Sara had an awesome week this week! We were beginning to get worried because we hadn't received her email that usually comes Sunday night. Many times their P-day changes when they have an opportunity to attend the temple, but she was just there a couple of weeks ago so I didn't think that was the reason. However, yesterday, I checked my old email address and there her email was and it came at the usual time. I just didn't know it because I don't use that email anymore! Anyhow, we were even more grateful than usual to hear of her great experiences this week!!
"Blessings of obedience diligence... are soooo true! Thank you for all you prayers. I really feel like it is the constant effort that has been turning things around this week. I can very honestly say that this week was great! I felt so much joy in missionary work. It started with a fun P-day... Ice skating My companion was so cute and funny... Taiwanese people don't really ice skate ha ha ha. We had to wear a full-on helmet, elbow pad, knee pad, and glove set. I was laughing so hard. I looked like a professional even though it's been a while. We found out the next day that we are actually not allowed to go, so it was probably my own time going. We went with a member. She is so great and so cute! We get along really well. It is nice to have a Taiwanese member friend. The next day we had the opportunity to do a special training that was a really great meeting. We learned about how to use some of our new flyers and our family history resources. It is amazing how the Family History Program that our church has is such a door opener for many Taiwanese families.
The next days went well. Every day the Lord blessed me with either a contacting miracle, lesson miracle, or member miracle. I thought it was so cool to see how much the Lord truly loves and knows each one of us.
One cool story was it started raining on us when we were contacting, so we ran to a pavilion in the park where some others were gathered. Perfect teaching opportunity right? Well, actually a bit awkward because we are all trapped there together, so I decided to try and small talk a bit. It was so cool to see how the Lord directed my questions to smoothly into a gospel topic. The lady we talked with was there with her sister and she has been trying to find out if God exists for years! We were able to teach the whole first lesson and give her a Book of Mormon. She isn't in our area, but I felt so blessed to be the one to find her.
The next day we got to do temple tours. When we were doing the temple tours we were able to give a few unexpected tours that went really well. The best one was with Chinese girls here on vacation. They are from California and one of the girl's moms was with them. One of the girls was Christian, but they just thought the temple was so pretty. They also have one that they often drive by in California (Sacramento I believe). We gave the tour in English which was a bit strange for my companion... roles were reversed a bit. I truly felt the lord guiding me in what to say. They all felt the spirit so strong and at the end of the tour were asking for my email so they could continue to learn more. We had them fill out the temple cards and gave them Book of Mormon's. They were sooo excited and anxious to get started reading. I learned two amazing things from this experience 1. I do have power! I felt like a confident missionary and I can't wait until it is that easy for me in Chinese 2. When my companion bore testimony in English it was so simple, but powerful. Regardless of our language skills, the spirit does testify of our words. It was truly a gift to me.
Final miracle of the week was Sunday. So this week we have like no progressing investigators and I was pretty sure like no one would come to church. Luckily, the Lord answered my prayers for good weather and the past few days have been beautiful! We had one of our investigators who can never wake up go to church, a Less active who has not left her house in months finally came through and allowed a member to take her to church, and a few weeks ago our most solid investigator disappeared (she wouldn't answer her phone and her address was her work which was a big hospital so no way to find her... we did leave a card at her house and tried to contact her anyway)... Well - she just appeared at church and explained that she has been have some crazy work problems, but wants to continue her lessons and going to church.
One of our investigators that is supposed to get baptized next week also told us a cool experience. Her name is Sister Lui (common last name so no need to edit). She and I have a cool connection which is weird because she is very timid (especially around foreigners). It was so easy for me to relate to her and know how to help her. She has a great love of the Book of Mormon and I do to, so it was easy for me to answer her questions and guide her to places to study/relate scriptures to her life. She told me that she had a dream before and she knew I would teach her the gospel. I wasn't the one who found her, but I can testify that the Lord has a plan. There are truly prepared people out there. As I prayed to find the Lord's prepared children this week with a sincere desire to find them it has been amazing to see the spirit guiding us to the places we need to be to meet the people we need to meet.
This was truly a week of miracles! Still not perfect, but after the storms the Lord truly lets the sunshine pour out. Without the sorrow we would not know the joy. This week I would love to ask for prayers in behalf of our investigator liu JM. She is so great, but Satan gives so much adversity before they receive baptism and she could use the prayers. We are most likely going to have to move the baptism meeting back because of some complications, but I don't want her to be afraid or lose her desire so please pray for her and us to know what to do to resolve their concerns! Thank you again!
Mom you are so sweet! I got a letter from the Kano boys this week, so tell them thanks for me! It brightened my week so much. I'm glad you got my card safely :) I also want to thank you for your uplifting words... it seems like you always know what to say to help me! Special thanks to Aimee and Ben this week. Your email was perfect for what I am going through right now. Thank you for your words of wisdom! "
No comments:
Post a Comment