this is what I e-mailed president and why I didn't have enough time to truly e-mail you... sorry:( please know I love you and am doing great)
Dear President,
I am so sorry we didn’t e-mail last week. It was a little crazy since neither Sister Hoffman nor I knew our way around Birkenhead, but good news we have finally found the library.
Sister Hoffman is great. I am really grateful that we are white-washing this area together. We are both learning so much from one another. Something she has taught me is to not worry so much. I tend to set many high goals for myself that I rarely accomplish all of them. I am a dreamer and I never will give up on my big dreams, but I think it would be better to take on one thing at a time and really succeed at it. I tend to be the fox in the hedgehog and fox analogy.
I am loving it in Birkenhead! It is a challenge but an adventure none the less. It is quite different from what I am used to in Liverpool, but it is good. We don’t have many investigators, but there is an abundance of less-active members we can help and serve. I can already tell that by the end of this transfer I will have grown a lot, that’s the goal at least.
It is exciting to finally start knowing our way around the town. Yesterday, church was so helpful. We met so many wonderful members. The bishop, ward mission leader, and other auxiliary leaders are so involved in the work. This is exactly what we need in order for our investigators and recent converts to grow in the gospel. The members were so happy that sister missionaries are back in their ward, because I guess it had been quite some time since they have been there. I hope we live up to their expectations, but I’m pretty confident we will be fine. President I am so grateful to the Lord for inspiring you to know where I should serve, because as much as I miss Liverpool, I am so excited and really feel that I need to be here in Birkenhead. I feel this will be such a growing experience for Sister Hoffman and I. I will learn things in my time here that I never could have learned in any other way.
I want to give you the little article I wrote up about the Chinese New Year Activity we had. Sorry it has taken me so long to get it to you. You can do whatever you would like with it, whether that be send it to the Ensign or not…..
The Gospel Spreads Forth
Coming together in a foreign land in celebration of Chinese New Year, about 80 sons and daughters of God met in the Chorely chapel to partake in the festivities. The gospel is spreading forth! Missionaries and leaders in the England Manchester Mission seized the opportunity to help many Chinese members, recent converts, investigators, and friends feel more at home despite being so far away from family at this special time of year. It is amazing to think that not too long ago; many of these Chinese friends of ours didn’t even know who God was. Despite this they now gather outside the Preston Temple looking forward to the day they can enter and be with their family forever. Amy Jiang, a student at Liverpool University and investigator of the church said, “I am so happy. When Can I go back to the temple?” She soon will be able to go back and have the incredible opportunity to share the gospel with her family members that are on the other side of the veil as well as with those in this life.
Food, games, socializing and of course the spirit unites young people of the church everywhere, and the Chinese are no different. In honour of the 2012 Olympics in London, we held a mini Olympics of our own. Everyone was divided into teams where they did a variety of team building games and challenges. For example; each team had to stand on a duvet cover and somehow manage to flip the duvet cover over without any member of their team touching the floor beneath them. It was challenging and tricky but as they worked together as one unit it was possible. “I loved the activities! They helped and encouraged us to work together and have fun,” Susan Zhao, a Manchester University student and investigator of the church said in response to the Chinese New Year Activity 2012.
This was quite a success. We as missionaries are already starting to see the fruits of the efforts this one activity had on the people that attended. We are even seeing baptisms that are happening all because an investigator brought a friend to the activity, and in result they had fun, felt the spirit, and decided to meet with the missionaries. Alan Chen, an investigator and student of UCLAN University in Preston said, “It was a great day where the Chinese could come together to celebrate this special time. It was a happy day.” Indeed this is a happy time; a time that should be celebrated. This is a time where we have the fullness of the gospel on the earth and we are seeing it spread forth to all nations. -By Sister Longmore
No comments:
Post a Comment