Hello! Well, the end of transfer 7 is coming to an end with training calls will coming out tomorrow night and moving calls the next. It will be very interesting to see what fate brings within the next couple of days. It’s uncertain whether or not I will stay because this will be my 4th one in the same area. At the same time, Elder Reed has only been in this area for three weeks and still isn't quite familiar with all of the investigators and things like that. Who knows what will happen, the important thing isn't judged by who is in the area, but what goes on in the area which is most important.
This week we have a baptism!!!!!!! CHEN XU REN (RYAN) passed his baptismal interview. We found out after a couple of really wonderfully spiritually led lessons that he still had a whole bunch of concerns that needed resolving.We meet with him 4 times a week and call him every night. It’s amazing how much time he has, especially for a Taiwanese. In the process, he has gone from an almost dropped investigator to a ready to be baptized investigator! Yesterday we met with him and the 1st counselor in the bishopric attended the lesson. The presence of the spirit was magnificent as our investigator listened to us teach the basic principles of the gospel, according to the 5th lesson. We were supported with great Chinese and wonderful knowledge and teaching skills as Brother Liang, from the bishopric, supported our testimonies of priesthood, missionary work, eternal marriage, temples and family history, service, and enduring to the end. It also lead to a great reference of "Christian Courage" as we referred to Abinadi's suffering (overcoming persecution). The lesson we had previously shared was about Peter walking on the water, concerning faith. Ryan was scared for a couple different reasons, but after casually resolving all of his concerns, the spirit allowed us to invite him to keep his eyes on Christ and take that step of faith. Anyway, he is set for baptism, Saturday night at 7:00! (Mountain time would make it Sat. the 17th at 4:00 AM.)
What a miracle...sigh.*
As for the other people in the pool, "they" are called Sister Yan.. We had an AWESOME couple lessons with her. We have had two way awesome members attending the lessons, too. They help us speak Taiwanese with her because her Mandarin isn't very good. She is a taxi driver with a busy schedule, so we invited a member who is also a taxi driver with a busy school, who was willing to come to church to help us teach “The Sabbath” to her and it went so amazing. They hit it right off and the member did an awesome job of bearing testimony to her. She will come to church now. She is what we call a “slow progresser.” She is old, and she doesn't understand much but she likes it all and wants her family to come.
Speaking of not understanding, I'm starting to realize again that the Taiwanese people are completely oblivious to the need of a Restoration of a fullness of times. They just don't understand the philosophies of truth and the role that it plays in mortal existence. They say, "I believe in Buddha. You need to find those like you who believe in your God. I don't have time.” The one that gets me the most is this when they say, “Do good things, and it’s all good.” Happiness, peace, hurray! (SLAM)!!!!
Ha, ha, this is the typical Taiwanese philosophy. They need to be taught so simply, LIKE A CHILD, otherwise you will never find success as a missionary and they won’t comprehend a thing you are saying.
We have a new investigator who is as sharp as they come. He loves church. We tried to set a baptismal date with him, and after what we thought was a simple and easy lesson to understand, it was refuted with the question, “Why? I don't understand.” We had a member with us, too, to interpret if there were any miscommunication problems, and he still just didn't have any idea in the world why we need a Prophet. (We had just spent 2 lessons and a Sunday telling him why.) He just didn't get it. He didn't get our question when we asked if he had the desire through prayer to know if Joseph Smith’s experiences were true or not. He was so confused. It was almost frustrating, after what we thought was a clear and simple lesson, and to still to have this kind of problem. It ended up humbling Elder Daniels, a lot...again.
*Some people don't progress as fast as we want, so that’s when the Lord teaches us patience and humility.
Anyway, things are going really good around here and we have been blessed so much. I hope that this time I can give all the glory to the Lord so he can continue to allow me to see some awesome miracles happen here in the mission.
I learned the step on HOW to give the glory to the Lord and to do it His way. It’s by obtaining the Spirit, and the way that is best to obtain the Spirit with you, to help you do the Lord’s work, is through virtue. It’s by garnishing your thoughts unceasingly, so that through every hour of the day, you are worthy of seeing the blessings that Heavenly Father wants you to see.
I know I've been taught this a million times in my life, but not until now do I truly understand the importance of this principle. According to not only our actions, but also our thoughts can Heavenly Father unlock the deepest desires of our heart, which should be a desire to accomplish His work. (Finding the elect people). I know that as I keep applying this principle, Heavenly Father will pour families upon my head as a blessing! I challenge everyone at home to go and read the virtue section of Christlike attributes and be honest with yourself as you apply it to your life. Tell me if you do or do not have room to progress. Actually, you can do this with every attribute. Virtue is actually one I have never really thought I needed to focus on, until the half way point on my mission! And, I feel right now that through virtue, we receive the okay to develop any other attributes. Also as long as we are truly virtuous, we can put the work in the Lord’s hands and not rely on ourselves. THAT is HOW to give the glory to the Lord! Don't let any of the attributes become forgotten, you will find that the attributes you put to the side and you feel you are successful with end up being the place you need to do the most work!
Well family, I'm sure it’s been a long and boring email, hahaha but THESE ARE MY ACCOUNTS! I know I haven't gone through the painful process of engraving them onto plates, but these are things by which I rejoice and that of which I labor diligently to write...
Dong yu jun zhang lao ELDER DANIELS
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment