Miraculous Transformations‏

My dearest family!

This week has been so awesome as we've seen the progression of our investigators! He jiemei (the one who felt the power save her from crashing on her bike with her daughter) had never come to church before we started meeting with her just because she felt bad about drinking tea. This week she shared with us that as she's quit drinking tea for the last 2 weeks some health problems that she didn't know the reason for have completely disappeared. She has felt her trust in Heavenly Father and confidence in life grow. In the closing prayer she said she has felt her faith being strengthened. She attended church for all 3 hours this week! My love for her has been growing so much.  

 

Our other most progressing investigator is the one I found smoking in the dark alley behind her work. Chen jiemei said she knows the church is true because when she was late to one of our appointments she was tempted to run a red light but felt a prompting not to. She decided to heed that little voice. When she turned her head she saw there were 2 policemen parked right behind her and she was so grateful she listened to that voice. She's been learning to follow the Spirit as she's been making righteous choices. She loves to read the Book of Mormon and believes that Joseph Smith is a prophet. We've been praying as a district (plus the ward mission leader and ward missionaries, too) that she will have the desire to quit smoking and obey the Word of Wisdom herself before we even teach it to her. We were going to teach it to her a few days ago but for some reason we didn't feel it was the right timing. We decided to focus on Joseph Smith and the process of revelation instead and the Spirit was SO strong as we watched The Restoration with her. She said she knew it was true and was willing to set a solid baptismal goal. My eyes were brimming with tears the whole time because I was so happy! We decided to wait a little longer for the Word of Wisdom, and although we didn't know it at the time, it's going to work out so perfectly. We're going to teach it to her tonight. She didn't make it to church yesterday because of a hangover and she was pretty disappointed. Sometimes the Lord works in mysterious ways to answer our prayers, but we think this will be the perfect opportunity to teach her and help her make the change. I'm confident that she will readily change her lifestyle. She felt pretty miserable yesterday. I'm also super excited because we're going to throw a surprise birthday party for her. It was just so happened that we planned to meet on her birthday today! We made a vanilla pudding pie with an oreo crust (thanks to all the packages that have been sent over the past few months!) and I'll be happy to help her have a REAL fun birthday party, not a "wicked" fun party where everyone ends up drunk. It's such a blessing to be a part of her miraculous transformation. Each one is a miracle and I feel so blessed for each one Heavenly Father lets me be an instrument in.

We also had the opportunity to participate in a ward activity of cleaning our recent converts' house. It was a miraculous transformation, too! 15 people and a few hours later their home went from trash and junk everywhere to none anywhere (7 HUGE trash bags full) and piles of unwashed unkempt clothes to 3 closets full (one for the dad, one for the sister and one for the 2 older boys) of only what they needed (3 huge bags full left to give away), as well as clean floors, bathroom, and cooking area. It was touching to see all the participants working so hard and with so much love. I kept thinking, "The Spirit cannot abide in a dirty apartment" and "Cleanliness is next to godliness" the whole time. There was a special feeling there as the service was being performed and the Spirit was so much stronger when we left. We plan on bringing a picture of Christ for their "new" home the next time we visit. We'll also help them change some of their habits as we keep visiting. I love being a missionary :)

Sister Zhu and I have also set some goals to be more disciplined both as individuals and as a companionship so we can have more abundance of the Spirit in our work. I've felt a big difference over the past few days as we've made the changes. I've been getting faster at getting ready and have felt less stressed. I've also felt it easier to receive and act on revelation. I'm trying to be the best servant of the Lord I can be and have my mission set the pace for the rest of my life. It's so scary that the end is coming soon. I dread that day when I'm released from full-time service, but I will never stop being a missionary! It's in my blood now :)

I love GangShan. I love our investigators, recent converts and members. I'm eager for their progress. I love doing this work. It's such a blessing. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!! I love you all so much too :)

 

All my love,

Sister Morey