This has been a week of ups and downs. My faith has been challenged, disrspected, and my soul humbled to a level I didn't know existed!
We had District Meeting this week and our District Leader, Elder Ladd, said we should all be doing better than we are. I took that to heart, but with a great deal of fear at all I had to change about myself in order to raise my level of missionary work.
Sister Chen and I contacted 108 people the week before and Elder Ladd said we could do more. This meant that I needed to step away from Sister Chen's side when we were at the bus stop and start talking to people on my own, in Chinese. What an internal struggle I faced as I prayed for strength from the Lord to help me open my mouth. This week Sister Chen and I talked to 211 people. 61 more people than Elder Ladd expectd of us. I was blessed to run into Chinese people who could understand English when I didn't know the word in Chinese. I was blessed to talk to some Australians, and I was blessed to talk to a lot of people each day. I was blessed to have time fly by, especially on days where we were contacting for over four hours in a row. I was blessed to not run into any rude people as I started. I was indeed blessed!
Thursday we had free English Class and afterwards we had two sets of investigators who needed to be taught. This meant I had to teach pretty much by myself. So I went, with a big smile on my face, to teach Shadow and Ke how to pray. The Lord put words in my mouth as I taught them the special gift it is to communicate with our Father in Heaven. At the end of the lesson they were both excited because now they knew how to attain help from a higher being.
Saturday was Steven Chang's BAPTISM!!! It was amazing. After the baptism Steven got up to bear his testimony and was a little choked up. Then on Sunday he recieved the Holy Ghost. It was so exciting to see someone become a member of the only church that will allow you to reach the highest level of salvation!
Right after Steven's baptism we had a lesson with Tony. Tony has no religious background, but has been reading the Book of Mormon and praying. When we taught him on Saturday I invited him to start preparing for baptism on November 23rd. He said if he knew the Book of Mormon and the Church were true by that time, he would be baptizd. Saturday was a golden day!
Up until Monday, wearing the Savior's name on my chest has not been a huge challenge. I have had to overcome personal weaknesses, such as talking to strangers and speaking Chinese; but never have I been treated unkindly or disrespectfully...Until Monday. Monday was not P-day and so we went to work. I sit down at the bus stop, and a Chinese guy comes to sit next to me. I simply say, "Hi how are you today?" In which he says to "*&%$ off!" stands up and walks to the other end of the bus stop. Never in my entire life have I ever felt so disrespected, taken aback, or my confidence shaken. I had heard the stories from Elders about the foul language of some people when they see missionaries, but I thought it might be different for Sisters because we are sweet little girls. I guess that expectation came from living in the south for so long. I was shaken. At lunch I went up to the bedroom and knelt on my knees and asked Heavenly Father to restore my confidence. It was hard, but as I started talking to more people, the confidence began to be rekindled and I was once again excited to be a missionary.
Yesterday was training and our AP told us that wearing the name of Christ comes with praise and disrespect, but that we should always be happy to bear the name of Jesus Christ. I am happy to always bear the name of my Savior and Redeemer. He gave me strength when others tried to knock me down for doing the work of the Lord. I know that Christ can help everyone out, that He loves us all, even that guy who spoke so rudely to me. He can help us in our times of need and will help us, if we just reach up and ask. I love you all!
1st Picture: Steven and Sister Chen and Me
2nd Picture: Sister Chen and I at the Brisbane Temple!
Dear Sister Natali,
ReplyDeleteI accidentally saw your blog and I've read it through. I found them quite uplifting!
No need to mind those rude people. Probably they were just in a bad mood. You will bump into hundreds of thousands of different people, so it's quite normal to meet some people like that.
Don't be embarrassed to speak Chinese, it's not as hard as Arabic anyway...I'm pretty sure that the Chinese you are talking to will be amazed that you can speak their language and they could see how much effort you have put into.
Everything will turn up as you re bearing the name of Jesus Christ and working hard!