serving in the land of smiles: Fanfareeeeeeee To Be Played At The Beginning Of Each Verse

Twinner companions . . . but no, really.

Dearest Family Family Dearest,

This has been a good week. I have achieved the impossible and I can know eat at lighting fast speeds. On Saturday night I literally ate a plate of suki in less than 5 minutes. I know. How did I do it? It's just one of the many things I have learned from Sister Croft. :)

There wasn't anything particularly outstanding this week...just teaching, working and serving

: )

We have an investigator who will be baptized next Sunday named Moo. He is so awesome. He is starting to bring his family to lessons, and we are so happy about that. He has cut down his smoking from 2 boxes a day to one cigarette a day. He is so close to quitting! Please pray for him and his family. They are so sweet :)

This week I have thought a lot about prayer. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out why it is so hard—hard for everyone. It's hard for me even though I have done it my whole life. It is hard for those I teach, because they have never done it before. This morning Sister Croft and I discussed why it is so hard.

Prayer is a form of work. We have to work to have a relationship with someone that we can't immediately see. Though I know that God is listening to my prayers and is present, I don't actually remember Him. I have no memories of Him creating me, I have no memories of Him teaching me, I have no memories of Him telling me it was time for me to go to earth and that David and Joleen Hughes would be my parents. I know it all happened, but I can't recall it. It must be so hard for investigators, who have never even thought about God before, to attempt to talk to someone. It must be awkward. I think for some, it is even kind of scary.

That is why I love watching someone's first prayer. It is the one moment when everything changes and suddenly God becomes real. He is recognized and acknowledged and His goodness becomes known. I love to tell people that if we want to know God and know of His goodness, then we have to pray. We have to talk with God to have a relationship with Him. And even though sometimes it is hard to pray and talk to God, it is the biggest blessing to be able to communicate with Him.

Yesterday a sweet 16-year-old girl named Muay got baptized. In her testimony she said, "Sometimes it's like I forget the words to my prayers but God never forgets them." I know that God has listened to each of our prayers. And He never forgets the words we speak to Him. He sees us each time we kneel down and He wants to give us the things that we need. We only have to ask.

Well, that's about all I've got for this week...like I said it was kind of quiet around these parts haha.

Today we are going to see a waterfall with Sister Bew's family! She comes back to Thailand on the 16th and Sister Slaugh is going to be her trainer! :) So happy about that.

I love you, family!! So very much.

Love,

Sister Hughes

QUOTES

Sister Croft: "WOW! I have the load of pajamas! I have SO much pajamas!!" (Followed by a fit of laughter because what kind of English is that??)

Elder Butler (looking at a hymn in the English hymnbook): "'Fanfare to be played at the beginning of each verse...' Hmm. Those are strange lyrics but I'll try my hardest!"