Another great week out here in Chin...err, Melbourne. The work is going along. This week was a little slower, but that's alright. Heidelberg is still a great place to serve.
Nothing really too out of the ordinary this week. The weather was all over the place, the Asians were still Asians and the Australians still Australians. We taught lessons, bemoaned the fact that we never have enough language study time, went on exchanges. Missionary work.
Our investigators are still all golden. Except for the ones that aren't, those ones we're going to drop this week. Y is progressing so well. His baptism is scheduled for less than a month and we're so excited. He's getting there, one day at at time. S is progressing so well too. She made friends with one of our members and they're awesome. Elder Hu and I have visions of making all of our members friends and then them all being active together. This is what missionaries dream of, friends - active investigators. Y M N came to church which was so fun. Also, her hair is green so she kinda stood out. But we were so grateful to have her there. The others aren't progressing too much, which is sad. It's hard to tell some of these people that we can't keep meeting because they can't keep commitments. It's so vital that they try and exercise faith. Just a little is enough - we know God will answer us. It just takes that bit of faith.
I've had lots of questions about how the Chinese is coming. The thing about learning a language in an immersion setting is that it's pretty difficult to compare. At no point in my mission will my Chinese sound as good as my companion's. But it will continue to grow, every day. Bit by bit we increase our vocabulary, learn to better listen and understand the dialects. I love Chinese. I truly do. It's a beautiful parallel to the way we learn spiritual truths - line upon line, bit by bit, until we realize one day just how much of a complete knowledge we have. How beautiful it is.
During our lesson with S, we were teaching about the Atonement of Christ. You have to remember that these people have almost zero familiarity with the Bible. I remember as we were explaining, there was a moment where we were talking about the magnitude of the Savior's sacrifice. I was explaining in my broken Chinese, doing the best I can. I remember when it clicked in her eyes. I could see the change, the switch, the realization of what this means to us. There is no power on this earth that compares to the magnitude of Christ's atonement. Nothing in the world. How grateful I am that he would die for me. I hope you all know the same applies for you. Each and every one of you. He loves you individually and He wants nothing more than for you to come to Him.
I hope you all have a fantastic week. I'll do my best to try and be mildly more entertaining next letter. Make sure you all call my mother and personally sing your own composed birthday song to her this week, she's turning 29. Or maybe just one of the classic songs, those work too.
Love you all. Hope to hear from you all soon.
Elder Blackhurst
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