The weeks fly by faster and faster and the closer I get to the end the more anxious I feel that there is so much to do and get done here in the mission field. In a way it is kind of a panicky feeling because I feel like there are so many Chinese people who still need the Gospel here in Liverpool and I can't talk to all of them. This past week has been extremely busy and this next week is going to be the same if not more so.
To be honest I am very grateful for all the things that we need to get done because many people say it is easy to get distracted about going home, but for me, I literally have no time to think about the next day let alone going home. I know that the principle of diligence talked about in PMG is true, the more you work the more you feel the joy of missionary service and the less you worry about anything else. I look forward to this upcoming week with climbing Mt. Snowon and having the Chinese activity.
This past week as we went to the temple as a Zone on Friday I felt it was a great opportunity to really think about what recommitments I need to make in my life. I love the idea of repentace as being an amazing thing rather then a drag or something to dread. Repenting daily doesn't necessarily mean changing what you have done wrong in the past, but about doing better than you did the day before.
Repentance can be seen as adding another dimension or a better level to a house rather then cleaning up piles of rubbish that have been lying there for a while. Yesterday a Chinese student who will be baptized this Saturday asked me what is the real difference between buddhism and our belief. I told him that from my understanding buddhists believe that you have a never ending circle, while we believe that you have an eternal ascending line of progression. We can have eternal learning and progression if that is what we really want.
Yesterday we had a wonderful surprise show up to our church. (Elder) Landon Smart my Father Trainer came back to England with his family to go visit all the areas and people he had met on his mission. It was great to see him again and see that he is still a very sacred missionary. It gives me great comfort and hope that there are greater things for us to achieve even after our missions.
He has only finished two months ago, but two months can still be a long time for someone to change and I can see that he has changed for the better. He will be attending BYU so I will be seeing him around there. I am very grateful for the former Elder Smart and the knowledge and wisdom he has and the knowledge and wisdom he passed on to me throughout our missions. I really could not have asked for a better trainer.
We just had three new Chinese speaking Sisters come into the mission four days ago halfway through the transfer. Sister Smith is from Utah, her mother is from Taiwan and her father served a mission in Taiwan. Her understanding is ok but her speaking level is not the best. Sister Miner from Utah had no Chinese background except for some characters because she is pretty much fluent in Japanese, and now she has spent 12 months in the MTC. Sister Embley is from Michigan and lived in Shanghai for four years so her Chinese level is pretty good. Now is the time for us to start passing over all of our knowledge and experience to them. I had language study yesterday with Sister Embley and Miner and it seems they are doing well. I am excited for their future here in the EMM.
Things are going really well in the work now, most of the next few days will be packed with plans for the Chinese activity. We will be playing the balloon stomping game, waterballoon toss, chopsticks relay, crab soccer, charades and some other games which should be fun. I will let you know how it goes. More and more recently I have been thinking of what I can do in the future to work with the Chinese. They have been such a massive part of my life for two years I can't really imagine them not being a part of it for the rest of it. I look forward to finding out how I can interact with them.
Have a great week, keep your sights high and be safe!!
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