Well, this week has been quite interesting. Kind of a strange week to be completely honest, but I'm alive. We survived the freezing, lengthy, 2-day Taiwan Winter. And we had a few other happenings that are worth mentioning.
So, this week, 洪弟兄 got baptized over in 永康! And not only that, we got permission to attend. And not only that......
The YongKang Elders asked if I would baptize him! So that was a special night. (Aside from the fact that his eye was swollen. We felt bad for him, but he was still willing to hold the baptism that night.)
洪弟兄 has had a pretty rough life. Both his parents died a few years ago, and both within a year of each other. He is only 18 years old. He lives by himself and works at a metal shop. When I met him for the first time, he was super excited to learn the Gospel. He was super willing to keep every commitment and to keep coming back for more. He was so prepared in fact, that at one point we were wondering if he was actually understanding what we were teaching him! But, after hearing him bear his testimony to us, we realized that we were very wrong. The Gospel, especially the doctrine of the Plan of Salvation as it relates to his life's circumstances, touched his heart and soul powerfully. He felt the truthfulness of the message and was willing to make whatever sacrifices were necessary in order to receive it. This past week, I realized how good our friendship was. Although he is not in our ward, I will always have the memories of being able to teach him and help him progress. And I'm sure that we will continue to stay in touch, even into the eternities. I am so excited for him. He is going to be a very solid member, and who knows, maybe a mission will be something in his near future.
So, secondly, we have this guy who comes to our English Class every week. His name is James, and quite simply, he is one of the funniest people I've ever talked to in my life. His English is decent. He is a taxi driver. So, he's been coming without fail for like 3 months now, and he had shown interest in the Gospel, so we decided to set him up to meet. But, being a taxi driver, he said that most of his day was usually full with work. He has to work a TON if he wants to make anything he can live off of. So, we told him that maybe we could meet at our chapel in the morning to exercise with him. He said that he could do that. He had told us previously that he loved to play Ping-Pong, so we decided we would play with him. Well, he is INCREDIBLE at Ping-Pong. He told us that he has played for like 30 years or something like that. So, instead of us playing with him, he spent a lot of time coaching us in the "correct way" to play. It was awesome! And then we were able to give a Book of Mormon to him. He said that he could start reading. So, hopefully he will be able to progress.
Elder Park, (who is a pretty good player himself) going toe-to-toe with James, the Master himself.
And lastly, I have finished the first month of training. I went and picked Elder Park up a month ago yesterday! Wow, the time just seems to fly! Training has definitely been a humbling experience. But, I've noticed that I'm working harder and more diligently than I was before. I am loving more deeply the people here. And I am learning more and more the meaning of sincere prayer. Falling on your knees is never a sign of weakness, but of strength and of trust in a loving Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son, whom I have the privilege of representing. All-in-all, training is just as President Blickenstaff said it was, an experience for learning and growing. I am definitely seeing that, in both Elder Park and myself.
Well, that is about it for the week. Hope you have an awesome week too! Don't freeze to death. GLHF Everybody. Talk to you soon! Going to a 400 year-old temple today, so that should be fun. I'll take pictures!
Love ya,
Elder Chase Joseph Millett
雷長老
No comments:
Post a Comment