Sanchong District - Week 10

January 02, 2018

Sanchong District - Week 10 - Happy New Year!

新年快樂！Happy New Year! Last night, Sister Clyde and I took a 50 minute nap starting at 11pm and then woke up in time to ride the elevator to join some celebrating folk on our apartment's roof. No way were we going to miss the Taipei New Year's festivities (good thing today, January 1, is P-day!) At 12am the Taipei 101 exploded in fireworks and we cheered to welcome in the new year. Since we are missionaries and we can't afford to party all night, we quickly returned to our beds and I fell asleep to the popping and cracking of fireworks outside my window. The new year has begun, my friends!

I can't wait.

In Preach My Gospel there is a quote by M. Russel Ballard that has been inspiring me since I first read it while in the MTC. I think it fits perfectly with the arrival of a new year, so I'd like to share it with you.

“I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life."

I invite you to take a moment and reflect on what you want to accomplish today, this week, this month, this year, this life! You can achieve anything you desire to achieve, I'm telling ya! All it takes is some serious goal setting and careful planning. I have seen it work in my life, and especially in my mission so far. Our work revolves around quality, prayerful goal setting and follow-through. It's how we find people to teach and continue helping them on their pathway to Christ. I'll give you an example. Wang Jie Mei, Sister Clyde's and my investigator that is getting baptized and confirmed next Sunday, would not be betting baptized right now if she hadn't set that goal with us! We carefully and thoughtfully set the date as a goal for her to work towards, and it allowed both us and her to have something specific (and life-changing) to reach for. From the time we first started teaching her until now, we have been discussing her needs, carefully planning and preparing to teach her, extending commitments and invitations to her, and following up almost daily. Wang Jie Mei is just awesome and so prepared and has been doing the things necessary to accomplish her goal. Now she is excited to make one of the most important decisions she will ever make in her life, and we are so happy to see her so happy.

Go out and do amazing things, my friends! Set a real goal and make real plans! You CAN do it through the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Because of His infinite, atoning sacrifice, we have the opportunity to improve ourselves daily. We can repent of our mistakes and be free of any guilt or shame from the past. We can move forward. I love the New Year because it's ALL about that, but did you know that you can have that 重新的開始， fresh start，way more often than at the beginning of each year? You can repent EVERY SINGLE DAY. We should repent every single day! It allows us to move forward and become better. Now that's something to be excited about!

I love you all (I think you know that by now).

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Happy new year from my roof top!