Leih Houh! Ngoh haih
FEISUHNG houh tungmaih ngoh gamsauh hoisam gamyaht!
What an amazing week!!
I'm doing well! Just a quick update on me, I'm studying hard and the language
is coming. I feel all the prayers in assisting me in learning the language as
well as having a desire to really work all day at SYL (Speak your language). Yesterday
Elder Guinn and myself were made Zone leaders! I feel so humbled by the
opportunity. Elder Noyce (the old zone leader) and Sisters Yang and Mon left
early this morning for Thailand and they will be sorely missed. I loved them
all and they were like loving older siblings I never had. Our zone right now is
compromised of our Cantonese District of 12 and a Thai District of 8, but on
Wednesday our zone receives 31 Elders and 5 Sisters! 4 more districts! Elder
Guinn and I kick into our duties right off the bat as our zone nearly triples
in size! It will be fun. As well, our district has been falling apart. We
fasted yesterday for an Elder who most likely tore his ACL during volleyball
(we find out Wednesday for 100% if he has to go home, but he is making a
miraculous recovery), another with hemorrhoids who is having a colonoscopy as
we speak, another who had something inflamed next to his heart giving him major
heartburn, and two others that have a bad cold. Our room is basically the only
untouched room so we have been bathing in Germ-ex and praying really hard to
stay healthy haha.
Last Monday we had the
opportunity to clean the Provo Temple for a couple hours during our temple
time, because it is closed! What an amazing experience. I was really able to
come to an understanding of how much care is put into the Temple as we
literally cleaned lockers with toothpicks and cotton swabs. It is the Lords
house and I really gained a greater testimony of that as we worked to clean it.
I will more greatly respect it now.
Have I mentioned our
devotionals yet? We have one every Sunday and Tuesday night, and had one for
the 4th of July. Basically we go listen to a speaker and it's amazing. So last
Tuesday we listened to Elder Sitati (he spoke in GC) and it was awesome! I love
hearing uplifting words from men ordained of God. One of my favorites however,
was yesterday when we got to listen to Jenny Oaks Baker! My district has it
figured out how to be in the chairs in the front 4-5 rows every time, so we got
to listen to her and her family play from 15 feet! Mom and Whit I hope you're
jealous. It made me think of my family the whole time as all their little
children played together. The Spirit was so strong.
In priesthood Sunday, we
were discussing the Holy Ghost and other things, when Elder Vandyke brought up
a strong quote that I feel inspired to share. "Never do anything you can't
ask the Lord to help you do." What can this thought do to our lives if we
ask ourselves this thought? Tie that into something that Elder Sitati said,
"The Lord fought on our same battlefield." He fought for us and
fights with us. I came here into the mission field on my will as well as the
Lord's and only by the Lords will, can I and will I act. I am a soldier of
Christ now. I came here and I am doing a work that the Lord wants me to do. I
can ask the Lord for help and I do every night. I ask for help every time I
pray (which, especially in the mission field is literally almost hourly) and I
feel Christ in my life. Even when it's hard to see his hand, it is there.
"A true disciple of Christ acknowledges his hand in ALL things, both good
and bad", Pres. Weaver. Do we acknowledge His hand and strive to have that
faith in Christ that will get us through the day? What more can we do? James 4:17
says, "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him
it is sin." Strong words from one of my favorite books. There is always
something more we can be doing. If a day goes by that we feel we didn't
use the Atonement, we did something wrong; we should need it anyway. The
Atonement should be part of everyday repentance as well as drawing upon its
enabling powers for strength and power to go throughout our day as "doers
of the word as well as hearers." The Atonement is such a huge part of our
lives and I feel sad that I am only barely coming to grasp that. Use it.
Christ, a literal God, suffered pain so great he bled from every pore and
pleaded with Heavenly Father to take the bitter cup from Him. If we don't use
this great enabling power, we are sinning against the very powers of Heaven. I
hope to use this power so I can have the attitude of Alma in Chapter 13 (I
believe) when he looks forward to the day he gets to meet Christ and Heavenly
Father. He does not fear it.
To the future missionaries:
Bring extra stuff to write letters with. All the Elders in my area use my stuff
because I have oodles. Align yourself with Christ now and develop that
relationship so that you hit the ground running in the MTC. Use the atonement
every day.
Ngoh Ngoi kuihdeih! Choi
gihn!
--
Love,
Elder
Sargent
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