This week was truly an eventful one. Lots of activities with the members. For a lot of them, this is their home. They spend so much time at the branch, because they have no other family in the country. They treat us like family. For example, just yesterday, one of the members told me that since I came to the branch, I've gotten fatter. Thanks, pengyou. Really appreciated that.
Kidding aside, we really do invest a lot in these people. We love them. We really do love these people. Some of my best friends are people I've met in this branch. Which is also why it's so hard to work out here. We found a new investigator a few weeks ago, and he finally came to meet with us at the branch last week. We met with this kid, who expressed his desire to learn who God is and how he can become better. We were so excited. We started thinking about how we can help him grow and change and progress towards baptism. And then we call the next day to invite him to come with us to a branch activity and he tells us that he's changed his mind, that he doesn't think what we have to share is necessary and it breaks your heart. We love these people and they turn away from what could be the most important thing in their life and it just hurts. But what can you do? You keep working. Because you know, there will be those who accept it.
For example, our dear Ren Rong - or Aren - was baptized this week. I had the blessed opportunity to attend her baptism on Saturday and personally give her (bestow upon her? I don't even know what to say in English anymore. 赐给圣灵的恩赐) the Gift of the Holy Ghost. I stood in the circle and, in my broken Chinese, blessed her by the authority of God to always have His presence near her. I will never forget that moment. She is preparing to go to the temple. How honored I am to be here in this mission, serving the most high God.
Don't get me wrong, I still make mistakes. Usually more mistakes than not. We were discussing something with her the other day before the baptism, and I was sharing a thought about the purpose of our trials. I was trying to tell her that patience allows us to identify the value in our trials. I accidentally said that if we have patience, our life will be filled with spiders. She looked at me for a moment and then she and Feng both lost it. I just kinda sat there trying to figure out what I said. We have a lot of those moments in the mission field. Chinese is a mess. Lianxi and lianxi are practice and contact, zhizhu and zhizhu are comfort and spider and definitely not value, which his jiazhi. Anway. It's coming.
I hope you're all setting lots of good goals for the new year. More specifically, I hope you're coming up with lots of good ways to stick to said goals. The new year is a time for change. Also, so is the rest of the year. We should always be changing. We should always be growing. There isn't time for being stagnant - never cease to develop your testimony in the Savior, Jesus Christ. Therein lies the greatest New Year's resolution: find specific ways to become like Him. Be diligent in your work in following Christ. No better change can be found, not in this world.
I love you all. Miss you lots. It's been a crazy first six months (six months! I can't even believe it. I'm a quarter in and still can't speak Chinese. Heck, I nearly left the grocery store today without groceries after paying for them) but I love this work. There is nothing like being a missionary. No reward on earth that can compare to seeing a sweet brother or sister enter the waters of baptism. I will continue to serve the Lord with all I have. I invite you all to do the same. Have a great week and I look forward to hearing from you all soon.
Elder Blackhurst
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