The "Greenie" is Gonzo!

My parents friends who brought me a package!

Each chair represents how many transfers we have left in the mission.

I caught this pic of some lightning.

Me dunking on Prep Day.

This is my good friend Bom Prakronkiate. The first time I met this guy was in an Anatomy and Physiology class in high school. He was a foreign exchange student in Bentonville, Arkansas, my home town. I am very good friends with him. I knew he would have to go back to Thailand, so I was sad I wouldn't be able to hang out with him for much of the summer.
Little did I know, out of the hundreds of missions I could have gotten called to, I was going to Thailand to be a missionary.
About five months later, Bom and I are here eating together speaking Thai with each other.
This is truly a miracle in my life that has been led by the hand of God.
Moroni 7: 29-30
29 And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men.
30 For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness.โมโรไน​ 7: 29-30

Update:

Hello Everyone! Thailand is still going great! We had what felt like the coldest day in Thailand so far. It was about 11 o’clock in the morning, and it was still only 85 degrees F. It felt so good! This title talks about me being a “greenie”, but I am not anymore. Being a "greenie" is slang for everyone who is new to the mission like I have been. Everyone is a greenie for the first 3 months they are out in the field being teachers. Today marks the last day of me being a "greenie", so I have officially been in Thailand for three months now! It is totally crazy thinking about that! I am amazed by the great leaps I’ve made in learning more about Jesus Christ, God's plan for everyone, how to live in everyday life, and especially the Thai language. The things that are possible to do when you are on God's side is amazing!One girl in my district named ​Sister Pimsuwan (we call missionaries who are girls "Sisters" just like I am an Elder ) who I am pretty good friends with has been in the hospital lately. I don't know for sure what she is suffering with right now, but I feel very bad for her. I really hope she can get better.

One of my very favorite parts of teaching here in Thailand is that at our church every Tuesday, we have a free English class. There are so many students that come and I have a very good time teaching them. A lot of them are very willing to learn, which is a good example to me to try my very best at Thai. It is also fun to see someone else struggle with speaking a language instead of myself. =) Since we have the class in our church there are a lot of our students ask questions about Jesus Christ because they have never learned about him before. It is a great way to find great people wanting to learn more with us. 

As a missionary, my main goal is to help others come unto God through the gospel of Jesus Christ, and one of the most important parts of that is finding other to teach. I think one of the most important things I have learned is how to find people who will be interested. I used to thing the best way was to go out on the sidewalks and talk to everyone I can to see who is interested. I have learned that this way is not the most effective. It is good, but if I want to find people who would sincerely like to change their life for the better through the gospel of Jesus Christ, then I need to work through people who already have a strong relationship with God. People can understand and strive for the happiness brought through following God's commandments if they have a friend or family member who has already made the journey. The path is paved already for any friends wanting to venture as well. I know that I have the truth because of the goodness I feel as I share these feelings and let others tag along on my path I have created for a while as they begin to understand for themselves and make their own path. Eventually, everyone will need to have their own, personal relationship with God, but there is always help when we need it.

This week, Elder Killian and I met with a man named Brother Doy. He has already been baptized, but he stopped coming to church because he said he was too busy and bored of going. I decided to bare my testimony about what I believe is true and Elder Killian did the same. Then we asked Doy​ to share his testimony too. His testimony of how his life has been helped because of the gospel was so powerful. I don't think even he knew everything that he said before he said it because when he was done, he said he wanted to go to church again. The next day, we got a call from his wife saying she and his daughter wanted to be baptized. It was definitely a miracle from God.

This week right before church, there was a white couple who walked in and instantly looked at me. I am going to be honest, it was very weird. Haha, I hardly ever get to see white people all the way out here in Thailand. Even more surprising, they said "Elder Barron, we have a package for you from your Mom." Apparently, my parents found someone going to Thailand and sent a gift with them so they could get it to me for free. Thanks Mommy!

Thanks to everyone who reads my emails and emails me, I appreciate it very much. Have a great week!

-Elder Barron