Monday, May 30, 2011

Hi there, my family!

Hello from Taiwan...again! As I predicted, this last week went crazily fast. It's great to hear from you all again and tell you how things have been going here in Tanzi.

I was wondering if you've been having a cold spring, because all the pictures in the conference Liahona were snowy and cloudy. Speaking of the conference Liahona, that was the most breathtaking cover to a Liahona/Ensign I've ever seen. And I also saw three people I knew inside. All from our ward. Maybe you already know, but if you don't, see if you can "I spy" Elder and Sister Caldwell and Elder Eythan Barney on the inside. That was kind of fun.

Before I forget, you asked me to just tell you if I need anything. This isn't a need, per se, but the next time you happen to send something my way I'd love more music. Especially a greater variety of Mormon Tabernacle Choir and possibly some EFY music if you have any. Like I said, not a big deal, but it'd be nice to have. :)

This week we had the great privilege of having a mission conference on Friday with Elder Jay E. Jensen of the Presidency of the Seventy as the main speaker. It was a really awesome conference, and I learned a lot about how to be a better teacher. His main topic or theme was basically that we missionaries are not teaching anything new or foreign to these people. These are they who are choice sons and daughters of God, who received their first lessons in the world of spirits. He focused on how we can focus on helping people feel the Spirit, which will contact their spirits and uncover what is already there. That, I think, is why people always say that the Spirit feels good, because it's how they used to feel living in Heavenly Father's presence.

This week was also the baptism of (name). He's doing really well. He's got a lot of friends and when he bore his testimony at the baptism he was kind of shy and didn't know what to say, but I felt that he really has changed and he really does know this church is true. The only reason he wasn't confirmed is because his mother is in the hospital very unexpectedly, and he had to go take care of her. I have no doubt that next week he'll be able to be confirmed. I'm so glad because we've gone a long time without baptizing, and (name) is a very good young man who was well prepared to receive the gospel.

We've been seeing progress with many of our other investigators as well. One man we found on the street, who happens to be the cousin of an active member in the ward, has been meeting with us more and more frequently. His name is (name), and he's really seeking truth and meaning in his life. He's gone through some hard times--his mom died from cancer last year--and I feel like he knows what we teach is good. The only problem is that he is very unmotivated. He says sometimes he just doesn't want to care about whether or not God exists. I think he'll be fine, we just have to help him change that way of thinking and see that what he's been searching for is right here in front of him. Today we're going to focus on prayer, so we'll see how it goes.

Brother (name) is doing well. We met with him on Friday and it turns out he's not as willing to be baptized as we were hoping. He says being an investigator is good enough for him. I'm afraid we didn't have the time to really overcome this concern, but we'll continue to help him. His daughter and wife both really want him to be baptized, so their love for him will certainly be a key factor.

Well, that's about all I have this week. It sure is good to talk to you all each week. Know that I love you and I pray for you every night.

Love,

Carter

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