Monkey Mountain

Hello Everyone!

I don't have a ton of time to write my email this week so it will be a bit shorter, but here are some of this week's highlights.

On Saturday our 11 year old investigator Lin Feng Xiu was baptized. It was a very special experience. After he was baptized he told me that he really had this special feeling in his heart and said that it must be the Spirit!

He had a big smile on his face. I hope that he and his mom continue faithful in the gospel till the end! It will be awesome to see him in 7 years or so preparing and leaving to serve a mission.

Another cool experience this week was talking to this 17 year old kid on the street. He said that he was recently starting to attend a different church in another town, but we started to share about the restoration of the gospel and mention that we have a living prophet and he stopped and said, "What? You really mean that there is a prophet again on the earth?" We said, "Yes!" He seemed so shocked and interested. We were pretty shocked too because most people that we talk too, a prophet means very little to them. He is set up to meet again tonight and I really hope he comes!

Today we will be heading out to a cool mountain for P-Day. It's called, Monkey Mountain, know for its roaming monkeys that you can feed and take pictures with. It should be fun!

Well my time is just about up! 

Hope that everyone has a great week back at home!

Love,

Elder Bastian

It's Gonna Be a Good One

Hello Everyone!

Wow, I can't believe that I have now entered into my last transfer as a missionary representing Jesus Christ. Time has flown by. Last week I went back and read the very first email I ever sent to President Day when I first got to the Island and was being trained by Elder Johnson. It helped me to reflect on the beginning of the mission up until now and see how much the Lord has helped me to change and to think about all the people I have had the opportunity to help come unto Christ. I hope that I have been able to help all those who the Lord has wanted me to help! Time really does fly.

This transfer Elder Niedfeldt moved. He actually is now serving in the area where I started my mission! Pretty cool! It was great being with him and learning from him. I am also super excited to be here with Elder Hughes, my new companion. He is a Fire Ball and has such a positive uplifting attitude/presence. We are having a great time together and have already seen miracles! I know that this last transfer will be filled with miracles performed by the Lord!

Highlight 1! Our investigator Lin Feng Xiu will be baptized this coming Saturday night!!!!!!!!! He passed his interview on Saturday night with Elder Gibson. He is such a sweet kid and really has a good, clear understanding of the gospel principles and their true importance. No wonder Christ tells us that we need to be more like the little children! I wish all of our investigators were like him! So this is the first thing I am pumped for.

Highlight 2! Our investigator Brother Hu came to church for the first time on Sunday! I am so grateful for all the service that our branch president has done for him. He has really reached out to him, even exchanging phone numbers and texting/calling him, helping him find a new job, and also giving him a ride to church. I really think that the branch president's help has been monumental in this investigator's progression. He trusts us and is so much more willing to trust our testimonies as he strives to develop his own now. He also set a baptismal date for 7/19. I hope he makes it!

Last Highlight! This past week we went to visit a potential investigator that had set up an appointment with us. I had forgotten who he was when we called and set up with him, but we figured we would find out when we got there. We got there, and he happened to be the husband of a lady I contacted several weeks ago who hadn't seemed too interested, but they both sat down to talk. Then, we asked if their kids who were playing in the other room would like to listen to the message too. They came out and all 4 of them had a lesson with us about the restoration and the mom seemed pretty interested! MIRACLE! We hope to really be able to help their family come unto Christ!

This last transfer I really am just going to keep doing my best down here and seek to love these people with my whole heart. Its going to be a good one.

Well, this about wraps it up for the week. 

Hope everyone is doing well back at home!

Love you all,

Elder Bastian

Attitude of Gratitude

This past week here in Taidong was pretty good. Elder Neidfeldt and I were able to see some great miracles and learn some important lessons.
I will start first with the miracles: 

We met with our 11 year old investigator name Lin Feng Xiu this past week. He is the son of a recently returning less active sister in our branch. He has been coming to church with his mom for about the past 4 or 5 weeks. We started the lessons with him and invited him to baptism on Saturday. When we first asked him if he knew what baptism was he said "its a new start in life!" we were pretty surprised he already knew that. Then we taught him the rest about it and invited him to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized. His reply? "YES! I really want to be baptized!" He didn't look to his mom or anything. This was totally from his own desire. I was truly filled with joy from hearing his reaction and decision to be baptized! His date is set for the 28th of this month and im sure he will be able to make it. Elder Niedfeldt and I are sooo excited!

Another miracle: we were finding on Sunday night and up to this point in the week we didnt have too much success in finding, so we were really praying that God could lead us to his prepared children. There was a family that we had tracted into the week before who had let us in and listened to a message, but because they were more devout Buddhists they didn't seem to show great interest. But we went back last night and met with them again. They had really changed! They allowed us to pray with them and the wife even said she would pray. They also told us how they really want to come to our church and are going to try and come this next week. One again, Elder Niedfeldt and I were humbled by the experience and understanding that the lord prepares His children according to His time. And now we have a new investigating family!!! It was a pretty cool experience, especially since it was a straight down pour of rain that night when we were finding.

Another great lesson that Elder Niedfeldt and I have learned this past week is the importance of prayers of gratitude. As we were on exchanges this past week with Elder Glaittli and Forbes, Elder Forbes gave Elder Niedfeldt an invite for us to say prayers of gratitude after we see success in finding whether we find a new investigator, get someone's phone number, or even talk to a nice person. We have started to do so and truly we have been feeling a difference. I have really noticed that the spirit is more fully with us and they I am more humble and understanding of these people. I think it has made finding much more happy! I'm grateful that Elder Forbes gave us this invite. I know that expressing thanks to our Heavenly Father frequently is so important. Sometimes we get caught up in seeing what our life is missing or focusing on what our struggles and challenges are, and seem to look right past the many blessing that the Lord has already given us. This type of thinking can blind our lives and lead us to live in sorrow, but as I can testify and Elder Uchtdorf did in conference that as we focus on having an attitude of gratitude the Spirit will permeate our lives and new measure of happiness will flood in.

Well this about sums its up for the week. Hope everyone is doing well at home!

Love you all!

Elder Bastian

Tender Mercies

Hello Everyone!

This past week was good here in Taidong. Elder Niedfeldt and I have been making some good goals and plans together and we are working hard to accomplish them. Elder Niedfeldt is a great example of someone who is sooo committed to the goals he sets, I wish that came easier for me. but I am learning a lot from him and doing my best to set more meaningful goals that will guide the missionary work. It was easier for me to make goals when I was at home running, or at school and things, because I felt I had most all of the control on how the outcome will be. I've learned that It really does take faith to set goals on the mission, but I know they show God our desires and hopes. 
This past week we met with the Zhuang Family again. They are doing well. We taught them about the 10 commandments.  The mom in the family has some concerns about her own mother opposing her joining the church, because her mom is a pretty devout buddhist, but I think that our peike was able to help her a lot. This week when we meet with them on tuesday we want to invite them to take a step of faith and set a baptismal goal for the 28th of this month. They are so good! I hope the mom will overcome the fear she has of her mom and know that baptism is the best decision she can make in her life right now, even if she doesn't necessarily see or understand ALL the blessing its will bring her. Its a step of faith.
Another "tender mercy of lord" this week actually came on monday. We had biked out to this beach-side park that was up the coast. It was really pretty there and after seeing the ocean we were walking back up the trail to where our bike were parked and we ran into some of the landscape workers there. They had a pile of coconuts and when they saw us the yelled out "Foreigners!" then they picked up a coconut and called us over, chopped it open and had us drink the milk inside. They were so nice! It brought a good spirit to our day. Im glad the Lord often blesses us through the people around us.

Well my time is about up for this weeks email. The work is going well and I am continuing to work hard until the end! Im glad to have the Lord on my side, helping me along the way.

Hope everyone has a great week.

Love,

Elder Bastian