NiMen Hao!
I hope you all had a very festive Halloween! Elder Li and I spent our night deep-cleaning our apartment, which is the typical way a missionary sensibly spends his or her Halloween night.
Needless to say, we've had a lot of fun this week, with a Temple Day, cleaning the apartment, and a host of other meetings. However, this week has been a tough one as well, but its interesting to see that the weeks which I have the most struggles are also the weeks which I grow and learn the most.
Our primary proselyting effort this week has been going around San Francisco with a list of Less-Active members, trying to locate some of them that have "fallen off the map," so to speak. Elder Li and I have really enjoyed this activity, it has brought a real sense of accomplishment checking names off our list (both literally and figuratively). We've tried to do some finding along the way, and also made a trip to a college campus this past Tuesday in order to attempt to find some potential there. So far, nothing concrete has come of our efforts. We will keep trying.
We had the first Language Conference on my mission on Saturday, and it was the highlight of my week. We are a mission with 11 different language programs among those who serve here, and because we're so diverse, language learning has somewhat taken a back seat. We gathered at Temple Hill to receive some training on how to improve our studies, and how we as language-speaking missionaries can improve our utilization of the Gift of Tongues.
Our primary proselyting effort this week has been going around San Francisco with a list of Less-Active members, trying to locate some of them that have "fallen off the map," so to speak. Elder Li and I have really enjoyed this activity, it has brought a real sense of accomplishment checking names off our list (both literally and figuratively). We've tried to do some finding along the way, and also made a trip to a college campus this past Tuesday in order to attempt to find some potential there. So far, nothing concrete has come of our efforts. We will keep trying.
We had the first Language Conference on my mission on Saturday, and it was the highlight of my week. We are a mission with 11 different language programs among those who serve here, and because we're so diverse, language learning has somewhat taken a back seat. We gathered at Temple Hill to receive some training on how to improve our studies, and how we as language-speaking missionaries can improve our utilization of the Gift of Tongues.
I had the chance to apply some of the things I learned and felt into an appointment we had Sunday night. Mandarin has been stressing me out as of late, and I never feel like it will be good enough. However, I was intrigued about how much we learned at the conference about how the Gift of Tongues relates to having Charity and Love for the people we serve. I realized that I'm so worried about what to say at times, that I never take the time to listen.
Anyway, at our appointment with Bro. Tzeng (an elderly member who requested a Priesthood Blessing last night), I decided that I would simply try to "listen with love (that phrase has been ringing in my ears since Language Conference)." It was wonderful. Though I didn't understand everything, and though I had to ask for the definitions to a few words, I felt as though I understood what Bro. Tzeng was saying. What's more, I felt I better knew how to respond. It was a blessing that came at the end of a very tough week. I am grateful for what the Spirit taught me that night. I now want to make sure that I focus on my listening skills just as much as my vocabulary and speaking skills.
In a more lighthearted turn of events, we helped a Potential Investigator and her friend on a grocery run to Costco for a service activity...we spent about an hour and a half in the store, watching three women bicker and fight about what to get, how to stack things in the cart, and which bag of frozen dumplings would be the best to buy...Costco has now taken on a new meaning...it was crazy! What added to the craziness is that the potential decided to use one of the little shopping cart-wheelchair things (my family calls them "Disneyland Fat People Chairs...), and she had no clue how to drive it...She made some very interesting purchases...This woman spent $100+ on toilet paper and paper towels ALONE! It was a very frustrating and long afternoon, but an afternoon I will not forget. Its been fascinating to see just how many ways we can show love for others as disciples of Christ, and it made me grateful that past trips to Costco with my family were never that adventurous.
Anyway, at our appointment with Bro. Tzeng (an elderly member who requested a Priesthood Blessing last night), I decided that I would simply try to "listen with love (that phrase has been ringing in my ears since Language Conference)." It was wonderful. Though I didn't understand everything, and though I had to ask for the definitions to a few words, I felt as though I understood what Bro. Tzeng was saying. What's more, I felt I better knew how to respond. It was a blessing that came at the end of a very tough week. I am grateful for what the Spirit taught me that night. I now want to make sure that I focus on my listening skills just as much as my vocabulary and speaking skills.
In a more lighthearted turn of events, we helped a Potential Investigator and her friend on a grocery run to Costco for a service activity...we spent about an hour and a half in the store, watching three women bicker and fight about what to get, how to stack things in the cart, and which bag of frozen dumplings would be the best to buy...Costco has now taken on a new meaning...it was crazy! What added to the craziness is that the potential decided to use one of the little shopping cart-wheelchair things (my family calls them "Disneyland Fat People Chairs...), and she had no clue how to drive it...She made some very interesting purchases...This woman spent $100+ on toilet paper and paper towels ALONE! It was a very frustrating and long afternoon, but an afternoon I will not forget. Its been fascinating to see just how many ways we can show love for others as disciples of Christ, and it made me grateful that past trips to Costco with my family were never that adventurous.
The weather is definitely cooling off here, we've finally made it to Autumn, it seems. The city is beautiful, and signs of Christmas are already being seen all around (I'm not a big fan of that...). Should be a nice November here.
Love to gratitude to you all for the incredible joy you bring into my life. I miss you all, have a fantastic week! Happy belated Halloween!
Elder Butters/Bao ZhangLao
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