it really is. And that's just not what the gospel of Jesus Christ is. And I know I need to do better with this in my own life and even in teaching. I've noticed that when we get all complex and trying to reach beyond, that's where we get confused and that's where the people we teach get confused. We've been teaching a less active family for a while now and they just weren't going anywhere. And then Sister Bel had an idea to just go back to the simple stuff. Prayer. We taught this family about prayer again and committed them to have personal prayers every morning when they wake up and before they go to bed. And it was miraculous! They still haven't come back to church yet but they have progressed more than they ever had before. They're getting back up there again. It was just another testimony to me about the simpleness of the gospel. I always wondered why other members weren't happy where they were at, why if this gospel was perfect it wasn't working for them. We have to start with these few simple steps that were given by President Utchdorf: Simplify and then start where you're at. 



"Exaltation is our goal; discipleship is our journey. As you exercise a little faith and begin your walk as a peaceable follower of our Lord Jesus Christ, your heart will change. Your whole being will be filled with light.God will help you become something greater than you ever thought possible. And you will discover that the gospel of Jesus Christ is indeed working in your life. It works." President Uchtdorf 
I know that this is Christ's gospel and it works wonderfully because I have watched it change the lives around me as well as my own. It works! 
Love you guys!! Have a great week! :) 
ซิสเตอร์ ริโย
Helaman 5: 12 Scripture Mastery. Build your foundation on Christ!

ps... We will have our pday not next Monday, but next Thursday. So don't forget to email me Wednesday night :) And next week is Songkrang!!! The water games begin next week on the 13th until the 15th. Wish me luck! 
On the ตุ๊กๆ in Ayutthaya!!

Floating market! 

Had to take a selfie!
My Pak Kret sisters!

Cookin' chickens in a pot. That's a new one I haven't seen yet.
This lady is selling some fish right outside of our condo. She was in the process of sticking some yellow fish eggs in the fish. I was trying really hard to not be grossed out.
Switch offs with Sister Sirikanjana and Donlaya. 
Sirikanjana is going to Temple Square soon so I'll be able to see her when I get back!
Being able to play the piano has been one of the greatest blessings
 in being able to teach others how to play as well. Thanks Mom for making me practice!
Switch offs with Sister Yang and Laoli!
Just the usual Thailand. This lady is literally the grinch! -Sister Belnap 
Oh how I Love Thailand!!