We are TRUE Christians

Hi all,

 

I hit my 1 year mark last Thursday. Time really just flies! I only have about 6 months left, and I have been thinking about what I want to accomplish before going home. I studied "Our purpose" from Preach My Gospel a few times last week to remind myself that I have been given power and authority to declare the gospel in the Washington Seattle Mission. Also, I studied it because I was asked to speak in Sacrament meeting yesterday on the topic "Sharing the message of the Restoration". At the beginning of my mission, I was very timid. When people said they were already Christian, I would just say "Oh that's awesome". I wasn't fulfilling my purpose at all. In my talk, I shared what message we had to share with the world. We are not just here to tell people about what Jesus Christ has done for us. It's certainly important to know about His ministry, but it wouldn't be enough to get me all the way from Hong Kong to Washington if I was only sharing a message about Jesus Christ. We are here to share the RESTORATION. We are here to share how The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church on the earth. We are here to share how this Church has the priesthood authority from God to perform ordinances necessary for salvation. We are here to share how we still have a living prophet today leading us. We are here to share how the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ and is the evidence of the Restoration. I have always been working on being bold and confident when sharing this message with others. Last week, we met a guy on the street, and my companion started talking to him, and he was telling us that he believed that the Book of Mormon wasn't true. He said no when I asked if he had read it before. I then told him "Don't tell me the Book of Mormon isn't true until you have read it and have prayed about it". I'm just so tired of this response. Also, I'm so tired of people saying "You guys are not Christians". I'm really just done with this statement. I have heard it a million times on my mission. It happened a few days ago, and this time my little impatience made me bold enough to tell that person how we are TRUE Christians. I'm grateful that I have been given many opportunities to testify of the message of the Restoration. I will still be working on being even more bold even though all my companions have told me that I'm bold. There definitely were times that I didn't testify as much as I should have when I was discouraged after getting a thousand door slams. But I know that in order to fulfill my responsibility, I will always have to bear testimony of the Restoration. It doesn't mean that I will be able to get everyone listen to this message, but it means I have done my part to give them a chance to choose for themselves.

 

Even though we still don't have anyone on date for baptism, I have faith and hope that there are people prepared. In the past two months, I have attended 4 Spanish branch baptisms (because I was invited to play the piano. Normally we need to bring an investigator in order to attend). It was amazing to be there to feel the Spirit. I only know a little Spanish, so most of the time I didn't understand what the spiritual thought was. However, I was able to feel the Spirit each time. I could see the light in the person who was getting baptized. It has strengthened my testimony that there are people who can recognize us as representatives of Jesus Christ. We just have to find them!

 

Serving a mission has been a humbling experience for me. I used to think that I can do everything by myself (yes it was really arrogant and ignorant). But I have learned to rely on the Lord as we are doing His work. Without His help, we can't succeed no matter how talented we are. I'm so grateful for the blessing I received from my District Leader when I first got to the mission field. The only thing that I still remember from that blessing is that I will be given the gift of tongues. I truly have been given the gift of tongues. We tracted into a Chinese lady a few days ago who didn't know any English, but I was able to share with her briefly the Plan of Salvation and the Atonement of Jesus Christ in Mandarin. Yesterday, I was able to give a 20 minute talk in Sacrament meeting without shaking, and some people asked me if English was my first language. I certainly wouldn't have been able to teach in those two languages without the Lord's help. The Lord has promised us that  we would know what to say if we would first open our mouth to share His gospel: "Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men; For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say" (D&C 100:5-6).
I hope you all have a good week. Next P-day will be on Tuesday, and we will be going to the Temple also:) I just can't wait.

 

Love,

Sister Leung