HEY everyone! It's the new year!! So many Holidays! We are going to watch the fireworks at Taipei 101 from our apartment.
This week has been pretty great! We were able to street contact a lot and just try to figure things out. Elder Welch and I were also able to teach a few lessons. One day was pretty interesting. We met with a former investigator and had a lesson with him on faith. It went pretty well, and then we asked him if he would he williNg to be baptized in the coming months. HE SAID YES! Here comes the kicker though...we asked him if he could continue to read the Book of Mormon and pray. He sat there and thought about it for awhile, and then flat out said no. We were super confused. We've never had anyone agree to be baptized and then not be willing to pray or read. He said it didn't work for him before, so it wouldn't work now. We're going to try to keep working with him though.
Another day we were just walking around and then decided to walk into an Okay Mart. We saw a guy sitting down, and then he started talking to us in English. He was a pretty nice Chinese guy and he told us about all of his experiences. He's been to almost everywhere in the world and he loves to learn. He also looked like he was 50 years old. We tried to guess, but turns out he is 70. It was the craziest thing. Anyways after awhile of talking, he let us start to talk. We asked him if he cared to find God. He said YES. He'd been searching everywhere to find what was true and right. He went everywhere and learned from almost every religion. We were really excited, but when I brought out the book of Mormon he kind of backed away. We wanted to give it to him so he could learn for himself, but he wouldn't accept it. I asked him why, and then he told me:"you wouldn't believe everything I go through to find the truth. I would do anything!" But he wouldn't accept the book, or try to learn from us. He was a very knowledgeable guy and he'd been all over the world which made him too prideful to listen. Every time I would bring something up, he wouldn't listen and say that I'm too young to know what I'm talking about. We left the lesson there and said goodbye to him. It was a frustrating experience to me, but I learned a lot. Never be too prideful to hear someone, and really be sincere in your desires, and people will take you seriously.
Well Elder Welch only has a week and a half left on his mission. We are having a lot of fun together, and I'm learning so much. We are going to try to work super hard this next week and half as a going away present. It's been a very fast transfer, and I'm grateful to have him.
2017 has been an amazing year full of awesome experiences. I was able to spend the first half of it at home with my family. I was able to graduate high school, go on a last family trip and then head on my mission. It's probably been one of the busiest years of my life, but for sure one of the best. I've learned and grown so much, and I'm looking forward to bringing that into the New Year! It's crazy to think that I will be spending the whole year of 2018 on this Island. It's for sure an adventure though! You're all awesome and I'll make sure to put some pictures of the hike we just went on!
This week has been pretty great! We were able to street contact a lot and just try to figure things out. Elder Welch and I were also able to teach a few lessons. One day was pretty interesting. We met with a former investigator and had a lesson with him on faith. It went pretty well, and then we asked him if he would he williNg to be baptized in the coming months. HE SAID YES! Here comes the kicker though...we asked him if he could continue to read the Book of Mormon and pray. He sat there and thought about it for awhile, and then flat out said no. We were super confused. We've never had anyone agree to be baptized and then not be willing to pray or read. He said it didn't work for him before, so it wouldn't work now. We're going to try to keep working with him though.
Another day we were just walking around and then decided to walk into an Okay Mart. We saw a guy sitting down, and then he started talking to us in English. He was a pretty nice Chinese guy and he told us about all of his experiences. He's been to almost everywhere in the world and he loves to learn. He also looked like he was 50 years old. We tried to guess, but turns out he is 70. It was the craziest thing. Anyways after awhile of talking, he let us start to talk. We asked him if he cared to find God. He said YES. He'd been searching everywhere to find what was true and right. He went everywhere and learned from almost every religion. We were really excited, but when I brought out the book of Mormon he kind of backed away. We wanted to give it to him so he could learn for himself, but he wouldn't accept it. I asked him why, and then he told me:"you wouldn't believe everything I go through to find the truth. I would do anything!" But he wouldn't accept the book, or try to learn from us. He was a very knowledgeable guy and he'd been all over the world which made him too prideful to listen. Every time I would bring something up, he wouldn't listen and say that I'm too young to know what I'm talking about. We left the lesson there and said goodbye to him. It was a frustrating experience to me, but I learned a lot. Never be too prideful to hear someone, and really be sincere in your desires, and people will take you seriously.
Well Elder Welch only has a week and a half left on his mission. We are having a lot of fun together, and I'm learning so much. We are going to try to work super hard this next week and half as a going away present. It's been a very fast transfer, and I'm grateful to have him.
2017 has been an amazing year full of awesome experiences. I was able to spend the first half of it at home with my family. I was able to graduate high school, go on a last family trip and then head on my mission. It's probably been one of the busiest years of my life, but for sure one of the best. I've learned and grown so much, and I'm looking forward to bringing that into the New Year! It's crazy to think that I will be spending the whole year of 2018 on this Island. It's for sure an adventure though! You're all awesome and I'll make sure to put some pictures of the hike we just went on!
-Elder Thayne
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