Week 37: SONGKRAN CRAZINESS

SAWADII KHAP EVERYONE! We had P-day switched from Monday to Thursday this week because of a crazy holiday going on called Songkran! Songkran is a HUGE water festival that lasts for about three days where the entire country just goes insane with throwing water on each other and having water fights. Yesterday was the first day of the festival and it was absolute insanity. I've never seen something so crazy go on throughout the whole city like this before. People throw water on those passing by on the streets, dance around and just have a good time. April and May are the hottest months of the year here in Thailand. It's also the dry season right now so having this water festival has been so nice. It's a fun way to cool down for sure. We played at the church first with some of the members and it was a way fun! There were a lot of people that passed the street in front of the church that we tried to soak as well. Songkran gets even crazier at night so our mission came out with a rule that we were to go home in the evening.

I was finally able watch Conference and I loved it! I had a specific question answered again and again. The Spirit was so strong and it made me want to become a better person. One of my favorite talks was by Donald L. Hallstrom called "I Am a Child of God". He said "We live in a world that can cause us to forget who we really are. The more distractions that surround us, the easier it is to treat casually, then ignore, and then forget our connection with God. I feel like I sometimes overlook what I know to be true and I need to stop doing that. As members of the church, we know that we are children of God, but do we truly believe it? When we bare our testimonies, are we just saying words or do we actually live those words we say? If we're going to call ourselves Christians, then do we truly believe that Christ dies for us? I encourage you all to live what you know to be true and don't overlook the simple stuff. We are children of God who loves us and knows us. The church is true! Christ lives! The more we live what we know, the more meaningful our lives will become. I love you guys and hope you all have a good week!

Elder Rawlinson