So. Much. Service

Dear family and friends,

 

It was a grand week. Yes yes and grand one indeed. And I'll tell you why.  Tuesday we had a great DTM by Elder Bardsley on finding and Book of Mormon. We made banner things out of cloth and put them on our bikes. It was fun. Mine hangs off the back of my helmet. We then got to meet with an Allen. He's a super cool kid that we found walking with his girlfriend. We just had a simple first meet and talked about prayer. He had been to all sorts of churches with friends and thought they were cool. But then when he said amen after the prayer, he pretty much jumped and was like "Ah! I felt something!" He described it, and yep it was the Spirit! He accepted a goal to get baptized. He's super willing.

 

Wednesday morning we went and did service at a members garden. We had been there twice before, and this time I was determined to pull out the stump of the tree I cut down earlier. So I just jumped at it and attacked it. After a ton of struggle, it came out! I just carried it to her and dropped it and said "done". It was a good accomplishment. There were a lot of people that came.   Later we got to meet with some investigators that are Christian. We emphasized the importance of the Book of Mormon and why we have it. It helped them a lot understand the need for the restoration. We invited them to pray about baptism under proper authority. I'm way excited.   That night for English class we taught body parts. I felt at home. It was like medical anatomy class, but in Chinese. They kept asking what the medical terms were for them and I'd write them down. They were so confused. It was really funny.

 

Thursday we had lunch at the Sisters' RC's house. They want the dad to learn about the church. He made a super good meal. It was so good! And he loves to talk. So we talked a lot. And he said we could come back and share more! Then we had a super quick ward coordination meeting because the guy delivering our mattresses and bunk bed came! So we hurried back to get him before he left.  That night we met with a Zhong dixiong. We finished the Plan of Salvation. He agreed with it more than I've ever seen before. He just said it all makes sense and that's why we need Christ. He wants to learn all about Christ's gospel, but is so busy, so we can only meet with him once a week. But he's so willing.    Once we got home, we built a bunk bed. It wasn't like the pile of metal that Elder Allen and I built last year. It was from Ikea. It's so comfortable!

 

Friday we had another service project. We had to carry a  ton of wood across the wild forest. It's that same place where the praying mantis screeched at me a few weeks ago. This was also a ton of work. But it was way fun.  Then we met with a Cai dixiong that we've met with once before. He's also extremely willing. We shared about the restoration and he liked it a lot. And he also has a huge desire to get baptized!   That night we had to take the fresh delivered mattresses to the Sisters' apartment. When the mission ordered them, they had them all sent to us to save shipping costs. So we had a member help us get them over. That took a ton of time.

 

Saturday was "Clean up the World Day." So a good amount of the ward got together in the morning and we went and cleaned up the world. It was fun. We were just picking up trash on the street. But we got a ton of it picked up. The street looked so clean.  Then that night we celebrated Kang Zhe Wei's birthday. We went to this steak BBQ and hot pot. It was so good. He loved it. Then we went out to visit Su dixiong out in the middle of nowhere. I love going out to his house. It's so peaceful. His dog, Pudding, is super cute. His brother was there too and had heard a little about our church. So we talked about prayer.

 

Sunday one of the Sisters' investigators that is American, came to church with her Taiwanese husband. She doesn't speak Chinese, and her husband isn't familiar with a lot of the church words. So I translated Sacrament meeting and Sunday school, and Elder Bardsley translated a combined Priesthood/Relief Society. And of course the topic of Sacrament meeting was the Law of Chastity. I haven't taught that in English is so long, and now I had to translate all of it to this American woman. It was weird. But I love translating. It's a lot of fun.    After church us and a bunch of members got to go to a funeral of a father of a member who had passed away. We sang at it. It was super interesting. Imagine a funeral home, but way bigger that fits 10+ funerals at once.   That night we met at a members house with RC's and had a good curry dinner. Kang Zhe Wei had a good time and is getting to know the ward more. And he only has two more days of the military service!

 

And that was my week. I had a good time. I did a lot of service. It made me exhausted. All four of us made plans to sleep all day today and relax. I'm way excited.  I love you all! I miss you dearly!

 

Love, Elder Anthony Kai Buckwalter