Washington Seattle Mission: A challenging week

Hi all,

The past week has been pretty challenging! We were tracting under -3 degree Celsius all the time, and our toes were frozen! But that's okay, just like what Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, "Missionary work isn't easy because Salvation isn't a cheap experience". I believe that being a diligent worker even in a less pleasant situation can bring forth miracles! We learned that "miracles are not for us" in Zone Meeting last Friday. Miracles are for those people who are earnestly seeking the truth. We are only the instruments of the Lord. Talking about Zone Meeting, my companion and I were asked to give part of the training to the missionaries in our zone. It was a great experience. They didn't let us know until the night before, so we had to prepare everything within our study time. The training was about how diligence is related to high expectation and will help us reach our baptism goal for next year. Our mission has set 1663 baptisms as the goal for 2014. We couldn't have set this goal without having high expectation. But at the same time, if we don't make any changes, we won't be able to achieve this goal either. I have learned a lot by studying the Preach My Gospel. It talks about diligence is a Christlike attribute. And one of the things I didn't think of before is that if we are truly diligent servants, we are going to be more persistent when sharing the gospel with people. A lot of people would tell us that they are already Christian or are not interested, and I would just say "have a good day" when I first came out. But now I really know that there is more we can say. The Book of Mormon is what makes our Church unique, and we can always invite people to read and pray about it.

I was relieved after giving the training as I was quite nervous about it. But another challenge came on last Saturday. The Second counselor of the Bishopric called and invited me to give a 10-minute talk at Sacrament the next day. I was like "Um....". My companion thought that I would say no as I didn't like being asked to do something in last minute. But as a missionary, I don't really think that I can say no to any righteous request, so I said yes. I hadn't given a talk at Sacrament for years, and this time the topic was "The prophecies and birth of Christ". I was stressing out. I knew that I only had dinner time which was an hour to prepare, so I prayed to ask for help that I could be inspired to know what I should speak. My companion was helping to find some scripture references also. Even though I was prepared, I was still really nervous. I have always been nervous about speaking in public, and this time I had to give a talk in my second language. I prayed for help that I wouldn't speak with shaky voice as I thought it would be pretty embarrassing. And I wasn't shaking at all when giving the talk. Lots of members said that I spoke pretty naturally, and they did enjoy my talk. I am grateful for the power of prayers. I know that we can be strengthened if we pray sincerely to our Father in Heaven.

Love,
Sister Leung