WEEK 19

May I share with you today the many miracles that happened this past week. Last night I went to bed all smiles because of the great things that happened in the last 24 hours!

First of all, I am grateful for Fast Sundays. Last week on Fast Sunday (June 3) my companions and I fasted specifically for an area to tract (go door knocking), and also for two part member families that we are working with. It is our mission tradition to "Fast Tract" every first Tuesday of the month, meaning we fast on Sunday for a specific area/street, and on the following Tuesday we go tracting on that street of houses. Then on Saturday, we follow-up the Fast tract and knock on the doors that didn't answer on Tuesday.
Since this was week 3 of the transfer (there are 6 weeks in a transfer), and we had no current investigators to teach, our fasting was filled with much prayer and faith. It was more than just hoping to find people to teach, it was knowing that if we did our part, Heavenly Father will do His and lead us to those whose hearts are prepared.
So on Tuesday we went Fast Tracting and I've never tracted into so many Chinese homes on one street before! (Remember, this is America and my companions and I are serving in Chinese branch so we are only looking for the Chinese people)
We found a family which the father answered the door but he was busy making dinner. However, he wanted to learn more and gave us his phone number to contact him later. Does that ever happen with the Chinese people? This was my first time!
Anyway...the week went by and we were still in search to find new people to teach. We had many slow and low moments in a day, but that's normal, cuz there are the highs and the happy moments within the same day too. After a challenging week, Saturday came and we were unable to get any investigators to come to church the next day.
While serving at the Visitor's Center that night, I got a phone call from a lady who's originally from Hong Kong. Several weeks ago, the elders gave her one of our Visitors' Center flyers at China Town (we all spend hours and hours street contacting in China town without much success everytime) and she decided to call the number on the card! She agreed to meet with my companions and I the next day. Yesterday we met with her and for the first time on our missions, we met a soul who's heart could never be more prepared to hear the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father truly leads the spiritually hungry to where they can find eternal nourishment and strength. Eventhough we couldn't seek these souls out on the streets of Oakland, sometimes, Heavenly Father leads them to us.
After meeting her on Sunday afternoon, my companions and I tried to find people to invite to a mission fireside called "WHY I BELIEVE." Every Second Sunday of the month, newly baptized members in this mission are invited to bear their testimonies and share their journey to being baptized and Why They Believe. I have heard many great things about this fireside, and how strong the Spirit is present in these meetings, but I have never been able to attend one. Yesterday the three of us, Sister Scholl, Sister Hsiao and I had a great desire to attend. BUT, no one (investigators or less active members) could come with us. We were disappointed and continued to work out in our area - finding people to teach the gospel. At 6:10pm, I suddenly remembered a "potential investigator" that we needed to visit but have not been able to get a hold of during the past two weeks. We dropped by his home and surprisingly found him there. We invited him to come to the "Why I Believe Fireside" and he surprisingly said yes! Eventhough the fireside started in 15 minutes! We got there not too late and had the most wonderful experience ever. I'm also glad we are in a threesome too, because the fireside was in English and sometimes it took all three people to help translate what the speakers were saying for our Chinese investigator =)
So many little miracles happened this week I can't write them all down suffiecently. Know that through these little miracles, we have been able to find new invewstigators and we have at least 5 new appointments lined up for next week!
Thank you for your countless prayers and faith and encouragement. I know that eventhough life can get hard, it is through these difficult moments that we learn the most, and are better able to appreciate the little blessings that come our way sent from a loving Heavenly Father who works in mysterious and marvelous ways!