February 18, 2009

We got surprised this morning. The time Eric's e-mails usually arrive came and went, and we had heard nothing. We had given up on getting anything today when it arrived sometime after 10:00 am. I didn't see it until almost noon, so it was quite a surprise. It was filled with news and answers to questions.

First of all, we got a laugh over the whole Leeds Leader story I mentioned in a post the other day. Turns out this great experience happened with a man, not a woman as the story says. Apparently, the Leeds Leader got it wrong. As a result, we thought it was talking about someone we hadn't heard about, when in fact, the experience took place with Glume, and Eric told us about it last week. Oops.

As we said last week, Eric got to go back to Huddersfield on Friday to speak at the baptism of the woman he interviewed last week. He received a surprise the night before, when he was asked to also perform the baptism in Chinese. He said he was honored to have the opportunity. It sounds like he and the woman being baptized might have been the only 2 people there who spoke Mandarin.

Eric was excited to hear about Elder Shen (see the post from earlier today). He said Elders Chan and Fung (the only 2 Mandarin-speaking missionaries besides Eric and Elder Liu) are going home soon, so it is likely that Eric will be Elder Shen's first companion. Eric would love to have that experience.

Eric said he and Elder Liu continue to get along very well.

"He has taught me a lot about being charitable and doing things for the right reason. I often get caught up in the little things and he helps me realize the need to understand that love is the center of missionary work, just as Joseph Smith taught. I am amazed at how perfect our companionship is."

Eric expressed some concern this week about the struggles some of their newer Chinese members are having. The language and cultural barriers make it difficult for them to be integrated into fellowship in the Church. Once they return to China, they could be instrumental in helping to spread the gospel there. It's just a matter of strengthening them for that challenge. This week, they had a special family home evening for the Chinese members. Several of the members and one of their investigators came and really enjoyed it. Hopefully, experiences like this will help them to strengthen each other in their commitment to the Lord and his gospel. Their help will also be needed as the missionaries continue to teach and prepare others for baptism. On this subject, Eric said:

"We don't just want these people to be baptised, we want them to build their foundation on Christ and be steadfast and immoveable."

The whisperings of the Holy Spirit, which teach us of the divinity of Jesus Christ, are instrumental in the conversion process. They remain important to us for the rest of our lives as we continue to rely on those whisperings to get us through times of difficulty or doubt. As Eric put it today:

"The small whisperings of the spirit do more to one's testimony than miraculous experiences, visions or miracles.... These are the kinds of experiences we want our investigators to have. They are the key to lasting conversion."