"I don't always thank You for the rough days and the hard times in my life, even though I should."

1. Me and three of my favorite sisters here in Kalasin. They danced the Korean pop song with us!

2. Dogs here in Thailand are...different. When they lay down, they always do it like this. Looks pretty comfy, actually.

3. Climbed a dinosaur! Hello world!

4. This is Thailand, this is Kalasin! Rice fields for dayzzzz

This week was hard. Which is why I used that line from Supertones' "Jury Duty." I grew up listening to a lot of music that I didn't always think about, but processing the lyrics now makes them really meaningful. The idea that we should be grateful for our trials is not our natural reaction, but something that we are meant to develop in this life. And it comes with the eternal perspective that all things will be "for our good." We had every appointment fall through this week, got zero potential investigators, and met no one who was really interested in the gospel. It feels like we've been up and down every street of this city a dozen times but I just know that somewhere out there in this province there are people who God is preparing! We just have to keep looking!

Well, I can tell I've been here for a while, because the rice is way tall! It's huge now! So cool. It's almost like Wisconsin! Except...it's still WAY hot. Which is not supposed to be happening. It's supposed to be cold season, which is supposed to be temperatures in the 60s...not 90s!!!! It's fine....

The highlight of the week was our branch talent show! It was hilarious. Half of the acts were impromptu. There was a Korean pop dance cover, and the ward members liked it so much that they wanted the act to go again...but with the three of us missionaries, too! So I danced Kpop again...haven't done that since high school. And then the ward found out that in a past life, I was obsessed with Kpop and dancing. So...it was a good show. A great end to ups and downs of this transfer, and a good note for our branch to end on, having fun together.

Transfers are on Thursday! We'll find out sometime today who's moving and staying...stay tuned for the exciting results next week. I can't make any predictions, but I know that I love it here in the Isaan and I'm so grateful to be able to serve out here, out in the rice fields and the heat and the cows and the drunks. Okay, so not so much on the drunks. But I've learned to laugh even at the creepy drunks and it's been fun out here. The mission is an interesting mix of mostly hard, brutal days and short breaks of laughter and, if you're lucky, a few moments of spiritual relief.

After 12 weeks in Kalasin, I finally climbed dinosaurs today! It was actually pretty terrifying going up and down, but also really awe-inspiring and amazing once I got to the top and could see everything. Maybe a metaphor for the mission? life? doing hard things? I promise I'm not trying to be deep, it just kinda happens.

And I suppose another highlight would have to be our Sunday night dinner of french toast and apple cake! So much bread. So good. So fat. Worth every bite. No, we haven't been eating our feelings lately...why do you ask?

Have a good week everyone, go enjoy the Age of Ultron trailer for me!

Sister Z.