So THIS is What it Feels Like to be Stuck Inside as a Missionary

Hello everyone!

This week had a pretty rough start, but in the end it turned out really well. On Tuesday, Elder Yang was really sick and barely had the energy to walk. The hospitals here work the same way as an Instacare at home in addition to the long-term patient part, so we took him to the emergency room to get checked out. We just took a number and they sent us to the doctor.  He asked what Elder Yang's symptoms were and he was like "gastroenteritis, next" and sent us to get the IV and some medicine just like that, haha. He had to rest that day. 

Our ward family history specialist loves us a lot. He is retired and always willing to drive us places we need to go, so he was a life saver that day. While we were stuck at our apartment, it was a good chance to do some good pondering and studying. I was even able to get an appointment setup with a young father that met with the elders last fall, but then I started feeling a little icky, and I threw up! After that my stomach felt better, but I suddenly also had no energy and even standing was a struggle. We went to bed really early, and by the next day I was feeling fairly normal, if a little tired. Elder Yang also felt a little better, at least up to going out and doing what work we could. We met a new guy that day who was pretty cool and willing to learn more, which we were really happy about.

"A durian. Yes, it smells awful, and it's ridiculously expensive."

The next day we had zone council and received a lot of inspiration from that. I realized that recently I had gotten out of the habit of using the Book of Mormon scriptures I have prepared to share with people on the street, and that we could use the Book of Mormon to teach doctrine a little better, so we've been working on that. That night we met with the young women's president along with her husband in the bishopric, the primary president, and the elders quorum president, and discussed how we can help strengthen their auxiliaries and how they can help with missionary work. It was really great, and they all had great ideas and had a lot of desire to harness the full power of the ward to get our own chapel. We also learned how powerful women in the church are. We have a lot of great men, but our women leaders are all on fire! With them it was pretty much like, "oh we're already doing this and this and this, do you want to help out occasionally? "

 "Sure" 

"yeah we'll let you know when this stuff is so you can invite investigators" 

"great. Why don't you encourage people to invite their friends to these activities too?" 

"Oh yeah, we'll do that for sure". 

We were excited about that.

We've been trying for a while to get some traction in the member work here, and I think we're starting to make some progress. We have several returning members that are getting really close to feeling ready to come back, members are starting to reach out and minister themselves, we're starting to slowly find people through our own efforts, and I can feel this area getting ready to explode. I really hope we can pull it off, or rather, that we can do our part well to help the Lord pull it off.

This week I was listening to some of President Nelson's past talks from general conference as I was getting ready in the mornings, and I really liked his talk entitled "Joy and Spiritual Survival". In it he asks these questions:

"What will you and I be able to endure as we focus on the joy that is “set before” us?
What repenting will then be possible?
What weakness will become a strength?
What chastening will become a blessing?
What disappointments, even tragedies, will turn to our good?
And what challenging service to the Lord will we be able to give?"

I've really realized how freeing it is to look at challenges as opportunities to become better, to learn more, and even to have a taste of the sacrifice and suffering Christ endured for us, so we can become more like Him. I think that kind of attitude is one of the keys to finding true joy through the gospel. I know this gospel is true, and that it does truly bring real joy. I love you all! Have a great week!

Elder Ogden

"Almost like Cafe Rio. Not quite, but almost."

"Playing board games"

"Mangoes are here!"

"My companion's pork belly rice. He says the skin is the best part."

"Apparently soy milk is best served in bags."