10/27/2014

Well hello everybody!!!

What a fantastic week.

We had a short week due to the combined district conference. And I was frustrated due to the lack of "success"(in regards to key indicators). So I told Elder Evans while I was emailing last week that we were going to have the best week. And we did. We made it happen. We saw miracles happen everywhere!!

One of our recent converts really wants to share the gospel with her children, but she and her son fell out just before she was able to share with him. But this week she said that they had reconciled and she brought him straight to the church. He now has a date for the 9th. He loves the gospel.

We were biking to a members restaurant to eat dinner and the member who was guiding us pointed out a less active member who was standing on the street. We turned around and talked to him. He brought up church and committed himself to go to church on Sunday. He came!!! We told the Branch President about him beforehand and he said that he had no idea who this guy was. He has been less active for a long time. Many years.

We were biking and out of nowhere I heard a gunshot. I looked around trying to see what happened. Looking back I saw Elder Evans slowly falling off of the back of his bike.

Turns out, a bolt in his bike seat snapped in half, creating a gunshot-like sound. His seat just fell off while he was riding, causing him to slowly fall off his bike. We stopped and laughed a little about the situation. When as if on que an ice cream guy drove up and we bought some ice cream to console ourselves. We then taught a lesson to some random dude on the street while we waited to be rescued. We went on a switchoff so Elder Evans could go fix his bike with the branch president. While in route they found another less active Melchizedek priesthood holder. He came back to church too!

Then, as if Satan was trying to stop us from shaking his kingdom anymore, I got what we think is the flu. Not super fun. A good couple days of taking short pauses and breaks between activities. Our mission health specialist put me on the worst diet ever -- which I'm not following 100% -- of bananas, rice, applesauce (which doesn't really exist here) and toast. Yeah. The theme of the district right now is "What did the Richter scale measure in hell today because of your personal ministry?"

So, as a whole, we got 5 baptisms and 4 rescues this month. (we stopped doing companionship goals, this is our district!!!!)

Miracles!

Elder Osborn

We went and helped harvest rice!!! This step of the process is where you smack the reeds against a stump forever to get all of the rice kernels out. Way fun!!

Baptisms!! The stories of these two sisters are really cool!!!

Check this out, it's blue rice, fried rice, and white rice all in one shot!! Further down the table you'll find sticky rice and purple rice. :)  Welcome to Thailand.

10/21/2014

This Saturday till Monday I had a great weekend. I got to go to Khon Kaen!!!! The entire Isaan came together in one big meeting. That's three districts. The first time this has ever happened. Instead of making more stakes or districts, they consolidated and dissolved one of the districts. In preparation to turn the two remaining districts into stakes at the end of this year and in the middle of next year. Thailand is growing and preparing for a temple. They want one so bad!!!!! All of the speakers were talking about the blessings of stakes and temples and missionary work.

Two days of cultural celebrations and meetings. I was able to see two of my converts from my first area. One of which is the District executive secretary and the Young Mens president. The other is in his branch's branch presidency and I watched him lead his branch. I am so proud of them!!! Brother Oh and Brother Sam. It made me SO proud to see both of them, leaders and missionaries in their branches.

On Sunday night we had a special meeting with Elder Gong, our Asia area president. He had gotten permission from Elder Holland to hold a special Sacrament meeting that night, with only the missionaries. We had a devotional before it and discussed the atonement and the meaning and importance of the sacrament. It was a powerful experience. It was a testimony sacrament meeting. So testimonies were born for about an hour. The entire time I noticed Elder Gong staring at what I thought was the clock in the back. At the end he bore his testimony. He told us that we was about to share with us something very tender. He told us that the meeting was so filled with the spirit and with love that he was watching the door the entire meeting, wondering when the Savior would walk in.

He said that that was one of the meetings that the Savior would have entered.

I also got the chance to have a personal interview with him, I asked him all about faith and remembering and conversion. We had a great conversation.

If you ever want a scripture to study and ponder for forever look at Moses 6:60. Elder Gong gave us that one. Way cool!!! He said it would take a lot of effort and time to understand it.

A great weekend!! 

Elder Osborn

10/13/2014

Dear everybody,

This week was miraculous. We've been working hard, and Sister Nori was baptized yesterday with her daughter Mild. We are so proud of them and we are excited for their new life in Christ. The ward has really taken them under their wing too, so we're not too worried about them.

One investigator was struggling with smoking. On Monday she stopped completely, and on Tuesday she went to smoke again but she said it burned and stung in her throat and that it smelled bad too. When we met with her on Wednesday she even plugged her nose when a man in front of a nearby house started smoking. Miracles!!

While riding to church yesterday, one of our recent converts invited a random person on the Songtao to come to conference. This woman accepted the invitation and also accepted a baptismal date for the 26th. Members can do work so easily!!!

As for other miracles, specific talks during conference stirred the hearts of a few investigators this weekend. The 26th is going to be a big day for Sagonakon!

We did some rearranging of furniture this week. We got bored of the original setup.

Mom, you'd be proud, today I swept the floor and did the dishes. And made my bed! :)

Sister Nori and Mild were baptized!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah!!! Elder Evans' first baptisms.

Conference answered all of my prayers and all of my questions. Thank you personal revelation that can confirm general revelation.

Elder Evans has a batman mask and loves to wear it during planning.

He also came up with the game of blindfolded frisbee.... I'm worried about his safety.

We also visited a recent convert, sister Lam at her house. she has the cutest chicken!!! We played with it and then held it during our lesson.

There was this huge parade!! Lots of monks and dancing and things of that sort. The other Elders found one of their current investigators with a baptismal date (daters) while we were there!

I snapped this picture. :)

10/06/2014

Another week in paradise!

This week was filled with miracles. Sister Nori, who was about to be baptized, but is still overcoming one difficulty, is so solid. Her words echoed in my head when I asked her after teaching about the first vision, "If I told you tomorrow that I had seen the Lord, would you believe me?" -- I was looking for the answer no so we could teach about the Book of Mormon. -- But she said "Yes". I didn't know what to say. We asked why. She said, "I would believe you because I know that the Lord sent you here."

Her words followed a special theme I had noticed in my studies. In Chapter 9 of Preach My Gospel is the phrase "You are to build up the Church by finding “them that will receive you” (D&C 42:8). Such people will recognize that you are the Lord’s servants."

In the Qualifications for the Work Elder Cook speaks very frequently of "when they say [I know you are a servant of the Lord] they will do everything you say, and they will be baptized" (taken from the Elder Osborn paraphrased version 1.2.1)

What tells an investigator that has known me for 3 days that I am a servant of the Lord? Who can do that? Only the Holy Spirit. He can speak to their hearts and tell them that we are on the Lord's errand. And then they know what they must do.

Second, is a recent convert who was just barely baptized. He had slipped into some past transgressions and his fellow-shipper felt like the best thing to do was to help him move so he wouldn't be surrounded by temptations. He's about 70-years old and walks very, very, slowly with a cane. We visited him at his new home on Saturday and asked him if he needed a ride to church. He politely declined and the following morning, walked for 2 hours to come to church. He didn't say much in the meetings, if at all. And then when everything was over, he quietly slipped out of church and walked home again.

Our mission is hitting a new inflection point. The work is exploding! We have so much to do! I love it! All of the members who have served are always telling us how these days our mission is way intense. But when they served it was สบาย or comfortable. The Lord's work isn't supposed to be comfortable. He pushes us. He is hastening His work. We just follow all of His commands to exactness.

With love, and your fellow-servant in Christ Jesus, 

Elder Osborn

This is my companion Elder Evans, he's amazing!!!!!!!

This is a ridiculous sign we found. Love it!!

Hey look! A lizard beast!

A member fed us chicken butts and maggots the other day. They were gross. I took a video, but the file is too big to send! :(

Love ya!!