Greetings!
After a few weeks of battling sickness, I have returned to full health and am back in action. It's an interesting dilemma being sick on a mission. On one hand you don't want to waste any time and be as effective as possible and just be a normal missionary. On the other hand, in order to be as effective as possible one needs to be as healthy as possible and so that may include resting in order to recover as quickly as possible. Health really is critical in missionary work.
Being here in Peng Hu is an absolute blast. Being in a 4-man apartment is so fun. The 4 of us here have gotten very tight over the last month. Last week we all bought Beyblades and made our own arena to battle at night lol. The members here are few, but those that are active are incredible members. As a district, we have been working really hard to help establish a better vision for member missionary work.
As far as Elder Fear and I's work together as a companionship has gone, we are doing all we can to teach repentance and baptize converts! Our most progressing investigators are a couple who are in college, Coco and Leo. Coco looooooves church. She loves everything about it. Her boyfriend, Leo, is not nearly as interested but he is a super cool guy and is willing to do the things that we invite them both to do. They are going back to Taiwan soon for Winter Break but they have baptismal goals for when they come back to Peng Hu.
I continue to be grateful for this opportunity to serve the Lord. I'm grateful that through the enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ that I can change. WE CAN CHANGE. We can change our very nature. I realized this past week that I had gotten out of some really good habits that I have developed over the course of my mission. I think it was due to the fact that I was sick and also that sometimes being in this 4-man apartment it's hard to focus. I continue to be reminded of a story from a Liahona:
This is the story of two ax men who held a contest to determine who could cut down more trees in a day. At sunrise the contest commenced. Every hour the smaller man wandered off into the forest for 10 minutes or so. Each time he did this, his opponent smiled and nodded, assured that he was forging ahead. The larger man never left his post, never stopped cutting, never took a break. When the day ended, the larger man was shocked to learn that his opponent, who seemingly wasted so much time, had cut many more trees than he, "How did you do ti when you took so many breaks?" he asked. The winner replied, "Oh I was sharpening my ax."
I think this story can be applied in a lot of different situations. In application to my current situation, I think that 'sharpening the ax' is how one can become a more effective missionary. There are lots of ways to 'sharpen the ax'. We can use our time effectively, we can plan better, we can have more effective studies, eat healthier, etc. There are A LOT of ways. That's why I think the best way to sharpen one's ax is to 1. Be worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost and 2. Recognize promptings from the Holy Ghost and act on them.
We are told in the 50th section of Doctrine and Covenants that missionaries are "sent forth to preach the the word of truth by the Comforter, in the spirit of truth" "and if it be by some other way, it is not of God.". We are told in 2 Nephi 32 that "the Holy Ghost...will show unto you all things what ye should do". There are A LOT of ways to 'sharpen the ax', but if we have the companionship of the Holy Ghost, then Heavenly Father will teach us and remind us through the Holy Ghost all the things that we need to do to be the most effective tool in His hands. When we receive promptings, we need to act. This shows Heavenly Father that we are receptive to His guidance and are willing to do what He needs us to do. When this happens, Heavenly Father will give us even more guidance that we will be more able to apply in our lives.
I invite you to discuss with Heavenly Father about how you can 'sharpen the ax' in your own life. I know that as you do, you'll receive direction from God and will be able to see greater results in whatever thing you want to improve on.
Well, that's it from the island for this week. Love you all
-Elder Poon
One of the coolest views in all of Peng Hu. 觀音亭
Christmas Dinner with some members.
Went to a cool temple that had some cool trees.
Travelin' the island on P-days
'The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints'
Whale Cave
We have a member in our ward named, Xie Ba Ba, who is a renowned physician and used to be a general surgeon. To celebrate his birthday he invited us to a very nice dinner at a hotel here in Peng Hu. These are many of the nurses that have worked alongside Xie Ba Ba.
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