Hello. Merry General Conference! Yeah, be happy with me even though you have already seen it all! Waaaaayyyyy goooodddd!!!!!!!! did i get enough exclamation points on there to get my point across? Good.
Yeah so i think one of my favorites was from our very own Elder Wadell! I almost peed my pants a little when he stood up.. and then he verbally slapped me haha.. I would like to echo what he said a little bit for the prospective Elders in Encinitas 1: We need 3 things as we arrive on the mission
1. A testimony
2. Worthy of the Spirit
3. Ready to work
Ill show you my notes one day.. next to each of these points theres a nice paratheses and an oops next to it. Yeah, i arrived with hardly any of those things. Fix it! Get that testimony! Otherwise Elder Holland will get in your face! Believe that statement.. if he had time i believe he would REALLY coach us in each and every ward and branch throughout the world. Did everyone get a little "call to repentance" from Elder Ian S. Andern? Yeah thats right, the one that called out all of you addicted to Angry Birds! I thought that was awesome.. hey, its a fun game right? But really, i loved his about managing time.. something i will really use better once i get home (but lets not talk about that! thats in a long time). However, i believe he was tipping his hat to us Dota players.. i garuntee no one is better on a keyboard than us :) Dexteriry! Its legit.
Okay, so anyway, enough about the speakers.. lets get into the investigators! Ice.. yeah he was brimming with joy over watching the speakers.. he really loved it and was astonished and how good eveyrone was at speaking.. he wanted to have skills like them at speaing too haha. But he felt the spirit and it confirmed to him that the speakers, and in particular President Monson, were prophets and servants of God.. hey, whaddya know.. the scriptures say that we can get a confirmation like that! Hes doing well.. we may have to move his date back a little just because of time, but hes progressing nicely and still trying to get his family involved more. He said something that was pretty amusing, but at the same time quite heart felt.. he knows that he has a lot of money.. like a lot, so he felt that it was cool that some people talked about caring for the poor and such and such.. we taught him a little about fasting and fast offerings and he was super stoked to be able to help those in need. He has felt really good about that whole idea.
Next is Apple.. shes doing better. She herself has been "wrestling" with God about what to do about Baptism.. she has been praying and felt that she needs to get baptized more and more... her desire has grown a lot.. shes just somebody who wants to know things 100 percent before she decides to do anything.. which is not necessarily a bad thing, it just takes some time. But in any case, she has been praying and instead of the end of the year to be baptized and she previously told us a few weeks ago, she moved it up to the end of this month! Woohoo! Also she was hesitant about coming to church, but she prayed.. whaddya know, she came haha. Funny how we can get answers to our prayers isnt it? Oh wait, no its not... what a gift :)
After that we have Nang.. did i tell you about her? She bore her testimony last week in sacrament meeting? Yeah shes doing awesome.. shes doing EVERYTHING we tell her because her faith is just.. well, epic. Its already a tree! I swear she skipped the mustard seed part.. it was just the big bang of "growing into a large tree" (or however ALma put it in 32) for her. Yeah.. BOOM. Its there.
Her friend, coincidentally also name Nang, is doing better.. her faith is like the mustard seed.. its slowing growing, but growing none the less. Shes gotten her answers, its just getting to the point of following it with full purpose of heart.
Nong.. hes good. Doing well. but hes LAZY! Hmm... well right up my alley hahaha... but seriously. He really wants to do the stuff, and hes trying, but hes LAZY. He even admits it everytime, but jsut doesnt know how to get rid of it.. get up and work! and serve! Thats what we said. We gave him that talk from Elder Andern about using time wisely and getting OFF technology when its taking up too much of your time and giving you the false idea that you are productive or being busy. Yeah.. take it.
Okay well im bored.. but i still loved you.. i mean love you, did i type that wrong? Haha.. sweet well thanks for your prayers as usually.. for some reason i want to come back to conference.. i dont know.. since being on my mission conference has meant so much more.. I want to thank everyone again for helping me get on my mission.. its been so good and listening to the words of the living prophets is such a blessing. I miss watching it with all of you, but then again, not that much cause im out here hahah! Just kidding. Miss you guys (not THAT much!) and cant wait for one day to watch it again with you. Thanks for everything.. the Book of Mormon IS the word of God. I know it is.
Love,
Elder Gudmundsen
PS: I have an apple belt buckle :)
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Happy Conference Weekend
Sup. Hey did you know it was conference weekend? Oh you did? Cool. Well just letting you know it was. So how was it?
Well while you were all lazy-ing it out (just kidding.. but you were all in your pajamas werent you) we had a pretty sweet week. Lets get right into the investigators.
Ice is doing great as ever... hes got a super strong testimony and is preparing for baptism nicely. He went home to visit his family and got the opportunity to talk to them a little bit about changing religions and all that jazz. They said they were cool with it as long as he would still come home for family traditions and honoring the family.. ERRR.. yeah, road block. Not really, he took it just fine. We read Mosiah 18 with him about what it means to be a latter day saint and to "be a witness" of him at all time, in all things and in all places... he was ready; he was willing and he was desirous. After we helped him see that he had a testimony we read him the 10 commandments so that he would understand that being a member of the church you cant take part in those ordinances and things like that... He was fine. Sweet. He said something cool again: "A collection of minds and interests is pretty powerful... but actually i think God is more powerful haha".. and he said that in English.. yeah i know right? Doesnt he speak english like a boss?
Next is the cambodian family.. doing swell. We are having family home evening at their house tonight and they are just so adorable.. the whole family is into it and they will have a date (they accepted the invitation to be baptized) but we dont know what day to set it for because they are yet to be legal citzens. Teaching them and having them come to church is fine, but we cant baptize em yet until they are refugees. Its kinda strange using thai to translate into another language... usually its thai to english, but in this case the thai is OUR primary language of use. Weird. cool
After that we have these 2 new investigators.. both named Nang. They are friends from WAY back when.. i dont know. To put these 2 simply: One of them got up and bore her testimony in sacramanet meeting.. OOOOOO.. yeah i was super surprised because i was in the back translating and then didnt realize that she was our investigator until she stood up. She basically confirmed everything we have been teaching her by getting up there. She wanted to set her own date.. she did, but it was a little too early. Shes still so good. After meeting us, 2 days later she read 15 chapters in the Book of Mormon.. yeah, that may not seem like a lot to some, but thats quite a lot for thai people. Shes golden.
Then we have Nong. Hes a long time investigator now and we actually thought he wasnt all that committed.. hes always been good, but we were worried that he might be grengjai.. i know you have no idea what that means, but there is no literal translation for this word from thai to english. In other words, we thought he was like.... nervous to reject us, or was just doing it because we asked. But it turns out hes way good. He wants to get baptized super hard, but he wants his family to be there. The real test of his faith was getting him to fast about moving apartments.. yeah, if someone does that you know they are committed. He has yet to move just because hes still looking for a place, but he will. Hes a way nice kid.
Another woman we are teaching is named Apple. She is also a long time investigator who is finally doing things herself.. we have been meeting her once a week to build her faith by reading in the BoM, and now shes coming out saying that she wants to be baptized soon. Basically, to sum up this week, people are flocking to us to get baptized. I dont really know why.. actually i do, because we've been obedient and the Lord sees fit to do it that way. We've seen a lot of blessings from the Lord this week and even though we are both feeling kinda sick (yeah dont be worried, we're fine) things are working out.
So a little insight from studies this morning.. i dont know if this is like a super common understanding of scripture comparisons for everyone, but i thought it was pretty cool. This comes from Mosiah 2. Pretty cool that it was conference weekend because thats what i thought about. But when King Benjamin gets up to speak, what happens? Well everyone gathers together: "they pitched their tents round about, every man according to his family...that thereby they might remain in their tents and hear the words which king Benjamin should speak unto them." Yeah.. uhh, everyone sits on the couch with their family to listen to President Monson? The other prophets? All the King Benjamins of our day. After that: "the multitude being so great that king Benjamin could not teach them all within the walls of the temple, therefore he caused a tower to be erected, that thereby his people might hear the words which he should speak unto them.". Hmmm.. sounds like a pulpit with a microphone :) Next: "they could not all hear his words because of the greatness of the multitude; therefore he caused that the words which he spake should be written and sent forth among those that were not under the sound of his voice, that they might also receive his words.". Lets see.. the Liahona Conference issue? Internet? Cable? Satelite? Pretty cool.. so, with this, i hope everyone had a great conference and that you spent it with your families listening to the word of God.. because thats what it is. I sure hope you got to see every session too because missing a beat of conference is like skipping a page in the Book Of Mormon, and that is NOT VERY WISE. Im stoked to watch it. I know that all those that spoke received inspiration from God for YOU and me. If we will but listen, our lives will improve. I know that almost everything they speak has its roots from the Book of Mormon.. the book is true; every page, every chapter, every verse. Peace and love for this week.
Love
Elder Gudmundsen
PS: I believe you have my stapler.
Well while you were all lazy-ing it out (just kidding.. but you were all in your pajamas werent you) we had a pretty sweet week. Lets get right into the investigators.
Ice is doing great as ever... hes got a super strong testimony and is preparing for baptism nicely. He went home to visit his family and got the opportunity to talk to them a little bit about changing religions and all that jazz. They said they were cool with it as long as he would still come home for family traditions and honoring the family.. ERRR.. yeah, road block. Not really, he took it just fine. We read Mosiah 18 with him about what it means to be a latter day saint and to "be a witness" of him at all time, in all things and in all places... he was ready; he was willing and he was desirous. After we helped him see that he had a testimony we read him the 10 commandments so that he would understand that being a member of the church you cant take part in those ordinances and things like that... He was fine. Sweet. He said something cool again: "A collection of minds and interests is pretty powerful... but actually i think God is more powerful haha".. and he said that in English.. yeah i know right? Doesnt he speak english like a boss?
Next is the cambodian family.. doing swell. We are having family home evening at their house tonight and they are just so adorable.. the whole family is into it and they will have a date (they accepted the invitation to be baptized) but we dont know what day to set it for because they are yet to be legal citzens. Teaching them and having them come to church is fine, but we cant baptize em yet until they are refugees. Its kinda strange using thai to translate into another language... usually its thai to english, but in this case the thai is OUR primary language of use. Weird. cool
After that we have these 2 new investigators.. both named Nang. They are friends from WAY back when.. i dont know. To put these 2 simply: One of them got up and bore her testimony in sacramanet meeting.. OOOOOO.. yeah i was super surprised because i was in the back translating and then didnt realize that she was our investigator until she stood up. She basically confirmed everything we have been teaching her by getting up there. She wanted to set her own date.. she did, but it was a little too early. Shes still so good. After meeting us, 2 days later she read 15 chapters in the Book of Mormon.. yeah, that may not seem like a lot to some, but thats quite a lot for thai people. Shes golden.
Then we have Nong. Hes a long time investigator now and we actually thought he wasnt all that committed.. hes always been good, but we were worried that he might be grengjai.. i know you have no idea what that means, but there is no literal translation for this word from thai to english. In other words, we thought he was like.... nervous to reject us, or was just doing it because we asked. But it turns out hes way good. He wants to get baptized super hard, but he wants his family to be there. The real test of his faith was getting him to fast about moving apartments.. yeah, if someone does that you know they are committed. He has yet to move just because hes still looking for a place, but he will. Hes a way nice kid.
Another woman we are teaching is named Apple. She is also a long time investigator who is finally doing things herself.. we have been meeting her once a week to build her faith by reading in the BoM, and now shes coming out saying that she wants to be baptized soon. Basically, to sum up this week, people are flocking to us to get baptized. I dont really know why.. actually i do, because we've been obedient and the Lord sees fit to do it that way. We've seen a lot of blessings from the Lord this week and even though we are both feeling kinda sick (yeah dont be worried, we're fine) things are working out.
So a little insight from studies this morning.. i dont know if this is like a super common understanding of scripture comparisons for everyone, but i thought it was pretty cool. This comes from Mosiah 2. Pretty cool that it was conference weekend because thats what i thought about. But when King Benjamin gets up to speak, what happens? Well everyone gathers together: "they pitched their tents round about, every man according to his family...that thereby they might remain in their tents and hear the words which king Benjamin should speak unto them." Yeah.. uhh, everyone sits on the couch with their family to listen to President Monson? The other prophets? All the King Benjamins of our day. After that: "the multitude being so great that king Benjamin could not teach them all within the walls of the temple, therefore he caused a tower to be erected, that thereby his people might hear the words which he should speak unto them.". Hmmm.. sounds like a pulpit with a microphone :) Next: "they could not all hear his words because of the greatness of the multitude; therefore he caused that the words which he spake should be written and sent forth among those that were not under the sound of his voice, that they might also receive his words.". Lets see.. the Liahona Conference issue? Internet? Cable? Satelite? Pretty cool.. so, with this, i hope everyone had a great conference and that you spent it with your families listening to the word of God.. because thats what it is. I sure hope you got to see every session too because missing a beat of conference is like skipping a page in the Book Of Mormon, and that is NOT VERY WISE. Im stoked to watch it. I know that all those that spoke received inspiration from God for YOU and me. If we will but listen, our lives will improve. I know that almost everything they speak has its roots from the Book of Mormon.. the book is true; every page, every chapter, every verse. Peace and love for this week.
Love
Elder Gudmundsen
PS: I believe you have my stapler.
Hi
Sup. Fast week. Supa fast. LIke.. abnormally fast. Get the point? *Smile*
So what happened.. well, im tired (?) does that suffice? We had a fun sports day today.. and when i say sports, i mean ping pong and when i say day i mean... an hour and then got bored. But it was fun for our zone.. had some time to get closer together and just enjoy some nice new church building (it has quite possibly the coolest toilet system i have ever/ever will see. Seriously.. why isnt this in America? If it is, needs to be in our house before i come home.
Anyway, fun stuff this week.. Ice is doing good as ever.. he still says some of the coolest stuff ever in lessons! Hes such a bum too.. in other words, hes you Josh. Loves Dota.. computers.. laziness.. himself.. hah! Just kidding.. but really. He is going through repentance.. and man is he feeling a part of the atonement.. hes felt super horrible for what hes done in the past (cause theres a lot) and its been eating at him.. We taught him about using Christs Atonement.. and he cried a little bit. Tears means testimony right? Hah.. no. Sorry that was sarcastic. Ill repent for that one. Yeah well he did. And he is super down to fix what he can. It was a pretty emotional lesson though.. for all of us. The Spirit was really strong and as we read ALma 36 and his own conversion story, it came even stronger. Every time I teach about the possibilities for repentance because of the atonement, it brings the spirit in SO strong.. sometimes i forget that my own testimony of that.. but its so true.. because of Christ we can overcome all sin.. no matter how deep, or hurtful they may be. Werd.
Who else.. that cambodian family is amazing.. i WILL be refferring to them as "that cambodian family" cause frankly.. i cant pronounce their names, let alone remember them all for the life of me! but they are way sweet.. super strong faith and they are getting fellowshipped really well at Church. There are a lot of cambodians at our church and they are all so humble.. welcome them in with open arms. Legit. We can only see them twice a week, but when we do, its a bundle of fun... speaking 3 different languages (english too because they can understand it a little bit.). They will get baptized for sure, just it takes a while, what with all the refugee statuses and what not.. no worries.. time can only strengthen them (since they already have a testimony).
Okay well yeah im over it.. times up anyway hahah.. love you, the Church is true.. hope everyone is good. Thanks for keeping us in your prayers each day.. Enc 1: sup. Love you. Peace!
Elder Gudmundsen
P.S: I feel like im on a dead letter list.. true?
So what happened.. well, im tired (?) does that suffice? We had a fun sports day today.. and when i say sports, i mean ping pong and when i say day i mean... an hour and then got bored. But it was fun for our zone.. had some time to get closer together and just enjoy some nice new church building (it has quite possibly the coolest toilet system i have ever/ever will see. Seriously.. why isnt this in America? If it is, needs to be in our house before i come home.
Anyway, fun stuff this week.. Ice is doing good as ever.. he still says some of the coolest stuff ever in lessons! Hes such a bum too.. in other words, hes you Josh. Loves Dota.. computers.. laziness.. himself.. hah! Just kidding.. but really. He is going through repentance.. and man is he feeling a part of the atonement.. hes felt super horrible for what hes done in the past (cause theres a lot) and its been eating at him.. We taught him about using Christs Atonement.. and he cried a little bit. Tears means testimony right? Hah.. no. Sorry that was sarcastic. Ill repent for that one. Yeah well he did. And he is super down to fix what he can. It was a pretty emotional lesson though.. for all of us. The Spirit was really strong and as we read ALma 36 and his own conversion story, it came even stronger. Every time I teach about the possibilities for repentance because of the atonement, it brings the spirit in SO strong.. sometimes i forget that my own testimony of that.. but its so true.. because of Christ we can overcome all sin.. no matter how deep, or hurtful they may be. Werd.
Who else.. that cambodian family is amazing.. i WILL be refferring to them as "that cambodian family" cause frankly.. i cant pronounce their names, let alone remember them all for the life of me! but they are way sweet.. super strong faith and they are getting fellowshipped really well at Church. There are a lot of cambodians at our church and they are all so humble.. welcome them in with open arms. Legit. We can only see them twice a week, but when we do, its a bundle of fun... speaking 3 different languages (english too because they can understand it a little bit.). They will get baptized for sure, just it takes a while, what with all the refugee statuses and what not.. no worries.. time can only strengthen them (since they already have a testimony).
Okay well yeah im over it.. times up anyway hahah.. love you, the Church is true.. hope everyone is good. Thanks for keeping us in your prayers each day.. Enc 1: sup. Love you. Peace!
Elder Gudmundsen
P.S: I feel like im on a dead letter list.. true?
Yo
So yeah.. nother fast week. I have VERY little time today because we played sports.. er, Ping POng... its a sport alright! Especially if you play like the people in the photos on our ping pong paddle wrappers :) (its intense!). Good day.. our zone is way chill and everyone had a great time.
Lets see.. what happened thats most important this week.. well, Ice is still doing superb.. hes doing way good. Dude, hes totally you Josh. A bum who loves DOTA
Lets see.. what happened thats most important this week.. well, Ice is still doing superb.. hes doing way good. Dude, hes totally you Josh. A bum who loves DOTA
Monday, September 19, 2011
Hello
Sup.. from the Beast
Another week FLEW by.. wow that was way fast. seriously. Good thing i was in our area for 3 days ahahh! We had some back to back exchanges and since i dont know my way area Asoke yet, ive gone over to other areas. Yeah.. fun stuff. All of our districts are doing way good and everyones having a fun time.. this week our zone should be getting 6 people receiving baptism.. yay!
But as for our area.. its doing way well.. lets start with our baptismal date: Ice, ice baby! Just kidding.. but really his name is Ice. Hes like 24 and kind of a bum haha.. hes pretty much a spitting image of you Josh.. way lazy, but way smart.. I would have said hes like me, but im not smart lulz. By the way, he loves Dota.. yeah, of course weve talked about it! His date is for the 23rd of October. I wasnt at the lesson when he got his date, but apparently it was way spiritual and even a couple tears were shed. Nice. He knows its true so if he doesnt do anything its just because hes lazy.. wait, that sounds like most people who end up not getting baptized! Anyway, ill keep it short.. he said something that was so awesome last night.. we asked if he believed that the Book of Mormon was true and he said yes.. because "its too perfect for man to create it". ooo.. i like that! Werd!
Next.. holy awesome-sauce! Cambodians are way sweet.. we met this awesome family and if they dont get baptized i will lose all hope in mankind.. not really, but you know what i mean. Its interesting teaching them because they hardly speak any english, or thai, and so we have to have a translator for us who speaks thai to cambodian.. yeah, talk about weird. We sometimes can make out a few words but most of the time.. negatory. They are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO humble its almost ridiculous. Anyone wonders why some people progress faster than others towards baptism its because of their HUMILITY! One of my favorite verses is in Helaman 3:35 where it reads :"they did wax stronger and stronger in their humility and stronger and stronger in their faith....". Yeah, you see that? Humility comes before faith. Then, every blessing or miracle that they see after that is because "the yielding of the hearts unto God.". Yeah.. they're like that because of THEMSEVLES.
We've got a pretty cute family as well.. a mom and her 2 sons.. they are twins! And quite the handful for sure.. they are both trying to quit smoking right now but as with most 14 year olds who have already started it, its pretty hard to quit.. not even because they are addicted to the cigs but more so because they are addicted to the attention and their friends.. well actually they are addicted to the cigs haha. THe mother is way faithful and trying really hard to keep committments.. shes doing really well frankly they all already know that these things are true. The mother also stopped selling coffee and tea! Yeay.
Okay well these are just a few of out investigators.. but they are the ones progressing best..
Im hungry.. probably go eat Mcdonalds again haha.. jk, but probably. Hey, the slogan is pretty fitting for missionary work (especially right now) : Im Lovin it! That still is the slogan right? Okay well if its not, im lovin it right now.. way sweet. Love you all, everything here is true.. and the book of mormon is too perfect. Werd.
Love Elder Good
Another week FLEW by.. wow that was way fast. seriously. Good thing i was in our area for 3 days ahahh! We had some back to back exchanges and since i dont know my way area Asoke yet, ive gone over to other areas. Yeah.. fun stuff. All of our districts are doing way good and everyones having a fun time.. this week our zone should be getting 6 people receiving baptism.. yay!
But as for our area.. its doing way well.. lets start with our baptismal date: Ice, ice baby! Just kidding.. but really his name is Ice. Hes like 24 and kind of a bum haha.. hes pretty much a spitting image of you Josh.. way lazy, but way smart.. I would have said hes like me, but im not smart lulz. By the way, he loves Dota.. yeah, of course weve talked about it! His date is for the 23rd of October. I wasnt at the lesson when he got his date, but apparently it was way spiritual and even a couple tears were shed. Nice. He knows its true so if he doesnt do anything its just because hes lazy.. wait, that sounds like most people who end up not getting baptized! Anyway, ill keep it short.. he said something that was so awesome last night.. we asked if he believed that the Book of Mormon was true and he said yes.. because "its too perfect for man to create it". ooo.. i like that! Werd!
Next.. holy awesome-sauce! Cambodians are way sweet.. we met this awesome family and if they dont get baptized i will lose all hope in mankind.. not really, but you know what i mean. Its interesting teaching them because they hardly speak any english, or thai, and so we have to have a translator for us who speaks thai to cambodian.. yeah, talk about weird. We sometimes can make out a few words but most of the time.. negatory. They are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO humble its almost ridiculous. Anyone wonders why some people progress faster than others towards baptism its because of their HUMILITY! One of my favorite verses is in Helaman 3:35 where it reads :"they did wax stronger and stronger in their humility and stronger and stronger in their faith....". Yeah, you see that? Humility comes before faith. Then, every blessing or miracle that they see after that is because "the yielding of the hearts unto God.". Yeah.. they're like that because of THEMSEVLES.
We've got a pretty cute family as well.. a mom and her 2 sons.. they are twins! And quite the handful for sure.. they are both trying to quit smoking right now but as with most 14 year olds who have already started it, its pretty hard to quit.. not even because they are addicted to the cigs but more so because they are addicted to the attention and their friends.. well actually they are addicted to the cigs haha. THe mother is way faithful and trying really hard to keep committments.. shes doing really well frankly they all already know that these things are true. The mother also stopped selling coffee and tea! Yeay.
Okay well these are just a few of out investigators.. but they are the ones progressing best..
Im hungry.. probably go eat Mcdonalds again haha.. jk, but probably. Hey, the slogan is pretty fitting for missionary work (especially right now) : Im Lovin it! That still is the slogan right? Okay well if its not, im lovin it right now.. way sweet. Love you all, everything here is true.. and the book of mormon is too perfect. Werd.
Love Elder Good
Its moves again Already?!
Guess what? Im in Asoke.. AKA: The BEAST. No really.. thats what the mission calls it. Its dead center Bangkok. Its a beast.
SO yeah.. i was dead this week.. like, i cant even begin to describe it.. we rode a bus down and i slept a total of an hour and 30 minutes.. if even that.. throw being sick on top of that and then add the cherry of getting moved to Asoke and it makes for a nice death toll.. I would take 3 second power naps during zone planning; no joke.
Yeah anyway this place is pretty awesome.. the ward we go to is one of the oldest in Thailand, if not THE oldest, and as such it has a lot of the old timers, meaning the very first converts here.. including the woman that translated the first Book of Mormon into the Thai language. And yes, this is legitimately a ward. Its nice to have a Ward Mission Leader too. Hes a former missionary who actually served out in Buriram back in his mish days. My companion is Elder Peacock and im killing him here.. that means hes going home in a transfer is you dont know our language haha. He was actually my zone leader when i first went district leader and he moved right after that.. so i followed him here. We are zone leaders over a 20 missionary zone, including 3 greenies! They're fun.. and guess what, 2 of those trainers are from my MTC district! woohoo! Finally i get to work with my people from my MTC group! Elder Heftel is our district leader and Elder Wagstaff is out in another district.. its cool. Know what else is sweet? My greeny area is in the zone now haha.. hopefully ill get a chance to go on exchanges with them out there haha.
Anyway, im kinda over typing today but i wanted to share a cool experience that happened a couple weeks ago... so we have this brand new building in Bangkok that is just HUGE.. its kinda like the San Diego temple of Thailand, and by that i mean that EVERYONE sees it. The placement was very smart. So anyway, it was dedicated a week or 2 ago and while it was being dedicated by President Smith, and he was in the middle of the prayer, a man was walking by the church and felt something just hit him like a wall of bricks telling him that he NEEDED to go inside of this buildling.. as he looked up, he didnt know what the buildling was, but he went inside to see what made him want to go in.. well they were actually still saying the prayer haha.. but anyway, he felt that huge spirit just overflow out of the buildling and smack him in the face. Right now hes learning and studying and in not much longer he will get baptized. Pretty insane eh? Just remember, people feel the spirit all the time, they just dont know it.. help people around you recognize it! You have the spirit just like that.. give em an experience to make em think "what is this dude?!" and hey.. theyll get baptized! woot.
Aight well i love you a little much a ... what? I dunno. I want to go shopping haha. Anyway, love ya lots.. congratulations Chase once more.. im saying it again because im wearing the tie right now.. didnt get it until thursday and im wearing it for today.. pretty sweet. I would send a pic but im lazy hahah. Not really, they just dont have an SD Card reader here.. and im lazy..
Peace!
Elder Gudmundsen
SO yeah.. i was dead this week.. like, i cant even begin to describe it.. we rode a bus down and i slept a total of an hour and 30 minutes.. if even that.. throw being sick on top of that and then add the cherry of getting moved to Asoke and it makes for a nice death toll.. I would take 3 second power naps during zone planning; no joke.
Yeah anyway this place is pretty awesome.. the ward we go to is one of the oldest in Thailand, if not THE oldest, and as such it has a lot of the old timers, meaning the very first converts here.. including the woman that translated the first Book of Mormon into the Thai language. And yes, this is legitimately a ward. Its nice to have a Ward Mission Leader too. Hes a former missionary who actually served out in Buriram back in his mish days. My companion is Elder Peacock and im killing him here.. that means hes going home in a transfer is you dont know our language haha. He was actually my zone leader when i first went district leader and he moved right after that.. so i followed him here. We are zone leaders over a 20 missionary zone, including 3 greenies! They're fun.. and guess what, 2 of those trainers are from my MTC district! woohoo! Finally i get to work with my people from my MTC group! Elder Heftel is our district leader and Elder Wagstaff is out in another district.. its cool. Know what else is sweet? My greeny area is in the zone now haha.. hopefully ill get a chance to go on exchanges with them out there haha.
Anyway, im kinda over typing today but i wanted to share a cool experience that happened a couple weeks ago... so we have this brand new building in Bangkok that is just HUGE.. its kinda like the San Diego temple of Thailand, and by that i mean that EVERYONE sees it. The placement was very smart. So anyway, it was dedicated a week or 2 ago and while it was being dedicated by President Smith, and he was in the middle of the prayer, a man was walking by the church and felt something just hit him like a wall of bricks telling him that he NEEDED to go inside of this buildling.. as he looked up, he didnt know what the buildling was, but he went inside to see what made him want to go in.. well they were actually still saying the prayer haha.. but anyway, he felt that huge spirit just overflow out of the buildling and smack him in the face. Right now hes learning and studying and in not much longer he will get baptized. Pretty insane eh? Just remember, people feel the spirit all the time, they just dont know it.. help people around you recognize it! You have the spirit just like that.. give em an experience to make em think "what is this dude?!" and hey.. theyll get baptized! woot.
Aight well i love you a little much a ... what? I dunno. I want to go shopping haha. Anyway, love ya lots.. congratulations Chase once more.. im saying it again because im wearing the tie right now.. didnt get it until thursday and im wearing it for today.. pretty sweet. I would send a pic but im lazy hahah. Not really, they just dont have an SD Card reader here.. and im lazy..
Peace!
Elder Gudmundsen
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Out already
So yeah.. im outa Buriram.. dont know where im headed off to, but im moving.
This week was kinda rough.. friday morning i got hit with a pretty nasty cold/flu or whatever it was, i dont really know.. but it stinks. Just the ordinary muscle aches, weakness and chills... didnt stop us from getting out there and teaching.. but alas, there was a limit and we had to come home to rest up. Saturday there was no resting cause Surin had a baptismal candidate being interviewed so I had to make that.. shes a pretty sick person whos got some insane faith.. passed with flying colors. Sunday was the worst... but we all promised to partake of the Sacrament each week and I knew i needed to be an example.. basically dragged myself outa bed and to the Church.. in the end it turned out to be a pretty good Sunday and a lot of Less Actives came to church as well.. rejoice!
So Got is still doing awesome... hes been a great source of referrals and got up yesterday to bear a sweet testimony in sacrament meeting. Both his father and mother were there too and although they had to leave right after the meeting, both of them seemed to enjoy it and seemed proud of their son. Hopefully his father will be able to participate in Family Home Evening tonight.. at least i hope so. Both his parents seem way nice and very humble people.
Amphon is still progressing.. just at her own pace. She is still just so worried that she wont be able to keep every committment or every commandment all the time.. she is willing to keep them, but thinks that they has to be exceptions.. however, there really arent. But, with that said, all we gotta do is help her faith out.
The magician family was actually out of town this past weekend, and they wont get back until tomorrow night ish... but we called them and they are still doing great and reading and praying together.. such a sweet family. It was also the fathers birthday! They are going through the process of repentance and they both feel that they are receiving forgiveness more and more. Such a cool family.
Sag.. no idea what happened to him.. his phones been off the past few days and we havent been able to contact him.. had to take him of the daters list of course.. but we will find him. A kid like that with a the desire to follow heavenly father like THAT? yeah... we gotta find him for sure.
Mai and Ome and doing well.. they got sick as well so we didnt get to teach them after tuesday nor were they at church.. but Mai was pretty funny.. when we taught them on tuesday there was one point when she was speaking and her tongue showed a little more than usual.. she had a piercing! We taught them about obedience to the laws of God and they both agreed to obey whatever the Lord asks of them.. so with that said, i asked her, "so.. can you take that thing on your tongue off :) ? She looked way surprised that we even saw it, but agreed haha. Told them how their bodies are a gift from heavenly father and we need to protect them and treat them with respect.. not really a problem.. they already have pretty strong faith and are willing to do what God asks. Ome: same.
We met this way cool guy name Sade. Hes a little outside the city with his girlfriend and hes currently learning about business and finance.. pretty interesting business i might add.. something called Aimstar? He basically gave us a sales pitch when we first went over to his house, and we realized that most of what he was describing related to the gospel! For example, he explained that for his business its all about inviting to learn more and the people that we invite, whether we know them or not, have the choice to accept it or not, but its totally up to them. It was pretty easy to relate that to the gospel and I felt we should bear testimony that that was preparation for him to be a powerful member and to be able to share the gospel.. he totally loved the idea and wants to follow Heavenly Father. His business takes up a lot of time, so we shared Jacob 2:17 with him.. he aboslutely LOVED it.. especially the part where he would be able to share what he has with other people. Pretty cool.
So this week was overall a pretty good week.. aside from the getting sick part.. but that was also a good experience.. I know that the priesthood has the pwoer to heal, but more often than not, theres a reason why they are called blessings of comfort... Elder Revelli gave me a blessing when i first got sick and man... the wave of comfort that went over me was just... indescribable. Clearly, im not healed, but i didnt necesasrily need to be (or we didnt have enough faith).. but the blessing brought comfort to my soul.. dunno, id say thats healing in and of itself.
The biggest highlight of this week was Brother Walker.. i dont know if you remember him, but hes the super awesome man from Texas who opened an orphanage here in Buriram? Hes the super legit Christian? Anyway, we taught him again and he finished the Book of Mormon. After we opened with a prayer and took the book and looked at it saying that he doesnt accept it as the word of God. Uh... yeah, ill be honest, i was a little nervous in my heart.. but after about 10 seconds, i let it go and just listened... i knew that the Lords promise, "ye shall not be cofounded before men" would be fulfilled in that very lesson. As we listened with love for this man, truths were highlighted within his speech that we could bear testimony to... at the end of it all, we left our testimonies with him, and he said he would continue to read the Book. What transpired within that lesson though (which all of it cant be written) was quite moving and all were edified. In the end, all it did was strengthen my testimony of the truthfulness of the book of Mormon once again: that book is TRUE. No amount of evidence compiled against it can prevail because the promise is true: We can know the truth of ALL things. The Holy Ghost has manifest the truth of it unto me and nothing anyone says can change that.. science will try to prove it wrong, but it the end will only prove it to be completely true. I love that Book. A year ago this week marks the first time i read the Book of Mormon all the way through. Legit.
Okay, well i love you all.. thanks so much for your support and your prayers.. enjoi life :)
Congratulations Chase! You're a stud.
Enc 1: Stay sweet
Love Elder Gudmundsen
This week was kinda rough.. friday morning i got hit with a pretty nasty cold/flu or whatever it was, i dont really know.. but it stinks. Just the ordinary muscle aches, weakness and chills... didnt stop us from getting out there and teaching.. but alas, there was a limit and we had to come home to rest up. Saturday there was no resting cause Surin had a baptismal candidate being interviewed so I had to make that.. shes a pretty sick person whos got some insane faith.. passed with flying colors. Sunday was the worst... but we all promised to partake of the Sacrament each week and I knew i needed to be an example.. basically dragged myself outa bed and to the Church.. in the end it turned out to be a pretty good Sunday and a lot of Less Actives came to church as well.. rejoice!
So Got is still doing awesome... hes been a great source of referrals and got up yesterday to bear a sweet testimony in sacrament meeting. Both his father and mother were there too and although they had to leave right after the meeting, both of them seemed to enjoy it and seemed proud of their son. Hopefully his father will be able to participate in Family Home Evening tonight.. at least i hope so. Both his parents seem way nice and very humble people.
Amphon is still progressing.. just at her own pace. She is still just so worried that she wont be able to keep every committment or every commandment all the time.. she is willing to keep them, but thinks that they has to be exceptions.. however, there really arent. But, with that said, all we gotta do is help her faith out.
The magician family was actually out of town this past weekend, and they wont get back until tomorrow night ish... but we called them and they are still doing great and reading and praying together.. such a sweet family. It was also the fathers birthday! They are going through the process of repentance and they both feel that they are receiving forgiveness more and more. Such a cool family.
Sag.. no idea what happened to him.. his phones been off the past few days and we havent been able to contact him.. had to take him of the daters list of course.. but we will find him. A kid like that with a the desire to follow heavenly father like THAT? yeah... we gotta find him for sure.
Mai and Ome and doing well.. they got sick as well so we didnt get to teach them after tuesday nor were they at church.. but Mai was pretty funny.. when we taught them on tuesday there was one point when she was speaking and her tongue showed a little more than usual.. she had a piercing! We taught them about obedience to the laws of God and they both agreed to obey whatever the Lord asks of them.. so with that said, i asked her, "so.. can you take that thing on your tongue off :) ? She looked way surprised that we even saw it, but agreed haha. Told them how their bodies are a gift from heavenly father and we need to protect them and treat them with respect.. not really a problem.. they already have pretty strong faith and are willing to do what God asks. Ome: same.
We met this way cool guy name Sade. Hes a little outside the city with his girlfriend and hes currently learning about business and finance.. pretty interesting business i might add.. something called Aimstar? He basically gave us a sales pitch when we first went over to his house, and we realized that most of what he was describing related to the gospel! For example, he explained that for his business its all about inviting to learn more and the people that we invite, whether we know them or not, have the choice to accept it or not, but its totally up to them. It was pretty easy to relate that to the gospel and I felt we should bear testimony that that was preparation for him to be a powerful member and to be able to share the gospel.. he totally loved the idea and wants to follow Heavenly Father. His business takes up a lot of time, so we shared Jacob 2:17 with him.. he aboslutely LOVED it.. especially the part where he would be able to share what he has with other people. Pretty cool.
So this week was overall a pretty good week.. aside from the getting sick part.. but that was also a good experience.. I know that the priesthood has the pwoer to heal, but more often than not, theres a reason why they are called blessings of comfort... Elder Revelli gave me a blessing when i first got sick and man... the wave of comfort that went over me was just... indescribable. Clearly, im not healed, but i didnt necesasrily need to be (or we didnt have enough faith).. but the blessing brought comfort to my soul.. dunno, id say thats healing in and of itself.
The biggest highlight of this week was Brother Walker.. i dont know if you remember him, but hes the super awesome man from Texas who opened an orphanage here in Buriram? Hes the super legit Christian? Anyway, we taught him again and he finished the Book of Mormon. After we opened with a prayer and took the book and looked at it saying that he doesnt accept it as the word of God. Uh... yeah, ill be honest, i was a little nervous in my heart.. but after about 10 seconds, i let it go and just listened... i knew that the Lords promise, "ye shall not be cofounded before men" would be fulfilled in that very lesson. As we listened with love for this man, truths were highlighted within his speech that we could bear testimony to... at the end of it all, we left our testimonies with him, and he said he would continue to read the Book. What transpired within that lesson though (which all of it cant be written) was quite moving and all were edified. In the end, all it did was strengthen my testimony of the truthfulness of the book of Mormon once again: that book is TRUE. No amount of evidence compiled against it can prevail because the promise is true: We can know the truth of ALL things. The Holy Ghost has manifest the truth of it unto me and nothing anyone says can change that.. science will try to prove it wrong, but it the end will only prove it to be completely true. I love that Book. A year ago this week marks the first time i read the Book of Mormon all the way through. Legit.
Okay, well i love you all.. thanks so much for your support and your prayers.. enjoi life :)
Congratulations Chase! You're a stud.
Enc 1: Stay sweet
Love Elder Gudmundsen
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