We did a ton of finding. I had several days where my feet just ached and I just wanted to quit sometimes. But thank heavens my cute companion is patient with me and we just kept on going. We didn't even teach any lessons on the street this week, but every single night we've come in and she's just prayed for the strength and ability to keep looking for those people who are really prepared. Recently, I've been studying an amazing talk called the Ricciardi Letter. Sister Escher found it from some missionaries in the New Territories. It has literally changed my perspective on everything we do as missionaries. It has given me even more of a motivation to just hit the streets and conquer all fear of man and just open my mouth and share the gospel. It talks a lot about the relationship between a trainer and trainee and I really have learned a lot and am now working on changing myself to be the best missionary/trainer I can be.
This week the only real lesson we taught was to our less active Sister Chu and her son. Though the lesson was chaotic as always (complete with screaming children and a fellowshipped that talks WAY too much in lessons) we could feel the spirit. Something I learned from the above mentioned talk is that when we are teaching, if we can feel the spirit then the people we can teach can feel it too, even if they don't recognize what it is when they feel it. That has really helped me understand that it's true- if we are teaching by the spirit, and the other people are in tune and willing to feel it, the spirit will touch their hearts. And though it doesn't necessarily mean a life-changing experience, that small feeling will help people better recognize their Savior's love for them.
We had a couple of good days at the Welcome Center. Both days we had members there with us and I just have to say having the members there makes it so much better. If there are no people on the street, it's a good time to casually talk with your members and build relationships. But when there are people, it's a chance for them to get involved in missionary work and a chance to see that you're out there working hard to bring souls to Christ. We taught a nice man this week that actually lives in our area! And though he's a little weird (but let's face it, who isn't?) I think he has genuine interest. I just think his attention span is a little short. He wants to come try out going to church, so we'll be sure to get him turned over pretty quickly to the elders.
I don't even know where to start to talk about what I learned in Zone Conference. I think the thing that stood out the most to me was that the culture here isn't weird, it's just different. That really made me rethink about how I think of the culture here. I'll admit, there a lot of things that people do here that I think are a little... well, weird. But Elder James was right. It's not weird to them- the things WE do to them are weird. We're all just here trying to learn to live in harmony with each other. Living in a foreign country for almost 18 months is quite the experience. It teaches you so much about how to truly love others as the Savior did, despite all our differences. It's been a good experience and I really have enjoyed learning about the Chinese culture. I can't wait to be able to further my knowledge on it by continuing to study about China upon my return.
Wow, we had such an amazing time helping out with the meeting with Sisters Esplin and Marriot.
OH wait. Forgot to mention what that is. Haha. Sister Niell Marriot and Cheryl Esplin from the general YW and Primary presidencies came to Hong Kong this week! They had special groups Sunday morning and afternoon where they met small groups of Hong Kong members and discussed the problems of the church with them. I had the pleasure and privilege of being able to be a scribe for one of those meetings. We got to meet and talk with Sister Marriot and then later that evening we were privileged to be able to hear from them I learned so much from them by being a scribe in the focus group and then by being able to listen to their message. It was an experience I definitely will never forget. It's so hard to find real opportunities to serve out here on the Island, so I am really grateful for the chance to be able to reach out and serve, even if it's still just in the church. It's a wonderful opportunity.
Last night I had the opportunity to run into some of the members I served with in Tsing Yi and I literally almost cried. It really hit me that I'm going home soon. and dang, I just love these people. I don't want to ever leave! Of course I'm excited to see my family. But these members here have taken care of me like family for 16 months (almost) and I just love love love love love them. SO much. So it was wonderful to be able to see some of the members from my first area. And all of them say I'm so much prettier than before (gotta love how blunt Chinese people are) so I guess that is a good thing? haha. love them.
Overall I think I'm doing really good this week. It's been a harder week but it's okay. The Lord will provide for us as long as we continue to be obedient.
Love you all!
-Kuk Jimuih
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