DaJia Hao!
Another week come and gone! Its been a good one for Elder Li and I.
Firstly, we received another miracle with a referral who lives in our area! Though we have tried to contact Donna Wu twice by phone and once at her address, we have been unable to make contact with her yet. We are praying that we will get a hold of her soon, so hopefully we can add a new investigator! That would be a real miracle! While we wait, we have been doing some late night tracting, and also have been working with some of our Recent Converts. Bro. Guan is doing well, but we want to help him increase in his testimony. We hope that a Priesthood-related calling will help to keep his current testimony burning and help it to grow in the process.
Our 2nd Counselor has recently stepped up to the plate as our Ward Mission Leader (Bro. Gao, our previous one, was released this week), and has done a great job! He has developed a computer program system that will allow us to quickly upload information about our week and our labors, almost like an electronic Progress Record. It is so great to be working so closely with someone who genuinely wants to improve the missionary efforts of our Branch. He is excited for the upcoming "Light the World" initiative, and is actively trying to find ways to help us as missionaries. I love that.
Our 2nd Counselor has recently stepped up to the plate as our Ward Mission Leader (Bro. Gao, our previous one, was released this week), and has done a great job! He has developed a computer program system that will allow us to quickly upload information about our week and our labors, almost like an electronic Progress Record. It is so great to be working so closely with someone who genuinely wants to improve the missionary efforts of our Branch. He is excited for the upcoming "Light the World" initiative, and is actively trying to find ways to help us as missionaries. I love that.
Speaking of which, "Light the World" is coming up again this year for Christmas! If you haven't had the chance to look it up yet, DO IT! Every way we can bring others joy this Christmas season will only make it more memorable for ourselves.
This past Thursday, I went on exchanges with Elder Kotiah, and we had a great day together. We did service and also sat in on our YSA's Institute class. We also had a great time talking all about what we should be focusing on as missionaries. He explained to me that though numbers a great, we need to make sure that there is a face to the number. I really appreciated that. At the beginning of my mission, I was a very "numbers-based" missionary, wanting high numbers for the sake of getting high numbers. I learned that unless we focus on the people behind our indicators, those numbers won't mean a thing. Missionary work is about PEOPLE! I was grateful for his wisdom and council. He's a very good-hearted missionary.
This past Thursday, I went on exchanges with Elder Kotiah, and we had a great day together. We did service and also sat in on our YSA's Institute class. We also had a great time talking all about what we should be focusing on as missionaries. He explained to me that though numbers a great, we need to make sure that there is a face to the number. I really appreciated that. At the beginning of my mission, I was a very "numbers-based" missionary, wanting high numbers for the sake of getting high numbers. I learned that unless we focus on the people behind our indicators, those numbers won't mean a thing. Missionary work is about PEOPLE! I was grateful for his wisdom and council. He's a very good-hearted missionary.
We also had some great conferences this week! Zone Conference was on Wednesday, and we had some great trainings on Personal Study, improving our Teaching abilities, and improving Finding efforts. It was a really fun day. What added to the fun was that a miracle took place! Elder Li and I went to a Polynesian restaurant for dinner after the conference while waiting for a ride. Not only was the food free (the owners were members!), but someone requested a blessing while we were there! Because no one else was in the restaurant, we were able to give the blessing right out in the open. It really brought the spirit and a special feeling to our day.
I've been having great studies lately, particularly in taking the time to use the footnotes sections and other manuals and available resources, which Pres. Frandsen has been pushing us all to do. I've been focusing this week on the story of Ammon in Alma 17-18. I wish I had the same faith he did; the ability to see tribulation as a way to teach his fellow servants about the hope the gospel can bring, and the power that comes when we plead with God for him to give it to us. My language study is improving too, which I desperately need right now, especially considering I will be training next transfer.
Next week I have some goals to be better at utilizing all of my time, and not wasting it. Something I've learned on my mission is that we don't have much time, and that we need to try to use every second we have. I have had troubles with that in the past, and will strive to improve in that capacity her in the field. I hope that I can be a good example to my new companion next transfer.
Oh, right...I'M GOING TO BE A FATHER! Both Elder Li and I will be trainers starting at the end of November for two new arriving Mandarin Elders. He will be returning to Hayward, and I'll be staying here in San Francisco (YES!). I'm very excited, but terrified at the same time. I hope my Chinese is up to par!
Wo Ai NiMen, TeBie GanXie Wei NiMen Dui Wo De BangZhu!
JiaYou! Gan'En Jie Kuai Le!
Elder Butters/Bao ZhangLao
No comments:
Post a Comment