May 6, 2009

Sorry again for the delay in posting this. Here's the news from Eric's May 6 e-mail.

He started out by telling us he would be calling home on Sunday (Mother's Day), between 5 and 7 p.m. his time. He figured he'd have about an hour to talk to us. We, of course, were anxiously awaiting this call, since we only get to talk to him twice a year.

Elder Shen, the new missionary from Taiwan, didn't arrive this week as expected. Apparently more visa issues, but Eric now doesn't know when he will arrive or where he will be sent. Eric would like the opportunity to train him, since he's not sure when an opportunity like that would come around again.

Eric had someone copy all the talks from the recent general conference of the Church onto his iPod, both in English and Mandarin. This allows him to both listen again to the talks and practice his Mandarin. He is able to listen to them in his spare time.

Good news this week - he passed his driving theory test. Now all he has to do is pass the road test and he'll be a licensed driver in the UK. Hopefully, for his pocketbook if nothing else, he'll pass the first time. Speaking of his pocketbook, he's worried that he's spending too much money. This week he bought another suit, which he found on super clearance for only 18 pounds (about $27). We couldn't figure out how this was possible, and decided to ask him about it on Sunday.

As far as their teaching pool goes, they continue to teach Jimmy and Cindy, a young unmarried Chinese couple with a small child. They are very interested in the gospel but will have to resolve their marriage situation before they could join the church. This will be difficult for them because they aren't citizens in the UK. Elders Hansen and Liu also continue to teach Rick, who has accepted everything they have taught him, but doesn't want to be baptized yet. His Mormon girlfriend from Utah is supposed to come for a visit on Sunday, so we'll see how that turns out. Eric said they are also teaching several Chinese students, though many have gone home for Easter break or have finished their studies, so that will be difficult now until fall when the students all return. One of the students they are teaching is named Hong Yi. He is very interested in the gospel, but has no understanding of God, so the teaching has to start on a very basic level. He should be at church on Sunday.

One experience Eric shared with us happened on Saturday when they had a few hours to find new people to teach. They were knocking on doors, but not finding anyone home or interested, so they decided to get out their map and pray about where they should go next. While they were praying, Eric had a very strong impression that they should go to a certain tower of flats. He didn't really want to go there, because both they and the other missionaries had knocked doors in that building recently, without success. Nevertheless, they felt like the Lord was directing them there, so they went. Again, the response wasn't good, and they had only a few minutes before they had to leave for an appointment, when a young woman named Emma answered the door and let them in. Since they were short on time, they watched a 5-minute DVD with her, and agreed to return on Tuesday. When they returned, they learned that Emma has extended family members who are LDS, and that she was prepared and willing to accept the gospel. They had a very nice meeting with her, and are anxious to return to teach her more. This was a strong testimony to Eric and to us of the importance of listening to answers to prayer.

Last thing. Eric said he made a mistake this week. They had testimony meeting on Sunday, and he decided to stand up and share his testimony with the ward. He told them how much he appreciated having been there so long. Now everyone keeps asking him when he's leaving, and he always gets asked to offer prayers at tea appointments, because they figure it will be his last time there. He did say, though, that as he was sharing his testimony, he realized how much he has loved Sheffield, and hopes he has made a difference there. I think he has.