Testify of the Book of Mormon to everyone

Hi all,

This past week wasn't an easy week. Remember we have been teaching a Chinese couple? The husband was doing really well. We could tell that his faith was growing a lot. His wife was busy taking care of the baby, so she only heard bits and pieces each time. We were able to teach the husband a few times, and our District Leader came to interview him when we were watching the Restoration video with him. We actually didn't tell him about the interview as we weren't sure how he was going to react, so we just told him that our "friends" would want to get to know him. Our District Leader Elder Rowe was awesome. He just took the lead and started talking to the husband. We didn't even need to worry about what to say. When the husband knew that Elder Rowe was one of our leaders, he started telling Elder Rowe how much he appreciated us. He said that we really taught him clearly and with patience. It was one of the happiest moments on my mission knowing that our investigator did appreciate our hard work. We really have developed great love for this couple. The great love I have for them helps me truly forget myself and to seek inspiration from our Father in Heaven to know how we can help them progress toward baptism. Sine the husband didn't know that he would be interviewed, we told him that it could just be a "pre-baptismal interview" to help us evaluate our teaching. But he actually passed the interview! He was already very prepared the first time we met him, and obviously Satan hasn't been very happy with him. When we met with him last Saturday, he told us that he had talked with his parents in China about getting baptized. They weren't happy with the idea of paying tithing. I can't really blame them as they don't know anything about it and can't see the blessings that come from keeping this commandment. He didn't want to upset his parents, so he won't be baptized until his parents let him pay tithing. He truly had a desire to be baptized and asked us how to "convince" his parents. Of course we didn't have the answer. We invited him to pray before talking to his parents so that he would be inspired to know what to say. He offered the closing prayer at that lesson, and it was a very sincere prayer which almost got me in tears.

I don't know if I would get the chance to see him being baptized. It really did bother me for the past few days. But I now realize that my Mission President only promised that I would baptize a lot but never did say that I would be able to "see" a lot of baptisms. I'm grateful to have the opportunity to teach this man. I know he would be baptized in the near future. I'm grateful that I was able to teach him all the lessons and to see his testimony grow. I know that someday I will be able to rejoice in the kingdom of God with all the people I have shared the gospel with if we would all endure to the end.

My companion and I have been working hard to find new investigators. I have committed myself to bear testimony of the Book of Mormon to everyone we meet. We were tracting in a rich neighborhood one day, and a man told us that we were the biggest sinners that ever walked on the earth. Surprisingly, I wasn't even mad at him. He just didn't know what he was saying. I don't know where he came from or what he went through, but I hope that someday he would be willing to hear this gospel. In that same neighborhood, we met a rude lady. She was shutting the door as we said which church we were from. As she was closing the door, I bore my testimony of the Book of Mormon to her and was able to leave a pass-along card with her. I truly believe that if we would testify of the Book of Mormon to everyone, we would be blessed with people to teach and baptize. Even if we couldn't find anyone through our own finding effort, Heavenly Father would bless us with His prepared children to teach in His own way.

Love,

Sister Leung

Come unto Christ

HI all,

 

This past week was a bit hard for us. First, it has been really really hot! It has been 32 degrees Celsius for the past few days. It's killer. And it should be even hotter for these couple days. I told my companion from the beginning that I felt sorry that she had to be my companion during the hottest months because I often would not be in the best mood. I'm really trying to stay cheerful though. Second, the Chinese couple that was put on date for baptism last week is now off date because they didn't come to church yesterday, which is disappointing. Actually, this past week we have only been able to teach the husband because the wife has been really busy taking care of their one month old daughter, so learning the gospel doesn't seem to be her priority right now. The husband was progressing pretty well. He has been reading the Book of Mormon and living the Word of Wisdom. We were a bit worried about his reaction when we taught him this commandment as most Chinese people drink tea, and it's just part of their culture. But he actually didn't drink tea but coffee to help him stay awake. So I shared with him how I stayed awake to study when I was in college. I never used caffeine to help but relied on Heavenly Father. He is so much more powerful than caffeine. We committed him to pray to Heavenly Father for help and to read the scriptures when he had a hard time staying awake or focused. And he hasn't had any coffee since that day.

 

I have met a lot of people that don't see the importance of church, which really frustrates me. Church attendance is just so crucial, and we can't help them progress unless they come to church. Keeping the Sabbath day holy is a commandment of God, and it's said in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Some people claim that they know the Bible well but would say things like " I don't need to go to church. I worship Him in my home already". The most important part of coming to church every Sunday is to partake of the Sacrament. If it wasn't important, why would Jesus Christ institute the Sacrament among His people? I know that as we partake of the Sacrament each week, we renew our baptismal covenant and fulfill this commandment that God has given us. In Preach My Gospel, it says " (We) should set this holy day apart from activities of the world by entering into a spirit of worship, thanksgiving, service, and family-centered activities appropriate to the Sabbath" When I was in BYUH, my friends and I often went to the Temple ground to feel the Spirit and to take pictures. I would invite you all to ponder what you can do on Sundays to make this day meaningful instead of just sleeping through this day.

 

I don't know how we can help this Chinese couple to get baptized. We just found out the wife would be moving back to China next month for at least six months so that her parents could help her with taking care of the baby. I don't know how she could be taught all the lessons and be baptized in less than a month. But my companion and I have been praying for guidance because Heavenly Father knows all His children perfectly. I don't know what they need but He does. We really want to have baptisms this month, but we can only do His will. So we are just going to keep working hard!

 

Love,
Sister Leung

 

P.S. I don't know how many of you have listened to the song "Come unto Christ" but would invite you all to hear it on https://www.lds.org/youth/video/come-unto-christ-2014-theme-song?lang=eng

 

"Come unto Christ" is the youth theme for this year, and I absolutely love it. I have come to know for myself that no matter what trials we are going through, there is always hope if we come unto Christ.

Miracles come from exact obedience

Hi all,

 

This past week was GLORIOUS. My companion Sister Boyce, and I have been getting along well and have been teaching great together. We have decided that we will be BOLD with everyone, and we really have been doing it. I think it's the boldest companionship I have ever been in, and I love it. I have always been pretty bold, but you can only be that bold if nobody is going to back you up. So it's awesome that we both have the desire to be bold with every single person we meet. And we have been amazed by how bold we really can be. A couple days ago, we met a lady that told us she didn't agree with our "fundamental beliefs", and my companion basically told her that our fundamental beliefs were "Faith in Jesus Christ", "Repentance", "Baptism", "Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost", and "Enduring to the end". She asked the lady which part of our beliefs that she didn't agree with. That lady didn't know what to say. There are many people who don't even understand what we believe when they try to argue with us, and that is what frustrates me the most. I have also met lots of people saying that they have "researched" our Church and know enough about it, but almost all of them have not even read any of the Book of Mormon. We are bold enough to invite them stop just hearing from other people but really to learn from the source, which means reading, pondering, and praying about the Book of Mormon. If this book is true, which I know it is, then you have nothing to worry about. I don't understand or know everything, but I know enough - the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I definitely will be learning and studying the gospel for the rest of my life, but I know that I don't need to understand everything all at once.

 

The other thing that I like about this companionship is that we both have the desire to be exactly obedient. We are constantly striving to do that and repent immediately when we fall short. And we truly have seen miracles that come from obeying rules with exactness. A few days ago, we got a referral from a member in a different stake that a Chinese family that lived in our boundary was interested in learning about the Church. The husband had already been on lds.org and mormon.org and wanted to be baptized. We had a lesson with them yesterday, and Sister Li, a Chinese member in our ward, came with us. It was my first time teaching the whole Restoration in Mandarin. I was go thankful that Sister Li was there to teach with me and that my companion was praying for me the whole time. I still struggled a bit but was able to say all the gospel terms correctly. I extended the baptismal invitation, and they said YES! I didn't even know what date I should put them on before the lesson started, but July 25th was the date that was in my head after they said yes to baptism. So I just asked if they would be baptized on July 25th if they came to know that what we taught them was true by that day. And they said YES! So they are now on date for baptism on July 25th. Yay! However, some issues came up that we might not be able to teach them for much longer. I won't go into details about it since only people who have served missions would be able to understand. I don't know if we would get to teach them all the lessons and see them get baptized, but we will make sure we will do all that we can to bring them closer to our Savior. I love this gospel and know that it can bless everyone's life.

 

Love,

Sister Leung

July 4th evening. We were asked to stay in our apartment to do our 3 hour Weekly Planning. Snacks were needed for sure.

Last Saturday we went to Alex Boye's concert! And I saw an awesome family from my first area:)

Look up

Hi all,

 

Since my companion was going home, I went to Bellevue South stake to stay with Sister Hales yesterday. Since she is a Spanish speaking missionary, she covers the whole stake, so we got to work in many different areas in one day, which was pretty cool. When we drove by Somerset area, I was basically screaming since I was so excited to be in my first area again. Even though it has been more than 8 months since I left, I still remember the area pretty well. When we visited a potential investigator in the area, I told Sister Hales that the house on the right was a less-active, so we got to stop by and introduce ourselves. Heavenly Father definitely has been blessing me with the gift of tongues. I have only taken one Spanish class my whole life, but when Sister Hales was teaching and talking to people in Spanish, I could understand what they were talking about. Sister Hales is such an awesome missionary and is exactly obedient. It was so great to be able to work with her for a day.

 

We had transfer this morning. And I almost screamed when I found out Sister Boyd, my trainer, got transferred to the Bellevue zone! I have been missing her for months, and we are now in the same zone again. Her last companion, Sister Boyce, is now my companion. She actually served in this area a year ago and is now back. She loves everything about China, so I bet she will have a blast here as there are many Chinese people.

 

This past week was kind of rough as we were just finding and finding every day because we didn't have any investigators. Missionary work is never easy but is definitely the most rewarding work. I have been enjoying bearing testimony of the Restoration to people. This gospel truly has blessed my life a lot, and I'm grateful to be able to serve a full-time mission in the Washington Seattle Mission. It's indeed the BEST mission ever. I know that President Choi has been called of God to preside over this mission, and I have learned a lot from him. He is a very wise man. He always reminds us to LOOK UP to heaven but not looking around. It's always better to LOOK UP.

Love,

Sister Leung

Last District Meeting of last transfer

With my companion Sister Payne, who was going home

With Sister Sim (from Korea)

Last picture with Sister Payne

With Sister Capener

Love your companions

Hi all,

 

The past week was pretty challenging and frustrating. We dropped the only investigator that we had. I don't want to go into details, so let's just say that he isn't really looking for the gospel. It's sad that we have just been dropping people throughout this transfer, but I think it's still better than meeting with them when they had no desire to keep commitments as we wouldn't be able to fulfill our purpose as missionaries. We just need to spend our time somewhere else.

 

My companion is going home is less than a week. I have been trying really hard not to remind her of it so that she would be able to stay focused until the last minute, and I can tell that she really does appreciate it. And I also have been trying not to think about getting a new companion as it would just stress me out. It always takes awhile to get to know a companion and get to work well with her, but I can truly say that I have learned a lot from each of my companions. I definitely have had some hard times with some of my companions, but now when we see each other at meetings, all we would be talking about is the fun times that we had together. None of us have ever mentioned how we argued or fought with each other. And now, I can really say that I love all my companions. They are all very different from me, but it's awesome since we can learn from one another. Sister Payne, the companion I'm with now, loves to sing and is a super amazing singer. And I think I have been influenced by her a lot that I now enjoy singing a lot. I have been asking her to teach me how to sing alto almost everyday, and we are always singing hymns while knocking on doors. Also, her prayers are always very sincere and thoughtful, and it's definitely something I can learn from her. I truly know that all my companions have been placed in my life for a reason. I remember that I was complaining about my companion at the second interview I had with President Choi, and he said "Sister Leung, I'm sorry you are having a hard time with your companion, but I didn't put you two together, Heavenly Father did it". I don't think I will ever forget it. Heavenly Father always knows what we need. He has given me companions that could help me overcome my weaknesses, and I'm forever grateful for it.

 

I wish I would have some cool stories to share, but nothing was happening this past week besides finding and finding. Serving a mission definitely is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, so I'm so glad that I came with the right reason - serving the Lord, otherwise, I would have gone home already as being a missionary is not easy at all. But after more than a year, I'm still cheerfully serving a mission and thank Heavenly Father everyday for giving me the opportunity to be His instrument in spreading His word.

I hope you all will always pray for the opportunity and courage that you need to share the gospel with those around you as it is the only thing that can bring everlasting happiness.

 

Love,

Sister Leung

With one of my companions, Sister Whetten