Welcome Home Elder Ly! November 1, 2018.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And we are back to business as usual...almost:-)

My final week in Vietnam!

This will be a quick email. Today for P-Day we will be going into the city (Sài Gòn) to a big market, and I will buy gifts for people at home, including you and the papa of course. I think we will also go to eat at a Mexican restaurant! 

I emailed with Bishop Hunter about scheduling my homecoming talk...I had a couple of return missionaries from Vietnam ask me when it was. We can't do November 4, because that is fast and testimony meeting, but perhaps November 11. Elder Craghead's is also on that day at 1:00 PM, so if we have 9:00 church that could work, because I still want to go to his as well. Hey mom, did Drew from the skating rink get in touch with you yet? I gave him your number, because him and possibly some other skating friends would like to come to the airport.

The Halloween English Event Night will be this Wednesday! Next Monday will be my last Monday emailing, so hopefully I can get everything set up with inviting people to my homecoming.

Love you and have a great week!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1-2.  District P-Day at a Mexcian restaurant! (Sombreros!)

3. Last Branch Council in the Bình Dương Branch!

4. Meal set-up for Bún Thịt Nướng (A very delicious Vietnamese meal with rice noodles, grilled meat, fish sauce, vegetables, and egg rolls).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Mexcian burrito.

2. Last picture with an awesome member, Anh Duy!

3-4. Last pictures with a family that I taught in my first area (Anh Hà, Chị Tú, Bee, Moon). The dad is baptized and has the Melchezidek Priesthood, and he baptized his daughter!

5. Dinner with Anh Hà, Chị Tú, Anh Duy with the four Elders! (Bún Thịt Nướng!)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, this will be my final email in the mission field!

I am so thankful and grateful for this opportunity that the Lord has given me to serve in His Vineyard among His children! It has been full of challenges for sure, but I have really seen how the Lord has been shaping me into who I have the potential to become. One thing that I really love about missionary service is that as we "cast our nets out to all at sea," the net ends up catching us. To me that really fulfills what the scriptures say about losing our lives in the service of others, and in the end saving our lives as well!

Lessons that I have learned on my mission- 

1. The Lord truly is preparing His children to accept the message of the restored gospel. Sometimes we need to find them, and sometimes the Lord will bring them to us. One really cool experience that I had with the Lord bringing someone to us was when I was serving in the Tân Sơn Nhất Branch. At church one day, we met someone named Chị Nguyên. She had already read from the Gospel Principles book, and she also had a friend who was a return missionary. She started learning, was baptized in the Tân Sơn Nhất Branch. It's amazing how we were just able to meet her for the first time at the church! The Lord truly does prepare His children to receive the glad tidings of the gospel!

 2. Humble yourself and the Lord will raise you up. I have seen many instances on my mission with companions where pride has really gotten in my way at times. There are also so many hard things that we are expected to do as missionaries such as learning a new language and talking to strangers. But, if we truly put our pride to the side, do our best to get along with others, then the Lord will truly help us turn our weaknesses into strengths. As we "lower ourselves" and become meek and humble as a little child, the Lord raises us up! 

3. Trust in the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ to change hearts. I really saw this strongly with an investigator that we had worked with in Hanoi, Em Hậu. As far as I understand, he did not believe in God before learning and while learning. But, he felt the spirit and started to believe in God, and he was baptized! 

4. Success as a missionary is not measured in how many baptisms we have or how many investigators we have. Those factors can certainly motivate us and be the results of hard work. But, the true success comes in the change that we see in others and the change that we in turn see in ourselves. The true success also lies in our commitment to teach repentance and baptize converts! 

5. Trust in the Lord's timing for His children. When I was in my first area with my trainer in Ho Chi Minh City, we worked with an investigator family: Anh Hà, Chị Tú, Bee, and Moon. Anh Hà seemed to really like what we were sharing, but there were problems in the family. They stopped learning for some time, but were eventually contacted by some other elders. As far as I understand, Anh Hà actually asked what he needed to do to be baptized. The family moved, and Anh Hà was baptized in the last branch that I served in (Bình Dương). While I have served in the branch, he has received the Melchezidek Priesthood and he baptized his daughter Moon! We truly need to trust in the Lord's timing for when His children are ready.

Overall, It has been incredible to see the growth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints here in Vietnam! When I first came to Vietnam, there were just 2 (almost 3) branches in Ho Chi Minh City. In Hanoi, I think there were two branches. Now there are 6 branches in Ho Chi Minh City and 4 branches in Hanoi! It's incredible to see how the numbers have gone up in terms of building the kingdom of God here in Vietnam, but it's important to understand why: because God loves ALL of His children, and He wants ALL of us to return back to Him!

I want to testify that I do know this is the Lord's work. I know that Heavenly Father has a perfect plan for ALL of His children, and I know that redemption and salvation come through the Savior Jesus Christ. I testify that the Savior's grace is sufficient to heal us, transform us. I testify that the Lord's work is hastening, and that Heavenly Father wants all of us to return to His presence, and that He has provided the way through His perfect plan. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

My homecoming halk will be on Sunday November 18 at 10:00 AM, 2465 South 800 East in Salt Lake City, Utah.  PLEASE COME IF YOU CAN! For any questions or information on the address, please contact my mom:juliann.jeppsen@gmail.com or call (619) 616-6138. I will arrive home at the Salt Lake City Airport on Thursday November 1 at 7:30 PM!

Love,

Elder Justin Ly (Anh Cả Dũng)

 

Coming Home Soon! Details here!

Here is a letter to my family sent from the mission president!

Oct 3, 2018
Dear Brother and Sister Jeppsen, and all the Family of Elder Ly,

Please find attached your son's travel itinerary for his trip home. As we mentioned in the previous letter, please don't send a copy of your missionary's travel documents to him and please don't spend time discussing these details with him. Our goal is to keep him as focused on the work as much as possible these last few weeks. We will give him a copy here and ensure that everything is arranged for his smooth departure and safe travel from the mission field. Elder Ly has been doing so well these last few months and we know he is anxiously engaged in the work trying to give his all prior to his return home. I have loved working closely with him and helping him learn to serve with all his heart. I really feel like he has grown so much in the few months that we've served together, and feel lucky to have be able to get to know him so well. He really is a fine young man and you can be very proud of his service here in Vietnam. The Binh Doung branch is really starting to grow and his help with this has been so important. In recent weeks they've doubled the number of people attending sacrament meeting in this small corner of the Lord's vineyard.

If you have any questions about his travel, please direct them to our Mission Secretary at
2052393@ldschurch.org. She will be happy to assist you.
Sincerely,
President Ross A. Chiles
Vietnam Hanoi Mission

(The itinerary is not attached to the blog for safety reasons.  Elder Ly will be arriving home on November 1st at 7:28 pm, Terminal 2, Delta Airlines Flight 198 originating in Hanoi, VN, coming from Seoul, Korea!  Please join us at the airport if you can!

Conference was Fabulous! Now for Halloween in Vietnam!!

Wow! Conference was just wonderful! I thought President Nelson's talk on the name of the Church and why we call it by it's full name was great! It's also so awesome that they will be building a temple in Cambodia! That will be closer for the members here in Vietnam! Elder Holland also gave a great talk about forgiveness. I always love to listen to the Tabernacle Choir for sure! It would be so awesome to be in the Tabernacle Choir! That was so cool that the missionaries from the MTC got to perform at General Conference! I really love one song that the Tabernacle Choir did, which is actually a primary song: "I will follow God's plan for me." The lyrics from this song are important for us to understand: My life is a gift; my life has a plan.

My life has a purpose; in heav’n it began.

My choice was to come to this lovely home on earth

And seek for God’s light to direct me from birth.

I will follow God’s plan for me,

Holding fast to his word and his love.

I will work, and I will pray;

I will always walk in his way.

Then I will be happy on earth

And in my home above.

This past Saturday and Sunday, we watched General Conference at the church, and we had a wonderful miracle from the Lord: we had 11 investigators, 2 recent converts, and 1 less active member attend the Conference from our area/companionship!

Do you have any fun plans for Halloween? We definitely do here! We are planning a special event night at the church for Wednesday October 24 where people can come to practice English and learn about Halloween! We normally have our free English Activity every Wednesday at 7:00 PM, but this will be a special Halloween event night that will start earlier at 6:30 PM. Elder Partridge and I will be doing Halloween Bingo! The sister missionaries will be doing a trick or treat activity, and the other elder companionship will be doing musical chairs to Halloween music! Also on this same day will be my last zone conference.

My companion and I currently have five investigators with a baptismal date: Chú Hải, Em Khang, Em Vương Anh, Anh Nam, and Anh Linh. I will just share about one of them, Chú Hải: He is actually our security guard at the church in Bình Dương, but he only comes to work there on Sundays for church and on Wednesdays for the English activity. In other branches where I've served, there is normally always a security guard at the church, but here is different. Anyway, Chú Hải is learning about the Gospel with us now, and he has a real interest in the Book of Mormon! He even got another security guard to come and work with him yesterday so that he could come up to watch the Sunday Morning Session of General Conference! The last lesson that we had with him, we set a baptismal date with him for December 23, 2018! He is a really nice guy, and does a great job as security guard!

As far as the horses at the church go, there are often times when we see them in front of the church. We currently have a senior missionary couple here in the Bình Dương Branch, Elder and Sister Braithwaite, who will actually be going home on Tuesday night. Sister Braithwaite likes to feed the horses. After the Saturday morning session of General Conference, we went outside and I pet one of the horses! 

Something cool: I now have a "My Family" pamphlet in Vietnamese "Gia Đình Tôi" for family history, so I can show that to Ông Nội and Bà Nội when I return home! I also have all the pamphlets in Vietnamese that could help them see and learn more about the Gospel!

Testimony Time:

I really love the hymn "Sweet Hour of Prayer," and there is a line in that hymn that I find very important: "I'll cast on Him my every care, and wait for Thee sweet hour of prayer." I just love that no matter what we are going through in life, we truly can cast on Him our every care, and know that He will listen to and answer our sincere prayers. I also love another line from this hymn: "In seasons of distress and grief my soul has often found relief." Our souls truly can find relief from the challenges of this mortal life as we turn to our Heavenly Father in sincere prayer. It is my testimony that we really can turn to our Father in Heaven in any time and in any circumstance and communicate with Him through sincere prayer. I testify that as we make daily and heartfelt prayer a part of routine, that we will find relief for our souls, and we will draw closer to God. We are His children, and He wants to hear from us. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love,

Elder Ly (in Vietnam-Anh Cả Dũng)

Here are some pictures!

1. Our English activity turn-out for the Basic Group this past week in Bình Dương.

2. With our investigator, Chú Hải, after the lesson where we invited him to a baptismal date!

3. General Conference Group on Sunday (right before eating lunch in-between sessions).

4. Out to dinner eating Bún Chả with the other elders (Elder Quốc and Elder Chính), an investigator (Anh Nam-on the left), and a member (Anh Duy-on the right).

5. With two of our more recent investigators, Em khang and Em Vương Anh!

Picture Time!

1. Cơm Gà Xối Mỡ-basically rice with fried chicken :)

2-4. Working on helping our recent convert, Em Huy, and investigator Em Tú, prepare talks.

5. Being anxiously engaged in the work of the Lord!

Here are just some things that are going on with me: I had my temple recommend interview with President Chiles, and I've got a new recommend (in Vietnamese). It will be good for three months after I get back from my mission. We also had Zone Conference in Sài Gòn, and at the beginning of the conference, Sister Chiles had us write down any questions or things that we wanted answers to. I wrote down this question in my study journal: "How can I truly come to truly love the work?" I received one answer during the conference that was so clear: If I wasn't loving or enjoying the work, then I just needed to get out and do the work!

1. Picture of our apartment.

2. Elders in the Bình Dương District.

Hello everyone! Xin Chào from Vietnam!

Miracles from this week: An investigator that my companion and I have been working with (his name is Chú Tú), passed his baptismal interview on Saturday, and he will be baptized next Sunday! He is in his 40's, and he speaks really good English (he is a Vietnamese person, just thought I'd clarify that). Another one: We have an 11 year-old recent convert named Em Huy, and he is so cute! He gave a talk today in sacrament meeting that we had helped him prepare for. He was so brave and he went up and gave the talk all on his own with the piece of paper that he wrote his talk on. It was awesome! Another cool thing that happened yesterday: A recent convert from the branch named Anh Hà invited me to be the one to ordain him to the Melchezidek Priesthood. That was the first time that I ever did something like that. It's cool, because when I was in my first area in the mission with my trainer (your trainer is your very first companion in the mission field), we were teaching Anh Hà and his family (they were living in Sài Gòn at that time). My trainer and I were not able to get them to be baptized while we were there. Eventually though, Anh Hà was baptized in the branch that I'm currently in, and he and his family moved to Bình Dương. So, it's really cool, because they were in my first area, and now I get to see them in my last area as well! Anh Hà has helped us in lessons too, and his daughter is getting baptized soon! Another miracle: We have been encouraged by our leaders to go outside of our apartment for companion and language study, and also for weekly planning. My companion and I did this one day and went to a cafe area for weekly planning. This man named Anh Kiệt started talking to us, and we had a good conversation with him. We invited him to our free English activity and to sacrament meeting. He came to sacrament meeting yesterday and stayed for Gospel Principles class! We think that he will start learning!

Testimony Time:

I would like to share my simple testimony that I know that the temple is the Lord's house, and that we can truly feel peace and the spirit when we go there. I love the lyrics to the song "I love to see the Temple: I love to see the Temple. I'm going there someday to feel the holy spirit to listen and to pray. For the temple is a house of God, a place of love and beauty. I'll prepare myself while I am young. This is my sacred duty." Please make time to go to the temple when you can, because it will bless your life, and it is worth the sacrifices to make it there. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Pictures:

1. Sunday dinner at the senior missionaries' apartment with our investigator Chú Tú who will be getting baptized next week!

2. Sleeping in a hammock for nap time (first time doing that...).

3. With investigator Chú Tú.

4. Phở xào bò (stir-fried phở noodles with beef and vegetables.). Delicious!

This week (week of 9/24/2018) my companion and I had a wonderful opportunity to see our investigator Chú Tú be baptized and confirmed on Sunday. I had the privilege of confirming him a member of the church, so that was really a great opportunity!

1. At our investigator's (Chú Tú) baptism!

2. Chú Tú, Anh Duy (baptized Chú Tú), and me. 

3. At Chú Tú's baptism!

4. Our Branch Activity at the park!

5. Cooking bacon (perhaps for one of the first times in my life...:)