Referrals! (Week 76)

Sunday, Mar 17, 2019

Subject: Referrals! 

Hello everyone!

How has your week been? Mine has been great! particularly since we are teaching a lot more families! We have several investigators who introduced us to their families, and we are now teaching them! First, we have Em Vy's family. We got to visit her family this last week and shared in the Family Proclamation. It led to a discussion of the Plan of Salvation. Her older brother was really interested, and her father also seemed quite intrigued. They both agreed that we could visit again another time and share more. And they like that Em Vy is learning too. We are really excited to work with all of them! Also, her brother and his wife who live with them have less than one-year old twins, so it was a little hard to get the sister in law and the mother in the lesson, but they were really nice, and we got to talk to them a bit. We are excited to keep sharing more with their family! Then we have Em Nhu's family. They were really open! Her mother in particular was really open, and we ended up sharing the restoration. It was cool too, as we started with the Family Proclamation like with Em Vy's family, but it led to their questions on the restoration. I have actually really seen the Family Proclamation as a great teaching tool! It helps for some people to start learning in a comfortable way, and then it relates to a lot of gospel principles, depending on their needs. We are really excited for their family, they agreed to read the Book of Mormon! And they just seem very open to what we share.

And then we got to teach Co Hue's husband, Bac Dung, the restoration. He was very open to it. He did not fully understand everything taught, so we will have to clarify some things, but he wants to meet again, and agreed to read the Book of Mormon! Also, Co Hue wants to get baptized as soon as possible, so we are going to help her, but are also trying to get her husband on board too. He seems very open, so that is really cool. And the other new person we met this week is Anh Thuan. I actually accidentally called him, intending to call a different Anh Thuan... Too many people have the same name... But it worked out. We met him and shared the restoration. He wants to meet again and he said he would read the introduction to the Book of Mormon! And our other investigators are doing good. We had a cool lesson with Em Dat. Elder Quoc and I went in prepared to teach from For the Strength of Youth and to discuss the use of media, which we did do, but then it changed topics and went into baptism again. He is was a little hesitant on it, but we had a great discussion of all the blessings God has in store from him, so he now says he will ask his parents again if he can get baptized. It is very exciting! Also, Elder Quoc used a funny example in the lesson. We were talking about how technology is like a two-sided sword. It can be used for so much good, but it can also be used for so much evil. It really depends on what we do with it. But then we also said sometimes we choose to let technology control us, and Elder Quoc shared a story he heard from his young men's leader who stopped at a light in front of a school, and some teenager walked right into his stopped car because he couldn't look up from his phone. Don't let technology control you! Luckily, I just have a Nokia, and it can't really do much more than text and call. Use your technology wisely, don't let it control you! 

Oh, and everyone else is doing good. Not too much different. Anh Hung is applying for a new job, so we are praying for his success in his interviews! We know God will help him, so we told him he can pray too for God to help him in that. He at first felt like he didn't want to bother God with his request, but we shared in 3 Nephi 18 about how Jesus Christ told us that anything righteous we pray for, if it be His will, He will give us. And we told him supporting his family is a very righteous desire. So with that knowledge, he said he would pray to God for help. It made a lot of sense to him and Chi Chi.

And our church attendance is still going good! We are maintaining around fifty. Something cool though, we invited a new person to come on Sunday, Chi Thuy. We met her at a café, and she was really friendly. Initially, she was a little nervous about coming, as she had not been to church before, but she had a great experience and fit right in! She said it felt like a big family. And it really is. Those who follow Jesus Christ become one in Him, and we try to love our fellow man. We welcome all people and view them as He does. I am grateful to have that perspective, to know how much our Heavenly Father truly values us. Also, I would like to invite everyone to look at Elder Soares' talk from last conference, "One in Christ". It is a wonderful talk about how we should care for each other, and especially those who are new and may not feel like they fit in. Jesus Christ always reaches out to us, and we should likewise reach out to each other.

Well, it was just a really good week. And I look forward to another one. There really is no greater joy than sharing the gospel. Of course all the experiences I get here are cool. It is cool to be halfway across the world. To experience the culture. Try the food. Etc... But what I have seen truly makes me happy here is sharing the gospel, seeing the light as others learn the truth of God and the Atonement of His son, Jesus Christ, and then finishing the day knowing I did my best to follow God's will and bring his children closer to him. This work is true, and I am so grateful to be a part of it.

See you all next week!

Elder Watson/ Nghiêm