Sunday, January 25, 2015

Transfer News - Elder Joshua Avery

Written by Elder Joshua Avery, serving in the Singapore Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, speaking Mandarin Chinese.

(We shouldn't forget....they are still boys :)
Hey Family and Friends!

Transfer news just arrived, and I will be staying in Ipoh with Elder Li! Ahhhhh! I am so excited, haha :)

This week was the best! And I got a good keyboard today. Here is your weekly update.

Monday we taught J** about the Plan of Salvation. He understood it very well and had great questions. He expressed to us that he wasn't sure if alcohol is bad, and said that the temple seems secretive so he is not sure how he feels about it. While we were teaching him, I told him if he is unsure if alcohol is bad for him, he can ask God and He will tell him. After I said that, J** knocked over his glass beer bottle on accident and it shattered everywhere. He was embarrassed, but he was not too sad because he also had a can of beer. Not too long later, a big gust of wind came and knocked his can over and spilled the beer out. He salvaged some of the beer and put the can back on the bench where we were sitting. Then, God kindly knocked it over one more time so that J** got the message. He left a little freaked out and said that he needs to stop drinking. He was still confused about coffee and tea.

Friday we met with as many members on our branch list as we could find. The list is outdated and home teaching here is practically nonexistent. Hardly anyone answered the doors, and those who did had lived there for a while after those on our list moved. We also stopped by a potential investigator named Mr. C** and he said he would meet with us after church. Before we left he grabbed my **, which was not okay! I had gotten a weird vibe from him before, and Elder Li thought it was in my head. We ended up not meeting with him on Sunday because he failed to show up. Not sure if he is interested in the church or in us...ick! I talked to the other elders and they said stuff like that happens sometimes. They both had some unpleasant stories. Pray for me! I really would hate to punch someone in the face....

Sunday was awesome. Three of our investigators were at church! Our branch attendance was over 100 members, which was so awesome. I think that is a record! We taught J** after church and he is committed to giving up tea. He didn't understand why he is supposed to give it up, but he said he would. After the lesson we gave him a priesthood blessing. After the blessing he told us that he realizes that the coffee and tea feed his addiction to alcohol. The coffee makes him crash, which makes him want to drink alcohol, which makes him thirsty, so he drinks tea. Hopefully he will commit to a baptism date soon.

I** is out of the hospital and found a new place to live. He is scheduled for baptism the 14th. That came out of nowhere! He came to church and is doing soooo awesome :) That was a miracle.

TTFN,

Elder Avery

Miracles (January 19, 2015)

We Are All Broken  (February 2, 2015)