Is Sunday too soon? What if we hadn't talked to her? emulating Christ, humility

June visit to attend the Taipei, Taiwan Temple

June 29, 2015
Dakeng, Taiwan

Awesome week! The work is moving along again. Found 3 new investigators this week.  I'll tell you about one of them.

Our Dakeng District with our mission President and Sister Blickenstaff

Is Sunday too soon?

Amber- really nice girl in her 20s or 30s. Her boss is a member of the church and has influenced her life a lot. She has been really touched by his example. 

There was a period of time where she was stressed out with work and wasn't very happy. He shared little bits about our church that really helped her. 

She's super prepared and anxious to keep meeting! She brought up baptism herself. When we were scheduling our second visit with her, she asked "Is Sunday too soon?" (Only 3 days later) This never happens! 

Everyone usually comes up with lots of excuses and tells us how busy they are and we really have to work with them to find a time.  But she basically invited herself to church :) 

What if we hadn't talked to her?

Another highlight was exchanges. On Tuesday I went to Fengyuan to work with the Sister Training Leader there in her area. Exchanges are always fun. There's something about them that gives you an extra ounce of motivation and energy. As a result, there's always a fun story or miracle that comes from those short 24 hours together. 

For us, we were able to find a new investigator and quickly sit down with her and teach her how to pray. She was a really sweet 14-year-old girl.  She was super interested to keep meeting with missionaries and learn more. 

I loved how bold Sister Thao was with her. Even though we were in a public place, she wasn't worried at all about what people would think or if it would be awkward. It's from that boldness and dedication that the miracles come, from tiny little decisions like that. What if we hadn't talked to her? 

Emulating Christ's Attributes

In my personal study lately, I've been reading the New Testament, a few chapters everyday, really trying to understand Christ's nature and how I can try to emulate His attributes. 

Mosiah 4:13 says 

"For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?" 

I'm grateful that I have this opportunity to dedicate all of my time to serving the Master. I know that only through this way can we understand Christ's nature and become more like Him. 

Humility

One attribute that particularly struck me this week was humility, while I was reading the Atonement section in Matthew 27. Over and over again, people accused Christ or denied who He was, asking "Art thou the King of the Jews?" or "If thou be the Son of God..." It would be very easy for Him to unkindly yell back or to defend Himself. But instead "he answered nothing." He didn't feel the need to prove Himself. 

He knew who He was and His purpose, and was comfortable with that. He was humble even though those around Him did not understand who He really was. 

Sometimes as a missionary, especially with a huge language barrier, I don't feel like people truly understand me or my full personality because the thoughts and feelings that I wish I could express are often very limited by vocabulary. 

I appreciate Christ's example that we need to always be humble no matter what the circumstances--because He went through the hardest circumstances of all--and to always be kind regardless of how others treat us. 

My favorite missionaries

I've found that my favorite missionaries to work with are those that are humble and don't have that feeling that they need to prove themselves to me as their companion, or to those around them, but are meek and always simply try their best, open to feedback.

Have a happy week!

Love,

Sister Hancock