Kia Ora,
This week has been an unusual week for sure. We had a few interesting lessons. On Monday my companion and I had just a great day and so we went out and talked to everyone. We ran into this one guy who was an Islamic person that said that he was looking for the "best apple in the market." We thought sweet because we have "the best apple," so we set up an appointment for the next day. When we went by he let us in and gave us some biscuits (cookies) and lollies (candy) and talked for ages. This guy wouldn't let us talk and he was just talking about how Jesus Christ isn't God and a whole lot of stuff that didn't make sense and so we told him that we had to go because we did. As we were leaving he gave us some "literature" to read that "disproves" the Bible. When we went home that night we looked at it and half of the stuff didn't make sense and the other half agreed with what we said. He even gave us a pamphlet of frequently asked questions of Islam. I didn't know there were frequently asked questions. We also as a district have made a goal of praying with 30 people each week. This is pretty hard but it is definitely enjoyable. We talked to one lady who when we asked if we could say a prayer she actually asked if she could pray for us and we said sure and so she asks if she can put her hands on our shoulders and we just said alright. It was a very weird experience but this week has definitely helped me to see from the perspective of the investigator. Being asked to pray is weird!
Even though we had some interesting experiences we also got to have some very spiritual experiences. This last week we had the privilege of going to a city wide conference and so we were able to hear from Brother and Sister Beck (General Young Men's President), Brother and Sister Osguthorpe (General Sunday School President), and Elder and Sister Watson (2nd counselor in the area presidency, member of the 1st Quorum of the Seventy, and Secretary to the First Presidency). It was an amazing opportunity to be taught by the Spirit. I don't think there was ever a time in my life when I learned so much in one meeting. I think that's partly because life is progressing and everything always gets harder and better.
One of the many things that I took away from this conference was something I learned from a scripture. Alma 26:27 is a great scripture if you are ever going through a hard time. Now, in this scripture Ammon and the sons of Mosiah are reflecting back on their missions and Ammon is speaking here and they are thinking back to a time where they were facing a lot of persecution and hardship. The scripture reads: "Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success."
Now it isn't very comforting to be told to go back into the hardship and the trials and deal with it. But it was explained to me that if you go back far enough in the root of the word comfort, it means strengthened and so if you read it again replacing the word comforted with strengthened it reads: "Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord strengthened us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success."
This means that the Lord strengthened them as they went to bear their burdens and made it so that they could overcome them. He also blessed them with success so if you are ever having a hard time just remember that the Lord will strengthen you as you bear your burdens with patience and will give you success.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
P.S. Mom-
Getting a package ready for you, anything you want in there?
1) Mac and Cheese and no chocolate please. I've given up chocolate but I'm more than happy to receive Sweet and Salty Bars.
What are you enjoying most about your mission?
2) I am loving getting to know all these different types of people and hearing their experiences.
Have you done any sight seeing on your p-day?
3) I have not done any sight seeing. Most P-days are spent emailing, shopping, and volleyball/basketball.
Gram-
I did get your package and thank you so much! I loved it. I never even tried the Maple and Brown Sugar one before, and it was delicious.
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