05/19/2014

My dear family and friends,

This week was special. But not exactly special in the way you would think. 

I can remember my Lacrosse coach watch me bench my max, walk up to me, and add another 40 pounds and make me lift another set of ten. I can remember running up Quail road from Timpview High to the top of the hill, and back down, and back up again. Picking up a 25 pound medicine ball and running up and down the stands and doing ladders on the field. 

Nobody judges a coach because he pushes his athletes to the limit in preparation for the season, for that important game. Nobody thinks to judge him. 

Did I not like my coach when I left the gym hardly able to lift my arms? Maybe. It was hard, it hurt, but I understood why. If you don't understand why you will be filled with frustration and anger towards your coach when he pushes you. But when you can see the end goal -- being prepared for the next season -- you endure with patience. The weights aren't lighter, the hill isn't shorter, the only difference is your perception of the trial. You can see the final result. You see yourself stronger, faster. You can tell what your coach is planning for you. He is molding you into something new, that stronger, faster version of you. He knows the end goal, and you know it too. We understand each other.

Most of you probably know what I'm talking about. :)  

Who is my coach? The Lord. 

I came into this mission field just like a new player joins the team. Knowing nothing, weak, ineffective. My coach has been pushing me, giving me difficulties. But the problem in this scenario is that my perception of these trials and difficulties isn't the same as the Lord's. He sees me at the end of the mission a strong, powerful, filled with the Spirit, efficient, hard-working man. But do I see this end goal? Sometimes. I can always see that end goal when things are easy but once my Coach puts on those extra 40 pounds for a week, can I still see the purpose? When I'm running up a long, steep hill, do I truly understand His purposes? There's the rub. My perspective and my Coach's perspective are not in line. He sees something I don't see. We aren't seeing eye to eye, and thus, I become confused, frustrated, impatient. I just see this hill as a hill, and I am doomed to push my stone up to the top just to watch it roll back down again so I have to push it up again. 

 But once I come unto an understanding of His great eternal purpose, I can see His hand in my life. We all know that the greatest men went to the top only because of the great resistance they met on the way. My Lord is giving me great resistance in this period of my mission. He just threw on an extra 100 pounds and told me to do 40 reps. My arms are weak, near that point where they just stop working. That point when you look at that bar and it doesn't move, no matter how hard I push, it just won't move. But that is why He is here. Just like my coach, on the ninth rep, when my arms stop working, He puts His hands on the bar and lifts with me until I finish the set. 

The beautiful thing is that I can see His purposes. Through prayer I have brought the will of the Father and will of the child into correspondence with each other. I understand why He is giving me trials, and thus I can endure with patience, even joy. Lifting my bar right now is an extremely joyful experience, because I have a near perfect perception of His purposes -- what He needs me to be. So I lift, again and again, with invisible hands adding their incomprehensible strength to mine. I feel like the more I try to come unto Him the more weights he adds to my burdens.

"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

"And it came to pass that they did multiply and prosper exceedingly in the land... Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith. Nevertheless -- whosoever putteth his trust in him the same shall be lifted up at the last day. Yea, and thus it was with this people... And it came to pass that he did deliver them, and he did show forth his mighty power unto them, and great were their rejoicings."

I feel strong. Tired, sore, but strong. But more important I feel humbled. Knowing that it wasn't I who put those weights on to increase my strength. (2 Timothy 1:6-12)

Elder Osborn

5/12/2014

ก็อาทิตย์นี้เป็นอาทิตย์ที่ดีมากๆ ก็ผมมีอีกคู่คนหนึ่ง เขาชื่อเอ็ลเดอร์สุขันธ์ ผมได้พูดถึงเขาอาทิตย์ที่แล้วแต่ผมไม่ได้พูดพอเรื่องนี้

เขาเป็นผู้สอนที่ทำทุกอย่างเก่งมากๆ เขาสอนผมตลอดโดยการเป็นตัวอย่างสำหรับผม เฉพาะเรื่องความรักและความนอบน้อม

Okay. that was fun. I think my thai typing skills are slowly improving. haha just kidding. They're still pretty bad! But hey look at that! That's thai! I can read and write those little ramen noodles! haha.

I apologize if there's a bunch of typos so when google tries to translate it it will fail! So have fun understanding that! haha.

I was thinking about doing the entire email in thai, but then I started to feel guilty because nobody would understand my email. So I stopped. :) Your welcome.

This week was way great. I'm gaining weight. So you probably know what I'm referring to. I'm eating a lot. - Hey Sky, you know what I'm talking about, I have been living your advice! I'm not only just eating a lot, I eating a lot of Thai food, which is was delicious. Unlike any food in the world. And not only just eating a lot, eating a lot, often. :) That's the trick to gaining weight. Eat a lot, often. I'm also learning at the hands of a master how to make these delicious delicacies. Elder Sukhan is 100 percent Thai, but he was born and raised in Utah, but he can still cook like a boss. So for example, yesterday we made a vegetable chicken stirfry (not exactly thai, but way good) and some mango sticky rice!!!! The ultimate dessert! We figured out how to make it! It is so good that I almost ate it for breakfast this morning! So you're all gonna love my new amateur cooking skills when I get back. :)

Okay enough about my food. Well not actually. I think my new favorite food is a food called ส้มตำ or a papaya salad! So good! The best part is it is really, really, really, spicy. As in like one of the spiciest dishes in creation. But you can order it according to the level of spicy you want. It's so good! Spicy food is a trademark of Thailand and I think when I get back I'll be 100 percent immune to spicy food in America. because nothing I have ever eaten compares to spicy Thai food. The only bad thing about this food is it gives you ท้องเสีย. So that's not too fun. But it's just life in Thailand.

In other words, or more important words. We had a really cool week this week. We found a way cool investigator who asked if he could bring his wife, then the second day he brought his daughter too, then they brought a friend to church as well! 

We also saw one of the biggest leaps of faith I've ever seen on the part of an investigator to put all of her trust in the Lord and be baptized, no matter the consequences or the trials it will bring into her life. I am so proud of her.

Elder Osborn

Pics:

Last week's baptisms. Sister Jane and Jan.

Beautiful cloud that I just had to take a pic.

This guy up in a tree cutting it down in the middle of a torrential torrent of rain and lightning.

Elder Sukhan and I found 67 snails while we were waiting for an appointment. When it rains all the people go in and all the snails come out.

Sister Nun got baptized yesterday. Such a special day!

5/5/2014

1 And now, behold, my beloved brethren/sisteren. This is the next email from Elder Osborn, who has been called to the ministry staying in Srinakarin but with some more strange companion switches.

2 For behold, I will show unto you what happened at transfers last Thursday, and how Elder Osborn's ministry continued in the land of medium-tall sized buildings. And how it was successful. For I say unto you that two more souls were brought to the knowledge of their savior and were baptized for the remission of sins.

3 But there were trials in the land - it seems that Elder Attasit, due to a wound from a previous battle in the North lands, he was released from the ministry and went home to rest from his labors and support the ministry in the land of Asoke.

4 Due to this confusion Elder Osborn continued his work with Elder Sayavong and Elder Winsor in the land of Srinakarin - which is about a 30 minutes taxi journey through the wilderness of taller buildings to the land of Asoke in the West.

5 But in other words, Elder Osborn met success with his new companions, or I should say they were not new, for he had worked with them before, he just returned to working with them.

6 But I will show unto you, that the Lord of Abraham, and of Jacob, continues to do marvelous works among the children of men. For behold, on Saturday morning Elder Osborn awoke and left his tent (or rather the bottom bunk) and discovered a device of curious workmanship, which had a message from the assistants.

7 This curious director was in the hand of Elder Winsor, who interpreted the voice which came out of the device, saying: Behold, ye Elders in the land of Srinakarin, ye have been called to preach the gospel two by two and thus ye are expected to travel to the land of Asoke by 9 o'clock to pick up another Elder who has come down from the land of Chiang Mai in the North to serve with ye in the land of medium-tall buildings in the South, which is the land of Srinakarin, which is near the land of Asoke. 

8 For behold, the Lord loves his people in the land of Srinakarin, and has called Elder Sukhan by revelation, through his servant President Senior, to serve with ye in that land.

9 And it came to pass that Elder Osborn suffered much affliction of thought, saying to himself: why must I have so many companions?

10 And the voice of the Spirit came unto him saying, Peace be unto thee, for it is wisdom in me that ye shall have many companions in the land of Srinakarin.

11 And it came to pass that Elder Osborn was comforted.

12 And it came to pass that Elder Osborn and his companions were quick in obedience to travel to the land of Asoke to receive his new companion.

13 And it came to pass that when they arrived in the land of Asoke they came unto the house of the assistants, when Elder Osborn met his new companion, he embraced him saying: What's up bro!?

14 And it came to pass that when they had returned to the land of Srinakarin they found that their investigators had all but been lost. For seven people had dates to be baptized the next day, but many had lost their way, so that two souls were baptized unto salvation.

15 And it came to pass that there was much joy and rejoicing in the church in Srinakarin for the souls that had returned unto their God.

16 Behold, I have shown unto thee that the Lord God loves his children in every area in the land of Thailand, Burma, and Laos.

17 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that all that believe in Him, shall have eternal life. I say unto you that He lives and has risen from the dead in glory to save the children of men. He knows his people, he knows their trials, their sorrows, and their difficulties. And when men shall come unto Him, they shall find peace in their souls. For I know that he lives. And I say unto you again, that whosoever shall repent, be baptized, and become as a little child, shall have eternal life.

18 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen.

With love,

Elder Osborn

PS: believe it or not, some of that I actually wrote myself, the rest came from the scriptures. :)

 Elder Attasit. I love this guy... :)

 Baptisms! Sister Jan and Jane

04/28/2014

So... The three amigos is over. I got a new companion. Still in Srinakarin, but Now Elder อรรถสิทธิ์ is my new companion. haha Elder Attasit is easier isn't it? Yes! So I got another companion. He is from the Asoke branch. A Thai companion! And his english is amazing. He's a boss, just barely came off of bed rest because of his back. He went home to rest for one transfer to heal. And now that he's back he's my companion.

He is a wonderful teacher and has taught me A LOT since thursday.

I have also been pretty sick this week so I don't have too much to say... Sorry about the not super exciting email.

Oh, also the fact that I have a new companion means that I moved my way boss desk back to it's original location in the other room.

And our house is hilarious. We have Elder Winsor, Elder Sayavong, Elder Attasit, and I. We are a funny house. And Elder Attasit is a quick-witted one, so it's always entertaining.

.....

I think it was the flu and some pretty bad XYZ.... On transfers day I used the bathroom over 20 times. So that was fun. .......

Tuesday and Wednesday was horrible fever and aches. So that was fun!

I'm better now, it wrecked me Tuesday until Friday. I wasn't one hundred percent, but as of now I'm good!

I don't know exactly what is wrong with his back, but he can't do much and one of his legs is numb pretty frequently because of it.

Investigator progress - We have a goal for two baptisms this Sunday. The only problem is I feel like I'm writing the same things every time in the emails so I don't know exactly what to say about my investigators.

Love ya, 

Elder Osborn

04/20/2014

This week was a week of miracles. Especially Thursday. 

One of our daters doesn't have a phone, so we set up a series of appointments last Sunday. He didn't come to the first one and so we knelt down on Thursday while we were waiting for another appointment and asked for the Lord to lead Brother Peter to the church. Within five minutes he pulled up on his motorcycle and we were able to help him get baptized yesterday.

The appointment we were waiting for was a special lesson. The Spirit manifested it's power and we spoke of doing what is right and taking the consequences. Their only problem was they needed to be married or split up. They had tried before to separate but it never worked. They wanted to wait a year before they got married. We asked them to kneel down and pray and ask God what they should do. We continued to teach the next investigator as we waited for them to come out. We asked that they would come tell us what they decided to do. A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. They both asked frantically, "Where is the closest place to get married?" We were able to find out the closest place and we found out it closed in 20 minutes. They ran to their motorcycle and rushed to go get married. The place stayed open for them to get married and closed after they left. We were able to watch them both get baptized yesterday as well.

Brother โจ was found a few weeks ago. He didn't come to our appointment but he ran into Elder Sayavong several days later. He progressed and was baptized yesterday.

Sister ฝ้าย was a referral from the second Assistant companionship. Her mother watched with joy and pride as she was baptized yesterday. 

It was a special day yesterday.

If somebody had told me before I left on a mission that I would baptize 5 people in one day I would have never believed them. I am so grateful to serve in this special section of the Lord's vineyard and to be truly laden with sheaves with my fellow servants as we serve with all our heart, might, mind, and strength.

Elder Osborn

Here's a whole bunch of pictures. 

A couple from the baptism.

Elder Sayavong and Elder Winsor walking on the other side of the street as we go to a market to invite people to get baptized.

Brother Peter, the investigator who doesn't have a phone, studying the Plan of Salvation just after he passed his interview.

This last one is of usual occurrence. I just realized how foreign this is in America. So I took a picture of this truck with a guy on top this morning to show you. :)

04/13/2014

We're all about to run out and go have a water fight all day, so today will be short. I'll make up for it next week. This week was fantastic. Conference was enlightening and revelatory.

We found some new solid investigators and are set up with a goal of 5 baptisms in our trio this week. We'll see how this goes! We have to work tomorrow, even though the entire country will still be fighting with water in the streets, so we'll try to just work out of the church as much as possible.

Oh, this Protestant thai lady FREAKED OUT on the bus the other day. She said she didn't like our church, I asked why, she said we didn't teach the scriptures, I said I read them for 2 hours a day, she said we don't teach the word of God, (she started to fluster and get unusually angry - even for a white person).

I started quoting Jesus, "Thou shalt love the lord thy God with all thy heart... and the second is like unto it, Love thy neighbor as thyself".

She stood up and yelled that she would go call the cops. I told her to calm down a few times until she sat back down and sulked into silence while everyone else on the bus started acting normal again.

I love you all! I promise I'll write better next week!

Elder Osborn

Here's a way delicious dish we ate a few days ago. What I'm sticking in my mouth right there is a chunk of coagulated blood. Way good. :)

I'm way pumped to go invite people to get baptized as I spray them in the face with my squirt gun.

04/07/2014

Well, holidays and birthdays are not really all that exciting on a mission. You just do the same things -- don't get me wrong, doing these same things every day is way better than anything at home.

We went and celebrated by getting some icecream. I was so cold after I was shivering. (I will not share how much ice cream I ate to make me shiver -- in Thailand, in the hot season )

That was fun. But also, more importantly. Last Monday after emailing we got a phone call from President Senior...

So on Wednesday morning we drove Elder Lucas to the mission home for mission leadership conference.

He went zone leader, and I didn't get a replacement. So now I'm with Elder Sayavong and Elder Winsor again! After only 3 weeks... So that was fun. I brought that desk that I really liked from the other room back because I liked it so much. I also brought that soft spinny chair too. 

3 Elders. 1 companionship. 1 district.

Elder Winsor is only a couple months older than me in the mission and Elder Sayavong is still training, so we're a pretty young group down here. But that isn't stopping us from working hard and successfully.

Yes. We got 2 baptisms this week. One of them was a girl who has been an investigator for months and was inherited from the Sisters before -- which is REALLY long here in Thailand now. The other was a woman who came to church for the first time last Sunday -- the 30th. They both got baptized yesterday.

Next week is our general conference weekend and it is songrang. (I think that's how it's spelled).

Songrang is basically the coolest holiday in the world. Way cooler than anything in america. I've heard that it compared with Christmas from some Elders.

So here's what it is:

The entire country stops everything. 79 million people. They stop everything! Stores, restaurants, everything. For three days. Why? So they can have a giant water fight for three days. Yes. You read correctly. A water fight. 79 million people. 3 days. In one of the busiest craziest cities in the world. Bangkok Thailand. 

We're only allowed to play one day, and we have to be in our house by 7 every day, but that's still enough. I'm way pumped!! The idea is that it is played on the three hottest days of the year, just before the rainy season starts. So they have a water fight and try to throw so much water that the gods decide to play too and it rains. Way boss. 

I'm also way excited for general conference. We watch it a week late so they can translate it and broadcast it here. We'll still watch it in English. Super excited. The only problem. It doesn't count as a time for an investigator at church, which means all of the people we had at church on Sunday can't be baptized until the 20th. That's okay, we have 5 really solid investigators with dates for the 20th.

Today we had a way fun sports day. The entire zone got together and played frisbee, soccer, basketball. Way fun! Got to see everybody and run around in the sun for 4 hours.

Also, since Elder Sayavong is still training, we study for an extra hour and a half, so I make phone calls while Elder Winsor does the training, and I get my super long language study again. That's fun, but really long.

Still learning lessons. Humility and charity, knowledge and diligence. 

We had one other investigator who was supposed to get baptized yesterday. She decided she wasn't ready yet. We taught her everything. Explained that if an 8 year old can be ready for baptism, she definitely is. So we just wait for her until she decides that she's ready. It's rough to see that kind of mindset because I've seen too many people fall off the path when they decide to put off their baptism. Satan works really hard to get you to stall, then he just has more time to stop you.

We have a special mission, the Thailand Bangkok Mission has now become a baptizing mission. 218 people were baptized last month. And the bar has been set higher for this month and the next. But it's still not all happy and baptisms. From what I've seen, usually 1 in 3 of the REALLY solid investigators with a baptismal date end up getting baptized. Which is why we work with a lot of people. What we do we've started to call "sifting". We invite hundreds of people a day to be baptized to get a few numbers and appointments set up, then only a small portion of those actually show up, then only a few of those keep learning, and only a couple of those are the "elect" who get baptized the next week. We just sift through the people to find those who have been prepared by the hand of the Lord. Everyone we see who gets baptized has been prepared in some way. It's fascinating to watch.

Saturday was a way interesting day. We took Elder Sayavong to the doctor to get some medication and taught 3 recent convert lessons in the waiting room over the phone. Then that evening while we were teaching three Pakistani guys showed up at the church to talk to us. Two were evangelists, the other was a pastor. All from the Evangelist Church. They had been forced from their country with 150 other leaders of their church because they were christian. They came looking for help. It's hard because we can't help them because of legal complexities. They told us they were walking past and saw the cross on the top of our church... there isn't a cross on our church.

But at the end of our talk they asked if we could pray together. The pastor began singing. He sang hallelujah over and over again in a way cool Middle Eastern sound. The other two kept saying "amen" and "yes" while he sang. Then all of the sudden he had his hands up in the air and started talking really fast in Urdu. It sounded like alien language. He went for about a minute while we just sat there stunned and the other two kept saying amen. then they all crossed themselves and said a final "praise the Lord, amen".

Woah... that was an experience. We walked away from that thinking how grateful we were to be in the true Church of Jesus Christ. That we know how to pray to our Heavenly Father, how to speak with Him. How to converse with Him.

That is why I'm here. To help others know this is true. That they are children of their Heavenly Father and they can receive a remission of their sins.

The people of Thailand really believe that they cannot be relieved of sin. Just on the way here this guy started to argue with us saying that you cannot be relieved from sin. You just have to live with it your whole life. The culture here has a lack of hope. It's sad. You can see it in everyone's eyes, the way they walk. They think that this life is just a stepping stone. They'll be something else next life, won't take knowledge, experience, or family. There's no hope, no desire to be your best. Everyone just sits through life. There's no motivation, no hope for anything. I ask people if they want to be with their children for eternity. They say no. I ask why. They say you can't. I tell them that they can. They just say you can't and you walk on to the next person, hoping this person has a desire and a vision of the eternities.

Some of them see the light. They're so prepared I could say anything and they would agree. I pray for the gift of teaching so God can speak through me to them. I pray to meet those who have the gift of believing on the words of the faithful, so that when I meet them they believe me when I tell them, "You can be freed from sin. You can be clean again."

And it is a special experience to meet someone, see them believe, and watch the light come into their lives as they prepare to be baptized.

Well. I'm off for today. I hope you all have a wonderful week. Don't forget to read your scriptures, pray more than often, go to church, and pay your tithing. Because you can't afford not to keep the commandments.

Elder Osborn

This is sister เบียร์, or Beer. She's the younger girl.

Also we have sister Sutiraa, or สุธีรา. The older woman.

And us at the hospital. We felt so useless as we just sat there waiting, so we took this picture. Look! 3 Elders!