Notes from Jon 8/14/2008

Subject: Cov txuj ci tseem ceeb

Nyob zoo!
This week has been interesting. We still don't have our cell phone back yet. It has been moved from Bloomington to Rochester, so that's a little bit closer. We are going to Rochester for zone conference tomorrow, so we can pick it up then. It has been hard to schedule things and confirm things because we don't have a land line.

We found a nice lady whose mother had just died that day. She invited us in and was pretty happy to see us. She was a former investigator from several months ago who was dropped because she said she didn't think she could ever leave Catholicism even though she liked what we taught, and liked our church. She wanted to know what we believe about life after death. She was pretty comforted. She REALLY wanted a copy of the Book of Mormon. The other elders were all out, and then they got transferred. She loves the Bible and studies it diligently, but feels there is a problem with translation: you can't ever know how correct a translation is. That is why she is so eager to read the BoM. The reason she said she would never leave Catholicism is because her mom told her never to do so. Right before her mother died, however, she told her she could do whatever she wanted. We didn't know she had talked with missionaries before when we found her. We just "happened" to be going down that street on the exact day her mother died, right as she "happened" to come outside, and we felt like we should talk to her. Coincidence is a marvelous thing, isn't it? ;)

Did I tell you about Richard's breakthrough? It's a long story, but pretty much he now has felt an answer to prayer, feels the church is true, but still doesn't feel he knows it, and now understands what to look for in an answer to prayer. The problem was that he didn't understand the true nature of God. It's hard to trust, talk to, and love a mysterious, shapeless, force. It's easier for him now that he understands that our Father is a person with a tangible body and a personality.

A bunch of good things are happening, and the weather is not quite so hot anymore, so I'm pretty happy. John Powell's baptism is still on for Saturday. =D

Love you all!
-Elder Moua Ying