Things are going so well over here on this little island, and life is so happy. This week was full of lots of little miracles and great moments and nothing too too big to report on, but I will do my best!
This week we got BOLD. We have some great investigators that are frankly just a little wimpy. They know it is true, they love what they are hearing, but they just think "they aren't ready for baptism." "They don't know enough", "They are still just learning" ya di ya di ya. One of my favorite moves to pull on those is pull out my own baptism picture from when I was 8 and tell them, "This is when I got baptized. I was 8 years old. Do you think I had a perfect understanding then?? HECK NO." It comes over time. They always think it is pretty funny, besides the fact that I looked pumped out of my mind in the picture. "You'll look THIS happy if you get baptized;)" hah I'll attach the picture below.
So with that, this week we helped Cindy reset a date for 6/10! We have been meeting with this sweet girl for TOO long. She is ready. In her mind she still has some little things she wants to understand more, but we are fully confident that she will be baptized before the end of the transfer! We have stake conference next weekend which may cause some problems... but we are crossing our fingers and praying lots.
We also met a lot of wonderful people this week and helped some of our investigators keep on progressing! Sister Birch and I have been really focusing on using our time with activities to help us reach the key indicators. As we have been doing this, we have really seen many blessings. We have been dropping some of our hai haos, really pushing to get people at church, and are seeing so many blessings as we are doing so! The Lord is really watching out for us over here as we are moving forward in faith and making bold invitations!
We have a great pool of people we are currently working with that are making us really excited for these next couple of months! There are lots of wonderful people out here in Hualian, and I know the Lord is really pouring out his Spirit upon these people, just preparing them to receive the good news of the gospel! (Alma 16:16) Even better, I know the Lord is doing that for all of you wherever you are.
Yesterday, we missionaries practically ran our ward. And by "we missionaries" I mean me. We had to give talks in sacrament meeting, and naturally I had to go last and speak for 15+ minutes because the other peeps only spoke for 5 or less... (But biggest props to Sister Birch for killing her first talk here! And all in Chinese!) So that was fun, and then our day continued with me having to fill in my usual duty of translating for our wards 5 Americans (who are here for various reasons) all while trying to help our investigators feel comfortable, find people to fellowship them and set up with members for the week. Then, to top it all off, we were asked by the primary presidency to host their primary activity THAT NIGHT. So, all of us went over there to put on an FHE about reverence and teach and entertain the entire ward...:) again just me. BUT, it all went very well and it was fun and we were able to develop some great relationships with the members and help them get some of their missionary work going!
Our topics yesterday in church were on preaching the gospel. We were obviously very pleased with this topic, and had LOTS to say and lots to share on the subject. As I was pondering on what I wanted to say, I thought of the examples I have learned from the scriptures as well as the experiences I have had on my mission. And, in my mind, preaching the gospel came down to two things. 1- an example and 2- an invitation. This especially applies to members. We are all surrounded by so many people that, whether we know it or not, are watching us. They see the way we act, our behavior, and as we strive to emulate our Savior, they see the light of Christ within us. Especially for those of us who live in less-densely member populated areas, we all have friends that are non-members or less-actives. Many people that we have been friends with for a long time. These people have seen our example, and now it is time to invite them to act. In Preach My Gospel, we are reminded that many people want to change or act, but without an invitation, many won't do it on their own. It is our responsibility to go and give them that chance. An invitation can be anything from inviting them to a church activity, to FHE, to church, to a dinner with your fam and/or missionaries, or etc. SO many options, and SO many chances for people to start coming to know Christ.
I want to give you all a challenge. This week pick ONE person in your life--non-member or less-active or someone that just needs some more love--and invite them to do something that will help them start to get to know our Savior and this gospel. And then email me about it! Just one sentence. I know ya'll are busy, but just tell me what your invite was and what happened! If they reject, no problem. Welcome to our lives:) and if they don't- ALL THE BETTER! I can't wait to hear about all of the miracles awaiting all of you!
I love you all so much and I love this work! Keep up the great work and I'll talk to ya'll next week!
xoxo
Sister Richards
Taiwan Taipei Mission
4/F, #24, Lane 183
Jin Hua Street
Taipei, Taiwan 106
so sorry so few pictures were taken this week. I am repenting.
1- our fhe last night
2- the train ride last week
3- baptism pictures...ha!
4- "
No comments:
Post a Comment