Roller Coaster

Hello Everyone!

This past week has been a little bit more of a roller coaster. You would think that being out for over a year it would get easier. NO! Ha ha.  I guess the ride doesn't end till we get off the roller coaster, or in this case, on the plane home.

First off! The great news... Our investigator Brother Zhang passed his interview this past Saturday and will be baptized this coming Saturday at 7 pm. He is just great.  The gospel fascinates him, and he is actively participating in the quorum lessons at Church. It's been inspiring to watch him build his faith in the Savior and see the blessings that come from living the gospel principles. 

Much of our time the rest of the week was spent fulfilling our back up plans because many investigators were "No Shows". It was a little frustrating for Elder Chatman and me.  One thing I have been trying to focus on is staying humble, and seeking to understand the Lord's will. Sometimes it's just hard! But we are continuing to learn and grow.

One other miracle we had though was meeting with our new investigator Saturday night. He was set up to meet at 7, but by 7:15 he still hadn't shown up. We had called him twice and he had not answered, so we started to pack up our bags and were about to leave when he showed up!  We sat down with him and ended up having a great lesson about the Restoration. The spirit was present as he had a natural desire to learn about God and ask questions, Elder Chatman and I both especially noticed that. We are excited to see what turns out for him.

This past week, I had the opportunity to go on exchanges with Elder Mansell in his area in Xin Ban. It went very smoothly. Elder Mansell is just great. He has a great desire to do the work  and he seeks to recognize his weaknesses and overcome them. His Chinese is rapidly improving even though he is a newer missionary.  One thing I thought was interesting is that Elder Mansell and his companion both have hearing aids which makes it really hard for them to contact people on the streets while riding bikes as it is really loud and hard for them to hear voices over the background noise.  They often have to walk (instead of bike) and contact at parks where it is quieter. We had a good time together.

It's been awesome to come out on the mission and see all the different backgrounds that everyone has come from whether as missionaries, member,s or non-members and how the Lord has influenced their lives and has a plan for them.

Well, that about wraps it up for things over here. Hope that everyone has a great week! 

Love you all,

Elder Bastian