9:00am
Beaverton Stake Building
4195 SW 99th Street
Beaverton, OR 97005
All are welcome to attend.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
April 2, 2012
Hello Everyone!
Well this week has just flown by! My companion and I have been doing everything we can to see as much success in this area before we leave. We have had quite a few tender mercies and blessings given to us. This week I had the special opportunity of going to the temple to see one of my converts who has been a member for a year, go through the temple for the first time! It was such an amazing experience! After the temple session she came up to me in tears and kept saying thank you over and over, she was completely overwhelmed with joy. I think it is a moment on my mission that I will never forget. That was also pretty special because it was the last time I got to go through the Newport Beach temple on my mission. It is such a beautiful temple and it will always have a special place in my heart and have a lot of good memories. This week we were able to teach our investigator Vivian and Kyle. We had dinner at a members house with them and then we taught them afterward. We taught them a really powerful lesson about eternal families and how our church has the restored priesthood power and keys to seal families and spouses together forever. It was a great lesson. This week we were also able to teach a new investigator from China named Amy. She is such a great person and this week we were able to go meet with her member husband and she and her daughter. Her 5 year old daughter is so cute, and she was teaching me Chinese the whole night. I have found that the little kids are such a great way to learn Chinese from, because there Chinese is pretty good and they are always willing to help. We had a lesson with Amy about who God is and who Jesus Christ is. We had to teach very very simply, because she has no religious background at all and the idea of a God is really foreign to her. After the lesson we invited her to pray and her prayer was amazing! We are excited to teach her again this week, and we will see where things go from there.
Other than all of that, I have been working hard, and living every minute i have left to the fullest. I loved Conference this weekend! It was amazing!
I love you all, I hope all is going well. Talk to you all in next week's email!
Monday, March 26, 2012
March 26, 2012
There should only be 2 more letters home after this. Wow.......how awesome is this!!!
See his latest letter below:
Hello Everyone!!
This week has been a pretty busy week! I am writing today because we got to go to the temple today so this has become our P-Day. So I guess i will just try to catch everyone up on what has been happening these past couple of weeks. First to mention, I had my last zone conference on my mission...it was really weird to walk into zone conference and realize that I don't recognize barely any of the missionaries anymore, because they are all new elders that are replacing the oldies like us. Zone conference was absolutely amazing and we got to hear some amazing talks from our mission president and his wife. The most scary part about zone conference was when President Bowen asked for all of the missionaries that will be departing this next transfer to stand up. I stood up and then they said ok, all departing missionaries could you please come up to the stand and share your departing testimony with us. That felt so weird! Not to mention, that that was when I said goodbye to my good companion Elder Bray, he left the next morning back for Connecticut. But after Zone Conference I got myself back from being distracted and my companion and I have been trying so hard to find those that are ready in our area. We having been praying a lot to find 3 people this transfer, and just recently we have been receiving some huge miracles! So we are pretty excited! Those miracles are bitter sweet because we had a few people stop meeting with us, some of our favorite investigators even. But we are still pushing through and I am soaking up every minute of it out here. I am going to use the next few weeks to the fullest, and I know we will see miracles! I hope everyone has been doing well! I only have about 3 more of these weekly emails left, so I promise the next couple of emails I will make sure to add more of what is going on! You will hear from me on Monday!
And he sent another one as well...
Hello Everyone!
Ok, so the last email I wrote was on Friday. So I will try to catch you all up on the past couple of days.
So on Friday night my companion and I headed up to Garden Grove to our zone leaders office so we could work on a new Pass-Along-Card for our branch. We are making a new one because we found out the one that we made is not quite legal, and by not quite I mean isn't haha. We were told that we aren't allowed to use the logo of the church or copy the format of the church's new Mormon.org cards because they are both copyrighted. So, we have decided to make a new design that is approved, and I actually think it is going to be better than this first one that we made. So we have been spending sometime on making that, and I translated it into Chinese so everything on the card can be in Chinese. And then after we worked on the card for a bit we drove back down to Irvine so that my companion could conduct a baptismal interview with the other Chinese elders investigator who was baptized this Saturday! So yes, this Saturday our branch had another baptism, for a girl named Jessica Zhou who is from mainland China. She shared her testimony at the baptism and it was really good. She shared an experience how that when she was meeting with the missionaries they taught her about the word of wisdom which would require her to give up her coffee drinking habits. She was addicted to coffee. She said that she really wanted to keep the word of wisdom and not drink it but she said she was afraid that it would be really hard to do. She then said that she prayed and asked for help to stay away from coffee and a couple days later she walked into a Starbucks because she wanted coffee but as she was about to drink the coffee she felt like she wanted to throw up. She said every time after that when she went to take a drink of coffee she would get that same feeling, so she knew that it was God helping her to overcome that habit. it was a really good testimony and we are excited for her to continue to learn and grow in the Gospel.
Elder Mensink and I have been working really hard lately to find new investigators, and it seems that even though we are working hard we aren't seeing too much success. However on Sunday night we had somewhat of a miracle fall into our laps. We went to a member's house because we wanted to discuss a gospel art class we are going to help her teach this next week. This member is an amazing artist and thought of a missionary opportunity where she will use Gospel art and talk not only about the art aspect but also we missionaries can use the art to teach the Gospel, to the non-members who come. Anyway, this member told us that she had some news for us. I asked her what news that was and she said that an investigator that lives in the other Chinese elders area has requested that Elder Ellis and his companion teaches her. This investigator is one that I found and taught with Elder Bray when I was in the other Chinese area. This investigator was progressing very well and then her father died, and she stopped meeting with us because she was too busy with family and things but she said recently she has been wanting to meet with the missionaries again but she specifically requests that myself and my companion teach her. So we had to work it out with the other elders but now Elder Mensink and I will be teaching her and her husband! They are an amazing couple and are probably some of my favorite investigators I have taught on my mission. My comp and I have three weeks, so we will be praying for miracles! I hope everyone is doing well! I love you all!!
Thursday, March 22, 2012
March 19, 2012
:(
No Letter from Elder Ellis this week. He must have been very busy.
Look forward to a letter next Monday.
Well we just received news that Elder Joshua Ellis will fly home to PDX arriving April 17th on Alaska Airlines Flight 587 at 12:25pm. All are invited to welcome Elder Ellis home at the airport. In addition he will giving his mission address on April 29th at 9:00am and of course all are welcome to attend as well. This means as of midnight it is officially 25 days to his arrival!!!!
Yes I am a little excited to see my son again!
No Letter from Elder Ellis this week. He must have been very busy.
Look forward to a letter next Monday.
Well we just received news that Elder Joshua Ellis will fly home to PDX arriving April 17th on Alaska Airlines Flight 587 at 12:25pm. All are invited to welcome Elder Ellis home at the airport. In addition he will giving his mission address on April 29th at 9:00am and of course all are welcome to attend as well. This means as of midnight it is officially 25 days to his arrival!!!!
Yes I am a little excited to see my son again!
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
March 12, 2012
Hello everyone!!
This week was a pretty good week. It seemed like the time just flew by. I honestly feel like just yesterday I was writing last weeks email. This week we have been doing a lot of searching for new investigators again, it has been great. I have really gained a love for just trying to find people to teach. This week we talked to quite a few people but there wasn't too much interest. So we just kept pushing through it all and having faith that we will find people to teach. We had been praying pretty hard to find some more potential investigators and it seemed like that our efforts were not accounting to much....but then on Sunday night, we found two people that have a lot of interest and we will be visiting them this week! I think one thing I have come to learn on my mission is that the Lord will try our faith to see if we really trust in his promises. I know he follows through every time. It has happened so many times on my mission that even though the circumstances have seemed that we will find no success, when we had faith and made goals and worked toward it, we would always find what we were looking for. It has been such a blessing being out on a mission. I have learned so many lessons that I don't think I would have learned or at least learned as quickly than if I hadn't gone on a mission.
This week we have been teaching our investigator Mr. Yang, we are actually teaching him and his wife now! She finally joined us in the lessons and she is doing very well! Sometimes the husband is hesitant to read or say the prayer and she will always tell him to just do it. We have been helping the wife practice as well for her citizenship test which she will take next month. She has been kind of nervous about that test but we keep telling her to study everyday and always say a prayer before and after she studies and God will help her.
Other than those things this week has just been a lot of hard work, so not too many stories to talk about. But i am loving it and I can't wait to see the progress these investigators make in the next few weeks! I hope you all are doing well!
This week was a pretty good week. It seemed like the time just flew by. I honestly feel like just yesterday I was writing last weeks email. This week we have been doing a lot of searching for new investigators again, it has been great. I have really gained a love for just trying to find people to teach. This week we talked to quite a few people but there wasn't too much interest. So we just kept pushing through it all and having faith that we will find people to teach. We had been praying pretty hard to find some more potential investigators and it seemed like that our efforts were not accounting to much....but then on Sunday night, we found two people that have a lot of interest and we will be visiting them this week! I think one thing I have come to learn on my mission is that the Lord will try our faith to see if we really trust in his promises. I know he follows through every time. It has happened so many times on my mission that even though the circumstances have seemed that we will find no success, when we had faith and made goals and worked toward it, we would always find what we were looking for. It has been such a blessing being out on a mission. I have learned so many lessons that I don't think I would have learned or at least learned as quickly than if I hadn't gone on a mission.
This week we have been teaching our investigator Mr. Yang, we are actually teaching him and his wife now! She finally joined us in the lessons and she is doing very well! Sometimes the husband is hesitant to read or say the prayer and she will always tell him to just do it. We have been helping the wife practice as well for her citizenship test which she will take next month. She has been kind of nervous about that test but we keep telling her to study everyday and always say a prayer before and after she studies and God will help her.
Other than those things this week has just been a lot of hard work, so not too many stories to talk about. But i am loving it and I can't wait to see the progress these investigators make in the next few weeks! I hope you all are doing well!
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
March 5, 2012
Hello!!!!
Wow this week flew by pretty fast! Today we start the last transfer of my entire mission! From today it is 6 weeks left. I finally feel like I have got the hang of everything out here so I am so excited for these last 6 weeks to work as hard as I can, and I know we will see miracles! So for this past week we did a lot of meeting with our new investigators and seeing where their interest levels are. There were a few of them that ended up not being too interested but we do have a few that are progressing pretty well. One of those people that is doing well is our investigator Mr. Yang. He is the man last week I said that we randomly knocked into and about a year and a half ago I had taught him. He loves meeting with us and this last time we taught him we emphasized the importance of coming to church because he has been doing everything except for attending church, after that lesson we still weren't quite sure whether he would actually come or not, but this Saturday he called us and said "I am going to church, can you find a ride for me?" we said of course and got him a ride right away. When he came to church on Sunday he absolutely loved it. During the meetings he sat next to me and said he wanted me to translate anything anyone said in English for him because he doesn't speak or understand English at all. So throughout church I got translate for him. He is somebody that my companion and I connect with really well, and he loves talking to us. He is like a Grandpa to us. We will be seeing him again this week, so keep him in your prayers if you can :). We had a pretty funny experience with a member of our branch this week. There is a member from mainland china and he likes to have us over for dinner quite often. Well, he called us and I handed the phone to Elder Mensink so he could practice speaking to him in Chinese and then I got distracted talking to somebody else. Later that night Elder Mensink said this member said that the next day we were to go to his house and pick up some food and take it home because he was just recently given a lot of food so he wanted to give us some. So the next day we were driving over and the member called us multiple times asking where we were but I kept telling him we were almost there (and we weren't even late). We got there and I said hi to him and he said "Finally you are here! OK, go sit down, eat."....we were kind of confused because we thought we were just picking up the food, but then the member looked at Elder Mensink and said "I told you last night you would eat here. Oh come on, I told you last night" (and this is all in Chinese btw). Then he looked at my companion and said "You make me sick" (in English)....it caught us so off guard but we just assumed he didn't really know how intense that sounds in English, it was probably a phrase he learned the other day, he has used a lot of funny phrases like that with me before (one of them being...when he had to use the restroom he looked at me and said "Nature is calling" in a broken English accent) that one made me laughed really hard. Anyway, to say the least it was kind of an awkward lunch haha but it turned out really good in the end and we left a good spiritual message with him. And we left smiling and he was smiling, so I think it went well haha.
This week we also had the opportunity to go give a baptismal interview for an older Chinese couple that I had taught for a while. The older man had promised that if he passed the Citizenship test then he would be baptized. Well, he passed and he said he wants to be baptized! We used to go over every week and teach them a lesson and then help him learn English for a little bit so he could pass that test. And he did! He and his wife were both baptized and confirmed this past week!
It seems like time is going by really fast. Elder Bray will finish his mission next week!! So then it will be back down to 4 Chinese speaking elders in our branch. Me, Elder Mensink, Elder Kim, and Elder Winters. I am loving every minute of it down here. And I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for these upcoming weeks! I love you all! Hope you are doing well!
Wow this week flew by pretty fast! Today we start the last transfer of my entire mission! From today it is 6 weeks left. I finally feel like I have got the hang of everything out here so I am so excited for these last 6 weeks to work as hard as I can, and I know we will see miracles! So for this past week we did a lot of meeting with our new investigators and seeing where their interest levels are. There were a few of them that ended up not being too interested but we do have a few that are progressing pretty well. One of those people that is doing well is our investigator Mr. Yang. He is the man last week I said that we randomly knocked into and about a year and a half ago I had taught him. He loves meeting with us and this last time we taught him we emphasized the importance of coming to church because he has been doing everything except for attending church, after that lesson we still weren't quite sure whether he would actually come or not, but this Saturday he called us and said "I am going to church, can you find a ride for me?" we said of course and got him a ride right away. When he came to church on Sunday he absolutely loved it. During the meetings he sat next to me and said he wanted me to translate anything anyone said in English for him because he doesn't speak or understand English at all. So throughout church I got translate for him. He is somebody that my companion and I connect with really well, and he loves talking to us. He is like a Grandpa to us. We will be seeing him again this week, so keep him in your prayers if you can :). We had a pretty funny experience with a member of our branch this week. There is a member from mainland china and he likes to have us over for dinner quite often. Well, he called us and I handed the phone to Elder Mensink so he could practice speaking to him in Chinese and then I got distracted talking to somebody else. Later that night Elder Mensink said this member said that the next day we were to go to his house and pick up some food and take it home because he was just recently given a lot of food so he wanted to give us some. So the next day we were driving over and the member called us multiple times asking where we were but I kept telling him we were almost there (and we weren't even late). We got there and I said hi to him and he said "Finally you are here! OK, go sit down, eat."....we were kind of confused because we thought we were just picking up the food, but then the member looked at Elder Mensink and said "I told you last night you would eat here. Oh come on, I told you last night" (and this is all in Chinese btw). Then he looked at my companion and said "You make me sick" (in English)....it caught us so off guard but we just assumed he didn't really know how intense that sounds in English, it was probably a phrase he learned the other day, he has used a lot of funny phrases like that with me before (one of them being...when he had to use the restroom he looked at me and said "Nature is calling" in a broken English accent) that one made me laughed really hard. Anyway, to say the least it was kind of an awkward lunch haha but it turned out really good in the end and we left a good spiritual message with him. And we left smiling and he was smiling, so I think it went well haha.
This week we also had the opportunity to go give a baptismal interview for an older Chinese couple that I had taught for a while. The older man had promised that if he passed the Citizenship test then he would be baptized. Well, he passed and he said he wants to be baptized! We used to go over every week and teach them a lesson and then help him learn English for a little bit so he could pass that test. And he did! He and his wife were both baptized and confirmed this past week!
It seems like time is going by really fast. Elder Bray will finish his mission next week!! So then it will be back down to 4 Chinese speaking elders in our branch. Me, Elder Mensink, Elder Kim, and Elder Winters. I am loving every minute of it down here. And I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for these upcoming weeks! I love you all! Hope you are doing well!
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