Week 80 - Very Fast Week

大家好!

This has been an amazing week. We have seen so many miracles and have just had a blast. We have been working a long on finding and to say the least, we found a ton, and I took some photos, so everyone should be happy too :)

So to begin off the week, we actually got to do service. I know in the states, this is a very common thing, but this was the first time on my mission of actually helping someone move. The 謝家庭 (Xie family) called us up on Saturday night asking if we could help and get another companion to help as well, and it was super fun. The best part was actually just the aspect of getting to have an organized service opportunity. Here in Taiwan, everyone is very 不好意思 (can't think of the best translation, try googling this one, it is a very common sentence), so finding organized service is very difficult, so we were both really excited to serve a family in the ward.

As for the biggest part of the week, we had a ton of finding. But as we were finding, we had a ton of miracles. There was a phrase I heard recently from another missionary is that we get rejected a lot, but it is that last one, that last contact when we find the one we were suppose to find, and it is so true. This last week, there were so many of those last contacts that were the biggest ones, and here are a few from the week:

As I was on exchanges with Elder Taylor we were on the way home and as usual, turned to the person to my right and started talking with him. Eric (You should have the photo of him) has to be one of the coolest people in Taiwan, especially since he works for Apple, funny little fact about him. We were able to have a quick little lesson with him and Elder Taylor and Elder Nixon will be meeting with him again this next week which is super awesome. So, always finding is so important so you don't miss those few people.

On Thursday, there had to be the two coolest miracles. We had gotten out of Weekly Planning Session and went straight out for finding and were finding for the rest of the night, and as we were just about to stop to get dinner, we found 張小彪 (Zhang Xiao Biao), who was so prepared. He told us of how his wife has been looking for a church and how he has been hoping that this two daughters in high school could have a good source of support and really felt, after we had shared about Christmas and Christ, that the church really could help his family, and that night, he sent us one of the coolest texts. You can read the text in the photo. As for one of the hardest parts of the area, he works here, but lives in 桃園 (Taoyuan), so we invited the missionaries there to get in contact with them.

And then that same night, we were heading home from finding, it was almost 9 pm, when we needed to get home, when we both saw 陳端棋 (Chen Duan Qi) on the side of the street and both felt the need to talk to him. And he was also one of those people who were so prepared. We literally biked up to him and he said, "You are missionaries right? I would like to better understand your message." Elder Ploeg and I just stood there and smiled. That had to be one of the coolest experiences. He had just gotten off of work 10 minutes ago and he was about to go home when we started talking to him. So things just worked out perfectly to be able to share the gospel with him.

This week for finding, we also went out with all eight of the missionaries from the ward to go caroling for less active families, but with in a few minutes of going less active finding, it just turned into finding on the street by singing for people. One of the really cool people we found was 邱天漢 (Carson), who we sang for, shared last years' Christmas video (He is God's gift) and invited him to baptism. Sadly, he also lives in another part of Taipei, but it was truly a fun experience for all of us.

So, those are just a few of the big finding miracles that we saw from this past week along with a photo with some of them.

As for the last part of the week, it was super busy. Friday til Sunday was super busy. Friday night we had an amazing choir performance. 

Saturday was spent working at the Nativity for the English ward, and Sunday was Stake Conference were the Central and East Stake became the Central, East and North Stake, which was pretty cool. Elder Toronto presided and actually came up to me saying he knew me... I am assuming he met Tanner though. We all do kind of look the same, but small little connection along with seeing Jake's friend from Korea. So, it really was a small world. So the ending of the week was super busy, but also super fun.

In a glance, those were just a few of the things that happened this week along with some awesome lessons with most of our investigators. Thanks for all the emails and prayers and hope that you all have a great week!

我愛你們,

Love you,

柯長老

Elder Okeson

P.S.  Elder Ploeg is white washing and training. So I will be getting a new companion starting Thursday morning.

P-day fun

Week 79 - A very fast week

大家好!

This has been another really fast week. Things seemed to fly by in so many ways.  As for the biggest part of the week, there were only a few things that really stuck out. 

For the beginning of the week, we had zone meeting, which went really well.  As I mentioned last week, we had a lot of training on finding and this week we were really able to see the fruits of it all. Many of the zone members actually were able to share their personal experiences at the end of the week, sharing how as we really do keep our finding on the street conversations short and simple, that is when we are really able to find the coolest investigators. We also have been working on contacting everyone we meet on the street that night, so that they have our number as well, which we have seen a ton of success through as well.

Austin

As Elder Ploeg and I have been finding this week, we have really seen a ton of success from these two things, especially with just keeping our conversations with people short and sweet. As we were finding Tuesday night, we actually meet 黃柏瑜 (Austin), who is a senior in high school, but is actually going to college here really soon.  He seemed to be one of the most golden investigators ever. We purely talked to him about baptism on the street and he accepted the invite as well. The hardest part was when we asked him where he lived. With finding in Taipei City, we really do meet a ton of awesome people and a lot of times, we get to sent those people off to other companionship, which is always a little sad, but we are always super excited that the other companionship will have an awesome new investigator as soon as they are able to get in contact with them.

Elder Hughes and Elder Okeson

This week, I was also able to go on exchanges with Elder Hughes, which was a blast.  He is really an amazing missionary, who sadly is going home in a few weeks.  He has served an amazing mission and it is now time for him to be heading home. The interesting part of the exchange was that I went with him to his final interview with President Jergensen. After he got out of his interview, he turn to me and said "So far, I haven't felt like I am going home, and then President Jergensen said 'Your time is up', and it hit me." It was really interesting getting to finally go on exchanges with him and see him work. His Chinese is so good and so when we talk to people, he really is able to connect with them in so many different ways, which is really an amazing gift. One of the big finding miracles that Elder Hughes and I had together was finding 王妍方 (Julia). She was also one of those really prepared people who actually is going to be moving to the states in February. We had an amazing lesson with her on the street and also invited her to baptism and she accepted. After having one of the coolest lessons, she even gifted us some breads that she had bought from a charity group, which was super cool; not because we got food, but because when we were thinking about it, she really is some one who cares for others. After all that, we already knew this part, but we told her that because she lived in 新埔 (Xinpu), we would really like to invite them to continue to meet with her, and she was willing. So, I am just really happy that she will be in my old area, so she will really have some awesome support learning about the gospel.

And the last really big thing from the week was choir.  It feel like it really took up most of the nights.  We only had Monday, Tuesday and Thursday night for missionary work this week.  Wednesday, as usual, was English class; however, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were all choir performances, which were all really good. We performed in 三重 (Sanchong), 士林 (Shilin), and 金華 (Jinhua, our chapel in Taipei). The best part was the third time really was the charm because everything was just how we practiced.  In the first two places, the area was a little packed so trying to fit everyone on the stage was a little tight, but we made it work. We had all of the songs down really well and the performance just seemed to go perfect, so we really have been having a blast performing and sharing about Christmas with everyone this last week.

So, that was pretty much some of the high lights of the week.  Hope you enjoy some of the photos as well.  I tried doing better this week :)  Hope you all have a great week!

我愛你們,

Love you,

柯長老

Elder Okeson 

Elections starting up

Week 78 - Elder Stevenson's visit

大家好!

This has truly been an amazingly incredible week for us.  We have see so many miracles and have had so much fun doing the work. So I will try to bring up some of those miracles and also highlights from the week.

So to begin off, I don't think I mentioned this last week, but we had an apostle come visit our mission! Elder Stevenson, one of the new apostles ordained in October was in Taiwan to pick up his son from the 台中 (Taizhong) mission and was able to stop by our mission to share some words of wisdom with us, which was really cool. I think it may have also be due to the fact that President Jergensen use to work with Elder Stevenson before becoming a mission president as well.  To share the connection between President Jergensen and Elder Stevenson, Elder Stevenson founded the company that President Jergensen was on the board for. As for the words of wisdom that he shared with us, it was actually about promising blessings to our investigators and also about the white handbook, which he changed the name to the "white handbook of blessings."  He used an example to explain this name as follows: "Suppose I were to wake up at 6:30, at the end of the day, I am just exhausted. As for you all, by wake up at 6:30, following the schedule, we receive blessings."  He then went on to teaching the math concept: Obedience leads to blessings which leads to happiness.  As we are obedient, we will be receiving blessings and those blessings will help us be happy. He invited us to then use this with our investigators, to teach them as we are obedient, we will receive blessings and be happy. He then invited us to promise what those blessings would be as they are obedient to those invites and commandments that we share with them. And then after all of that, he shared a powerful testimony.  It wasn't long, but it was short and simple, which was the most powerful part. So, it definitely was a good start of to the week on Tuesday morning, getting to hear and shake hands with an apostle!

And then after all of that, we got to go with the assistants on exchanges which was a blast. Exchanges were cut a little short as they were having to do MLC preparation, but it really was good. This week, I got to go with Elder Huntsman, who was actually in the MTC with me, which was really fun. He is a really powerful teacher and it was super cool to go finding on the street with him. I think the biggest thing I learned from the exchange was really to love those you are teaching. His Chinese has a lot to improve on, but as we were talking with people, I could really see that no one really cared, they just could really feel his love for them as he was teaching them about the gospel, which was super cool!

As for the one of the biggest highlights of the week, I would have to say that it was MLC. They talked a lot about finding. Some of you may have heard of the "Ricciardi Letters," but it was an italian missionary who served in England and was a finding and baptizing missionary.  He trained 4 times, baptized over 100 people, and was just an amazing missionary.  As part of MLC, we got a little big of training from him.  The assistants were able to skype him and actually talk to him a lot about finding.  So, the biggest thing we were all trained on was contacting in under 15 minutes.  Everyone on the street is busy, but if we are able to simplify, truly teach the gospel simply, we will be able to find the prepared people because the field really is ready to harvest, which is the coolest part. They used the comparison of being fishers of men.  We are going fishing and catching fish.  Our purpose is not to also clean and cook them at the same time.  Not to say we as missionaries are cleaning and cooking people on the street, but we should be teaching the basic things to people on the street, and those who are prepared will continue on meeting with us. So over all, MLC was really a blast. We really learned a lot and were able to use a lot of it Saturday during our finding time and really saw a ton of success with keeping all contacts under 15 minutes.

As for some of the miracles, from the week, it has to be five of our investigators, three of them being the 賴家庭 (Lai family).  We have continued working with them and the ward just loves them, which is amazing. They have been coming to English class each week and church each week, which is amazing! Also, with this last week, there was a thanksgiving activity.  We did not take any photos, sorry, but they were able to come, which was a great opportunity for them to meet people in the ward. So, we really are just super excited for them and for the progress that they are making.

There is also 黃全偉 (Thomson) who has now gone without smoking for last 10 days! We have been working a lot with him and are hoping that this next month (December), he will be able to get baptized since the biggest thing holding him back is being afraid of having a smoking relapse, since it has happened before, but we are all praying for him and he is doing an amazing job!

Lastly is a newer investigator, 林芝羭 (Maggie) who came to church this last week. She is super cool and actually when we shared about church, she was beyond interested. She said she felt like in Taiwan, there are not many people that have a class that is directed toward helping women, but that she is super interested in Relief Society because it will be able to help her become a better person. And as she was introducing herself during Gospel Principles, she shared that and we were all just super impressed, along with her participation in the class since it was about the millennium. We got to break into groups to work on a few things and she said she would be willing to be the spokes person to share about the discussion and she did an AMAZING job.  Elder Ploeg and I were so impressed and proud of her.  So we are so excited to be able to meet with her again this next week.

So, to say the least, this last week has been amazing!  We have loved being able to meet with our amazing investigators and also just some of the really cool experiences of working with them! And so we are also excited to see what this next week has to bring as well with the choir performances starting up as well! So, hope that you all have a great week and thank you for all the emails and prayers!

我愛你們,

Love you,

柯長老

Elder Okeson

Week 77 - Exchanges all week

大家好!

This has been such a fast week. In reality, it did not really feel like I was in the area, and looking back, I really was not. A majority of the week, was spent on exchanges, and it worked out that I needed to travel for all of them, so I am still playing a little catch up with where our area is at, but I really am grateful for a great companion. He really is a great example of a good missionary and also an amazing pianist. (The Christmas choir is going to sound amazing!)

As I said, a majority of the week for me was spent outside of the area, which had plenty of fun experiences. So here are a few of those experiences from exchanges:

In 汐止 (Xizhi), I got to go with Elder Loke, who actually served in 香山 (Xiangshan), so we got to talk a lot about our old area, but we also got to have some really cool experiences in 汐止 (Xizhi). The biggest miracle we saw together was during finding. We actually ran into one of their investigators that they had lost contact with for about a week and a half, which was super cool. We were able to have a lesson with him and even set him up with another time to meet, which was truly a blessing for them in their area. So this exchange went from Tuesday to Wednesday.

The second exchange I went on was in 三重 (Sanchong), which was full of surprises. We had set up to visit with a former investigator, and on the record it mention that there would be an interesting surprise for us at his house. We didn't understand what it meant, but were still able to go visit him. And to say the least, it really was interesting. Something about walking into a home and seeing 12 sting rays and a parrot, it really just catches you by surprise. And he was super willing to let us take a photo with them too, so we had to get a photo. Only scary thing was the parrot isn't very friendly, so when I tried standing near to to take a photo, it tried biting me, so I stepped a little farther away for the photo. As for the lesson, it was really good, and he even committed to coming to church this next week, so we were really excited about that. So that exchange went from Thursday evening to Friday late afternoon.

The third exchange was with 松山 (Songshan), and it was fun because it was actually with Elder Dethloff who was my zone leader in 竹南 (Zhunan). He really is a great guy and is working really hard as he is finishing up his mission here in less than a month. As for the biggest miracle from exchange was actually having lessons the entire day and getting to give a blessing. This week for all of the exchanges, we actually did a blessing during each of them for someone that was sick. It really has been a blessing to actually be able to use the priesthood to bless the lives of those who are members and investigators, so that was a huge blessing to be able to participate in that during each of the exchanges this past week. And so that exchange went from Friday late after noon (30 minutes after the last exchange, just enough time to run home and grab a new set of cloths) to Saturday late afternoon.

So in reality, for the amount of time I had in the area doing missionary work, it was Monday night, Saturday night and Sunday, which was really fun. Elder Ploeg and I were able to see a lot of miracles and also able to find a whole bunch of new awesome investigators, so we are super excited for this next week, along with MLC and the new apostle that is coming tomorrow (Elder Stevenson).

Well, in really the week did fly by. We really had a great week and enjoyed doing the work and being able to work with so many companionships this last week as well. Hope you all have a great week and thank you so much for all the emails and prayers! We really are seeing the blessing!

我愛你們,

Love you,

柯長老

Elder Okeson