On Friday morning, we had the blessed, blessed opportunity to attend an all-mission devotional by Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve. What a magnificent experience that was. To come and receive counsel from one of the leaders of the church was something that could change the course of my mission.
Also, I had to sing at that devotional. My legs are always a little shaky when I perform, but I was a mess at this one. I probably got some extra vibrato into the song from my legs alone. I could have turned and poked him from where I stood. Aiyah. It was crazy.
That meeting was a funny one, because (as we found out right after we had all arrived) that the previous Prime Minister of Australia, Tony Abbott, was going to award Elder Andersen on behalf of the church with some big achievement that we had nothing to do with. I think it would have been a bigger deal if the vast majority of the missionaries weren't all foreigners. Anyway. I had an interesting thought as he spoke, though. Of course, when Elder Andersen arrives, there's a power that just rushes in. But with all the articulate speaking that Mr. Abbott had, it wasn't the same. He could ramble with all the eloquence the world has to offer and yet it doesn't hold a candle to the feeling that only a witness of Christ can bring. Nothing against Mr. Abbott, of course. We were honored to have him with us. But his works are of men. We are here to do the Lord's work.
Anyway. That meeting was spectacular. And then we got to hear him speak again that night at a big YSA devotional. Elder Liu and I spent the evening with Aren, our recent convert. Seeing how excited she was to come and see and hear and shake the hand of an apostle of God made me want to burst - what a special experience that was.
So, that was great. And then we left to go work and we thought that was the end of it. But then we're at church on Sunday. Sister Johnson is giving her farewell talk in Chinese. And then in walks the apostle and his wife and I thought Sister Johnson was going to faint on the spot. He comes up and sits on the stand next to President Lai and smiles and starts listening to the talks through the translator mike. The branch members were all about to explode. The poor investigators who came that day had no idea what the heck was happening and why it mattered that this old white guy walked into their Chinese branch. But when he got up to speak...oh, the sweet peace in the room. The power, the authority. He came to visit our branch because he'd heard so much about it. He came to encourage the members to build their faith, to keep growing. They would be pioneers in spreading the gospel. They would be the tools that the Lord will work through to spread the truth of Christ to all the world. What a powerful, beautiful meeting. Brothers and Sisters, I try really hard not to make my emails preachy. But I'm here to witness that Christ himself leads this work and that He has called the Twelve and the First Presidency to lead us through these times. If we stay close to the Prophet of the Lord, we will be protected from the fiery darts of the adversary. Christ will carry us through.
Beyond that, we've been working. We got to see the Tas Elders, that was fun. Lots of GQing. Zone P Day is today, we're going to crush the South District at capture the flag. I love the work, I love my companion, and I look forward to the coming weeks.
I miss you all tons. But there's no place I'd rather be.
Elder Blackhurst
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