Well, ladies and gentlemen! The time has again come for me to
softly lull you to sleep with my dull crusades of bike riding and
knocking doors! But, in an effort to hold your attention as your browse
quickly, looking for any pictures I may have attached, I want to share
with you some of the miracles and mistakes and magic and... other
applicable m words, that I have experienced this last week!
To
kick things off, let's talk about the craziest part of my week: our
Ward Christmas Party. I would like to apologize in advance to any and
all of you that think your Ward Christmas Party is the best, because I
promise the Hualian 2nd Ward has you beat. They reenacted the story of
Christ's birth, from Luke 2 (in Chinese), complete with super awesome
costumes, a massive stuffed donkey, a star that moved across the room,
and a child dressed as an angel in a machine that raised him up almost
to the roof. It was spectacular. I will put pictures on my Google Drive!
(If you don't have my drive link, or can't get it to open, you can
email me and I can send it to you!) If any of you have had a Christmas
party to compete with that, I want to know, so I can come to your ward
when I get home.
Also, this week we had a
crazy little set of miracles! One of our investigators, named Wilmer, is
a man that was born in the Philippines, and works here in Hualian! The
first time we met with him, he told us he wants to get baptized, his
faith is so strong! His wife is a member, she was baptized in Taiwan in
2005, and she has such a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon! She
told us that any time she has a problem or concern in her life, she goes
to the Book of Mormon, and always feels better. They are such amazing
people, and we love going to visit them and feel the love they have for
our Savior. The only problem is that, because of his work, Wilmer is in
Hualian from Monday until Friday, and only comes home to our area in
FengLin on Saturday and Sunday! So, it's very hard to find a time to
meet and share with him. But, last Monday night, we had to take a train
up to Hualian for an activity on Tuesday. Our train left at 8:28 pm,
and we had some time before we went up, so we decided to go visit
Juliana, our investigator's wife, and see how she was doing. We parked
our bikes at a convenience store and walked over, and when we got there,
she wasn't home, so we went finding in that area for a little bit. But
as we were contacting someone near their house, we noticed our
investigator, Wilmer, getting off a bus to go home! And his wife's bike
was home! So, we made our way back over, and were able to share a lesson
with him and his wife! It was so awesome! We finished the lesson at 8:25 pm,
requiring us to sprint to grab our bikes, and then get to the train
station! We made it onto the train right before the doors closed! It was
so amazing, and a confirmation that the Lord truly blesses us when we
are doing what's right, and working hard!
I
love Christmas, and not just because it's one of the two times a year we
can video chat our families (but I like that part, too). There is so
much that changes about life during Christmas, and, if we can look past
the Christmas trees and packages, we have the opportunity to see so much
more. I sound like every Hallmark movie ever, but it's true! The real
meaning of Christmas is to remember our Savior, His birth, His life, and
His ultimate sacrifice for us. The ability to improve ourselves, to
repent, and to be forgiven of mistakes that we make, is all because of
Christ, and His love for us. He gave His life in service, and in
sacrifice, for us, because He loves us. And this season gives us an
opportunity to show our love for Him, by doing the things that He did.
Through serving others, we have an opportunity to show our Father in
Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ, the love that we have for them, and
the gratitude we have for all they have given us. I hope that this
Christmas, and always, we can find opportunities to mend the broken
hearts, to raise the weary heads, and truly help our brothers and
sisters on this rough road back to our Heavenly Home.
I love you all, and I hope to hear how all your Christmases went!
Love,
Elder Shope
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