I don't think I ever told you all the story about how once upon a time, Sister Smith and I taught a man named Muhammad who wasn't from the Middle-East- but who's from Georgia actually. Muhammad loves Mormons and will stand as an advocate for Mormons wherever he goes. He simply just doesn't want to and is not ready to be one yet. Nevertheless, He truly thinks that our Church has the most divine (yes not ironic at all) and brilliant organizational structure, and if all companies around the world could work like our church, they would all be beyond successful. Long story short, anyway, Muhammad always would call Sister Smith and I "Secret agents" instead of Sisters. He thought we were pretty cool.
This week, Sister Huang and I, I personally believe, lived up to that name. Never did I ever think that I would ever reach the point of scaling the buildings of the University of Minnesota campus to find and track down one of our investigators- just so we could confirm an appointment with her. It was awesome! I felt foolish and a little creepy to be doing so, but it worked! Miracles happened due to our faith and diligence!
The reason why we did do that was because DT truly is someone special. We met her just last week, but it amazes me each week at how many people we can relate to and who are willing to open up to us, two strangers, that they had just met, within just 5 to 10 minutes of meeting them. It further confirms to me that we are not doing this work, but that we truly are acting as representatives of Christ in proclaiming his Good News to all who will listen. And these people, these strangers, these Children of God recognize it coming from us! The Spirit truly witnesses to them, and touches them, which prompts them to share many intimate, and personal things with us. DT is an example of that. She has suffered many trials and challenges, with family sicknesses, and being uprooted from home during her teenage years, and feeling broken here in the United States. As we were able to share with her the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, and testify of our Savior, who has the perfect ability to empathize with her, I felt a connection with her even beyond the veil that we all live with right now. I don't know her very well, and we still struggle to get in contact with her because her phone is not working, but I won't give up on trying to share this peaceful message with her. I will continue to stalk her at work, if it really comes down to it! haha
Sister Huang and I were talking a couple of days ago while lying in bed before falling asleep. We both agreed that we are going to age a lot on our missions, and by the time we go home, because we truly spend so much of our time, our energy, our minds, and hearts on worrying and thinking about our investigators each day. I guess once again, this is how it is probably going to feel when we become parents one day. Sorry mom and dad if I ever made y'all worry, and if I still do so now!
But these gators of ours, they truly are like our children. And if we already express so much love and care for them, I just can't even start to imagine how much our Father in Heaven loves and cares for them even so.
As I study a talk on the Atonement of Christ each day for a month with my whole mission in preparations for Easter. I am overwhelmed with the idea of how much our Savior and God loves us . Let us all follow the wise counsels of Elder Maxwell:
"We should regularly apply the Atonement for self-improvement while enduring to the end. If we choose the course of steady improvement, which is clearly the course of discipleship, we will become more righteous and can move from what may be initially a mere acknowledgement of Jesus on to admiration of Jesus, then on to adoration of Jesus, and finally to emulation of Jesus. In that process of striving to become more like Him through steady improvement, we must be in the posture of repentance, even if no major transgression is involved."
I love you all dearly! Until next week!
Sister Pao
P.S. Thanks Rach Rach for the package!
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