April Pictures

Nathan played ultimate frisbee with his fellow missionaries in Singapore on p-day either this week or last.

Here is a picture of his previous companion, Elder Shirley (taking the picture), and the one before that, Elder Gould (the stone faced one).

I think this is their mission office and also where the Chinese ward meets in Singapore.

Pictures from Nathan in April...  Can't wait to hear more about them one day.

Yang Da He

Hello! 

Greetings, from the land of Singapore! We had some great things happen this week, and we saw some really cool miracles. I have to go, I am sorry I can't write more, but I will talk to you next week!

He brought a referrals to English class, and then one of them to church. It is amazing to see his desire.

The subject line of the week comes from the awesome investigator that we have right now. His name is Yang Da He and he is a champ. He is from China, investigating the church (he was a self-referral when he brought himself to church (his parents are RC's in China)). He has a strong desire to be baptized, and he is very interested in the lessons that we teach. He has expressed his desire to change, and repent, and that seems to be the biggest concern for him right now, is the fact that he will make mistakes. He is on date for May 13, and we are excited at the effort he already has made to make sure he can come to work, and the effort he pledged to make so that he can continue studying. He brought a referrals to English class, and then one of them to church. It is amazing to see his desire.

Well, that is about all the time I have for this week. Recently I have been studying the atonement,and it means a lot to me. Last week, I read Mosiah 14 and it means a lot to me: "5 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

I have to go, I am sorry I can't write more, but I will talk to you next week!

The Prepared.

Hello, I am sorry that I don't have much time to email. Here are the major parts of the week: I got a new companion named Elder Elieson, we had Easter, and we met with a couple really cool people! 

This week was a bit hard for me, but we had some great experiences this week that will help both me and Elder Elieson. We had two, really solid new investigators from this week. One was a Chinese man whom we were introduced to last week. Both his parents are members in China, and he has been to church 15 - 20 times while in China. It was only when he got here that he was able to get in contact with the Elders. When we first met him one week ago, he expressed his desire to learn. In our meeting with him yesterday, we saw his desire to learn, and his eagerness to meet with us. He has a lot of background knowledge, but there is still plenty for him to learn - especially about the Restoration. The major challenge that we see going forward is his work schedule, because with his new job, he does not have a set off day, and so there will be some days that he will be scheduled to work on Sunday. 

The other new investigator that we met on Sunday was also really great! He was found by the Zone Leaders and we had quite a different lesson with him, since he came from a background with little knowledge of Christianity. We focused mostly on the first half of the Restoration, and our investigator is very sincere! Afterwords, Elder Elieson commented on how he thought we had had two awesome lessons. 

Well, that is pretty much it for this week! I had a lot of people ask me about Easter... it is pretty low key here, but there are a good amount of Christians here so it is still remembered. Not too much to report.

Sincerely

Elder Allen

Elder Allen Update

Nathan's time at the computer was shorter than expected today so he just had time to send out a quick email to his dad and me before he had to go.  Sadly no pictures again this week so I'm including a couple pictures of their apartment that he sent home a few weeks ago.  

It's transfer week (hard to believe he's already been in Singapore for 6 weeks and that this week is his 9 month mark). Elder Allen is staying in Singapore but will have a new companion, Elder Elieson. He says they both have the Chinese name Ai. I think this is because of the similarities between their last names. Is that right, Chinese speaking friends?  They are in a 4 man apartment in Singapore (in Malaysia before this, it was only the 2 of them).  I love this picture of Nathan's desk.  It looks like President Monson is peeking in the window.  That's quite a stack of books, isn't it!

I know Nathan would love to hear from you whenever you have a minute.  I don't know if he has had a chance to listen to or watch conference so feel free to share a favorite thought or talk from conference or any news or just say hi.  Elder Allen's email: nathan.allen@myldsmail.net

We appreciate your positive influence on his life! 

Teaching the Assistants

Hello everyone,

I have often read, but never written an email by a missionary who was rushing to send an email out before their time ran out. Now I have my chance.

This week was pretty good, and I had the cool experience of going on exchanges with one of the Assistants to the president. This happens because my district in Singapore covers the Assistants companionship. I had a good time "training" one of our assistants, but really just learning from him and having a lot of fun contacting people.

We had a cool miracle happen on Tuesday as we were coming back from lunch after our District Meeting. We started talking with this boy who was walking in the same direction as us, and we were able to share a brief part of the gospel with him, and then invite him to learn. We then met him on Thursday and he is pretty prepared, and is quite nice. We scheduled to meet him again next week, but we will have to pass him because he speaks English....

Well, that is all for this week! Thank you for reading my emails and for your support and prayers. My testimony that God will bless us as we keep his commandments is strong! I know that applies to us everyone, and I am grateful for a God who cares, and wants to bless us.

Sincerely,

Elder Allen