November 28, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm grateful for all of you!

    We had a pretty good thanksgiving week. Our ward had a big pot luck and sang kareoke haha. I wish so badly you guys could see asians sing and dance. It's probably the funniest thing of my life. It was a mix of american and chinese food, who knew stinky tofu and turkey was a good combination? but yeah, it was a lot of fun.

    I kinda feel bad about that letter i wrote you now mom! haha. If I had time i would have totally written this: Mom you are the greatest mom ever, i'm grateful that you raised me the way you did, making me sandwiches, making me practice the violin, writing my award winning essay in 4th grade, buying me clothes, letting me grow my hair out, letting me grow a beard, mustache, handlebar mustache, and dying my mustache black, letting me go on road trips, letting me play the loud drums whenever I wanted, and other things of the sort. Most of all though, I'm grateful that you and dad always showed your love, even when I messed up. Even when I felt that I didn't deserve it. I love you for it! thank you.

   Being with Elder Han has been a different experience than my last few companions. He's the first companion that I'm not training or sending home. He is an awesome teacher, IF he is put into a teaching situation. He doesn't really love his mission, but we're working on that.   My chinese has gotten a lot better with him though, cause his english is pretty bad. Forces me to speak chinese, which is what i like!

  Jake is in the MTC?! Goodness thanks for letting me know, i've been waiting to know where he is going forever! haha. Whats his mtc address?

   I love you guys, freaking love you guys. I mean it! If I don't show it i'm sorry! haha.

Have a good week!

love, ben.

 

 

Thanksgiving 2011!

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

   They are having a boy! man. I don't think our family will ever have girls. But thats awesome! I'm way happy for them. Make sure he can say uncle Ben before I get home! haha.

   This week was transfers and... I'm staying. It's official, I'll have served in the Mountain View ward until my year mark :) Elder Wong was transfered to Hacienda Heights and Elder Han came up here with me. I don't mind staying here, I love this area. I'm way excited to work with Elder Han, he'll be my first companion that isn't going home soon or that I'm training. He's an awesome teacher and has the coolest conversion story. We should be getting a lot of good done here. Elder Tryon is coming up to serve in the Mountain View Ward with me now as well :) I'm way excited, I love that guy.

   For Thanksgiving this week our ward is having a big party. Our ward has a lot of single members and people with no family here in America, so they decided to just have Thanksgiving as a ward activity. It should be great! This past week we had another baptism, Sister Y--. She's made a lot of friends in the ward and the transition has been smooth for her. Our ward has stepped up so much lately, it's pretty amazing. Yesterday morning, Elder Johnson and I (He's going home tomorrow, I think you have been emailing his mom?) were able to meet with the Pasadena Stake Presidency to talk about the possibilities of having a new Chinese branch. We've pushed really hard for it, and they've decided that it's a good idea and they are going to try and start it soon. It's so exciting! We'll have 3 different units to work in instead of just 2, and we'll be getting more chinese missionaries, and we'll be able to get more people to church. There's no reason why we shouldn't be baptizing every week once we get everything settled and going. That's the goal, at least. :)

   I pretty much peed my pants reading Noah's aspiration letter you sent me! hahahaha that was so dang funny! He is so weird. He looks so grown up in the picture you sent me, stop it noah! No big deal though, i'll still be able to beat him up when I get back. I gained weight when I was with Elder Wong. He's kind of a big guy, comes from a loaded family and is always hungry, so he bought me a ton of food, haha. Well, I look and feel like i've gained 20 pounds but I weighed myself this morning and I was only 3 pounds heavier, what the heck. I talked to Elder Vance (from Lehi) a couple weeks ago and he's gained 20 pounds, but looks exactly the same. Why can't I do that.

  I still see 747 like crazy too! In fact I probably see it more here than I did back home. That's funny that Scott mentioned that haha. Well I better get going, I love you guys! have a good Thanksgiving.

(Ben and his best friend Scott, who is serving in Colombia, have their "number"... They would see it everywhere, and now they are both seeing it on their missions--)

 

Ally's Home-- November 14, 2011

   Can't believe it! She's already home. I'm sure she was an awesome missionary...

I'm so glad Joseph and Jordan got their calls! They will be awesome missionaries as well. What language do they speak in Ghana? Portuguese? Either way, black people are cool. Amy's boyfriend sounds like a good guy! And Ally looks great. Send them my love!
    This week has gone really well. We're being blessed with people that are more people that are prepared to receive the gospel. This week we taught a lady who had heard so many bad things about the church that she thought she would never even think about associating with us. But, she went on a business trip to Salt Lake and went to "Music and the Spoken Word" and was completely moved. She was treated so well by everyone that talked to her in Utah as well. So we took her on a tour of the chapel on Friday, and she feels that she needs to start coming back to church. She explained how she's felt lonely for a very long time, and was scared that if she died nobody would even know. We assured her of the family she has in the eternities as well as a ward family for her right now, she accepted a baptismal date right after that. The next day we took her over for dinner at a members house, we had 6 recent converts and all of their home teachers there, it couldn't have been a better environment for her to feel the spirit. She's now diligently studying the Book of Mormon and is loving what she sees so far. We have another lady that is preparing for baptism this Sunday. She experienced Christianity in China, but never had the time to really learn and accept it. She came here from China to "settle down", and feels that now is the time for her to accept Christ in her life. All these people have so many different backgrounds, but they all came here for the same reason, which is to accept the true gospel. So dang sweet! I love being apart of it.

   This week I've been thinking a lot about what a good life I have. The family I've grown up in was perfectly tailored to my needs as a son of God. The friends I have and had before my mission were and are perfect for me, and they shaped me into the exact person I need to be to be able to serve this mission today. God really does know us so well, his tender mercies are manifest in so many ways. I'm so grateful for all of them. I love you all so much, and please let all my friends know that as well!

Have a good week!

Love, Ben.

November 7, 2011

 (Ben and his first companion teaching English... One of his favorite things to do!)

Hello!

 This week has been pretty crazy. We're not as busy as we have been the last few months, but we still have much to do. Theres only 2 more weeks left of probably my favorite transfer yet. So much good and many miracles have happened the last few months, it's been awesome. We have 1 more baptism set for this month so far, Sister Y_. She's from Fuzhou, China, and she's loaded. She is determined to take us to China when we're done in California, haha. She has a mansion and lives in one of the "prettiest cities in China". Man if she's paying I'm totally going, even if she is a little weird. But yeah, she's scheduled to be baptized on the 20th. For our appointments we teach her english for a half hour and then the gospel, it works out pretty well. Lately she's been wanting to learn the gospel more than english, so that's good. We've hardly done anything to help her gain friendship with the ward, they are all still excited from the success we've been having that they are starting to love missionary work more and more and doing it themselves. :) I love it.

  We had the opportunity to help a new family move into our ward yesterday, they're from Beijing but have lived in Provo for the past couple years. They said they went to the church in Beijing for a while, but I'm not sure what their story is just yet. I'll have to find out. But yeah, they'll be a great addition to our ward. 2 more Melchizedek priesthood holders! That's exactly what we need if we are going to make a branch in Alhambra soon. litterally 5 minutes after we had finished moving them in, there was a crazy storm, it was so awesome! They were so grateful Heavenly Father had allowed them to move in at the time they did. They are a very humble family. I miss having variety in weather! haha. The streets were pretty flooded and stuff, it was cool. It didn't last very long, but it was still awesome. It's getting pretty cold down here, I'm excited to start wearing a jacket. The afternoons are still hot, but it gets way cold at night. Maybe it'll snow here someday... but that's dreaming. haha.

  I was reading in the New Testament this morning when Jesus was talking to the lady Samaritan at the well, after He had told her that He was the Christ she went into the city and everyone came out to see him. His disciples came back with the meat they had bought, but he replied that he had meat already, and that meat was the work of fulfilling his Father's will. He looked out at all the people and told the disciples that "the field is white already to harvest." Then it continues to say how many of the Samaritans believed on him from that time on. It made me think about how the Lord really has prepared these people through his own means, and we are just his disciples for the "harvesting of souls". But if we cannot see that these people are prepared, then we will not know. Thats why we, like the disciples with him at that time, have Him to help point them out to us. The church is true!

I've thought of some things for my Christmas list. A simplified character learning book (I'll let you know which one) and .38 size pens and pencils. You can't buy those in America, and they're perfect for writing chinese. Thanks! I love you guys, have a good week!

love, Ben.

October 31, 2011

(We are so humbled by this boy!  What a great missionary he is...BUT~ I wish I didn't know his apartment is infested with cocroaches! Oh my...)

Family,

   Man so many crazy things have happened this week it sounds like! Disneyland... Brendan is home... Ally is coming home... sounds like a good week! And I can't believe Tyler got his mission call. I cried a little when I read that, that is so awesome. He needs to be there.

   This week has been incredible, to say the least. So many good things are happening. 4 people were baptized yesterday, the most our little ward has seen since it was started. All the people baptized this month have become best friends. We were able to go eat a dinner at Jiang Dong's on Saturday with the 4 that were getting baptized the next day... she talked about her baptism and gave them advice like she's been a member for years, instead of just a week. Also, she met a family while walking on the street and brought them to church yesterday, she is just awesome. One of the couples baptized yesterday, Sun and Liu, they are so awesome. The gospel has changed their life. Sister Liu was interviewed for baptism by President Becerra on Thursday, and after the interview President talked to me about how prepared they are. He said she told him about how she plans on having all of her children serve missions. Also, her husband is now applying for BYU, they really want to move to Utah. They've only seen pictures but they feel so good about it. He's applying for a Masters in Law, he's a really famous lawyer in China. We found out that he is actually the reason why Google has been shut down in China. haha. Funny guy.

   This week we had to move out of our apartment cause the plumbing was so bad... and when it was fixed we moved back in for a day, and then last night we left AGAIN because it's so badly infested with cocroaches.... ah. but it's being fumigated right now so hopefully everything will work out by the end of the day.

   We might be having some crazy changes happening to the Chinese work. Right now, we are pulling as many strings as possible to get a new branch started in Alhambra... giving us 3 units to work with. Some areas of our work have tons of chinese people, but it is almost impossible to have success in those places because they are so far away from the church building. If we can bring a building to them... people would retain, l;ess-actives would come back, and many more would be baptized. 4th Nephi 1:1-2 explain how I feel about it perfectly... So many of the people were baptized because the church was brought to them, not because they were brought to the church. President Becerra is on our side as well as the branch president of the very first chinese branch in Southern California... but, it will all come down to the stake presidents, but we really feel good about it and are really praying that it will come through.

   I'll be sending some pictures home today! I'm sorry I've been so terrible at that. and about the Christmas list... Mom you know how bad I am at those, and now that I'm on a mission I'm afraid I'll be ten times worse. So bear with me :) All I can think of right now is running shoes and G's. But i'll see what I can think of.

  I love and miss you guys like crazy! thank you for the popcorn balls! I have yet to eat them... but since it's halloween they'll be eaten by tonight. Today is a special P-day, we are having a bonfire with the zone tonight, it is going to be great! anyways, you guys are great. 我爱你们。 谢谢你们给我那么多。

戴长老。

October 24, 2011

 

 

Hello!

   This week has been an awesome one. Jiang D--- was baptized yesterday, and it was my favorite baptismal service yet. She has the strongest testimony, and because of her our ward has grown so much closer together. She has really brought the relief society together, especially. She gained her testimony from the day we knocked on her door, she has been being prepared for this for a very long time. It's only been 3 weeks and she's already read most of the Book of Mormon and all of the Gospel Principles book, she wants to teach in class now! haha I love her. And she taught me how to make dumplings... so be prepared for a good asian meal when I get home.

   This upcoming Sunday we'll be having another 4 baptisms in the ward. 2 younger couples, both of the woman are pregnant and due in June :) They love the gospel and the commandments. Last monday we had a family home evening with them at a members home, and we had a really good discussion about the temple. They can't wait for that day. One of the couples that I talked about last week, Sun and Liu, were talking about when they have their baby, they're going to tell him all about "Dai Shushu" (Uncle Dixon), as soon as they said that I started crying as we talked about God's eternal plan for all of us. We bore testimony that He know's each and every single one of us, and them accepting the gospel at this time in their life is part of their own specific plan of happiness for their young family. It was such a beautiful experience! It's times like these that make every single sacrifice worth it.

  Well family, know how grateful I am for all of you! Without the things you've taught me theres no way I'd be where I am today. I'm grateful for that. I've sent some pictures of recent happenings, i'll try to send some real ones in a letter home soon! love you guys! And thanks for the pumpkin cookies this week, I was craving those!

 

love, Ben.

 

 

October 17, 2011

Family,

  Sounds like you guys are having a blast, I'm way jealous of that ramp! I still remember the old BMX days, when we built that dirt course next to our house and were always jumping. . . I can't believe Ally and Brendan are already coming home. The last letter ally wrote me was when she hit her half way mark!

  Things have been going crazy good this week. We have been blessed with some incredible investigators. Jiang D--- will be baptized this Sunday, and we also found a couple from Beijing, Sun and Liu, that will hopefully be baptized in November. The couple came to church for the first time yesterday, and the husband was asked to introduce himself in priesthood. He stood up and bore a testimony of how the spirit in the building has moved him in a way that he couldn't explain, and how grateful he was to be there. They have all been fellowshipped so well; our new plan of working with the ward closely has worked SO well. We're having a family home evening tonight with a member, and 3 investigators will be present. They've all become such good friends with each other and the ward members. We're also having an investigator dinner on Friday at a different members house. A foundation is being set for the work to explode in our ward, and just the chinese work in general... it's so exciting to be apart of! Eric B--- gave me his guitar last week to fix up and stuff... MAN i can't even begin to say how nice it has been to play a guitar again! I've been arranging hymns during lunch and I think I'll play some in one of the upcoming baptismal services, that'll be way fun. Also... our sink has been clogged for a week and so there are dirty dishes everywhere and our apartment smells like poop. A chinese man tried to come fix it this morning, but he looked at it for a few seconds, said "bu xing" which means "no way", and walked out. Our apartment has so many problems, I think we'll try to convince the mission that this apartment needs to go.

  Well I planned on sending some pictures today... but I just realized I forgot my camera. I'll try to go get some developed today that I can send in a letter home. So be waiting for 'em! P.S. am I getting garments for Christmas?... 'cause these are no longer garments... they're grayments. Anyways, love you guys! Have a good week!

 

Love, Ben.