Ponderize - (n) 80% pondering, 20% memorizing.
1. Pick a verse of scripture.
2. Put it in a place you'll see often.
3. Ponder it frequently.
Elder Khiev told me about his history with alcohol: when he was a kid he saw all the old men drinking beer and he thought they were having so much fun. So at age 11 he and his friends started drinking together. They would get a group of about 10 kids and go into the forest to hunt little animals. They would use slingshots and sticks to kill rats and other little creatures and then go back into town and sell them for a couple of bucks. This would be enough for all of them to get two liters of "brown juice" each. From what I understand, brown juice is fermented palm juice. They would sit around like the old guys and drink until they were all drunk and then fall asleep. This escalated until he was 18 and drinking every day with his buddies and not doing much else. Eventually, his aunt forced him to come to church and learn with the missionaries. The rest is history.
Majestic
This week everyone left the city to travel back to their hometown for the holiday so we had a fun time trying out some new contacting methods.
My new secret weapon:
I decided to try taking this picture of Jesus and just going up to people and telling them I am a missionary of Jesus and asking them if they want to learn. Very awkward but it gets to the point. I tried this a couple of times and then I decided to pray and ask to be guided to someone who wants to learn. Sure enough, within the next hour I showed a guy my picture and he wanted to learn. God answers prayers.
We also passed out 800 flyers for English Class.
Today and tomorrow nobody is in the city so we get two days off to clean our new house and get things organized. It will be super nice because I downloaded all of conference!!!
I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet called of God. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God today. In conference he warned us of the dangers of this world and taught us to be better examples to others. I know that if we follow his teachings we will be blessed.
love,
elder osborne