Hello everybody! Boy oh boy, what a week it's been! I'll be sure to tell you all about it.
It's such a refreshing feeling to go to the temple, especially after a long time of not going. I suppose it's a little different as a missionary, but no matter who you are, attending the temple will refresh your soul.
So I have a really interesting story to tell this week. I'll start by saying that my companion's name is no longer Elder Chen. He's now Elder Zhou (sounds like Joe). He's no longer from YuanLin, but from Xi-Hu. No, he didn't get an identity change. Last Wednesday I got a call from one of the assistants to the President, and he asked to talk to my companion. After a twenty minute series of phone calls my companion came over to tell me that he had to return home that night. His parents, you see, did not know he was going to be a missionary. His dad filed a missing child report with the police and a detective had called the mission office thinking Elder Cocke (the assistant) had kidnapped my companion. He had to take him home and fill out some papers at the police station. I, meanwhile, had to go spend two nights with the Elders in Dakeng, the next area south of me.
We finally found a kid in the ward over there who was willing to be my companion for the weekend until the replacement could come, so I got to proselyte in Tanzi some more. Then on Monday the guy who was going to come be my companion kind of just decided he didn't want to come after all, so I had to go spend a night in Fengyuan (the area north of me--the other area in my district) while the assistants frantically searched for another replacement. Then on Tuesday morning Elder Zhou came up, and he plans to be here until the end of the move call.
What a crazy crazy week! But it's been an experience to remember, and I really feel like I've grown a lot in these weeks. The thing is, and I'll be honest with you all, it's not easy having a short term. All three of the short terms I've had have been awesome and have been able to teach me things and help our investigators progress. And yet they're not full time missionaries; they haven't had the training and experience most missionaries have had. I sort of have to make tough decisions all on my own. This has forced me to rely heavily on the Lord, even more than in the past. I feel like one thing the Lord is trying to do to me is make me less indecisive and force me to take the lead. That's certainly been one result of having this crazy situation with my companions. When I can't really discuss something with a companion, I always have my Father in Heaven who can guide me through the companionship of the Holy Ghost.
Anyway, now that I've got my long-windedness off my chest, our investigators are doing well (few as they are). I really feel like we're about to see a few new investigators progress, so I'm really excited to see how that goes. (name), the one who was too unmotivated to eat, has started to feel the beginnings of a testimony. The main reason? He has been reading the Book of Mormon and praying every day. It's just that simple: the Book of Mormon has the power to change lives and soften hearts if we are just willing to humbly read it every day.
That's about all I have time for this week. I sure love you all! I'll send pictures from the temple trip next week. Did you get the big mission picture last week?
Love you all!
Carter
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Hay There!
Hello again everyone! How is everyone doing this week?
Anyway, yeah, Elder Chen is going to serve as a short term missionary for four weeks; he goes home on July 16th because he has to submit some stuff for college. He's really an amazing missionary. He's diligent, he has a strong testimony of the gospel, and he has a way of just putting investigators a little more at ease and letting them know that believing in Christ is not only possible, but worth it. The only thing he ever complains about is that Tanzi doesn't have a Subway. He says he's never gone so long without eating Subway. ;)
Well, it's been a good week of proselyting. That guy who was too unmotivated to eat food, (name), has actually started to progress a little because of Elder Chen. We went to visit him and Elder Chen just bore a simple and pure testimony of prayer and we helped him, through studying the scriptures, understand that God is not just waiting to punish us, but rather is anxious to bless us and sends prophets to warn us of the natural consequences of sin. Something finally clicked. He didn't even complain when we asked to kneel and pray at the end of the lesson. It truly was a miracle, and I know it's because we used the Book of Mormon and helped him learn the truth straight from its pages.
(name) was finally...FINALLY confirmed. You have no idea how stressful it was to have a baptized but uncomfirmed investigator for a whole month. Our mission calls those "sandbaggers" because Joseph Smith said that baptism of water without baptism of the Holy Ghost is useless, and a man might as well be baptized in sandbags. But he was confirmed on Sunday. Now I just need to do my best to help him endure to the end, since I'm pretty much guaranteed to be here until mid-September at least. Plenty of time to help him stay on the right path. I hope.
It's been raining a lot lately. Actually, in the time it took me to write this email, it went from sunny 80s degree weather to a downpour. -_- But that's fine, because it's mango season, baby! I'm salivating just thinking about fresh mangoes. And thinking about two weeks from now when we're going to go barbecue with the Elders in FengYuan.
That's about all I have this week. I love you all so much and I look forward to hearing from you again next week.
Love
Carter
Anyway, yeah, Elder Chen is going to serve as a short term missionary for four weeks; he goes home on July 16th because he has to submit some stuff for college. He's really an amazing missionary. He's diligent, he has a strong testimony of the gospel, and he has a way of just putting investigators a little more at ease and letting them know that believing in Christ is not only possible, but worth it. The only thing he ever complains about is that Tanzi doesn't have a Subway. He says he's never gone so long without eating Subway. ;)
Well, it's been a good week of proselyting. That guy who was too unmotivated to eat food, (name), has actually started to progress a little because of Elder Chen. We went to visit him and Elder Chen just bore a simple and pure testimony of prayer and we helped him, through studying the scriptures, understand that God is not just waiting to punish us, but rather is anxious to bless us and sends prophets to warn us of the natural consequences of sin. Something finally clicked. He didn't even complain when we asked to kneel and pray at the end of the lesson. It truly was a miracle, and I know it's because we used the Book of Mormon and helped him learn the truth straight from its pages.
(name) was finally...FINALLY confirmed. You have no idea how stressful it was to have a baptized but uncomfirmed investigator for a whole month. Our mission calls those "sandbaggers" because Joseph Smith said that baptism of water without baptism of the Holy Ghost is useless, and a man might as well be baptized in sandbags. But he was confirmed on Sunday. Now I just need to do my best to help him endure to the end, since I'm pretty much guaranteed to be here until mid-September at least. Plenty of time to help him stay on the right path. I hope.
It's been raining a lot lately. Actually, in the time it took me to write this email, it went from sunny 80s degree weather to a downpour. -_- But that's fine, because it's mango season, baby! I'm salivating just thinking about fresh mangoes. And thinking about two weeks from now when we're going to go barbecue with the Elders in FengYuan.
That's about all I have this week. I love you all so much and I look forward to hearing from you again next week.
Love
Carter
Monday, June 20, 2011
Happy Father's Day!
No, I didn't forget! It's just that in Taiwan, Father's Day is August 8, so they aren't selling Father's Day cards right now.
It's good to hear from you all again! Here we are at the start of a new move call. I'm still in Tanzi, and I have a new companion! More on that later.
I'm having the time of my life, even though it's super hard work. It's tough because I often feel like I'm just twenty years old and I'm supposed to be in charge of the eternal welfare of 98,000 souls. And yet, I don't feel overwhelmed, because I know it's not me guiding this work, but it's the Lord. I feel I'm growing closer to Him than I ever have before in my life. This is a priceless experience.
As I mentioned, Elder Mohr moved way down south to Gaoxiong today, and my new companion is Elder Chen from Yuan-Lin. He's Taiwanese (of course) and he's actually not a set-apart missionary. He's a short-term missionary out here for six weeks. Our mission will ask members to do that from time to time when we don't have enough missionaries to fill all the areas. He's actually only been a member for seven months, but he's really awesome; his desire to share the gospel is really strong. He's seventeen, turning eighteen July 9th. I'm really excited to serve with him--it'll be a really different experience, since he's never been to the MTC or anything, but I think it'll be a great opportunity.
Well, things have been going pretty well for us here in Tanzi. We're working with a man named Brother (name)whose wife and daughter are both members. He's probably older than Dad, because his daughter's grown and married. He's just a really nice man and I believe we can get him baptized, it's just that he is a little hesitant to make that decision so quickly. This is not a concern that the Holy Spirit can't solve, though. Have I said it enough times? I love being led by the Spirit. I love the fact that I'm doing the Lord's work and that He's guiding me to know how He wants it done. Brother Xie is so nice and humble. He's read all the way to Jacob already, which is quite impressive. More news on him will be forthcoming.
I don't really know what else to say. Things are kind of slow right now with investigators, but I really think that as we work hard we'll see things pick up. I'm pretty excited to work with Elder Chen, but at the same time it's a big responsibility.
Well, I'd better go. I love you all so much! Talk to you next week!
Carter
It's good to hear from you all again! Here we are at the start of a new move call. I'm still in Tanzi, and I have a new companion! More on that later.
I'm having the time of my life, even though it's super hard work. It's tough because I often feel like I'm just twenty years old and I'm supposed to be in charge of the eternal welfare of 98,000 souls. And yet, I don't feel overwhelmed, because I know it's not me guiding this work, but it's the Lord. I feel I'm growing closer to Him than I ever have before in my life. This is a priceless experience.
As I mentioned, Elder Mohr moved way down south to Gaoxiong today, and my new companion is Elder Chen from Yuan-Lin. He's Taiwanese (of course) and he's actually not a set-apart missionary. He's a short-term missionary out here for six weeks. Our mission will ask members to do that from time to time when we don't have enough missionaries to fill all the areas. He's actually only been a member for seven months, but he's really awesome; his desire to share the gospel is really strong. He's seventeen, turning eighteen July 9th. I'm really excited to serve with him--it'll be a really different experience, since he's never been to the MTC or anything, but I think it'll be a great opportunity.
Well, things have been going pretty well for us here in Tanzi. We're working with a man named Brother (name)whose wife and daughter are both members. He's probably older than Dad, because his daughter's grown and married. He's just a really nice man and I believe we can get him baptized, it's just that he is a little hesitant to make that decision so quickly. This is not a concern that the Holy Spirit can't solve, though. Have I said it enough times? I love being led by the Spirit. I love the fact that I'm doing the Lord's work and that He's guiding me to know how He wants it done. Brother Xie is so nice and humble. He's read all the way to Jacob already, which is quite impressive. More news on him will be forthcoming.
I don't really know what else to say. Things are kind of slow right now with investigators, but I really think that as we work hard we'll see things pick up. I'm pretty excited to work with Elder Chen, but at the same time it's a big responsibility.
Well, I'd better go. I love you all so much! Talk to you next week!
Carter
Monday, June 13, 2011
June 13, 2011
Dear everybody,
Hello again at the end of another week!
It's not for sure yet, but I'm almost positive one of us will be moving next week, because I've been with Elder Mohr for over three months, and three months is normally the longest someone will stay with a companion. Yes, some Elders get REALLY into "move call madness," making brackets and all this really over-the-top stuff. It's kind of funny to hear what people guess, but it does no real good to try and guess. Yet I sometimes try guessing anyway. :) I'm probably staying in Tanzi, but nothing's for sure. The steak was really not that expensive. Taiwan usually imports beef from Australia or New Zealand. Probably about 7 USD a person with the all-you-can-eat salad bar, but compared to a normal meal that was pretty pricey. It was fun, though. Elder Mohr enjoyed it.
Well, things have been going pretty well this week. That guy I told you about who was so unmotivated to do anything is still the same. He just will not do the things that he must do to receive conversion, so we may have to stop meeting with him so often. In one of our lessons we asked him what his direction was in life and he said he didn't know and started sobbing out loud and cried for like an hour. We were reading scriptures, singing hymns (all while he sobbed with his head on the table), trying to help him have a really spiritual experience, and when he finally picked his head up and wiped his face, he was exactly the same. If that was a spiritual outpouring he felt, he sure didn't show that it changed him in the slightest. Sad stuff when people choose to be that way.
This morning we had a zone activity where we all went biking up into the mountains of Dakeng scenic area. That was kind of fun, but because of some miscommunications and other hardships we didn't get to go hiking as we'd planned, but the bike ride was pretty beautiful. If I have time I'll include pictures. President Bishop actually came up with us. He's pretty fit for his age--he was out-biking some of the Elders even on the 90-degree (not temperature) uphill parts. Okay, not 90 degrees. But it sure felt like that.
Then this afternoon the other Elders in our district came to our area and had lunch with us and we basically just kind of had a fun afternoon talking and playing hearts at the church. Speaking of lunch, do they sell four-patty Big Macs in America? Because I may or may not have eaten one today. Does that make you lose respect for me? If it makes you feel better, I got a "free" Coke-can shaped glass for my feat of gluttony. And Taiwanese people make fun of us for eating McDonalds... find me a place in America where you can get a four-patty Big Mac delivered to your door. :)
Well, that's about all I have this week. We're running low on progressing investigators right now, so you'll have to wait till next week to hear about those. I love you all so much, and I'll talk to you again real soon!
Love,
Carter
Hello again at the end of another week!
It's not for sure yet, but I'm almost positive one of us will be moving next week, because I've been with Elder Mohr for over three months, and three months is normally the longest someone will stay with a companion. Yes, some Elders get REALLY into "move call madness," making brackets and all this really over-the-top stuff. It's kind of funny to hear what people guess, but it does no real good to try and guess. Yet I sometimes try guessing anyway. :) I'm probably staying in Tanzi, but nothing's for sure. The steak was really not that expensive. Taiwan usually imports beef from Australia or New Zealand. Probably about 7 USD a person with the all-you-can-eat salad bar, but compared to a normal meal that was pretty pricey. It was fun, though. Elder Mohr enjoyed it.
Well, things have been going pretty well this week. That guy I told you about who was so unmotivated to do anything is still the same. He just will not do the things that he must do to receive conversion, so we may have to stop meeting with him so often. In one of our lessons we asked him what his direction was in life and he said he didn't know and started sobbing out loud and cried for like an hour. We were reading scriptures, singing hymns (all while he sobbed with his head on the table), trying to help him have a really spiritual experience, and when he finally picked his head up and wiped his face, he was exactly the same. If that was a spiritual outpouring he felt, he sure didn't show that it changed him in the slightest. Sad stuff when people choose to be that way.
This morning we had a zone activity where we all went biking up into the mountains of Dakeng scenic area. That was kind of fun, but because of some miscommunications and other hardships we didn't get to go hiking as we'd planned, but the bike ride was pretty beautiful. If I have time I'll include pictures. President Bishop actually came up with us. He's pretty fit for his age--he was out-biking some of the Elders even on the 90-degree (not temperature) uphill parts. Okay, not 90 degrees. But it sure felt like that.
Then this afternoon the other Elders in our district came to our area and had lunch with us and we basically just kind of had a fun afternoon talking and playing hearts at the church. Speaking of lunch, do they sell four-patty Big Macs in America? Because I may or may not have eaten one today. Does that make you lose respect for me? If it makes you feel better, I got a "free" Coke-can shaped glass for my feat of gluttony. And Taiwanese people make fun of us for eating McDonalds... find me a place in America where you can get a four-patty Big Mac delivered to your door. :)
Well, that's about all I have this week. We're running low on progressing investigators right now, so you'll have to wait till next week to hear about those. I love you all so much, and I'll talk to you again real soon!
Love,
Carter
Monday, June 6, 2011
Happy Dragon Boat Festival!
Yes, it's the magical holiday of the Dragon Boat Festival this week. I'm not really clear on the customs of this holiday, but it involves...dragons...and boats... and rice balls? Anyway, it's pretty cool, even though it meant lots of our recent converts and investigators didn't come to church. It's good to hear from you all! I'm doing well here in Tanzi. And it's Elder Mohr's birthday tomorrow, so I'm treating us to a steak after we email.
Well, this week went by really quickly, but it was a lot of fun. We went on exchanges with Elder Wong, one of the assistants to the President. I learned a lot on that exchange, especially on how I can use charity and love to reach the hearts of those I teach. When he contacts people, he's not loud or overbearing, just very genuine and loving, and people want to meet with him as a result.
Our good old (name) has now been to church three times and still doesn't want to pray when we ask him to. He's just super unmotivated. He says sometimes he can't even gather the motivation to get up and get something to eat when he's hungry...much less to kneel down in his bedroom and call upon God. He really is seeking the truth and light and purpose the gospel can bring, but he doesn't seem to realize it's all right here. He hasn't gotten an answer about the Book of Mormon because he's not praying with real intent. We tell him he has to commit to God that he'll act according to the answer he receives, and he keeps saying he can't commit to that because he hasn't gotten an answer yet. I think we can help him, we just have to work on that desire problem.
Well, I'm down to three minutes. I don't really have any weird food stories anymore, because I'm more or less accustomed to it all. When I eat octupus at a restaurant I don't even think about telling you about it. They do have these tasty little spice buns that come frozen and you microwave them. They're like steamed bread with meat inside.
Ok, I gotta go. I love you all so much! Talk to you next week!
Carter
Well, this week went by really quickly, but it was a lot of fun. We went on exchanges with Elder Wong, one of the assistants to the President. I learned a lot on that exchange, especially on how I can use charity and love to reach the hearts of those I teach. When he contacts people, he's not loud or overbearing, just very genuine and loving, and people want to meet with him as a result.
Our good old (name) has now been to church three times and still doesn't want to pray when we ask him to. He's just super unmotivated. He says sometimes he can't even gather the motivation to get up and get something to eat when he's hungry...much less to kneel down in his bedroom and call upon God. He really is seeking the truth and light and purpose the gospel can bring, but he doesn't seem to realize it's all right here. He hasn't gotten an answer about the Book of Mormon because he's not praying with real intent. We tell him he has to commit to God that he'll act according to the answer he receives, and he keeps saying he can't commit to that because he hasn't gotten an answer yet. I think we can help him, we just have to work on that desire problem.
Well, I'm down to three minutes. I don't really have any weird food stories anymore, because I'm more or less accustomed to it all. When I eat octupus at a restaurant I don't even think about telling you about it. They do have these tasty little spice buns that come frozen and you microwave them. They're like steamed bread with meat inside.
Ok, I gotta go. I love you all so much! Talk to you next week!
Carter
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
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
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Happy May 23, everybody!
Hello again at the end of another short week! And the beginning of probably an even shorter one (more on that later). It's so good to hear from you all!
I love studying the New Testament. Especially when I study it alongside Jesus the Christ. I'll admit, when you first gave me that book I didn't have a great desire to read it. On my mission, though, it's one of the most amazing books I've ever read. Elder Talmage really has a way of putting it into context and helping me really understand what happened in the life of Jesus Christ.
The exciting news this week is that (name) is going to be baptized this weekend. He had his test this last weekend, so he couldn't come to church, but we're good to go for this week. I feel like the Lord has really blessed us with him. We've gone quite a while without baptizing, and it's a real blessing to have an investigator who is willing and who has good friends at church. We're also planning to meet with him this week with the Bishop as our peike (the member who accompanies you in the lesson), so that should be a good opportunity for the Bishop to get to know him and also to give him some advice and so forth. He's a good kid. I just feel strongly that this week we have to focus hard on two things: helping him really feel the reality and importance of the atonement in his life, and helping him get set on the track to enduring to the end. I want to point him to the priesthood, the temple, and callings at the early stages so that he will join the church to stay.
The Lord has given us many wonderful blessings and miracles. Satan would tempt me to believe there have been no miracles, but this is a lie. For instance, the one person we had at church is a man named Xie MingKen. His wife and daughter are both members, but they've been less active for awhile. They recently started coming back, and he wants to be baptized and join his family. He doesn't have a goal currently, but that's just because he can't meet until Friday. He's been to church many times, so depending on how much he knows already he can drop in and be baptized soon. I know the Lord has seen our efforts and has showered blessings upon us.
Though I am one of the weakest of the weak things of the world, He gives me strength to do things far beyond my ability. For instance, I've made a decision that this time I'm going to be the best district leader I can possibly be. I'm afraid most of my life callings have been basically like an assignment to take care of such and such duty, but I haven't given my all to those callings. I've decided I'm going to do all I can to lift, inspire, and bless my district and give my all to my investigators as well.
It's been super rainy for the last couple of days. Apparently there's a typhoon coming soon, so we keep having spurts of downpour followed by a little sunshine and then swirly clouds and then more downpour. But typhoons in the Taizhong area are nothing compared to typhoons way down south in Donggang.
Anyway, some cool news this week: on Friday we're having a mission conference, and Elder Jay E. Jensen of the Presidency of the Seventy is coming to visit. We also have a combined district training meeting on Tuesday, so that's why I said this week will be going fast. I'm really looking forward to it; I think it will be a really spiritually renewing experience.
That's...about it. We're just going to bike up to Fengyuan today and eat an all-you-can-eat hot pot with Elders Nelson and Perkins. Elder Perkins is a trainee, so we'll see if he can eat very much. I guess I'll leave it at that today. I sure love all of you and I love to hear from you. Remember to endure to the end at school and so on. I'll talk to you again next week.
Love,
Carter
I love studying the New Testament. Especially when I study it alongside Jesus the Christ. I'll admit, when you first gave me that book I didn't have a great desire to read it. On my mission, though, it's one of the most amazing books I've ever read. Elder Talmage really has a way of putting it into context and helping me really understand what happened in the life of Jesus Christ.
The exciting news this week is that (name) is going to be baptized this weekend. He had his test this last weekend, so he couldn't come to church, but we're good to go for this week. I feel like the Lord has really blessed us with him. We've gone quite a while without baptizing, and it's a real blessing to have an investigator who is willing and who has good friends at church. We're also planning to meet with him this week with the Bishop as our peike (the member who accompanies you in the lesson), so that should be a good opportunity for the Bishop to get to know him and also to give him some advice and so forth. He's a good kid. I just feel strongly that this week we have to focus hard on two things: helping him really feel the reality and importance of the atonement in his life, and helping him get set on the track to enduring to the end. I want to point him to the priesthood, the temple, and callings at the early stages so that he will join the church to stay.
The Lord has given us many wonderful blessings and miracles. Satan would tempt me to believe there have been no miracles, but this is a lie. For instance, the one person we had at church is a man named Xie MingKen. His wife and daughter are both members, but they've been less active for awhile. They recently started coming back, and he wants to be baptized and join his family. He doesn't have a goal currently, but that's just because he can't meet until Friday. He's been to church many times, so depending on how much he knows already he can drop in and be baptized soon. I know the Lord has seen our efforts and has showered blessings upon us.
Though I am one of the weakest of the weak things of the world, He gives me strength to do things far beyond my ability. For instance, I've made a decision that this time I'm going to be the best district leader I can possibly be. I'm afraid most of my life callings have been basically like an assignment to take care of such and such duty, but I haven't given my all to those callings. I've decided I'm going to do all I can to lift, inspire, and bless my district and give my all to my investigators as well.
It's been super rainy for the last couple of days. Apparently there's a typhoon coming soon, so we keep having spurts of downpour followed by a little sunshine and then swirly clouds and then more downpour. But typhoons in the Taizhong area are nothing compared to typhoons way down south in Donggang.
Anyway, some cool news this week: on Friday we're having a mission conference, and Elder Jay E. Jensen of the Presidency of the Seventy is coming to visit. We also have a combined district training meeting on Tuesday, so that's why I said this week will be going fast. I'm really looking forward to it; I think it will be a really spiritually renewing experience.
That's...about it. We're just going to bike up to Fengyuan today and eat an all-you-can-eat hot pot with Elders Nelson and Perkins. Elder Perkins is a trainee, so we'll see if he can eat very much. I guess I'll leave it at that today. I sure love all of you and I love to hear from you. Remember to endure to the end at school and so on. I'll talk to you again next week.
Love,
Carter
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)