Panninee U-thaiwan, a sophomore majoring in business from Thailand, said she frequently surprises people when they learn she isn’t a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because of her regular attendance to church, devotionals, firesides, Family Home Evenings and participation in ministering.
Growing up Buddhist, the most popular religion in Thailand, U-thaiwan said, “Being a non-member here [at BYU–Hawaii] has been hard sometimes. In a lot of classes, they relate things to the Book of Mormon or other religious elements, and I don’t really get it sometimes.
“Religion classes can be a little bit harder too. I tell my teachers in religion class that I’m not a member, so please don’t ask me questions in class because I won’t know.”
She added other hard adjustments, saying, “The Honor Code has been hard to get used to. I can’t wear ripped jeans here, I can’t drink coffee. It’s kind of hard at first to adjust, but now I am used to it and I accept it.”
Despite her challenges, U-thaiwan said there is a lot to like. “I like the [Latter-day Saint] culture because I feel like they care for others a lot. You have the ministering program and other things which to me shows they care a lot about others. In my experience, [Latter-day Saint] people are really nice people and they show it.”
She added, “I think people here accept other people. There are a lot of different races here. My friends here are very accepting of me and of other people. I like that people here are willing to learn about other cultures. We have a lot of opportunity here. Coming here gives you so many networks. I like how we share cultures, and we can learn from many different people here.”
When asked if she might be baptized someday, she said, “Some people have tried to get me baptized. People have set me up with missionaries, and I’ve met with many. I’ve enjoyed it mostly, but I don’t like getting pushed to meet with missionaries.
“But I think about it a lot. I have a conflict in my family about changing religion. I’ve been praying a lot about it. I grew up Buddhist, but I now believe in the Book of Mormon. I cannot change my religion just yet. I think it will be a possibility someday.”
One of U-thaiwan’s best friends, Emri Trainor, a sophomore majoring in biology from Colorado, said, “It’s funny, she has called herself a ‘dry member.’ She’ll come to all of church each Sunday, take the sacrament. She does ministering with me, she comes to Family Home Evenings. She told me she has believed. To me she basically is a member.”
U-thaiwan said, “In my sophomore year in high school, I went to Idaho for a student exchange program. My host family were [Latter-day Saints] and they told me about BYU–Hawaii. I was in the [Latter-day Saint] environment for about a year and I really enjoyed it. I thought coming here would be a good experience.
“After I got back to Thailand, I applied to come here. A girl from my host family, Delphia Lloyd, was also planning to come here so we ended up coming here together.”
Delphia Lloyd, a sophomore majoring in hospitality and tourism management from Idaho, said her family wasn’t originally meant to host U-thaiwan. They met at school and Lloyd invited U-thaiwan on a trip with her family. After the trip, Lloyd’s parents signed papers for U-thaiwan to move in with the Lloyds.
Lloyd said, “I know we were meant to meet Panninee. She actually joined our family during the same time that we were grieving the loss of my grandma. She brought a lot of selfless service and simple joy to our home. I’ll always be grateful for that.”
Trainor also spoke about her friendship with U-thaiwan. “She’s really funny. A lot of fun to be around. We try to do something different every Saturday. We like to try new hikes or new beaches or something fun each week. Right now we are dancing together for Thailand for Culture Night. She’s helped me to learn a lot with that.”
Lloyd added, “She fits in like nobody’s business. Panninee has always been charming in her own way where everybody loves her because she’s always herself and doesn’t care what the world has to say about her.
“Our friendship is more like family than anything. I call her my sister, it confuses a lot of people, but to me she is. She’s been through a lot with my family and me from Idaho to Hawaii. I wouldn’t be the same without her.”
U-thaiwan said she experienced some difficulties coming here. “I had to take a lot of tests in order to come here. My documents weren’t finished in time. I prayed during that time to make it happen, that I would be able to come here, and it all ended up working out.”
Writer: Will Krueger