My initial teacher, Brother Hay (Hai laoshi)
Once again, much has happened, and there's little time to relate it.
It's difficult to believe it's Preparation-Day again already. We would
normally go to the temple on P-Day, but the temple is closed for a few
weeks while it undergoes renovations. We got to play volleyball with the
zone earlier today. Our district had gotten to be quite good; we make a
good team.
Zone volleyball on P-day
Cici. We were able to teach her twice
more since I last wrote. The first lesson went incredibly well. She kept
her commitments and made definite progress--her understanding and
belief growing greatly. The next and last lesson was a different story.
We prepared ourselves and went in with the Spirit. We planned to review
everything we had taught her thus far and to then invite her to follow
the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized. However, she wasn't
receptive in the least. The Spirit was undeniably present, but she had
no desire to believe, learn, or come closer to Christ. She didn't keep
her commitments, and she had forgotten everything we had taught her up
to that point. We worked with her as best we could, but we could detect
no reason for this sudden change in her. The next day she entered our
classroom as our second teacher.
We began
teaching a couple of new investigators. They're both our teachers, but
they're role-playing as either people that taught on their missions or
friends of theirs'. We've taught Amin (the new Cici) once already. We
explained to her as best we could in Chinese that we couldn't help her.
Our Chinese simply wasn't good enough, but that I knew God could help
her. He wants to. He loves her. We, as representatives of Jesus Christ,
can do all things through Him according to His will. She was much more
receptive after this, and she worked with us better than she might
otherwise have.
The Chinese is still coming
along well. I learn how to say new things each day, and my companion and
I are working hard to SYL (speak your language). It is increasingly
rare for me to not know how to express myself in Chinese for which I am
very grateful. I've managed to memorize our purpose, the baptismal
invitation, and several key scriptures in Mandarin. I'm currently
working on the 1st vision. I was even able to understand a native
Taiwanese speaker who was speaking at a regular pace. However, it's not
me. There's no way I could pick up so much so fast. It is only through
the Spirit and the Lord that I have been able to have success thus far.
I'm confident that I could go to Taiwan today and help the people come
closer to Christ. All I really need to do is testify of simple truths;
the Spirit does the rest. Learning Chinese these next few weeks will
just make things go that much better. It will allow the people to focus
more on WHAT I say than on HOW I am saying it. It will also allow them
to pay greater attention to the feelings they receive from the Spirit...
IF
I
remain humble and recognize that is is only through the Atonement of
Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Ghost that I am able to realize
success. Even if I speak perfect Mandarin, if I lose sight of this, I
will not be able to bless the lives of those the Lord has prepared for
me to teach.
I ran into the first person I knew
prior to my stay at the MTC this week--Ashley Ellsworth from my first
year of EFY. She's going to the Philippines and learning Tagalog. It was
nice to catch up for a moment and exchange greetings, but we're far too
busy to really talk about anything.
Saturday
evening we attended the International Celebration of Freedom devotional
held at the MTC. Highlights included the presentation of flags where we
have missionaries in the world, the identification of missionaries at
the MTC from every corner of the earth going to every corner of the
earth, and a time-lapse that showed the growth of the church since the
restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. After the devotional we
watched some fireworks. The actual 4th of July didn't feel much like a
holiday. The only real indication of the celebrations going on in the
outside world were the red, white, and blue color schemes worn by many
and the sound of fireworks in the evening. It was a good day though.
Sunday
was fast Sunday. I began my fast the evening prior immediately
following dinner and made it to dinner the next day without ever feeling
hungry (an oddity at the MTC where we never stop). Many of the other
elders in my district ate up until they went to bed, yet they seemed to
suffer from a vocal case of starvation. I was definitely blessed in this
way. I'm grateful for fasting and the miracles that can be wrought
through it.
My companion taught a wonderful lesson on the Book of Mormon in
priesthood, and I later taught a lesson on the Spirit in district
meeting. Between the two of us, we covered the two most valuable
resources known to missionaries. We also had a compliment circle. We did
this as a family just before I departed and I had the thought that it
would be good to do with the district to build unity, but I thought it
would be better to do before we left for the field once we got to know
one another better. I made a note and moved on, but another elder in our
district brought it up a little later. Clearly it was something we were
supposed to do. I was shocked when my companion (for the third of
fourth time) emphasized his gratitude for my patience. I've always
considered patience my weakest point. The Lord undeniably has had a hand
in this. Ether 12:27 "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."
I also learned from the remainder of the district that I'm the
"district mom" -- I love everyone, but I don't allow them to step too
far out of line. I was also glad to have the opportunity to bear my
testimony on Sunday. I even got to do it in English!
We went on temple
walk again and that evening we attended a devotional focused on enduring
to the end. To sum it up, Enduring = Becoming. That evening we we able
to view Holland's "Missions Are Forever." It was inspiring to say the
least (it rivaled Bednar's message last week). He encouraged us to
internalize our purpose and then go out and astonish people. He also
counseled us that the road to salvation leads through Gethsemane. The
mission will not be easy for us. It wasn't easy for the Savior of the
world. Why should it be easy for us? Our comfort is that because His
road was so long and lonely ours doesn't have to be. He is truly with us
every step of the way.
Choir was once again a
highlight of the week. The director explained to us our part in the
work in this analogy. Think of Paul Bunyan's pet bull (the big blue one named Babe). The Savior has invited us to share the yoke
with Him. He's the massive bull and we're just a cow. We're yoked with
Him, but our feet don't even hit the ground. We're so excited to be out
here, but we need not fear. It's is work. We just need to allow Him to
work through us. I didn't explain that very well, but due to time
restraints it will have to do.
My rendition of the painting shown to us in choir (I'm not the best artist and time was short)
Marlin K.
Jensen, an Emeritus 70, spoke last night on faith. It was perfect since I
began studying the Christlike attributes in Preach My Gospel in depth
only yesterday. One thing he said that kind of struck me was that if we
use our study time effectively throughout our mission, it is the
equivalent of a Master's Degree in Theology. I bought a Book of Mormon
to mark all the Christlike attributes I can find in the scriptures
(different attributes different colors). I'm excited to learn as I
study. "Our Search for Happiness" by Ballard is also an inspired work. I
highly recommend it (even though I've only gotten through the first
chapter with my comp.).
The desk where some serious work is done (it's normally cleaner; we were just hard at work when I took the picture)
One night we had a
little extra time (crazy, right?). My companion and I decided to walk
through the main building and just view the paintings and photographs
there. No one else was around so it was perfectly quiet. It was the best
part of the day and a wonderful way to wind down before bed.
The
happiest missionaries (or people) are the ones that love the people
(others) more than they love themselves. John 13:1-17 Here is 13-17 "Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. 16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. 17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them."
It hasn't been easy so far. We've
had our fair share of challenges and never enough rest, but somehow we
get through. I testify that "somehow" is the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Through Him we can do all things. The scripture that best sums up these
first two weeks is Proverbs 3:5-6 5 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
I know that as
we trust in the Lord, He will show us the way. He already has, and He's
eager to help us along.
Have the best week!!
Elder Dickson
Here is where everyone in the district is going:
Elder Garcia - Hong Kong
Elder Peterson - San Jose California
Elder Ure - Ireland
Elder Tooley - England
Elder Smith - Hong Kong
Elder Engel - Hong Kong
Elder Lawrence - Taiwan, Taipei
Myself - Taiwan, Taipei
Sister Tiffany - Scotland
Sister Jones - Taiwan, Taipei
Sister Chang - Taiwan, Taipei
Also, here is my mom and dad meeting the new president and his wife of the St. Louis Missouri Mission, President and Sister Bateman.
No comments:
Post a Comment