A Little Seed was Planted

From Karsten Hinckley

Teaching in Thailand 

You never know what happens to those little seeds you plant [as you talk to people about the gospel]. The zone leaders came on a switch-off this last week and I was to switch-off with them. One of the zone leaders served with Elder Christenson, who was my companion in Chaing Mai. Elder Chris and I were going down to transfers a while ago and we met some people from England on the train. Before we said goodbye, one of the people we were talking to said she always found the missionaries to be rude and didn’t want to talk to them. She thought we were nice and said that when she goes back [to England] she will give the missionaries another chance.  Well I didn’t think anything of that. Elder Christ kept in touch with this girl from England by email. She felt that she could trust the missionaries because of us. She found the missionaries one day and allowed them to teach her. Can you guess what happens next? She was then baptized a member of the Christ of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!

When the zone leader told me this story I was so happy! Joy filled my heart! All I could do was to thank Heavenly Father for putting us in the right place at the right time. Do you see what a train ride can do for someone else? A little seed was planted and it was harvested in the Lord’s time! Then her mother started taking the missionary lessons. I don’t know where her mother is at with learning, but can you see what an impact you can have on others. Even if it’s trying to go get that lost sheep or talking to strangers on a train, you never know what will happen.

I challenge you all to live your life in a way that others will see that you are different. Just like President Thomas S. Monson said," You need to stand out, you will be different." I cannot explain the happiness I felt after hearing this!

Miracles at Home

From David and Viola Ricks

Teaching in Germany

One of the miracles of serving a mission sometimes happens with those we love still at home.

Our son James, and his wife RaTray and their baby Kaleb were sealed in the Twin Falls Temple last Friday.  We are so proud of them and are happy to see them become an eternal family.

Elder and Sister Ricks

President Gordon B. Hinckley taught, “There is a constant need for more couple missionaries. They perform wonderful service throughout the world. You [leaders] need not wait for the couples to volunteer. The sacrifices associated with serving the Lord full time will abundantly bless the couples, their families, and the people they serve.”

 Couple Missionaries: Blessings from Sacrifice and Service

Senior Missionaries and the Gospel

In the Right Place at the Right Time

From Cambree King

Teaching in Honduras

Imagine finding an investigator named Moroni who is reading the Book of Mormon. Crazy Crazy!

 Last week, an hermana came to church on her own. Her husband passed away about two weeks ago and she just decided that it was time to better her relationship with the Lord and found out the answers to all of her questions. We finally found her house and she accepted a date to be baptized. This Sunday, we went back to her house and her son was there as well. It was Moroni; we asked him if he would like to be baptized and he smiled and said, "Of course." We explained that if he wanted to be baptized, he had to listen to our messages when we came so that he could learn what was necessary. He just looked at us and said, “Okay... when do we start?” We laughed and then continued to teach the plan of salvation. He is only ten years old but knows all of the Book of Mormon stories. He even asked us why the forbidden fruit was forbidden for Adam and Eve! What kind of ten year old has a question like that cross his mind! Man it was crazy and a real blessing from the Lord.

The Lord helped us this week be in the right place at the right time and has guided us to many of his prepared people.

 

A Changed Life

From Zander Cook

Teaching in Cambodia

For the last couple of weeks, Vwnaa and his wife Ming Li and their 4 kids – who are members in our branch – are always coming with us to help teach lessons. (The youngest 2 daughters are the cutest things ever, especially the baby girl who is, like, 4 or 5ish and has become my best buddy over in this country).

Elder Cook with Vwnaa, Ming Li and family.  Siem Reap, Cambodia

 As missionaries, we feel bad because Vwnaa “moto dopes” for a living – which means that if he isn’t working, then he isn’t making money. Moto dope means that you sit on the side of the road with your moto (motorcycle) and if someone needs a ride, you put them right behind you and you take them where ever they want to go. It is Cambodia’s version of taxis. So in order to provide for his family, he drives people on his moto all day. A good “moto doper” can make about 5 dollars a day and that is about what Vwnaa makes. We always feel so bad when he is helping us because that means he isn’t out working and making money to feed his family. 

For the last 3 weeks or so, he has been helping us like crazy. He calls us asking if we were going to teach Ming Sokom or other investigators and if we are, he comes to help us. He always brings the whole family (all on one moto of course). So the guy is super poor, but really doesn’t care so much about working, but rather just serving the Lord. Well, the Lord paid him back this week. 

So on Wednesday while he was out “moto doping” he met some white guy. The guy told Vwnaa to take him to a Tuk Tuk shop. When they got there the man told him to get off his moto and then told Vwnaa to pick himself out a tuk tuk that he liked. The guy then paid for it and then just disappeared. Vwnaa said he didn’t know who he was or where he was from, just that this guy dished out a thousand dollars to buy him a Tuk Tuk and then was gone. I don’t know if we can comprehend how big of a miracle that is. A Tuk Tuk driver can make 50 dollars a day driving people to see Angkor Wat. That is a 1000% increase in salary each month from a “moto doper”. Can you imagine what you would feel like if you got a 1000% increase in salary???

So obviously Vwnaa was so stoked that he drove the thing right to church to show off his blessing to the whole branch. It was super cool. I am so happy for the guy. No one deserved something like that more than he did. The guy is a stud and now he will have a changed life because of some random white guy, who was obviously inspired by the Lord, blessed him. There are miracles around us every day and the Lord rewards us all according to our labors. I saw that first hand this week

Ming Li and her kids on the new Tuk Tuk

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I Had An Undeniable Feeling That We Had To Invite Her

From Cambree King

Teaching in Honduras

On Sunday, the elders in our district had a baptism and we really didn’t have any reason to go but they kept calling us and telling us to come. So, as it was starting, we headed to the church. A mototaxi offered us a ride and took us right up to the door of the church because it was pouring. But about a block before the church on the corner was an hermana that sells ojuelas (fried tortilla things) that I have seen several times. As I looked at her on the corner, I felt an undeniable feeling that we had to invite her. The baptism was waiting on us and it was pouring rain and I about didn’t go back. But I knew I couldn’t walk in without inviting her. The Elders came out to let us in and I just said, “You have to wait. Give me a minute,” and they kind of freaked out. But we went down and invited the hermana to come to the baptismal service. She didn’t even hesitate and came with us. I don’t know what difference it made in her life, but I know that she felt the Spirit and I am so grateful that I listened to the Spirit in that moment. Sometimes, we don’t understand why the Spirit tells us to do certain things,  but the Lord has a higher manner of thinking in all ways. 

On Tuesday, we went to contact a block close to our house. A week ago, we promised the Lord that we would be there at that time and that we would knock every door of the block. Of course we found some very interesting people, but the Lord blessed us with Mario and his two boys. Mario has heard of the church quite a bit in his life but i think that now is just his time. He has had a bit of alcohol in his life but he has decided that now is the time to leave it. In college, he was studying to be a sacerdote in the catholic church but got with the wrong group of friends and he said that it has changed his life. We invited him to commit to pray to know if he needed to listen to our message. The second time we went back he said that every single one of them had prayed about our message and that the answer was a clear yes that they needed to open the door to us. He claims it is a miracle that he even let us in the first time, but he has so much potential.