Tuesday we had quite the treat one of the AP's came to our District Meeting and gave a training. Elder Choi is probably my favorite AP simply because he doesn't act like an AP. He acts like a missionary who loves the Lord, loves those he serves, and loves to have fun. Too often AP's are so serious once they become Assistant to the President because they think they are extra special or something. Elder Choi is humble down to earth and isn't afraid to smile, joke, around, and learn from his fellow missionaries. Elder Choi also has a strong spirit about him that allows all around him to act in a more dignified way.
Elder Choi's training was on prayer. He asked me and another Elder to do a scenario where I was "praying" but in a very demanding way. Afterwards our district evaluated and discussed what was wrong with that prayer. Then we did round two of the same scenario, but this time my prayer was humble and submissive and I waited for an answer from Heavenly Father. My reply from "Heavenly Father" (the other elder) was that He knew what I was going through and that I should find peace while waiting for the blessings I had inquired about in my prayer. Afterwards we, as a district, took time to discuss how we can better pray to Heavenly Father. As we discussed I felt the Holy Ghost confirm to me that my pleading prayers about my back my ability to do missionary work and my family, were all in accordance with what Elder Choi was teaching. I felt Heavenly Father's love for me and it was as if He told me right then and there, "You are being respectful to my plan for your life. No worries, it'll all come forth soon." This was my first dosage of comfort that seemed to fill my soul with the needed amount of hope to get through one day more.
Wednesday was trade-offs with my beloved Sister Fau! Oh how I cherish this sister of mine. Sister Fau made sure I got my daily rest, but then we went to work. She had made sure to have many lessons planned so that there would be little to no walking during the day. We were truly blessed to teach some amazing people. One guy we taught, Josh, was at the share house of some of the members in the YSA ward. He was the friend of one of the girls that is over 30 and so she has been moved into the family ward. Josh has a very strong Christian background, which was weird for me, but a sincere desire to change his life right now and to find truth. We taught him the plan of salvation, but this time I got to see what it is like to teach someone who already knows much of this plan and then expound upon the knowledge they already have with scriptures from both the Bible and the Book of Mormon. As we came to the topic of the Atonement, I asked what Josh knew. He had a pretty basic understanding, but what he didn't know was that Christ's suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane was what takes away all our sins AND sufferings. We shared Alma 7:10-12 and were able to expound Josh's knowledge about the enabling power of the Atonement! It was great! At the end of the lesson Josh still had some concerns, especially about authority, but Sister Fau and I invited him to ask in sincere prayer if what we had taught was true or not and he agreed. Then as Josh said the closing prayer he opened up completely to Heavenly Father and asked God to not only let him know if what we had taught was true, but to also let him know if what he believed was wrong in some way. Never in my mission had I heard such a sincere prayer! After Josh said, "Amen," he just kept his hands over his face and we could hear him crying a little bit. It was so tender! I know that God will answer his prayer, especially if Josh continues to have such and open heart to change!
At the end of trade-offs I didn't want to part with Sister Fau. We get along so well and I just love being with her. At evaluations she simply just told me to keep on going with trust in Heavenly Father's plan. She said she hoped that one day we could be companions longer than 24hrs and I agreed. My Spirit was lifted and again I was reminded by my Heavenly Father that He is helping me push through the days until my doctor's appointment.
Thursday was Sports Night, oh how I love Sports Night! I love seeing all the Chinese people gather together to play games and just relax a little bit. Before Sports Night started we gave Tony a tour of the church. We finally figured out why he has been avoiding coming to church! He watched a scary movie that took place in an old church with torture dungeons and who knows what other scary garbage, and so he was worried that our church was a secret torture venue or something. Ridiculous I know, but I give Satan creativity points on this one. However, the power of a dedicated house of the Lord will always and forever trump Satan, no matter how creative he is. As we showed Tony around the chapel, he checked every closed door and even made us take him down to the garage, but there was a smile on his face as he slowly but surely realized that this was a house of worship, not torture. At the end of our tour we asked him if it was scary, to which he replied, "Not at all." Obviously.
Then at Sports Night there was a cute girl that came from SunnyBank with her husband who is a member. Doris, such a cute girl, saw me sitting on the couch resting my back and came to talk to me. We sat there for the whole hour just talking and talking--in complete Chinese!!! She was so cute and so interested in my life and I was interested in her life. She was amazed that many people in our church like the idea of getting married earlier rather than putting it off, because that is something she and her husband did, and got put down by many people for it. I felt my heart expand as I talked to one of God's beautiful Chinese daughters and I also felt God's love for me. Another dosage from Heavenly Father giving me the energy to keep pushin' along.
Saturday night, at the end of weekly planning, Sister Ng and I had companionship inventory. This is the time we take to tell each other what we want to improve and what we appreciate about one another. Sister Ng, who has been so faithful, caring, and patient through all this mess with my physical health, gave me another dosage of Heavenly Father's love as she explained how she is trying to help me. She asked if I felt like it was rude of her to have stopped asking how I am doing. I told her I was actually glad she stopped because nothing has really changed and when people ask me how I am doing it is just a reminder that I am not 100% right now. Sister Ng said she knew that and that was why she had stopped asking me, then she went on to explain how much she loves me and how much she admires the way I am persevering. I was able to express my deep gratitude for the way she has listened to the Spirit in knowing how to "handle with care" her crippled companion. It was a tender mercy of the Lord for us to just praise each other and then at the end praise Heavenly Father for putting us together with the knowledge that we would go through so much together. I truly am grateful for Sister Ng.
Now I wait. I continue to receive daily dosages of spiritual strength from my Heavenly Father as I endure to this Thursday when I will meet with the back specialist and he will help me know what to do to get better. I am confident that Heavenly Father loves me and all of His children. I know that I wouldn't be able to go through this challenge without the Gospel of Jesus Christ and my faith that leads me to hope for happier days ahead. I am grateful to all or you, for support, prayers, and love. Love you all!
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