Week 104 - 時光飛逝

Beautiful weather in Taiwan

大家好!

I don't know how this happened, but this is apparently my last full week in the field, and it was an absolute blast. I could not have asked for a better week to end the mission. There were some ups and downs, but that was what made the week.

As for a little about the week, Monday to Friday was pretty slow. We just had a lot of lessons fall through, and so we were able to find a lot. Elder Jackson and I started Friday night's planning session just looking at our plans not knowing how we were going to meet our goals that we had set. We were working the best we could, and everything just felt like it was falling through. Saturday morning, the miracles came. Over the space of Saturday and Sunday, we had investigators call us up to meet saying they actually had time. Former investigators we had called came to the church saying they were here to meet even though they had not actually set up times with us. To put it simply, on Saturdayand Sunday alone, we had 12 member lessons, which pretty much meant we were meeting with investigators all day. To be honest, Elder Jackson and I still don't know how to explain it all, but we knew that God had His hand in all of it. So even though the week started slow, we were able to end it with a BANG!

As for a few things that happened this last week. On Wednesday, I had my exit interview with President Jergensen. To be honest, I am really going to miss having interviews with President Jergensen. I know he has been called of God to lead the work here in Taiwan and am so grateful for the time I have been able to talk and learn from him. During the interview, he shared with my 2 Nephi 5:27 ~ "And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness." We got to talk about how over this two years I have learned to live after the manner of happiness and how after the mission it is exactly the same. Nothing should change. I am so grateful for the time I have had to be able to serve here in Taiwan and also the people I have been able to meet and share the gospel with.

On Friday, we had the opportunity to visit 陳絨姐妹 (Sister Chen). It was great to be able to visit with her one last time. She is moving back to Japan this week, so it was the last time we were going to be able to meet with her here in 新莊 (Xinzhuang). It has been such a great opportunity to be able to share the gospel with her and also see the changes that she has made, especially with word of wisdom, to be able to draw closer to Heavenly Father. It really has been a testimony for me to see the changes she has made, that no matter what age you are or what background you have, God is always there to help you and give you comfort in those times of needs.

陳絨姐妹, our last time visiting her.

On a fun little note from the week, Elder Jackson and I hit an all new record. Recently, since it has been getting hot, we have been eating a good about of ice cream for meals. On Saturday, for some reason, a large majority of our lessons included ice cream with then investigator. I at 6 things of ice cream during the day. 3 ice cream bars, 2 刨冰 (Cua bing, shaved ice), and a McDonald ice cream sunday, most of them paid by others. I think members and investigators know that us missionaries like ice cream. Also, we have a couple of investigators set up for next week to meet and eat a 刨冰 (Shaved ice) as well. Along with all of that, this week we had five meals provided by members. I am really going to miss all of the members here and also the investigators that we have been able to meet with.

 As for two big miracles from the week, they were not what we were expecting. On Thursday night when we were finding, we were blessed with being able to find a ton of prepared people. One of which was a 高耀廷 (Gao yao ting). He is preparing for college right now, and we had an awesome lesson with him, and at the end of the lesson, the most un expected thing ever. An 阿媽 (Grandma) and her 40 year old daughter pushing her mom in the wheel chair come up to us and start scolding us on the side of the road. Elder Jackson and I were completely thrown back by how angry they seemed to be with us. The biggest part was, we were just concerned about 高耀廷 (Gao yao ting) during the entire encounter which went on for about three minutes, then they left. The miracle was what happened next, he asked us "Does this happen regularly?" Then he asked, "Why would people do that?" We were able to share with him more about the love of God and how he has prepared a way for all of us to be able to draw closer to Him through baptism. We invited him to baptism and he accepted and then set up another time to meet. After the contact, Elder Jackson and I talked for a minute and just kind of sat in amazement. We never would have thought that encountering such an experience would actually strength an investigator's desire to understand. Sadly the time that is set up, I will not be able to attend, but I know my companion will be able to help him prepare to make those steps that will help him draw closer to Heavenly Father.

The second miracle was working through one of our recent converts, 葉侃能 (Lance). He has been an recent convert for a while and have been working with him to be able to share the gospel with his family as well. As for a little bit about 葉侃能 (Lance), his cell phone doesn't really work in his home, so we always have to call the home phone, and 葉侃能 (Lance) does not usually pick up the phone. So, we have been able to chat with his mom a lot and his little brother. I have not had an opportunity to chat with his Dad or sister yet. Still working on that one. But on Friday night I called 葉侃能 (Lance) home phone, and decided to ask for his brother 葉侃倫 (I think his english name is Rob, I have only been using his chinese name when I talk to him). Chatted with him for a little bit and then he said he would have time Saturday to eat a 刨冰 (Shaved ice), hence one of the six for the day. Anyways, the lesson went amazing. He came to church on Sunday and everyone welcomed him. When they found out he was 葉侃能 (Lance)'s little bother, it was an automatic "I'm your friend" situation. He loved church and told us, Monday to Friday anytime after 4 he is free and Saturday and Sundays are free as well to meet! So, we will be meeting with him at least once more before I move.

Lastly, this week was the 60th anniversary of missionary work here in Taiwan. On Friday, we had the opportunity of attending a fireside, where the speaker was Brother and Sister Kitchens. Brother Kitchens was one of the first missionaries to come to Taiwan. It was amazing to hear some of his stories of serving in Taiwan and his experience of helping establishing the church here in Taiwan. He shared how the first Book of Mormon was translated, some of the traditions coming from a Hawaiian (Aloha to 早安/Good Morning), baptisms in 烏來區 (Wu Lai), and the challenges that he and the other missionaries at the time face. But even though they faced these challenges, it was through the spirit that they were able to overcome those challenges. And now, because of their work, here in Taiwan, there are now almost 60,000 members, 16 stakes, 2 missions, and a Temple.

I am so grateful I have had this I have been given to be apart of the work of salvation in Taiwan and also share my testimony with the people in Taiwan. I am truly going to miss the people here and all the friends I have been able to help understand the importance of the gospel in their individual lives. The Church is true, it has been restored through a prophet and even to this day we have a prophet that is guiding us and helping us prepare for an eternal happiness that comes through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Thank you for everything, and I will see you all very soon.

我愛你們,

Love you,

柯長老

Elder Okeson

60th anniversary of missionary work Display

Cool photos from the 60th anniversary. We did not get to go, but Elder Heaps and Tang told us a lot about it. The missionary display looked pretty cool. Left side is current, right side is all the old stuff/old translations of the church and book of mormon.

Week 103 - Miracle Week

大家好!

Well, another week, some how, has flown by again. It really feels like just yesterday I was emailing. It has been a very full week; full of blessings and miracles. Along with just meeting with a lot of people.

This last week,one of the hard things I realized was that for some investigators, this last time was the last time I would be meeting with them. On Sunday, we met with 顧子欣 (Gu Zi Xin), 鍾國華 (Greg)'s son's girlfriend, for the last time. This next week, she has some activities, so we will not be able to meet with her. I was able to share my testimony with her and also invite her to continue working towards baptism. I am sure that Elder Jackson and his next companion will be able to help her make those last few steps she needs to take to make the baptismal commitment.

顧子欣 (Gu Zi Xin), George, 鐘姐妹 (Sister Zhong)，鐘國華 (Greg), 

me, Elder Jackson, Cindy, and Judy

This week, we also were invited over by the 張家庭 (Zhang family) to eat dinner. They generally invite us over every week to eat and it is always a blast. 張姐妹 (Sister Zhang) is a fantastic cook and her two kids are an absolute blast. We are always looking forward to being able to visit them every week or so.

Ian, Ariel, Sister Zhang, Elder Tang, Elder Heaps, Elder Jackson, me

As for one of the biggest challenges we had, we were really working hard to get people to church. We started off the week with a huge concern of who could come, but there were so many blessings that happened. We had a former investigator (吳必成) that stood us up the first time we were suppose to meet, and this week randomly come to church on Sunday with his wife. We had an investigator that we had referred, but that now appears to be in our area come to church (王志達) who I will talk about more in a second, 陳昀 (Angel) who is another former, 陳皇旗 (Ken) a referral we received a while back that can come every now and then but is just waiting to turn 20 so he can get baptized because his parents disapproval of the church, 李冠儀 (Bruce) and then a bunch of less actives, one of which who hasn't been back to church in years with his family! We felt so bless to have seen so many people willing to make the sacrifice to come to church and for the members who helped us to welcome all of our investigators and less actives at church.

Also at church, it was based on missionary work, and they had us missionaries talk and they even invited President Jergensen to come with his family to talk. It was such a blessing to hear the Jergensen family's testimonies and also introduce some of our investigators to President Jergensen. So, for our talks, Elder Jackson and I focused on member missionary work and we both bore simple testimonies as we worked with members, we would see success, and then President also bore testimony of it too, which was super strong. One of my favorite parts of the meeting though was that our Bishop, Bishop Yang (楊富幃). He shared how when he was a boy, the missionaries came to knock the door at his house, and his father rejected the missionaries. Bishop Yang said that he was sure that the missionaries would have felt down from it. The missionaries gave the Yang family a Book of Mormon, but it wasn't til 20 years later, that Bishop Yang would open that book and it would bring about the conversion of his family, resulting in his daughter who actually just moved out of Tanner's area in Victoria last transfer and his son who is also preparing to serve a mission. We never know who we may contact and who is prepared, but as we are inviting everyone to come unto Christ, there is always success, but it many not be when we expect to see it.

Now for 王志達 (Wang Zhi Da). He came to church two Sundays ago and then came this last week as well, all by himself. He was a quick stop light contact near the church about a month ago. The missionaries, we think it was Elder Heaps who actually gave him the flier, who contacted him did not get a phone number, but he said if he had time, he would come. He came last week and we referred him and didn't think too much because we figured that the missionaries in 龜山 (GuiShan) would contact him. Then on Sunday, we saw him walk into the church. After talking with him for a few minutes, it actually sounds like he lives in the little part of 龜山 (GuiShan) that is in our ward. We met with him after church and invited him to baptism, and he was super willing. He said that these last few times coming to church felt really good and was willing to continue coming and working towards baptism. So that was one of the miracles that we saw this last week.

As for my last miracle want to write about his week, it was actually one that I would have never have expected. Here in Taiwan, since we are not in the English ward, we generally don't talk to the foreigners on the street. Part of it is also because a lot of them are very rude and want to pick a fight with the missionaries. Carel though, was a complete surprise. On Tuesday to Wednesday, I was on exchanges with Elder Tang in his area and we were out contacting. It was about 8:40 when I met him. It was actually one of the first times I felt like I needed to talk to a foreigner. Started off just getting to know him a little and find out his background. I don't think I have ever met someone so prepared for the restoration as he was. He asked me how I was liking my mission and I told him  loved it. He shared with me how he use to be Christian, but he feels like the churches have fallen away from the original doctrine of Christ and has become more of a tradition for people. As he was talking, I mentioned we were here sharing about a restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He responded by saying, "I believe that that must happened before the second coming of Christ." At which point, I shared about the Apostasy and then the first vision, which was super cool since I don't get to say it very often in English. After sharing the first vision, we all could feel the spirit. He said he would like to meet up. So we set him up for this next week. And to be honest, I am a little jealous of Elder Tang and Elder Heaps. They will be meeting him at a member's home this next week. But since none of us actually know anyone except for one family in the English ward, we called up the only family we knew to help them with the lesson next week. That family is the Jergensen family. President Jergensen will be the member assisting in the lesson. I can only imagine how amazing that lesson will be at the Jergensen house this upcoming week.

As for a few interesting facts of things he brought up during the lesson with him, he share/asked if our church:

- Does our church have a paid clergy because Christ original church did not, and neither do we!

- Does our church have Prophets, seers, revelators, evangelists? Christ original church did and so do we!

- Does our church believe in spiritual gifts? Yes!

- And fun fact, he is from South Africa.

So, to be completely honest, that had to be one of the most fun lessons during the week. He had done his research on what the true church is like, and we were able to bare testimony of it all and share that it has once again been restored through Joseph Smith, a prophet of God!

So, over all, the week was absolutely amazing! We had so many blessings and were so grateful for all the miracles we saw. Thank you all for all the prayers! They are really working miracles here in Taiwan!

我愛你們,

Love you,

柯長老

 Elder Okeson

刨冰 (Cua bing)! Best desert ever!

Week 102 - Super fast week

大家好!

Another week has flown by, which is starting to feel super weird. I have been getting notifications for a lot of things for the next few weeks and it is feeling a little weird how fast things are wrapping up. Staying focused on this last week, there were so many different things that happened and so many miracles as well. Elder Jackson and I truly have felt blessed this last week as we have been working.

One fun thing from this last week, has been the weather. We have seen the extremes. We went from sweating like nothing else, to having it raining cats and dogs. For the rain, the show must go on so we continue to do missionary work in the rain. However for the heat, we came up with a solution. Lunch and dinner eating 刨冰 (Shaved Ice) for 40 kuai (1 dollar and 30 cents). Best thing ever, especially when you add in other things. My personal favorite I found was a mix of taro, green bean, grass jelly and passion fruit. I am sure you are thinking that it sounds weird, but you have to try it, it is so good. That is the one I am eating in the photo. Super yummy. So recently, Elder Jackson and I have been eating a good number of 刨冰 (Shaved Ice)

As for the biggest miracle that Elder Jackson and I saw from the week was from dropping a lot of our investigators. Like in 金華 (Jinhua) there were a few weeks where we dropped a lot of our investigators and the next week we were able to find a ton of new prepared people. Elder Jackson and I saw it happen again this last week as we were finding and through other activities as well. We had investigators bringing friends to meet with us as well, we had a miracle english class week where from an average of 25 people to 40 people and a number of those new students said they would be interested in meeting with us missionaries. And then the finding miracles that we saw.

One of the investigators that we are now meeting with was actually 蔡欣彤 (Katie: sent a photo with her and Lance a few weeks ago) and her friend 胡家菱 (Hu Jia Ling) who is a college student up in 淡水 (Danshui) studying spanish, but lives just down the street from the church. The coolest part of the lesson was when we realized how much of a missionary 蔡欣彤 (Katie) had been with her friend. During the middle of the lesson 胡家菱 (Hu Jia Ling) asked about the Word of Wisdom and about Tithing. We explained a little about it and realized that 蔡欣彤 (Katie) had actually be doing missionary work with her and had already shared all of the commandments with her and the basics of a lot of the missionary lessons, which was super cool. And she has been to church now too. So we will be working a lot with her too because she has expressed a big desire to be baptized as well, which is super cool.

One of the cool finding opportunities that we had this last week too was also finding a Philippino to teach. It had be a long time for me since I had talked/taught someone in english. And also, it happened that I also had an English Book of Mormon in my bike box that we were able to give him. He is of a Catholic background, but had said he had seen missionaries many times in Manila, but had never had an opportunity to actually meet with them until now. He lives in 彰化 (Zhanghua), so we have referred him to the missionaries there. But the experience we had with him and the feelings I had as we were bearing testimony in our mother tongue was something I will not forget.

Also, this last week was a little bit special for church meetings because we had a broadcast from Hong Kong that was for all of Taiwan and a few other places. It was based on missionary work having been in Taiwan for 60 years now and inviting everyone to work a little more on inviting their friends to church. And that evening, we got some referrals from members, which was a huge blessing. But for the talks, it was a huge blessing for a number of our investigators because Elder Ballard actually spoke during the broadcast, so they were able to hear an apostle speak at church this last week.

Well, my time is pretty much up, but thank you all so much for the prayers! We have been seeing miracles to our right and to our left and we know it is because of those prayers that you are all saying. Thank you so much and have a fantastic week!

我愛你們,

Love you,

柯長老

Elder Okeson

Week 101 - A full week

大家好!

Well, this has been another fast week, but also SUPER busy. There has been so much that we have needed to do, that it we were pressed on time for most of the week. But even though we felt pressed on time, we felt like doors were opened as we were trying to fit everything into the busiest week every.

So, as for a few note to start off, on Monday for P-day we went to an escape room with a bunch of members which was a blast. Once again our Chinese was put to the test and ... looks like we still have work to do as you can see in the photo. But maybe next time we will do better if we do the same topic again.

The escape room was the start of Monday, but to keep Monday going, we had FHE at 陳佑安 (Eric)'s home which was put on by the Elder's quorum to strengthen recent converts and less actives. We were invited to bring the spiritual share and did our 3D photo game and shared about the importance of taking time and effort to learn how to really understand the scriptures and the 3D photos. We can't just quickly look at it and then move along, but should take the time to examine them thoroughly... 蔡宏翔 (Taco) seemed to take it to the extreme :)

蔡宏翔 (Taco) and 3D pictures

Then on Tuesday morning we had zone conference with Elder Wong of the first quorum of the seventy, which was super good. There were a bunch of really good trainings and comments made by missionaries that were really inspiring. My favorite comment made by a missionary was "We should teach according to a response, not for a response." I felt that was a very profound comment made, that we truly must be teaching to the needs of our investigators so that we are helping them better understand the gospel. After zone conference, we then went on exchanges with the zone leaders, which was super fun. They are both really great missionaries and I felt like I was able to learn a lot from them.

Then on Thursday, we had to hit our area hard. For the past 2 days, with being out of our area, we needed to meet with a bunch of our investigators and also work on finding those prepared people to share the gospel with them as well. One of the investigators that we met with is 廖冠禎 (Clayton), and he is doing amazing. He shared with us about some of the challenges he had been facing in his life, and it fit perfectly with our lesson plan, which was to share about the Plan of Salvation, and to meet his needs a little more, we also use the Bible to explain it, which was amazing. He really seemed to soak in all that we shared with him and said he would be willing to continue working towards baptism as well. Another investigator we have have been working with is 莊睿華 (Sister Zhuang), who is a christian, but is absolutely loving the Book of Mormon. When we met with her, she had already started reading and was prepared with questions and was super prepared to hear about the Restoration of the Gospel.

As for the last two things of the week, on Friday, we went on exchanges again, but this time it was with the other elders in the district. And, I got to go with ELDER HEAPS! It was an absolute blast being companions with him again for the day. It was interesting to see how be both have changed over the past 7 months, but how we both are still having a blast doing the work together and also being able to catch up with him on what has been happening with him in his past areas and how our area was doing when he left 香山 (Xiangshan).

As for the last thing, which has to be the highlight of the week, it was our missionary activity for Mother's Day. We put together a little fireside for mothers which Elder Tang conducted as Elder Jackson, Elder Heaps, and myself worked on making pancakes for the 50ish people that attended the fireside. They all seemed to love it and were all super grateful for the food that we had made for them. Even though it felt a little stressful at first, it all worked out great and we all are looking forward to doing another one as soon as we figure out what food we want to make for the ward. Has to be simple and fast because there are a lot of people in the ward to feed. So, got a lot of photos for everyone from the activity.

Elders Okeson and Heaps making pancakes

So, for the week, it was an absolute blast. We were booked with things to do, but it was all made possible through His help and am so grateful for the opportunity we had to serve others through out this week.

Lastly, Happy Mothers Day!

我愛你們,

Love you,

柯長老

Elder Okeson

Week 100 - Miracle week

大家好!

This week has flown by. We have been very busy, but it has been an absolute blast. This last week we have been able to meet with a good number of people, but the biggest thing was being able to have a ton of really cool miracles. So for my letter today, just wanted to write about some of those miracles we saw during the week.

The first was actually 廖冠禎 (Clayton), who I wrote about last week in my email. Elder Petermann and I contacted him, and then on Sunday when he came to church the other missionaries realized he actually lived in our area. So this week we went to visit him at his work, and it was awesome. We were a little worried at first, but it all worked out. As we get to his work, he pulls out cake for us to eat and two cups of milk tea to drink and invites us to eat. The lesson hasn't even began, no background in the gospel, and we had to share about not drinking tea. We said we would like to start with a prayer, did a power lesson of the restoration, and shared that it was through Joseph Smith receiving revelation that we should not drink tea. To remind of of how golden he was, last week had mentioned how he wanted to pray, but never knew how to. So when we invited him to pray, he was super excited. After sharing about not drinking tea, he asked "Is there anything else that we should not eat or drink?" So, we shared the entire Word of Wisdom and said "I feel that is right, I am willing to keep that commandment." We couldn't help but smile again as he said that. So, that was one of the first miracles from the week and we are excited to be meeting with him again next week to share more with him.

Clayton

Another cool miracle that we had from the week was having a lesson fall through. We are always meeting with people on the street and setting up times to meet again, and it just sometimes happens that some of those lessons falls through. We had set up a lesson with Peter 羅 (Luo) and he seemed positive he could meet with us at that time. We arrived there and waited. After waiting at the McDonalds for about ten minutes we decided that he wasn't coming since he wasn't answering his phone or anything. But before we left, we both had an impression to talk to a person at the McDonalds. As we approached him, he said "Long time no see." We talked for a minute and then he explained that we had contacted him about a month ago at the 丹鳳 (DanFeng) MRT Station. I tried remembering, but was drawing a complete blank. But the cool part was that he remembered. He said he has been praying more often in his life now and would be willing to meet. We set up a time with him and my companion asked him what his English name was. He said "Peter 陳 (Chen)." Again, another moment to smile. We had come to meet with Peter, and we found Peter. We both felt super bless that through following that impression to talk to that one guy, we found the person we were suppose to find.

The last and coolest has a bit of a background, so I am going to try and explain it as much as I can so you can understand the miracle. When I was with Elder Lin, we took on the project of cleaning our phone out and contacting ALL potential investigators and former investigators because there are currently over 1000 contacts in our phone (ya...). Some were calls, some were text messages. The text message basically said "Hey, how are you doing? I am Elder Okeson. I heard you met with missionaries before I am new to the XinZhuang area. Would you be willing to meet and learn more about the gospel?" That is the background from my end of the story. On Wednesday, Elder Jackson had to go to Taipei for the new district leader training and I went on exchanges with an Elder Jensen, who was in 板橋 (Banqiao) with me a year ago. As we were coming back on the MRT to find in our area, I get a call from a former saying he would like to meet. His name is 陶聖文 (Tao Sheng Wen). Part of the miracle was that we hadn't cleared his information out of the phone yet. He said he was free all day and would be good to meet in 30 minutes. So, we rushed to our bikes and biked over to the 7-Eleven we had set up for. Elder Jensen and I were talking, and then all of a sudden I see Elder Jensen light up and say "Hey, Austin! How are you doing?" I have never been so confused in my life. We had a lesson with him, set a date for baptism and taught about the atonement's influence in his life. After the lesson, I turned to Elder Jensen and asked him about what just happened. Now for the background of this miracle because if we didn't have the background, it probably would have been a little different. Austin has had a little bit of trouble in his life and the first missionary to meet with him was an Elder Liston when he served in this area about 7 months ago. Elder LIston met with him a few times and then Austin got super busy with school. Elder LIston then moved to 松山 (Songshan) where he was companions with Elder Jensen. One day when they were at the chapel, they get a call from a mom saying that she wants her son to meet with them. They set up a place and meet with him, and Elder Liston did the same thing with Elder Jensen. Austin walked up and Elder Liston got a big smile and called out "Hey Austin." So, Elder Jensen met Austin back in 松山 (SongShan) once and referred him back to the 新莊 (Xinzhuang) missionaries. Then Elder Jensen moved to 花蓮 (Hualian). On Wednesday, Elder Jensen had to come up for English Unit Leader meetings and then went on exchanges with me in the afternoon, which was when it happened that Austin called us up to meet. We all thought it was truly a miracle just how well everything was set up and we are now working with Austin to meet his baptismal goal. He is a really awesome guy and we really know that the gospel and the atonement of Jesus Christ will really be able to change his life forever.

I am so grateful for the time that I have been give to serve here in 新莊 (Xinzhuang) and for the opportunities the Lord has given my companion and I to be able to meet so many awesome people and share the gospel with them!

Thank you for all the prayers and emails! Have a great week and HAPPY UPCOMING MOTHERS DAY to Mom and Nicole!

我愛你們,

Love you,

柯長老

Elder Okeson

Week 99 - Starting transfer.... 16... I think

大家好!

This week has truly flown by. There have been a lot of fun things that have happened and also a lot of changes that have happened as well. But with that being said, it has brought a lot of blessings and we are truly excited to see what this transfer brings.

Well, to begin the week off, we got to go to the temple, which was an absolute blast. I attended the Chinese endowment, which was a blast. Because of the language difference, there were points that stuck out in ways that I had never thought of before. So this last week was started off with a blast of being able to go to the temple. At the end of temple day, Elder Lin and I went on exchanges with the other set of elders in the district. And I got to go with Elder Petermann to his area. The evening was spent finding and it was an absolute blast.

Temple Day morning breakfast with the district.

 Exchanges were from Tuesday to Wednesday, and Wednesday morning Elder Petermann  and Elder Lin got a text from the office with a IBON code, which only means one thing... Someone from both companionships is moving. So, we decided to meet up to look at where people were moving and to eat lunch. Elder Petermann opened his code and saw he was moving to 桃園 (Taoyuan), and that ELDER HEAPS would be taking his spot here in 新莊 (Xinzhuang)! So excited to be in the same district as him again! And then Elder Lin opened his code and saw he was moving to 台東 (Taidong) and Elder Jackson would be moving here the next day. So, that was the biggest news of the week. The entire district is changing.

Move calls lunch on Wednesday

With knowing who was transferring, we were still on exchanges, so we continued on with our days of doing missionary work, and Elder Petermann and I saw a ton of miracles. The first was a guy named Gorge, who is from 桃園 (Taoyuan), possibly in Elder Petermann's new area! He was a really humble man that has two daughters, and really just wanted them to grow up in a good environment. He said that he had attended church before, but had stopped because of work being super busy. We had an awesome lesson with him and when we invited him to pray, it was a miracle. He prayed and the spirit was so strong, even to the point where Elder Petermann and I started tearing up. He expressed how he was sorry that he had not prayed in a long time, but asked for forgiveness and also for a blessing on his parents who had passed away and also a blessing on his children. It was such a tender moment for all of us on the street that afternoon. The other miracle was Clayton, who appears to be the most golden investigator ever. We shared about Jesus Christ, and he said, "I am interested in him." We shared about baptism, he said he would be willing. We talked with him about prayer, he said "Can I try it, I have never done it before." We invited him to come to church on Sunday and he said "Should I wear a tie like you guys?" If that doesn't say prepared, I don't know what is. But the biggest blessing was on Sunday when he came to church. When we originally contacted him, I thought he lived in the other Elder's area, but that was actually his work! So, we will get to meet with him and help him work towards his baptismal date! Such a huge miracle, and just so excited to be able to share more about the gospel with him.

Well, you can see from some of the photos, I have a new companion. Elder Jackson is on his seventh transfer and is such an awesome guy. He is from Spanish Fork Utah, and is the second youngest of five and like me, is 20 years old. As for our first few days together, it was a blast, got to break him into the ways of missionary work in 台北 (Taipei), because his two areas he has served in are both pretty country side. His first area was in the southern part of 桃園 (Taoyuan) and his previous area was 苗栗 (Miaoli)! Yes, my first area. So it was fun getting to hear more about how that area is doing right now. So, our first two days together was straight finding, which was a blast, but we also saw a bunch of miracles and area looking forward to what the rest of the transfer has in store as well.

My new companion Elder Jackson

As for a fun thing from this week was a FHE lessons Elder Jackson and I are preparing for, and tested out with the 鐘國華家庭 (Greg Zhong's family). There was a training we received a while back that included some 3D pictures. You have to train your eyes, but if you look that the picture just right, the picture becomes 3D and a cool image pops out. We were relating this to the scriptures. If we quickly just look at the 3D picture and do not truly examine it, we miss the cool experience of seeing the 3D picture. Just like the scriptures, if we don't take the time to truly examine, understand, and ponder the scriptures, we will miss what we were really suppose to learn from the scripture(s). So, we are super excited to be using this for the upcoming FHE lessons we participate in and also a few of the other fun activities we have thought of to make our lessons with both members and non-members more interactive and also give them a personal experience with the gospel.

So, that was some of the bigger things from the week. Thank you all for all the prayers and emails. You guys are the best!

我愛你們,

Love you,

柯長老

Elder Okeson

Week 98 - There is a first for everything

大家好!

Well, to say the least, this week has been such a roller coaster, and it will definitely be a memory from the mission, but I am hoping that in many ways it is a one time deal. But with that being said, there were still tons of miracles from the week, and we were still able to see the Lord moving his work forward, even though we were limited.

So to start the week off, we had Family Home Evening with a some of the members in the ward and were able to give the spiritual share using three knives. We showed how the three knives were needed to support a book, but as you took away one of the knives, the book would fall. We related it to praying, reading, and going to church. The kids seemed to really enjoy the example of the family and few friends that they had invited also seemed to really like the example as well, which brought the blessing from the night. We were able to get a few less active referrals from them and they have all set up as well, which has been a huge blessing.

Starting Tuesday, was the experience that will be forever remembered. We ate lunch at the normal box lunch place, went to district meeting, which we had a surprise visit from the zone leaders, and then the day kind of went down hill. Both my companion and I started having a stomach ache. It then continued all day, and by night time, we were both dying and exhausted. That night we then spent on the toilets. Such a big blessing that we actually have two bathrooms in our apartment! Anyways, that continued all the way til Friday. We were talking to Sister Jergensen and she informed us that we officially had food poisoning. So from Wednesday til Friday, we were pretty much just stuck at home on the toilet. So that explains a majority of the week for us.

With so much of the week being gone, we were working hard for Saturday and Sunday to be FULL days, and it was a success. We were able to find some new investigators, get a ton of lessons set up with our investigators. So on Sunday, when it came to reporting, we were amazed that we were able to actually still hit all of the key indicators as well as a little more. The Lord really blessed us with still being able to still have a successful week and also be able to help some of our investigators truly move towards baptism.

One of those people that is moving towards baptism is 翁于姍 (Sister Weng). She has been meeting with missionaries for a long time, and just two weeks ago we committed her to doing a baptismal interview, and she did it this last week and passed! We are working on a few last things, but we are excited that she should be getting baptized this up coming week!

A miracle we saw this week, because of being stuck inside, was from calls. One thing that we spent a lot of time doing with being at home was making calls, and there was a cool miracle from one of the potentials Elder Tang and I contacted. 莊睿華 (Sister H) was a thirty second contact and felt completely so so. The contact consisted of us telling her we were missionaries and that we wanted to share the gospel with her. She said she already had her own christian church she was going to and that that church should be good enough, at which point she was finishing her cigarette and was about to leave. We quickly asked for her number and she surprisingly gave it. When we called her up, she was super will and the lesson we had with her on Saturday was amazing. She loved the feeling at the church and said that she would come to church, and that the following week she would also bring her 10 year old daughter (育庭, yu ting), so we are excited to be working with both of them now!

As for two more parts of the week that were a roller coaster was going to church on Sunday. So for a little background, this has been happening to a lot of missionaries recently, so I am not the first, but we would keep our suits at the church so that they would stay nicer. As I got my suit pants out on Sunday, I felt something weird on them. I looked at my pants, and saw mold! So, going to be taking my pants to the dry cleaner again to see if they can fix it, but that was one interesting event from Sunday. The other was Sunday night. I was laying in bed ready to fall asleep at 10:30 when my companion walks into the room and says in english, "I think I need to go to the hospital." He then proceeds to lift up his shirt to reveal hives/rashes all over his body. We called up the Assistants and got the ok to go to the hospital. I have never felt so tired. When we finally got home, it was 1 am, and I was dead. Sunday was a booked day and then staying up til 1, I don't think I have ever slept so sound in my life. Good news, my companion is ok, he got a few shots and has some medicine as well, so all is good in the 新莊 (XinZhuang) area!

Off to the hospital Sunday night...

As for the last thing from the week, Elder Lin and I decided to really boost our relationship with the members and some of our investigators, and we came up with the best idea ever! We made root beer floats for them! They all thought it was super fun and absolutely loved it. So, we did the chocolate notes before, but now when we are going to members homes and stuff, we are taking root beer and ice cream, and so far, the fruits of the little treat have been absolutely great! So, that has been a fun little activity we have been doing in the are for the few days of missionary work we had this last week!

Well, my time is pretty much up. Thank you all for the prayers and emails! You guys are the best! Have a great week!

e a jian (Taiwanese), translates to a egg cake with seafood in it. Was quite the interesting dish that our investigator gave us to try. 好吃!

我愛你們,

Love you,

柯長老

Elder Okeson

Week 97 - A week of inspiration and miracles

大家好!

This week has been such a fast week. We had a lot of meetings, but they were all so up lifting and inspiring. And then a full week of missionary work, which was absolutely amazing. As for my favorite part of the week though, it had to be the miracles along with General Conference.

To begin the week off, we were blessed with a huge miracle of finding the coolest family. They were four brothers, ages 18 (張合一), 16 (張光中), 14 (張光育) and 10 (張光信), and are all Christians but don't participate in any official church origination. We were able to share a simple message with them and share about the restoration of the gospel with them, which left them all big eyed. It was such a cool experience to start the week off. They told us they would be super interested in having their father hear about this message too and set up a time to visit with them again to be able to share the gospel with their entire family, which was a huge blessing and such a great way to start the week off. So, we are excited to be able to share the gospel with their family over the coming weeks!

Then Tuesday morning, we had Zone Meeting, which was amazing. Our Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders trained us on the importance of using scriptures in teaching and also the importance of helping our investigators find joy in the scriptures, because that will bring lasting conversion. The other big training was helping our investigators understand the first doctrine of the gospel, which is that we have a loving Heavenly Father, and we are his children. It was all super good, and super inspiring. As for big details on zone meeting, I don't full remember because I was translating for the two Taiwanese in the zone, but from what I remember and felt during the zone meeting, it was really an excellent meeting.

West Zone photo

Left to right

Elder Ribar, Elder Ploeg, Elder Reintjes, Elder Bellingham, Elder Richards, Elder Bud, Elder Lin, Me, Elder Petermann, Elder Tang

Sister Good, Sister Hendricks, Sister Li, Sister Davis

And then on Wednesday, it got better with zone interviews. I have come to really love meeting with President Jergensen. I know he has been called of God and is leading this mission through inspiration. As I was talking to him, I asked for advice on missionary work, and he took me for a spine with his comment. He said "Stop find," paused for a second, "Start teaching." When he said that, there was a big conflict in my mind, we have to find to teach. He then explained that as we let the members and English class do the finding for us, we will find the most success. So in other wards, find through the members. This comment really got me thinking and Elder Lin and I talked after wards and are taking a new action plan. We have made notes and bought chocolate candy for all the members and will be giving it to them over the next week. So, we will be working on building our relationship with the ward over the next few weeks.

As for one of the miracles we actually saw from working with members was actually meeting with a member referral on Friday night. 楊佩淇 (Lily) is a super cool girl that is currently living up in 林口 (Lin kou), which is a VERY long bike ride away. But, we were able to meet with her, and it was super cool to learn of her desires. She expressed that every time she is around her friend who is a member, she feels like her friend has way more peace and is always happy. She said that was why she was willing to meet, she wanted to learn how to have that happiness and peace in her life as well, which was a great start to meeting with her. So, that was a huge miracle from working with members of the past week. It also goes to show how much members can affect the people around them. 

So, to end this week off, we had General Conference, which was so amazing. The coolest part was coming prepared to learn. I had prepared my questions, and within the Saturday morning I had found answers for all of them. So along with all my questions being answered, it was cool to see how everything this that we had learned connected up with the talks in General Conference. A few of the talks given went exactly with what we had learned from zone meeting, which was even cooler. The trainings were given before general conference even happened, and they were all connected, which was a big testimony builder of the speakers being inspired and also President Jergensen being inspired. I am so grateful for the inspiration of our leaders and for the guidance they are able to give us in living a happy and joyful life.

As for the last miracle, it was through contacting referrals. We received a referral a few weeks ago and it was a 古小姐 (Ms. Gu). We did not get much information about the referral, but that they had three little kids. We were finally able to set up a lesson with 古小姐 (Ms. Gu) and she said she would need to bring her kids with her because they were too small to leave a home alone. We said, "No problem," and were excited to meet them all. When they arrived, they caught us by surprise, they were all kids, but they were ages 12 (傅彥儒 Alex), 11 (傅彥霖 Derek), and 9 (傅顗榛 Melody). The coolest kids ever too. The coolest part was that they actually did a lot of research on our church, which meant they already knew a lot, meaning we had to explain a few points of doctrine, but the lesson was absolutely amazing! We have another solid new family that we will be working with over the next few weeks, which we are extremely excited about.

So, this entire week, was truly a blessing. Elder Lin and I were able to witness so many blessings and miracles happen and are so grateful for all the super that we get from home as well. Thank you so much for the emails and prayers!

我愛你們,

Love you,

柯長老

Elder Okeson