Today we went to the temple for the last time; Provo Temple is closing starting next Monday. I'm kinda sad, but we did get to do sealings, which was the first time I've ever gotten to do them. I was only allowed to participate as a son being sealed to his parents, but it was a very cool experience. And now I'm here typing my letter early because we're going to have forty new missionaries in the laundry room today. Forty! Which reminds me, yes, the new Chinese missionaries came. It's kinda cool to be the senior elders, but it's not quite the same as I thought it would be. Mainly because over half of them have had Chinese classes in college or lived in Taiwan or whatnot. So it's not exactly like training a total greenie. But it's fun to get to know them.
Last Tuesday we had Elder Robert D. Hales come and speak to us in our devotional. I think we've been pretty spoiled having an apostle every other week. The older group told us (before they left) that that was pretty much unheard of. Elder Hales spoke a lot about light. How the gospel is the light that cuts through the darkness in people's lives. He told a story of an airplane that got lost in the night with their equipment broken. They had no idea where they were or where to go to get to safety. They were surrounded by blackness. They radioed the tower, asking for another plane to come up and guide them to the airport.
That's us. Not just me--every one of us who knows the true restored gospel of Jesus Christ. We know where we're going, where we are, where we came from. What we do is find those people wandering around without purpose and let them follow us back to where they will be safe. I know that's true. I just think of that time we were in Mexico and met that LDS family at Tulum. I think I knew they were LDS before we asked because people who live the gospel just look different! The light of Christ shines from their faces and you can totally tell a difference between those who radiate that light and those who don't. But you know what? We can help people turn that light on. That's what I'm going out to Taiwan to do. I'm so excited to really teach a person who's never heard the gospel before, because I'll get to see the process of them turning their light on and coming to realize who they are and where they're going and how to get there.
Other than that, we've being doing lots of studying. This Saturday we teach the Plan of Salvation and Word of Wisdom for the first time in Chinese. So I'll need to be prepared for that. Here's a fun insight for you all: I was reading my Chinese Book of Mormon, reading about the brother of Jared, and the Chinese word was the word denoting an older brother. So that's kinda special. Something you don't know just by reading English. My timer says 3:40 and I feel like I should write something more, but it's been quite a bit of the same around here. And when I say "the same," I mean awesome, of course. But the same, nonetheless.
How about a quick Chinese lesson? I learned a fun new word, really fun to say: bingbao. It means hale. (pronounced like it sounds: bing bow, rhymes with king cow)
I always look forward to reading your letters. It's good to hear that you're all doing pretty well. Know that my prayers are with you and Grandma. Till next week,
Cart
No comments:
Post a Comment