Week 59

What a great week! We had so many blessings! However, it is beginning to get colder here! It isn't really too cold, but the wind is so strong and cold that sometimes it gets quite chilly.

This last week we had some great things happen. One of them was the progression of our investigators- Jim (XiuZhong). He is a nice kid who works at Sister Huang's restaurant. He is preparing to become a soldier and he is a great example to me. He is the kind of person who is always happy! He always thinks of other people too. This week we invited him to come to church and he came! He was wearing his white shirt and tie. Even though he could only stay for the first hour, I talked to him as he left, and there was a light in him that was different than I had ever seen in him. He seemed so happy. 

Then there was another investigator of this last week, Larry. I think I have told you about Larry before. He is an investigator we met one night outside a 7-11 and he is also awesome. He has great English and he shared with us some experiences he had in the past and you can just see the hand of the Lord in his life. However, he is so hard to get a hold of. He works from 3 in the afternoon to 12 or 1 at night and he usually sleeps in to about 1 or 2 o clock in the afternoon. So, this last week we kept trying to get a hold of him and it just wasn't going well. At one point, it had been about 5 days since the last time we had talked to him or texted him. I will be honest, I get really anxious and worried over these people.  I am not the most patient person ever. I was praying in personal study one day and I decided to turn to the scriptures for comfort. The scripture I read that day was about Sariah. Her sons had been away for a long time and she was afraid that they had perished in the wilderness, so she began to mummer at her husband, Lehi. Lehi then tells her that the Lord will protect them in the wilderness. It helped me realize that this work, missionary work, is infinitely more important to the Savior than it is to us. He atoned and suffered for every single person on this earth. He wants this work to succeed and He helps it to succeed too. He is in this work and His hand is in the life of every single person. Even if our investigators drop off and we lose contact with them, we can feel confident in knowing the Savior will never be far away from them and He won't let them get away too fast. 

Thankfully, Larry didn't drop off. He is just really busy lately, but we have scheduled to meet with him tonight.  Our investigators have their own agency, but I know if they ever decide to turn back to the Savior, the Savior will be by their side waiting for them.

This week is the mission Christmas activity. Since it is at a lake right below Taizhong, we will lose a lot of proselyting time to travel... But it is okay, because the Lord will still be in HengChun watching over these people.

Love you all,

Elder Quist