The Lost Sheep

  

     Last P day was a hoot. I planned out and invited the missionaries in my district to go explore a small island, and then go to the World's largest crocodile farm.  Two members came along as well, which made it a lot more fun.  The island was really neat.  It looks like a jungle, and hardly anyone was on it.  We went to the croc farm and bought long sticks with string attached to a raw chicken, and we fed and tormented the massive crocodiles with our chicken-on-a-stick.  

     We then went to a crocodile show.  Two middle-aged white guys sat near me. One of them turned to me and said, "Where are you from Elder?" There's something I never hear in Thailand, especially from a white guy. Turns out he was a missionary in Thailand 37 years ago, and returns often for business. He's been to the croc farm so many times he knew exactly what was going to happen in the show. 

     Some of the missionaries in my group went to get a picture with the big tiger again.  I noticed that there was an animal that I wasn't able to get a picture with when I came to the croc farm before. I eagerly walked up to the lady in charge of the photo booth, handed

her six bucks, and sat on a bench, like a father awaiting his first-born child. The lady handed me a bottle, opened a cage, and handed me a tiger cub, and I got a picture with him. I wanted to hold him for a few more hours. 

     Probably one of the best parts about Thailand is how ridiculously cheap the food is. One of the members showed us a restaurant where one could buy chicken steak and fries for two bucks. Also they sold T-Bone steak for five.  

     My Grandpa Barrus Turned 92 this week. He is an amazing person, he has served numerous missions, been to over 50 countries, and has been such a loving and kind man. I am glad he is a big part of my life. Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

     This last week we have been searching for many church members that we have lost contact with. At one point my companion spent four hours searching for one family.  And we FOUND them. Our area has hundreds of neighborhoods, so it was huge to find them, since we couldn't use google maps. We only used the poorly written directions on the phone. We have found numerous church members who have lost contact with the church. It reminds me of Jesus' parable of the lost sheep, where a shepherd went to find just one sheep in a flock of 100. It is great to be one of God's shepherds, looking for the lost sheep in the hectic Thailand.

     Have a good week,

     Elder Brinkerhoff

Not All Who Wander Are Lost

     I always look forward to emailing. Always.

     Been another High-Low week. Many of the people we are teaching aren't picking up their phones, so that's been a little frustrating. 

     

     We invited some other members to our house for Family Home Evening. Again, we are probably the only house in our entire mission that's allowed to do that, since our area doesn't have a church. We all ate food together and taught them a brief lesson. 

     All the missionaries in Bangkok and us got to go to a mission conference, and a few church leaders came and spoke to us. It was really amazing, many shared stories and their great experiences on their missions as well. One of them served in South America, and I thought of my dad when he shared his stories.

     Two of the members, Brother Love and Brother Day (they go by nicknames) took the week off, and they have been hanging out with us the last week. We ate dinner with them one night, and we took them to help us search for people to teach. We went to a place called Miami, a big outdoor shopping place with a Ferris Wheel, and that didn't work out well since there was loud music and people didn't want to learn about the Gospel, or English Class. But, it was way fun though.

     I have noticed that Elder Duke has a gift with fending off dogs. The dogs in Thailand are really wimpy, and we often walk past a lot of strays, and they hardly even move. But this last week we have had some dogs try and get us, but Elder Duke just pretends to pick up a rock and they scatter. He has fended them off when I wasn't looking. Despite him being a lot smaller than me, he's like my guardian angel...

     There are two workers on a bus: One is the driver and the other is the "bus bag" where they collect money. I talked to a guy who collected money, and he said he's been working on a bus collecting money for 38 YEARS. 38 YEARS!!! Sheesh I would literally lose my mind if I ever had that job.

I found the International Academy of Magic. I found the sign but I don't know where the academy is.. 

     My companion and I took a bus about 4-5 miles north of our house, and we went into a neighborhood to find people. We got lost and we were out for like 3 hours. Then we finally found an exit to the neighborhood, and we were about a half of a mile south from our house. How did that happen?

     The other day at Church I was talking to a church member who lived in the same area where my mom served. Later she introduced me to some members that knew my mom. Small World after all. One of them was so excited she gave me a big bag of bananas. Church members are so giving. I love them. 

     I invited a bunch of missionaries and a few members to have a fun P day with us. Today we are exploring a small island, and going to the Crocodile farm. Should be way fun. 

Have a Great week,

Elder Brinkerhoff

P.S. The Redhead missionary is not my companion, he just happens to be in these pictures. He's awesome. 

Hello again from Samutprakan, 

     I'm loving this new schedule change, we get more free time, and more independent time to schedule while we study, and we get an hour and a half of free time before we go to bed!

     After visiting an older woman with some church members, a few members, my comp, and I ate at an outdoor restaurant. Just a short distance away from the restaurant was a big stage. In the middle of dinner, 30+ year old men dressed in sparkly women's clothes with makeup came on the stage and sang weird songs. I wanted to get a picture or video but I didn't. Then I realized that if I did, and if my grandchildren saw these photos/videos in like 50 years, they probably wouldn't want to know what happened on my mission. 

     I got to do a switch-off with a Burmese Missionary, Elder Tone. He is awesome, and really funny. He speaks English, Thai, and Burmese. I asked him what he does for exercise, and he said he meditates. Then he said, "I actually meant sleeping."

     Yesterday while visiting an older couple, I noticed one Thai man holding a ladder while the other was on top of the ladder fixing some power wires. 

     I've been on my mission for six months now. That is super weird. I've only heard it gets faster, since I am getting the hang of things. There's a diagram that some missionaries showed me, and it basically explains missions. There's a Thailand missionary tradition, where a missionary would burn a tie when they hit their six month mark. My tie of choice was polyester, so it didn't burn at all. My companion was

laughing the whole time while filming me, trying to burn the tie. I'm not attaching the video. 

     We were blessed with finding more people to teach this week. It's a big surprise as well, since our area is considered a tough area to find people to teach. 

     During church yesterday Brother Pronchai came up to the stand and bore his testimony. Despite me not understanding most of what he was saying since I'm still not the best at Thai, he talked about my family and how extremely grateful he was to have my family help him get his master's degree at BYU, and for being a great friend to him. He spoke of my Uncle Kent, my Grandpa Barrus, and my mom. Honestly if I hadn't served in Samutprakan I probably wouldn't have served here, he probably would have never had the opportunity to connect with my Uncle Kent again.

     Before we went back to our house the other day, we went and visited an investigator who has been struggling. We sat and talked to him, and he said he has had a hard time with his job, and has been really stressed out lately. He lives alone as well. We asked him if he could pray for us, and in his prayer he expressed gratitude for the missionaries coming to visit, and he talked about how despite us having a long day working and being tired, we still put effort into visiting him. Really heartwarming. Despite us being there for about 15 minutes, it still really helped him out. I hope that all of you will visit someone who needs help. Even that 15-minute visit really helped that investigator out. 

     Transfers are this week, so I may get a new companion or maybe in a new area next week.

     Have a great week,

     Elder Brinkerhoff

Refiner's Fire

     

 

     This week had a lot of ups and downs, but it's been pretty good.  We had to go to downtown Bangkok for interviews with our mission President, and I was super surprised to see so many white people there. I think I have been in Thailand too long already. Also turns out our area is not considered Bangkok. The area next to us is considered Bangkok, but not Samutprakan.

     The members are still so awesome. One morning Elder Headlee and I met with an older woman who hadn't been to church in a while. When we got to her neighborhood, she was buying food to make for us. We had to go to be interviewed in Bangkok, so we didn't have time to give her a lesson. She felt bad. After English class later that day, she made us a big dinner. I was sick, tired, and stressed out, and it was so great to have a member just simply make a meal for us. Also, after we taught a lesson to one investigator, one of the members that was teaching with us bought us some fried bananas and some Thai Crepes. Another member made Elder Headlee and I ties.

     

     It's mango sticky rice season! It's this amazing dessert where Thai people make sticky rice and flavor it with mango, and then put coconut syrup on top of it, with a side of fresh mango. The members serve it to us often, and I am probably going to gain some pounds just by eating this amazing stuff.

     While teaching a recent convert outside of his house, a man walked up to us and asked if we wanted to buy something. A minute later another man walked by with a baby elephant next to him. We were in the middle of a neighborhood...

     Church members in Thailand have a meal together after church, which is the best. They make amazing food. The other day one member made a delish mango macaroni dish, and I asked, "What is this called?" One member replied, "Macaroni!" 

     You know how missionaries tell stories of having large spider encounters? Well that happened the other night. Elder Headlee was going into the bathroom and a spider about the size of my hand was in the sink. After careful planning, I jabbed a mop in the sink and Elder Headlee frantically sprayed the sink with roach killer. Success. 

     While enduring lots of trials in our area, Elder Headlee and I were waiting for the bus, feeling a little down. While waiting, a woman came up to us and asked us about English class, and asked if we could teach her how to pray. That was evidence that the Lord was blessing us through some of our tough times. 

     Despite it being a pretty good week, there were lots of trials that happened with Elder Headlee and I. I caught a cold and was sick for a few days, I got a little frustrated with reading Thai; our best investigator decided not to learn about Christianity due to his parents, and many of the members aren't able to help us teach when we need them. But I know it's a refiner's fire, and I need that. Like most of the other missionaries, I want the mission to be hard, so I can be stronger and a better person when I come back home. I know that I was blessed with trials in my life, so I can be able to endure and take on any challenge bestowed upon me. Like my dad says, "missions have mountains and valleys there this is one of those (fill in the blank).  Lots of both. The mountains are more numerous than the valleys..."  

Watch this video:  Refiner's Fire

     Have a good week, 

     Elder Brinkerhoff

This Wasn't Just a Coincidence

     

     Been another week in Samutprakan. Literally we do so much walking and bus riding that I go to bed exhausted every night. One day we took eight bus rides. 

     

     One day, we went across the river again, to find a museum that we'd heard about. When we got off the boat, a small Thai man in an Old Navy shirt came up to me and stared at my nametag for a full minute. Then Elder Headlee and I asked him if he was interested in learning about Christ. He said he was Malaysian and didn't have a phone number, and he said we could go to his house. He called a taxi and we went with him to his house. (I don't think we were even in our boundaries anymore.) Then we arrived at his place, which was basically a shack.   He had us sit down and he told us that we could sleep here if we wanted, and then went to the other room for a few minutes.  Then he went outside to a street store and bought some bottled water for us.  He came back and gave us water, then he took of his shirt and showed off his tattooed back to us.  He then went to the other room for a minute, and showed off two large empty alcohol bottles, and then gave us dried mango.  He then said I looked German, and left the house for about 10 minutes.

     He came back and then did some kind of sign language to us and laughed.  We then decided to leave after sitting there for about 40 minutes.  We started walking back and he tagged along with us and put his shirt back on.  He had us wait for him at a small street store, where he bought something, and the store clerk came out with a shot glass of alcohol. He then took a shot. That explains a lot. 

     We kept walking, and a crazy middle aged woman saw Elder Headlee and I and begged us to take a picture of us and her three-year-old daughter. Her daughter was absolutely terrified of us and was screaming, so not really a successful picture. To that woman we were some kind of celebrities or something, still can't figure that out.  

     We then kept walking with the man, then he said he was going home, and I took a picture with him and we parted ways.

      (About five days later, we ran into him again while taking another boat ride to teach an investigator.)

     Later that night we had a Family Home Evening,

and invited some church members over to our house. I made Japanese curry, (My mom sent me the curry. Thanks, Mom!) and they loved it. I miss my mom's Japanese curry that she makes. Other members brought a ton of food and one member even brought fries for us to cook. We then got to teach them a lesson, and it went well. We wanted the whole family home evening it to be an hour, but it turned into three hours. 

     Contacting is pretty fun here, and exploring neighborhoods while contacting is fun as well. One day while we were walking, 10 chihuahuas saw us from their house and barked hysterically at us. Later that day Elder Headlee and I stopped for a minute, and I heard meowing, and in a cardboard box was a kitten who was only a few weeks old. 

     

     The other day we were in a neighborhood looking for a former investigator, and some kind of party was going on. We found the former investigator and she said that the neighborhood was celebrating Children's Day, a day late. Turns out, all the people in the neighborhood were giving out free food. Free food? Yes, we took advantage of that. Free ice cream, snow cones, Thai food, yes it was amazing. I also remember as a kid, my dad telling me that Japan celebrates Children's Day, and I asked my dad why they don't do that in America. He quickly replied saying, "Every day is Children's Day."

     

     Last week I found out that there's a blind man named Pronchai in my church congregation that used to be great friends with my Uncle Kent Barrus and my Grandpa Barrus. When I told him that I was related to him, he was stunned. He then proceeded to tell me how grateful he was for Kent and my Grandpa. My

Uncle Kent helped him with his Master's degree when he was at BYU, and also shared many other fun experiences that he had with Kent and my Grandpa Barrus. Later he then asked for contact information so he could talk to my Uncle Kent again. Hats off to my Uncle Kent and my Grandpa Barrus.

     There are 36 different areas/cities/towns that I could potentially serve in here in Thailand, and out of all the areas, I got to be in the same area as Pronchai, and got to meet him. I was sent here at random, and I knew that God wanted me to be here in Samutprakan, and to meet Pronchai. That wasn't a coincidence that I got to be in the same congregation as him. 

     Much love from the other side of the world,

     Elder Brinkerhoff

Elder Panda

    
     

     Hello again from Samutprakan!

     (Still trying to adapt to all these bus rides and routes. I'm not a guy for large cities.)

     Elder Headlee and I got to go to a sweet outdoor restaurant with some church members. It's a buffet where you get a bunch of raw meat, put it on your plate, and come back to your table to grill it. That's one great way to avoid a lawsuit for having undercooked food.

     Some Thai people love wearing shirts from America, despite having no idea what they say. At that restaurant I saw a man in a Jimmy Johns shirt and American flag shorts. I asked if I could take his picture and with an extremely confused look on his face he said yes.  I have seen grown men wearing After Prom Shirts, and Powderpuff (high school girls football) shirts. Others, wear shirts with words that my mom and dad taught me never to say. 

     I met a girl that the missionaries have been teaching for a while, and when I first met her she called me Panda. She calls Elder Headlee "mantis" too. Turns out she loves giving the missionaries animal names. So I guess I'm Elder Panda now.

     Since Samutprakan is right next to the river that flows through Bangkok, Elder Headlee, a member, and I decided to cross the river and do some contacting. We needed some new place to contact (find people to teach). What's fun about contacting in Thailand is that you never know what you'll run into when we walk in the neighborhoods. At one point we ran into a massive Chinese Buddhist temple. Yep, hidden treasures. While walking back to the boat place, I saw about ten 11-year-old girls staring at me from a smoothie stand. I said hello in Thai and they LOST it. It was about the same reaction as a celebrity says hello to a bunch of teenage girls. They could not believe that I spoke Thai, and one girl yelled out: "He speaks Thai!" 

     We don't have a church building near us, sadly, and we have permission to teach English and teach other people in our house. We also have a ping pong table and we invited some members to come and play with us. Elder Headlee is really good at ping pong, and when one of the members finally beat him in a match, he reacted like he just won the lottery. 

     One thing that is awesome about serving in Thailand is the church members. They are very helpful and friendly to us, share/give us food, give us gifts (a member gave me 2 knitted ties), and teach with us. One member was ordering food when we gave him a phone call and asked for his help teaching us. He immediately cancelled his order and came over to help us. They are amazing people.

     There's a man named Pronchai, and despite him being blind, he is an amazing member. He is very smart, speaks English, and even went to BYU for a master's degree. Well, since this world is too small, I just recently found out that my Grandpa Barrus, and my uncle knew him at BYU. He's going to be excited when I tell him that. 

     That about sums up the week. This week it was a little hard to adapt to a new environment, and have new responsibilities, and trying to speak/read Thai. I know that if I put my trust in God and his teachings, and strive to be obedient, that I can overcome all these challenges. I hope that everyone knows that they can do the same when tough times lie ahead.

     Have a great week,

     Elder Brinkerhoff

2017 - My Year of Silence

   

    

     And thus begins my year of Silence.  Missionaries use this term as their entire year (mine is 2017) completely doing missionary service, if that makes sense.  Anyways, I finished up being a greenie, where I am no longer a newbie to the mission, and don't need extra time for training. 

Transferred!

     I got transferred out of Surin. And boy was that hard. Three months goes by quickly, and I got really attached to Surin. I got the phone call, and 24 hours later I was all packed up, said goodbye to everyone, and got on a bus to Bangkok to meet my new companion. Numerous members gave me small gifts and photos, and even Sister Lie, the recent convert, came by church to give me some Pad Thai that she made. Elder Cecil is staying in Surin and he will be in that area for his fourth transfer, which means he will be in Surin for six months. 

     

     I am now in Samutprakan, a suburb of Bangkok, in the southeastern part. It is next to the river that goes out to the Ocean. It is pretty hectic here, instead of biking everywhere we have to take buses. There are a lot of Burmese, Laotian, and Cambodian people in this area, and we have Burmese, Laotian, and Cambodian investigators as well. 

     

     My new companion is Elder Headlee. He is from Las Vegas and has only been on his mission six weeks longer than I have, and he is a total genius. In high school he got a 35 on the ACT, had a 3.9 GPA, and took 12 AP classes. He already speaks Thai perfectly, and knows how to do everything well. He told me the first day that there were 18 investigators that we have to teach. Should be fun.

     One day we were walking and I smelled something gross, and I saw a huge pile of raw animal meat just sitting in a patch of grass. Basically sums up what happens in Thailand.

     We visited a couple and taught them, and the man gave me a yellow colored drink. I drank it and it tasted like I was drinking straight up powdered sugar, and it was disgusting. I was polite and drank it all, and then he smiled and poured another glass for me.  The sacrifices we make as missionaries!

     I Hope everyone had a Happy New Year,

     Much Love,

     Elder Brinkerhoff