Week 96 - 掃墓 (Tomb Sweeping)

大家好!

Happy Tomb Sweeping Day! It is that time of year where everyone goes home to remember their ancestors, which made Sunday super cool. Fast and testimony meeting was all about ancestors stories. With half of the ward being gone too, it ended up that priesthood was also ancestor's stories, but they were all super good. It kind of carried on from last weeks sacrament meeting, which was all about family history and temple work. As for the week though, it was an absolute blast. We have had a lot of finding and were really seeing the blessings. There were so many prepared people, and so we are so excited for the progress that they will be making.

As for a few things that happened this last week, 陳絨 (Sister Chen) got baptized. She was a referral from Japan and had been meeting with missionaries for the past two and a half years, and we were able to help her take those last few steps towards baptism. It was truly amazing to see how there is always one point of the gospel that sticks out for everyone, and for 陳絨 (Sister Chen) it is temple work. Her husband passed away a few years ago and she is so excited to be able to live with him again and also take his name to the temple. So, that was a huge miracle and blessing from this past week!

Another miracle we saw this last week was a "member referral." Last Sunday we got a call from a set of missionaries saying that there is a member from Hong Kong, Brother Quang, that has a friend he would like to introduce to the church. So we called him up and set up a time and Brother Quang said that he would be able to help us teach the lesson as well. So, on Thursday we met with him and share the restoration and baptism with him. also had the member from Hong Kong help us teach the lesson. The lesson went really well and then we invited to baptism. 黃彥賓 (Brother Huang), the investigator turned to Brother Quang and had a moment of silence. Then Brother Quang said, "It is up to you, I didn't have to get baptized." My companion and I were completely confused at this point. We then found out that Brother Quang was not baptized, but was completely active in another ward, and so we invited them to be baptized together, and they accepted. So, that was a very surprising miracle, but they are both super cool and we are super excited to be able to help them both learn more about the gospel. So, from this experience, I really learned that it is super important to not only get to know your investigators, but also your "members," because they might just catch you by surprise one day.

This week, we also got to go on exchanges with the other set of elders in the district, and I got to stay in the area with Elder Tang. He is from California and is half Taiwanese and half Hong Kong, so everyone we contacted that night was asking, "Are you Taiwanese?" With Elder Lin, they are all able to tell, but with Elder Tang, it was a great conversation starter. It was really fun to be able to spend a little time contacting with him and also having a few really awesome lessons with some of our current investigators. One of the coolest contacts we had on exchanges was with 吳必成 (Brother Wu), who actually is a return missionary, but for another church, but went less active because of work. We shared a little bit about our church having been restored and he seemed super interested, and said he would be willing to meet with us again. So that was a cool little contacting story.

As for one of the biggest miracles from the week had to be English class. At English class, I am currently the front desk person, so I greet everyone coming and help sign in the people that are coming for the first time. One of the people I welcome is Leo, his wife and son. As we talk for a few minutes, I invited them to meet with the missionaries and be able to learn more about the church, and Leo said to me in broken English, "I am a member, but my wife and three sons are not." But then in Chinese he continued to say how he wanted his family to get baptized and wanted us to meet his family this week end. As we looked at the address of where he lived, we realized that he was once in our area, but because of ward boundaries changing, he is now in the 土城 (Tucheng) ward, so we referred them off to the missionaries there, but it was truly a miracle to get a family to teach.

As to end off the week, we went to 金華街 (Jin hua) Chapel for the new member fireside, which was an absolute blast. It was fun to see a lot of my old companions and also be able to hear a little bit about my last area and some of the people that they are still meeting with from when I was there. The coolest one was an investigator that seemed completely not interested. It was when Elder McNeil and I were on exchanges. She was a potential we had met on the street and called up a few weeks later to meet. I went with Elder Hansen, who became Elder McNeil's next companion, to meet with 蘇姐妹 (Sister Su). We did a power lesson, which is the restoration in 5 minutes, and shared about the Book of Mormon. She accepted the Book of Mormon, but said she would be in Japan for the next couple of weeks, so it would be a while before being able to meet again. Elder McNeil told me, during those few weeks of being in Japan, she read almost half of the Book of Mormon and is currently one of their most progressing investigators and should be getting baptized here in the upcoming few weeks! The Lord is really preparing everyone for this message of the restored gospel!

Well, my time is pretty much up, thank you all for all the letters and prayers! Hope you all have a great week!

我愛你們,

Love you,

柯長老

Elder Okeson

Week 95 - More Miracles

大家好!

Well, this has truly be a fast week. I don't know why, but the weeks are getting a lot shorter, yet there are still so many things to be done. So, this past week, we worked on getting some of that work done and saw some really cool miracles.

The biggest miracle that we saw was through listening. As I mentioned last week in my email, we are working with some investigators that have been meeting with missionaries for an extended period of time now, but we put Preach My Gospel to the test, and it passed with flying colors. We took the listening part of PMG and applied it the best week could with our investigators to try to discern their concerns. The miracles wasn't actually anything that we did, but what they realized and felt. It was so cool to be able to see those investigators that had a specific concern actually answer their own concerns as we reminded them of some of the basic principles of the gospel. And now, we are planning on a few baptisms for this next week, which Elder Lin and I are so excited about. Elder Lin and I talked after each of those visits and he expressed how he had never seen such a big change in an investigator, especially 林芊貝 (Carol) who had to be one of those people who had questions and concerns about anything and everything. So that was a huge miracle that we saw this past week.

Another big miracle from the week was actually doing split with our ward mission leader and bishop. I was able to go out finding with our ward mission leader, and it was an absolute blast. Sam was baptized almost two years ago and is such a nice guy. During the two hours of finding, we were able to see some really cool miracles. The first one was running into a part member family and actually getting the member's son's contact information. The second one actually is a blessing of serving in a smaller city in Taiwan. We contacted this one guy, 游先生 (Mr. You), who at first, seemed not super interested, but then the miracle happened. He asked Sam our ward mission leader where he went to high school. Lo and behold, they were high school classmates that lost contact. Well, we were able to get his contact information and he said he would be willing to meet again. One of those cool miracles of going out finding with a member. You never know who you will meet or run into!

Another fun this from the week was that we were able to go on exchanges with the zone leaders, which was an absolute blast. I got to go with Elder Ribar, and Elder Lin went with Elder Bellingham. The exchange was also a little special too because we did it from Tuesday 6:30 am to Wednesday at 6:30 am because of meetings on Wednesday, so we had to get up extra early on Tuesday and Wednesday to travel, so that is why we all look exhausted in the photos, it is because we are. But with that being said, it was a blast. Elder Ribar is truly a great guy and it was so much fun to learn from him as we contacted for most of the day since almost all of the set up lessons in 土城 (Tucheng) fell through. He is a super patient missionary and does a great job listening to people's concerns on the street. So, finding with him, we were able to find four new investigators and have two of them actually set baptismal dates as well, which was a huge blessing. And then it was also fun to get to talk with him and hear about his mission experiences because everyone's mission is so different, but so special.

As for a last little bit about the week, we started it off with rain, but are ending it up with beautiful skies! It has been so nice these last couple of days being able to find on the street and contact on such beautiful days! So, that was another blessing from the week, finding with lots of sun shine and amazing blue skies!

Well, that was just a few of the miracles that we saw this week a long with a few fun experiences! Thank you all for the letters and prayers! They all help so much!

我愛你們,

Love you,

柯長老

Elder Okeson

Week 94 - Busy Week of Miracles!

大家好!

This week has been such a blast. Elder Lin and I have been able to see so many miracles and have really been able to learn so much. We have seen the Lord preparing so many people and even help pick the area up to something we never expected in just a week. So, there is a lot to share from the week.

To share a little about the week, we are in the rainy season. Last night when we were at the 鐘家庭 (Zhong Family)'s home, he told us that it would be raining until Saturday, which means the flood of investigators are still coming. Something about finding in the rain, we have truly found so many prepared people and even helped a few of our current investigators overcome their concerns so that this next month they can get baptized! So, right now in the area, we really do have a lot of people that are preparing to get baptized.

As for one of the biggest miracle from the week, it had to be church. We worked on inviting everyone we saw and met with to come to church this week, and God worked his magic. We ended up having eight investigators at church, which was a little bit of an overload for us, as we were trying to balance getting to talk with them and also getting member to meet them as well. But we were so thankful that miracle God gave us, and are looking forward to this next week with even more enthusiasm.

Another miracle we had this week was actually with one of our investigators on baptism. Our investigator pool right now consists of a lot of long term investigators, and we felt like a large majority of them are ready to take the step towards baptism. 陳昀(Angel) is one of them. She is a 20 year old college student who has been meeting with missionaries for over a year now, and the previous missionaries had set a goal with her to be baptized on June 25th of this year. Both Elder Lin and I felt like that was way too long. We prayed before meeting with her that day and felt inspired to reset the her date for April 9th. As we talk with her about baptism and some of the concerns she had, we were able to share some scriptures with her and re-invite her to baptism. She accepted and then shared how for the last couple of weeks she had felt like June was way to far away, but for some reason, she had already been thinking about April 9th. Elder Lin and I just turned to each other and smiled. We knew that the spirit really had guided us in resetting her baptismal date and we are super excited to be able to help her take those last few steps towards baptism!

Another miracle was 蔡欣彤 (Katie), who is a former from 2 years ago, who started coming to English class this last week. We met with her, and she is so prepared. We talk to her about baptism as well and asked her about her concerns and she said she said she wanted to wait til she was a little older, but that she did want to get baptized. We felt inspired to share about the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and she pretty much set her own baptismal date for the end of next month. So that was another miracle we saw.

As for two more miracles we saw were through referrals. One was 陳皇旗 (Ken). We received the referral Friday night and set him up for Saturday night. We had no clue what we were walking into, or any details on his background. We arrive at McDonald (Yes, we meet at McDonald a lot, the ice cream is cheap ), and 陳皇旗 (Ken) walks right up to us like we are long time friends. We say we want to start with a pray and started explaining how to pray, and he say, "Ya, I know." So at this point, we know he has prayed with missionaries. After praying, we ask him what his background is. He then shares how he lives next to the chapel in 台南 (Tainan) and has been meeting with missionaries for 2 years and just moved up here for university. He has quite drinking tea, coffee and smoking and is now just waiting for his parents approval to get baptized. That was the first cool referral. The second is 石佳平 (Claire). She was actually a referral from Elder Taylor, who was in my last district. He contacted her on the street and found out she lived in our area. She has a friend who lives in our ward, but who is currently serving a mission in the Toronto mission, but has already be introduced a lot to the church through her friend's example. So, we have started meeting with her as well and looks like she will be getting baptized during the middle of next month. So, next month is going to be quite the baptizing month for the 丹鳳 (DanFeng) ward! We are so excited and happy and thankful for the blessings and miracles that God is putting in our paths here in this area.

As for the last little thing that I have been able to learn from my companion is about leaving little thank you notes at members houses. We have seen members open up to us a lot this last week and even saw 3 members give us referrals that have now become investigators, one of which is 鐘家庭 (Zhong Family)'s son's girlfriend who we will be meeting with again next Sunday to share the gospel; and a potential one for this next week.

So, overall, this week was just full of miracles. And SOOOO many prepared people. So, moving in to the area has been a pretty fun experience. Still working on learning all the road names and all the member's names, but it is all coming pretty fast. Thank you all so much for the emails and prayers! We are really seeing the result of those prayers!

我愛你們,

Love you,

柯長老

Elder Okeson

P.S. As for a little more about my companion. He's family is a convert family. He was baptized when he was 14 with his parents and three other siblings (two older brothers and one older sister).

Elder Lin taking two calls at once!

Week 93 - New Area and Familiar Faces

大家好!

OUCH!

Well, I am officially in my last area. On Wednesday, we got a text from the office to got to an ibon machine at a Seven Eleven to pick up my transfer sheet. My new area is 丹鳳 (DanFeng), which is in 新莊 (XinZhuang). Now for many of the people who came to Taipei with Mom and Dad and stayed for church attended the 丹鳳 (DanFeng) ward with 鍾國華 (Brother Zhong). So my final area is Brother Zhong's home ward here in Taiwan. So it is a pretty small world.

Br. & Sis. Zhong

So, there is the big news of the week, I have moved. As for a little about the week, it started off with a pass off lesson. We met with the Sanchong elders to start teaching the cutest/nicest couple ever. Gray is a computer guy, and Zoe is a model. They were contacted by Elder Payne's cousin in Australia, referred to him, and then he found out they lived in our area, so we got a chance to start meeting with them. But Elder McNeil and his new companion, Elder Hansen will get to continue teaching them. So, the funny thing is that Elder Hansen was actually our district leader, so he moved from the area next to us to our area. Pretty big move.

Gray & Zoe

For the biggest thing from the week,  樊乃竺 (Sister Fan) got baptized and I was able to go back to attend the baptism. There is really much to say. She was met weeks ago, and prepared by God. We were just blessed enough to be able to teach her and help her understand the gospel in her life. And lastly, it was a huge blessing to be able to hear her testimony of prayer, it is one that I will never forget.

As for a cool part from the week was that when I got here, one of the first lessons I had, the investigator didn't come, but we got to talk with the member. For some reason, he looked really familiar, like I had met him before. After talking for a few minutes, I realized that a year ago, when I went on exchanges with Elder Carbine, I taught the law of tithing with him. Funny thing to was that he remember me too. So, that was another familiar face from moving here was an investigator I taught with Elder Carbine about a year ago.

Last little thing from the week was just finding. It really has been such a blast serving in Taipei city and having been able to teach so many amazing people and finding so many prepared people. And for my new area, I am looking forward to finding more of those prepared people as well.

Thank you so much for all the emails and prayers! Hope you have a great week!

我愛你們,

Love you,

柯長老

Elder Okeson

P.S. My new companion is Elder Lin from 高雄 (Gaoxiong). He is an amazing missionary! I will share more with you about him next week. :)

Week 92 - No Effort is Wasted

大家好!

This was truly a week of miracles. It reminded me that not a single effort is wasted and we really do have a loving Heavenly Father.

To begin off my letter, 樊乃竺 (Sister Fan) passed her interview!! She will be getting baptized next Saturday afternoon. We found her 5 weeks ago on the street when it we freezing cold and raining, and now she is getting baptized! I cannot express the happiness we had for her and to see how she has changed. She has given up some dreams in life for the church and for a new start. To be honest, it has been hard to explain everything that she has experience and shared with us. She is one of those people where have been prepared for a longest time, just not knowing where to look for it. So I am so grateful for the opportunity I have had to be able to teach her with Elder McNeil.

樊乃竺 (Sister Fan)

As for a few things from the week, we had a ton of fun teaching opportunities. One of the biggest ones was the starting of the week with Zone Meeting. We had a great opportunity to discuss with the zone on working with members and also learn how to be better missionaries. The biggest thing I learned was a comment made by a missionary about a set of scripture that we shared. It was about Nephi going back to get the brass plates, and how they failed multiple times, but still tried again. They were even visited by an angel and Nephi's brothers still murmured. Laman and Lemual had a angel appear/miracle, yet they still did not believe it was possible. It really made me think how on my mission, I have really seen so many miracles, but how I need to recognized them as that miracle. Really thought that was a cool insight from zone meeting.

Zone

Another miracle we had this week was working with two of the member referrals that we had received, Gary and Simon. We had a lesson with them after English class and it went so smoothly. The member, 安得瑋 (Sister An), then followed up with them and said that they are now praying daily, and she was so excited. It was the coolest thing to hear and see 安得瑋 (Sister An) get pumped up about the missionary work here and also be able to see her friends start building that relationship with God.

張姐妹 (Sister Zhang)

As for the biggest part of the week, that really was a tender moment, was at the new member fireside on Sunday night. We had invited 樊乃竺 (Sister Fan) to come and she absolutely loved it, but while I was there, two people came up to me to thank me. The first one was a 張姐妹 (Sister Zhang), at first I didn't make the connection until talking to her for a second. Elder Nixon and I contacted her on the Subway almost 3 months ago and then referred her to the 淡水 (Danshui). She got baptized last week. Elder Peterson then told me a little bit about her story and it was such a nice feeling to see that not an effort is wasted. Team Jesus all the way. The other one was Sveta Lin. She is a 土城 (Tucheng) member who has now been baptized for almost a year now. She came up to me, to let me know I was the one who first contacted her at the 府中 MRT station and then referred her to the sisters in 土城 (Tucheng), Sister Kunzler and Sister Huarez. I later asked Sister Huarez, who is currently our Sister Training Leader for the Central Zone about it, and she said Sveta and seen me multiple times in the 金華 (Jinhua) Chapel, but this was the first time we actually got to meet, which she was super thankful for too. So, this last week for me was seriously a blessing. Even though I may not be here this next week for 樊乃竺 (Sister Fan) baptism, I am so grateful that I was able to learn of helping others learn of the gospel as well!

Sveta Lin (林)

So, for this week, I have truly felt so blessed and am so grateful for the oportunity that I have been able to serve here in the central part of Taipei. Thank you so much for all the prayers and emails, and hope that all of you have a great week!

我愛你們,

Love you,

柯長老

Elder Okeson

Running into friends from Suzhou!

P.S. Fun little thing from the week, because of West Stake Conference, Elder Ploeg had to stay the night somewhere, so he stayed the night in our apartment. It was super fun to be able to catch up with him and also hear a little about how he is doing in his new area too!