Nimen Haoooooooo.
I....am....exhausted, but so happy :) Transfers have come and gone and I'm pleased to announce I am staying for at least another 4 weeks until the next transfer, which means I'm officially in the Sydney North Mission as of July 1st! Sister Slade is staying with me, as well, but a few missionaries are leaving our zone. It's depressing when our family gets broken up after we've been bonding for 6 weeks but it's all for the better. We have a couple newbies coming into the zone this week, I'm looking forward to meeting them. This week has been jam packed with so many things - transfers, miracles, preparing for baptisms this Saturday - and we all took a zone trip to the temple today. I'm just overwhelmed, but a good overwhelmed, no complaints here!
Well, let's begin with miracle number 1....(deep breath):
Last week while we were on trade-offs, we met a girl named ________ in the park, she's from Thailand. She was just sitting on a bench listening to her iPod. We talked to her for a few minutes and set up a time for her to meet with us the following week. So this week on Tuesday, she arrives promptly for her appointment and she also has 2 friends with her! She asks us, "Is it okay if my friends learn with me?"...(bless her heart...) Of COURSE they can learn with you! We were thrilled. We begin to teach them, mind you their English isn't very good, but we teach them about the God Head, focusing on Jesus Christ and his life. They were practically leaning towards us hanging off of every word. They even were saying little "oooos" and "aahhhs" haha, too cute. I talked about the Holy Spirit, and how he teaches us of truths. Jess then says, "I can't explain in English but I feel...something all over me." Her friends agree with her. We explain to them that's the Spirit teaching them. Then she tells us a little story. She said last week she was having a hard time so she went to the park just to think about life. That's when the missionaries came and talked to her. She said that after they left, she felt so happy that she left the park and went straight to her friends to tell them her experience. She said she had a strong feeling that she just had to see the missionaries again to see what they had to say, so her friends asked if they could meet us too. That's what brought them all to us. After she shared this experience, and sharing a few comments, I invited them all to be baptized on July 20th, they all said YES. They didn't even hesitate. We are meeting with them again tomorrow, they are all so amazing, MIRACLES in the city! :)
Next miracle: We were walking through the botanical gardens, talking to people, having a browse and what not, and we start talking to an Asian and I ask him where he's from - he's from Taiwan! We talked about his beliefs and God and invited him back to the teaching center later in the afternoon. He showed up right on time when he said he would. We taught him 3 times last week and he came to every ward activity! He's practically a member! The best part is his name is Poker :) He's so good...
Miracle number 3: Sister Slade and I were walking in the city and we're at a stop light. I wave to this guy next to me and he smiles and waves back. I ask him where he's from (always my go-to) and he says he's also from Taiwan! I start to speak to him in Chinese and he FREAKS out...just shocked! I've never seen anyone so intrigued in my survival Chinese. He wanted to know everything; where I was from, where I studied, etc. We told him we are English teachers, as well as representatives of Jesus Christ. He was so excited! He has so much energy I don't know what to do with it but I love him! He couldn't be any more prepared. We've met with him every single day. He works at a DVD factory and any free time he has, he spends with us. I asked how old he was and he's like, "no, I'm embarrassed I'm so so old - I'm 23." I said, "Excuse me, I'm 22!" He turned bright red, "NO, NO Sister Raitt, you are young! I didn't mean it!" haha...so that's just great. I'm a grandmother.
So many miracles this week, that's just a few. It's been wonderful and so, so busy! I love it!
Quick funny story then I need to wrap up...
There are two elders in my zone: Elder Wennerholm and Elder Wong. Elder Wennerholm has a go-to joke that he always uses when he meets people. He'll point to his companion, Elder Wong (from Hong Kong) and say "Yeah, we're actually twins." Asians think he's hilarious, and I'll admit it's a little funny. Elder Wennerholm is all-American, 6 foot 3 and Elder Wong is short and Asian - haha. SO, the other day, we're in the chapel and I'm watching them talk to some people. I watch as Elder Wong says, "Yeah...we're trains." Awkward silence because no one understood what he said. "You're what?" He says, "We're twains." I am dying laughing because I know what he's trying to say but they have no idea. Elder Wong is just SO confused thinking, "Why is it funny? hahaha. I piped up, "He means TWINS," and they're like, "OOHHhhhhh..." hahaha, probably not even funny to all of you but I was DYING.
Well I love you all very much, I hope you have a wonderful week. The Church is true. :)
Love,
Sister Raitt
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| Light show at the Opera House |
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| Minion's first train ride |
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| Sister Steven's last night |
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| View from our rooftop |
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