This week has been amazing. Our ward has been doing a 40 day fast (every day at least one person will fast for missionary work) and DANG! It's working so well. Heavenly Father knows these people have real desire to be better missionaries. He is blessing us so much.
Our finding this week has been better. Less finding, but better success. We've met a lot of nice people and taught some great lessons. Though most of the people taught this week are either from Mainland China or not super interested, we were grateful to have the opportunity to bring them closer to Christ.
We taught Sister Chu this week again. We're truly at a loss as to what to help her with. She isn't making progress and doesn't really seem to want to. We're trying to work with the relief society president to figure out what to do to help her, but most of us are just at a loss. We'll just keep praying and hope that Heavenly Father will bless us with some ideas on how to help her progress to coming back to church.
We had two amazing experiences giving out baptismal dates this week. One was given to our new investigator Kelly, who is a member referral. She's doing really well so far and though her progress is slow, it definitely is there and I know that she'll be ready for baptism. She has accepted a date for December and we hope to get her coming to church starting this week so she can truly feel the spirit. She was really willing to accept a date and work for it. The second date was given to a former investigator that showed up to church a few weeks ago. We were finally able to reschedule Sharon. She has a really, really sad family life. Her husband struggles with a video game addiction and has left home for it several times. She is such an amazing example of strength, because even in telling us about how sad her life was she had a smile on her face. She clearly knows that a positive attitude will benefit everyone around her. We shared the gospel blesses families with her and she loved it. She has agreed to be baptized in the middle of January. She knows that the gospel definitely will change her life and will improve her family relations.
We saw Vicky (RC/LA) this week after forever of not being able to see her. She's doing really good. We taught her how to use the scriptures to study a specific topic- testimony. She loved it. She thinks reading scriptures that way is definitely far more exciting. We rescheduled her this week and hope to be able to keep her up on her scripture reading. I think once that becomes a habit she'll be doing a lot better and have a desire to read on her own more, and a desire to come to church.
We saw Sister Pon (LA) this week and talked about the temple. We established that she does have a desire to go, someday. But she just doesn't feel ready. So our goals now are to help her build up her own testimony rather than go off of everyone else's.
We decided to pick up Grace again for the time being. She is already doing pretty well and I think she'll continue to do so. She's changed a bit from the last time I saw her with my previous companion. She said she wants to be baptized but she isn't ready to commit to a date. But, this week's miracle was that she came to church! In the 6 months that I've taught her on and off, she's never come to church or even had a desire to. Even though she was on her phone basically the whole time, she was there, and the tis progress. We hope that we'll be able to help her learn to focus more on what the teachers say and respect the time they put into preparing lessons. She's doing pretty well for now, though. We'll just keep her in the scriptures and slowly work with her to build up her testimony.
We've had two really good district meetings in the time since I've last reported. I'm pretty excited. I especially loved this last weeks, because we focused on teaching the Book of Mormon and the Restoration on the street in short amounts of time. I really learned a lot and we're excited to have some finding time to apply the things we learned.
overall, I think I'm personally doing okay. I'e had some really good studies this week as I've been reading in 3 Nephi. One verse in particular stood out to me this morning, about how the people went to the place they knew the Savior would be and waited for him. It made me really think- I can't help people come closer to Christ if I don't know for myself where he is. And I can't expect my members to be able to do that for that same reason. So I want to really be better at being in tune with the spirit and making sure I'm being exactly obedient so I can "find the Savior". It was a good study.
Haha. I love Chinese typos. Attached is a picture of an announcement about not having any water in our complex on Firday. And then the revised poster after the guards probably saw us on the elevator cameras making fun of the typo. I love bad English here. it happens all the time and dang, it's funny.
-Kuk Jimuih
Love you all! It's been a good week. Have a good week! (:
P.S. Conversations with mom:
(Mom has been cooking and freezing food for the big homecoming dinner): Wow. The food look awesome. I MISS AMERICAN FOOD SO MUCH. Roast. Pork. Pancakes.... dang. I hope you let me make you all a traditional Chinese meal before I head off to Cali. I'm learning a few tricks and though it's nothing like the buhndeihyahn (natives) I can cook a little. at least, i make good rice. haha.
(About the new nanny job in San Diego- reporting for duty January 4) I did get an email (from the family). They look and sound so nice. I'll respond to it in just a second and then forward it to you. I'm still in. The more I think about it the more at peace I feel. I'm nervous because it's something I've never done, but I feel so good about it. so good. and I'll go to the temple today and keep praying, but it just feels right. Don't worry about it being influenced by anything else. I know Heavenly Father wants me to take it. Not sure why yet, but I'll do it. I'll do anything he wants me to. I'll be happy to share my music with her kids too, that would be so fun. I hope you come down to San Diego and just hang out sometimes on the weekends (like when you come to visit). we can go to the temple and hit up old town and oceanside beach! (my current companion is from oceanside, the one I'm training, and I keep making jokes that I'll go visit her family for her). wow, I'm so excited. so so so excited.
(All registered for online classes): I would love to see my classes- I like the idea of having a lesser class load and then doing two over the summer. That would be really great, actually. especially if I won't have to work during the summer.
(NO clothes fit anymore): Yeah, I still have some stuff at home that is in good shape. Not sure how much of it fits, though. I've lost about 40 pounds in Hong Kong... so... yeah. haha. some things just don't fit anymore. most of my clothes now don't fit and aren't coming home with me.
(Note to mom): I have to say thank you for supporting me out here, and helping me get all that stuff done. I know I'm where the Lord needs me and though I am excited to come home, I still have a month left to change some lives. I pray with all my heart that someday soon I'll have the chance to come back with all of yo, because this place has changed my life. I never thought i would love Hong Kong but I do. If nothing else has come of this experience, I have changed and I have set an example for my siblings. I pray that they can also serve missions because I truly, truly am a changed person. I couldn't have ever handled marriage if I didn't do this! companions are SO HARD. the things I've learned have helped me learn how to handle my future family. I am so grateful to be here. so grateful. so much grateful. so thank you so so much.
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