Yup,
who woulda guessed it? Here I am, after 5 lovely days in Macau, in Tolo
Harbor! Well, there's no really good way to explain it, and I am afraid
of running out of time, but I will do my best, even chronologically, to
tell you the story. But, in case you were wondering, everything is
fine, and life is good. And I love this work.
So, right after finishing emails in Macau, I got a
phone call...from President Hawks. He told me that I was going to move
to Shatin to serve because they needed me and that I would be leaving on
Wednesday. Shocking, right!
Well, I have a good mission president and I trust
him (and am grateful for his straightforwardness), and so I prepped for
it and knew that he'd tell me more later. We then proceeded to have a
lovely day with the Kienes (they sent you pictures! Yay!) in Macau, and
got to see a lot of nice sights. I love the people in Macau already. And
the ball is already rolling there. Sister Cook, Sister Chan, and I
discussed all the ideas we had for the area and made some plans, and
they will be just great at making them happen. I can't wait to hear how
it goes.
I had one more miracle-filled (seriously) day in
Macau, and then on Wednesday, the Zone Leaders accompanied me back to
Kowloon on the ferry. They were going to Zone Leader council anyway, so
it was pretty handy. And then Pres. Hawks was able to talk with me a
little more and explain WHY I was moving.
It goes like this: President Hawks felt like I could
help Macau, but then some things came up in Shatin, and a missionary,
my current companion Sister Lin, needed some help. So he prayed about
it, and felt like he should send me. It didn't make sense to him either,
but there you have it.
Sister Lin is an incredible person, and is a convert
to the church of 5 years. She is from Mainland China originally, but
lived in Australia for a long time going to school, which is where she
converted. She is 29 years old, and really bright. However, she has some
communication problems and just had some issues with her companion,
wonderful as they both were. She's a little shy and doesn't always know
how to express herself, especially in foreign languages. But she loves
sharing her testimony. And is very dedicated to this work. She was
having such a hard time, though, that she was thinking about going home.
So President Hawks wants to help her stay.
So here I am. The sweet thing is that Sister Lin
sees this as an answer to prayer as well. It is overwhelming, but I'm
praying hard for charity and patience and faith, and everything is ok. I
am very inadequate, but I will do my best.
The wards I serve in now are Shatin and Tai Wai, and
they are amazing. Shatin is the ward in which former mission president
Chan lives! And a member of the 70 lives there too. So it's a good ward.
Tai Wai is incredibly mission-oriented. So we're looking for big
things.
The difficult part is that we don't have a lot going on in the area right now. Very few investigators. President Hawks also told me that he wanted me to go in and build and boost the area, too (how does one do that? Hmm), and so I knew that it would maybe have a rough start. But there's a lot that can be done. We just need to find new, prepared people, and prepare OURSELVES to teach them. That's one thing I've learned: until a missionary is prepared, the Lord can't give him or her all the miracles that are possible. So we're preparing. Obviously there's a little bit of repairing that needs to happen, too. It's happening. I have been fasting and praying for this area and for my companion, and I feel that things will be ok.
Speaking of that, wanna hear a miracle? So, my first
Sunday at church I got to meet tons of people (more than I could
remember the names of, obviously. Man, serving two wards is harder than I
remembered). This included our awesome ward mission leader in Tai Wai.
Well, we had a meeting with him after church, and discussed a long-term
investigator here named Yuki. He really wants to help her get a
baptismal date. So he asked us, "are you busy right now?" Our answer
was, "well, we have plans, but we can change them." So we went with his
right then to Yuki's home to visit and teach a lesson. And we extended a
baptismal date! And she accepted! In fact, the date that we extended
was the perfect day, apparently, because it's before big tests at
school! She's excited about it. She's 12 years old, and her mother's a
member, and she's been hearing about the gospel since age 8 or so. But
her father has opposed her baptism until recently. And so here I am,
like it says in John 4, to reap other peoples' labors. But what a
miracle, really.
Oh, quick addendum! Wun Ying in Kwai Fong sent me a
letter, and told me that she and her little sister and her mother are
planning on being baptized on Christmas week! And that her friend is
seeing the missionaries. Wow, right. Miracles.
Well, I know that this work is true and that it is
the Lord's. The only way to do it is through His grace and His power.
But miracles are always waiting.
I love you all and am so grateful for your love and support.
Love,
Sister Nielsen
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