I Had Goosebumps!

From Karsten Hinckley

Teaching in Thailand

This last week Elder Taylor and I have just been so lucky to be teaching amazing people! Great investigators. We were talking the other day and we came to the conclusion that we don’t want to go home. It has been amazing to see how the Lord has worked the past three months. We have seen so many miracles. 

One miracle was a former investigator that we contacted the other day. We made an appointment with her and she came. She is only 16 years old and she is one of the most prepared people that I have met. Her only problem is that her parents will not allow her to be baptized. I really dislike that. Sometimes parents just need to trust their children with a decision like this to follow Jesus Christ. We asked her," Have you ever felt the spirit before?" She wasn’t sure. For the next two days that we met with her we told her how the spirit could feel and how she could know. We fasted with her that her parents would open their hearts. Yesterday at church, after the fast was over, we asked her how the fast went.  She replied, "I did what you told me to do. I waited while I prayed and I felt something that I have never felt before in my life! I had goose bumps! I loved that feeling!" Oh, that made Elder Taylor and I very happy. We told her to write a letter to her parents about how she feels about Jesus Christ and how she would like to be baptized. Well, she did that and when she is ready she will give the letter to her parents! I am sad that I won’t be able to work with her anymore but that is okay. I was still able to see her progress! 

Sister Yuki told us of some missionaries experiences that she had the other day which has really strengthened her testimony of the Lord. She was in a taxi telling a friend about what she had learned at church. Her friends got out of the taxi and she then went home. In the ride home, the taxi driver started to ask her questions about what she was telling her friend. The driver was interested and she got his number. She then called us and told us she had an investigator for missionaries in another area. She was really happy to share the gospel with that person. I am telling you all that sharing the gospel is not hard at all and that it is possible. All you have to do is be ready to open your mouth when the time is right. 

The Holy Ghost Will Answer Your Prayer In A Way You Will Understand

From Karsten Hinckley

Teaching in Thailand 

Sister Rung this last week came into a lesson and was telling us how she was just having a really hard time. She was telling us about how her mother wasn’t accepting of her and this and that. It was really hard to listen to because she deserves better. She was just crying and I had a thought. I grabbed a few hymn books and told her that we would sing two songs. I knew that singing would help us say things that are hard to say. We sang, Let the Holy Spirit Guide and then I Need Thee Every Hour. The spirit was so strong! You could feel it so powerfully! After we sang and said a prayer she said that she was felt so much better! 3 days later we met with her again and ended up singing a song before we ended the lesson by singing The Spirit of God. It was just like the other day, so powerful! I challenge you that if you are stuck with a investigator to sing a song with them. It has really helped us and our investigators a lot! 

Brother Tong had still not prayed about Joseph Smith. He said he didn’t know how Heavenly Father would answer him. We have told him so many times that the Holy Ghost would answer your prayer in a way that you'll understand. In the middle of the lesson he asked," Can I pray and ask right now?" Well yes of course you can. He prayed right then and after about 2 minutes of silence he got his answer that Joseph Smith was true. He's getting baptized on June 12th! 

 

Today I called one of my [recent converts], she said, “Elder Hinckley my mom is interested!" That makes me so happy!

The Lord was Pointing the Way

From Karsten Hinckley Teaching in Thailand  These past two weeks I have just been so happy! I can say that we have worked really hard to deserve the happiness that we have right now but that would not be right. All of the success that we have had is from the Lords hand in the work. We cannot have done anything these last two weeks if it wasn’t for Him pointing the way. We have seen so many blessings and miracles these past two weeks. Thank you for your prayers for our investigators.  We were teaching one of our investigators sister Rung. She is Christian already and just this last week in one of our lessons she told us, “Okay, I'm ready to be baptized." That made Elder Taylor and I feel like a million pounds had just been lifted. On Sunday we sat down with her and she told us some things that had been on her mind. Her daughter is handicapped and people will make fun of her daughter for being the way she is. We expressed that we were sorry for other people and their negative words. She also went on to tell us how her daughter had not learned about Jesus before. We had only met her taught her once and Sister Rung was very happy. She cried as she told us the many things that had been on her mind. She told us," Here is where I feel I am finding my answers." She is progressing greatly! She has such a strong testimony. She has a friend that is a member here, who was once a member at her old church. That friend has been able to help her understand the Gospel. Elder Taylor and I have high hopes for her. She has a date for the 29th! Sister Nii passed her baptismal interview last Wednesday which made Elder Taylor and I very happy! We know that she is ready because she has told us. She tells us that she wants her children to come as well. She has a daughter that wants to come as well! I love that! After she passed her interview, we sat down with her and Sister Yuki and talked about the temple. We showed them a temple video that a member made about the temple and they felt the spirit. It was amazing to see their eyes as we watch the video. They are two people that are very ready to be baptized. One of our investigators the other day was telling us how she didn’t read the Book of Mormon but watched You-tube and looked on Google instead. "I did it because it was easier than reading", she told us. I flat out told her," Sister you will not know or gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon by using those things, they have to benefit." I think it hit her a little bit. The past few lessons have been really hard with her because she will just ask for blessings. It kind of doesn’t set well with us. We've tried to help her understand how prayer is more than asking, it is a communication between us and Him. We need to make a good relationship with Him. Well about two days later, on a switch off, she changed!! I was almost thrown off. She told us that she had actually prayed to Him and had a conversation. We taught the gospel and she accepted a baptismal date! She said the best prayer I've ever heard her say! I didn’t know what to think. All I thought was, “You are starting to understand!” I know that at times it will take a while for someone to understand, so don’t give up on them. Sunday! It was the best Sunday that Elder Taylor nor I have ever had on our missions. We had over a 100 people at church which never happens. We had many less active and investigators. The speakers were so good! The lessons were great! To top it off we had 2 baptisms! Almost all of our investigators saw the baptism. Sister Yuki and Sister Nii both bore wonderful testimonies! We had such a good week! All thanks goes to Heavenly Father and you for your prayers. The Church is True!

An Unexpected Miracle

From Karsten Hinckley

Teaching in Thailand

One day while we were at the church making phone calls before we go home we get a text from someone who wanted us to call them back. What happened next was an unexpected miracle. I call the number and a lady answered. She asks, “Is this the Elders?" "Yes", I reply "Well I’ve been looking for you”, she said. This lady goes on to tell me that she is a less active and how she wants to get reconnected with the church again. I asked her how she got our phone number and what she told me I couldn’t believe. Someone that this lady teaches English to held out our inviting card and asked her if she knew who we were. I remember the lady this member was talking about because we ate lunch together one day. After that we could never contact her and her husband again. Anyways this less active member took the inviting card and wrote down our number. After about a week or so the spirit prompted her to call us and it went from there. 

That was only the first miracle. We met with this member one day for dinner. She told us her story with the Elders before us."One day I just prayed to God to have Him send me the Elders and the next day at the grocery store checkout line she saw the Elders. The next time is the time that I met you. I prayed to God because I needed the Elders again and a week later my student showed me your inviting card which I snatched up." This lady is amazing! We sat down to talk with her for a while. She told us soo many things! She is very well educated. That first day she called I felt prompted to tell her to watch conference because it would be on that day so she could watch it. She said," It was great to watch conference again. It has been a long time since I’ve seen conference." As we were talking with her she had mentioned to us that she had been to the temple before and the spirit told me to tell her, “You should prepare to go back to the temple." Well I told her that and she said that was the best advice she has ever gotten. Before we left we gave her a Liahona which she thought was great as well. 

The second time we met with her she told us about a dream that she had. In her dream she saw her father and her grandfather. They were just standing there in their Sunday best. She said, “What I got from that dream is they were trying to tell me that they have already received the gospel and are waiting for me to go do their temple work for them." She told us every since she has met with us she has been less stressed with work and knows the Heavenly Father is guiding her life more. Meaning she can feel His presence in her life more. I think that is great she understands the feelings she gets. Another thing is that she understands what she needs to do as well. She knows she has some problems with commandments but right now she is trying to do all that she can to start keep those specific commandments again. One thing that we told her the first meeting was," Heavenly Father still loves you." She was thankful we said that because she said," I knew that I was always to love Heavenly Father but I forgot that He loves me too." This whole experience has taught me that someone you invite can help others find you. If we didn’t invite that first lady, the less active member may have never found us. This member needs your prayers. 

A Sweet Feeling of Peace and Joy Came Over Me

From Karsten Hinckley

Teaching in Thailand 

When your investigators finds out for themselves that what you have been teaching is true, you get a sign of relief. That happened this last week. Last Monday we met with Sister You-Gee. We have been teaching her for over a month now. We told her that we would watch the Restoration video with her the week before, but never got to it. We got to it Monday though. After watching the video she told us, "Mormon is true. I felt it myself - the Mormon is true." A sweet feeling of joy and peace came over me and I was just so happy! She went on to tell us that every time she comes to church she feels great! After she told us these things I then asked, "What's next?" She said, “I have to keep the commandments." That is what I like to hear. She doesn’t have a baptismal date yet, but we are still working on that. It's not when we want it, it's when she wants it. I love my missionary experiences! 

… This last Saturday we started our fast like normal. I fasted for our investigators and for miracles. We didn’t think that any of our investigators would show up today because they told us that they couldn’t make it. Some of our investigators came today and together with the sisters we had ten investigators at church!! Yeah!! The sisters had a baptism today which was great and their investigator asked me if I would baptize her. I thought, “Well, she doesn’t even know me. Okay, well if this is what she wants, okay.”  So yesterday I baptized someone! Also we had about six less active members  return to Church! One of the less active brothers was given the priesthood as well, which was awesome! 

… I am seeing so many miracles just about every day! The Lord works in mysterious ways!!