Hualien - Week 27

What's up friends and fam? How is it going?! Besides the bugs that are eating us alive here, Hualian is treating us well. I was told that Hualian was a place of miracles and it is! But I realize more and more that everywhere is a place of miracles if you're looking.

This last Friday, April 27, our 9-year-old friend, Kai Rui, was baptized by a member of our bishopric. He was absolutely beaming as he entered the water. It was the kind of smile he was trying to hide but it was impossible because he was so excited. Joy filled my heart as I observed.

When Sister Tu and I showed up to Hualian, there happened to be this sweet little boy who was being prepared for baptism by the previous sisters here. His mom, Sister Chen, was also an investigator with the same baptismal date, but her husband wasn't letting her come to church so she couldn't take her children to church or prepare to be baptized herself. However, an amazing member who lives a couple doors down from them, Sister Zhuang, had been taking Kai Rui and his little sister to church weekly. (This member actually introduced the family to the missionaries a couple years ago and helped Kai Rui's older brother and sister also get baptized.) Sister Tu and I wanted to do everything we could to teach Kai Rui all he needed to know and think of a solution to help him continue to come to church. We, along with that member of the bishopric, visited the father and mother, and while there is still more to be done to help the family, Kai Rui was able to get baptized.

The moral of this story is that we, the missionaries, would not be able to do the Lord's work without help from the members of the church. Period. We NEED help from the members in order to help these people who are trying to decide whether or not to join the church and enter into a covenant with Heavenly Father. In my case, I am just a 20-year-old girl who only kind of speaks Chinese and doesn't have background in Taiwanese culture. Without the knowledge and experience of members who are willing to offer their assistance, I don't know what we'd do! Sometimes I feel like we don't do anything except try to be exactly obedient, pray (a lot), and plan. And ride bikes from place to place. We just do our best to be where we ought to be when we ought to be there, and do what we ought to be doing. And then when members reach out in love and minister to our investigators, to one another, and to their own non-member friends, great things happen.  

President Monson said in his 2013 "Welcome to Conference" talk: "Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together, to work together, to labor in the Lord’s vineyard to bring souls unto Him. He has prepared the means for us to share the gospel in a multitude of ways, and He will assist us in our labors if we will act in faith to fulfill His work."

Here are a few simple ways you can do member missionary work (things we love to see members do here that help us monumentally):

1. Live the gospel so you can be an example of the believers (1 Timothy 4: 12) and represent Jesus Christ. (This one, as simple as it sounds, isn't exactly easy, of course. It takes effort every single day. As we exercise faith in the Savior, we all can do this!)
2. Share your favorite scripture, a church video, or a quote from General Conference over social media or with a specific friend.
3. If you see someone at church or at an activity you don't recognize, go up to them and say hello. Ask them their name. Help them to feel welcomed.
4. I know it is different in Utah, but if you know missionaries in your ward, be willing and available to join in on a few of their lessons, share your testimony and experience, answer questions, and fellowship an investigator! Fellowshipping means to be a real friend in and out of lessons.
5. Pray, pray, pray to be inspired about who you can share this message with. Who can you invite to a church activity, a baptism, a missionary farewell, or to meet with the missionaries? Heavenly Father is preparing the hearts of people around you (Alma 16:16)! And whether or not your friend or family member accepts your invitation, you succeeded because you did your part. An invitation is a success in God's eyes!

I also invite all of those who are not members of this church to listen with love when a member friend shares their testimony with you. They do it because they love you, and no matter what happens, they will always cherish you as their friend! I love you all and I know Jesus Christ loves you all too. You're amazing, keep up the good work.

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