Sunday, May 4, 2014

May 4, 2014 - Big week

We had an awesome week, serioulsly it flew by. we worked really hard and we are seeing real progress in the branch! We did have a few meetings that we had to plan for and attend for the zone and international district, but it didnt slow us down!
 
So last Monday we took it really easy. We did manage to schedule a new investiagtor that we found on the street. His name is Oscar. His dad is African American and his mom is from HK. He is a really awesome kid who just graduated from high school and is working at a sushi place near the church. He was really nice and welcomed the discussion. He has some different ideas about God and who he is, but we were able to help him understand more about God and how He loves us. It was really awesome. We also were able to visit a family that we found in Kowloon. They are asylum seekers from Rwanda. turns out that their lawyer is a member of our ward. They are just waiting to be relocated to the US by the UN. In the meantime they are living in HK. We were able to visit their family in their humble home and talk about the principle of eternal families with them. A whole family! They were so excited about the doctrine, especially after all the violence they have seen in Rwanda. It was a really special experience for all of us. Briggette and Warren. I am excited to see how their family will take up the gospel.
 
Tuesday was a busy day as well. We met with Carolin, a german exchange student that lives in my old area all the way out in WuhDip. She is doing great. We taught her the word of wisdom. She is keeping it. all this week she has been keeping it! Success! It has taken a lot of will power and us following up, but she is doing it. she has a huge desire to know if it is true and the only way to know is by trying it. She has a lot of courage and desire to try! We also were able to visit the Tai family again, have an awesome dinner and then teach their relative, Tomo. He is doing great! I think I already told you he is a bassist of a japanese metal band and that he is an amateur boxer? So crazy! but we taught him english and followed up on how prayer has been going. He said that he had prayed once but didnt think it did anything. As we talked he finally came to the conclusion that if he wants an answer, it was going to take more than one prayer to do it. So he is on the path to getting to know our Heavenly Father as well! Just another awesome experience.
 
Wednesday we met with our mission leadership council and talked about what our zone was doing and the challenges it was facing. it was a really cool meeting to be in. President Hawks is a huge pool of wisdom and i got to hear just a fraction of it in that meeting. I really love our mission president. Later that night, we met with our district president, President Tai, and discussed missionary work in the district as a whole. A lot of it was focused on how the branches and district as a whole can better support us in the work. Another really productive meeting. I think the reason it was so productive, both meetings, was because we really prepared. It took forever to get all the names and their info/situation, but it was really worth it.
 
Thursday we met with Sonu again! He is just doing great! He is going through finals, but has not been skipping reading the Book of Mormon. He even got on LDS.org and was looking trhough talks and videos! He is doing so great! He really thanked us for what we were sharing. He looks to us as great friends and we do the same. We have already seen quite the change in him. Before he was really shy and quiet, but now he was talking with tons of members on Sundays. the gospel really is change.
 
Friday was another great day, we met up with a great member family, the Hawkins, and shared more about what members can do to be missionaries now. It was cute as their 6 year old daughter told me how she was going to invite her friend to the primary activity in a week. She also told me all about her favorite movie, "Frosted". It was cute and really effective. We have some great members in our branch!
 
Saturday was filled with a lot of finding, but it is worth the hard work and effort, becuase on Sunday we got tons of people at church. Sonu was there, a less active brought her non member husband, a family that we are teaching came! It really was awesome. Lots of hard work paying off! We were able to teach a few of a members friends at their home as well after church. Just so much good going on! We were able to eat at the Zhang families house as well. Connie, the mom, had referred a friend earlier in the week and we talked all about how to help her. the friends name is Vicky and works in the ICC, the tallest building in Kowloon. She invited us to visit with her during her luch break and teach her. So we got to go to the ICC and teach her. We had a great lesson, although it was hard to focus at first because we had such a great view of the whole bay from so high up. We got so many funny looks walking into a high class business in the ICC but vicky was so excited we didnt care. We are meeting with her again this week!
 
like I said, lots going on. So much to do. So much good to do! i am loving my time here in vic1. Really hoping we can make a difference in the branch. but loving my time.
 
Have a great week!
 
Elder Woodburn

April 27, 2014 - Another Solid Week

Elder Lau and I had another really awesome week. Its weird to think how fast it flew by. And here I am, sitting at the computer again. Where does the week go? 

So we were able to meet with a really great new investigator this week, his name is Habib. He is from India and is originally Muslim. We met him because he just walked into the church asking about Moroni. haha. He had a really great knowledge of Christianity and he is doing well. We have had some great discussions with him so far. We introduced the Book of Mormon to him and as we were explaining, he opened up the book and he read out loud a scripture from mosiah about overcoming the natural man. He looked up and said, "yeah, that is very true. I like this book." We were both so happy. He has been reading a ton, now we are working on getting him to church.

Another investigator I think I mentioned last week is Sonu, also from India. He has a strong desire to be baptized. His mom is a catholic and he wants to learn more about Christ so he can join a church. He is a college student now who is pretty shy, but he said that he has been praying everyday as well as reading and has said his confidence is at an all time high. He is recognizing the power of prayer to change. We are meeting with him tomorrow and hopefully can pick a date for him to be baptized. He is doing really well.

I told you about Tomo last week as well, right? Well Tomo was a heavy metal star in Japan. haha. His FB pics made it look pretty legit. But he is staying with a family in our ward since he is their cousin. The family is the Tai family. They are really awesome. Their kids are all so cute and their house has that awesome feel. We are teaching Tomo english and then his family translates our spiritual messages. He has zero religious background so we are starting basic, but it is going well and the Tai family is there to support him every step of the way.

This week was especially busy since it was the China Hong Kong International District meetings. I got the chance to speak in the Saturday session. It was a really neat experience. I spoke about how I got introduced to the church through a Alonzo and other friend's example, invitation, and follow up. I thought it went well, and I have had a lot of people tell me that the story got them motivated to do more missionary work themselves. So I guess I did my job. There is real power in member missionary work. The speaker following me was Elder Gong of the 70, so that was cool. I opened for a 70. haha

Sunday was even better. There was a youth choir and we got 4 of our investigators to sing in the choir. It took a lot of coordination with the members, but they convinced them, it was awesome! The one that comes to mind is Carolin. She is a German exchange student. She thinks its funny because I try and talk to her in German, but I can only say what Ashton taught me when I went to Germany like 3 years ago. haha. She is another great youth that we are trying to help line up a baptism for before she goes back to Germany this summer. 

I am really liking the change of pace in English work. Scary, thats for sure. White people in Hong Kong are very business oriented, so I am learning how to turn that to a gospel conversation. Really loving life.

I hope all is well. I think school is out? Enjoy your vacation!

Keep being a good example. It truly is your strongest tool in sharing our beliefs. Share your testimony, but more importantly, live it.

Love,
Elder Woodburn