Week 54, in which every trial is both preceded and followed by miracles (I call it a trial sandwich, it's my favorite kind of sandwich. Closely followed by the Oreo sandwich cookie.)

Good news. I'M EATING CHOCOLATE AGAIN! I reached about the 6 month mark and realized that if I didn't quit now, my stubborn, I-need-to-prove-something-to-the-world side would make me keep going until a year mark. And that's just ridiculous. So I celebrated by eating chocolate ice cream at the MGM Casino Buffet, courtesy of the AMAZING T family. I love them so much. The best way a missionary's heart is to show love to the people they're teaching. (Haha, you thought I'd say "food" didn't you!) They have showed so much love to P, the sister who was baptized on Sunday, and wow did I almost cry when Brother T baptized her. But you know, the best part of Sunday wasn't the baptism or the confirmation or hearing her testimony or anything. The best part was when I was talking with P afterwards, and Brother T (a member of the bishopric) walked past. And P reached into her bag and pulled out her tithing for the month of July and handed it to him. THAT made me cry. She's dedicated to living the gospel, and she's in all the way. No half-hearted conversion will do for her. That's how the gospel is, that's how we really develop that love for Jesus Christ, and how we really feel his love for us. We turn our whole lives over to him, and he makes something new and good out of us. We can't just live with one foot or one toe in the water, we dive in!



MGM Casino





Sister P's Baptism

 The t-shirt of the week, so cute! It had pink unicorns on it and, in bright purple letters says, "Mystic by the way."

We were getting so excited for Brother R's baptism, which was scheduled for next Sunday. We fasted with him and his girlfriend so that he could get his job, and it worked! He has the job! But because of this job, he can't come to church or meet with us, and he barely even has time to sleep! He has crazy hours and no holiday for the entire month. I mean good grief, it's about as close to slavery as it gets these days, and it just makes me mad! I love this brother so much, he's such a good guy and he has a real desire to do good and serve the Lord. But I know that God gave him this job for a reason, and he has some amazing blessings waiting for him after he overcomes this trial. God's timing is different than ours, and it's always guaranteed to be better. So this month we fasted that somehow, R could work things out to be baptized. Yeah, kind of vague, but I know that this is something that R needs to do with God, and that by working together, they can figure it out for sure.

I was having a really rough day yesterday. All of our appointments fell through, and we had nothing on the schedule but finding in the rain. OH YAY. I really was so unhappy that I went into the bathroom before we left, knelt down, and just cried for a few minutes, praying so hard that I could just get through it and. And I didn't feel any better afterwards, but we went out anyways. One of the first people we talked to, a man from Nepal named A, was just the friendliest guy! (Everyone from Nepal is friendly.) As soon as we told him we were Christian missionaries, he said, "Oh good! I've been wanting to become a Christian, but I don't know how! How do I do it? Can you help me?" I said, "Oh, actually, you know, I don't think we'll have time for you, yeah, sorry." HA. No, I was SO excited! We're planning to meet him every Sunday and we'll have to teach slowly because his English isn't the best, but he's so nice! What a blessing. God really is aware of us and in our greatest trials, we just need to hold on, because a miracle is right around the corner.

A sister named L called us a few weeks ago to tell us that she wanted to come to church. Well, she showed up this week, and turns out she met with the missionaries last year here in Macau, and was almost baptized in the Philippines back in 2002. She has missed the church a lot, and just recently got a job that lets her come to church on Sundays! So she just showed up! And we taught her a lesson after church and set a baptismal date with her right there! Such a miracle! And it really gives me hope for all the people who I've met throughout my mission. Maybe the time wasn't right for them when I taught them, but that doesn't mean that it won't ever be right. Seeds are planted with every good act, and we might not be around to see them sprout. But they do. I just wish I could find those missionaries who taught her in 2002 and let them know that she's okay.

We had a great July 4th celebration the other night! After planning, all six of us sisters dressed up in red, white, and blue, sang the national anthem, and ate hotdogs. Oh, it was just like America. And all this week, we've been doing a George W. Bush pronunciation of 'Um-air-i-kuh.' Oh how I love those amber waves of grain! But you know, God 'sheds his grace' on us over here in Macau too :)