Peace I leave unto you
1:11:00 PM
5/9/16
Usually our meal calendar is only given to the married student ward on campus, but Sister Ting and I thought it would be a good idea to pass it to the young single adult wards too, so we can have a chance to get to meet more of them! So we were able to meet more of the girls and it was so fun because we're pretty much the same age haha. We had one appointment where the whole suite (8 girls) were present for our spiritual thought, and 4 of them were Chinese girls only studying here for 6 months for an exchange/internship thing. I found out they dislike missionary visits because they're not interested...but that's okay!
We had a relief society potluck dinner with the YSA and it was more of a snack party, so my hungry self just ate a bunch of wavy chips with dip...but we played some games together and we were so glad to see some of the shy-er girls come out and get to know everyone. The most important thing to help everyone continue to stay strong in the gospel, especially as a student, is good friends to motivate them.
Sister Ting's inner corners of her eyes have been red for a whole week now but thankfully the eye drops Sister Swinton gave is really helping relieve the irritation.
We taught Hua Yi this week about faith and played a little activity where he was blindfolded and had to guess the object we place in his hand. I learn so much that when we teach people without a religious background or kids in general, they really need visuals or hands-on activities to understand the gospel principles. I was so touched by something his mom shared; she said before they adopted him, they sent him a photo book which shared more about who they are and how excited they were to have him be a part of their family. And he already had a tremendous amount of faith because he believed that they were going to be his parents, he believed that the pictures were of a real couple, and waited patiently until they game. We had no idea to even explain it that way! Faith is believing in something you can't see but you know is true. And we are so glad that slowly, one lesson at a time, he is understanding how to recognize God's hand in his life.
We also got to know Hiba better and what's holding her back from baptism. She said her dad studies all sorts of religions and knows the Book of Mormon super well so whatever she likes about our faith, he gives a rebuttal, so it's just hard to get across her point of view. Sister Ting said it's the first time she's really talked about her family so we were grateful that she opened up to us. We're going to start the lessons with her all over again so she can really seek the truth rather than learning it because it's what everyone around her does. I can't say I know what she feels like, but I know that all the pioneers in the church, if they're the first one in their family to accept this gospel, receive blessings for their trust in God.
The more people I come to know, the more amazed I am at how Heavenly Father always provides a way for us to receive answers to our prayers. And sometimes the coincidental things that occur were probably meant to be too. On our online time, I accidentally clicked on a phone call and this guy named Steve wanted to meet with the local missionaries! He's met with missionaries on and off since the '80s but finally settled down where he lives now. Sometimes I struggle here because I think my success is measured by the number of people that return a guest card with interest in learning more (because of all these new changes in the VC, the sisters are able to focus more individuals and are guided by the Spirit and therefore have more new investigators). I know success isn't measured by that at all, but sometimes I have to remind myself that Heavenly Father has a time and a will for those people, so I'll just do my best.
Our online investigator Amelia has a baptism date set for May 28! She's one of the sweetest people I've talked to over the phone, and the sisters in her area are teaching her. Technology allows us to do so much! Now we can see the names of the missionaries that are teaching our investigators.
VIVIAN GOT BAPTIZED LAST SATURDAYYYY! (or should have according to Sister Lee's email). Hurrah!
I Skyped mom on Saturday and it was so good. There is something comforting about hearing your mother's voice even when the conversation itself is pretty average. I am so grateful for her and all the other wonderful examples of women in my life that have shaped who I am today.
And yesterday we were talking about how the gospel is spreading in China. Elder Nelson (one of the apostles) told the members in China that the country is already considered "open", although they don't have proselyting missionaries, they have many who are returned missionaries. Isn't that cool?😊
Scripture of the week: 3 Nephi 12:16
"Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
We went bowling last p-day at the Hub on campus haha.
Dinner (Chinese food yum!) with Kelly, Katherine, and Olivia (who was companions with Stefanie Chen on their mission! small world)
After the potluck, these girls are so cute!
Love,
Sister Wu
(p.s. I've been told I can't personally update my blog anymore because it's technically not authorized as a site we can go on...I'll see if my friend can help me out)
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