Eisegesis

In the words of another missionary fella: Ha lou, dajia zao an. I couldn't have said it better myself. To be honest as I'm starting to write this email I'm getting quite sentimental. I was just reading some other missionaries' emails before typing this out, and a lot of them talk about their individual missions coming to an end. One of them included the line "there is too much to be grateful for." I can't think of anything more appropriate to describe my feelings at the start of my final transfer in Calgary Canada. Elder Lim and I were downtown today street contacting when I met a woman who had distanced herself from the church earlier in her life. She didn't harbor bad feelings towards the church, but for a multitude of reasons decided it wasn't for her. Towards the end of our conversation she said something along the lines of: "Well, I know what you're doing out here is pretty rough, so keep on pushing through. Talking to all these people can hardly be fun." I nearly jumped in before she could finish her sentence to assure her of my joy during my two years here in Calgary. I love these people. Granted, there are always going to be difficult times, but the joy of letting the Savior systematically attend your life and helping others to let Him do the same is unmatched. If you're in one of those difficult times, whether on the mission or off, just realize that everybody goes through them, and rarely are they written about in these types of emails. I love my mission, not because it was easy or I was constantly giddy to go street contacting or knocking, but because of my Savior Jesus Christ. So, some recent instances of joy: - Our friend Ronnie was baptized on Saturday. Ronnie has let the gospel completely change her life. Consequently, she has been able to find her Identity in Christ, something she has been looking for for a long time. - General Conference. Although I think I may have suffered permanent neck injury from my (nearly diagnosable) narcolepsy, I loved what I was awake for. - My companion Elder Lim is such a hard working stud. We've spent the last 3 transfers together, and we're finishing my last together as well. He'll be my last companion, and I'm so thankful for the lessons he has taught me. - Our friends. We have 5 friends (including Ronnie) currently progressing towards baptism in my final transfer, with another 2 possible in this next week. The Lord is blessing his Chinese children. They are 好棒。Pray for Irene 🇹🇼, Irene 🇨🇳, Elise, Larry, Yuan Qian, and Seavan🙏 - We played dunk ball downtown last P-day and our brothers downtown have been playing every day since. - Elder Lim and I have gotten quite tight with some of our homeless brothers from Africa in the last week or two. There were some who didn't like us too much at the beginning, but the leader of them all put in a good word for us. It's all hugs and smiles now whenever we see them. Little bit of alcohol on the breath, but in their words: "you're our brother now." Also: "You're safe around here with us. If anyone tries to mess with you, come talk to us." One of them shared Isaiah 14:14 with me: "14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High." He said it in defense of getting high. Little bit of eisegesis but I'll let it slide. Pigeon Toady said it best: "He's had a hard life." - Writing characters. I love Chinese. - We found a fella on Facebook named Jeffy. Just a pure soul and great guy. - We brought out the slackline and spike ball today in the warm weather - We lock up the church a couple nights a week, which inevitably leads to all the lights being turned off and chasing Elder Lim around the chapel on all fours. He's not a big fan of scary and dark. - The ward has been needing help cleaning the church so I'm harnessing my LashBrook janitor roots - I'm a big book guy now. Kind of leaning into being a nerd. Henry's been prophesying it for a long time now. - This week chicken thighs and drumsticks cost a meager $4.38 / Kg. Naturally I bought enough to last me until the end of my mission. The freezer is packed. Paul when writing to the Corinthians emphasized the example of the Macedonians in generosity, "For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave voluntarily" (2 Corinthians 3:8 NASB) Let's try and be like the Macedonians this week, especially as we work towards treating others with a generous measure of Charity as President Nelson invited us last week. - 马长老