Sanchong District - Week 4
Hello friends! This week has been awesome (as per usual). My
fav part of being a missionary is watching our investigators develop faith in
Jesus Christ. When they say they're willing to get baptized, or, even better,
say they'll get baptized, AND come to church AND keep commitments, I feel an
excitement spread through me. It's a joy unlike any I've experienced. My
happiest days are when these people I've begun to really love take small steps
to come closer to Christ.
I'm struggling with the language barrier, admittedly. I
still don't understand more than half of what others around me are saying. As
investigators share with us in lessons, I do my best to pick up the details of
their personal experiences. However, I often just feel completely out of the
loop. It's honestly quite frustrating.
Well. Today I was reading in the December edition of a
Church-produced magazine called the Liahona. (Pretty much the best magazine out
there, just so y'all know). Anyway, I'd like to highlight some of my fav parts
of the article entitled "Joseph Smith: Strength out of Weakness.” It was
about Joseph Smith, a boy with too inadequate an education to be considered of
the world as "learned" or even "strong." Joseph mentioned
in a letter to William W. Phelps in 1832 that he was trapped in "the
little narrow prison almost as it were total darkness of paper pen and ink and
a crooked broken scattered and imperfect language." But even though he was
weak in writing and language, the Lord chose him to translate The Book of
Mormon. What the?! How did he DO it?!
The article outlines that in Jacob 4:7 it says "the
Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and
his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do
these things."
Joseph Smith gained the ability to do God's work through the
Atonement of Jesus Christ. And he did some pretty phenomenal things to say the
least (see D&C 135:3).
It happened to be absolutely perfect that I was reading
about weaknesses becoming strengths through the Atonement of Christ. I honestly
have times of discouragement--whether that be after lessons or after a meeting
with ward members--where I doubt that I will ever become sufficient in the
Chinese language and in speaking Mandarin. But I was reminded today that if I
just put my trust in Christ and work as hard as I can, my weaknesses can become
strong. The Lord needs me now to do His work, and He's not going to leave me
alone. Because I can't do it alone! I can learn this language, though, with the
Lord's help. He can help me become stronger. And He can help you, too! I
encourage you to pray to the Lord and ask Him to help you with the things you
struggle with. If you fully intend to do His will and do your best, He will
direct your path. He will make you more than you ever could be on your own.
I love you all!
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Now that we have smart phones, we have to spend 2 hours a day transferring data from the paper area books to our area book app....
With our AWESOME investigator Wang Wei...
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