Last Area?

Hello Everyone!

It was a pretty good were here in Taidong! Here are some of the highlights of the week:

We started meeting more frequently with our investigator Brother Zeng. He seemed like he was starting to drop off, but we were able to bring a member to the lesson who is an Aborigine, just like him. They were able to talk and get to know each other and I think it really helped Brother Zeng's desire to grow. Plus the member has a great interest to help him prepare to be baptized! We are doing our best to help him over come his bin lang habit which its getting better and better. I think if doesn't run into it this week that he will be ready to be interviewed for baptism on the weekend. 

Another highlight, our investigating family whose father is a recent convert has been doing well. His children are getting more and more involved with the church and its activities. Elder Neidfelt and I really feel that the kids will be able to be baptized this month. The mom might need more time as its hard for her to let go of the buddhist traditions and begin habits of pray and scripture study. But I'm sure she will be ready in the Lords time!

Last highlight came in finding, two of the new investigators we found are sweet!!! The first was this lady named Grace. We contacted here as she was going for a jog one night and she set up for last friday. We met in a 7/11 that was pretty crowded and didnt have many seats. At first I was think thinking, "ahh man, she is going to feel really embarrassed to meet here..." But as we sat down she was totally fine and was really interested in our message! She was asking great questions and the best part? As we were finishing up I asked if we could say a closing pray and hadn't even specified that I would like here to say the pray when she said, "ok, I'll do it! I want to practice saying a prayer!" Elder Neidfeldt and I were shocked! Afterwards she told us how she had seen us at the same 7 a few weeks ago eating dinner out front and that day she had stopped near us and had wanted to talk to us, but didn't muster up the courage to do so. She said it was such a coincidence to run into us again. As she told me this story I actually remembered that day and remembered her standing there! At that moment, I had a really peaceful feeling telling me that this was all God's set up. We are really excited for her!

We have some great investigators right now who are getting close to baptism. We are going to make sure that we do all we can this week to really help these people build faith in Christ and repent so that they can be baptized soon! I really hope they all chose to make this covenant with God! I feel like being a missionary has given me a peeks view into what parenthood is like as I can see the potential for these investigators and know how much accepting this gospel with absolutely change their lives, yet they in a sense are like children and dont quite realized this yet and will only slowly come to this understanding over time and through personal experience. You want to help them so bad but sometimes, you just got to leave it up to the Lord to take care of things.

I don't know if this is going to be my last area or not but I really hope that If I stay I can see these people be baptized!!!!! They are all such great people and children of God!

Things are going well here and I feel that I am working harder and more efficient now than I have my whole mission. I want to keep it up and hope that the Lord gives me strength to do so!
I think one thing that I have been learning and feeling the importance of over the past several months is the necessity of magnify our calling as missionaries and throughout the rest of my life. We dont just keep following the commandments when we get back, but we prove our faithfulness through magnifying all of the callings that God gives us.
I hope I continue to learn all that the Lords wants me to while I am here in Taiwan.

This about sums it up for here this week.

Hope you all have a great week at home! Love you all!

Elder Bastian

Ups and Downs

This past week was ok here in Taidong, there were a few ups and downs. I felt that Elder Neidfelt and I worked pretty hard, but we just didn't see the success that we had hoped for. A few of our investigators seem to being petering out which is sad because we have so much hope for them! But, everyone has there agency and we will continue to do our best to find the ones that are willing to receive us.

We did see a great blessing though this past week as our investigator Brother Wang came to church for the first time! He hadn't come yet since we started meeting with him about 2 months ago and I was worried that he might not come this week either since he didn't strongly commit when we invited him, but I sent him a text saturday night encouraging him to keep praying and reading and the hoping that we would be able to see him tomorrow and then he came! Elder Neidfelt and I were really excited. I hope that he will be able to make his baptismal date on 5/10.

I was also grateful to be able to hear Elder Wilson, a member of the seventy, and his wife this past week as they came to do a mission tour here. I thought that the topic he chose to address: The Book of Mormon. What perfect. Thats something that I felt has always been a little bit of astruggle on the mission was to help people really become connected with the Book of Mormon or sciptures in general. Its a little different here since people dont have a christian background and are unfimiliar with the Bible. But I felt Elder Wilson gave some great advice to help us better help our investigators experience the Spirit of reading the Book of Mormon. Several times this past week Elder Neidfeldt and I really worked to help our investigators understand the importance of the BoM and read with them to help them experience it. I know this is a process and over time as we continue to help them they will develop their own personal testimony of this second witness to Christ! 

I'm so grateful to have the Book of Mormon in my life and to understand its importance in our conversion to Christ.

This about sums it up for the week. I hope that everyone has a great week back at home!

Elder Bastian

Finished the BofM in Chinese!

Hello Everyone!

This past week here in Taidong was great! 

On the weekend we had the opportunity to watch the re-broadcast of General Conference at our chapel. It was so great, but a bitter sweet moment as I realized that that was the last conference I would watch here in Taiwan. Nevertheless, it was very inspiring, my favorite talks were given by Elder Holland and Elder Uchtdorf's on Gratitude. I have already begun applying some of the principles that they shared with us and have seen a difference! I know that as we seek the USE the counsel given to us by these prophets of God, we will draw closer to our Heavenly Father, be able to more fully feel his influence in our lives, and be able to more swiftly navigate the challenges of life. Im grateful God has restored the gospel in our day!

Some other highlights of the week:

-Last monday I finished reading the Book of Mormon all the way through in Chinese! It feels very satisfying to have accomplished that... but now Im on to D&C!

-On Thursday or so, we were out on our bikes, contacting people on the streets when I stopped and said "Hi" to a man. Well he slowly turned his head toward me and then reach out for my arms without saying anything. I started to back away quickly and without thinking the words, "Oh man, TIME TO GO!" came out of my mouth! As I started to bike away he literaly ran after me for a several meters before stopping!!! I was out of there like lightning... If only I had heeded my companion's warning that he was crazy right before I said hi... What he said didn't really sink in, but now I know what he means! I hope the experience gives you guys a good laugh! Im sure I will remember this one for a while.

-We met with Brother Wang this past week and were able to read the Book of Mormon with him. It was a spiritual lesson as he seemed to really receive some inspiration from God and develop his testimony of the Book of Mormon. He's doing great.

-I also had the opportunity to go on exchanges with the zone leader on friday. His area is pretty far out of the city near the mountain. It was very rural and life out there is a lot slower! We met a lot of Taiwanese Aborigonees. It was pretty great. We had a cool experience teaching the restoration to a Catholic man, he accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon and promised to read it.

These are some of the experience of the week. I wish I had more time to write but that's about it!

Hope everyone had a great week at home!

Love,

Elder Bastian

Miracle Lane

Hello Everyone!

This past week has been pretty good here in Taidong. Elder Niedfeldt and I were able to see some great success. 

Recently, we started to meet with a recent convert's wife and kids to teach them the gospel. It's been great as they have been pretty receptive to the message. The husband (Brother Zhuang) was baptized about a month ago and is a super humble and nice man. The best part is, on Sunday, for the first time, he and his whole family came to church together!! They also had the opportunity to watch him get sustained to be able to receive the priesthood! It was pretty cool to see them all together smiling. I can just tell that this family will receive the gospel. The father is setting such a great example for them and im sure they will follow. I'm so grateful that my companion and I have the opportunity to help them in this conversion process.

I also had the opportunity to ask Zhuang DX at church on Sunday what he thought the most profound part of the gospel is to him so far and he told me....."Eternal Families".....SWEEEEEEETTTTT!!!!

Some other successes of the past week were meeting with Samuel, the kid we tracted into last week whose grandma first ignored us. We sat down with him and then his little brother who is 12 sat down too and read with as we went through 1 Ne 1. Now he is investigating too! We really hope that in the end we can start meeting with the whole family!

Last miracle that I want to write about happened last night. Elder Niedfeldt and I rode out to a fairly far away part of town to go meet with a potential we had. After we talked with her we continued to tract in her neighborhood for the rest of the evening and in a matter of 40 minutes we found 3 new investigators! One was a 52 year old man, and another was a mom and her 24 year old son! They all lived within 8 houses of each other.... I think we need to rename this place "miracle lane"!

We are also continuing to meet with Brother Wang and he is great. He wasn't able to meet this past week but is set up for Tuesday and really excited to meet! We are excited too!

The work is going well here in this part of the vineyard and I just hope that I can continue to do my best each day to serve the Lord and serve these people here in Taiwan.

I hope that everyone is doing well at home and has a great week.

Love you all,

Elder Bastian