Noah's 15!

Hey family!

   Happy birthday Noah! I can't believe you are 15. That boggles my mind. I remember feeling so old at 15. So you guys are headed to PF changs tonight eh? fun! say ni hao to all my asians for me. It's also Elder Bench's birthday today, so thats kinda cool.

  This week has gone pretty well. We've picked up quite a few new investigators and things are going more smoothly than last week. We taught a lady named Damsy this week, she's from Shanghai I think. She has a pretty crazy story. 2 years ago she was in a huge car accident that left the left side of her body completely numb, her husband took her to doctors all around the world but they couldn't do anything for her. Her husband ended up leaving her because he didn't want to have to deal with it anymore (sad!). At that time, she was already a christian and grew up in the 7th day adventist church, but she never really had a real testimony of God or Jesus Christ and didn't like the church in the first place. She eventually came to America to stay in a care home, and got in contact with another church. The church fasted and prayed for her for 1 day, and the next day all of the feeling in her body came back. She really feels that she's been healed by Jesus. When we introduced the Book of Mormon to her, at first she was a little stand-offish because her last church believed they were the "one true church" and she really doesn't like them, so she didn't like the idea of another church claiming the same thing. She just wanted to attend a normal christian church. After an hour and a half of testifying and answering all her questions, she commited to pray about our message. We haven't been able to follow up with her yet, but we're hoping to soon.

   I'll be finishing the Book of Mormon again this week. I'm so grateful for that book, I wish I had a way to describe how I feel about it in words. I got to read what's become my favorite chapter in the whole book yesterday, Ether 6. The first time it really impacted me was while I was in the MTC just before I was headed to california. In verse 4 it talks about how the Jaredites, just before they are about to leave in the barges,  "prepared all manner of food, that thereby they might subsist upon the water, and also food for their flocks and herds". Preparation in so important in all things, and I felt prepared to leave the MTC when I read that for the first time. After they get in the boats and head out, it talks about a mighty wind that takes them to the promised land, and "the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters" this is true about our trials. No matter how hard the wind may be blowing, we can always be assured we're being blown towards the promised land if we "thank and praise the Lord all the day long", just as the Jaredites did. I love that chapter.

  Well I hope Noah's birthday is fun! I think I'm gonna send some of my clothes that I brought on my mission back to him. I have 2 pairs of pants and a nice shirt that I never wear. So I'll try to get on that when I have time. I love you guys! have a good week!

 

Ben