Aftermath of Songkran

This week we went to find a Branch member who lives on an island covered in boardwalks.

Dear Family,

This week was insane. I don't think I can even describe Songkran accurately if I wanted to. There was water and pang (baby powder and water) and ice and craziness. The way Songkran works is...well, there are no rules. Basically you can throw water on anyone or anything. You can smear pang on anyone's face. You can throw it on buses or on cars. You can shoot water guns at moving motorcycles; you can dump ice water on someone's brand new macbook pro. All with no consequences. It's pretty much the biggest free for all in all of human history. There were lots of activities at the church, too. There was a karaoke dance party at the church and somehow Sister Painter and I got dragged up on stage to sing "It's Raining Men" in front of everyone...that was entertaining. If you really want to know what Songkran was like, I guess you will just have to ask me in person. 

The week was also pretty slow, in terms of missionary work. People have been out of town and getting appointments with our investigators and recent converts was pretty difficult. We did get to meet with Sandy a few times this week, and that was a riot as always. She is hilarious. And also very concerned with finding the "right man." She asked me how to know if the person she loved was the "right" one. So I told her she could ask Heavenly Father. Except...I said it wrong. I wanted to say, "You can ask Heavenly Father if he is the right person for you." But I said, "You can ask Heavenly Father if he is a person." So that was funny. 

We also had a really fun companion exchange this week with Sister Painter and Sister Croft. Sister Painter and Sister Ladle worked in Pakkret while Sister Croft and I worked in Don Muang. Sister Croft and I were in the MTC together (she is the group below me), but this was the first time that we have ever really spent an extended period of time together. She is a woman of many talents and I really liked working with her. We also had an amazing miracle on our exchange.

There is a less active member in the Don Muang branch named Donut. I know, right? Her name is Donut. So we went to go find her at her house because she hasn't been answering phone calls. (I literally have written in my planner "find Donut" for a 2-hour period, which makes me laugh.) We got to her house and rang the little doorbell. She came out, but wouldn't let us past her front gate. We awkwardly stood there, us wanting to get in, her not letting us in; us not leaving, her feeling awkward, us smiling expectantly, her not moving. I said in my heart, as I am sure Sister Croft was doing, a silent prayer and asked Heavenly Father for help to find a way into Donut's house. And out of a pure blue sky, rain came pouring down. Donut let us in. :)

Hello Easter! 
This year I was blessed with the opportunity to speak in the International Branch. I shared some thoughts about miracles. About how all of Christianity is founded upon the greatest miracle of all time—the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because of His Resurrection, none of us are lost. We never have been and we never will be left hopeless or helpless. And because none of us are lost, God will go to any extent to make sure His children are blessed and watched over. He will change even tangible circumstances—rain from a cloudless sky—to make sure His children feel of His love and know of Christ's mercy. 

I love Easter :)

So that's about it for this week, family! I promised lots of photos this week...so hold on. I hope your internet doesn't explode or anything haha. 

I LOVE YOU!!!!

Love,

Sister Hughes

Sai, BookBeak, and Ao : )

Conference as a district . . . with our very own Area Seventy, Elder Khanakham (left background)

P-day Songkran celebration. Words cannot describe the craziness that is this holiday.

My camera was in a ziploc bag; no worries.

Sister Croft contacting. A man trimming his eyebrows in the background.

Me and Sister Ladle on the boardwalks.

The island of boardwalks.

One of my favorite families . . . Brother Bianat, Sister Nong, and Sister Ned : )
Transfers are this week and I got a photo with them juuuuuuuuuuuuust in case. They are going to the temple this week to be sealed!

Sandy, Sister Ladle, Ao, me.

Branch karaoke party.

Branch party

Covered in pang.