To Learn the Things of Heaven and Earth is BEST!

Family,

Hey guys!! Once again it was very very nice to hear from you and see that you’re all doing so well. I know that the Lord is looking over my beloved family and taking care of you guys very well. I’m grateful for my Heavenly Father that has promised to look over our families as we serve Him with all our heart, might, mind, and strength.

Mom, yes I got the package. Thank you so much. I really enjoyed everything in it. I have yet to drink the chocolate milk because it's warming up in weather right now, but maybe it will flip around and be cold for a while. The weather here is so weird. Yesterday it was perfectly sunny and this morning we woke up to pouring rain. It's funny, so unpredictable.

But this last week was an amazing week for us also. It's great to hear that your guy's week was so good with the business and all. It all just comes down to working smarter than harder. This is one thing that we really worked on this week. As we have done this very thing, the Lord has blessed us with Golden Investigators. This week we got a solid 5 people to church. We have about 7-9 that have solid dates and are progressing toward their dates. Although that may not seem like a ton, we are counting our many blessings. When we first started there was none. It's been a great change in the area, and it's been great to see what we can do with the help and inspiration of the Lord. I just think that is awesome what happened in the business for you guys this week. I know it was the Lord looking over those that follow the commandments. I can also testify that I know if we follow the commandments the Lord is bound to bless us. He wants to bless us; all we have to do is willingly without complaining, or doubt, follow the commandments. It will be OK, and the Lord will provide for you!

This week-

We had a really funny night. We had just gotten done teaching a lesson very far away from our house. So we decided to take a bus because we were running low on time. The problem was though, we were at the end of the month and I only had 100 dollars left and my companion had none. (100 is 3 American dollars). We had no money, so we got on the bus and started for our destination. We went and about 20 minutes later it felt like we had gone too far. We asked the bus driver what stop we were at, we had gone like 2 miles too far. So I beeped my bus card for my companion and I which took all the rest I had. So know we had no money to take another bus. We were just walking down the road thinking about how we could get home on time. Just to add to the drama, on the side of the road was a club, and all we heard from inside was loud music and chug....chug....chug...chug...chug. The great and spacious building right! We just looked at each other as happy as could be, started singing some songs with each other. We were thinking about it, 2 young men, in a foreign country, no money, tired worn out, but as happy as can be. Only on a mission could this be possible. So in order to get home on time we took a taxi. We just had fun with the taxi driver and he much enjoyed it. By the time we got to the home he just said thank you two so much. It was my pleasure. I asked him how much, He said "Bu Yong" Meaning don't worry about it. I felt bad because they don't make a lot of money, and this 100 dollars could have fed his kids, but he insisted. So it was a little blessing in disguise. It was a really fun night, which would only happen on a mission. But after this I decided this month I’m starting to get used to living by a budget. I've started it and it's been going great. It helps me keep track of my money, and I’m a lot more careful in the way that I spend it. It will be a great and necessary habit to learn for home!!

I also ran into a professor from America. I was contacting him and he wanted nothing to do with it. I just kept teaching him to try and give him a chance. He said look you’re young and have no experience I’m studying literature professionally for 40 years. I’m a very sophisticated man, I have no interest in the simple nonsense that you are teaching. Leave me alone. I just said "Sir you know nothing. I know this is true. Would you be willing to try and read the world’s most perfect book, in the Book of Mormon." He stated with a mad face, "No, now leave me alone.” After this experience I was thinking about it, the scripture in Book of Mormon that states the learned will learn all their lives, and be so much into learning and progressing, that they will never end up learning the truth. I also learned the weakness of man. Although he had studied intricately for so long, he had no power. He was weak. He was a man that counted on himself. At this I learned to be learned is good, but to learn to follow the commandment of God and learn the things of Heaven and Earth is BEST!! I love learning, and I know he will never know as much as even Abby knows, because she knows the truth, the most precious thing on earth. It was a great learning experience for me!!!

Also we were teaching one of our investigators Sister Ou Yang. She is a doll, she is amazing. She really wants to learn and know these things are true. She has a really bad habit about bad talking about a classmate with 3 other girls, also about her dad, because he isn't too good to their family. We were meeting with her and teaching her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We got to repentance and I had a thought so strongly as to urge forth my tongue to automatically speak. I asked her (completely off subject), have you felt the answer from the Holy Ghost yet? She said when I’m with you guys yeah, but not on my own yet, she was really sad about this and couldn't figure it out. Then I had the prompting to take her to the 10 commandments. We read "thou shalt not bear false witness" The spirit told her through me, that if you want to get an answer you have to stop this action. You have to follow this commandment. She just started crying, and we had a great discussion on how she could change. She really wants to change, and she knows it's not good, but she just doesn't know how. It was a great lesson, the spirit was present and all of us were edified greatly! I know the spirit is real, and will guide us in all that we do; especially teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and helping God's Sons and Daughters come unto him. It was amazing.

Also last night we had the opportunity to translate at the fireside. It was intense, but fun. I was a little nervous but it actually ended up going OK. The hardest was they showed a clip of President Monson, they already had it translated. I needed to translate for the English people in the audience. It was hard. Because first of all the apostles teach in big terms, and the translation was kind of hard to hear, But I think the Holy Ghost allowed me to get the point across to those English speakers in the audience. It was a great, and very fun experience!!

It was a great week. Filled with the spirit and almost all of our baptismal date investigators progressed and learned more about the gospel. I just would like to finish by saying I know that this gospel is true. I know it because I’ve felt it. I know it and will never deny it. I also know that the only true way of peace, comfort, and happiness in this life is the follow the example of Jesus Christ, and follow his commandments. It's that easy. I know that Satan is real, and he very much takes pleasure of the pain and sorrow of each and every one of us. We need to pound him in the ground, more fully sanctify our lives to the Lord and base all we do off the standards of the Gospel!! I love this gospel, I love the scriptures, I can't believe I didn't read them every day before I came on my mission. I love reading them; they are full of the power of God, and give answers to the soul. This is my short testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I love you guys so much!!

-Elder Rasmussen