I feel like I have nothing to say this week. It went by so fast. Time is so warped!!! Let me try to think of some highlights.
We've had some good sun this week. By that I mean about three of the days this week had a few hours not completely submerged in clouds. I hope I don't sound like I'm complaining but it's actually crazy how little he comes out for us. It doesn't really rain that much and when it does it's only a little drizzle. I can't think of the temperature because they use Celsius so I'm still lost.
We heard that there is a Chinese man in another area that we are going to start teaching once a week. I hope that goes through! We have about five Chinese students that are investigating but none are too far along. It is easy to get them to come try Sacrament meeting but it's usually just a cultural curiosity and they don't want to be seriously taught. There's kind of a divide between the Chinese members and the British YSA so honestly none of them are that strong. It's sort of sad and I almost wish they would go back to China where church would be more comfortable for them and they would get the support they need from the branches.
This is the way teaching Chinese people works I think. They often don't really care if it's true as long as it has good principles and they look at the Book of Mormon maybe how we would look at Confucian writings. Prayer at first seems like meditation to them and most of them don't really care about what happens after they die. Unless you can connect the Gospel to something right there in their life that they want help with, it all seems irrelevant. And for some reason because it's taught in China that God doesn't exist they use that as an excuse for not believing and think that all belief is cultural. Those are some of the concerns that are often raised. But what is great about teaching them is that they are curious and have no Christian precedent and just have a natural humility to them even though sometimes you have to push them to do anything haha.
Sometimes when Elder Curtis and I go street contacting I find a random scripture that is supposed to predict our day. This week I was sitting in the building and didn't really feel like going out and I turned to Alma 60:22-23. You'll have to look it up, it was a good chastise! I think this will be my last transfer in the YSA though. That's what my mission president said but he might change his mind. So maybe I'll spend Christmas in a new place, weird. I realized, craziest thing, that I have been in this area longer than the time between getting my mission call and leaving for the MTC. It must feel like I've been out forever. Do you all still remember me? They say to remember who you are because when you go on a mission, no one else does. But then they say to forget yourself!
President Ulrich is really inspiring. He is a man of faith! He sort of feels like an Elder Holland when you're around him, but he's so simple and loving too. The mission is trying to have higher goals and things which is good I guess. Whenever a new mission president comes in it takes a while to readjust the mission. But hopefully it's all for the better. I realized that the missionaries I love the most are the really humble ones from places other than Utah that don't always have the most success or get all the glory but humbly serve their best. I think there is a great lesson to be learnt from them.
Dad, your mission is going to have some crazy adventures! Maybe you will have a father and son come home teach you and hear about it all and be blown away like Bishop and Sister Holt.
Love you all so much,
Elder Webb
I forgot to mention, you pray a lot on your knees as a missionary. Like an average of 13 times a day. And guess what? My knees look like my elbows now! I am so proud of it.
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