Monday, November 3, 2014

Fasting Brings Miracles

This week was great. Elder Olsen is a great missionary. His work ethic is great and he has a great desire just to make this area explode. It's exactly the kind of companion I need. We had some great things happen this week and we are looking forward to this transfer.

Monday we were to have a lesson with a man that the other missionaries found on a junkai about 2 weeks ago. Since Elder Bevan transferred I knew nothing about this man. So we went. He was super cool and has lots of interest. He had cancer a few years ago or just recently. He almost died so he wanted to know more about God. He was busy because he was in the middle of his job but we set up an appointment for Wednesday. Later that day we found this lady who is half Christian and half Okinawa religion. She believes in Christ when she is sad. We told her how believing in Christ can help us become even more happy than we are now. We set up an appointment but it seemed like she wouldn't be home at that time. We had only a little bit of time left so we prayed and received instruction to go to a near by apartment and hit one door. We talked for about 3 minutes and she said we could come back!

Tuesday we worked hard. We met a new investigator named M. He is slightly handicapped but he has a pure heart. He believes in Christ but doesn't really know him at... all. We taught him some basic things and he said we could come back. It was a good lesson. We talked to a member after that about her 21 year old granddaughter and 19 year old grandson. We had a member's son come home recently and he seems to know all the less active youth in the area so it looks like there might be a chance that he may help.

Later that night we did some more housing. Lots of great people. One man said God doesn't exist because his life sucks. We told him if he trusted in God it can become better. He told us "I won't trust God" it was really sad and it made me think "this is the hope of our message. If your life sucks why wouldn't you try to rely on something that can help. Your life is going to be the same if you don't do anything about it."

We met this one man who said we could come back and teach about how he and his children can live together after this life.

Wednesday was basically spent setting up for the Halloween party. Brother M helped us all day. I love that guy. He helped so much. We got most of it done. T called and said he was busy but we will meet him next week instead. I'm looking forward to that.

Thursday we had zone training meeting then we returned and started to prep for the party. At first it didn't seem like a lot of people were going to come. A member brought her husband who wasn't a member. They used to live in America and he wanted to be baptized but he came across some people who were anti-Mormon and he eventually stopped. He hasn't come to church in 15 years she said. So this was a great chance for him to come back. Around 7:20 or so, this one college student that we meet a few weeks ago came. He brought 10 of his friends. Then other members brought some of their children and children's friends. At the end there was about 35-40 people that came! It was super awesome. The party was great and a lot of them said they wanted to come to our Christmas party. Things are looking good. If we have activities like this, I think more people will become more used to the church and eventually join. That's why open houses are so important.

Friday we had weekly planning and some dendo. We went to visit a lot of the people we had planned from earlier this week but they all weren't home :(. We did meet this one lady who said she wanted to believe in God. Se asked her why and she said "there is a feeling in my heart." That was the spirit testifying to her about this message. She has 2 sons that she wants to listen to this message. They both are of age to receive baptism.  We will meet her on Wednesday.

Saturday we finished some planning and headed out. We housed a bit but nothing really happened. We didn't meet many people because every place we went to, there was no one home.

Sunday. Fasting brings miracles. One of the members here, M is a college student. He is the bom.com. So awesome. He brought one of his friends to the party and asked him to come to church. At the end of sacrament meeting, that friend came! And he stayed for the rest of church. He is pretty cool and he accepted the Book of Mormon at the end of church. But I had a feeling we should have took him out of Elders Quorum. Those lessons are always boring. No offense to the teachers. Basically it was a 30 minute discussion on how we need to prepare the sacrament better. It wasn't prepared at all. And I feel bad that he sat through that. I looked over at M during the lesson and we both just had this thought of "hmmmm I wonder how he is taking this"

BUT it looks like he might come back. Next time we wont take him to Elders Quorum.

After church we talked to some members and are getting a better idea as how to start a mutual program where we can invite high school students to activities. The Branch President said it was okay for us to do this.

We started to dendo afterwards. No one opened their door!!!! It was so frustrating. You slowly die inside going door to door, waiting. But when someone answers the door, there is some energy that enters into you. I was super tired and hungry but this one college student answered his door and man we had a great lesson. We will come back on Sunday.

After dinner we went by and visited a less active. It was his birthday and we went to sing. It was great and we can come again this week to bring cookies.

We went and dendoed again and met this 17 year old girl named M. I think a bunch of her sisters and mom live in a house together. I only saw girls there. So many. It was weird.  But she said we could come back and explain God to her. I want to teach the whole family.

Afterwards we met this German. This guy had funny English. He was shinto and he wouldn't let us talk about our religion. He was super nice and he might come to eikaiwa.

Lastly we talked to the N family. Had a great lesson on prayer and why we ask them to pray. I felt so much love for them and told them I loved them. I told them I want them to pray because I want them to feel the way I do when I pray. At the end we pulled out a copied part of the 2014 October Liahona on the prayer sandwich. It is super easy to follow and we gave it to them. She said "we will try to pray everyday." Please pray so that they find time to pray!

Have a great week!


Elder Ho!


Elder Ho and the DL


Halloween party
Ha

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