Elder Porter Rawlinson Blog: Week 31: And the search continues! February 29, 2016

Hello everyone! Sorry I didn't write a group email last week. These past two weeks have been a bit different for me. We've been contacting more than usual since we don't have any solid investigators right now. It's been hard, but manageable. There's a shopping center that we usually go to and we'll go and contact people there. I've ran into quite a few people from Lao at that shopping center since the border is right by us and a lot of them come over here to Nong Khai to do their shopping. Elder Bryson and I are planning on getting a Lao dictionary so we can start speaking Lao with them. For the most part, the Laos I've ran into can understand and speak Thai. Lao is somewhat similar to Thai, but different. It's basically like ghetto Thai. Anyway, we've been finding and finding and we've been able to teach new people, but most of them just aren't truly interested. I'm gonna be completely honest, it's been a bit frustrating because of how much time we've spent contacting, but I know there really are people in this area who are ready to receive the gospel, we just have to keep pressing forward and continue searching!

.....That's not to say we haven't seen serious MIRACLES here in Nong Khai! Yesterday was full of them. Elder Bryson and I went to a neighborhood to track down some LAs and as we were headed to one of their houses, I hear someone yell at me. It was a man who apparently remembered me from a few weeks back named Kuad when Elder Bryson and I went into the office that he worked in to get a map of Nong Khai. I asked if he had some time to talk and we taught him a little bit about our message. Here's the best part... he was interested! After we talked with him about our message, he showed us where he lived. I then saw him pull out a cigarette. For some reason, I asked if he wanted to get rid of them and he agreed. He handed over the cigarettes. Just like that. He's interested in learning more and we're meeting with him either tonight or tomorrow tonight... AND he doesn't have to work on Sundays so he said he could go to church! YES!! We were in the right place at the right time and because of that, we now have a new investigator to teach!

Last night, Elder Bryson and I also went and taught an LA named Brother P. We sat down with Brother P outside of his house and his two kids later came out as well. We decided to teach his kids on the spot (Brother P is the only member in his family). We taught them about Heavenly Father and about prayer. After we taught them about prayer, we wanted to see if they could do it on their own. They seemed to need a little guidance so Brother P was there to encourage and help them out. It was so cool. Even though Brother P's LA, seeing him as a father show his kids how to pray was such an amazing experience that I will never forget. When the kids didn't know how to start and end their prayer, he'd help them out and they'd follow after what he said. He was there to encourage them. It was something so special and I'm glad I got to be there for that experience. Nothing short of a miracle. Families are forever and I hope that those two kids accept the gospel and get baptized in the future. I'm blessed to see and be apart of some amazing things here. One of my friends, Lisa Skousen, who's on a mission as well, said it best in her email. She said "There are so many incredible experiences every day--there

is no way I could call this a sacrifice. It's just an honor and a privilege to be out serving the Lord". That statement is so true. I love you guys and I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Rawlinson