Sept 14, 1991
Today was just one of those days. After our first appointment this morning, I rode over a piece of glass on my bike. The only problem was that this was no ordinary piece of glass. This piece of glass cut a hole 1/2” long in both my tire and inner tube. After a long walk home, I tried patching both the tube and tire. The only problem was that the hole was so big that it would not seal. That basically shot our afternoon.
We managed to borrow a car for this evening so that we could get some stuff done. We ran into Elder and Sister Hanks tonight. They have served two missions here in Stockton with the Hmong people. They cam back this week for a visit. It was really fun to talk to them. Elder Hanks told me how impressed they were with the baptisms that were taking place. It’s nice to have someone notice what you’re doing.
We also went tonight and taught Yang Seng Vang’s son and daughter. We really tried to teach them about why it was so important to learn to pray and have the Holy Ghost be with us. I really love to teach the gospel. It si a wonderful experience to be able to teach the gospel to someone and have their minds light up with the Light of C
Christ when they recognize the truth. i love being a missionary!
Sept 15, 1991
Well,church attendance today was really bad. I don’t know why, but it was really low. I guess that some days just go like that. Oh well——
Txhim Vaj came to church today. He is going to be baptized on Saturday. I am really looking forward to that. It doesn’t seem to matter how close together they are, baptisms are always too far apart. Txhim will be the first adult Hmong person that Elder Taylor will have seen get baptized on his whole mission. I have really been blessed on my mission to have the opportunity to see a lot of people get baptized. I’m not too sure why the Lord has allowed that. Maybe it’s because He realized that I am weak and get discouraged easily. I have really learned that if I wholeheartedly seek to fulfill a righteous desire, the Lord will bless me and enable me to fulfill that desire. it is hard to believe that time is going by so fast. Although I have good days and bad days, the time is just flying by me. I wish most of the time that I could slow it down.
Pao Vanf told me today that he wanted to be sure and get a picture of me before I get transferred because I have “helped him so much.” He is the guy who was contemplating suicide 6 months ago because of his epilepsy. I have spent a lot of time with him teaching him the gospel and taking him to see doctors. His epilepsy seems to be under control now, he is very happy, he has obtained a job, and he has obtained a testimony. He truly knows that god lives and he is not afraid to tell anyone about it. What a wonderful thing!
SEPT 17, 1991
Well, we sure didn’t accomplish much today. Due to the fact that we spent most of our P-day teaching people, we spent part of today finishing up our P-day. I made a tape for Kristin, boxed up a bunch of stuff, and sent all of it to her.
This morning was spent teaching Sister Child how to use the computer at church. We spent a lot of time helping them, but I hope that now they will be able to work on getting the records in the branch straightened our some more. What a mess they are! We worked on it for a while today too.
Tonight I totally forgot about our scripture study class at the church! I can’t believe it. Apparently we had more people there than ever. The only problem was that no teachers showed up! Dang! I con’t believe I forgot that!! Shoot!
I got two letter from Kristin today as well as a whole bunch of pictures. She is the greets. I really miss her a lot. We are kind of having a hard time being close right now. It seems like it is a constant struggle for us to be as close as we would like to be. I am sure that the closeness will come, it will just take a little bit of time. I can’t wait to be with her again . I love her with all that is in me, and I am really trying to learn to be the kind of man that I need to be in order to fulfill her every desire. The lord has really helped me to make a lot of the necessary changes but there are still a lot more changes that I must make in myself.
(Mom: on of the reason’s they were having problems being close was that Kristin was not doing what she was supposed to be doing. They were in different places spiritually and that hampered closeness. It is very important that you both are spiritually trying to become together. Dating Kristin was a refining thing for Dad. He had to learn to forgive and forgive again. He did a lot of giving in the relationship. It helped him to learn to be selfless. This created the man who was your dad and my husband. Without this experience… as hard as it was…. your dad would not have learned these lessons. Thus we see why we must at times go through difficult situations and struggle in relationships as the Lord wants us to learn and grow and become someone better for something better. In these times we simply have to trust Him and his plan and that it will all work out in the end. )
Sept 18, 1991
Today was Zone Conference
The Lord’s law of discipline: D&C 95 (Save this for parenting)
1. Discipline must be motivated by love for the person being discipline, not Anger!
2. Discipline must be administered to improve the one we are dealing with, not as a boost to one’s own ego
3. Provide a way for escape for the person involved.
a. ie. don’t slam the lid on the cookie jar while their hand is still in it
b. use humor to diffuse the situation
c. Provide time for them to think about things before discussing the problem (1-2 hours- not overnight)
4. Define the problem clearly
5. Define why it is a problem or what was expected.
6. Help them solve the problem.
President Bott also talked about how if we will abide by the council of the living prophet, the Lord will disperse the powers of darkness before us. He then said that it would truly be amazing to us to see how many people had literally plotted against our lives as missionaries. The spirit bore very strong witness to me that many people had plotted against my life, but that the Lord had foiled their attempts. The Lord is constantly mindful of me as his servant.
I had an interview with one of the A.P’s, Elder Tomblin. I told him about the problems that Elder Taylor and I have been having. He said that if neither of us get transferred that I should lovingly and prayerfully let Elder Taylor know exactly what the problem is with his language and teaching skills.
Sept 19, 1991
I went on team-ups all day today with one of the English Elders, Elder Clayson. Elder Taylor spent the day with Elder Larsen. I was hoping that the more time Elder Taylor spends on his own, the faster his language skills will increase. He had kind of a tough day with getting in contact with people, but I hope it helped him some.
Have you ever heard a child of God offer his or her first uttered prayer? They really do it “right.” They rarely say what is really in their hearts, but there is really something three. Something that I can not explain. Without fail, every time I hear someone, especially a young child, offer his first prayer, my eyes fill with tears, the Spirit fills my soul, and I am reassured that what I am doing as a missionary is what the Lord would have me to do. There is no better felling on earth that that which I have when I hear a child speak to his Father for the first time since his earthly probation began. What a choice experience!!!!
I got a big package today filled with all kinds of goodies from Kristin. I really miss her but am constantly reassured that what we are doing is right. i wish that I could somehow show her how much I love her. She is the best!!!!
Sept 20, 1991
Today was really a good day. Since we were on bikes, Cheng Moua drove us around all day. He is such a cool guy. We managed to teach quite a few discussions today, so that was nice. We taught the 6th discussion to Txhim Vaj today. His baptism is scheduled for tomorrow at noon. I am really excited fro that. i am kind of nervous about transfers this month. One half of me feels like it is time for me to move on, and the other half wants to stay here forever. I guess I will just have to wait until Wednesday morning to find out what the Lord has in mind.
Her Thao, the woman whose kids we were going to baptize next week, went and got married to her sister’s husband. Dang it! Anyway, that means that she has to be excommunicated. That is going to make it kind of tough to baptize her kids. Darn it!
2 experiences from yesterday-
1.Going to the hospital with Elder clayson and Elking in on his investigator while she was sitting on the toilet!
2. Little 3 year old girl asking an older man, “Why don’t you have a lot of hair?”
Sept 21, 1991
Baptisms are the best! i love seeing people get baptized. Although the world around took no note, I saw a man receive the key to the gates of Heaven. What a wondrous event to behold! Txhim’s baptism was great! Elder Taylor did a good job baptizing him. The only thing that he forgot to do was to let him have time to plug his nose. It was so cool. It struck e today how stingily unaware of such a wondrous event the people of Stockton were today. The Lord’s work is going forth just as He would have it go, he is orchestrating each small act in a truly masterful way. The world need not take note in order for the work of God to go forth. It will go forth.
No comments:
Post a Comment