Great
week! Our recent convert Jashan got the Aaronic Priesthood on Sunday!
As we were teaching an Indian guy at the tables outside of a Wendy's,
Jashan happened to walk by and joined in for the remainder of the
lesson. Yesterday he came out to teach some Punjabi girls with us, and
on the ride home, he says, "I want to go on a mission. I will do this
for sure brother." My heart just leaped for joy when he said that! He
wants to wait until after he gets his permanent residence here though,
so we'll see how long it takes. We really need his help teaching because
he is a great teacher, has a solid understanding of the gospel, and
also speaks the language and understands the culture. So he is our in to
the Punjabi groups here in Brampton! :)
Speaking
of people just coming up to us, as we were teaching that same lesson,
another random Indian guy with the turban and everything comes up to us
and tells us in his thick Indian accent, "I am interested in the Jesus
brother. I gave you my number, why have you not called me? I would like
to schedule an appointment." Our investigator asks us, "Do people always
just come up to you like that??" haha
Ripan
and her friend Gagan came to the YSA ward! (They are also Punjabi) They
definitely feel something powerful when they come to church. Yesterday
they brought a friend to the lesson named Amandeep who has been in
Canada for a grand total of 10 days!
I feel
guilty to say it, but I feel like this week I have studied and
practiced more Punjabi than Chinese! Sat sri akal. Mai raat di roti kha
rea. That means "Hello. I am eating dinner." It's such a cool language.
But
I haven't neglected Chinese! This week we taught a Taiwanese
guy named Mr. Bai. He was a referral from Sister Jo, the "missionary
mom" in the Mississauga Ward (almost every ward has that one celestial
sister who feeds the missionaries all the time, partly because she has a
son on a mission). Anyway, Mr. Bai is a piano tuner. He can't see super
well, but he has PERFECT hearing! He doesn't use any tools or
instruments to help him tune, just his ear and 50 years of experience.
And Sisters Jo, probably one of the best piano players in the GTA, says
it's better than other professional tuners who use all the fancy
equipment. Anyway, Mr. Bai was not satisfied with his Chinese Christian
church, so we had lunch with him at Sister Jo's house and he came to
church that Sunday! He also doesn't speak any English. What's cool is
that the morning before we met him, he prayed for more opportunities to
learn English... and then we invite him to come to ESL at the church!
Other
than that this week has been a lot of work on transfers. The whole
"burning in bosom" vs. "stupor of thought" principle taught in D&C
9:8-9 really comes into play when President Shields matches missionaries
to different companions and areas. Since he is new, the only things he
has to go on are the brief weekly letters from missionaries, the few
minutes he had to meet the missionaries, what we tell him, and the
promptings of the Holy Ghost. We'll keep talking and switching around
name cards on the board until President says "yes, that feels right."
And as you keep moving on, you often start to feel that feeling of
confirmation from the Spirit for that specific companionship match-up,
and other match-ups start to make sense and come together like pieces
in a puzzle. Other times, a specific match-up doesn't feel quite right,
and no ideas are coming. So we let it sit for a while, and as we keep
moving missionaries around, an opening comes up that fits a specific
person perfectly. My testimony of President Shields being the key-holder
for the mission has grown a lot as I see the spirit work through him.
From these transfer meetings, I've also learned a lot about how to
recognize the Spirit in my life. Often times I'll try to force or demand
revelation on a specific aspect of my life, how to help an
investigator, etc., and I don't have any immediate feelings or thoughts
as a result. Oftentimes, the Lord will exercise our patience and tell us
to study it out some more. Other times, He tells us to put the thought
on the back burner and keep moving forward until the time is right
and we find the answer to what we were looking for. Sometimes He wants
us to go with what we think is the right path and he will confirm it to us as we take those first few steps. Whatever it is, the Lord will
surely answer our prayers in the way that we need it. :)
Love you all! Hope you have a great week!
Elder Holt
洪长老
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| Elder Carroll talking with everyone |
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| Office selfie! |
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