Hello family and friends!
Wow! It's already been another week! A lot has happened and I don't know how to express it all. First off this week is transfers so who knows where I will be emailing you from next week??!! I really hope that I will stay but either way I feel calm because it is all in the Lord's hand!
This week has been a hard week. All of our investigators are either not answering their phones or dropping themselves. In order to get new investigators Sister Briggs and I decided that we needed to get new investigators and that would mean finding finding finding! On Wednesday we decided that we would do 2 hours in Xiang Shan finding and 2 hours in Zhu 1! We picked a certain area that we would go finding in.
In Xiang Shan we picked our bike and decided we would walk from there to this college (on bike it is 20 minutes). We did not have any success in finding any new investigators but we had lots of small miracles/ tender mercies.
We had been walking for a while and were a little discouraged... then all of a sudden I hear Lei Jie mei Lei Jie mei. I turn my head and see one of the Zhou's kid in their car driving by. My face lit up and I waved back. I love that family SOOO much. They will hold a special place in my heart forever! I call Sister Zhou my Taiwan mama.
Our second tender mercy came a little later. We were near the college when we saw one our less actives on her motorcycle. She saw us and a big grin appeared on her face.
The miracle in all of this is that members saw us working! That is the best thing members can see us do!
Sad news!!
Yang Jie Mei has decided that she no longer wants to meet with us anymore. It is really sad to see her chose not to be baptized but agency is given to all. That is hard to see your investigators chose to reject the gospel.
We did a lot of work with families and less actives this week!
In Zhu Yi the focus for the families was the wards 21 day mission plan. The plan is to help prepare members to know who of their friends is ready to receive the gospel. First you make a list of names. second you start the 21 day plan. The 21 day plan is a list of 21 scriptures and if you stop or forget a day you have to start over. I will be starting this today along with some ward members! I am excited to see the result. I know that the Bishop was inspired to receive this for his ward.
Less actives are sometimes hard to work with because they had a testimony. It is helping them re find that testimony is the key to helping them re light the fire that was once there.
We went and visited Du Jie Mei this week. One of our relief society presidency members Gao Jie Mei wanted to go with us. We get there and do our hello's and then Gao Jie Mei says well the message I would like to share is about temples. I was really surprised because I was not expecting her to teach the lesson. The lesson turned out great! This is what she needed to hear. She has a desire to go to the temple and now we have a goal to work towards.
Ding Jie mei is doing good. She is coming to church regularly and starting to make friends in the ward. Every week we meet with her we have decided we would go over the Gospel principles upcoming lesson. She refuses to bring her Vietnam book to church so half the time she sits there confused. We decided she needs to better understand the basics. We had her with her Vietnamese book her son with his Chinese and me with my English. We then went around the room and each read some paragraphs. It made her feel better to have us read our English. In that moment sitting there it again hit me that no matter what language we speak God understands all. I was grateful that Ding Jie Mei can read the scriptures in her native language.
Yesterday was Elder Montalto's last Sunday! It is crazy to think how fast time flies. He was able to bear his testimony in church. All the people were so sad. He has been here 11 months! (7 transfers) Missionaries really do make a splash wherever they go. I love seeing the impact of dying missionaries. While in the work it seems as if you are not making a difference then as we reflect we realize the waves we made.
Life is so unpredictable. I have learned this week I just have to love every moment. I cannot change my situation but I can change my attitude. I do not know what this week brings but I am going to be happy with whatever happens.
God loves all his children! I love you all! I know this church is true. I know that if we earnestly pray God will answer.
Love
Sister Latimer
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