taryn 9.9.09

Hey Everyone~>
I cant tell you how wonderful all of your letters were that i recieved last week, and i know they will be when i read the ones i got today as well. i have read them every morning as i go through my really hard hours. Thank you so much to all, i cant tell you how much it means to have people supporting from home and that all is pretty much the same at home. it is really comforting.> >
I have been here for a month so far, boy has it been a long month. The language is still killing me. i usually can understand when my companion talks, but when natives speak i can only pull out words here and there and try to figure out what they are saying. then when it comes to me speaking, lets just say it is hard. people are impressed with how i have picked it up, but i really dont see it. these tones and everything are so hard, i hope that i can pick up this language soon so that i can actually communicate with people. > >
Our investigators are doing well, we are continually teaching, but most just like religion. they think that anything that teaches a person to good is good. the phrase i hear every day traslates to something like "every church is good" they dont see the importance of one religion. our three cute teenage girls are still struggling with their grandparents. they want to get baptized, and their parents would give them permission, but all three of their grandparents wont give them permission, so stuck in buddhist tradition. >
We had quite the night on sunday. our investigator that got baptized a few weeks ago was supposed to come teach with us, but didnt show up. we called her to go to a members for dinner, but instead found out that she had just been abused by her ex husband and father of her 2 children that found her at her college she is going to. she told us she would rather just stay home and read her scriptures. i cant beleive the faith of these people. we rushed to her apartment and suprised her. it was so so hard to see her. when we came she was on her thin pad that she rolls out on the ground reading the book of mormon, (which she actually finished reading that night, she started 2 months ago). her apartment consisted of a tiny room, a blanket, a fan (it was so hot in there) her clothes hanging on a rack, a picture of christ in a frame on the ground, a pile of church books, and a picture of her two kids (who live a few hours away at her moms so that she can afford to send them to school) a teeny bathroom with a squatter toilet and a little shower head above it to shower under. no little fridge or anything. she had bruises on her body, a huge goose egg on her forhead, a black eye, and scratches down her arm. all she said was that she was praying the whole time and how grateful she was that Heavenly Father helped her so that someone came and she was able to run away without things getting worse. we ran to the store and bought a bunch of food for her and some ice, an ox in the myer day. it made me feel so guilty for wanting to go home so badly, but then there are people like her that work so hard and would really have nothing without the church. i am still struggling, which makes me feel so guilty, but it makes me want to push through this until at least next august. i know i can do it. i have to do it. > >
a little more about thailand. let me start with the taxi rides. insane, and there are no seat belts. they make lanes wherever they want, and i dont think that there are speed limits here. i have gotten pretty used to it though now. biking is also pretty sketchy, especially when we go into the bigger part of the city, riding our bikes on the highway with cars and buses zooming around us and stopping right in front of us, it reminds me of the nintendo game frogger... i just pray everytime and knowthat Heavenly Father will protect me because i am here serving him. >
Transvestites are pretty common around here. i see one atleast every few days. we actually kindof teaching one and gave him a book of mormon. we eat at his/her restaurant-side of the road kitchen with a few chairs- quite often, hes a good cook and so nice. also, it is not uncommon to see men with makeup on, and a lot wear little clips in their hair. >
one thing that i am finally getting used to is that in thai you talk in third person. whenever i talk and want to say me, my, or i, i have to say "sister". if i was talking to lets say andie and wanted to ask her something, i would say "did andie read the book of mormon and pray?" then she would answer saying "andie did". it gets so confusing. also, everyone goes by a nickname here. no one even knows eachothers real names, and they change their names whenever they want. they are named the most random things, sometimes english things. for example right now we are teaching an arm, new, and oat. i cant think of the other funny ones, ill get back to you on that. >
i have used a few squatter toilets already, they are usually pretty dirty and nasty. so awkward. then the worst part is that there isnt toilet paper, just a bucket with a cup in it that you are supposed to splash on yourself. i bring tissue with me now, which is also useful to use all day to wipe off the sweat off your face a few times a day. >
i am covered in mosquito bites. luckily the bites here arent as bad as in the states. but for some reason, just like the states, the mosquitos think my blood is so tasty. i always get way more bites that the others. > >
this morning during personal study, one of the monks dressed in his orange robes came around for food, which they do every morning. i finally was able to catch a little bit of it on video out the window. make sure that you watch the videos i send, i hope they are cool. the people give them food and then they do this crazy chant thing blessing the house as the people are bowing to them. oh this is not america. > it is hard to get up every morning and realizing where i am and how much longer i have. i dont feel like i will ever get to go home. i really miss you all so much. i hope the time starts to go faster. i am trying to focus on other people and serve them, i hope i can get lost in the work soon. i really miss you so much. i hope all is well at home. andie, i am so excited for you to be in the dorms, such an amazingly fun year. i am so sorry i am not there, i really wish i was. elle, you are in high school! i want to hear all about it! i cant believe that you can drive this year. cade, i hear you are dominating in football and also in jr high, you a such a stud. paigey, i miss you a lot. keep working hard at the harpand be brave, i will be home soon enough and we can be buddies again! coops, keep being the awesome kid you are and listen to mom and dad! ash, i miss you. i miss having you with me all the time, i look so forward to that day when i can be with you all again. mom and dad, you are incredible. it is impossible to put into words how amazing you are and how perfect of parents you are. thank you for all that you have done and all of your sacrifices. i love you so much. i cant wait for the day when we are all reunited and can have family prayer as a whole family again. oh the day. >
well, it is time to go. i hope everyone is doing well. you are incredible. > >
love sister young