Dear loving and beautiful family :)
This has been a great week. From a numbers perspective it doesn't seem to have been very productive except for the fact that we found 3 NEW INVESTIGATORS. They are people who we have been hoping to start lessons with for a while, but do to circumstances we have only been able to meet this them officially this week. The other great thing is that they are investigators for the mandarin branch. They need to have investigators and we have a few now. We should be able to work with 4 or 5 different investigators soon and help them on their path towards learning about the gospel. It is great to have more people to teach.
The singles ward is doing well also.Pan feels prepared to receive the priesthood and has accepted a calling as Ward Greeter :) It is amazing to see the knowledge that he has gained in such a short amount of time. I love him. Derrick was able to come with us to Tai Chi today (Monday) and he brought a friend of his who seems like a really cool guy. We might be able to help him also start learning about the gospel. We are excited for his also preparing to receive the priesthood.
There are quite a few people that are preparing to go on their missions. We had a sister, Heather Jacobs, just get set apart to go to sweden on her mission. There was a brother, Ben Lee, this past Fast Sunday who stood up and said that he received his mission call to South Korea. Another brother that stood up shared that he was about to go through the temple and receive his endowment. Andy Black, and awesome recent convert, is preparing to be able to go on a mission soon. We are now teaching a couple of brothers who will also be preparing their mission papers soon. It is awesome to see all of these people going on missions. I am so happy for them. One of the sisters in the Ward, Sister Raneiri, said that when Ben Lee announced that he was going to South Korea my face just lit up. I knew that because joy filled my soul as I realized the great work Ben was being called to. This is the work of the Lord. I know that God is involved in the work. Our job is just to see how we can be more involved with Him.
I received the applications and I have to admit that it is very hard to keep my mind on the work. I can say that I am working hard though. I have set some goals and ways to achieve them over the next 5 weeks. I am excited to see my faith in Christ build and feel of His guidance. I know that if I do not achieve my goals now, I will achieve them eventually. I know that God answers prayers as we work to receive the blessings asked for.
The new investigators that we received this week were the Shi Family and Ricky. I think I have told you about them before, but now we will be having weekly visits with them. The Shi Family has a very open attitude to learning about the Book of Mormon and how it helps to answer our questions. When we meet with them this coming Sunday we will be sharing the message of the Restoration and help them understand the need for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be restored. Ricky is also very willing to learn. He enjoys our branch and has attended many of the activities we have had. We will be teaching him a little more about the restoration as well and the possibly moving on to the plan of salvation. I can already feel my excitement building as I talk about them. I invite you to do all you can to invite others to Christ and see the faith that they build in their lives. It brings greater joy than we can ever imagine.
I love this gospel and I know that it is true. Read the Scriptures and help others understand them. Pray to Heavenly Father and ask for people to be placed in your path whom you can share the gospel with. Attend church each week and invite all of your friends to share in the blessings of church attendance. It is through service to others that our lives are filled with eternal joy. Read of the Savior's visit to the America's and see that He wept as He saw others accepting Him and changing their lives. His tears were tears of joy. Schuyler's mother also wept tears of joy when he made the decision to be baptized. I know that service is what builds us to become like our Heavenly Father. His work and His glory is "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."(Moses 1:39) He serves us! Let us serves even as He does. Every day. In Every way we can. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
The singles ward is doing well also.Pan feels prepared to receive the priesthood and has accepted a calling as Ward Greeter :) It is amazing to see the knowledge that he has gained in such a short amount of time. I love him. Derrick was able to come with us to Tai Chi today (Monday) and he brought a friend of his who seems like a really cool guy. We might be able to help him also start learning about the gospel. We are excited for his also preparing to receive the priesthood.
There are quite a few people that are preparing to go on their missions. We had a sister, Heather Jacobs, just get set apart to go to sweden on her mission. There was a brother, Ben Lee, this past Fast Sunday who stood up and said that he received his mission call to South Korea. Another brother that stood up shared that he was about to go through the temple and receive his endowment. Andy Black, and awesome recent convert, is preparing to be able to go on a mission soon. We are now teaching a couple of brothers who will also be preparing their mission papers soon. It is awesome to see all of these people going on missions. I am so happy for them. One of the sisters in the Ward, Sister Raneiri, said that when Ben Lee announced that he was going to South Korea my face just lit up. I knew that because joy filled my soul as I realized the great work Ben was being called to. This is the work of the Lord. I know that God is involved in the work. Our job is just to see how we can be more involved with Him.
I received the applications and I have to admit that it is very hard to keep my mind on the work. I can say that I am working hard though. I have set some goals and ways to achieve them over the next 5 weeks. I am excited to see my faith in Christ build and feel of His guidance. I know that if I do not achieve my goals now, I will achieve them eventually. I know that God answers prayers as we work to receive the blessings asked for.
The new investigators that we received this week were the Shi Family and Ricky. I think I have told you about them before, but now we will be having weekly visits with them. The Shi Family has a very open attitude to learning about the Book of Mormon and how it helps to answer our questions. When we meet with them this coming Sunday we will be sharing the message of the Restoration and help them understand the need for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be restored. Ricky is also very willing to learn. He enjoys our branch and has attended many of the activities we have had. We will be teaching him a little more about the restoration as well and the possibly moving on to the plan of salvation. I can already feel my excitement building as I talk about them. I invite you to do all you can to invite others to Christ and see the faith that they build in their lives. It brings greater joy than we can ever imagine.
I love this gospel and I know that it is true. Read the Scriptures and help others understand them. Pray to Heavenly Father and ask for people to be placed in your path whom you can share the gospel with. Attend church each week and invite all of your friends to share in the blessings of church attendance. It is through service to others that our lives are filled with eternal joy. Read of the Savior's visit to the America's and see that He wept as He saw others accepting Him and changing their lives. His tears were tears of joy. Schuyler's mother also wept tears of joy when he made the decision to be baptized. I know that service is what builds us to become like our Heavenly Father. His work and His glory is "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."(Moses 1:39) He serves us! Let us serves even as He does. Every day. In Every way we can. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Sincerely,
Elder Christensen
