Good morning America (or wherever else you are)!
This week was another awesome one, but what is new. We really saw so so many miracles this week from new investigators, to surprise people at church, to multiple free meals from members and investigators and A BAPTISM!
Our sweet 11 year old investigator, Zhu An Tong, got baptized this past week and we are so so happy! I'm not sure how much I have shared about her before, but I'll give ya'll a little recap. An Tong's parents are both members but are LA. They had a lot of problems and ended up getting divorced, and in the process, she never got baptized. Her dad has some mental problems as well, and so after her parents split, she moved in with her aunt who is very much anti-church. So there was not a lot of hope for this girl, until one day her dad decided he needed to come back to church, and she happened to be staying with him that weekend and so she came with him. They only came for an hour, but I noticed them sneak into the back and didn't recognize them. So, I wasn't about to let them leave before talking to him. ha! When talking to him, I learned about their background and said to him, "Well, we need to get her baptized then don't we!"
Since then, it has been an all but smooth process in teaching this sweet girl. He only has her one day a week, and only for a few hours, so we have to take the HOUR long trip out to his house every Friday afternoon. Because he is a single man, we also have to bother a female member to come with us to teach her. It is always a crazy time. Plus, Brother Zhu has some actual mental problems and is sometimes very hard to work with... Needless to say, we have all learned a lot of patience through this process, and I can now very honestly say I love this man! An Tong is so so smart, and LOVES church and the gospel. Last Sunday, we were sitting in sacrament meeting together, and she wanted to draw. We handed her a pen and paper and she just casually drew out the whole plan of salvation from her memory... so yep she is awesome! The main problem has been her aunt's opposition, but after much fasting and prayer, Brother Zhu decided to stand up to his sister and help his daughter be baptized! Never been more proud of the man:)
So the baptism... hah Oh boy was it a good one. It honestly went much smoother than I would've imagined with Zhu DX running it and all, but it didn't go without its hiccups. Our ward mission leader had filled up the font hours ahead of time to make sure everything was all set and ready to go, but what he didn't account for was the drop in temperature that would happen from the water sitting that long... When An Tong and her dad entered the font, she literally screamed "ICE ICE ICE ICE" and was chattering and shivering the whole time she was in the font! ha We felt so bad. But it gets better... As Brother Zhu dipped An Tong in the water, her long bangs floated to the top and everyone panicked. Instead of doing it again though, her father legitimately pushed her down farther until she started kicking and we were like "ZHU DIXIONG DON'T DROWN HER!" WE HAD TO TELL HIM TO LET HER UP. Our Ward Mission leader told us later "Well, that baptism wasn't perfect but there was one millisecond that all of her was under the water so it counts." haha We were stressed. But then afterwards, An Tong bore an awesome testimony where she highlighted the Word of Wisdom! hah All our little girls really love talking about the commandments because our lesson on the commandments involved a treasure map and candy. ha! Gotta get creative when your investigators are babies.
And of course, that just happened to be the baptism that our now #1 investigator Sister Yang could come to. She later told us she is terrified of water; she even cried at the thought. Yup, so good things are happening there. hah Still good though.
The whole thing was so funny, but so happy. Zhu DX had the biggest smile on his face after, and as he and An Tong walked out hand in hand, we knew it was all worth it. He even called us the next day thanking us again and again for helping his daughter. He said, "If it weren't for the push that you gave us to help An Tong get baptized, and all your hard work, she probably wouldn't have been baptized until she was at least 20. Thank you." These are the moments that really make it all worth it.
After the craziness of Friday's baptism, we thought the rest of our week would be smooth sailing, but there are always little surprises in store for us. Yesterday's church was fairly normal, just less actives bringing their dogs and investigators falling asleep during relief society. But last night, we tried to track down our new cute old lady investigator. We got lost, she ended up feeding us tofu skin from a can, and her mentally disturbed neighbor that has killed someone before (?) and hates foreigners came down to yell at us 4 times. We texted our district leader if he didn't hear from us, he should be worried and come looking for us. But other than that, the lesson went great! hahah She set a baptismal date! She is super humble; never been to school and I read more characters than she can. So having her read scriptures will be interesting... if anyone has suggestions for teaching illiterate people I am all ears....
But really we are just seeing so many miracles here. I love it so much. Transfers are just around the corner, and I will probably leave this area because I have now been here for almost 5 months, and I am so sad. Praying that I'll get to stay just a little longer!
I want to share a scripture that I read this week and loved while studying in the Doctrine and Covenants. It says, "Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good" (D&C 90:24). What a beautiful reminder to us. The Lord asks so little of us, but he reminds us that when we do the simple things He asks, He will provide the rest. Do your best to do your part, and the Lord will take care of everything else.
I know that this is true, and have seen this time and time again in my life and on my mission. In missionary work, we work our hardest to teach people about this gospel, help them gain a testimony, and be baptized. But so often does their agency get in the way. The heartbreaks of missionary work are so real, but this principle brings so much comfort to me. When we do all we can- we study, prepare, call on the Lord's name, and have faith to see miracles, the Lord will bring about His will and righteous purposes. We are just His tools in doing so! Remember that.
Love you all and have a wonderful week!
xoxo
Sister Richards
李姐妹
Lǐ Jǐemeì
Taiwan Taipei Mission
4/F, #24, Lane 183
Jin Hua Street
Taipei, Taiwan 106
1- our girl:)
2- i promise she likes us hah
3- sweet brother zhu and an tong
4- sweet jessica:) - RC (recent convert) lessons at her home
5- Gao JM (our new old lady investigator) cleaning our bikes off for us after it rained so we wouldn't "get our bums wet" hah
6- FHE with our homies
7- our new sick investigator Penny
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