This week was another wonderful one here at the good old MTC. My time left is getting shorter and shorter and we're getting ready to receive our flight plans THIS FRIDAY. Less than two weeks left! It's so crazy. We are starting to get really excited about Taiwan! Our teacher has been showing us some Mormon messages based in Taibei lately and it is BEAUTIFUL. My little photographer heart is so so happy (but so so sad not to have a nice camera). We are starting to get really excited to be teaching REAL people too. The investigators we teach right now are just our teachers acting like investigators from their own missions. It is good practice, but we are feeling ready to get out there and teach some real people!
In class this week, our teacher taught us this song that these little Taiwanese girls had taught to him on his mission. It goes "Jesus loves you. I too love you. It is just that simple." But in Chinese:) We all laughed as we sang it around our building, but really this is our message. It is so simple that little girls can sum in up. Christ lives and He loves you. Everything we teach is centered around that. There will be many people I will get to teach in the next 18 months, that will not know who their savior is. How cool is it that through me they will come to know
Him and how much He loves them? AH...I'm pumped.
We did our first complete English fast this past Thursday. hahaha man that was an interesting experience. hah No it was really cool, and fun to see how much we can do! But boy do we have a long way to go. We have a great, or I should say "growing," vocabulary of gospel terms, but our regular terms are lacking a bit. haha Asia here I come.... (insert stressed face emoji)
This week, I've been thinking a lot about trials, and have some thoughts I want to share with each of you. I'm sorry they're long, but they are worth the read.
I am reading in Mosiah right now, and specifically about Abinadi. His story is one that we have all grown up hearing. He taught King Noah and his wicked priests, they didn't listen, and he was left to burn to death. But this time reading through, many parts about his message really struck me. The first of which is that the Lord cannot deliver us if we do not repent. It is through repentance that we gain access to Christ's mercy and grace. Without it, God cannot help us. He would not be fulfilling the demands of justice if he did. BUT, he loves us so much that he wants us to repent so he can help us.To do this, he sends us trials and suffering to help us change. To turn back to Him and to reach our full potentials. King Noah and his people were very wicked, so the Lord sends His prophet Abinadi to warn them and inspire them to make a change. The people do not accept his message and try to kill him. Even after they persecute him and threaten him, the Lord sends him back AGAIN. He sends his servant once more to teach His people to repent. To re-invite them to come unto Him and be saved, because it is only through repentance that we can be. He warns them that if they do not, they will suffer afflictions of every kind. Yes, this is punishment. But more than anything, this is the Lord STILL inviting them to change. To come back to Him. Many times it takes us falling to realize we need His hand to pull us back up. Even sending down His floods and hail and whatever hardships the Lord promises these people, are PROOF that the Lord loves them/us so much. He loves us so much that He sent His beloved son, Jesus Christ. He knew we would stumble and fall, and in His infinite mercy, He provided a way for us to get up again. How much do you think it pained God to watch His perfect son suffer so greatly for our sins, and to have to turn away from Him when he called out for help? But Heavenly Father and our Savior knew this had to happen.
Mosiah 14:10 "yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him." The atonement had to be done to prepare a way for us to return to live with our Father in heaven again. So no, the Lord was not pleased to hurt His son, but He was pleased at the work that He was doing. He was pleased at the prospects of eternal life His children could now have.
This same line of scripture can be used for each of us as well. No, the Lord does not like to watch us suffer, but He can see the whole picture. It pleases Him to gives us trials, because He can see who we will become because of them. He knows we will be that much closer to becoming like Him. He knows us. He loves us. And He has provided a way for us to succeed in this life. There will be hard times in life. But these are given to us to strengthen us, to better us, to change us, and ultimately help us become like our Father in Heaven and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Missions are not easy. Life is not easy. But we need trials and afflictions to grow and develop and change. We need hardships to refine us. If everything is easy, what would we learn? How could we grow?
I encourage each of you to think about this and how it applies to you in your life. If you look at each of your challenges in this light, recognizing that you need them and to turn to the Lord, how much better they will be and how much more the Lord will strengthen you!
I love you all so much and want you all to know how much I LOVE being a missionary. A mission is a gift. It is an opportunity. And I couldn't be more grateful the Lord has allowed me to participate in His work! Have a wonderful week!
xoxo
Sister Richards
李姐妹
Lǐ Jiéměi
1- we got our swag tags this week with our chinese names on them:)
2- our chinese speakin sisters
3- we had to twin again to let sis Percival in on the action
4- we love the sisters in our zone!
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