3/31/13

Miracles... Honestly, my companion often seems like a miracle in and of itself. I swear I learn something from her daily, about ways I can be a better missionary, better serve and think of those around me, and ways that if I train, I want to apply them. She is so in tune to the spirit! My district is also incredible and also help strengthen me every time I see or talk to them. Let me tell you about my first miracle this week... Last Sunday night we called around like crazy trying to find a peike for our lesson Monday night, but couldn't find anyone. Well, on our way to the lesson, one of our members came riding up on his bike and asked if we were going to teach a lesson. He came with us and was our peike! It turns out, he had just gotten out of school and saw us on our bikes so he came. He's awesome, he really loves missionary work and wants to go on a mission himself, though his parents are very opposed to it. I'm praying their hearts change and he'll be ok to go because I know he'd definitely be a great missionary, he already is! He's already so on fire for this work! He's always leaving notes of encouragement for us on our bikes and I may not be able to read the characters but it means so much to me that he does it anyway, whether I know what he's saying or not! I imagine it's a little how our investigators feel when we leave them notes. We can't write in Chinese, we have to write in English, but I often see the little notes sitting out on their tables when we walk in the door, I think it helps them to know we were thinking about them and cared enough to stop by and write a little note, whether they understand what it says or not. I also think it can be applied to prayer too, that Heavenly Father appreciates when we take the time to send him long letters in our prayers, though it's different since He understands EVERYTHING, but it's still the same principle, just that you're caring about His children and making an effort to remember Him and His children :) Makes all the difference. Monday honestly, was probably my biggest miracle day. I was having a really hard time that night since I'm so new and don't understand much in Church and hadn't understood a whole lot at our dinners with members Sunday or Monday, or a whole lot of our lessons, so I was fighting hard but I was also feeling really discouraged. Well, I went and said a prayer because I was SO discouraged and I didn't want to be, I just wanted to give it over to the Lord, move on, and stop letting it plague me. It was so incredible, almost immediately after my prayer, one of our zone leaders called for some reason or another, I can't remember what it was, and when we're on the phone, he always asks what miracles I saw that day, and that night that was basically the first words out of his mouth. It got me focusing on Heavenly Father's hand in my life and the miracles I'm blessed enough to see. It was a miracle and an answer to prayer in and of itself. He also has such a fire and joy for missionary work and life that it's infectious, which always helps! Last night we also had a huge miracle! Some of our Elders called us to go visit a less-active family since there were only females home. This family was so amazing and happy! Their testimonies are still incredibly powerful, especially since they're less-active! I love them and can't wait to visit them again. I'm not sure why but they said they can't attend church for some reason, I think it was something with work schedules or something. I'm hoping and praying that will change! The best part about it was our biggest goal yesterday was to visit a family, and we'd tried to find a family during church that we could visit but it didn't work out, then those Elders called us. I truly know it was Heavenly Father's hand again! The work here is so incredible, some of our elders even had a baptism yesterday and another investigator gets baptized this week with another companionship! It's so amazing to know these people have changed their lives and are coming unto Christ. It is awesome and I've loved seeing it with some of our investigators. I love our investigators, they're awesome! So many of them are changing their lives and we get to see that change, we're blessed enough to show them the path to come to Christ, though it's all them and Him, we just show them the path! Anyway, I have one more e-mail I need to write and only 10 minutes left. I hope you all know, I love you and I pray for you. The work is great here and I'm doing great! So, until next week... Wo ai ni! Tang Jiemei