So we are getting ready as a mission to enter into the world
of 2017. As we anticipate the miracles that will be coming our way, I thought I
would share something to let everyone know that this work is REAL: The number
of lessons taught with a member present has DOUBLED. The number of
investigators that have a baptismal date has TRIPLED! Our goal for family
lessons in this zone, which we thought would be difficult, was destroyed with a
number almost FOUR TIMES as large as the goal!
Upon invitation from a member of the Seventy, I have been
getting up five minutes earlier (with my companion, of course) in order to make
it so that the first things I do in the morning are pray AND read the Book of Mormon. I cannot describe how effective this invitation has been in increasing
my scriptural knowledge, as well as my appreciation for them. It wakes me up in
the morning. At the beginning it was rough because I couldn't even see the
words because my eyes were so blurry. Now it's better though. It even helps my
morning exercise to be more full and filling. I highly recommend it.
We are also working really hard with our ward's less active
members. The craziest thing happened this morning: Brother Chan, who has been
struggling with smoking for decades now, texted us asking us for some
scriptures that we could recommend to read on the way to work.
We also have a less active who made the decision recently to
break up with his girlfriend because of the lack of morality that was present
in their relationship. Another less active brought his non-member to the
christmas party AND sacrament meeting just yesterday.
I'm almost more inspired by these less actives versus
investigators (though it's not necessarily the most comparable of situations)
because I have seen a glimpse of how hard Satan has worked to wrap them in his
chains. Be it through addiction, immorality, or simply strangling their faith,
I've seen it all. It's a scary image to see someone who is screaming inside to
be set free from this prison. They came into the church for varying reasons,
some not necessarily being the most doctrinally correct. They established the
covenant nonetheless. As they progressed in the Gospel, they realized that the
missionaries that loved them and treated them like Christ Himself would have,
were gone in a few months or even weeks. The members that they were previously
inspired by seemed to become more and more alienated as their attendance at
sacrament meeting to renew their recently established covenants decreased. They
didn't know what was happening, and so they tried to find something to blame.
Members, their family, God, even themselves. As a missionary, we can act as the
good shepherd, but our actions are so limited by the language, nametags, lack
of social media, and other protections given to us by the Church for our safety
and benefit. This is where the wards and the members come in. Remember that,
while every member is a missionary, we should also remember that every
missionary is a MEMBER! We have the same covenants, the same struggles, the
same questions. That's why we can't just look at missionaries as this
bulletproof shield to go charging into a war zone. We are actually just another
tool that God has in his hand. A powerful one, but effective only in certain cases.
If God were to do everything through a group of thousands of tagged adolescents
with a slightly distorted sense of personal space, this work would burn and
crash than you could say Thomas S. Monson. God needs ALL of us, man, woman and
child, to put our shoulders to the wheel. He needs good home teachers, Sunday School instructors, Primary presidents, and overall good members. Baptism is
the Law that we promised on the stakes of our salvation that we would keep. How
can we resolve now to keep this law more fully, just as Christ Himself did it
to Fulfill ALL Righteousness.
Notes from Mom: This email actually took me by surprise! We were able to Skype with Ian on Sunday evening at 6:30pm. We were originally going to chat with him on Saturday evening, but got a last minute Facebook message from Sister Fong/Poon letting us know the update. The calls go so quickly, but it was great to see him. He looks so good. He sounds so happy. It is such a blessing to have a missionary. I heard it a thousand times, but I know for myself that it is true.
[He also sent some photos, as did Sister Fong during the week. She is my Hong Kong angel. She also posted some video of Ian singing with the choir, as well as some of the Primary children singing. Bishop Choi also sent a picture of himself with the missionaries. The thoughtfulness astounds me.]
Had some fun with the members at the christmas party last
night.
This is the other suit from Eric's. It's a dark gray (if the
picture didn't turn out well...)
.
This was the best I
could do with Christmas pictures. I never have time during these things to get
pictures, so I use my companion's camera and just forward the email to everyone.
The party was a TON of fun and very touching. We had messages about
participants in the Christmas miracle like the Nephites, Gabriel, Shepherds,
Mary, Joseph, and had a couple of people bear testimony of Christ. All of the
food was made from SCRATCH! THAT'S HOW GOOD WE ARE!
The other one is a head sized muffin that we made the mistake of eating in one sitting..
Some other baked goods...
Phone call pictures from the Tai Po stake center. I didn't realize he was talking to us on someone's phone! This photo is courtesy of Elder Walker. Ana took the pictures of me (Mom) while we were at Carrie's house. Our Christmas dinner was there on Sunday afternoon, Christmas day. We stayed up there for the Skype call.
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