Dear Mom, Dad, Eric, and Belle,
What a week it has been. I want to begin by sharing an experience
I had last night, but need to preface it with some background. Elder
Forbes and I have been working with a less-active member, visiting him once or
twice a week every week since I have come to this area. He is
great. He has come to church for about five consecutive weeks now and
loves having us over. He's incredibly kind and is always willing to
learn. We have been teaching him all of the lessons again. There's
a chance he's not actually a member as the ward still hasn't found his record
yet, but he swears he is so that's fine for now. The point of this
background, is that Elder Forbes and I have been working hard with him and we
have developed a serious and honest love for this man. Last night, as we
were riding back from our secondary area (the farther away areas under your
stewardship, about a forty minute bike-ride or so from the church) we came
across him and his friend walking down the street. The first thing that
crossed my mind was, "Wang Long De! I love that man!" The
second, "great, and a member referral we can teach!" The third,
"what on earth is he doing out and about this late on a Sunday
night?" Well, to our utter surprise and displeasure, he had been out
having fun (this man is almost sixty and very calm and collected, very
reclusive, and very kind) with a buddy we had never seen. He was acting
strange, too strange. Apparently, they had been out drinking. And
from the smell of him, drinking a lot. You could tell that he felt bad,
but his senses were so garbled in the haze of the alcohol that he could barely
talk and would laugh hysterically in spurts every few minutes. He pulled
me to the side to talk to me and rambled about his activities and how he was
glad he could come to church today and such. It was a mess. I tried
to compose myself, but tears welled in my eyes. I saw a man that I had
grown to love and care about breaking the commandments of God on His holy
day. After an awkward exchange, my companion and I left. Riding
quickly, and talking with everyone in an attempt to ebb my sadness, I spoke
with a man who had just gotten off work. He looked as though he had
returned from a trip as he was wheeling a suitcase behind him and dressed in a
nice polo with slacks. I asked a bit about him and in relatively good
English, shared that he knew I was a Mormon and that he used to be
Christian. I dug deeper to discover that he used to be very active and
believe strongly in our Savior, but ceased to pray daily when he divorced from
his wife and his son moved to America. He began getting emotional as he
told me how he felt abandoned and that if he doesn't keep working constantly,
occupying his thoughts continually, he will drive himself crazy. I began
to feel for this man and describe how Christ still cares for him and that he
can have that companionship and peace again. He expressed an honest sense
of gratitude for my effort, but walked away, silently into the night. To
be honest, at this time, I felt like someone had punched me repeatedly in the
stomach. Why did I have to see my friend drunk in the streets? Why
did I come across this man who had rejected God and hated Him for his
circumstances? Now, my purpose in telling you this is not to bum you out
or ruin your day. It's that our Savior died for everyone's sins. He
loves us and carries us. He told us to come to him and find rest, that
his "yoke is easy" and "burden is light." He loves
all of us. If we sin, there is hope! There is happiness and love
ahead! A lot of it! I don't know why the Master sent me to them
last night, but I know that he did. I realized last night that I love the
people of Taiwan. I really, truly, honestly, whole-heartedly love them.
I want to serve them. I'm trying my best.
I have a few questions and comments before I respond to the bulk of your
email:
Have you been to a HAUNTED corn maze yet? If not, please go this
week.
I would love a copy of my personal priesthood lineage if that's
possible.
Jacob Hogan returned home about eleven days ago. This morning I
received a letter from him, from his last preparation day in the field.
That was a very strange thought. He's home and likely doing very
well. I miss him a ton. I think that it would be great if you could
congratulate him on an honorable return. His information is likely on my Facebook page. He sent me a letter with some things that he had
learned on his mission in it. He's definitely a returned missionary, full
of light and happiness. That was honestly spectacular. It went way
too fast as mine is going now.
I never even thought of praying for Mitt Romney. I think that's a
wonderful idea though. What you said about what Mom did, was rather
clever and brilliant. I'm impressed actually. Imagine a President
that consults with Prophets of God. The country would be in wonderful
standings. I hope that he does just that.
Thank you for your words regarding our family. I often reflect
upon the influence that this gospel has made in our lives. We are blessed
for the chance that He gave us. I can tell that we're trying to use it
effectively as well. He knew where we needed to be. I often marvel
how often the Lord extends His almighty hand to influence my simple life or the
life of our family. God knows me. He knows you. I've felt,
since coming out, that my life has been set up by the Lord (Shen de anpai in Chinese) and that I have a role in this eternal
plan. I don't know what it is, but I tell you right now that I'm going to
be on the Lord's Errand for the rest of my life. I plan to seek Him in
all things, always. Thank you for reminding me.
Zone Conference was this week again. I love it. We get to
see half the mission and somehow (again, probably Shen de anpai) Elder Haag who is in the North half of the mission and should
not attend my Zone Conference came down to do some specialized training and I
got to see him again. He's so great. I love all of the wonderful
missionaries in this mission. President Bishop spoke on strengthening the
ward and working with the ward in missionary work. There was a ton of
great training and thoughts shared.
The temperature is getting cooler indeed. It feels great
here. There's a breeze and I don't sweat as much.
I'm not going to recognize the house when I return I bet, but that's
OK. The homes are so different there than here, it will be like a trip
into the Twilight Zone anyway. I hope you all can come back here with me
someday.
Elder Forbes and I are working. All areas are golden. We'll
find some. We have a lot of investigators right now who are progressing
toward baptisms, but many don't have a goal right now. We're working on
that however.
My body weight? I started gaining a little in my last area (after
having lost much) because my companion's dietary habits were different than
previous Elders, but then began losing it again when I came here. When I
left home, I was around 186 pounds (believe it or not) and now I'm in the
160s. I don't know if you can tell from pictures at all, but I have lost
quite a bit. I gained weight in the MTC as well. I don't have much
of a desire to put it back on.
My language skills are still progressing steadily, but nowhere near the
explosion of when I first got here. I can always work harder on
language. I would say that 75% of my day is in Chinese. Elder
Forbes and I talk in Chenglish which is about 80% English and 20%
Chinese, and then everything outside plus lessons is in
Chinese. It's really a wonderful language.
I just want to express how much I love you all. I pray for you
nightly. I pray for your safety, happiness, success, and spiritual
welfare. I know that the Lord is blessing your lives and influencing them
for the better. Keep working for the Kingdom.
-Elder Woolsey
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