Hello Family and Friends!
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| Brendan, Lio Junxuan and Elder Sumsion before Lio Junxuan's baptism |
This week we were blessed to witness our investigator, Liao Junxuan, that we met my first Sunday here receive baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and be confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was so great. When he got up and bore his testimony, he said--and I translate--"You know, when I first started investigating the church, a lot of people thought it was weird and asked me questions like 'why Mormonism?' or 'isn't that church weird?' and stuff like that. It got to the point where I figured if any church has this much opposition, there has to be something special about it." Him saying that just testified to me that the Lord prepares people. You know, most people wouldn't have had that way of thinking about it, but I really believe that Junxuan was prepared by the Lord so that when he did receive opposition, it only increased his faith and his desire to know the truth of the restored gospel. I feel so blessed to have been able to see his growth. We have to delay giving him the new member lessons for a bit because he has a few really big tests these next couple weeks, but we'll still see him at church and maybe at English class. I'll keep you guys updated!
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| And after. :) |
Chen Xuanzhen(the golden guy who wanted baptism really bad but had the meeting on Sunday) came to church yesterday! He also passed his baptismal interview so if all goes according to plan and he can come next Sunday for all 3 hours too, he's set to be baptized on the 20th of this month. SO EXCITED!! He met the missionaries in July so this has been a long process for him. He's grown a lot though. I haven't known him since July, but just from looking at his teaching record, I can tell that he wasn't always as awesome as he is now. It's taken a while, but he is almost ready to make that next step towards eternal salvation.
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| Last week's Pizza Hut chidaobao (all-you-can-eat). |
Andy(the Japanese teacher) is doing well. We met with him yesterday and our ward mission leader was there as well. They talked to each other about a lot of stuff that didn't really lead to the Plan of Salvation like we were hoping, but it was good in the sense that now he has a really deep understanding of the Book of Mormon, it's purpose, and it's origins so that when he reads it, he will know how important it is. We were talking about our religion as opposed to other religions at some point and he brought up this idea that he said he had thought up based on his reading in the Bible. He said he thinks God has angels and people that work very closely with him and that Satan used to be one of them but he fell and some people came with him and now he controls the Earth with his people and that's where all the other religions come from. He said "Satan is so smart so he can lead people away from to truth to other things that look enticing." It was so nuts because it was all pretty much correct and we haven't even shared any of that with him yet. Another great example of how the Lord prepares people.
Other investigators are doing well, but those were the main stories I wanted to share. Please keep praying for them! And please, especially now during this Christmas season, study the Savior and His teachings, give to others, and don't hesitate to share or accept the Gospel. It will bless your life and the lives of others so much. Love you all!
-Elder Smith
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