taryn 11.18.09

Hello!>
Im in downtown Bangkok right now, its wierd writing from a different place than im used to! we came back to braeyok tower and bratunam market because sister oneil and bradfield havent been here yet.. oh yeah, i havent told you about my new comp! sister bradfield is actually sister larsons trainer (a comp from mtc) she is really awesome. she doesnt speak thai as well as sister hulme, but she is amazing in other ways. she is from sandy utah, she finishes her mission in 3 more moves. this moves is going to be cut short so that the jopers (those leaving the mission) can go home before christmas. it will be 5 weeks long, and president told me in my interview yesterday that i am probably leaving my area:( also at moves meeting, president told us that right now we have 142 missionaries, but by april of next year we are going to ahve 92. we have to close 25 areas. they have lowered the amound of missionaries because this mission is such a low baptising mission compared to others even in asia, everyone is so so buddhist, and because we have a decreasing number of missionaries right now. chandler we need you!!!!! you could be the difference between having a whole area open and so many more people hearingthis message. chandler, it is hard. very hard. but way way more worth it. you will be doing the work of the Lord. you will be doing the best and most important and most valuable thing that you have ever done in your life. do it for you. do it for the Lord. do it for Thomas. Do it for your family. do it for the world. you are going to be SO amazing!!! > >
coming back to this market has been fun because i noticed how much better my language has gotten. i now understand people in their shops and can actually speak to people! hah i am no where near fluent, or even able to understand every word taht they say, but i am able to understand the context and able to hvae a conversation. wierd. >
this week has been a good week, very busy! we have been teaching a lot, and recently have been involved in a lot of drama trying to help buuk. she is our convert from a few months ago, the one that her ex husband beats her. he found out where she lives and has done it a few more times. she called us on monday night because she saw him outside her house when she was walking home from us teaching her. we didnt know what to do because we live a 20 minute bike ride from the church and her house. we had her call the branch president, and then called his wife to make sure that they were talking, and then called it a night, thinking everything was fine. the next day we saw her at the church for institute, bruised again. the president didnt do anything. after a few hours of figuring things out, having the elders come help us as well and talking to president, we got permission to tell the branch prez everything that was going on. buuk was too embarrassed and didnt want to burden him so he didnt have much of an idea. we got her food, went to her tiny one room apt to pack up her stuff, and then took her to an awesome members house in our branch to spend the night. we were scared that buuk wouldnt tell her anything again, but our prayers were answered! sister jim called us today and said taht everything was good and they would take care of her until they fround her a new place. it was so amazing to see the Lords hand working last night. the stars were really lined up (hah not the stars in the sky, we only have about 3) everything fell right into place and poeple were coming out of nowhere that helped, and also that we were able to help. for example our taxi driver who ended up taking us to our house to get my suitcases to put her stuff in, to her house,and then to sis jim's was also having a hard time in life and we were able to teach him. we got his number and the elders are going to his house soon! Heavenly Father works in such mysterious ways. He really does know much more than we do.>
its so wierd having to see and help people with real life problems. my whole life i thought it was the end of the world if a guy broke up with me or i did horribly on a test. my whole perspective has changed. those things are so so minor compared to so many of the problems that people face here that we try to help with. i hope that i can always keep this perspective in mind. sometimes in the morning when i really dont want to be here, i have to remind myself that this is only for 1 more year, and then never again. that there are so many people here that need my help and need the message of peace and joy that i have to offer people. hah and there are many more people that need my help with their bikes. dad, i have helped a lot of people fix their chains, gears, and brakes already. it has actually turned into a good missionary tool! usually it is someones chain that has fallen off. these chains are so hard to get back on though! they are all such old bikes, and hardly ever have any gears! i have found some good tactics for getting caked grease off my hands though:) >
last weekend we went to a wedding. sister xang and her husband threw a wedding together in 2 days. he is from cambodia and his visa was expiring. they were hoping to go to the temple, but dont have enough money yet. they got married civally, but are still not going to live together until they go to the temple. they are so amazing! the faith of these people is incredible. the wedding was cute. it was at the church, we ended up singing a few songs for it. hah the other missionaries in this area cant sing., i was trying to keep it afloat, its sad when i am by far the best singer, i really dont ahve that good of a voice! in practice we sounded horrible, but we prayed and for the wedding Heavenly Father really helped and it sounded pretty good! they also sang christmas songs. i dont think that thailand knows which are christmas songs, (i guess cause christmas doesnt really exist here)... it was cool to see her wedding dress and the other little girls dresses, traditional thai costumes. their makeup was way cool, haha even the groom was wearing makeup. i have found that both genders are beginning to ba able to wear it here. a lot of the "cool" kids wear a little. wierd.>
sorry, im rambling. i forgot my paper that had everything i wanted to write about, i guess imrunning out of time anyway. mom, did you ever get to look at the pics and the map from sister oneils site? family, i miss you so much. we're on the countdown now!!!! oh man i miss you. i love you more than anything in this world and would give up anything for you. this church is true. please read your scriptures every day! coops, paige and cade you too!! bigger kids, for a christmas present to Christ, read the gospels in the NT, along with your BOM reading. get to know Christ better and get a stronger testimony. do it for me:) i am so grateful for everything that i have been blessed with, we really do have the most blessed and incredible life. thank you to all for writing, it really does mean so so much to me!!!!!!>
love you so much>
sister young